I have not stayed in Crockfords Tower Resorts World Sentosa which is a luxury 5-star all-suite hotel. I can't find a location to snap a good photo of this hotel from the ground level as it is sited in a compact area.
However, a decent view of the Crockfords Tower is taken from the balcony of the 11th floor suite of Hotel Michael. I share this photo with viewers who may want a stock photo.
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS:
Canon R5, tripod, AV mode, 24mm, 1/60 sec, f/16, ISO 100.
Use f/16, focus at 1/3 from lower frame to get an overall sharp image of the background and cable cars. Good morning sunlight helps a lot. A tripod enables sharper image. Remove IS stabilisation to prevent blurring of photo when I pressed the shutter.
I hope viewers who collect photos for their projects like this image attached.
Creative non-fiction makes true stories from the raw material of experience, and settings are an important part of the storyteller's craft. Use pathetic fallacy where the outer world reflects the mood of the character or intensifies the action. How many sad girls have gazed out on the world through windows streaming with rain? Pursuits and conflicts played out against roaring , thunderstorms. Lights never work when detectives search through a perfectly ordinary suburban house or flat? In creative non-fiction, you can’t make up the weather but use it and other elements in the settings to intensify the mood or emotional power of a scene.
For example, your protagonist walks across a city park on an overcast afternoon and not many people are around. If he feels happy (received good news), frame it as how lovely to have the park almost to themselves. He spots early daffodils, not just flowers. That tells the readers it's springtime. Happy protagonists will notice the blackbird's song, the budding branches on the trees, the early daffodils, how lovely to have the park to himself etc. If passers-by wear shell suits, the scene will be culturally and historically different. If he is anxious, not having many people around intensify his anxiety. If gloomy, he may not remark about the absence of people but notice the low sky, the drift of rubbish under the hedge, the dog’s mess littering the path. As well as using settings to intensify the emotion of a scene, use them as part of characterisation, letting a character’s environment show what they are like. Someone keeps all their herb jars lined up tidily, labels facing forward, suggests one kind of person: one whose pots and pans come tumbling out when he opens the cupboard door suggests a different one. Someone who loves to lie int the sun beside a blue pool with a cocktail is not the kind who prefers camping in the muddy fields and going to the pub for a pie and chips.
Settings is an economical way of giving information by the choice of detail. A happy protagonist spots early daffodils, not just flowers. That tells the readers it's springtime. Happy protagonists will notice the blackbird's song, the budding branches on the trees, the early daffodils, how lovely to have the park to himself etc. If passers-by wear shell suits, the scene will be culturally and historically different.
With creative non-fiction, it is important to make sure the factual details are right. If passers-by wear platform shoes two years before they are common, your reader will sense that they are not reading a true story as you are sloppy about details. How they can trust your honesty and accuracy in the story as a whole? Don’t worry about all details in your first draft, just write the story and the settings how you remember them but check the facts on your redraft. Memories are stories forged from facts in the cauldron of imagination, they can stray from what actually happened. Creative non-fiction make true stories from the raw material of experience and settings are an important part of the storyteller’s craft. Time, place, weather - they can be much more than just the backdrop against which the action of your story plays out.
TRY THIS: Really look around you. Take your time. Close your eyes and imagine you are in a joyful mood. Something wonderful just happened. Open your eyes and look around. What do you see? How would you describe the place you're in. Write for a few minutes. Try with other moods - sad, angry, fearful, bewildered. FEEL how you can describe a setting truthfully, changing none of the facts, but artfully, to express and intensify the emotion of the story.
-----------------------
Settings can also be an economical way of giving information by the choice of detail.
Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital Botanic Garden. Morning. Blue skies, slight breeze as ripples over Yishun Pond lake are visible. Not many passers-by. One young man exercising in front of me - facing Pond, hands up and stretched out, jumps up and down, repeats. Senior over 80s, tanned, slim, with phone in his left shirt pocket listening to his audio---no need to carry it. Heart affected by phone's EMF? Women wearing head scarves zoom past me on the PMAs. Bright sunshine. A glorious day to be outdoors. Joyful to be alive.
Looking for dragonflies and butterflies to photography. Only one seen hidden. It fluttered to another branch in the shade of the plants and leaves. An overweight female Security guard in her 50s, bespectacled, white blouse black pants sauntered to demand what I was doing. A tripod with Canon R5 pointing at the middle of the Garden.
"I am taking a photo of the dragonfly," I replied. She looked but couldn't see it or maybe could. Far inside. Zoom lens 24-105mm. "It is OK if you take photos of the Botanic Garden," her commanding voice but not other parts of the KTPH.
Security guards get excited about digital camera. More excited at seeing tripods. "You need permission to take photos. Get moving if you don't have proof."
San Francisco (Agoo): This is a specific barangay within the municipality of Agoo, with a population of 1,191 as of the 2020 Census.
San Fernando (La Union): This is a component city, the capital of La Union province, and the regional center for the Ilocos Region.
