Pizzas and a rabbit

Certain rumours about Ingolf and morbid curiosity led us to his pub down the road Although a Tuesday it was full but lucky us, “John” gave us the big table in front which was “reserved” but unoccupied. “John” because when they come to work at Ingolf and they adopt English names; you never will know their real names. What is good about Ingolf is that the shop next door sells Williem II cigars and they are fresh. We spent a pleasant few hours there trying out the special German spaghetti with meat balls and had stout with cigars watching the other tables like old busybodies. At the next table four old English couples were enjoying wine and beer and happy conversation. I thought they were drinking a wee bit too much.

H Lay’s parents were crushed in their car when a man driving very fast jumped the road divider and went smack into their car. Mother had concussion and has just been discharged after hours of talking nonsense. Father is still in hospital with a broken arm and hip. The fire brigade had to do a lot of hacking to free him. A passer-by took a photo of the helpless father in the wrecked car and it won a prize of $50 from The Star. H Lay I discovered worships Wunderlich as I do so, I played one or two CDs for her. I also discovered that she has never heard of Bolet or Roget.

I wonder if you have heard the new woman pianist Yuja Wong and the new violin wonder boy, Sergey Kachatryan. Going through Edward Said’s collection of essays ‘Music at the Limits’ I find that in the comment on pianists in middle age he was highly critical of Azhkenazy.

A neighbour lost her pet rabbit and dropped a note into our letter box to ask that we keep a look out for it. The darling rabbit eventually found his way back home. The rabbit is lucky. My experience is that when they get lost they are killed at once by dogs

I have just heard that Mohan Appaduray, the Kuantan lawyer, has died. As I could not attend the court reference being in KL, the daughter has asked my to write something which I have done. The death brings back memories of happy whisky hours with him and Ten Chin Yong, his boss and later, partner. One of the things I recall is the eccentric Mr Justice Hashim being angry with a taxi whose noisy diesel taxi shattered the silence of his court. He had the police drag the poor man to the magistrate’s court. Fortunately for the fellow , those were the days ofudicial independence. The magistrate, ignoring the background of the story, found the taxi driver had done no wrong and acquitted him. Hashim, on being told of the outcome, just shook his head and is reported to have said "cheeky fellow!"

Those who have heard about the story of the Three Kingdoms but have delayed reading the fat volume will find the summary by Li Lienfung of a mere 160 pages a great introduction to the story She does translations of the poems as well. She finds Liu Bei a crafty and dishonest man. She also gives a bit of the background to the story, giving snippets now and then of real history.

In KL at the Park Royal Hotel I enjoyed the wood fired pizza which did not have that overwhelming tomato juice flavour that pizzas in Penang are impregnated with.