NEWSFLASH....

We interrupt our usually programming for a little news update... Tanlilingus aka Skinny aka Peaches aka One of Art's Bridesmaids is well on her way to becoming the lovely Mrs Ludovic Chouasne (Pronounced shoo-ann... er... we think)... One half of Team Williams roused at 6.30am to witness her tea ceremony this morning... and ungodly as the hour was, Art managed a couple of snaps to give you a glimpse of how stunning Lingus looked... After tucking into wanton mee and watching Ling go through various stages of nerves, the gig was underway, with the morning festivities kicking off with the whole jie-mei haggling thing as soon as Ludo arrived. For the uninitiated, this is when the "sisters" or girlfriends of the bride make the groom - and his groomsmen - do all kinds of silly things and extort as much money as they can can before letting him near his bride. (Don't have pictures of that yet coz I was the last gatekeeper - stationed in the room with Ling). Caught a glimpse of Ludo and gang suffering through the antics of the girls though - they had to wolf down sandwiches smothered in wasabe and nothing else, drink Guinness that had raw eggs cracked into it, do star jumps while rapping in French, and croon love tunes until the girls were satisfied and he got his bride. The things people do for love.... The girls finally made off with a mixture of both Sing Dollars and Euro, small notes and big, so its safe to say everyone was pretty pleased... Except with the shrapnel he snuck into some of the angpows!! Incidentally, the groom also had to had to bring the family a dowry - which actually included two suckling pigs. Really. And much as I like pork, I couldn't stomach any of it. Apparently, the groom has to take the head and tail of the pig back home after. What he does with it then is anybody's guess. The tea stuff was kinda cool as well... especially hearing Ludo address everyone by their proper titles in Mandarin, and watching Luna (the dog) trying to get in on the action. As the ceremony ended, the rain came out of nowhere... Actually, Indians believe is a good omen I think - it signifies new beginnings (it rained just before our wedding too)... We hope it bodes well for them too... though we are all desperately hoping these showers of blessings will stop soon coz the solemnization is supposed to be on the open-air terrace!! The festivities continue tonight... Art

