Wishing for heat

Three weeks back in New Zealand and I am already lusting after the heat of our Singapore holiday. It seems so much longer since I was stood by the side of the Singapore river, holding an umbrella for shade from the sun, feeling the thirst for water as my body responded to the constant heat and humidity. I was waiting for a boat ride, along the river, with my youngest daughter, Alice.

The kind lady who’d sold us our tickets kept reassuring us the boat was only ‘ten minutes away’… some twenty minutes later it arrived and we stepped gladly onto the boat, in the shade, and enjoyed the gentle breeze as it started to move along the river.

I am now sat at my laptop in Wellington, with my fingers freezing as I’ve had to remove my gloves to type. I don’t remember feeling the cold like this, but today I feel frozen to the core. I did brave a little walk around the headland with my dog, the southerly wind blowing into our faces from frozen Antarctica.  Perhaps it’s after having lived in southern California for some fifteen months that I now find it harder to accept the cold of winter. I find myself pining for heat more and more. I keep having to reassure myself that the warmth of spring really will soon be with us, but it feels an agonising wait today!

In the meantime, I will post up photographs of our boat trip along the Singapore river and try to imagine myself there (minus the hat, wool socks, hiking boots and four layers of clothing I’m currently wearing!).

And remember the mellow half hour or so I enjoyed with young Alice, listening to the commentary on the boat about the history of the river and the sights along the way.