Friends of the Museums Monday Morning Lecture Series and Lunch at Indochine

After taking Erin to the airport late Sunday night, my Monday was wide open with no plans or commitments.  As I was leisurely reading the paper, I saw an article about a book that was coming out that depicted the Japanese occupation of Singapore during World War II.  It was written by a Sydney author who specializes in historical fiction.  He is married to a Peranakan (or Straits Chinese) woman from Singapore, so he had a personal interest in this aspect of history.

There were several different book launch events being held in Singapore that week.  The first was a talk given by the author at the Asean Civilisation Museum on Monday morning.  That museum is just a short bus ride from our apartment complex.  We had passed it on our way to the St. Patrick's Day Parade at Boat Quay, so I knew just where it was.  The lecture started at 11 AM, so I hurried through my water aerobics, showered, and jumped on the bus.

I arrived to the lecture hall shortly after 11, but apparently I hadn't missed much because there had been some technical difficulties with the author's computer.  The flash drive feature wasn't working, so none of his many pictures was visible to the audience.  He was very frustrated, but was trying his best to joke about it.  His talk was all tied in to the order of the pictures, so he was doing his best to follow the script and give a brief description of the picture we would have seen.

He described a Singaporean society in which the wealthy Chinese members considered themselves to be more loyal to the King of England than any ties they had to the Chinese government.  They were sure that they were so important to the English strategy in WWII that Singapore would be well protected from invading forces.  On February 15, 1942, that assumption proved very wrong, when the British signed Singapore over to the Japanese.  The author, Boyd Anderson, argued that that date should be marked as the demise of the British Empire.  After they threw Singapore under the bus, they were no longer held in esteem as a world power.  He said that being posted to the U.S. Embassy was now the top post in Australia, whereas being posted in Great Britain had been the previous highest position.  (He said that the post in China will be the next highest post.)

He also described the extreme suffering of the Straits Chinese under the Japanese invaders.  He told about the things that could set a man apart, so that the Japanese would make them disappear; interrogate them, torture them, and they would never be seen again.  86,000 men died under the Japanese forces, and at least as many women, but their numbers were not as clear cut, because women were not worthy to be counted!

His book, Amber Road, is about a teenage Straits Chinese girl, who has illusions about what her adult life will be like.  When the Japanese invade, those illusions, society, and life as she knows it, disappear. He wrote the book with Gone With the Wind as an inspiration.  His talk and the book were so interesting that I bought 3 copies of the book; 1 for me, and 2 for gifts.  When I started reading it, the similarities to Gone With the Wind were obvious.  I hope it turns out to be as interesting as his lecture!

After his talk, women queued up to buy his book.  Copies were only being sold for cash, and I had given all of my cash to Rich on the way to the airport the previous night, so I needed to find an ATM quickly.  I was lucky that he had a very large following of nicely dressed women that wanted to buy his book, so he was still there when I returned with my money.  The ladies all seemed articulate and interesting, but I was glad that I had escaped to the ATM, because I looked like I threw clothes on after a quick shower, and they looked like "Ladies Who Lunch".  There were 2 women having an intense conversation with Boyd as I waited to get my book signed.  One woman noticed me, and told her friend to let me get my books signed, as they were going to be there awhile.

After I left the museum, I remembered that Rich had told me that there was a really good place to eat near there, so I tried to call him, but my phone was dead!  I looked around, but didn't see any apparent restaurants.  I was thinking of returning to the pub where we had watched the St. Patrick's Day Parade, as they had the best fish and chips I had ever eaten.  As I was heading over there, I came upon a restaurant that looked as if it had been there when Singapore had been a British colony.  It had the big white wicker chairs and marble and metal tables on a wide veranda.  I could almost imagine the British soldiers sitting there, looking down upon the Singaporean people.  I decided to have my lunch there.  I had spring rolls that came with a type of side salad and iced tea.  The bill came to about $31, including tax and tip.  Yikes!  I know I was paying for the ambience, view, and experience of being a British dignitary, but I think I'll go for the fish and chips after the next lecture I attend!

Boyd Anderson, in front of a very crowded lecture hall.

 

The sign for the Ladies' Room

Many nicely dressed women buying the book.

I liked the way the marble stairs looked with the lights.

A sculpture of Singaporean Traders.

The verandah of the Indochine restaurant. 

Another view of the verandah.

The view of the Singapore River from the verandah.

My spring roll and salad lunch.

The view of the Indochine restaurant that made me want to eat lunch there.

A panoramic view of the Boat Quay area.