February

Stuff must have happened, right? And forgetting/mislaying my sister's birthday doesn't technically count as an event. Sorry sis. I'll make it up to you next month.
So the major subjects would be Jury Service, The Killers and this weekend. Actually there would be other subjects but I've never discussed them with you before, and I hardly see why I should start now. Well maybe a couple of them.
Jury Service was actually pretty wracking. There is the inconvenience factor if course. Losing a couple of hours a day is frustrating, and I have no shortage of work. The potential for further inconvenience - actually being selected - is also a little stressful. But then I nearly got selected for an actual jury, and I discovered that my liberal, constitutional approach may well only be skin deep. You is a lucky hillbilly, Bubba.
The Killers have also annoyed me. When I saw they were coming to NZ I was pretty excited. I'm not a massive fan, but I like their 80s pop/rock riffs and decided I'd do another Mars Volta style odyssey to Auckland. Flights booked, work leave approved, arranged to take a friend along and all is well with the world. My two Mars Volta trips were, if you'll excuse the phrase, utterly fcuking brilliant. One time the band was tight as Malcolm "I've left my wallet in my other trousers. Which are in Donna's lead-lined wardrobe", and the other time, the singer was on the most extraordinary form, as I'd imagine Bowie would once have performed. So, fingers crossed, eh? Not so much. Their Christchurch concert has been cancelled, and the Auckland one moved to the following Wednesday (with Air New Zealand rubbing their capacious purses in anticipation). Bringing this missive to an early circle, the sister is in Welly for exactly 2 nights, and you can surely guess when one of these nights is. It's not negotiable. Like I say, The Killers aren't the Mars Volta (or Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Faith No More or Muse), and family is a bit more important than many things.
This weekend... Work social, team drinks, beer fest, dancing, football, work. Doesn't sound especially anything does it. But the beer fest did have the incident that made the weekend utterly memorable (despite the best efforts of cumulative alcohol). I was nearly bowled over by a pair of prostitutes fighting in the mud, at this meteorologically-challenged event. In my defence, and also making the moment a bit funnier, I think, I didn't know they were hookers at the time. Nor that the guy I was talking to was their pimp. He was too drunk to get his prices up or somesuch, presumably. I'd put some pictures of some lady's bum up, but these were taken by someone else using my camera. Honest! Would I lie to you? I may not have told you everything (such as my explosive diarrhoea in Uzbekistan) but it was partly to stop you worrying, and partly to help you retain your dinners. But not actually lying.

Interesting Weekend

Saturday, the wonders of fine weather in Eastbourne.


Sunday, the national Barista Champs Wellington heat. And an awful game of 5-a-side. Let's blame the heat for that, though...



As has been pointed out to me, there is no text around these things, so I shall attempt to add some colour. Hmm.
Eastbourne was great. Just a fine place to go to enjoy the sun.
The Barista champs were good fun. A friend was down from Auckland to check out the opposition with a couple of guys who will be competing next week. These fellows really know their stuff, and I felt typically ignorant. Nonetheless, the atmosphere was excellent, the coffees looked and (in the case of the simmering nectarines especially) smelt wonderful. And L'Affare was in fine form with the drinks we could obtain there. The winner, from Feilding, was probably the best presented, for me, which might argue if the quality of coffee made that much difference, if I were the cynical type. Ahem. I'd also guess that the judges didn't see him remove the hair from his speciality drink... 15 minutes to make 4 espressos (espressi?), 4 cappuccinos(cappuccini?) and 4 of the speciality. Tough task! The guy pictured above was probably my pick, but he did run over time quite a lot.

Phoenix 3 - 0 Newcastle Jets

Good atmosphere, rubbish opposition (they should have won comfortably instead of this apparent hammering), fortunate Phoenix and dreadful refereeing. I have no real comprehension of what happened. One good goal, 2 poor ones (although the actual penalty kick was very well taken) and some great saves from what should have been simple finishes for the Jets.

So confused I'll just have to write more later.

Manchester City 0 - 3 Nottingham Forest

We're going to be on the news everywhere today! And for the good reasons, too.As an aside, when I arrived in Singapore it was late and I turned on the telly. Flicking through a few channels I got to a sport one, and there was Joe Garner's 30 yard chip. The fact that it was followed by a home spanking by Doncaster and the predictable sacking of a likeable but somewhat ineffectual manager meant that it couldn't really be viewed in hindsight as an omen... until now!

Yay!

Bintan

No piccies, sorry. Actually, there are a few, but my travelling companions took them, so it is up to them to show them if they wish. Nur nur ne ner nur.

Sleep, swimming, sunburn and a good book, with fun cocktails and some general pampering went a very long way. Well, not that far, but far enough. And the New Year's Eve party was awesome. A good band (despite a simply dreadful Simply Red cover, and an almost unrecognisable "Come On Eileen"). Even I danced. And, no doubt, sometime soon my knees and thighs will recover from the unaccustomed activity.

Melaka/Malacca

Let's not talk about the immigration and border controls. Or the traffic. Instead I'll mention an odd reminiscence. Maybe it was the shape of the streets, or the smell (subconscious), but Melaka reminded me of Nanjing. There are several peculiar things about this: I didn't especially enjoy NJ at the time, but in hindsight it has really been rather stimulating - some of my more vivid and positive memories of China came from there. Melaka is a fraction of the size and has a stronger western influence (having had Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial influence) but something about it or me triggered memories. I'm sure it wasn't just the stairs. Although the stairs would probably be a factor... 

Johore Baru

And, just as a bonus... photographic evidence

The Sultanate of Johore Baru's gardens.

(just a statute - I saw no crocs)

But some weird, alien tree parasite...

The building on the right is the old British colonial administration apparently. I found it a very interesting style of building.