Một trong những James Bond đã ra đi. Và có lẽ đây là một trong những câu chuyện tuyệt với nhất về ông.

As an seven year old in about 1983, in the days before First Class Lounges at airports, I was with my grandad in Nice Airport and saw Roger Moore sitting at the departure gate, reading a paper. I told my granddad I'd just seen James Bond and asked if we could go over so I could get his autograph. My grandad had no idea who James Bond or Roger Moore were, so we walked over and he popped me in front of Roger Moore, with the words "my grandson says you're famous. Can you sign this?"

As charming as you'd expect, Roger asks my name and duly signs the back of my plane ticket, a fulsome note full of best wishes. I'm ecstatic, but as we head back to our seats, I glance down at the signature. It's hard to decipher it but it definitely doesn't say 'James Bond'. My grandad looks at it, half figures out it says 'Roger Moore' - I have absolutely no idea who that is, and my hearts sinks. I tell my grandad he's signed it wrong, that he's put someone else's name - so my grandad heads back to Roger Moore, holding the ticket which he's only just signed.

I remember staying by our seats and my grandad saying "he says you've signed the wrong name. He says your name is James Bond." Roger Moore's face crinkled up with realisation and he beckoned me over. When I was by his knee, he leant over, looked from side to side, raised an eyebrow and in a hushed voice said to me, "I have to sign my name as 'Roger Moore' because otherwise...Blofeld might find out I was here." He asked me not to tell anyone that I'd just seen James Bond, and he thanked me for keeping his secret. I went back to our seats, my nerves absolutely jangling with delight. My grandad asked me if he'd signed 'James Bond.' No, I said. I'd got it wrong. I was working with James Bond now.

Many, many years later, I was working as a scriptwriter on a recording that involved UNICEF, and Roger Moore was doing a piece to camera as an ambassador. He was completely lovely and while the cameramen were setting up, I told him in passing the story of when I met him in Nice Airport. He was happy to hear it, and he had a chuckle and said "Well, I don't remember but I'm glad you got to meet James Bond." So that was lovely.

And then he did something so brilliant. After the filming, he walked past me in the corridor, heading out to his car - but as he got level, he paused, looked both ways, raised an eyebrow and in a hushed voice said, "Of course I remember our meeting in Nice. But I didn't say anything in there, because those cameramen - any one of them could be working for Blofeld."

I was as delighted at 30 as I had been at 7. What a man. What a tremendous man.

Arts in Your Neighborhood (#AYN) end this weekend! But it's still not too late to bring your kids down for the FREE shows. We watched 'The Enchanted Flute' last weekend and the monkies enjoyed it so much that I highly recommend it! So if you're wondering how to occupy the kids this weekend, here are 3 suggestions:

1. The Enchanted Flute
26 Nov | 4pm & 6pm | Pasir Ris Park (Playground near Carpark E)

Specially commissioned for November's AYN, The Enchanted Flute is a theatrical puppetry performance told through the movements of Paper Monkey Theatre's hand-crafted puppets with live music accompaniment by SA The Collective and is inspired by Malay culture and heritage. In addition to the unique immersive theatrical experience, families can also look forward to an array of fringe activities, including roving music performances, interaction with giant bubbles, parent-and-child hands-on craft activities, popcorn and balloons as the familiar playground at Pasir Ris Park turn into an unusual site for pop-up performances.

2. Wow! Wayang
26 Nov | 7pm-8pm | Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park (Activity Lawn II)
27 Nov 2016 | 7.30pm-8.30pm | Bedok Town Square (Between Bedok Mall and Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre)

Relive the good old kampung days through this traditional shadow play performance - as stories come alive with the movements of Wayang Kulit puppets dancing symphonically to the live accompaniment of Gamelan music, projected against a larger-than-life screen. From the tale of Singapore’s progress from a fishing village to a modern city, to a fictional twist of superheroes restoring peace in a Malay village, watch closely as these stories and more unfold, and admire the juxtaposition of tradition and modernism presented creatively through puppetry in Wow! Wayang.

3. XperienZ: Sturm Und Drang
26 Nov | 7.30pm | Bedok Town Square (Between Bedok Mall and Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre)

What if one could participate and make music alongside the musicians during a performance? The Asian Contemporary Ensemble seeks to reinvent the concert model by inviting audiences to sit in between the orchestra for an entire symphony, where you actually get to experience the rich, fulsome music from the inside out!

For more information on AYN, visit https://artsforall.sg/ayn or http://www.cheekiemonkie.net/2016/11/arts-in-your-neighbourhood-2016-november-activities.html for my Top 7 picks.

Arts for All #artsinyourneighbourhood #artsforallsg #sp

本人第一支色色的影片出爐了！有興趣的人歡迎到推特觀看！