Early Years - continued

Living abroad After Devon, we travelled to Singapore. Here I was fascinated by some of the weird and wonderful wildlife. I met little lizards (chit chats) that if picked up would shed their tail to escape, the prying mantis that set up home in the corner or our bedroom, a variety of snakes that would pass through our garden. Amazing buildings sporting dragons and gargoyle like architecture. Here my memories are mostly of water skiing and snorkelling with my parents. Although, at my tender years I probably didn’t appreciate what I was seeing, I certainly loved the colours, creatures and experiences.

It would be easier to bullet point what I remember about Singapore. So, here are the memories of a 4 to 6 year old in Singapore:

•Playing with the wildlife in monsoon drains with my brother.

•Sitting in a tree outside the house with friends

•Seeing a monkey in a tree outside the swimming pool as I waited in the car to go to my swimming lesson (my punishment for throwing a tantrum because I didn’t want the lesson, just wanted to play in pool).

•Finding a towelling robe cord on a beach and tying my very first bow around my waist.

•A cat with a broken tip of tail called Kinky

•A cat from the golf club called Dumbo

•Skiing on a board, as my feet were too small for skis

•Snorkelling and putting treasures on a lilo to float back to shore.

•Told not to put feet down on rocks under sea, as they could be stone fish.

•My brother pretending to kick a sea urchin and misjudging the distance. My mother using tweezers to extract spines from my brother’s toe.

•Plugging up the balcony with my brother during a rain-storm, so we could paddle.

•Cherryade and crisps by the pool.

•Swimming my first mile around the pool.

•Trying to eat peanuts with chopsticks.