QuGee Updates » Tags » 038 and Happenings

Our parents were out for the night, so my sis and I ‘turned off the lights‘ and tried to do our little bit, having our dinner in the semi-dark dining area (the world out there was still quite brightly-lit) and away from our compts. Having no candles in the house, we used torches when necessary while in the living room. Banjo looked on curiously, and I had the idea of doing some light painting. Jane joined in, and so did Dofu who was quite clueless as to what was happening, really.

One thing I learnt last Saturday was that the cheer really goes “Oggy oggy oggy! Oi oi oi!” and not the “Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi Oi Oi!” that my ears have automatically been trained to pick up on and respond to, and which I found sounded out of place when I first heard it being chanted by the scouts at the Lord Mayor’s Show. As a few British Scouts have kindly explained to me, the English version came first, and the Aussie one is a variant. Ahh…

Live07 was amazing. The atmosphere and the spirit of it all… it’s one big Scouting party with 3000 in the cast, and even more from all around the UK gathered in the now-O2 Arena then-Millennium Dome to celebrate this last major event in our centenary year. Through it all, and especially through one of the items (Through the Years), I have come to appreciate more the history and the culture of Scouting. What had essentially started as a very British institution, encouraging the ideals of good citizenship and all, has now extended its reach into every single country in the world, save for four. The basic Scout Laws… honour, trustworthiness, loyalty, courage, usefulness, thriftiness… it is these that make good a man. But as an experienced Scouter had lamented, times are a-changing. In light of the modern society, it is tough to instil these values into young people, “How can we do so, when even the adults do not possess these qualities?” Even more so, the Movement’s purpose and principles remain ever so important today.

Also heard God Save the Queen being sang out live with orchestral accompaniment for the first time. In the closing segment, when the symphony sounded out the first few notes from the anthem and everybody stood up from their seats, hands by the side and headgear removed, the sudden silence and respect I could feel they had for the occasion was immense. What a feeling…

More photos from the night here.

I attended the Interdisciplinary Forum on Global Warming and Climate Change at the National University of Singapore (NUS) yesterday. A turn-up of about 150 people, tertiary students mostly, and a few representatives from NGOs and other research and academic institutions. A break-down of the talks and topics covered: ‘Climate Change - Living in the Anthropocene’ Associate [...]