Author: postcardscribblesblog

PC 467 Hope News Continues

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“Sorry Richard! That took a long time. Coming back from the loo I got side-tracked by Josh who wanted to ask about my mother. I have read your postcards about your Australia – New Zealand trip (PCs 458, 459, 460, 462, 463 & 464) ….. you obviously had a good time, jetlag notwithstanding. Anything you haven’t mentioned?”

“Now you’ve reminded me, in Perth, walking back from Kings Park, we came across a couple of young chaps standing beside their car which had a flat front tyre. They looked rather pathetic, so I asked if they had a problem.”

“No! Thanks! My brother/cousin/flat mate’s coming to give us a hand.”

“But you’ve only got a flat tyre. Can’t you change it?”

“Never had to before; no idea how to! Here’s the jack, but where does that go?”

“So …..” and I get a look from Celina as I have a mild hernia and shouldn’t force anything, “…… the first thing to do is loosen the wheel nuts whilst the wheel is on the ground. Good garages will tighten them with a torque wrench; others use an impact wrench which can easily exceed the recommended torque (Note 1) and they are almost impossible to undo.”

At that point their brother/cousin/flat mate turned up, looking reasonably confident, so I left them to it but mentioning a torque wrench reminded me of my Army Service.

In 1968, 27 Medium Regiment moved from Devizes, Wiltshire to Lippstadt, Germany, swapping our towed 5.5̋ howitzers for the self-propelled M109. The latter had seven idler wheels between the track sprockets. Each wheel was attached by a number of large nuts, which we assumed had to be tightened to the maximum. After three months in Germany, the Aluminium idler wheels were showing signs of extreme wear and many had to be replaced. Eventually the problem was identified; the tightness of the nuts needed to be to a certain torque, and that could only be achieved by using a torque wrench, not by Gunner Elrick who believed they should be as tight as physically possible.”

“Live and learn huh! Although these days some newer cars don’t seem to have a spare tyre! By the way, have you ever watched ‘Celebrity Who Dares Wins’, one of those celebrity television programmes where you don’t know any of the contestants? I’m sure you have; anyway, I was fascinated to listen to some of the individual ‘back stories ’in the last series. There was a man whose family were very committed to their church. As a six-year-old he was horrified to be told by the pastor that he had demons that needed to be exorcised. As an adult he questioned how someone could be so cruel. Another contestant’s career was going well, until her sister died suddenly and she had to step in and look after her eight children.”

“Ready-made family!”

“Exactly, but can you imagine that, your own plans and ideas for your life suddenly and completely put on hold? Anyway, then there was a black ex-footballer who recalled not being able to find a UK club so signed for Lithuania, only to be the subject of racist chants from the stands: ‘Zigger zigger, kill the nigger!’ And finally there was a singer auditioning for the show X Factor, who got wasted one evening, was raped by the hotel porter, …… and became the victim when thrown off the show. Years later these experiences are life-defining. Talking of life defining, how are your daughter’s house renovation coming on?”

“Certainly life defining, but in a pleasant way. I drove up to see her and the state of the house during Half Term week. So often these days I need to break my journey for a pee-break.

“Isn’t there some theory that one of the factors in the cause of vehicle accidents is the full bladder of the driver?”

“I have heard, yes, that but not sure whether it’s based on any statistics. Not the sort of question you ask someone who’s just been involved in an accident: “Excuse me, do you need to go to the loo?”

“No! I guess not! Anyway, you were saying …..”

“I pulled into the layby on the Hogs Back, a prominent ridge running east west between Guildford and Farnham and know as the Hogs Back since the time of Jane Austen, knowing the little café had some loos.

The lay-by and little café can be seen on the right of the dual carriageway

It was raining quite heavily and I scurried down the concrete path, following the signs to the loos, which were round the back. I get to the Men’s; it’s locked and you need a code, presumably from the café. My expectation was that the loo would be open and I am getting desperate – and wet! There is no alternative but to water the weeds growing between the cracks in the concrete.”

“I am sure that happens to a lot of men; we women don’t really have that option! Have you been watching the historian David Olusoga’s ‘Empire’ three-part series on the BBC?”

“I have, Mo, and I’m glad I have, as so often you get the ‘British Empire was bad’ bias whereas David’s tried to create balance and a modern reflection. I was fascinated by the explanation of the Indentured Labour Scheme, brought in to provide the sugar plantations with workers after the abolition of slavery in 1834.”

“It was a huge success for the plantation owners, but most workers came from the poorest parts of British India, and many were unaware of the long distance they would travel and indeed the terms of their contract. They were paid a paltry sum and had to stay for five years. The scheme was active for 80 years and its results can be seen today in the significant communities of Indian descent in South Africa, East Africa, the Caribbean and Mauritius.  Why were you fascinated by this?”

“David mentioned how Prime Minister Gladstone’s father had owned sugar plantations in Guyana and was one of the major instigators of the Indentured Labour Scheme. One of our yoga chums, Serena Wells, is from Guyana and she and her father are going to try and find out more about their family history, as ‘Wells’ was a common surname for slaves.”

“Now that will be interesting. Oh! Look, there’s Sami and Lisa …..”

Richard 28th November 2025

Hove

www.postcardscribbles.co.uk

PS Why have Christmas decorations suddenly appeared in mid-November? Now the radio stations are broadcasting carols! Humbug?!

Note 1 Wheel nuts should be torqued to between 80 and 160 Nm (Newton-meter)

PC 466 Hope News

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Hadn’t been into The Hope Café since our return from New Zealand, although I had caught up with Sami in Gail’s one afternoon (See PC 461 ‘Bumped into Sami’ 17 October 2025). On Wednesday it was cold and raining so perfect for a coffee in convivial surroundings. I find Mo sitting at one of the tables, with a couple of books she’d obviously bought from Duncan’s bookshop next door.

“Oh! Hi! Richard. Come and join me and tell me what you’ve been up to.”

I ignored the question! “New books? What have you bought Mo?”

“’The CEO; The Rise and Fall of Britain’s Captains of Industry’ and Saul David’s latest book, Tunisgrad, about the battle for Tunis and subsequent victory in May 1943 in Africa during the Second World War. As you know I love history and this looks fascinating.

“Not sure about the CEO book but, if you find it good, let me know. I read Saul David’s book ‘Victoria’s Wars’ and then met him.”

“Not name dropping?”

