Singapore – full of Eastern Promise

Last year, out of the blue, an email arrived from a young librarian – Ben Farr – inviting me to speak at a school in Singapore. This was an extraordinary coincidence, as at the time I was working with the Orchestra of the Music Makers, from Singapore. You can read about our suitably eastern Scheherazade performance in this BBC review: http://www.classical-music.com/blog/colourful-tales-cheltenham.

The orchestra raised the possibility of me working with them in Singapore, and that remains a delicious possibility. In the meantime, I accepted Mr Farr’s invitation and last week flew to Singapore to visit his school.

Clean, efficient, safe and welcoming, Singapore is a wonderful introduction to Asia. It is also strict and measured: spitting, chewing gum, eating on trains are all punishable by law. But the first thing you notice is the climate: a solid wall of wet heat hits you, and the temperature and humidity are more or less constant throughout the year. There are no seasons as such and the sun always sets at 7pm. Storms, when they break (which is often) are swift and violent, with spectacular lightning and enormous droplets of rain. But one soon adjusts to the humidity and the air conditioning, on trains and in shops and cafes, is always only a few feet away.

Tanglin Trust is a British school and everyone made me exceptionally welcome. All the children were properly prepared by the teachers and knew my books. It was a hugely worthwhile visit thanks to the school being so thorough. Everything was superbly prepared by Mr. Farr. It was truly a model school visit and I absolutely loved every minute of it. I am enormously grateful to him, for all his hard work setting everything up. The school and the children are lucky to have such a great advocate for books. And lucky to have numerous enormous libraries to lose themselves in. I have rarely, if ever, visited a school with such a great symbolic value placed on books. I only worked in the Infant Library. It was vast! And the Junior library was bigger still, on two floors…

The respect for books is repeated throughout Singapore in the magnificent libraries. This is a nation of readers, and a city of achievers. And it begins with the infant libraries, where books and words and pictures are properly valued. Schools in the UK could learn a lot from this model!

This bewildering climate, this colourful world of ethnic tradition sharing the crowded streets with the glittering modern excesses, was a dazzling experience. Here are a few pictures of the sights of Singapore – a unique melting pot of many races and faiths, cohabiting in apparent harmony, where old buildings and fascinating history rub shoulders with the futuristic city scape around the harbour.

Above is Mr Raffles, who claimed Singapore for the English. Below, one of many temples throughout the city.

The beautiful Sultan Mosque in the Arab Quarter…

A cable car ride to the island of Sentosa afforded terrifying views of space age architecture…

The Mer Lion, symbol of modern Singapore

The world’s busiest harbour…

In the enchanting Chinese gardens, unfamiliar birds of many colours dashed from tree to tree, dancing among waiting lanterns. Herons glided over bridges, while basking turtles lurked below in the last of the sunshine. Prayer flags danced in the breeze around pagodas and temples. And gnats the size of Pterodactyls gathered in the air, reminding me that Singapore is really a tropical island within sight of the equator.

Gigantic red ants bit my ankles, as suddenly the lanterns were lit. People came and went in the gardens which come alive in the night. The darkness swallowed up the secret paths. Later there were bats, instead of laughing short tailed birds. And the trees gathered together in blue clumps, in this miniature land of enchanted Oriental fairy tales.

In Little India, flowers are strung like clusters of pearls, full of of happy insects and perfume and colour. The streets were alive day and night with hustle and bustle. The pavements were strewn with shoes, as people washed their feet before entering the many temples…

Astonishing carvings and creatures in many colours …

Minarets point to the sky…

The local Durian fruit inspired this extraordinary concert hall – where my friends The Orchestra of the Music Makers often perform!

My sincere thanks to everyone at Tanglin Trust school for a wonderful week. It was an exceptional experience – truly unforgettable. I hope it will not be too long before I have a chance to return…