Attennnnnnnnnnnnnntion!

Recently we all jumped in a blue cab and headed downtown to see the changing of the guard at Istana, the presidents residence. It’s a display put on every month and with two testosterone charged little boys, we knew the combination of police, soliders, guns and a military brass band would prove a big hit. We weren’t disappointed - just look at Carl's tense-but-excited face (left).
Istana (which means palace in Malay) was built in 1867 but I can’t tell you what it looks like because it’s set 750 metres back from Orchard Road, surrounded by lush tropical gardens. It is open on public holidays – Dad and Maureen popped down there at Christmas - when you stand a good chance of seeing Mr Pres. on those occasions.
The changing of the guard takes place at the ornate front gates which open directly onto Orchard Road.

The changing of anybody’s guards can be pretty ho-hum, but what made this worthwhile was the performance by the Precision Drill Squad of the SAF Military Police Unit. These guys performed a very snappy routine, displaying their skill as they whipped to attention with a click of the heels and then executed a complicated series of moves in unison, swinging their rifles (and sometimes even throwing them through the air), all preciesly timed and in-synch. Imagine an Indian Wave which lasts 15 minutes and includes the option to use lethal force plus a bracing soundtrack of military music, and you’ll get the idea.
It’s obviously very difficult to do and one of the guys close to us – he only looked about 20 – made a small mistake and quickly glanced to the guy on his right before correcting the position of his gun. After that we could occasionally hear him counting to himself as the group performed. Niels entered into the spirit of the occasion, marching on the spot with his chest puffed out and quietly saying “hup hup hup” (almost) in time with them. As he got more enthusiastic his voice rose to “hup!, hup!, hup!” and I tried to shush him up. He certainly wasn’t making the soldiers’ job any easier by counting loudly just slightly out of synch. As little beads of sweat started to drip down the soldiers' face and his own counting became slightly more audible we couldn't tell whether the pressure of performing or his efforts to ignore the out-of-time "hup! hup!" from Niels was the cause. However the team completed their display without a hitch, still looking very sharp and cool despite the tropical heat and humidity.


So if you can’t reach us on the first Sunday evening of the month, now you know where we’ll be!