This really is best behaviour now

It’s almost September! But, how?! This year is flying by so quickly it’s unbelievable, and also ridiculously exciting!

            We are getting dangerously close (less than a week away) to just double figures on the wedding countdown too. Whilst this is amazingly exciting because it means that the countdown to the wedding really is getting shorter, it’s also slightly terrifying. Thankfully, this is perfect timing, as the fear is just enough of a kick to get myself and Nick back onto the pre-wedding best behaviour once again.

            Veggies, salads, gym sessions and early nights without wine to lull us to sleep are back on the cards. Here we go again!

Polo in the sunshine

We hadn’t been the to polo yet this year, so when Nick and Paddy suggested we go as part of their efforts to arrange a proper outing or trip as regularly as possible, I jumped at the invitation.  The last time we went a small group of four of us tootled along for a little wine and a bit to eat while we watched the action unfold.

            This time, twenty or so of us took over the chukka bar right on the grass, as we spent a glorious afternoon with quite a bit of wine and a stash of shared pizza being devoured constantly.

In total I think I watched around ten minutes of the action, which given that there were two matches played, was a ridiculously small percentage of the total time spent there.  Still, it’s such a great way to spend the afternoon, and we managed to get to the final game of the season too, so we were just in the nick of time!

 

Recovery and culture

I have been utterly shattered all week. So much so that this Friday I came straight home from work and was sleep on the sofa by 9pm. As such, Saturday was set aside as a bit of a low-key recovery day.

Coffee and half a shandy for lunch

Although I was unable to have a lie-in (story of my life), I did manage to do pretty much nothing all morning, up until around 11am when Nick woke up and we headed out to see an amazing exhibition by the Straits Times newspaper, looking back over the 50 year history of Singapore.

            There were some amazing photos that showed exactly how Singapore would have looked when my Grandad were here, and it really couldn’t have been more different. I can't imagine how he made sense of Singapore when I showed him photos of the more recent city!

After a causal lunch in the sun, our afternoon then involved quite a bit of napping before we headed back out to take a tour around the Singapore Night Festival. Held on the university campus around five minutes from our flat we really had no excuse not to stop in and see what was going on. Light shows, exhibits, food stalls and live music. Singapore doesn’t do much culture, but when it does, it does warm weather outdoor activities the best! 

Representing at The Spark Awards

Despite my complete lack of enthusiasm about having to be out of the house and in proper clothes rather than just in my pyjamas all evening, last night I join another four members of the team to attend the annual Spark Awards.

            There are three or four awards held each year that are relevant for us, but these ones are always the most bizarre. They represent the entire marketing ecosystem, so there are entrants from TV, newspapers, radio – you name it, they are all there trying to bag themselves as many prizes as possible.

            We were nominated and shortlisted for three awards this year, so whilst I would much rather have stayed at home, I had to put on a girly dress and go and play the game for the duration of the evening.

As always, it was a bit of a bland event, with the majority of our table not drinking, and it being almost impossible to hold a conversation as the prizes were handed out whilst you were eating. Still, it’s always get to get nominated for awards, so it was fun to attend and see how the rest of the industry has been getting on for the past twelve months.

            Even better than a free dinner and a couple of glasses of wine for our efforts, we walked away with two of the three awards that we were nominated for – Best Creative Team and Most Innovative Technology for TV and Online Video. Go team!

Hitman, a complete miss!

There has been quite a bit of noise in Singapore recently about a new film called Hitman 47. Based on a graphic novel, the most exciting thing about this specific film is that around a third of it was filmed in Singapore (not something that happens over here all that often) and so the locals have been getting ridiculous excited about seeing their city on the big screen.

            Joining in with the fun, Nick and I went to see what all the fuss was about last night, hoping that even if the film wasn’t that amazing, at least there would be a bit of interest in seeing some of the famous Singapore landmarks.

            Sadly, it was really nothing but a disappointment. The film was utterly rubbish – the script was weak, the acting was poor, even the visual effects were pretty lame. I might be being more negative than necessary purely because I was a little bit sleepy and not really feeling it, but Nick agreed that it was around a 1.5 / 10 on the ratings scale. What a disappointment.

            Still, I got some popcorn, so that helped brighten the experience ever so slightly!