So, the balding prince and commoner princess have come to Singapore for a visit. What's the big deal, people? Last I checked, we were no longer a British colony and are instead a sovereign nation that has no affiliation to the crown.
The excitement these past few days has been similar to that reserved for celebrities, but the British-flag-waving and lining the streets is a tad too much. Yes, the English do that for THEIR queen/king/prince/whoever but what has that got to do with us? Yes, we should accord the respect we honour all visiting dignitaries with, but to treat them as if we are beholden to them is cheesy at best and insulting to the people at worst.
There has been no end to the dramatics, with casual strolls here and there to wave to 'peasants' and press coverage as if some form of god's gift was walking the island - mind you, we don't even extend this sort of proselytising to even The Godfather of Singapore (no prizes for guessing who).
Jumping on the bandwagon are the opportunistic businesses (some of whom have but the remotest of relation to the British royalty) with their over-the-top advertisements. This morning, I came across this gem of a conundrum which I could make no head or tail.
To me, it appears like the stewardess is serving teh-tarik as it is found in Malaysia, not in Singapore. Tell me, where do they pack teh-tarik-to-go like this anymore here? Doesn't it typically look more like this below? And even that is not extremely common, with the 'industry standard' being styrofoam cups.
According to the 'visionaries' who came up with this ridiculous concept (BBH Asia Pacific) , the imagery supposedly "offers a twist on the much-loved English tradition of a ‘cuppa’.... (showing) a British Airways cabin staffer offering up the favourite
local choice of tea, ‘teh tarik’, complete with plastic bag and straws,
but served from a silver platter more befitting royalty."
First of all, this is not the impression created by this image because who on earth would serve a plastic packet of drink on a platter? Secondly, it is a stretch to call teh-tarik our "favourite local choice of tea" because it is only one of different versions (i.e. Chinese-styled coffeeshops have their version which is also pretty common). Not to mention, the fact that it is - hands down - more prevalent in Malaysia than it ever can be in Singapore, shoots that assertion right out of the water.
British Airways is obviously trying way too hard for its own good to ride the royalty-craze of these 3 days - and it shows. Personally, I am just sick and tired of this meaningless nonsense and will be glad when they finally leave.
At least then, we can get back to the usual wayang that we're accustomed to.
