A Poem for National Day 🙏 🇸🇬

Happy 61st birthday to my adopted home.

Aug 08, 2026

Today is Singapore’s National Day, its 61st birthday since declaring independence in 1965 NOT from Great Britain but from Malaysia (Singapore dumped us two years early in ‘63).

I have had the miraculous good fortune to live and work in this ‘little red dot’ for over 17 years; to be with my wife - who is Singaporean but whom I met in Spain - and raise our daughter here.

I am thankful every day for the safety, stability, opportunities and sunshine this island has afforded me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss a few things from my former home in England.

So, to celebrate this auspicious day I wrote a poem called ‘Lost & Found’ about all the things I left behind and all the things I have discovered since. I hope you enjoy it and stay tuned for a HUGE Pro-Human announcement next week and a whole new, 100% human made, look and feel! 🙏

Majulah!

My recommendations for new Singaporean things to read, watch, look at, listen to and do:

READ: My favourite new fiction from last year was ‘Sister Snake’ by Amanda Lee Koe, a short, magical-realist novel set between New York and Singapore, steeped in Chinese mythology and the machinations of the PAP. The local version also has gorgeous cover art by a local illustrator Asher Yep, known as @tororo.aoi.
WATCH: The final part of Anthony Chen’s ‘Growing Up’ trilogy comes out on August 20th. ‘We Are All Strangers’ tells the story of a 21-year-old slacker and his widowed father in contemporary Singapore whose lives are upended when the son's girlfriend becomes pregnant and an exuberant woman enters the father's heart.
LISTEN: Singaporean pop-rockers Sobs are just about to embark on their very first US headlining tour and I JUST managed to get my hands on a limited edition vinyl of their debut LP ‘Air Guitar’ from Bizarro Market having lusted after it for nearly three years!
DO: The BEST festival of the year is coming up VERY soon - don’t make me go alone again! Join me at Baybeats 2026 featuring independent bands from Singapore and across Asia, 3 - 6 September 🤘😝. See the full lineup at https://www.esplanade.com/whats-on/festivals-and-series/baybeats/2026.