Jack Neo Admits Affair With Model I was shocked to read about Jack Neo having an extra-marital affair with a 22-year-old girl by the name of Wendy Chong - read articles here and here.Jack made a name for himself as Singapore most successful film-maker with his first film Money No Enough in 1998. He even earned a mention by the then Prime Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong in his National Day Rally Speech on 18 August 2002:Why not be like Jack Neo? He has applied his creative energy to produce three movies. Two of them were highly successful ? "Money No Enough" and "I Not Stupid". I watched "I Not Stupid". I can understand why it touched many parents' heart. My wife liked it so much that she watched it three times. She felt that Jack Neo deserved a National Day award. But I told her, "Two No Enough"!Indeed, in 2004 he became the first local filmmaker to be honoured with a National Day Award. In the following year, he won the Cultural Medallion by the National Arts Council (NAC), the highest art and cultural award in the nation.All these years, the public's impression of Jack is that he is a model husband who will not stray in marriage. In fact, Jack himself told The New Paper in a 1996 interview that it was too difficult to have a secret affair:My philosophy on an affair: I have no time for it. If you want to look for a secret lover, you got to pay for it, not in terms of money but something more valuable - time. You got to make lovey-dovey phone calls, go pak-tor (dating), spend time making yourself look good for the woman. (Sigh) Too difficult for me, lah.Now let me try to interprete the real meaning behind the sentences in the preceding paragraph:Jack: I have no time for it.Meaning: You will find time if you take her along on overseas working trips.Jack: You got to make lovey-dovey phone callsMeaning: SMS also canJack: Go pak-torMeaning: See movie Lucky Star also same sameJack: Spend time making yourself look good for the woman.Meaning: Actually, I look quite good already. With or without the clothes. Maybe better without.I remember the dialogue in one of Jack Neo's movie (can't remember which one) said something like this:偷吃要记得擦嘴巴Translated, it means "when you steal a bite (=stray), remember to wipe your mouth clean (=remove all incriminating evidence)". Tsk, tsk, tsk, talk about dishing out advice which you don't follow yourself. Seems like Jack forgot to follow that golden rule.They say that marriages go through the seven year itch. Wah, Jack is 20 years late - he is married for 27 years already. Maybe it is because his name Liang Zhi Qiang 梁志强 has the same hanyu pinyin as 两支枪 which means "have 2 guns". No wonder for him "that one no enough".And I am not withholding any admonition for the woman in the story either. No, not Madam Irene Kng (Jack's wife) who is the real victim but Wendy Chong. The latter said that she just wanted people to know that "(Jack Neo) may say that he loves me, but the next moment, he lies to me".Hello young woman, is lying more severe a crime than being a third party to a marriage? I certainly don't think so. And whoever invited reporters and photographers to come along for the meeting in Crowne Plaza hotel definitely had an ulterior motive.Why not be like Jack Neo? Do be careful where you apply your creative energy though.But alas, Jack seems to be playing Tiger Woods too. Aw come on, that girl is young enough to be your daughter, okay? What do you have to say? That you are human too and are prone to making mistakes just like all of us? Sigh, I just hope that this whole episode didn't actually happen but is only a publicity stunt for your current movie, aptly titled Being Human. But then, it is too early for an April Fool's joke, isn't it? Aiyah never mind lah, you can always make good use of this third-party first-hand experience to make your next "social issue" movie.Who knows? You could even earn another mention in this year's National Day Rally Speech. If this happens, I hope it is for the right reason. I wish you well. Changing Landscape Of Singapore (2) Singapore's landscape has been changing rapidly since its independence. Time and again, there have been calls by concerned people for the pace of change to slow down. Some even wrote letters to local newspapers appealing to the authorities to consider saving what is left of our past. If the authorities had heeded these calls, some of which came decades ago, we might not have needed the Integrated Resorts to bring in the tourists.Today, I reproduce one such letter published in the Straits Times of 15 June 1985 and bring you some old photos which evoke the memories conjured up by the letter writer, aptly called by the pseudonym "well-wisher". To the best of my knowledge, the letter remains unanswered, up till now.Time to think about saving what's leftI have lived in Singapore for many years and I suppose it goes without saying that I like it here. I admire this country and I defend its policies. But there is one policy which puzzles me because it seems to be self-defeating. We are concerned at the reduced level of tourism, yet we are systematically removing many of the features that tourists love. I am speaking of the older colourful parts of our town.I am frequently involved in taking out visitors and amongst those who know anything about Singapore, there is hardly a single one who fails to ask to be taken to places such as the Orchard Road car park (long gone), Bugis Street (going), Albert Street and Fatty's (going soon), Raffles Hotel (hanging