still seeking the truth in love: london

overcrowding is one of the biggest problems faced by prisons all over the world, let alone entire countries. history has shown that lebensraum, or living space, is a key concept which governors (in both instances) ignore at their own risk.

in keeping with his dual background, the german doctor and chess master siegbert tarrasch once remarked that 'cramped positions carry the germ of defeat'. while spatial dominance doesn't necessarily lead to victory, there is a reason why grandmasters open their games by pushing their pawns forward two squares instead of one (unless they start by moving their knights - but that is relatively rare and another matter altogether).

meanwhile, i was in london for the first time over the weekend. the main event was temasek seminar 2007, but i managed to meet up with quite a number of people and visit quite a number of places as well.

as this view from clifford's room reveals, london - with a population of anywhere between 7.4 and 8 million - is pretty packed. fittingly, temasek seminar 2007 posed the question - singapore's changing landscape: is there room for us?

ironically (or maybe this was to be expected), the forum (which we were ultimately responsible for) hardly dealt with the physical aspects of an increase in population, preferring to focus instead on the social, political and even moral dimensions of the theme (think section 377a of the penal code). after all, the influx of immigrants simply takes a head count of singapore's changing landscape. what's clear, however, is that singapore is a nation with growing ambitions but limited resources. is there a way out of this?

with my return ticket to york at 7pm on sun evening, i spent the rest of my time in london heading from one location to another. it felt like moving across the monopoly board while throwing double dice on each turn. i didn't come across any jails in london though, not in central london anyway.

the view across the thames from waterloo bridge

the other side of the river

i had always wanted to visit the london chess centre and as things turned out, it was just a 5 min walk from clifford's apartment. there's a whole range of books, sets and other equipment on sale - in pounds.

all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players - shakespeare's as you like it

a statue of the bard himself in the middle of leicester square

chinatown

covent garden market

a flight of pigeons

future colleagues

being in london, i also took the opportunity to visit all souls church (where john stott remains the rector emeritus, although he recently retired from public ministry in april 2007) with caleb, ian and chris. it was truly heartwarming to witness so many nationalities (as well as fellow singaporeans) worshipping and serving together in such a cosmopolitan city.

"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." - Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)