Marie got down from the city bus near the Capitol. St Andrews Cathedral looked white and serene in the middle of its shady field fringed by angsana trees, sentinels of the Chrch's serenity planted long ago by those nostalgic for the oak trees of the English countryside. Set in the heart of this busy shopping area considered protected by its fence of strong iron railings, the spire of the Cathedral rose high above the trees reaching out to things beyond this earth, above the pretty concerns of man below.

Su-chen Christine Lim, Rice Bowl [1984], Singapore: Times Editions, 1991, 249.