I realised that I have very few friends, especially after I became a mum. How or where can I go to look for friends?

A sure-fire way to meet locals, of course, is to put your children in local schools; you’ll most certainly meet Tiger mums and non-Tigers alike, and you may find you have a lot in common with them and form lasting friendships. But if your own children are unwilling to cooperate in this scheme – and they can be so stubborn – or if you don’t have children to use for your purposes, what then? Here are some tips. 1. Join your local community club. There are more than 100 all over Singapore; Cairnhill Community Club, for instance, is right across from Newton Circus. Tanglin Community Club, meanwhile, boasts that it is “the only CC to offer a Guzheng course” – and you’ve been searching all over for one of those! The website isn’t the easiest to use, so just walk into your nearest centre and pick up a brochure of classes. Enjoy a coffee while you’re there. 2. Get a “Passion” card. That thing that every cashier asks you for for will give you significant discounts when you go to sign up for a Guzheng or other course at a club. There are literally hundreds of classes across the island from cooking to crafts, all very reasonably priced and all populated by Singaporeans! 3. Join the National Library of Singapore: it has hundreds of branches (with cafés) and hundreds of events, and guess who goes to those events? Strike up a conversation with someone over the book they are reading. Note that many of the classes fill up right away – I was closed out of a Pastels Course and a Hawker Food Tour, but you can register online. For serious readers there is the National Book Club; it meets every two months and is free. 4. The Singapore Gardening Society has been around a long time; it meets regularly and is very welcoming to those interested in plants and gardening. Classes at the Botanical Gardens attract lots of locals. 5. The Southeast Asian Ceramic Society is group of serious collectors that welcomes new members to share their beautiful collections and enjoy excellent speakers and programmes. You must meet a collector first, so send the president an email outlining your interest. 6. Take a class at the Singapore Calligraphy Association (click on “About Us” and “English Version”) where you can study calligraphy and brush-painting even as a beginner. Non-credit classes are available at NUS, NTU, NAFA and LaSalle College of Art. 7. The professional women’s organisation Prime Time has 400+ members from 30 countries, including a good number of Singaporeans, and its very existence is intended to help you connect with people with similar interests. 8. Meet Singaporeans by volunteering at one of hundreds of local charitable organisations. You might want to start with SCWO, the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations.