Return to Sexy Island

Neil Humphreys

Sujets

• Travel writing
• Singapore
• Singapour

Informations

• Publié par: Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) PTE LTD
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9789814398855
• Langue: English

Extrait

It is often said that an outsider sees truths that a local cannot. Neil Humphreys witty, insightful, warm-hearted take on life in Singapore (warts and all) proves that point over and over again.
Shamini Flint , author, Inspector Singh Investigates mystery series
Neil Humphreys sheds a good humoured and tolerant light on Singaporeans. After a sojourn Down Under he is back in town, revealing his fondness for all our foibles-vomit, kaka , casinos and more! Give him honorary citizenship!
Lim Kay Tong , actor, Growing Up , Mee Pok Man , Perth , The Photograph , The Pupil
Singapore is lucky to have Neil Humphreys-an ang moh visiting places we have never been to, recounting histories we are unaware of and, most importantly, showing us how to laugh, love and forgive all the imperfections of this little island we call home.
Chew Gek Khim , executive chairman, The Straits Trading Co. Ltd.
Whenever Singaporeans gripe about foreign talent crowding our shores, they always give Neil Humphreys an exemption, and with good reason. Not afraid to be critical, but also clearly affectionate about the people of our crazy little republic, Neil s work is always astute and filled with generous humour. Not say I say what, but Singapore can t be all bad if we managed to lure someone as talented as he is back.
Colin Goh , writer/director, Talking Cock the Movie , Singapore Dreaming
Neil Humphreys is a believer-he believes that the human spirit will prevail to make things better all around. So he writes his stories with humour, an eye for detail and, most importantly, an empathy for the downtrodden. I m glad that he has always reserved a special place in his heart for migrant workers- maids , construction workers, undocumented workers. In his own unique way, he has given a nudge or two, jabbed us once in a while in the ribs, asking us to see how migrant workers are human beings with similar aspirations, quirky habits, fears, as many of us. Singapore has become richer with Humphreys observations and commentaries.
Braema Mathi , former NMP, founder-president of Transient Workers Count Too and President of MARUAH, a human rights NGO
We should do a Neil Humphreys Musical. It would be completely Singaporean, in Singlish, absolutely irreverent but at the heart of it, true. With so many Notes already written, all we need to do is to put them together and we ve got a hit musical on our hands. Double confirm!
Hossan Leong , actor, The Singapore Boy
Neil Humphreys has that rare gift of telling non-Singaporeans what they would never in a million years otherwise know about our glorious Island, and telling Singaporeans about what we think we already know about ourselves, and making us go, **** ... I never thought about it that way! Reading his book once made me laugh so hard I squirted kopi out of my nostrils onto my Bermudas. And now he returns to find that our island has got its sexy back. Warning: This book is a High Squirt Zone and can be hazardous to your shorts.
Adrian Pang , actor, Forever Fever, Spy Game, The Pupil
A more local kind of ang moh
You d be severely pressed to find
A jaundiced view, nay, honest
His musings come to mind
The chap is tall as gangly
For useful observations found
The bits they say are dangly
Five feet off the ground
We ve claimed for our own, Neil Humphreys
In truth forsooth, God knows
Long stick his nose in our business
And his business long stick in our nose.
Will Xavier , veteran broadcaster
I read what he wrote. I read what was written about him. Then I met him. He was all of what I thought he would be. And more. The Ang Moh who lived in Toa Payoh. The Ang Moh who wrote local stories. Of course the stories are coloured. With a different sensibility. But at long last we have reached a point where we have a foreign local writer, if there is ever such a thing. As a filmmaker, I am looking forward to working with Neil. Someone with a perspective from within and without. Someone who may just connect this red dot with the world. In local and international colours.
Daniel Yun , film producer, I Not Stupid, The Eye, 881, Painted Skin
Singapore is almost impossible to understand adequately if you use outsider measures to gauge it. Though British humour columnist Neil Humphreys is anything but a native, he writes so knowingly-and so well-that if Singapore s Ministry of Culture had any sense of humour at all, it would hire him as a consultant to lighten the place up some more. But the Ministry doesn t. Fortunately Humphreys does-in warmly agreeably huge doses.
Tom Plate , university professor, author of Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew: Citizen Singapore-How to Build a Nation
Whatever you may think about the man, Neil Humphreys is never ever boring. The hours will melt away when you have got a book of his in your hands. And his latest effort, Return to a Sexy Island , is no exception. Told in his inimitably humorous, wickedly irreverent style, Sexy Island is one side of Singapore that many of us have suspected was always there but thank God for Neil, the man has the rare ability to put such indelicate thoughts into words. Lesser mortals would have been hounded into bankruptcy for daring to say what he has. And Sexy Island says it all. Reading his latest, sexy masterpiece, he talks about ladies of the night cavorting in Goodwood Park Hotel (fancy that) and the most impressive phallic symbol at the waterfront-gave me a tingly feeing (quite a rare experience these days for a man in his twilight years). I especially liked that part when Neil went skinny dipping in MacRitchie Reservoir ... No, I won t go on. That would be spoiling your fun.
Clement Mesenas , Pinoy Star editor, author of The Last Great Strike-The untold story of the Straits Times shutdown of 1971
Most part Brit, generous portions of Singaporean and an all round hoot of an author, Neil is nothing less than a national treasure.
Hamish Brown , veteran broadcaster
You think you got balls? This ang moh writer got bigger balls.
Royston Tan , writer/director of Sons, Hock Hiap Leong, 48 on AIDS, Mother, 15: The Movie , 4:30 , 881 , 12 Lotus
Irreverent is probably the word most commonly used to describe our author and his work(s). But it is not the only one. A random review might reveal a few we all recognise: provocative, controversial, cheeky, naughty, outrageous. Some may go further and include blasphemous, saucy, profane, impertinent.
Kirpal Singh , author of short stories and poems

2012 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited
Cover image and design by Bernard Go Kwang Meng
The publisher would like to thank Marina Bay Sands for their assistance and use of the Sands SkyPark.
Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196
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National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Humphreys, Neil. Return to a sexy island / Neil Humphreys. - Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2012. p. cm. Other title: Notes from a new Singapore eISBN : 978-981-4398-85-5
1. Singapore - Anecdotes. 2. Singapore - Humor. I. Title. II. Title: Notes from a new Singapore
DS609 959.57 - dc23 OCN793373104
Printed in Singapore by KWF Printing Pte Ltd
Acknowledgements
Uncle Leslie and Chris have been asking for a new island book ever since I hit the final full stop in the last one. When I finally returned to Singapore, they called the following morning to check if the new island book was ready. I appreciate their support and hope I can switch my phone back on now.
Stephanie, Mei Lin and the MCIA team soon whipped me into shape. Bernard made sense of my journey with a damn fine map and took the terrifically sexy cover shot of new Singapore. (All at Marina Bay Sands were good sports to finally let me get my feet wet.) As for the peerless Katharine, well, she remains an editor beyond compare. We started our island journey more than 10 years ago and she still scares the crap out of me.
Honourable handshakes must also go to Ben Slater for supporting my search for Saint Jack and Singapore s Otterman, N. Sivasothi, for answering my daft questions about wildlife, mangroves, escaped fugitives and haunted houses.
As always, I must thank my wonderful wife for tolerating my lost days in the jungle and my daughter for occasionally playing Dora to my Diego. I now look forward to her notes on Singapore.
Prologue
MY next-door neighbour was going to hit me. He was actually going to punch me in the face. This