Ardour For Ardmore

American expats JANE and RON MARTIN are on their second Singapore stay, and fourth Ardmore apartment. Jane tells us why they love living there, and what life is like in Singapore as empty nesters.

- Amy Brook-Partridge

 

Jane and Ron’s second stint in Singapore is decidedly different from their first seven-year residency, from 2004 to 2011. Back then, their daughters Emily and Katie (now 22 and 21 respectively) were with them. Now, with Katie at college in the US, and Emily working as a missionary in the Dominican Republic, Jane and Ron’s Singapore stay has taken a slightly different focus.

“It’s so much easier meeting people when you have children,” says Jane, who’s come up with a novel way of ensuring she stays social. “I’m not a morning person, but I make sure I get up at 6.15am. I make Ron a smoothie, and then go downstairs to wait with the other moms. Once they’ve put their children on the Singapore American School buses, I join their walking group, enjoy a morning Starbucks with friends, then head to the American Club for yoga, which I do a few days a week. This group of Ardmore friends, or the ‘Loop Ladies’, as we call ourselves, is what keeps me going! The walking group is constantly changing, as new families come and go from Ardmore, but I’ve made life-long friends on this loop through the Botanic Gardens, and I don’t know what I would do without my morning loop therapy sessions.”

Ron and Jane spend weekends on the Singapore Island Country Club golf course, whenever possible. Ron has been a long-time golfer, but when the nest became empty, Jane started taking lessons so they would have an activity they could do together.