Guy Fawkes Night at Clapham Common

Heart of a firework

So it is true - that every heart starts out passionate and pumping.

Magic Hour

Christmas lightup at St Paul's

Hairspray, the 900-year-old St Paul's Cathedral choir and Faryl Smith (Britain's Got Talent).

Accompanied by wry British humour from Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) and Colin Firth ("Well I think it's all a bit tacky and over the top quite frankly, but why not? That's what Christmas is all about.").

Alright, here's the low-down: there was no lightup at St Paul's. Their idea of a lightup was to simply shine colourful spotlights on the Cathedral! The upside was that it was really easy to get home after holding out the notes of Siiiilent Night with Andrea Bocelli and a few hundred people - unlike the tremendous mess at Oxford Circus. I was even on time for yoga.

Fall is here

Burning krathong

This body, bhikkhus, is perishable, consciousness is of a nature to dissolve, and all objects of clinging are impermanent, suffering and subject to change.

-Itivuttaka Sutta

Thailand, thy name is intricate

Happy Loy Krathong

My first loy krathong festival, thanks to my hospitable Thai classmates.

Aside: The Thai fish cakes taste sooo good.

Plinther of Manarola

»What is a plinther?

Manarola, Cinque Terre

Italy is so blessed. »More photos.

Whiskers of Manarola

Manarola, one of the five lands of Cinque Terre. Land of cats, stunning coast and moaningly good mussels.

London tube clock

You can see this in some of the older stations like Victoria or Bond Street.

Someone please tell me where to get it, because I fear I might have to steal it soon.

Poppy appeal

I haven't seen this poppy in probably 20 years. Out of the blue, I saw it last evening at the Russell Square tube station when I was coming back from the airport.

It reminded me so strongly of my childhood that I went back to the station today to donate and get one from the veteran. I can still remember that particular day in my childhood: it was a sunny Saturday afternoon, my mother had gotten off work and my dad must have dropped me off at her office in the Collyer Quay area. I was no more than five or six - she was holding my hand and we were walking. Along the way, she must have stopped to donate something towards the »poppy appeal - I don't recall too clearly, probably because I was too short then to notice. But I did remember holding a poppy in my hand and walking off together into the afternoon sun...

The poppy has not changed much from that day - still the same crinkly red paper and black button, except it is now adorned by a leaf.

The same cannot be said for the other two protaganists.

I did not realize

That the accordian is the jealous sister of the soprano-sax. Bulky, hoarse and less eloquent, but ambitious nonetheless.

Constitutional law in autumn

The weight of a historical sentence
   can no longer linger in silence.

A cacophony of coughs
   insists on punctuating.

Bogeymen

»William Safire and »Far Eastern Economic Review, the twin bogeymen of Singapore in the early 90s, are both dead.