THE final competition of the season is over. We completed the World Champion-ships in China with the team relay competition, where we finished a respectable fourth.

It was then time to party. I think the club, Muse, in the centre of Cheng Du, has never seen a single westerner, so when about 40 athletes descended on it ready to party there were a few bemused looks. With a departure time of 5am we decided that is was best to party on through!

At last I am out of the grey suppressed China and into the bright blue skies and civilization of Singapore. It was when wandering through Singapore's Botanical Gardens that I saw several bride and grooms posing for individual photo shoots.

This puzzled me as it all seemed rather lacking in atmosphere. I was amazed to discover that it's tradition over here to dress up in all the wedding attire and have pictures taken days before the actual wedding. This explained one bride-to- be's choice of footwear, a pair of black trainers (for walking around the park) underneath a gorgeous dress.

Seeing these happy couples reminded me how I've just missed a second wedding this year due to my competition calendar.

This time it was the marriage of two of my friends, one an old Tavi College girl. But I am lucky to be staying here — the other side of the world — with another friend from home.