Why Have I not Been at The Allotment the Last Two Weeks?

 

Here is the first clue!

No don't be silly, I know it has been wet the last few weeks but I don't think there are any crocodiles on Glen Allotments! 

So here is the next clue, and no Mac it isn't a garden for people with Scottish accents!

Ann and I have been in Singapore for the last two weeks and visited several interesting gardens and wildlife reserves. I addition we also did the obligatory shopping in Orchard Road and visited a couple of museums including the Changi Prison Chapel museum which relates the story of the fall of Singapore and the story of the allied prisoners of war. I was pleased to see that one of the displays included information on a wonderful lady Mary Seah. I had met Mary when I was a child in Singapore, she pedalled a tricycle around RAF Changi and the army base at Selarang selling fruit. At the time of the fall her son went missing and she had gone to Changi Jail to search for him. Here she found POWs needing medicines which she smuggled to them. Mary never found her son and he was probably a victim of the Sook Ching massacres in which large numbers of Chinese in Singapore were rounded up and slaughtered at various sites including Changi beach, Tanah Merah, Punggol Beach and Blakang Mati.

As ever, Singapore is a bustling ever changing place that is wonderful to visit. As new gardens are planned and under construction in the Marina Bay area probably opening in June next year I am sure it will not be long before Ann and I make a return visit and go missing from the plot again.

Just to round off a picture from the wonderful National Orchid Garden which is located in the Botanic Gardens. There is an admission charge for the Orchid Garden which is currently $5 (about £2.50) or $1 if you are entitled to a concession rate. It is well worth the admission price.