“No! No! No! In 2007 I went on a tour of the ‘Sites of the Indian Mutiny’ (Note 1) and he was our historical guide, giving colour and meaning to what we saw and heard. Afterwards I bought his book ‘Victoria’s Wars’ which explained just how the Empire expanded in the queen’s reign, thanks to adventurers and successful military opportunists. At its height the empire covered about 24% of the earth’s land mass and some 450 million people. Anyway, I thought you would have bought the latest local author Peter James’ book – it’s about the Royal Family, isn’t it?

“No idea – used to love his books but like anyone continuing a series, they become a little samey and he’s got it into his head that he has to include little ‘bon mots’ or modern sayings to give his writing more gravitas!! Of course, at this time of the year all my regular writers like John Grisham and Lee Child bring out their annual offering. Now, how are you?”

“Well, a regular blood and stool test worried my GP and she thought I should have a colonoscopy.”

“Why?”

“William my late nephew died aged 18 in 2002 of Bowel Cancer, so this was not the first time I have had to suffer the indignity of someone I had never met inserting firstly their finger then a tube up my arse. But if one’s GP suggests it, you should have one; just in case. You’ve probably never had one of these procedures; in preparation for it you have to clear your intestines, and this is achieved by drinking two litres of something called Moviprep. It’s a chemical concoction designed to flush out one’s colon; the ingredients, Sodium Sulphate, Sodium Chloride, Potassium, Ascorbic acid and something called Macrogol, which probably doesn’t appear on the periodic table, are enough to frighten anyone.

One of the often-quoted reasons for Britain leaving the European Union was the desire take control of our borders. Not only have the number of ‘small boats’ crossing the English Channel with illegal immigrants increased but our Health Service now seems to rely on individuals born overseas. My snapshot of the Endoscopy Department in The Royal Sussex County Hospital bears this out. There were two Endoscopists, Mrs Jane Machinjike, from Zimbabwe, and Dr Nabeel Akhtar and two nurses, Mr Ashik from Kerala in Southern India and Ms Shrishti Maharjan from The Philippines. Worse still there’s not only an audience, in this case two nurses and two endoscopists, but the only programme on the two screens was of someone’s insides – odd when you realise it’s one’s own. What else’s happening Mo?”

“My mother’s residential home in Shoreham recently had a Fire Equipment Inspection and the company carrying it out wrote to tell her when they would be ‘on site’. I read the important piece, when and at what time …..

 ….. and thought we’ve got our knickers in a twist! It’s either 1700 or 5:00 pm. I was nerdy enough to drop them an email and ‘William’ said he would look into it and thanked me! The same happened when I booked a haircut – the App said ‘03:00pm’ – and clearly it should be either 1500 or 3:00pm, or even 3 o’clock! This is a little like a rash. I had a hire car the other day; when I collected it the time on the dashboard said 0920. Later the same day, in the afternoon, the clock said 0335. What’s going on?    

“What indeed Mo! You know we went to London to have a pre-birthday lunch with chums last month?”

“Where did you go?”

“Colbert in Sloane Square; used to be Oriels and has a simple menu. And it’s easy to get to – into Victoria railway station and then one stop on the District or Circle Underground lines.”

“Ah! Yes! I’ve also been there. How was your journey?”

“Actually, our direct Southern train from Hove was delayed by engineering works which meant a diversion. As we arrived in Victoria the driver announced we were 23 minutes late and we could claim some refund?”

“Really? That’s remarkable. And did you?

“I did. Southern will give you 25% of a single journey fare if the delay is between 15 minutes and 29 minutes and 50% refund if it’s between 30 and 59 minutes. Not sure what happens if it’s over that!! I went online, filled out the details including our ticket number, and got a refund of £4.10 per ticket.”

“You’re well brought up Richard so I suspect you would have been as horrified as I was. Watched the reality TV programme Celebrity Traitors; at some point the contestants were filmed eating. Like pigs at the trough; knives as weapons, stuck in the air, to balance the fork sticking in the air, holding them like some dagger, or even like drum sticks, talking with their mouth open …. I was surprised someone wasn’t using their fingers. Horrified and disgusted in equal measure, like watching cavemen.”

“As a Gunner Captain, I was being run to be ADC to the C-in-C BAOR, General Harry Tuzo and had to have the ‘Knife & Fork’ test, that is have lunch with him and his wife, Lady Tuzo. I passed!”

          “Hey, I need to have a pee; back in five.”

Richard 21st November 2025

Hove

http://www.postcardscribbles.co.uk

Note 1 The Indian Mutiny took place in 1857; it resulted in much bloodshed on both sides and changed the way India was governed.

PC 465 Wait …….

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‘Wait ….. pause ….. expect ….’

In October our yoga studio was host to a Teacher Training Course for Yoga Shape Shifting (Note 1), run by Mary Jarvis from The United States. During the fortnight our normal 10 o’clock class was occasionally taught by one of the team doing the training. It’s good to have someone other than your regular teachers, as you pick up their personal preferences, individual take on certain postures; some you think: ‘that’s good’. One such woman, Sheila (pronounced Sheyla) (Note 2) from Florida, was an extremely empathetic teacher, imparting her knowledge and passion in equal measure. At some point, when we were in savasana, she asked us to wait ….. wait in the moment ….. and not start thinking about what’s coming next.

For instance: “Now for the first sit-up. Feet together, arms over your head …….”

We should start with the dictionary definition:

Wait: verb; Abstain from action or departure till some expected event occurs; pause, tarry (Ed: linger); expectant or on watch. Await, bide; act as attendant on person; wait upon, pay respects; defer (a meal for instance) until someone arrives. As a noun; lie in wait ie ambush or waits, street singers particularly of Christmas Carols.

There is an implied expectation that something will happen, is just about to happen, when you wait! The author Charles Dickens even suggested that when writing a novel which would be published as a series, you should “Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry, make ‘em wait.”; the suspense inherent in the next episode.  

Not sure about you but so often a phrase or quotation, or even misquotation (!), pops up into my consciousness. When I thought I could write something about ‘wait’ …… up came “‘Tarry a while’ said Slow”. From where? Well, it’s one of those nursery rhymes whose full verse goes:

“To bed! To bed!” says Sleepy-head.

“Tarry a while,” said Slow.

“Put on the pan”, says greedy Nan;

“We’ll sup before we go.”

When you hear it narrated for the first time, it’s as if ‘Slow’ is a person and sometimes it’s written ‘says Slow’ which makes it all the more confusing! Actually the word ‘slow’ refers to how the words ‘tarry a while’ should be spoken, ie in a gentle, soothing, slow tone!

