First Rate

A particularly enjoyable double barreled ending to the afternoon today. First up: watching the dress rehearsal of The Weed Dreams, the 'junior' division of Drama Club's offering for the Singapore Youth Festival (which they'll actually perform for the judges on Monday.) Today I saw it for the first time with the full cast - there's a whole crowd who have non-speaking roles and previously I've only seen it done with the three principal characters and the three guards. Alex & co have done a tremendous job. The full ensemble add a whole new dimension to what was already an excellent piece. Just the gradual entrance of the crowd to their seats in the first three minutes or so is grippingly spooky. It's always great to watch kids doing a good job on stage, but there's something particularly special when they do so with dark, forbidding material. When I first saw the script I couldn't really picture it as do-able. How wrong I was!

And following that: eating Noi's inimitable sup tulang (bone soup) which she has been preparing today at Kak Kiah's ahead of Udin's wedding. There's only one sensible way to eat this dish: messily. And I did. Noi will be staying overnight at the wedding as she continues cooking on an industrial scale for all and sundry. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon for more delicious grub.

Since Noi isn't around I'm afraid it's time for some seriously loud music. I reckon a spot of Robert Fripp's Exposure would be just the ticket, bringing the day to a fittingly splendid conclusion.