While in Edinburgh to help my boyfriend settle down, we chanced upon the Reid Concert Hall and St Cecilia's Hall Museums of Instruments, University of Edinburgh. It was definitely an eye-opener for me, as I always read about early instruments with whatever limited pictures the books can provide, but now I had the chance to see them as they were, with audio guide, all for free.
Reid Concert Hall Museum of Instruments is open Wednesdays 3-5pm and Saturdays 10-1pm, while St Cecilia's Hall Museum of Instruments is open Wednesdays and Saturdays 2-5pm.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
It's feeding time!
My boyfriend and I went for a romantic walk by the River Thames at sunset. We brought along some bread to feed the birds, ducks and swans. It was such fun!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Happy New Year to all!
I did two short trips this festive season, first to Brighton and then to Reading. In between, I went for the New Year Eve Countdown.
Brighton was very pretty. It is in the south of England, where I got to see sea again after 3 months! It wasn't a white sandy beach though. Rather, it is filled with pebbles. Winter is a bad time for beach. Nevertheless it was a good place to chill, eat fresh seafood and visit the cultural quarters of Brighton which resembles very much like mosques...
My boyfriend and I chose a spot in between Embankment and Westminster stations, just across the river from London Eye, for our New Year Eve Countdown. This was our first countdown out of Asia and
I was quite skeptical about it at first. We braved through 4 hours of coldness sitting on the hard street floor. In the end, all was worth it! The fireworks were magnificent!
I had to hold my bladder for a total of 8 hours till I got home as the temporary toilet cubicles had no lights! I wouldn't want to be stepping and sitting on pee blindly! Going back was a nightmare. While it usually would take me 45 mins to get home from Waterloo, it took us 3hours! We went to Embankment station and we were told that it would be closed till instructions were given to open it. So we walked to Waterloo Bridge to get to Waterloo. It wasn't that easy - we had to go a roundabout to get onto it. Relieved to get onto the other side of the river, we were again disappointed to find out that the usual entrance into the station was blocked off. We went round the huge station and before we knew it, we almost walked a whole round. The crowd had already built up. We cheated a little, as we managed to find out a shorter queue into the only entrance. Soon, we realised that we had to walk almost a whole round back where we originally were at the main entrance. It was the first time that I had to stand on the rail back home. I was terribly tired and my bladder was exploding... And the train had to stop at every single stop... But, if you ask me, everything was worth it, to see the fireworks.
We went to Reading from 1-3Jan. We didn't plan anything for it, just wanted to get out of the halls. Nevertheless, it was quite an interesting and relaxing trip.
I will be off to Edinburgh on Thursday! More photos to come...
Brighton was very pretty. It is in the south of England, where I got to see sea again after 3 months! It wasn't a white sandy beach though. Rather, it is filled with pebbles. Winter is a bad time for beach. Nevertheless it was a good place to chill, eat fresh seafood and visit the cultural quarters of Brighton which resembles very much like mosques...
My boyfriend and I chose a spot in between Embankment and Westminster stations, just across the river from London Eye, for our New Year Eve Countdown. This was our first countdown out of Asia and
I was quite skeptical about it at first. We braved through 4 hours of coldness sitting on the hard street floor. In the end, all was worth it! The fireworks were magnificent!
I had to hold my bladder for a total of 8 hours till I got home as the temporary toilet cubicles had no lights! I wouldn't want to be stepping and sitting on pee blindly! Going back was a nightmare. While it usually would take me 45 mins to get home from Waterloo, it took us 3hours! We went to Embankment station and we were told that it would be closed till instructions were given to open it. So we walked to Waterloo Bridge to get to Waterloo. It wasn't that easy - we had to go a roundabout to get onto it. Relieved to get onto the other side of the river, we were again disappointed to find out that the usual entrance into the station was blocked off. We went round the huge station and before we knew it, we almost walked a whole round. The crowd had already built up. We cheated a little, as we managed to find out a shorter queue into the only entrance. Soon, we realised that we had to walk almost a whole round back where we originally were at the main entrance. It was the first time that I had to stand on the rail back home. I was terribly tired and my bladder was exploding... And the train had to stop at every single stop... But, if you ask me, everything was worth it, to see the fireworks.
We went to Reading from 1-3Jan. We didn't plan anything for it, just wanted to get out of the halls. Nevertheless, it was quite an interesting and relaxing trip.
I will be off to Edinburgh on Thursday! More photos to come...
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Out of the dark...
I have disappeared from this blog for about a fortnight. Apologies to people out there waiting for my next post.
This period was the most gloomy time I have had since I arrived in London. My hair started falling out in bunches, nose bleeding got worse, my hands were flaking and I started to itch all over my body.
