[ST Article : 24 hours of rain mayhem]

Hi, Michelle.

Haven't been looking for a while, but this caught my eye: not so much as a mention in the UK press, of course. Reminded me of the time during the monsoon when yours truly tried to slide across one of the big pipes that go across the open drains in odd places, slipped, and returned home literally head-to-foot covered in stinking mud. Oh, the joys of childhood.

In the meantime, this is what happened in the village where Fiona's parents and her sister live (the 'Caroline' mentioned with the photographs of a meter of water inside her house): http://residents-association.com/news/water_water.php .

Have a good Christmas, and a happy new year.

Fergus.

[Much Ado About Haze]

It also made the Met Office in London: Wind spreads smoke altering weather

04 Oct 2006

Forest fires have been affecting the weather around Indonesia, with winds helping to spread the effect.

According to the October 4th report, smoke is obscuring sunlight and causing a noticeable drop in temperature in Singapore and other areas.

Such is the extent of the problem being spread by winds that flights are being cancelled due to the haze and locals are wearing masks.

"The visibility is 500 metres [550 yards]," said Olan Simanjuntak, a spokesman for Sultan Thaha airport in Jambi, in the Reuters report. "We are very irritated [by the haze]. Officials here are using masks."

Local farmers who practice slash-and-burn techniques in the belief that it increases soil fertility have been blamed for starting most of the fires.

Love to know the temp variations... Michelle?

Fergus.

[Von Karman Vortices]

Fabulous, Michelle. I had never heard of them, now I want to know more. You're a gem!

Fergus.

[Cameron Highlands Part 2]

Just thought I'd say hi, Michelle, and that I enjoy catching up on your blog every week or so.

A couple of extra oddities for you from my family; my auntie, who was also in Singapore in the sixties, once told me that she was taught Chinese cooking by Mrs. Lee Kwan Yew in person - apparently, she ran a course for a short while!

In one of your blogs you mention the air sea rescue; do you still also run a Jungle Rescue Service, or has that gone over to Malaysia? The reason I ask, is that my father and uncle were founder members of the service in the early sixties, apparently the first of its type in the world. They started it up after a crash rescue arrived at the airplane, only to find that all the survivors had died waiting. They introduced surveillance flights and low-level parachute drops into the jungle (very dangerous), in order to reach casualties more quickly. They also worked a lot with locals on Jungle Survival, learning many important lessons about using the resources around them effectively.

Look forward to the next instalment.

Regards,

Fergus (Parmenides3).