‘Wait’ features in some proverbs, the most well-known perhaps, ‘Time and tide wait for no man’, something as a sailor I recognise. Then there’s the French proverb ‘All things come to those who wait’ – suggesting that patience and persistence can lead to achieving your goals or finding success. But ‘We’ll wait and see’ sounds a little like prevarication, sitting on the fence?

My Labrador Tom (2001 – 2012) came through Labrador Rescue, run by Mindy Randall. He was a magnificent animal, although his ‘hip scores’ meant the owner couldn’t bred from him and put him up to be rehoused. He was a big chap, some 38kgs when he arrived and full of energy. He needed to be taught who the ‘Pack Leader’ was and one thing I tried was imitating eating out of his food bowl. I would put his died food in the bowl, pop a few Carr’s Water Biscuits on top, lift the bowl and eat a cracker in front of him. He learned to wait, for his leader to eat first, but the waterfall of saliva that fell from his jowls was awful!!  

Often, we wait for the perfect timing to take some action and there’s a great example when sailing. To tack a yacht, to move the bow through the direction of the wind, requires changing the headsail sheets (ropes!) from one side to the other; generally the large mainsail will move over by itself. Once your crew are ready the person on the helm shouts: ‘Ready About!’ and hopefully gets the response ‘ready’.

Somewhere in the middle of the North Atlantic

An experienced helms person will wait for the right moment, maybe catching the right wave or getting enough clearance to round a buoy, and then shouts ‘Helm’s a lee’ or more commonly ‘lee ho’, pushing the helm to the leeward, as opposed to windward, side of the yacht. The bow comes through the wind, the sails are pulled across and the sheets made good.

There’s a certain amount of waiting when it comes to parachuting and particularly in the sequence of events just before you leave the aircraft. In 1966, during an Easter break from Officer Training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, I learned the basics of parachuting. After ground training in a hangar, we took to the air in a lumbering Dakota, or similar as I am no aeroplane buff, and eventually lined up by the open door as we approached the drop zone.

(This stock photo features a much more modern aeroplane!)

A red light cast an eerie glow on the faces of us horrified students as we waited for a green light. The light turned green, the instructor shouted: “Green On! Go!”, we knew what to expect and, without much hesitation, the whole stick followed one another out ……

At school I played a trumpet in the Brass Section of the orchestra; over a year we would perform concerts, support opera productions and play in local festivals.

You learned to wait, waiting for the indication from the conductor to play a particular section. For example, we performed Sibelius’s second symphony in which, towards the finale, there’s a moment when, after a rising crescendo, the silence hangs, everyone is poised …… and then the wait’s over, and the trumpets sound.

The cry: ‘Wait! Wait!’ in any phase of love making could be interpreted as expectation or anticipation or frustration or even criticism, depends on the tone of the voice …. and a number of other things!

I love coincidences; here’s another. I have just finished the fifth novel of Mick Herron’s Slough House series, London Rules. The very last line is: “But mostly, Slough House waits.” A very apt end to these scribbles!

That …. and this!

savasana

Richard 14th November 2025

Hove

http://www.postcardscribbles.co.uk

Note 1 The definition of Shape Shifting is the ability of an imaginary person or creature to change itself into a different shape or form. In the yoga field, this has come to mean ‘the original life changing transformational Yoga practice created by Mary Jarvis’.

Note 2 Not to be confused with Lola by The Kinks 1979 – “I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice said, Lola – L-O-L-A – Lola.” Could imagine someone singing Sheyla, S-H-E-yla, Sheyla or even Layla, L-A-Y-la (Eric Clapton)

PC 464 On to South Island

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Fourteen years on from Christchurch’s 2011 earthquake, there are many buildings still not rebuilt. The city’s cathedral is one and, rather than leave it a ruin like Coventry’s in the UK after the Second World War, it’s half rebuilt and the money’s run out.

This was taken from a book about the earthquake

And as it is now ….

Of course, today other parts of New Zealand need State Funding, and they argue Christchurch’s had enough!

Third-cousin Debs Nation used to work for Radio New Zealand and lives in Lyttelton, over the hill from the city. Her brother Gerald also lives in Christchurch; this photograph from some years ago!

Her son Henry and daughter-in-law Lou work for the civil service in the New Zealand capital Wellington, at the bottom of North Island. Her daughter Tessa runs an emporium of New Zealand-made products situated in The Arts Centre in Christchurch.

She’s called the store Frances Nation after her maternal grandmother.

It’s a huge success and one of those places where it’s impossible, once you’ve entered, not to purchase something!

More recently she and her wife Emma have opened ‘Peaches’, a café in Linewood Village. Given that her grandmother’s maiden name was Hope I had suggested she call it The Hope Café, then the one here could claim to be international, but it was not to be. Her father’s surname is Peach so …..

I sense that white New Zealand is attached to the United Kingdom by an invisible umbilical cord. The receptionist in The George Hotel in Christchurch was from Manchester and Mark, on the concierge’s staff, has a sister who holds a senior position in the NHS on north London. A woman who ran a gift shop where I bought some soap eggs ……

has a sister in England.

We were lucky enough to have some beautiful spring weather in Christchurch

and the city has a great atmosphere. The George Hotel where we stayed was a good choice, not something I could say about the carpet in the corridor outside our room. You would not want to be confronted by this on your return from a boozy night out!

South Island is rich with stunning scenery; for instance the beautiful Milford Sound in its Fiordland in the southwest,

…. but I wanted to revisit one particular view, the one as you come up out of Burke’s Pass on the way to Lake Tekapo. We took the direct route from Christchurch to Geraldine, a classic NZ farming town, and stopped for lunch.

Twenty minutes out of the town we pulled into one of those designated ‘Scenic Viewpoints’, the Geraldine Fairlie Lookout, and gazed over a classic New Zealand rural landscape.

Up through Burke’s Pass …… and you have to stop ….. and take this view in.

A very flat expanse of countryside and then, on the horizon, the Southern Alps. It reminded me of a trip many decades ago, driving down to Rome from Germany. Passed Strasbourg, passed Colmar and suddenly, before you get to Basel, you see the European Alps filling the horizon.

New Zealand’s Southern Alps

Breathtaking in every sense; I could have stayed a long time, just sitting, just looking, in silence, in awe. 100% Pure New Zealand!

We had booked a night in the Grand Suites Lake Tekapo, essentially accommodation only but to a high standard. Dave the South African manager says it’s very popular in the summer as a base for trekking, mountain biking, exploring.

Lake Tekapo is known for the remarkable blue colour of its water, caused by rock flour, finely ground particles of rock brought down by the glaciers at the head of the lake and held in suspension in the melt water.

