SuperTree light show from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

I LOVE how Singapore always goes all out with Christmas decorations each year.  Despite being in the tropics, they really are able to capture the festive mood of the season with over-the-top beautiful and ornate Christmas decorations everywhere you turn.

I also love how Christmas time serves as a reminder each year to catch up with friends I haven't seen in some time.  Life can get so busy during the year and months seem to fly by...especially living on the equator with no visible seasons to serve as time guides.  So for me, Christmas has become my calendar alert that another year is coming to a close and to focus on the things that matter most in my life, my family and friends.







MVI 0179 from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

2016 Christmas Lights on Orchard Road from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

In December Kingsley's parents came to spend Christmas with us and to visit on their second trip to Singapore since we moved here.  

Bollywood Dancing from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.
Kingsley Bollywood from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

Milkman Costume Competition from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

The Nutcracker was showing this holiday season and the timing was perfect as my Mother-in-law was visiting so we were able to enjoy the festive seasonal ballet together.   The Nutcracker performed by the Singapore Dance Theater brings audiences on a journey through the pre-WWI, turn of the century Shanghai featuring favorite and familiar characters including Clara, the Snow Queen, the Sugar Plum fairy and her Cavalier. Based on a story by E.T.A Hoffman, featuring the adventures of Clara after she receives a beautifully crafted doll from Dr. Drosselmeyer during a Christmastime celebratory party. This enchanting ballet featured a spectacular set and gorgeous costumes by local designers.  Lesley and I so enjoyed the evening show and fell asleep that night with sugar plum ferries dancing in our dreams.

Yesterday we watched the International Premier Tennis League at the Singapore Indoor Stadium featuring some incredible tennis players many of whom were ranked # 1 in the world at some point in time.  The level that these players played at was just phenomenal,  I was able to capture a hint of the skill level in the video below.




Tennis League Singapore from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

Back by popular demand, the highly anticipated Facade Show had a successful display last year during the Gallery’s opening weekend. This time, Australian Spinifex Group’s spectacular projection show transforms the Gallery’s stately facade, turning it into a dazzling light and music extravaganza. From 8pm onwards, the facade of the City Hall building will be covered in luminescent paint, along with objects such as picture frames, paint tube machines, and art desks to create magical scenes inspired by the abstract artworks in the Gallery’s collection.

Singapore Light Festival from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

2016 National Day fireworks from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.
Singapore's 51st Birthday from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

Michelle vs Unicorn from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

Michelle vs Unicorn II from Lynn Wood on Vimeo.

One of the first things we did after moving to Singapore was visit all the different sporting clubs to find the place where Kingsley could join a squash league.  Though many of the clubs we visited had more facilities than the Singapore Cricket Club, Kingsley knew that the SCC was to be his new squash home the minute he walked inside.  The rich history and central location of the Cricket Club cannot be surpassed and we have enjoyed our membership there during our time in Singapore.

A bit of history....The SCC was established in 1852.  The Club built its first wooden-hut pavilion in the 1860's and completed its second pavilion, a single story bungalow, in 1877. Membership then numbered at 98, but increased to 378 members by 1891. 

Although the early members were ordinary British merchants, the Club soon grew in standing. Governors of the Straits Settlements were some of the Club's early Presidents. During the Second World War, the Japanese used the clubhouse for several activities, including the Military Administration Department and a Japanese officers' tea-room. It served as an important meeting place, with the Japanese calling it Syonan-ko Tonan Club. Since independence, the club has opened its membership to locals.

Timeline
1837 : First game of cricket played in Singapore at the Padang.
1852 : First meeting to formalise the setting up of a cricket club.
1853 : A total of 28 members from the British mercantile community signed on with the club.
1860s : A wooden pavilion formed the early clubhouse.
1870s : Lawn bowl was introduced with regular tournaments by 1898.
1875 : An annual tennis tournament was initiated.
1877 : A second version of the clubhouse was built.
1884 : This third structure forms the core of today's clubhouse.
1892 : Hockey was introduced to Singapore not long since the game was introduced to England in 1849.
1927 : Charles Gordon Macartney and his Australian cricket XI visited the club.
1937 : Sir Julien Cahn's XI became the first English cricket team to visit the Singapore Cricket Club. They played a three-day match against Malaya.
1964 : A Commonwealth XI team's visit brought in eminent players. It included cricketer E. W. Swanton, captain Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie and great players such as Gary Sobers and the Nawab of Pataudi.
1980s : The Rugby Sevens became an international game although it had be played competitively at the Padang since the 1940s.
1992 : Inaugural game of the SCC Hockey Sixes.
Oct 1993 : First international Cricket Sixes played at the Padang, organised by the Singapore Cricket Association.
2009: The Wood's become members of the SCC