RUB-A-DUB-DUB - DAY TWO

Okay, so, you were up to Odessa yesterday... when we were recovering from Dublin day one... Rewind to that morning... You can imagine the state we were in. I was tempted to just stay and bed for a couple of hours, but nooooo.... WE HAVE TO DO DUBLIN!! the man said, shooing me into the shower BEFORE collapsing BACK INTO BED!!! Of course, he roused the minute that, seeing him fast asleep, I proceeded to curl into the covers and nod off. Bleah. But no.... Dublin awaited... So coupla hours later, we Odessa-ed, then we walked and walked and walked. I saw his school and the apartment he used to live in with the boys... I was very grateful when he showed me the bars/cigar joints he went to, because then we HAD to stop for a mandatory pint or coffeeeeee! First stop, the Decent Cigar Emporium (www.decent-cigar.com), where we hung out with Belinda and the brilliant Mr-I-Eat-Frozen-Yoghurt, aka Zeek, who took to Pete right away. Then we did the big Dublin walkaround... all the way to St Stephen's Green, which was, strangely, closed, though the shopping centre next to it wasn't... We contemplated going in, but decided on another pint instead... Well, when in Ireland do as the Irish, right? Dublin is phenomenal... There is something that makes you turn your head at every corner. It truly has to be one of the most charming European cities ever, and of course, Pete was the ideal guide, because we were constantly ducking into side streets and discovering (or at least I was) cosy little hideouts and little bars that you're not going to see in the lonely planet guide. By six, I had done at least three pints.. I actually felt more human after.. Don't ask. Irish insight: Strange? Seeing stores called Malones, Murphys, O'Donnell etc, made Art suddenly realise that the only things she has, till now, association Irish names with... are Irish pubs. Okay. Final stop before dinner was the Porterhouse Brewing Company, Dublin, which has got to have the largest range of beer I have ever seen in one place, in addition, of course to the 10 stouts, ales, lagers and weiss it brews in house, and set against the backdrop of amazing Irish folk music. I had the Weiss, tempted by the description in the menu: "a wonderfully refreshing, thirst-quenching ale with classic fruity flavour of banana and bubble gum". Really. And it still tasted good. The plan for the evening was this very atas (singlish for swish) French restaurant that is so atas you cannot reserve tables, so you have to get there an hour before it opens (6pm) to queue (does this sound familiar?? Must be owned by a Singaporean). AND you have to queue even if just to tell them you'd like a table at 9pm. Thankfully, the food was superb.... as was the wine, so we were all grinning by the time we got to the BIG thing of the night - being on Irish national television (seriously!) Lets start at the very beginning, which, according to the Sound of Music, is a very good place to start... Okay - the Camembert Quartet (www.camembertquartet.com) (Paddy, Cormac et al) is the band that plays on the Tubridy Tonight (http://www.rte.ie/tv/tubridytonight/index.html), Ireland's answer to Letterman I guess, ... and so we got tickets to watch the recording of the live broadcast. Prime perk of being brought in by the band is that you also get to hang out with the show's guests in the Green Room, where they are plied with alcohol - probably a bid to loosen them up for the show. So we got to rub shoulders with Ryan Tubridy himself, as well as this guy Hector, who was hilarious. He apparently has his own talk show too - in Gaelic!! - and is one of the strongest advocates of the Irish language. (Check him out here - its the show we saw recorded). All this, of course, while having a few more drinks, which, I have to say, loosened us up rather nicely too. Heh. What was especially thrilling for Pete was that Mick Lally (for whom the Green Room ply with booze "strategy" clearly worked) and Mary McEvoy - better known as Miley and Biddy off one of Ireland's longest running soaps - Glenroe, were also guests on the show. Miley's, well, dem funny but clearly has a bit of a chip on his shoulder over Glenroe coming to an end coz he kept retorting to people who said they missed him to ""Go ask them why they stopped it!!". Okay, so one would expect that given that 1) We hardly slept the night before 2) We had already had a fair bit on board 3) We had to be at the airport at 7.30am or some ungodly hour like that to catch a flight to Cork, we would logically call it a night right? No, wrong. The party at The Green Room continued till the wee hours, and spilt over into another room after, where we found a piano (yes, this is all still at the RTE tv studios) and I proceeded to try and impress everyone by playing that classic hit: Chopsticks... and badly. Of course, thanks to Jim (Camembert Quartet's keyboardist), I didn't sound as spastic as one might have guessed. Even the security guard that was trying to kick us out (NOT on account of my piano playing) was somewhat impressed (as you can tell from his expression). Of course, the next great idea was to pop by and see Eoin and Hillary's joint after... So... Well, we made the flight. Barely. Because the world conspired for us to go to hell and back trying to though - Overweight bags, silly R-air girl who checked us in and only gave us ONE boarding pass, couldn't stow hand luggage because plane needed to "redistribute weight" - whatever that means. We couldn't sit together either. My last memory was standing up, looking at Pete and yelling: ""I have two words for you: Aer Lingus!". Neither of us remember take off, or landing. That said, the people sitting next to us will likely never forget. Pete, apparently, snored all the way there, and me, well, so used I am to having Pete on my side and so unused I am to being that comatose (really!), I think I grabbed the thigh of the old lady on my left when the plane jolted on touching down. Ah well. She was very nice about it. But I think Pete's neighbours might switch to Aer Lingus next time too... Art

THE GREAT EIRE ESCAPE (warning, long Guinness-inspired post ahead)