Then above the lake, because of the purity of the atmosphere, the University of Canterbury has an observatory on Mount John to the west of the town, from where there are glorious views of the lake and to the west, of New Zealand’s highest mountain, Mount Cook (3755m); not to mention the stars in the night sky.

Mount Cook

Lake Tekapo fills what’s known as the Mackenzie Basin

The Church of the Good Shepherd is one of the most photographed buildings in the whole of New Zealand. Built in 1935, the architect Richard Harman based his design on sketches done by a local artist, Esther Hope. And here’s a family connection: Esther neé Barker married Deb Nation’s grandfather’s brother Tom Hope. Today a manager runs the agricultural and Merino sheep side of the Grampian Hope Farm leaving the family to concentrate on the artistic activities.

It’s difficult to get a photograph of the church without capturing some of the 600,000 tourists who now visit annually. (Note 1)

A donation into a wooden box inside the church and chatting up the volunteer who was there to ensure no one takes photographs inside, and there’s no wonder why people want to come and see this, heaven and earth and all between.

I sense we met a large proportion of the tourists, either in the supermarket buying supplies for their self-catering accommodation or where we had supper, as pork seemed to be everyone’s choice! They come because they want to experience what they’ve seen in photographs; I suspect they don’t want to see too many other people. There needs to be a balance between the wish of individuals to go and see places and the need to restrict numbers to preserve the very reason people go!

We drove back to Christchurch via the scenic route

which took us over the Rakaia gorge and river just north of Methven.

Back in The George in Christchurch for one night before our return via Singapore home. We were blessed with clear flying conditions as we flew over the Southern Alps

And later over the central section of Australia, which looks like another planet!

Richard 7th November 2025

Hove

www.postcardscribbles.co.uk

PS We were lucky with the weather at Lake Tekapo. A week ago this was how the road from Geraldine looked!

Note 1 Thanks to the ‘clean’ option on my iPhone I can erase the tourists!

PC 463 More from Down Under

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Other highlights from our time in Auckland were attending a hot yoga session in the Hiyoga studio on Queens Street, experiencing the local rail network when we went out to Des & Gleneth’s in Meadowbank for supper, seeing Cornwall Park where we met Michael & Angela and Des & Gleneth for lunch in The Bistro, and being lucky enough to stay in the Sofitel Viaduct Hotel, which was very central and comfortable. During our time in Auckland, England’s Women’s team The Lionesses played Canada in the Rugby World Cup final on Saturday 27th September. Cousin Michael in Victoria on Vancouver Island found a pub at 0800 local time to watch the match; in Auckland the time for the kick-off was at 0400 local on the Sunday, so I watched the highlights!

After checking out of our hotel, we picked up a hire car and drove down to Rotorua. Known for its lively geothermal activity, it’s an area of New Zealand I wanted Celina to see. Of course, there is so much of New Zealand that’s gorgeous; another two hours’ drive further south we could have seen Mount Ruapehu, one of the country’s largest volcanos and Lake Taupo.

Mount Ruapehu

Rotorua is also the home of distant cousin Peter & Gwenda Russell and their daughter Anna & husband Paul. We checked in to the On the Point hotel with its glorious view across the lake ….

… and drove out to their home. I’d first met Peter & Gwenda in London almost twenty years ago, been to stay in their then house in Tauranga and now find them co-located with their daughter Anna. How we live out our later years is a challenge for all of us; The Russells are a good example of how to do it. Gwenda developed a huge interest in our Nation family story and remains curious and enthusiastic, adding for instance a little colour where none existed.

Anna & Paul recommended we visit Te Puia – ‘a place that changes you’ – and it did just that the following morning. Patrick, our engaging Māori guide,

took us first to the New Zealand Māori Arts & Crafts Institute, where students are trained in carving and weaving, using traditional techniques.

A Master craftsman was concentrating on a little wood carving while elsewhere an apprentice was sharpening a chisel. The craftswomen weave beautiful bags, made from New Zealand flax, but they are expensive; for instance, the second left on the bottom row around £210.

I found the whole enterprise fascinating and, in another life, might have become a student!

The Kiwi, a small flightless bird, is recognised as an icon of New Zealand and the human population are often referred to as Kiwis. It’s the smallest of the ‘ratites’ family, which includes ostriches, emus and rheas. In Te Puia there are a number of these nocturnal birds in a carefully controlled habitat. Obviously, photography is forbidden in their hide but this photograph shows a stuffed bird and its eggs. Think the eggs rather large for a small bird; must be painful?

Mud pools, grey and bubbling, …….

…… form the backdrop to the Pōhutu geyser, which erupts once or twice an hour. It’s easy to become completely mesmerised by the constantly evolving geothermal landscape but eventually we had to move on.

We left, as the brochure suggests, changed, thoughtful,

.. and drove back to Auckland.

As you do when you hire a car, you look for the last possible petrol station, so you deliver the car back with a full tank of fuel. We had a very new Yaris ‘something’ and I knew the fuel cap was on the passenger side of the car. We pulled up to the pump, I walked around to the panel covering the fuel cap and pressed ….. and pressed …. and pulled ….. and pressed again …… I looked in the car for some lever ….. couldn’t find one, went back and pressed again. Just then James, or Nick or Good Samaritan appeared; filling up his own truck, he’d seen me making a fool of myself, Googled the make of my car and came around and said: “Oh! There’s a level under the dash somewhere” …. and so there was, not obvious (obviously!).  

We caught an Air New Zealand flight to Christchurch, a city a third of the way down South Island and, glancing out of the window as we crossed the coast, I could make out Farewell Spit where great grandmother Eve was shipwrecked in 1877. (See PCs 169 Shifting Sands & Feathers and 170 100% Pure New Zealand January 2020)

New Zealand lies on one of the many fault lines of the earth’s crust, this one between the Indo-Australian and Pacific Plates, part of the Pacific Basin Ring of Fire. To keep it in perspective, about 14,000 earthquakes occur in and around the country each year, of which some 175 are big enough to be felt. Within living memory, the February 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake, also known as the Napier earthquake, remains the country’s deadliest natural disaster. Two hundred and fifty-six people died when the quake, with a magnitude of 7.8, devasted the Hawke’s Bay region; aftershocks continued for two weeks.

The disaster prompted a review of the country’s building codes, deemed woefully inadequate. By way of illustration, today there are only four buildings in the Hawke’s Bay region taller than five storeys. In Christchurch on 22nd February 2011, a total of 185 people died, more that 7000 were injured and over 10,000 made homeless when a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the city. (Note 1) It caused over NZ$52.2 billion’s worth of damage.

