Of Castles and Raya Dinners, Programming and Christmas Cookies... Bunga Rayas and Coconuts...

When you are rushing a project that could pull your grades down to the abyss of doom, the days just seem to fly by while you desperately try to cling on to them and kick yourself for not having started earlier and instead wasted way too much time unnecessarily on other little things (MSoc for instance!)

So maybe I had the last 4 days to catch up on ALOT of undone programming. But who can think of C++ when you are travelling down to Canterbury with a busload of Singaporeans? Canterbury of the famed Canterbury Tales and THE Canterbury Cathedral is a picturesque town (although I suspect that is only the touristy centre of it). The Cathedral is the numero uno factor for this surviving little town, apart from the Roman wall that surrounds it... and well, I'm usually the last person to criticise anything old and ready of restoration... but well, nothing particularly interesting about this Cathedral. I liked the St. Nicholas parade better. Now, that's something you don't see in London everyday! The one canal we spotted did give it a little bit of old Elizabethan flavour, otherwise Canterbury is something I'd just like to remember as a story book town.

After some Cornish pastries and the unfortunate incident of my Waterstone balloon (the one that flew away), we got back on the bus and headed for Dover. When we arrived at 3pm, the daylight was beginning to dim and that definitely made Dover castle look all the more authentic as the medieval castle it was meant to be. I was no doubt terrified of exploring the dark and creepy passage ways and rooms in the castle while Lionel dragged me up and down stair cases and through dark galleries and who knows what. By 4pm the sun had pretty much almost set and as much as I wanted to see the white cliffs, I wanted to get out of the castle first! We managed to get a tiny glimpse of the white cliffs after following Kai Leng's lead and climbing up and around the castle grounds. Finally the quest to discover what that Dover Beach poem we did in SPM was all about was revealed... in a Pasir Panjang modern port scene. Dammit!

Otherwise, the day trip was a great escape from the usual weekend life. I rushed with Lionel in tow to the MSoc Hari Raya dinner upon arriving back at Imperial at 7.30pm. Luckily by the time we arrived they had barely started dishing out any food at all. I can't say much for the food. There were some mix ups and abit of committee intervention was required, but nevertheless - you always get happy faces when you put a huge bunch of Malaysians and food together!

Amar was also at the Raya dinner, having just arrived in London to be our Mary Poppins for one week. And while he's basking in the Christmas atmosphere, he made the most of the Sainsbury's baking aisle and thus we have a few tupperwares of pecan butter cookies. He's planning to go shopping for Christmas deco for the emperor's gate household. And as a gift to the household, we now have a new bottle of Molton Brown Thai Vert handwash. Just what we need Amar... branded hand soap! Don't forget the throw rug, Lionel and I asked for!

And as the term draws to a close I am frantically trying to finish the M-Nite script. Once I have finished it and assured myself that it will not be too much of a ridiculous laughing stock, I will insist that every friend and foe who is in the UK attend this Malaysian Night. How can you not be tempted to watch an original play entitled: Of Bunga Rayas and Coconuts? Hilarious, no? Ah, well as I discovered tonight, I certainly do very well cracking myself up... especially when no one else finds me the least bit funny!