> > I have been to Singapore, back in... 1993 or so, when I was 13. The > highlight for me at the time was the electronics parts/tools shops in > the Sim Lim Tower (I think I got the name right); the worst part was > that my mother decided it would be fun to buy a fake Rolex watch by > following a process she'd learnt from a long-haul airline pilot who > often visited the area - we had to visit a particular tailor's shop and > ask to "speak to Alex"; the shopkeeper would then ask what hotel we were > staying at and we had to give a particular name - having completed this > trial we were ushered through a secret door hidden behind a rack of > cloth, into a blank room that had a video camera in it, whereupon "Alex" > opened a door that only had a handle on his side, letting us into a room > where he sat at a table, with a bank of CCTV screens of the shop and the > intermediate room and his escape routes out the back, and a row of open > suitcases full of fake watches. Some haggling later, we duly emerged > with a fake watch. My mother was full of delight at how exciting it had > been; I was just full of relief that we hadn't been shot or arrested...
Sim Lim is alive and well, and still a hangout for people who want to build their own rig or source for cheap parts. Not sure if the fake watches thing is still around, though. Lol No, as it's already wild! It's what's known as "replanted ancient > woodland". In the UK, "Ancient woodland" is any bit of land that's been > recorded as being woodland for about 300 years, as that's when we first > started properly mapping places - anything that's been wood for that > long has probably been wood since the retreat of the glaciers. > "Replanted", however, means that it's had humans chopping down and > replanting trees, so although the larger biosphere is ancient, the trees > themselves aren't necessarily. Such replanted ancient woodland has much > more diversity of flora and fauna than newly-created woodland, or stuff > that's been rewilded. Ours has been turned into a hazel coppice at some > point in its history; the trees are mainly hazel and the older ones > shown signs of previous coppicing (where you keep chopping the tree at > ground level so it regrows into lots of thin, tall, poles which are > useful for various things). So one of our goals will be to slowly > replace hazels with other local species - ideally grown from stock from > the nearby Forest of Dean, as they will be well adapted to the local > conditions - in order to restore diversity in the tree population. I'm lucky that I live not too far from the MacRitchie Nature Trail <https://goo.gl/maps/ZCyeiS2GW7uwHJc36>. I really should walk there more often. It's too easy to get stuck in a concrete jungle. On Wed, 22 Mar 2023 at 19:04, Alaric Snell-Pym <[email protected]> wrote: > On 22/03/2023 01:33, Jules Yim wrote: > > > Our paths may have crossed in Gloucestershire, as I boarded for extended > > spells in Stow-on-the-Wold with colleagues I call my UK surrogate > parents. > > The drive via Bishop's Cleeve into Cheltenham in a long summer's night is > > quite the treat. > > Yeah, we have some nice countryside around here! > > I have been to Singapore, back in... 1993 or so, when I was 13. The > highlight for me at the time was the electronics parts/tools shops in > the Sim Lim Tower (I think I got the name right); the worst part was > that my mother decided it would be fun to buy a fake Rolex watch by > following a process she'd learnt from a long-haul airline pilot who > often visited the area - we had to visit a particular tailor's shop and > ask to "speak to Alex"; the shopkeeper would then ask what hotel we were > staying at and we had to give a particular name - having completed this > trial we were ushered through a secret door hidden behind a rack of > cloth, into a blank room that had a video camera in it, whereupon "Alex" > opened a door that only had a handle on his side, letting us into a room > where he sat at a table, with a bank of CCTV screens of the shop and the > intermediate room and his escape routes out the back, and a row of open > suitcases full of fake watches. Some haggling later, we duly emerged > with a fake watch. My mother was full of delight at how exciting it had > been; I was just full of relief that we hadn't been shot or arrested... > > [snip] > > What is your least favourite thing? (Mine is "strict schedules that fill > >> all my time with boring stuff") > > > > Being forced to compete. It brings out the zero-sum approach in me, and > it > > isn't pretty to say the least. > > Ugh yes. Competition has its place, but not everything in life has to be > a race - in fact, not everything CAN be, it's just not sustainable. > > > What is your latest thing? (Mine is "Forestry", my wife and I bought a > >> little patch of forest so are learning how to look after it) > > > > Tai chi <https://www.wustyle.com.sg/>! I picked it up about a year ago. > > It's slow going, a proper disciple model. I've barely mastered the 12 > steps > > after 12 months! > > Another thing that doesn't need to be a race ;-) > > > Would the patch of forest count as rewilding? > > No, as it's already wild! It's what's known as "replanted ancient > woodland". In the UK, "Ancient woodland" is any bit of land that's been > recorded as being woodland for about 300 years, as that's when we first > started properly mapping places - anything that's been wood for that > long has probably been wood since the retreat of the glaciers. > "Replanted", however, means that it's had humans chopping down and > replanting trees, so although the larger biosphere is ancient, the trees > themselves aren't necessarily. Such replanted ancient woodland has much > more diversity of flora and fauna than newly-created woodland, or stuff > that's been rewilded. Ours has been turned into a hazel coppice at some > point in its history; the trees are mainly hazel and the older ones > shown signs of previous coppicing (where you keep chopping the tree at > ground level so it regrows into lots of thin, tall, poles which are > useful for various things). So one of our goals will be to slowly > replace hazels with other local species - ideally grown from stock from > the nearby Forest of Dean, as they will be well adapted to the local > conditions - in order to restore diversity in the tree population. > > -- > Alaric Snell-Pym (M0KTN neé M7KIT) > http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/alaric/ > >
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