Singapore - Gardens by the Bay

Covering 250 acres, the Gardens by the Bay is a principal element of Singapore's plans to move from being the Garden City to being a City in a Garden. The largest part, of 130 acres, is called Bay South Garden, designed by Grant Associates, of the UK and Singapore, and opened in 2012. The gardens promise much, but a visit to the free Singapore Botanic Gardens, and a 'local' trip to the Bicentennial Conservatory, within Adelaide's Botanic Garden, will delight much more - no tackiness in either.

There are two giant cooled conservatories, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest, both designed by Wilkinson Eyre, of London. The former, 125 feet tall and covering three acres, is the largest column-free glasshouse in the world. The engineering is stunning, but the fantastic collection of plants from semi-arid regions is rather ruined by the welter of plastic and concrete tat that someone has seen fit to place amidst it.

The Cloud Forest is smaller, at two acres, but taller, to accommodate the 138 feet tall 'Cloud Mountain', richly dressed with epiphytes and bromeliads, and from which drops a 115 feet tall waterfall. The biome emulates the cool, moist environment of tropical mountain regions. The effect is impressive, but behind the scenes, visible upon taking the lift to the top, the whole looks like nothing so much as a multi-storey car park. The suspended path, which gradually returns one to ground level, provides a great view of the planting, but the displays are spoiled by absurdities such as Lego pitcher plants.

The relentless references to addressing climate change are rather undermined by the Brobdingnagian use of concrete and steel, and the worldwide shipping of millions of plant specimens. Of real note are the 18 steel Supertrees of the Gardens, a dozen of which form Supertrees Grove within Bay South Garden. Between 82 and 160 feet tall, and sheathed with tens of thousands of individual plants, these vent hot air, and cool circulating water, for the domes. The engineering was by Atelier One, the planting by Atelier Ten, both of the UK.

Singapore - Flyer

The Singapore Flyer is the second tallest Ferris wheel in the world, with a wheel diameter of 492 feet and an overall height of 541 feet. (The tallest is the High Roller, in Las Vegas.) It was designed by Kisho-Kurokawa Architects & Associates, of Japan, and DP Architects, of Singapore. Arup were the structural engineers.

It took just two-and-half-years to build, opening in 2008, at the incredible cost of about £90m. The main contractors were Tekenaka and Mitsubishi, both of Japan. Unusually, the wheel is constructed with a slim ladder truss rim. The standard design for modern Ferris wheels is a rim of triangular cross-section. The 'one-dimensional' truss makes for a largely unobstructed view.

The rim weighs 700 tonnes, the cables 300 tonnes, and the supporting structure and spindle 600 tonnes. The whole is founded upon 38 piles, driven 130 feet into the ground. A full rotation takes about 32 minutes. The wheel originally rotated counter-clockwise. In August 2008 the direction was reversed on the advice of feng shui masters. They could have simply walked round the other side.

The view is an ever-changing one of the architecture of Marina Bay and the city, the Gardens by the Bay, and the shipping beyond the Marina Barrage. The 28 capsules, which can each carry 28 passengers, are air-conditioned. Both factors make this a far better attraction than the nearby Marina Bay Sands Skypark observation deck, which latter provides no seating or shade.

Singapore - National Orchid Garden

The National Orchid Garden is located within the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The latter dates to 1859 at its present site, was founded by an agri-horticultural society, and played a pivotal role in the development of Malaysia's agricultural economy.

The former lies within the latter, but dates back to just October 1995. The orchid collection covers more than seven acres, spread across the highest hill in the gardens. The Garden is home to about 60,000 orchids - the largest collection in the world.

The collection comprises about 1,200 separate species, plus about 2,000 hybrids. The Garden is at the leading edge of orchid studies and is a pioneer in the cultivation of hybrids, Singapore being a major exporter of cut orchids.

The Garden is home to a very large display of Papilionanthe 'Miss Joaquim', the hybrid climbing orchid that in 1981 was adopted as the country's national flower. Singapore honours visiting heads of state and celebrities by naming hybrids for them, and the Garden includes a fine display of these.

Singapore - Shangri-La

The Shangri-La, rightly named for the tranquil and beautiful lamasery of James Hilton's novel "Lost Horizon", is the flagship of the eponymous luxury hotel group. The hotel, what is now called the Tower Wing, opened in 1971.

The Garden Wing (top and above), completed 1978, renovated 2011-12, is constructed around a luxuriant indoor garden, complete with waterfall and koi ponds, somewhat like a cross between a botanic garden and a set from Thunderbirds.

The exclusive Valley Wing, opened 1985, completes the hotel. Here, the complimentary copy of "Lost Horizon" is twinned, at turndown, with a new themed bookmark each day. The 15 acres of gardens include The Orchid, a 23-feet-high steel and bent wood open-air orchid house, built in 2016 to celebrate the hotel's 45th anniversary.

April Fools' Car Show 2019

The seventh running of the show was held, for the second time, at Whittington Castle, the weather such this year as to enable the show vehicles to be ranged around the walls of the castle, along the line of what would once have been the moat.

Over 120 vehicles were on display, making this the largest show to date. There were many new participants, including an impressive Jaguar XJS 6 litre V12 (top), a cute 1927 Lea-Francis K Type tourer (above), and a sparkling VW Karmann Ghia coupe of 1974 (below).

Second prize went to Steve Willis' 1962 Saab 95 (below), a lovely example. James Allmark carried off the unique show winner's trophy, for his Morris Minor pickup of 1968, with its natty tarpaulin covering. An exciting new venue for 2020 promises an even bigger and better show, with some new attractions.