If you live in a part of the world which is prone to earthquakes, there’s not much you can do about it, except be vigilant ….. and maybe have a ‘Go Bag’ always handy! We were planning to stay for a few days in Christchurch, so the topic wasn’t mentioned – a little like not watching an aeroplane disaster film when you’re about to fly somewhere!

Continues in PC 464 ….. next week

Richard 31st October 2025

Hove

www.postcardscribbles.co.uk

Note 1 Seventeen days before the first Nation family get together in Auckland.

PC 462 Western Australia to New Zealand.

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The twenty-metre-tall Cape Naturaliste lighthouse was activated in 1904, became fully automated in 1978 but remained fully staffed until 1996. Before automation, the rotation of the light was achieved by a gearing system whose weight was wound up (just like the pendulum of a grandfather clock) every 45 minutes. Staff watches were 4 hours on, eight off, every day of the year.

Whales in Alaska

Celina and I have seen whales off the coast in Alaska (see PCs 44 and 45 June 2015) and in WA we were lucky enough to be here at the start of the annual whale migration, from their wintering north of Australia where they calved, to their summer feeding grounds in the Southern Ocean. Whilst you could see them surfacing and breathing, they were so far offshore that no iPhone photograph was going to do more than capture a moment of broken water in the distance. Even so, quite magical!

On the way back to Cape Lodge we stopped off at the beach at Yallingup. My brother-in-law Carlos would have loved the surf.

At the lodge Josefinna had messaged us to say she’d seen some kangaroos up near the entrance. We found three, but leaving the following day we found more than a dozen up near Petra’s Olive Oil plantation.

In my last postcard I mentioned that the Aboriginal people have six seasons. Just for interest, and they vary throughout WA and across Australia, the Wadandi’s Noongar are Birak (hot & dry) December and January; Bunuru (warm easterly wind) February and March; Djeran (Cool and pleasant) April and May; Makuru (Cold and wet) June and July; Djilba (Cold lessening rain) August and September; and Kambarang (longer dry periods) October and November. I rather like this, although I wonder how much climate change will alter them.

Acceptance by the settlers of Australia of the Aboriginal people and their beliefs is everywhere. For instance, this is a footnote on the Cape Lodge welcome letter: “We acknowledge the Wadandi people, the Traditional Owners of the land and waterways on which we operate. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and future.”

Back to Perth for our evening flight to Auckland. Ms Francisquinha was very chuffed as one of the border force officers found a stamp for her passport.

Another four-hour time shift saw us arrive in a very wet dawn in Auckland at 0600 (0200 WA Time!). New Zealand has extremely strict environmental laws, basically forbidding one to bring in anything! Celina surrendered her half-opened Lindt chocolate or might have found herself fined hundreds of dollars.

Auckland’s Sky Tower

This is not the first time Celina and I have been together to New Zealand. In January 2017 we stayed in the Coromandel at Whitianga (PC 88) and in 2019 explored Farewell Spit and Marlborough Sounds, on the northern coast of South Island (PC 169 Shifting Sands & Feathers and PC 170 100% Pure New Zealand). This year’s visit was to attend the ‘Celebration of Life’ of Dinah Warren. She had died in April this year and her five children had organised a ‘get together’ at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland.

Auckland marina

In this photograph taken towards the end of the celebration, you will notice on the far wall on the right what looks like a framed pair of red socks.

These belonged to Peter Blake.

Peter hanging up the red socks

For an explanation see Note 1 below.

Back in March 2011 I had organised, with others, the first Nation get together, deliberately coinciding with the 130th anniversary of the death of my great great grandfather Henry Matthew Nation (HMN). In the same hotel in Parnell was one Dinah Warren (HMN was her great grandfather) and she persuaded me to help her get some flowers to put around the plaque we had placed on his grave.

On this trip Des & Gleneth Laery took us out to St Stephen’s Cemetery to see HMN’s grave.

I dug out the group photograph from March 2011

Dinah Warren is directly behind me!

Regular readers of these scribbles will know all about Francisquinha, our stuffed rabbit with her own personality and passport, who accompanies us on our travels (see PC 172 Francisquinha February 2020 and PC 217 ‘My Week – Francisquinha February 2021).

In the ‘order of tribute’ booklet for Dinah’s celebration was an extract from her favourite story, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. It read: ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or who have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you’re Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose on your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.’

Her grandchildren believed ‘Dinah’s greatest gift of her life was being Real, being Real through being loved. She believed that’s how we all become real – not by how we look, but by loving deeply, and being loved, even as life wears us in (sic).’

I only met Dinah a couple of times, once in London and then when we bought those lilies. But I, and Francisquinha who has read the story, think this is a great way to be remembered, so I had to include it in this postcard.

Richard 24th October 2025 (My birthday!)

Hove

http://www.postcardscribbles.co.uk

Note 1 Thanks to Wikipedia (!) Sir Peter James Blake KBE (1 October 1948 – 5 December 2001) was a New Zealand yachtsman who won the 1989–1990 Whitbread Round the World Race, held the Jules Verne Trophy from 1994 to 1997 by setting the around-the-world sailing record as co-skipper of ENZA New Zealand along with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, and led New Zealand to successive victories in the America’s Cup. In the 1995 America’s Cup challenge, Peter Blake wore some red socks his wife had given him; the team made a clean sweep, beating American Dennis Conner 5-0 …. and the red socks became Peter’s trademark. Peter Blake was shot and killed by pirates while monitoring environment change on the Amazon River on 5 December 2001. He was 53 years old.

PC 461 Bumped into Sami

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There’s been so much to write about from our time in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand that I wondered whether I should pause this week and scribble about something else. Coincidentally I bumped into Sami outside Gail’s at the bottom of George Street here in central Hove the other afternoon, so we popped in for a small cake and a coffee; walking to The Hope Café would take too long!

Luana, a Brazilian living in Hove, was not on shift; they have a high turnover of staff and I don’t recognise anyone, then the local manager Steve comes down from upstairs. It’s quieter on the first floor so we go up there!

Sami starts the chit-chat.

“Good to get a fresh perspective on life through travelling, isn’t it? I know I certainly do and you know what, people moan about the state of the United Kingdom, but every country has issues, often exactly the same as ours!”.

“You’re right, Sami. Talking to a relative who works in the health care system in Rotorua in New Zealand, about the crisis in the young and their ‘mental health’, she says it’s exactly the same there. Most have been allowed to opt out of working, whereas they should be encouraged to opt in! Whilst I was in New Zealand I read of the very interesting developments here with regard to the use of weight-loss drugs to combat obesity.”

