Tiger Tiger Burning Bright - a poem read to me by my Dad

TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies	5
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?	10
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp	15
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?	20
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

                                                          Willam Blake 

                                                       English Poet William Blake 

this was the first poem recited to me (or at least I can remember) when I was a toddler by my father, Geoffrey. I was too young to understand the significance of poetry, inner meanings, innuendoes and implications as a young child (I think I remember this from 5 years old) but now 50 years on, my mind is able to take a broader and more mature understanding of this poem.

Geoffrey Abisheganden

circa 1965

   

7 weeks to go -Schneider Paris Marathon 2017 ; time is of the essence !

Inspiring words for me

I really have to 'step up my game' several notches and clock in 50 - 60 km per week for an average of 5 weeks if I want to make it within 5 : 30 for the Paris marathon. The spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak. I know time is of the essence with age not on my side. However, giving excuses is not my philosphy so I want to ensure that I will make this marathon one to remember and savour.

Lets get going !  

Bloody Past of London - Yeoman Guards

Tower of London - a bloody past

Great English Pub Grub and Excellent Service

One typical serving at Burger and Lobster

    This was our first night in London, and my wife suggested we eat the world famous Burger and Lobster, which is famous for, you guessed it, burgers and lobsters. Our orders for a whole lobster and fries cost GBP 20. Take the Tube to Green Park and you're in Mayfair area (rich neighbourhood).  It is located at 29 Clarges Street, just off the main road.

    We were very fortunate, on that night (I recall), was a Monday evening, and the placed, while packed (it normally is, and it was coming close to Christmas), we only waited 10 minutes which was very fortunate for us. Many reviewers of the restaurant said waiting time could take up to 1 hour.The service was extremely good, the wait staff lady was so polite and professional, sitting us down and taking our orders with genuine warmth.

  

     The Brits (Londoners) are regarded as aloof  to strangers, but this most recent trip changed my perception totally.The numerous people I met, dining at ramen restaurants,

simple burger places,this restaurant and a waterfornt dining establishment at the Embankment all had top rated service. Even the front doormen were so professional and courteous I was taken aback by their professionalism and friendliness. You can say London really won me over for its multiculturism and people. The anti-terrorist checks and level of alertness is definately there, police and special weapons teams are patrolling the Tube and making their presence felt by random checking of passersby.  Vagrants idling around the stations  (ours was Earl's court) were first checked for abode, and then encouraged to leave. People who were idling around also were checked. Nothing is left to chance.That is indeed a good thing.   

      The service industry, especially the wait staff, beats Singapore's so-called service hands down. I am sad to say, Singapore is light years away from the good (don't even consider excellent) service of our neighbours in Asia. Japan would be No.1, Australia No. 2, S Korea No. 3. In S.E. Asia, I daresay, Singapore's service for ordinary cafes and family restaurants ranks near the bottom with only Malaysia faring worse. Generally speaking, our service staff are poorly trained, not renumerated well, and have an evasive or bad attitude to customers. Much of the blame lies on the restaurant owners who in their bid for focussing on profit, often hire part-timers and people who are in between jobs, displaced staff, staff poorly or not at all trained in customer service hence the low level.     

Lousy Service and you'll be chucked in the Tower of London ! 

    Coming back to the food at Burger and Lobster. The lobster was tasty and tender, and the portion was big. The fries were crisp and large and portions were served on a plastic wrapper right on the table. I had a dark ale to go with my food. 

      The packed joint at Clarges Street was full of after office people and we fit right in with the crowd. I am hoping they will set up a branch in Singapore sometime soon. So in a nutshell, good food, great service and a cold winter's night sets the stage for a good appetite which was satiated by the evening's end.  

Amata Golf and Country Club - Thailand

The buggies awaiting the golfers

    Some 1 and a half hours from Bangkok, in Amata City in the province of Chonburi, I was fortunate to be invited to have lunch at the Amata Golf and Country Club. What a treat for the eyes. 18 holes of championship golf course awaits the golfer. I have long given up golf, and taken up marathon running in 2000 and have not looked back since. Still, I was most appreciative of the lunch and meeting up with my friend Krid's friend, Khun Thon.  The greens are a welcome sight for a sore bum and I had stepped off the plane after a 2 hour 15 minutes flight, to be taken by Krid by pickup for another hour or so and here I was, in the oasis of greenery. 

Undulating greenery

       Thailand's Chonburi province is the 'Detroit of the South East Asia' with as many as 30 plus car and truck manufacturers setting up huge factories employing tens of thousands of skilled and non-skilled workers. In addition, there are thousands of supporting companies providing the entire supply chain of parts and subassemblies for these car assemblers and manufacturers (the difference between the manufacturer and assembler is that manufacturers have Research and Development divisions and can, in theory, design new models direct from their factory to suit the territory and/or marketplace. 

Beautiful scenery from the clubhouse

The Clubhouse is setback some 0.5 km from the main road, and the transferrable membership stands at 2 million baht (this is expensive than some apartments and condominiums near Bangkok !). The Japanese expatriates who work in and around Chonburi would surely form a big part of the membership. My host, Khun Thon is a business owner dealing in the manufacture of paint for industrial, car and domestic use.     

Lunch 

    I may one day, retire to a less strenuous hobby like golf, and get used to applying the sunscreen on my parched skin, get a golf cap, bag, shorts, a decent pair of clubs (my current scorpion clubs are, in one word, old)  and do what tens of thousands of middle aged folk in business do and socialise and get sunburnt, while working to lower down my handicap. 17 years ago, after I had taken up the game for about 10 years, I had come to the conclusion, I had no talent in golf, and the time factor, the social network, the early mornings and weekend sacrifices would take its toll on the family bonding. I said 'forget it'. And never played a game again since.  

    But then again, I ask myself, why do a stupid thing twice ??   

2017 - same sluggish growth for Singapore ; We better do things for ourselves !!

My Peanuts character 

      The much awaited CFE or report for the Committee for Future Economy helmed by 2 ministers, 30 top brains and 80 meetings later, with 9000 people's feedback garnered has not sprung any new surprises. While it is too early to cast or criticise the proposals, lets just say that as an ordinary small enterprise owner, I was not expecting any handouts from the Government from the word 'go'. The trading world has been in a downward protectionist trend about 2 years, and it has been reflected with last June's Brexit, and the election of the non-partisan Donald Trump into the highest office in USA. As things go, he is enacting very closed door policies and tallking (and tweeting) of trade protection for US made products. The very anti-thesis of the last 25 years of non-stop globalisation. 

    Singapore with its open economy and zero reserves is facing multiple challenges on many fronts, an aging society, painful structural changes in the economy, many jobs are lost forever, and many managers, professionals are in the void with inappopriate skill sets especially in the manufacturing,services, ship building, rig building, oil and gas sectors. In addition, there are new disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence which is rapidly making many jobs redundant in the near future (5 years or earlier). Soon, it will be an aging society, looking for jobs which can be easily be replaced by robots, and automation. 

    What jobs will remain plentiful and profitable by, say, 2022 ?? 

   I have a clear and focussed plan for my small business. It will be tough, but we will be bringing the bacon home for the next 5 to 10 years. If we wait for the Government to implement policies, or even pursue Government contracts, it may be too little and too late.