on), and the Chinatown night market (gone).My visitors lament when they learn that these pieces of original Singapore are gone or going. They are, of course, impressed by our new hotels, shopping complexes and skyscrapers. Singapore has been outstanding in these developments and they marvel at such obvious progress. However, there is a boring sameness about such structures; from Hongkong to Houston they are similar and unlikely to be of sustaining interest to tourists.And when it comes to local colour, tourists prefer the real thing, not artificial copies. Visitors want to experience Singaporean life rather than something concocted specifically for tourists - like themselves.After we have eliminated the last street market, the last eating stall, the last wayang, the life of the streets will be extinct and it will not be possible to recreate that atmosphere ever again.Presently the pressure to provide land for redevelopment has eased - one might say expired. We probably have enough office space, hotel rooms, shopping complexes, warehouses to last us for some years to come. Could we not use this breathing space to rethink policies and perhaps to save some little of what we have left?WELL-WISHERSingapore 1128Orchard Road carpark, before the hawkers (and the bulldozers) moved in. Could you see the hand pointing "this a-way" to the carpark for those who had lost their way? Only kidding, of course. It is actually a Federal Motors signboard advertising the sale of Austin cars and trucks.(Circa 1960s. Photo credit: P's Collection)The hawkers queueing up on Orchard Road before moving into the carpark. Did you notice the topless man? Would you dare to buy your food from such a hawker today? And I wonder if he would have managed to obtain even a "D" grading from the NEA if he were to serve food in that outfit now.(Circa 1960s. Photo credit: P's Collection)The hawkers have taken up their strategic positions now. Soon comes nightfall and this carpark will be teeming with hungry customers. The pointing finger is still there but the advertising signboard on the left has different pictures from the first photo above. And now we know that the concrete road divider was the first thing to go.(Circa 1960s. Photo credit: P's Collection)Similarly, the day scene in Bugis Street will be transformed into a very different one at night...(Circa 1960s. Photo credit: Derek Tait)What did I tell you? Bugis Street at night - another food haven to rival the one at Orchard Road carpark.(Circa 1960s. Photo credit: Derek Tait)And for beef kway teow lovers, there are not one but two stalls located opposite each other in Malabar Street to whet their appetite. Hmm... yummy! Simply haven... er, I mean heaven! Aiyah, whatever lah! Just give me my beef.(Circa 1960s. Photo credit: Derek Tait)Night market in New Bridge Road near Chinatown.(Circa 1962. Photo credit: National Archives of Singapore)Night market. The stall on the left is selling fireworks and fire crackers. The stall on the right is selling sweet Swatow Mandarin oranges at only 60 or 70 cents a KATI. Wah, so cheap! But still, look at who has more customers. Ahh, those were the days, my friend.(Circa 1960s. Photo credit: Derek Tait)Undated postcard showing Raffles Hotel in the daytime many decades ago.Recent photo of Raffles Hotel at night. Raffles Hotel was gazetted as a National Monument on 6 March 1987 and 3 June 1995. Hmm... I wonder why it had to be gazetted 2 times? To be doubly sure or what?(Photo credit: Victor Koo) Chap Ji Ki Disclaimer: This article is not intended to promote gambling. Read on at your own risk. Should you become addicted to gambling and think you have crossed the line by reading this article, please consult these people.With the opening of the Resort World Sentosa last week, the topic for this article is still about gambling.MM Lee is right, the Chinese are congenital gamblers. I was introduced to gambling the game of chap ji ki at a very tender age by none other than my own mother. You see, she often asked me to place bets for her at the coffeeshop downstairs:I think why she wanted me to do it for her was because our block did not have a lift and we stayed on the 4th storey. In her opinion, a young boy like me would definitely take less effort to climb up and down the stairs compared to a middle-aged woman suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. Being a filial son, I always complied with her orders. Well, she might not be aware then that by doing so, she could be doing more damage to my future than she would have done to her knees.She would pass me a betting slip that didn't resemble this at all:Image taken from Singapore Pools websiteInstead, it looked something like this:The wager on the left is on my favorite numbers "6-9" and is called a "pai pai" (排排，Cantonese for "next to each other" or "horizontal") bet . The one on the right is a "jek lok" (直落，"straight down" or "vertical") bet on the numbers 7-10 (How the game is played and the payout system are explained in this Singapedia entry and I need not explain them here.)My mum, like many housewives of those days, was not formally educated. So instead of indicating the amount of the bet, she would draw symbols - a circle with one slash across it meant 50 cents, a circle with an X across it meant 1 dollar and a smaller circle stood for 10 cents. Technically speaking, the smallest acceptable bet was 10 cents but I think the smallest bet my mum ever placed was 30 cents. Her highest bet on a number was no more than a few dollars so there