Walking

These nights we have taken to long walks after dinner, once or twice a week. The first time it was just taking a detour from dinner to cold storage, taking the backlanes of homes where we are cocooned from the noise of the road. The second time it was past Frankel, through the Siglap hills behind where, if you stand at the top of some roads that lead downwards you see straight to the Marina Bay area. A view of the miniscule Flyer, of Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands, of the CBD encased in a cloud of sunset's rays from so far away romanticises the city more than usual. Last night, we decided to go see flamingos and cockatoos. To reach the garden of the family who makes Anchor envelopes, we walked pass the petrol kiosk then into the lane where husband used to run through to junior college, just making it on time to grab his trumpet to play the national anthem for the school. More than ten years ago where we were in our uniforms, he took me to see the flamingos for the first time. He was wearing a cap, I remembered and told him last night. When we arrived at the house with the modest 70s arhitecture, we couldn't see the flamingos. They were kept in. But through the whitewashed boundary wall slats we saw the cockatoos. The cobalt one was most magnificent with a sharp, long tail and eyes the colour of the sun. There was a white one and several green ones, under the Bonsai-like threes. Long walks are good, especially now I'm keeping off running due to weak knees (at thirty two!) and we leave our phones at home so we can talk and hold hands and decide off the cuff which path to take. + + + By the way we have a new Herman Miller Eames chair at home, the new wood shell one, which I won at Xtra. It sits well at the head of the dining table, also in walnut. My blue one is more special to me still though, because husband bought it for me.