La Union: The province where both San Francisco (Agoo) and San Fernando are located. 27 Jul 2025: View from Gema's house, not flooded in her front garden as she had built a concrete wall to divert the flood waters caused by typhoon 4, today 25 Jul 2025. Across is a cylindrical building (L) which is a tower to dry tobacco leaves. Tobacco planted in Jan - Mar on field (beside the cylindrical building. Now padi field growing from Jun - Sep. The field is flooded now. A one-day flood will not affect the padi which had rooted and grown (see next image) House (R) of tobacco building is her relative's house Basketball building. Police station (long building, top L). 20 Jul 2025. Light rain. NO flooding of paid field yet. Concrete wall in front of Gema's house. Gravel road not flooded till 25 Jul 2025. House next to Gema's house has a large mango tree planted years ago. Neighbour's house. Roof had been blown off by Emong typhoon.Very old house. Flood. Drain (L), asphalt road on right. Basketball and police station (top L). A video 25 Jul 2025
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Impact of flooding in San Francisco village. 1. No electricity supply. Generators for rich people. 2. Difficulty getting LPG gas cylinders 3. Well water not for drinking. Nowadays, water bottles for young people or
purchase cylinders of water
RAIN IN LA UNION PROVINCE CAUSE FLOODING OF SAN FRANCISCO VILLAGE, SUDIPEN
Heavy rain from typhoon Emong in San Francisco village lead to risks of disasters including flooding and landslides.
Low-lying areas are prone to waterlogging.
NEWSPAPER REPORT ON CHINA
Floods from small and mid-sized rivers and mountain torrents. Floods and landslides affect many villages in the Miyun district of the capital, with the
rural town of Fengjiayu the most severely impacted, and electricity and communications cut in some villages. More than 3,000 people have been transferred out of the area.
The flow into the Miyun Reservoir has increased, hitting a record peak of 6,550 cubic metres per second.
Rain will intensify in most areas of the capital, with the expected cumulative rainfall in some areas
reaching more than 100mm over six hours.
Beijing issued a warning on July 26 for geological disasters, including landslides and mudslides, after intense rainfall unleashed, for a second time, a year's worth of rain on nearby Baoding.
Northern China has experienced record precipitation in recent years, exposing densely populated cities to flood risks. Some scientists link the increased rainfall in China's usually arid north to global warning.
The storms are part of the extreme weather pattern acoss China due to the East Asian
monsoon.
The Chinese authorities closely monitor extreme rainfall and severe flooding, as they challenge China's ageing flood defences, threaten to displace millions and wreak havoc on China's US$2.8 trillion agricultural sector.
GEMA REBUILT HOUSE IN 2019. Concrete wall outside main door and two sides of house to stop flood. Window grilles to prevent stones thrown inside house.
Creative
non-fiction makes true stories from the raw material of experience, and
settings are an important part of the storyteller's craft. Time, place,
weather - they can be much more than just the background against which
the action of your story plays out.
(Weather and other elements in your Settings can intensify the mood or power of a scene.)
I
am Dr David Sing, 75 years old. A grandfather of 5. I create this
Wildlife video for them.
On
22 July 2025, at around 9 am, I drove to the Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital
(KTPH) to collect a form for my son. At the same time, I could walk
my daily 5,000 steps in a green environment to take some wildlife
photos of the area around KTPH and Yishun Pond. Sometimes there are
no wildlife present to take memorable photos. Many Seniors have had
lost mobility. Hopefully, I would prevent sarcopenia in my leg
muscles by walking at least 5,000 steps as long as I live.
Wildlife
spotted are:
1.
A rare sighting of a dragonfly, likely a young male or female
Neurothemis intermedia with gold yellow abdomen, purple and green
eyes. Wings are gold yellow with a tinge of red at border. See photo.
An overweight female Security guard asked what I was doing when she
saw me taking photo of the dragonfly with my Canon R5 camera placed
on a tripod. "It is ok to take the photo of Botanic Garden of
KTPH but not any other area," she said with authority and walked
away. I didn't reply. Some security guards will question me when they
see my tripod set up to take photos. If I use the handphone, no guard
will bother.
PHOTO
OF BILLBOARD.
2.
Around KTPH, two young waterhens loitered on the concrete walkway,
not bothered with passers by. Not oblivious to the danger of being
caught by some people unlike the older ones in some public parks I
had visited.
3. I walked along the Yishun Pond. Ripples in the
shallow pond swept by a gentle breeze. Sunlight reflected over the
waters. Green grass reeds of various heights on the banks. Trees and
creepers strangulating the other plants to get sunlight.
A
female Junglefowl hen with some chicks appeared. Walked fast, chicks
had to keep up. She used her claws to scrape the earth looking for
insects. The area was sterile of insects. Even mosquitoes.
Scraping
the earth would reveal some bugs. That's how the family survived. The
hen jumped at another adult hen near it to chase it away.
4.
