How difficult can it be to wash ones hands? Surely easy.

Well that's what I naively thought before I ventured into the downstairs lavs at my work place.

Singapore is a great nation for educating its people and indeed ensuring that public information instructions are regularly delivered on a myriad of topics. A recent campaign in the underground, encourages boarding passengers to let the alighting individuals off first - then barge full steam ahead to get a seat - usually the priority seat also. This latter resting place is intended for the frail, pregnant and old; usually what happens is an able-bodied person of any age and/or sex plonks themselves down, makes themselves comfortable and resolutely refuses to budge even for one-armed, pregnant octogenarians - of which I must admit there are relatively few in sterile baby-poor Singapore.

The offending sitter is equally likely to be male, female, of teenage or middling years - and worse still, they are quite inclined to even pretend to be asleep or be engrossed in their play-station so as not to have yield their perch for a perhaps more deserving lackey.

Anyway, back to my rant.

Oh, before, I forget, talking of letting people out before you march in: I was in the elevator this morning at work and was quite encumbered with my pepper chicken puff, sweet tea (teh c) and numerous baggage items. As we approached the 3rd floor, I readied myself to exit the lift and as the doors parted I was for a split-second glared at by a middle-aged woman, on her mobile who regardless of my intent to exit (this was the top floor and the lift was going down) proceeded to push her way into the lift - as if it would descend any more quickly just because she'd managed to force her way in, even before the doors were actually fully opened...!

In my incredulity, I snipped: "You should let people out first! Then you'll find it easier to get in!" To which she retorted (increasing my pique of disbelief): "You didn't exit quick enough!" Amazing: I couldn't exit because she was right in the middle of the curtaining doors and blocked my way out....I was stunned and could only bring myself to yell back: "You stupid wench!" I'm sure she even understood what a wench is, but I felt sated.

So back to my hand-washing.

I did, in all honesty, think people should (thanks primarily to primary school teachers and perhaps even doting parents) know how to wash their hands. Well apparently not in Singapore and people need reminding. What I didn't know as can be clearly seen in the photo I snapped while in the gents (not a wise thing to do usually, I add) is that astonishingly, there are indeed 8 steps of good hand-washing. Now that's impressive.

Does anyone out there know what they are?