“You thinking of our gallant Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting?”

“Indeed. He wants to make these weight-loss drugs more freely available through the NHS. Personally, I think this is absolutely the wrong approach to tackling the country’s fat-verging-on-obesity crisis. Then I read Emma Duncan’s column in The Times ‘The UK’s Addiction to State benefits can be broken’. Think she’s bang on when she writes: “Although genes play a role, the primary determinants of obesity are what you eat, how much you eat and how much you exercise. Obesity is thus largely a matter of personal choice. Unfortunately, the government is reluctant to conduct a campaign like the one on the dangers of smoking, because it fears that fat people would be offended by the implication that they are responsible for their excess weight.” And you’ve heard my views before. Unless you are force-fed, you alone are responsible for putting food into your mouth!”

“I saw this the other morning in an NHS hospital waiting room; the left hand one stopped me in my tracks! Sign of the times huh!”

“OMG! No way?”

“Ah! Yes! ‘Personal Choice’. Isn’t that the one of the very basic differences between socialism and conservatism? Socialism regards people as the victims of impersonal economic forces. Conservatism sees them as individuals in charge of their own destiny. Labour voters are much likelier to believe that “people’s success in life depends mostly on factors beyond their control”; Conservatives that it is the consequence of “their own merit and efforts”. Then we have this ridiculous nonsense about ‘mental health’. Because political parties need voters’ approval, they are unwilling to tell people uncomfortable truths — such as that feeling anxious and stressed is a normal part of working life! Have you written any letters to The Times recently Richard?”

“Funnily enough …… being married to a Brazilian encourages me to keep up-to-date about their macro issues, like the trial of ex-President Bolsonaro. I read this in The Times on the 12th September: “Bolsonaro will not be jailed immediately. He will remain under house arrest at his apartment within a gated compound in the capital, Brasilia. ­According to Brazilian law, a full appeal against the conviction is not possible because only one judge disagreed with the unanimous decision.”

“And you immediately thought it wasn’t a unanimous decision if one judge disagreed?”

“Exactly! Sadly, The Times didn’t publish my short letter. Then I realised that when you pronounce ‘unanimous’, it starts with a ‘you’ sound, whereas for instance ‘unambiguous’ starts with a ‘un’ sound. This is the English language, in all its complexity of pronunciation; then I thought of usual (you!) or unusual (un). Fascinating!”

“Whatever floats your boat!”

“Incidentally, Sami, do you have a will, outlining what should happen to your assets when you die?”

“Oh! Yes. Doesn’t take long and it makes sense, helping your executor sort out your estate. Why do you ask?”

“Families become complicated sometimes. We know of someone who settled in another country and told their father they didn’t want any share in his estate. For whatever reason, he either didn’t believe them, wanted to show his generosity, however misplaced, or didn’t make a will. Now they are continually being drawn back to sort out some legal tangle. There’s a lesson here; a will makes matters easier for those you leave behind.”

“Richard, have been meaning to ask you; when did you I start adding the geographic location of where your postcards are sent from, which, if it’s one about travel, maybe completely different?”

“I guess trying to be accurate! In years gone by I remember buying postcards abroad and, if the shop didn’t have sell stamps, forget to buy them somewhere else. I would find them in my suitcase when I got home and post them using a British stamp. Then I wondered what the recipient would have preferred, the photograph showing some exotic location, the foreign stamp or the simple message ‘thinking of you/wish you were here’.

“You still obsessed with your hot yoga?”

“Actually, I am and it’s one obsession I am happy to be controlled by. Great for staying reasonably fit, good for its mental challenge and I need a regular routine. On Friday it’s something of a milestone; it’ll be my 4000th session. I started in March 2009 so have averaged 250 per year for 16 years! Never too late, never too old to start; you thinking of joining Celina and me, Sami?”

“Er! Got to go, Richard. Good to see you and we’ll get together in The Hope Café shortly.”

And off he went, down the stairs, muttering to himself …. ‘If he thinks I’m going to ……’ then he was out of earshot!

Richard 17th October 2025

Hove

http://www.postcardscribbles.co.uk

PS I have an Excel spreadsheet that tracks my sessions …..

20096520163162023174
201022220171802024144
201133920183132025124
20123432019287
20132492020288
20142702021218
20152792022189

PC 460 Perth and The Margaret River WA

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I sent this WhatsApp to Mo, who’d asked why we were going to WA.

“Many years ago, someone recommended ‘Cloudstreet’ by Western Australian author Tim Winton. I read it and loved it enormously.

In summary: ‘The novel opens in 1943. Two poor families, the Lambs and the Pickles, flee their rural homes to share a large house called Cloudstreet in Perth, Western Australia. The two families contrast each other; the devoutly religious Lambs find meaning in hard work and God’s grace, while the Pickles hope for good luck and do not share the Lambs’ appetite for hard work.’

Since then I have read most of his subsequent books, like Dirt Music and Breathe and had Western Australia on my bucket list for years. And it’s true, it’s roughly the same distance from Singapore to Perth and from Perth to Sydney; Perth is also in the same Time Zone as Singapore.”

“Now I understand. So, what have you been up to?”

“Perth in September is between seasons and we caught a rather cool wind, especially compared with Singapore! So, we didn’t take the 30-minute train ride to visit Fremantle on the coast, nor the ferry to Rottnest Island to sit on the beach or look for the Quokka marsupial, but we did walk up to Kings Park and admire its views across the city.

In the park I took a few photos of a kookaburra up in a tree, but for some strange reason they failed to materialise. Doesn’t happen very often and when it does it’s infuriating. Fortunately, we found another one in Cape Lodge’s grounds that was equally photogenic. To round off the outside activities we walked Elizabeth Quay …… which was basically closed!”

“OK! Richard. I’ll catch you when you’re back. Safe travels and enjoy WA.”

 Later we went to Perth’s Art Gallery of Western Australia and I was very taken by Mrs Bundamurra’s painting ‘Kira Kiro spirits’. The card said:

“She often painted the Kira Kiro spirits that reside in and around the town of Kalumburu where she lived. There are good spirits and traditional dancers who sing about the yam and fruits that can be gathered when the wet season begins. Mrs Bundamurra had a strong connection to them which is how she was able to illustrate their animated, quirky nature.”