was no need for symbols of bigger currency denominations. (For the record, the amount for the left bet is $1.80 while the right one is $2.40. Easy, isn't it?)In return for placing the bets, the coffeeshop owner 阿东(Ah Dong) would scribble a receipt for me in a small notepad and give me a carbon copy.My mum was meticulous in keeping track of the past winning chap ji ki numbers. She had sheets of A4 sized cards on which she recorded them. She would take them out for study before placing any bets. However, whether this method worked for her or not, I don't know. Although she did strike once in a while, I think like in all gambling, she suffered a net loss overall.Luckily, in those days, the coffeeshop didn't bar those aged under 18 from buying chap ji ki. If it did, I certainly wouldn't have lived to tell this story. But even more fortunately in my opinion, is that I didn't grow up to be a compulsive gambler, whether through nature or nurture. And for that, I thank the God of Fortune. Changing Landscape Of Singapore (1) I was at the River Hongbao yesterday. River Hongbao is being held at The Float@Marina Bay, previously known as Marina Bay Floating Platform. (Have you noticed that even names of places keep changing here?)While at the event, one can't help but notice the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) standing just behind the God of Fortune. It is as if he is blessing the soon to be completed MBS with good luck in the Year of the Tiger.Coincidentally, its counterpart Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) opened its doors at the auspicious time of 12.18 pm on 14 February 2010, the first day of the Lunar New Year.ST Photo dated 16 February, 2010Perhaps a not so well-known but no less important "opening" is the recent launch of the online newspapers archive called NewspaperSG. It is an initiative of the National Library Singapore that provides library patrons with access to digital copies of Singapore newspapers dating back to 1831.Do you know whose original idea it was to build the Integrated Resorts? Certainly not this guy. Searching through NewspaperSG, I found a letter in the Straits Times Forum page of 10 June 1985 which was written by someone with the pseudonym "Go for Broke" who suggested the development of a casino as well as a night racing track in Sentosa. (Possibly since the 1990s, Straits Times had disallowed the use of pseudonyms for letters to the Forum.) The letter is reproduced here:Sentosa casino will draw touristsWhile neighbouring countries are feverishly developing new holiday resorts to promote tourism, our own efforts in this area seem perfunctory by comparison.On our part, we should upgrade Sentosa into a holiday resort of international standard. We could, I venture to suggest, develop a hotel-cum-casino complex there and perhaps throw in a race track for night racing as a novelty.In these difficult times for the tourism industry, bold and imaginative steps need to be taken by the authorities concerned to attract more tourists to our shores.GO FOR BROKESingapore 2056Guess what was the reply from Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC)? The suggestions were dismissed, of course. Here's the reply dated 15 June 1985 from Miss Cheryl Lee, Head (Public Relations) of SDC:Casino out of the question for SentosaWe refer to the letter "Sentosa casino will draw tourists" by "Go for Broke". (ST, June 10).The development philosophy of the Sentosa Development Corporation is to develop Sentosa into a resort island for tourists and a holiday retreat for Singaporeans.The many attractions cater for the varied needs of the visitors and are aimed at the family group as well as the individual. Plans are in hand to upgrade existing facilities as well as to add new attractions.Wholesome recreational activities are also organised for a wider participation. The casino and race track idea does not form part of the aforementioned concept.We would however wish to thank "Go for Broke" for his interesting suggestions.CHERYL LEE (MISS)Head (Public Relations)SDCA quarter of a century later, everyone now knows that both ideas of "Go for Broke" have been adopted by the Government, although the night racing track is not located in Sentosa. But we did even better, didn't we? We will soon have TWO casinos instead of one. And the rest, as they say, is history.In fact, we should thank "Go for Broke" for the suggestion to develop the casino and night racing track. He/she is obviously someone with great foresight. The only problem about expressing our gratitude is that we don't even his/her real name! The Tiger Creeps Upon Us Before you know itThe tiger has crept nearAnd with the festival's spiritHeralds the end of Ox yearFrom Chinatown to Little IndiaThere are sights and soundsOf the passing of another yearAs visitors make their roundsA Wood Tiger in a Metal YearNot a favorite time to have a babyDon't mistake it for Tiger Woods last yearWho played many holes but paid dearlyForget about past unhappinessTomorrow is a new beginningWhether you're running a businessOr like most who're just workingMay the new year be happyWelcome the God of FortuneWish you health and prosperityAnd all hopes be realised soonGong Xi Gong Xi A Little Bird Told Me An Indian fortune teller in Bedok Central, not a pet seller. - Photo taken on 30 Mar 2008"A little bird told me" is an idiom which refers to information which was gathered from a source not to be overtly exposed. Compare it to "I heard it through the grapevine" which refers to information