PETE'S ANALYSIS OF THE WORLD CUP SO FAR....

The Germans are coming!! THE GERMANS ARE COMING!!! Sorry, I couldn't resist. Ha. Pete

FOR THE CHICKS IN OUR LIFE...

Now there's no excuse. Especially for you - one of the best, and most useful, explanations of the Offside rule, courtesy of Wy: You're in a shoe shop, second in the queue for the till. Behind the shop assistant on the till is a pair of shoes which you have seen and which you must have. The female shopper in front of you has seen them also and is eyeing them with desire. Both of you have forgotten your purses. It would be rude to push in front of the first woman if you had no money to pay for the shoes. The shop assistant remains at the till waiting. Your friend is trying on another pair of shoes at the back of the shop and sees your dilemma. She prepares to throw her purse to you. If she does so, you can catch the purse, then walk round the other shopper and buy the shoes! At a pinch she could throw the purse ahead of the other shopper and "whilst it is in flight" you could nip around the other shopper, catch the purse and buy the shoes! BUT, you must always remember that until the purse has "actually been thrown", it would be plain wrong for you to be in front of the other shopper and you would be OFFSIDE! Sliante!

A CHOUGH IS...

A couple of months ago, I announced that we were in the process of a bit of a "historical excavation'', which includes trying to explain the history of the Williams family, the name and coat of arms. We learnt that the family's crest is a "Cornish chough, proper". Not that we knew what in the world a Cornish chough was. FINALLY, though, someone (Jon) has - erm, helpfully - pointed out that this is what it is: Erm, a crow? Edit: Authoritative sources (read: Pete) have just informed me that it is NOT a crow, but is, in fact, a raven, which, based on Celtic tree astrology, symbolises healing and protection. To be precise, the Cornish chough (which I still cannot pronounce) is the King of ravens.. Nice. Not only that, but in Harry Potter, Ravenclaw is for the intelligent people - those with "wit and learning fit". Who's laughing now? Heh. But seriously, uncovered this Williams family tree from the wonderful web, and while none of the names seem familiar, it does talk a little more about the crest - well, assuming its the same one... Williams Family Crest Argent a chevron sable between three cornish cloughs proper each holding in the bill an ermine spot. Translated into modern English: A Silver Shield with black chevron separating three Cornish Cloughs each with an ermine spot in its beak. Argent is Silver. It represents Peace and Sincerity. The Cornish Chough is the King of Ravens whose stratagems outwit its enemies. Now all I have to do is find a picture...

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE...

Create your own video at One True Media Couple of our favourite magical moments from the Big Day(s).... Better late than never right? :) Most of the shots are courtesy of sensational Sydney based shutterbug James Croucher.

REST WELL, OLD PERCH...

After more than two years of unrelenting service and tolerating many hours of abuse, the sturdy ole Perch is finally getting a well-deserved break (Sorry, Dave!). The iconic bar counter in the balcony has been retired, and will spend his days of leisure at the other end of our newly designed patio! It took a long tiring day of re-potting (courtesy of Mr Green Thumb Williams), furious scrubbing (the ole guy certainly left his mark -- a stubborn red ring of rust!), and putting in a bit of new furniture ... But here's the new look! Nice eh?? It's not entirely done... We're gonna get some nice wooden decking and couple of new candles to brighten the place up a bit, and perhaps a couple more plants, but here's to a future of being able to read a newspaper while hungover, and not having to worry about falling off the bar stool! :) Art

TIME IS SOOO NOT ON OUR SIDE...

World Cup fever has hit... And unlike the last time, when it was in Korea and hence we were actually catching matches at decent hours (working hours mostly, heh), now, time is so clearly not on our side... Not convinced? Check out how one of our neighbours parked early this morning... The middle car, and yes, it is PARKED, several metres out of the lot and smack in the middle of the road. The car stayed that way till late afternoon, when the very embarassed aforementioned neighbour realised and ventured to move it. In his defence, the timings of the games are somewhat brutal - the games are at 9pm, midnight and 3am, with ALL the semifinal and final games at 2am and 3am, which means staggering home at waaaay past 5am after battling the crowds for a cab... We were as trashed as Costa Rica this morning. Gotta say though, it is pretty darned classic watching the World Cup in Singapore. It's about the only place where the gasps and cheers are peppered with multilingual curses - whatever the bar. Overheard last night... "Wah lan eh, kanena!! That CB goalkeeper going to make me die ah!"" (Get a friendly Singaporean to translate)... Ha. Art

STILL UNDER THE SAME MOON....

Captured by Pete last night from Gnat's patio during farewell drinks last night. He has such an eye for these things... In any case, the duo are off to Minnesota June 19, where the good doctor has landed a stint at the Mayo Clinic for a year. I know it will fly by and everything, but it hard to imagine that the person I practically began my career with will no longer be around the corner and ready to skip out for a break with me. Nat, incidentally, was also the maid-of-honour at my wedding, which makes it even harder. Ah well... There's always sms, email, Meebo, blog... And in case we need to OD on snow, we could hop on a plane and visit... I mean, how often do you get a reason to go to Minnesota, besides, er, to see the Mall of America.... Hmmm... Either way, it was a fun sendoff, albeit tinged with a bit of reflection. That was one of many goodbyes we have said recently. Ling & Lu left not long ago to set up shop in Irvine, California... Jess and Miikka are doing the San Fran thing... And most of Pete's mates have moved on too - to Hong Kong, New York, Melbourne... Makes us wonder what in the world we're still doing here... Time will tell, we suppose. Art

LOVIN' IT... CLINT VELOUR'S NEW SHOW

One of the best things we have heard all year... Background: This is Clint Velour of The Camembert Quartet fame. Trust us on this podcast, its fantastic. Click here --- > The Clint Velour Show to subscribe. Slainte.