We all dream and sometimes our dreams are very vivid, sometimes they evaporate as soon as we wake, at other times their weirdness or strangeness lingers in our conscious. I wonder how I would paint these colourful thoughts, even the odd ethereal spirit, if indeed I could. Could you? I look at Mrs Bundamurra’s painting and marvel big time.

Normally I get very bored very quickly with museums, maybe 90 minutes max, but we spent about three hours in the WA Museum Boola Bardip, a fascinating collection of local culture and history. And somewhere in one of the galleries, one detailing skeletons of prehistoric animals found in this part of Australia ……

……. we found this little chap, the only living non-human on three floors of the museum. Felt he, or she (?), must have been lonely.

We checked out of our hotel, picked up a hire car, and headed south towards the Margaret River area which lies between Cape Naturaliste in the north and Cape Leeuwin in the south. The latter is the place where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean – the Indian Ocean current going north and the Southern Ocean current south.

Indulging ourselves, we’d booked three nights in Cape Lodge – “offering intimate accommodation and an award-winning restaurant, Cape Lodge is a hidden gem situated in a private paradise within Yallingup and the renowned Margaret River wine region. Its restaurant was recognised in Australia’s top 1% at the 2025 Good Food Guide Chef Hat Awards.”

Driving around this region, everywhere one looked were vineyards, some smaller than others; Cape Lodge has its own – ‘Sous Ciel’.

The stand-out memories of our stay are: The lovely staff, especially Josefinna, from Argentina, in reception and Lèa, from Normandy in France, who, at just 28, ran the restaurant; the restaurant’s food was beautiful, in a minimalistic way; ‘Vegetarian’ and ‘Australian’ don’t occupy the same page and one meal left Celina quite hungry; no matter how you treat a carrot, boil it, peel it, grill it, roast it, grate it, it’s still a carrot – and one needs more than one; the local kookaburra obliged with his best side…..

…… and the stars over the vineyard were exceptional (you have to look hard at this; the iPhone camera is excellent but this is stretching its abilities!

Geologically the area is mainly limestone on a lower stratum of granite. There are numerous caves; we drove south to the Mammoth Caves …..

….. and ooo’d and ah’d at the magnificent stalactites and stalagmites.

Lunch down on Prevelly Beach gave me the opportunity to paddle in the Indian Ocean for the first time in my life.

We drove up to the lighthouse on Cape Naturaliste, the cape named after the second ship in Frenchman Baudin’s mapping expedition of the coast.

The recognition of the ancient Aboriginal people and their influence is very poignant here in Western Australia. The Magaret River area is the home of the Wadandi people. By the lighthouse is this welcome: “The traditional name for this location is Kwirreejeenungup, the place with the beautiful view. Look out to the horizon, where the sun sets. That’s where the spirits of our ancestors travel to rest, until the spirit totem return back to the boodja (country). We have a close connection to the ocean, land, plants and animals and will continue to care for this land and its waters. Our six-season calendar guides us as we live in harmony with boodja. We are encouraged by nature’s changes such as the flowering of different plants and animal behavioural cycles. If you look after the boodja, the boodja will look after you.”

To be continued ……….

Richard 10th October 2025

Hove

www.postcardscribbles.co.uk

PC 459 Singapore ….. then Perth

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In Singapore we went to the Asian Civilisation Museum in Empress Place which had opened in 1997; it was within walking distance and there’s a fascinating collection of bits and bobs. The ‘bits and bobs’ are explained on the website thus:

“The Chinese collection is represented by fine Dehua porcelain figures, Taoist and Buddhistic statuary, export porcelain, calligraphy and other examples of decorative art. The South Asian Galleries feature statuary from a range of periods, early Buddhist art of India and South Indian woodwork, Nepali Tibetan bronzes, textiles, late medieval miniatures and colonial prints. The Southeast Asian collections are broad in scope and are rich in ethnological material. The Khoo Teck Puat Gallery is the permanent home for the cargo recovered from the Tang Shipwreck, a sunken 9th century trading ship bound for Iran and Iraq, discovered in 1998 off Belitung Island in the Java Sea. The recovered cargo comprises more than 60,000 well-preserved ceramics produced in China during the Tang dynasty (618–907), as well as objects of gold and silver. 

I particularly liked the three earthenware chaps rescued from an important tomb; the label said from between 206BC – 9AD in the Western Han dynasty. Wow!

The description said the bandy-legged chap would have sat on a wooden horse – but over 2000 years that had turned to dust.

Then there was an ancient bowl for your tropical fish collection. It was about a meter in diameter and painted with scenes from its construction.

A metal cast of one of Buddha’s feet was fascinating; the whole sole was covered in little metal pictures.

When we entered the museum we offered Singapore dollars in exchange for our entry tickets, only to be told it was a cashless museum. OK! So out with the debit card; no problem. Just around the corner in the first exhibition hall was a plastic box asking for small change ie cash for charity!

Now this is interesting, isn’t it? We don’t mind dropping some lose change into a container asking for a donation to a charity, but would you baulk if the same charity asked you to donate using your debit card? Nothing is ‘spare’ in your bank account, so how much would you give? Then you’d think you were being mean ……. but a handful of lose change? You probably wouldn’t count it!

Social media has meant it’s easy to stay in touch with or at least keep tabs on what our friends and family are up to. Celina, like most people, has a number of cousins; one, Ana Clara Sampaio nicknamed Caia, I met in Rio de Janeiro in September 2016 in a café on Copacabana’s Forte, with Celina and their cousin Bel:

At the time she had just started cabin crew training with United Airlines and today has clocked up nine years with their long-haul flights, working out of Chicago. Three days before we flew to Singapore, Celina found out that Caia was having a Singaporean holiday, at exactly the time we were there. We met for a very serendipitous drink at the roof top bar of The Fullerton Bay Hotel then supper.  

I was curious what had prompted Caia to work as cabin crew and compared her with our chum in Hove, Benedicte Deutsch, who decided to become a paramedic in mid-life. Apparently, her grandfather, Paulo de Oliveira Sampaio, was CEO of Panair do Brazil, the largest Brazilian Commercial aviation company 1929 – 1965. During the military dictatorship the company was forced out of operation, routes and assets seized by the government. The Supreme Court later ruled its bankruptcy a fraud and the company the victim of political persecution. His passion for aviation obviously rubbed off on her whenever they met.

It’s probably a good thing we left when we did, as Singapore is hosting the Formula 1 Street Racing Marina Bay circuit and Grand Prix – 26th September until 5th October.

Gradually the streets around the Fullerton Hotel were being constricted, fenced, barriered. Will be very noisy!

