GRAND FINALE AND GOODBYE SINGAPORE!

What a wonderful send-off our friends gave us last night!  I'm sure you won't mind seeing some of the photographs that were taken - not all by me, but it gives a flavour (pun intended!) of the fantastic meal prepared by Jenny and friends in our honour.  You can see some of the dishes in the top left of the collage, with a beaming Jenny in the next photograph.  

It was amazing how the smell of the cooking transported us back to the time they lived in England and we used to visit and enjoy many Chinese meals with them.  Her husband, Alfred, and daughter, Hannah, are in the photograph under the one of Jenny.  Of course, the photographs of Hannah soon after her birth were brought out, showing us both holding her the hospital and looking much younger.

There was a large collection of family and friends to welcome us - 19 of them and 2 of us - so we had to sit down for our meal in two sittings.  The trouble was we were at the first sitting and then were expected to be there for the second sitting too!  It was great for us to see them all again because some of Jenny's brothers had got married since we last saw them and now had children of their own.  

Michael and his wife Karin and their daughter, Olivia, are at the top right - and we particularly remember him as he was at university in Sheffield and visited us in our home about twenty years ago.  Olivia shares the same birthdate as Mr. HCB so a cake was duly produced with one candle on it - and Happy Birthday was sung in both English and Chinese.

It seemed as if Jenny was performing a miracle in her kitchen, because no sooner had we started on one dish than another one came out and it all tasted wonderful.  Jenny was really kind to me, as I had told her I had enjoyed the passion fruit we had for breakfast in Vietnam, but hadn't seen any either in Hong Kong or here - so she bought six just for me - I even ended up bringing three back to our hotel, so I did have some for my breakfast this morning!  They were delicious and about twice the size of the shrivelled ones we have in the UK.  She had also bought Korean strawberries, which were much sweeter than ours at home, so we were well and truly spoiled.

As you can imagine there was lots of banter and chat around the table and we were especially pleased to meet Isabel and Lai Lin, two of Jenny's friends, (second from top on the right of the collage) whom we had met twenty five years ago - so we were able to renew our friendships with them.

We were surprised and delighted to receive several presents - what a good job we have 30Kg of luggage each to come back to the UK.  Thank you so much, everyone, for your kindness to us - we hope we did the meal justice (just a shame I couldn't eat the prawns) and we so enjoyed meeting you all again.

The bottom set of photographs includes the sunrise over the tower blocks, taken at about 7.45, the beautiful tree we have seen every morning when we look out of our window, and the front of our hotel, the Pan Pacific Orchard.  Paul, the chef, has cooked Mr. HCB's eggs to perfection and has even remembered just how he likes them - and he has also made us some wonderful pancakes, persuading us this morning to have two, as it was our last day!  Cleman, the bell boy, always has a smile on his face, as do most of those who have been around us, waiting on us or serving us in the hotel.  The tiny orchids were on our table this morning, so as I love them, I had to take a last photograph.  

Orchard Road didn't seem quite as busy this morning, but then, it was only just after 10.30 am and the shops are open until 10 pm every night so they have plenty of time to shop until they drop!  

Our favourite coffee shop where we have escaped to quite often is the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and again, we have always been served with a smile, whilst enjoying the aircon and watching the world go by supping either a hot latte or more recently, a peach jasmine iced tea for Mr. HCB and an iced double chocolate for me.  Think we may both need to "up" our steps when we get home!

We shall miss the friendliness of the people here, and I shall definitely miss being waited on, but we are ready to go home now.  It was only when I hugged Isabel last night and she whispered in my ear "See you at the airport" that I realised our friends were coming to see us off.

It has been a great trip to celebrate our Golden Wedding and a wonderful adventure - we have met and chatted with so many lovely people in Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore and we are so glad you have come along with us - made comments and given stars and hearts along the way.  

Normal service, whatever that may mean, will be resumed very soon and I'm not even going to think about all the washing and ironing that needs to be done - however, since it is so cold in the UK, don't think our summer clothes will be needed any time soon!  M xx