Sigh, we wish we had more time to do this, or that said, some time to breathe since we last got off a plane and have to get back on another, but, alas, such is life. Okay, excuses first - the reason this was not posted last week was because in her 12-tech-free days in Eire-land, Art lost the ability to blog and appear to be working at the same time... But because she has to suddenly shoot off again, and given the number of people bugging us for the updates and pictures on that heavenly green gem, so this will have to do, sans her usual dazzling prose. Hokay.... Eire Day One: Twas a blardy long flight and I think Pete might finally see the sense in direct flights - as opposed to airports (read: Dubai) where two pints of beer cost US$20. We kid you not. NB: We are now willing to put our full weight behind Emirates, which, despite the hiccups during the return trip, have proven themselves phenomenal. In any case, shot through Heathrow and into Dublin, and headed for - The Brooks - which, despite jetlag, heavy-ish drinking and being ridiculously particular - proved to have been one of the best decisions ever... Much thanks to Eoin and Hillary, thank god for people who love us!! It was walking distance to just about EVERYWHERE, especially Hogans, which soon became party central for Party Dublin. Pete reminds me that forgot to talk about the singin' taximan..... who, all the way from the airport to the hotel, was crooning My Own Lovely Lee and was "a bit of a lark himself" said Pete. I shall not pretend to know what that means. Apparently, it does not mean that he is fries short of a happy meal, which would have been my guess. In any case, before the party started.... There was Mao's - Pete's fav Asian joint before he discovered ASIA... where, after flying 18 hours, a Nasi Goreng NEVER tasted better... So... (in arti style) the executive summary: Pete finally met "the boys" at Hogans (note from art - PERFECT place for a drink. Very cute Irish boys too!). The boys - his bestest of the bestest friends pre-Singapore, and, of course, post-Singapore. But these are the boys who adventured "art" together. Okay: Quick introductions: Jen (Paddy has reserved this one), Katrina (Rob's got rights on her), Hillary (Eoin beat you to it), Eoin (beat him up if you want Hillary), Rob (Sorry, ladies, too late), Cormac (this one's available based on latest info), Paddy (pete said: velour this clint.(??)..), and Peter EVERS! (Ace Dublin photographer.... too good for our camera, but who was Guinessified enough to comply to the group shot that begins this post!) Message from Pete (Williams) to Pete (Evers)... shoot over here will ya?? Show em what photography is about!! In any case, Pete got into Hogans and beelined not just for his mates, but the first REAL Guinness he has had in years... And honestly, I'm with him on this one - it does not just taste COMPLETELY different, it makes the version we get here taste like dishwater ... I eventually discovered something even better though: MURPHYS!! (although only after several mandatory Guinnesses, though I wasn't complaining, except about only getting half pints because Cormac decided "It isn't ladylike to drink pints". Right. Either way Ireland loves me. On the way to the Sugar Club, where the amazing Camembert Quartet are doing the do, we find not ONE but TWO signs that say ARTI!!! We ended up at the Sugar Club (missing: prelude at hARTIgans, where we proceeded to get even more happy than we were, and where Eoin, Rob and Pete apparently decided to blow a chair. Look and the picture, and I'll leave you decide what it means, and why in the world they are doing it... You see what I mean... Crazy Country... We did eventually make it to the Sugar Club though.. Home of the Camembert Quartet http://www.camembertquartet.com/.. at least that night. Memories hazy but several things that stick to the little active brain matter 1) Brilliant being able to congratulate Jen and Paddy in person (we're hoping to return to Eire for the wedding, hint hint!!).. ps: champagne and whiskey are nice... until you mix em and feel it (A-S-I-A, Asia!! whoever needs to understand that... does); 2) Camembert Quartet are brilliant... Fight to get your hands on the CDs. Declare war even... I am still rolling on the floor laughing... Life should be this good for you. 3) Jump! JumP! juMp!... Van Halen rules! 4) I cannot wait for Singapore to ban smoking in bars because for one - i didn't have to wash my hair twice a day, and for another, the wee little smokin place proves a brilliant place for socialising... even for non-smokers. By the time we left the club, we were royally wrecked.... Guinness, whisky and champers... sigh... but very happy. I was too cold to even notice what time it was or how much we imbibed... Of course, the loving hubby's solution - at 3am, and 0 degrees (or something) - decides that the one thing that will make me feel better is curry chips. NB: This is not curry. Be warned. This is sort of, well, not curry. It's like, well, sweet, hot (as in temperature), sauce (sort of), the exact colour of baby poo. That said, when poured over nice tasting and hot potatos at 3am, when you're freezing and will do anything for it, its lovely. That said, I ate it for all of a block before it was too blardy cold to take my hands out of my pockets for. We''d do it all again if the weddings of the century happened though... the recently engaged Paddy and Jen, and (not-yet-engaged) Hillary and Eoin.... In any case, we went to Aroma II to get the curry chips, and for the record, the joint looked like The Chip Shop fronting the arms trade or something. Half the people in there looked like they were 1) Involved in some kind of illegal activity; 2) Did jail time 3) Freelance for the WWF channel. But despite this, in a show of love, Pete makes me walk into it and get us a cheeseburger and curry chips. I swear I ran out of the door soon as I could. And no, I did not drop my chips.... Whatever that means... No pix though sorry.. I had one hand on my police whistle... Singaporean I am, through and through. Evidently, we somehow did get back to the hotel... Only proven by the fact that it was where we woke up... EXTREMELY fragile... Pete had the perfect solution - Eggs Benedict at Odessa (www.odessa.ie) ... amazing.. explains why his former apartment in Dublin was up the street from it.. I'm shocked he brought himself to leave. And thank God for Bloody Marys. Art

TAGGED??!! AGAIN??

