To Market, To Market: Admiralty Wet Market

Retrospectively, an established wet market then was in an open air context, where fresh produce stalls gathered and arranged uniquely along roadside or a vacant compound, ie open carpark space. Usually, siting in a shophouses area, brought in the crowds and business to kopitiam (coffee shop), kedai runcit (provision shops) or clinic(s) from morning to noon, vice versa. Sellers would think of a way to pipe in water, or set-up a gas and stove if cooking was required. Cages for poultries, big rotan baskets for bundles of green leaves, or sometimes, big lorry just behind the seller! Raining days brought in challenges to the sellers and patrons too. When a market was over populated, it would be expanded naturally to the nearby gas station, to next junction and into the minor arterial road in the adjacent housing zone, like crawling branches of a money tree plant. It caused huge chaotic to morning traffic in the vicinity, and everyone would do adjustment to each time of expansion. One of my friends was affected, the market nearby her house extended further and went into the road right in front of her house. Patrons' cars were parked in front of her house inconsiderably. Big frown. Essentially, market was where people had gather for purchase and sale of provisions, livestock and other daily goods. People didn't mind the disorder of a market place mostly, as it brought many conveniences than inconveniences. Maybe they minded, but just had to close one eye.

Well, I'm from Malaysia, grown up and stayed in a suburb of the city of Kuala Lumpur and then moved to a small town called Lunas, Kulim- up in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. Those were my past experience with pasar, aka wet market. People improvised along the way in siting a market or should I say it is the evolution of a market.

(To be fair, over these years, wet market is slowly becomes part of a township and well-planned to be fitted into a neighbourhood and serve the people, not just the morning, but until dusk too. There is physical, structured infrastructure to house a market orderly and provided ample car parking lots, such as the one in the new neighbourhood that my parents moved into few years ago. I have yet to familiarise with that market yet though.)

By and large, it is pretty different from local wet market, where mostly are sheltered and well-facilitated. Since we relocated in Singapore for coming to ten years, I didn't have issue with transiting and patronising the indoor wet market here in Singapore... except the stuffy environment part.

Supposedly, I am part of a blog train sharing about the market I frequenting here in Singapore. But the task of writing current unlocks my past. Those days, I was dragged to market by my mum, to learn to adapt the buzz and to help her with her loot. This part of the memory was locked for long, until this blog train. All the sudden the images of the old pasar I visited flashback, and I have to pen it down.

Edinburgh: Museum on the Mound

While I decided on visiting National Museum of Scotland, this was the museum, that handpicked by my daughter- Museum on the Mound.

The Museum on the Mound is housed in the marvellous, purpose-built head office of the Bank of Scotland. Today the building also serves as the Scottish headquarters for Lloyds Banking Group. Paid a visit to the bank sure got to learn more about the fascinating history of this beautiful building, as well as learning some knowledge of currency and monetary of Scotland. Unlike most countries where it is only the governments, through their central banks, who are permitted to issue currency, in Scotland, there are 3 banks are allowed to issue banknotes, namely Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank and The Royal Bank of Scotland. 

Review: Jane Means' Gift Wrapping Workshop

On the first day of August, I had the privilege to attend Jane Means' Gift Wrapping Workshop. I got to relearn some of the skills I left behind for many years.

I no bluff. I was an excellent gift wrapper. I loved dong it and I could wrap a present beautifully with minimum 3 pieces of scotch tapes, just to seal the edges of the wrapping paper over the gift. Before I learnt about the use of double sided tapes, I could hide those scotch tapes if I wanted to(you probably know how). At one time, I was obsessed with fancy gift wrapping papers and I collected lots of them. Who doesn't like pretty things? I made good use of them for embellishing a bookmark or a card, or gift wrapping. I was good with pleating wrapping technique after seen it in a mall's gift-wrapping service corner. For many years, I have books' and dictionary's covers protected by beautiful wrapping papers. These days, I do more of impressing my daughter by recycling a page of Kikki K's catalogue into an envelop, neatly.

But I am not good with ribbon tying. Terrible, terrible, terrible. If you see one bow perfectly tied by me, it must be my lucky day!

So usually my gifts were without ribbon and bow.