Ghosted by an ex-colleague whom we saw on our last visit; over six years ago, so what happened? Are they still around? Tried mobile, text, Facebook and LinkedIn before we left home. Nada! Zilch! They lived in Singapore and worked across the causeway in Malaysia. Time to move on? But what happened to them …….?

We boarded our late afternoon flight to Perth. As we entered our cabin there was a chap already on board who was completely pissed, remonstrating with a member of the cabin crew as to why he should be allowed to fly. “I vvv paid tttousands of dollars. Mush get back to MY wifey in Perf. Shhhhheees not well. Ivve don nothfin rong … not shhhor why u hve a prblem … I’ll jush sit here.” How he was allowed to emplane in the first place is a question I am sure the cabin crew were asking! Eventually Airport Security police arrived and he was taken off. The atmosphere palpably relaxed.

My iPhone pinged; my friend Mo from the Hope Café texting on WhatsApp.

“Hi! Richard. Just thought I could catch up; think you’re in Western Australia. Remind me why you wanted to go to Perth? How’s your trip so far? How’s Francisquinha?”

I replied: “Actually we’ve just arrived in a cool and cloudy Perth, so I’ll text you back when we’ve unpacked. Francisquinha? Rather fed up, if I’m honest. Both Singapore and Australia’s border checks have gone electronic – quick scan, a thumb print for me and we’re through. I asked officials in both countries what about a passport stamp for my stuffed rabbit. They laughed. (Francisquinha didn’t!) No one could find any form of stamp, let alone an ink pad – she was just sort of waved through, despite her complaining!”

Richard 3rd October 2025 (NZ Time)

Christchurch, New Zealand

http://www.postcardscribbles.co.uk

PC 458 Singapore – again (1)

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I covered our first visit to Singapore in 2019 in PC 168 Singapore. One of that postcard’s paragraphs is worth repeating here:

“Singapore is a small island (50 kms east to west, 27 kms north to south; about 720 sq kms) strategically situated between the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and the Pacific, on the trading routes from China and Japan to Europe. Its unique position was appreciated by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles who in 1819 developed it as a trading port. In December 1941, during World War Two, Japan invaded Malaya at about the time it attacked Pearl Harbour. A few weeks later, in February 1942 it overran Singapore and some 90,000 troops became prisoners of war. It was subsequently reoccupied by British, Indian and Australian Forces following the Japanese surrender in 1945. In 1963 it gained independence from Britain as part of Malaysia and became an independent republic two years later. Its population is predominately Chinese, but Malays make up 15% and Indians 7% and there is a significant expat community amongst the 5.65 million people who live on this very crowded island.”

I first flew to Singapore in 1987 when I was working for Short Brothers, the Aerospace company based in Belfast in Northern Ireland. I was asked to accompany a colleague giving a presentation and he insisted we flew from London’s Heathrow on Cathy Pacific, whose home hub was Hong Kong, as he didn’t trust any pilot who wasn’t white!! A dinosaur you might think and, because of his racist views, we suffered a six-hour stopover in Hong Kong before flying down to Singapore. I never flew Cathy Pacific again. I clocked up over 250,000kms with Singapore Airlines in the next four years and reckon them to be one of the world’s best.

Thinking about the current trip before we left Hove, I was reminded of Frederick, a wooden Quail I saw in Tangs large department store on Orchard Road on one of my many times in the city.

The minute I saw him I thought I should buy him and take him home. But Frederick’s carved from some very dense wood and weighs a great deal; he’s about 50cm x 40cm x 40cm. The obvious question was how to get him home without spending an arm and a leg on extra baggage charges. After my meetings in Singapore I was flying to Sydney in Australia, returning to London via Singapore. Frederick was securely packed and taken to Changi Airport, where I popped him in Left Luggage before checking in for my Sydney flight. A few days later in Sydney I checked in for my return flight, ensuring my suitcase was ticketed all the way to London.

Frederick and his/her friend Eric

At Singapore I went out through Passport Control, collected Frederick from his locker and checked in for my Singapore – London flight. “Have you any baggage to check in Mr Yates?” “Yes, just this cardboard box.” I replied, looking down at Frederick on the weighing scales! In the photograph you’ll make out his little friend, Eric. He also came from Singapore on another visit but didn’t require any subterfuge!

Lee Kuan Yew

It’s rare for Singapore for make international news, but a news item the other day is worth mentioning. Singapore became independent from Britain in August 1965 and its first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, is widely recognised as being responsible for building this city state into the trade powerhouse it is today; the founding father of the country, if you like. He died in 2015; coincidentally his birthday was during our time in the city!

His two sons are quite different, Lee Hsein Loong entering politics and serving as Prime Minister and his younger brother Lee Hsein Yang spending almost twenty years in the military before entering the world of commerce. The news item concerns their father’s will’s direction that the family house on Oxley Road should be demolished, not wanting it to become a shrine. Older brother Loong wants it preserved, the younger Yang demolished, honouring his father’s wishes. It all turned rather nasty and the latter was granted asylum in the UK. Brothers huh?

The second time I flew long-haul to the Far East, on Singapore Airlines, I wore some casual slip-on work shoes but not lace-ups. Just before we landed I tried to put my feet into my shoes ……. the big toes made it but not much else! An outward sign of travelling in a pressurised tube. It was very undignified way to leave the airplane … a sort-of soft shoe shuffle.

Having stayed at The Marina Bay Sand hotel on our last visit, this time we opted, through our travel agent Pettitts Travel (pettitts.co.uk and part of Good Travel Management (Note 1)), for the Fullerton Hotel across the bay. Built in 1928 it became the General Post Office Building.

In the linking underground walkway are historic photographs of workers sorting the mail. At the end of the last century the whole area was redeveloped, with the hotel opening in 2001; it’s in a prime location. According to our taxi driver the construction of a fourth tower is underway at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel; there’s debate about whether it will be possible to link it to the other three.

The view in 2019 from the pool; the Fullerton Hotel is in the centre!

‘China Town’, an area a kilometre from the Fullerton Hotel, still houses traditional eateries, temples and shops. Look up and modern tower blocks scrape the sky.

Next week I’ll continue this postcard, but finish with a word of caution. If you take any prescription drugs, you need to check the rules; some require a written licence!

Richard 26th September 2025

Auckland

www.postcardscribbles.co.uk

PS Half written in Singapore but then we flew to Perth and that week’s postcard, (PC 457) about low level health care, was in the mailbox.  …… hence the Auckland postmark!

Note 1 I was a consultant to the John Good Group for many years in my Leadership Coaching role. Pleased to return the favour!