Upside Down Orchids

This morning while sipping a cup of coffee in the verandah, I became aware of a sweet scent in the air. I was drawn towards the perfume and then after looking carefully around, I could see some orchids almost obscured from view as it was hidden by the ferns and other plants which were trying to make their presence known by their beautiful perfume permeating the air. I started to walked towards the hanging baskets of ferns and to my surprise, I came face to face with my long neglected Upside Down Orchid with a number of single bloom flowers at the base of their swollen pseudo bulbs. As its name suggested, they grew vertically downwards through the potting media and flower underneath the plant. I also found the label still attached to one of its bulbs with its botanical name S. nigrovialacea clearly written on it. ( Thanks to my wife Jo, who always insist that I label my plants so that I do not have an increasing collection of unknown plants in the garden.)
Stanhopeas or Upside Down Orchids are found from Mexico through Central America to the orchid rich forests of Colombia, Equador, Peru and Brazil. The spectacular waxy, heavily textured flowers with rich purple brown blotches on cream are relatively short lived (up to 1 week) but are guaranteed to create interest and pleasure for the grower and their visitors.

Redback Alert!

I found this Redback spider when I lifted a flower pot in my backyard this morning. Usually I leave it alone but I quickly trapped it in a glass jar, since I remembered a newly arrived Singaporean family living in a nearby suburb has requested me to show them a live Redback if I come across one. I quickly rushed it to their house but I could not persuade the Mrs of the house to take a closer look even I was holding it in a glass jar in my hand. She then rushed into her house and came back holding a can of insect spray. No way, I will allow this beautiful Australian icon from being killed although the female red-back is certainly not adversed to making a meal out of the hapless, smaller male of the species after mating. I can't help but to think that our Singaporean mum must have grown up watching Mortein advertisements and now took it as her maternal duty to eradicate every flying and crawling insects in the world. I can understand her fear, as the Redback spider (Latrodectus hasseltii) is one of Australia's most venomous spiders. It's found across Australia including Tasmania. The redback spider is closely related to the black widow spider of the United States and the katipo of New Zealand
It is often found in outdoor dunnys, letter boxes, under logs and rocks and other dark areas. The Redback spider is most active at dusk and during the night as the weather gets warmer. It is easy to spot a Redback because the female red-back is black with a distinctive "hour glass" red or orange marking on its back, hence its name. Only the female bite is dangerous. They can cause serious illness and have caused deaths. However, since Redback Spiders rarely leave their webs, humans are not likely to be bitten unless a body part such as a hand is put directly into the web, and because of their small jaws many bites are ineffective. Please be careful and wear a pair gloves when doing your gardening chores.

Wow, this blog has been frozen in time!

This blog must have started when the SG Kongsi was first picking up steam in Facebook. Sadly, it seems the success of the SG Kongsi in Facebook have dealt a big blow to this blog page.

It is now sitting, sadly, in a corner wilting away. Hopefully, we can get it kick started again!

What say you my fellow Singaporeans in Australia?

Jeff

Singapore Kongsi (Australia)'s Facebook Community Page

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting to you the community facebook page of our group. The page was set up to share information and latest news regarding migration, work, study and living in Australia. Why do we need a Page when we already have so many groups? Pages are for businesses, organizations and brands to share their stories and connect with people. People who like the Page will get updates in their news feeds.

How are Pages different from groups? Which one should I join? Well, you don't have to join a Page, we use it as a webpage for the group to share important information, latest news and updates. Discussion are still encourage in the group instead of the Page. We want to keep a clean and informative platform in the Page to benefit Singaporean looking for serious answer for their enquiries.

Pages allow real organizations, businesses, celebrities and brands to communicate broadly with people who like them. Pages may only be created and managed by official representatives.

Groups provide a closed space for small groups of people to communicate about shared interests. Groups can be created by anyone.

Other differences include:
Pages
Privacy: Page information and posts are public and generally available to everyone on Facebook.
Audience: Anyone can like a Page to become connected with it and get news feed updates. There is no limit to how many people can like a Page.
Communication: Page admins can share posts under the Page’s name. Page posts appear in the news feeds of people who like the Page. Page admins can also create customized apps for their Pages and check Page Insights to track the Page’s growth and activity.

Groups
Privacy: In addition to an open setting, more privacy settings are available for groups. In secret and closed groups, posts are only visible to group members.
Audience: Group members must be approved or added by other members. When a group reaches a certain size, some features are limited. The most useful groups tend to be the ones you create with small groups of people you know.
Communication: In groups, members receive notifications by default when any member posts in the group. Group members can participate in chats, upload photos to shared albums, collaborate on group docs and invite members who are friends to group events.

You can also help to promote the Page by clicking LIKE and sharing it on your personal timeline.
Singapore Kongsi (Australia) Facebook Community Page

For discussion, please proceed to:
Singapore Kongsi (Australia) Facebook Group

Useful website for Singaporeans in Sydney

Useful website for Singaporeans in Sydney

One of our Singaporean friend has decided to set-up a website to give some useful information to Singaporeans in Sydney.

Please feel free to take a look:
http://singaporeansinsydney.weebly.com/

Looking for Mature aged Singaporeans in Australia

Looking for Mature aged Singaporeans in Australia

Hi all, we have a few email queries specifically looking for Mature aged Singaporeans, so if you are one,  or if your parents come to Australia regularly, and want to meet up with similar aged persons.. do let us know.

We try to put you in contact with other Mature aged Singaporeans in Australia.

To utilise this service, please contact us via the contact us page and we will put you in our "Mature aged Singaporeans in Australia mailing list" promptly. 

KOPI IS GOING TO MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA THIS WEEK!

KOPI IS GOING TO MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA THIS WEEK!

Hi everyone, if you are in Melbourne why not go to this event?

Event: Get Lost Maze
Location: Queensbridge Square, Southbank, Melbourne
Date & Time: Friday 27th April (7am-9pm) and Saturday 28th April (9am-6pm)
Admission: Entry is free 

Read more here:

http://www.helpkopigooverseas.com/