I became very depressed and lost a lot of my confidence over my hair issue. I went out with a cap all the time, even if it wasn't that cold.
Finally, a good friend persuaded me to see a doctor.
I went down to the school doctor yesterday at Penrhyn Road campus. It was a long wait as the doctor was behind schedule.
My doctor was a patient looking Asian lady and I really felt at ease when I was with her. I told her about all my problems and after rummaging through my hair and looking at my nose through a microscope-like instrument, she concluded that either my body is unable to adapt to the cold, or I am under a lot of stress, or maybe both. In simplified terms, my inner nose walls swelled and the blood vessels burst. I have eczema on my hands.
Unlike Singapore, consultation is free and the doctor gave a list of prescription which I had to go to any pharmacy to get the prescriptions. Prescriptions are at a flat rate of 7.20 pounds. The doctor did not give any brand, so if I was able to find the same product on the shelf at a cheaper price, I could do that. Ended up, there was only one item I could get off the shelf for half that price.
Now I have a strict regime to follow and I think I am getting the hang of it already.
It goes like this:
Hair
- Wash with Ketoconazole shampoo twice a week, leave on for 5 mins before washing off
- On the other days, wash with anti-dandruff shampoo
- Apply scalp application at least twice a day
Body
- Wash with aqueous cream
- Apply Epaderm cream at least twice a day
Nose
- Take cetirizine tablets once a day
Hands
- Hydrocortisone Cream
After one day, I felt that my hair was dropping half as much, although still a lot. I woke up in the morning to blow out a ball of dried blood from my nose.
Bathing with aqueous cream isn't the most pleasant thing to do and coating myself with loads of epaderm cream just make me dread it more. I smell like a hospital.
Overall, I feel more cheerful after seeing the doctor. I definitely improved psychologically. Now I can also concentrate on my work, thus removing some level of stress, breaking away from the vicious cycle.
Thank you to my dear friend for enlightening me through the darkest period in my life...
This period was the most gloomy time I have had since I arrived in London. My hair started falling out in bunches, nose bleeding got worse, my hands were flaking and I started to itch all over my body.
I became very depressed and lost a lot of my confidence over my hair issue. I went out with a cap all the time, even if it wasn't that cold.
Finally, a good friend persuaded me to see a doctor.
I went down to the school doctor yesterday at Penrhyn Road campus. It was a long wait as the doctor was behind schedule.
My doctor was a patient looking Asian lady and I really felt at ease when I was with her. I told her about all my problems and after rummaging through my hair and looking at my nose through a microscope-like instrument, she concluded that either my body is unable to adapt to the cold, or I am under a lot of stress, or maybe both. In simplified terms, my inner nose walls swelled and the blood vessels burst. I have eczema on my hands.
Unlike Singapore, consultation is free and the doctor gave a list of prescription which I had to go to any pharmacy to get the prescriptions. Prescriptions are at a flat rate of 7.20 pounds. The doctor did not give any brand, so if I was able to find the same product on the shelf at a cheaper price, I could do that. Ended up, there was only one item I could get off the shelf for half that price.
Now I have a strict regime to follow and I think I am getting the hang of it already.
It goes like this:
Hair
- Wash with Ketoconazole shampoo twice a week, leave on for 5 mins before washing off
- On the other days, wash with anti-dandruff shampoo
- Apply scalp application at least twice a day
Body
- Wash with aqueous cream
- Apply Epaderm cream at least twice a day
Nose
- Take cetirizine tablets once a day
Hands
- Hydrocortisone Cream
After one day, I felt that my hair was dropping half as much, although still a lot. I woke up in the morning to blow out a ball of dried blood from my nose.
Bathing with aqueous cream isn't the most pleasant thing to do and coating myself with loads of epaderm cream just make me dread it more. I smell like a hospital.
Overall, I feel more cheerful after seeing the doctor. I definitely improved psychologically. Now I can also concentrate on my work, thus removing some level of stress, breaking away from the vicious cycle.
Thank you to my dear friend for enlightening me through the darkest period in my life...
Monday, November 29, 2010
Kylie makes Vietnamese rolls~
The ingredients:
The rolls~
They are so good and so healthy... I must have eaten half a dozen of them...
A tiny bitesize one... Ohhh I'm so full...
Saturday, November 27, 2010
LSO St Luke's
An old church converted into a studio for smaller scale performances and talks. I went to LSO St Luke's for a free piano masterclass. A sweet little place with a small garden... I learnt so much in the masterclass. I would probably have to pay hundreds back in Singapore to hear/watch something of this standard.
How to get there: Ten minutes walk from Old Street station. Look out for the tall clock tower in the first picture above.
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