At the end of August, whilst we were out shopping for all the new uniform and stationery bits that the children needed for school, we also had a shopping list of dance shoes and items from Hannah's new dance school where she does a ballet, jazz and tap class. So we headed off for a shopping centre called Golden Landmark, which was on my list of suggested places from the dance school.
It was located just by Singapore's biggest mosque and next to some roads of lovely old "shophouses" (traditional terraced houses). I found the entrance to the carpark and noted as we drove down the ramp that the sign told me the the lower level was full. It was small and quite cramped so I followed signs to "more parking". We found ourselves in a queue wondering what the delay was for the 20 or so spaces it said were free. Then Adam saw a sign which said Car Lift.
"No," I said "it can't be a lift for cars, it's one of those Singlish expressions that sounds odd to us".
But this is Singapore, where there is always something different and it was a car lift. As we moved forward one car at a time, we realised we were in the queue for it. When our turn came, we drove up to a post and I pressed a button. The lift came down and a large garage style door rolled up. Amongst much excitement in the car, we drove in and I then wound down the window and pressed the up button. The door came down and up we went, from the basement to the 4th floor where we were able to find a parking space.
Inside the shopping centre had a masses of tiny premises that seemed to be a miriad of tailors, recruitment consultants and travel agents offering trips to Mecca. However, at the centre was the most magnificently over the top art deco lift which served the shopping floors and then went up the lobby of a hotel above. We finally found our shop and got the clothes and shoes before the excitement of going back down in the car lift.
Well, the children are well into their first term of this school year and here they are in the new uniform. Adam is now in his final year of juniors and they wear the senior uniform (don't know why) and he is back in long trousers on a regular basis for the first time since we arrived. Hannah is in the junior uniform (almost the same but the dresses don't have pleats).
With everyone back at school, Hannah finally had her birthday party as she wanted to share it with a friend who was 8 this month. They went to "Build a Bear". This is a shop where the children pick a teddy and with lots of games and fun, then get it stuffed, put hearts in, name it (and get a birth certificate) and then choose an outfit. We (the mums) set a strict budget and then the staff did a wonderful entertaining job for the next hour or so. It was then off for a pizza and birthday cake and lots of little girls and one boy went home with a new teddy.
All in all, it seemed to be a big success and here they are having fun.
Afterwards, we took a stroll round the shopping centre and found yet another of those strange things. It was a shop called "Baby Swim Contest" or something similar and in the window were a row of overgrown sinks. Parents took in their babies and undressed them while the sinks were filled with water. When all the babies were ready and the sinks full, each baby had a rubber ring put round its neck (it had a sort of flap to hold it comfortably in place) and then, all at the same time as each other, the babies were all put in the sinks.
The babies waggled their arms and legs, looking happy, meanwhile a lady then wondered along with a clipboard, noting goodness only knows what, while a large crowd gathered outside looking through the windows saying"ahh, so cute!". As this is a difficult thing to describe, we've done our best to take a picture of the babies in the sinks.
So, could this be a new business venture for somebody? I can see it now on Dragons Den!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment