Over the weekend I saw a delightful movie titled Crazy Rich Asians . It’s based on a best-selling book of the same name, by Kevin Kwan. The story is set in Singapore, and it highlights the culture clash that results when the son of one of the wealthiest Chinese families on the island brings his Chinese-American girlfriend, an independent New Yorker, home to meet his family. Naturally, the family member the girlfriend most wants to impress is her boyfriend’s protective, traditionally-minded mother, and the chances of that happening go from low to almost nil. It’s a fun movie, with terrific acting from the leads, especially the mother, played by Michelle Yeoh. But I think the main star of the show is the island republic that lies just off the tip of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia - Singapore. And, wouldn’t you know it, Singapore has some significant ties to Regency England. That’s because the man credited with founding Singapore in 1819, mainly f
. . . where the past is mirrored in the present