Yikes. Even before we've managed to blog on about our adventures in Eire, we've been tagged by Gnat (http://gnatweds.blogspot.com) who got tagged by a whole lot of people who got tagged by a whole of others and... You get the picture. In any case, we should explain that tagging goes just like the kiddy game - someone makes you do something, and you get other people to do it. Since Nat tagged both halves of TeamWilliams, here's the consolidated reply. Four jobs we've done in our lives: 1) Demolition man (yes, that was Pete) 2) Graphic Designer (duh) 3) Door to door chocolate salesperson (This one was Art, and the job perks were brilliant) 4) Overworked scribe Four movies we could watch over and over again (not to be confused with favourite movies): 1) Everyone Says I Love You (Woody Allen's the best!) 2) Matrix 3) The Sound of Music (don't cringe!) 4) Raising Arizona Four TV shows we love(d) to watch: 1) The Rockford Files 2) Who's Line Is It Anyway 3) Nip/Tuck 4) Magnum P.I Four places we've lived: (We'll stick to Nat's definition of places you've stayed for more than a month): 1) Holland Village (they will NEVER forget us) 2) Chancery Lane (Pete's bachelor pad) 3) Monk's Hill Terrace, otherwise known as the old Black n White in Newton 4) Braddell, now called Williams Central. Four Places we've been on vacation to: 1) Indonesia 2) Ireland 3) United States 4) United Arab Emirates Four Places we'd rather be: 1) South Africa 2) India 3) Germany 4) Tokyo Four foods we love: 1) Mum's chutney 2) Pete's butter chicken and chicken masala 3) Barbequed anything 4) Chicken rice! Four websites we visit daily: 1) Google 2) Blogger 3) CNN.com 4) BBC.com Four tagged: 1) Matthew Gyde (www.gydefamily.blogspot.com) 2) Liluland! (www.liluland.blogspot.com) 3) Sighs... This is what happens when you start your blog several years too late... We donno anyone else who hasn't already been tagged and who would not hesitate to rearrange your face for double tagging them. 4) Erm. TeamW

WE'RE BACK!!!

Sad but true, but the Team Williams Big Irish Vacation is over and they are back in Braddell feeling damn sorry for themselves!! Sorry about the silence, we've been broadband deprieved, not that we're complaining. Heh. Just flew in tonight after what we have to say must have be our worst flight yet: Dubai to Singapore, via Jakarta, which was shite and full of well, not so pleasant types, a situation only made worse by the prospect of having had to admit that the holiday was over - hang on, Dublin to Cork might have been more harrowing: The idiot of a girl who was checking us in even FORGOT to issue one of the boarding passes and disappeared - AFTER accepting my bribe of a cup of yoghurt AND then STILL charging us for our overweight bags (Bleah, apparently that is how these guys make money)... BUT the boys had us up all night, which was brilliant, but which only added to the pain of what must be Europe's MOST painful budget airline. In any case, a couple of super long Murphys and Guinness induced posts will follow.... We had an absolute blast... Ireland was gorgeous, catching up with the boys and Camembert quartet was ever better, and it was all shrouded in a fabulously creaaaaaaaaaaaamy stout (brewed IN Cork), which was the cherry on the cake. And of course, we have to say that in all 14 days, we did not see ONE DROP of rain. In fact, it was blue skies and sunshine (REALLY), despite the night frost. Even the Irish were confused... it is apparently completely unheard of in January... so evidently, we BYO-Weather!! Heh. Any one anywhere like us to clear up any bad weather? Just send a ticket and us and sunshine will be on our way! In any case, jetlagged and stuff now, but will upload the pictures and posts over the next couple of days. Not that they will do this amazing trip justice. Slainte. Art