A movement among the grass and the reeds at the edge of the Pond. A
young Malayan Water Monitor stalks. Around 11am. Sunny. He is the
world’s 2nd largest lizard. Prowling the edge of the pond. Eyes
bright, long tongue flicking out of his mouth.
5.
A young waterhen appeared. Clucking with no fear near the
Yishun Pond edge chirping away. One of them was near a moving young
monitor lizard which did not bother it. I had a phone video made.
6.
A medium-sized butterfly fluttered fast and out of sight. I couldn't
photograph it. 7. Two mynahs hopped on the grass. Their numbers
have been considerably reduced nowadays. Trapping and poisoning
perhaps.
8.
REWILDING sign. 9. Was the Asoka tree flowering? Yes. Few blooms
and has lost its glorious appearance as evident from my photo some
months ago.
Above
was an interesting encounter with different types of wildlife at one
visit. Sometimes, I don't see any.
CREATIVE
NON FICTION 1. Use the weather and other elements in your setting
to intensify the mood or emotional power of a scene. 2. Show,
don't tell
22
July 2025. 9am. Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital Botanic Garden. Morning.
Blue skies,
A
gentle breeze blew ripples over the clear waters of the Yishun Park
Pond lake. Not many passers-by. I felt the peace of the silence
of this hospital garden.
A
small bird chirps and flies away. Clean air as no smoking signs are
prominently displayed.
A
Botanic Garden for sick people. Small one. Running water. A plopping
sound along the walkway across the small pond. Was it the sound of
the suction pump? A few small fishes. No dragonflies or butterflies
seen at first.
One
young man was exercising in front of me - facing Pond, hands up and
stretched out, jumps up and down, repeats.
Senior
over 80s, tanned, slim, with phone in his left shirt pocket listening
to his audio --- no need to carry it. Heart affected by phone's EMF?
Women
wearing head scarves zoom past me on the PMAs. Bright sunshine. A
glorious day to be outdoors. Joyful to be alive.
Looking
for dragonflies and butterflies to photograph. Only one was seen
hidden. It fluttered to another branch in the shade of the plants and
leaves.
An
overweight female Security guard in her 50s, round face,
bespectacled, white blouse on black pants sauntered to me,
authoritative demand, "What are you doing here?"
A
tripod with Canon R5 pointing at the middle of the Garden. She
thought: "Was this Senior trying to spy on some patients walking
past me?".
"I
was taking photographs of the dragon fly," I said in a patient
manner as some security guards do exercise their duties to prevent
photography by individuals carrying a large digital camera and
tripod. If they use their handphones, the guards usually do not feel
a need to exercise their authority as such acts are common.
There
is no warning sign prohibiting photography in this ground-level
Botanic Garden of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. A tripod helps to shoot
sharp images of dragonflies, hence I used it.
The Security
Guard backed off: "It is okay if you just take dragonflies."
Who was I shooting? Patients? The morning sunshine filters onto the
leaves of the Botanic Garden. I got a good photo of the rare
dragonfly.
I met 80-year-old Samy this morning walking around Lentor Plain. He said he gave his old coins to friends who collected coins. I mentioned about somebody who wanted to give me a coin with Lee Kuan Yew but I did not accept it as I don't collect coins. This led him to speak up about Lee Kuan Yew's impact on his life. He had been a teacher for the past 37 years.
1. Around 1967, LKY's government said that only Singapore citizens born in Singapore could be teachers in government schools. He was asked to leave as he was born in India although he was given Singapore Citizenship earlier, after a few months applying for it.
"I went to a missionary school to teach at St Margaret School in Farrer Road," he said. "It is a government-aided school and I was still paid by the government!". He stay in this school for over 30 years and later rejected a post as a school principal.
2. "In the old days, the employer and employee contributed 25% of the basic salary to the Central Provident Fund," he told me how he was able to put a downpayment for buying a house off the plan in Lentor Terrace around 1969. Lentor Green houses were built and was being sold as the developer could not pay the bank. However, he could not afford the downpayment and hence bought Lentor Terrace house off the plan (plot of land with house to be built)>
3. He had a government bursary for 2 years of his University study.
4. He came to Singapore as a 10-year-old leaving his poor parents in India. He was sent to the Boys' Home operated by the Ramachandran temple, not associated with the "Boys' Town".
The Ramachandran temple helped pay for his primary education. His younger brother worked to finance his education but later he helped his brother to secure education in ACCA in the UK. The brother is a successful accountant in Kuala Lumpur now.
5. Married. 2 boys and 1 girl. All grown up. They paid for a maid from India to help him and his wife in the house. Daughter had married a cyber security husband and both had migrated to Australia. His two sons lived by themselves and now he and his wife are empty nesters.
6. A very healthy white moustached man who walks in the morning, meeting and talking to passers by.
7. He served as President of the Ramaachandran Old Boys.
"Lee Kuan Yew's policies had affected my employment as a government teacher, but I have no ill feelings against him as he had converted Singapore from a undeveloped country to a modern one."
"When one door closes, another door opens," I said to him.
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