which was obtained via an informal contact. Of course, my friend Andy Young will point out that it is also a title of a signature song by Marvin Gaye who released it in 1968.Anyway, my article today is not about 1960s music. It is about a traditional occupation - a fortune teller. Mind you, not just any fortune teller. There are many kinds - some gaze into a crystal ball; some use playing cards; some look at your face or palms; some shake your fortune out from coins in tortoise shell; and so on. But there's one thing all fortune tellers share in common, and that is you don't have to spend a fortune to have your fortune told. Their prices are really quite reasonable unless they are out to fleece you. Usually, it is just a couple of dollars. However, I can't comment on how accurate their predictions are.If their soothsaying didn't come true for you, you can always blame it on your stars their skills. For it was either their data extraction process that had gone awry or that their data interpretation skills that required polishing up. But what if a little bird told you so? Well, then you could put all your blame on the poor little bird if you want. But don't be too hard on the bird - it is only trying to make a living, just like the fortune teller.A fortune teller could be of any race. But for some unknown reason, fortune tellers with little birds (not figuratively) in Singapore nowadays are likely to be Indians. Usually the bird is either a parrot or a canary. However, I remember that decades ago, Chinese fortune tellers also had little birds. They preferred to use Java sparrows instead.A Java SparrowAnother Java Sparrow. Telling its own fortune from its reflection, perhaps?So how does a little bird tell someone's fortune? The bird has to be trained to pick out one card from a stack which is spread out on the table. So that it will not fly away, the bird probably had its wings clipped. Once it has mastered the skill of picking a card, the fortune teller can start picking a customer. When a fortune needs to be told, the bird is let out of the cage. It picks a card by pulling it out from the stack with its beak. Once it has done this seemingly simple task, it is promptly rewarded with a grain of seed or padi and its work is considered done. The bird voluntarily hops back into the cage, after which its master closes the cage gate. Now it is the fortune teller's turn to spin his tale.Sometimes, the fortune teller may have 2 birds instead of 1. In such a case, the birds do not work so hard but then the downside is that they do not get their rewards as often.Below is an exhibit on the Indian fortune teller which I saw at the Catholic High School on 22 Nov 2008:An exhibit at Catholic High School - Photo taken on 22 Nov 2008The explanatory notes at the exhibit says:"The Indian fortune teller is now getting to be a rarity along the street in Little India. The Indian fortune teller keeps a canary or parrot in a cage as he sets up a small stall along the shophouses. When a customer pays the fortune teller to have his fortune told, the fortune teller will open up the cage and tells the canary to choose a card from a stack of cards on the table. The Indian fortune teller will then reveal the customer's upcoming misfortune or lucky streak to him."Further ReadingRead the stories of fortune tellers here and here. Old National Library Revisited I wrote about the Old National Library here before.Ms Clara Ann, a 4th year History major from the National University of Singapore will be writing on the former National Library at Stamford Road for her dissertation. In an email dated 26 Jan 2010, she asked me some questions (in blue below) about the library for which my answers are in italics:1. What was a typical visit to the National Library like for you? It depends on what age I was at. When I was in primary school (1963-1968), I visited the Children's Section. While in secondary school and Pre-U (1969-1974), I visited the Adult Section. At that time, I was staying at Cheng Yan Place which was about 15 minutes' walk away from the National Library. I always walked to and from the library.To make full use of the visit, each time I would try to borrow the maximum allowable number of 4 books. I think the books were due to be returned in 3 weeks' time. The due date was chopped on a leaflet which is glued onto the first page inside the front cover of the book. I always tried to return books on time. The fine then was 5 cents per book per day of overdue. It is not considered a big sum today but in those days, it was a significant amount, considering that I was given only 20 cents for pocket money everyday.2. What do you recall and feel about the times you spent at the library?I remember more about using the Adult Section. I spent many Saturday evenings at the library. I often stayed till closing time at 9 pm. At that time, four persons can share a table. Sometimes, I hoped that a pretty girl would come join the table... but I was usually disappointed. :p Of course, besides looking at girls, I studied as well.Once around 1970, there was a film crew from the English TV station at the library. They were filming a snippet for the newsreel (a segment of film which was broadcast during the TV news). The crew asked for permission to film me borrowing a book at the checkout counter. They told me to behave normally. That evening, I appeared on TV as promised. It was my proud "5 seconds" of fame which I am sure nobody cared a hoot about.I was a victim of an attempted robbery while walking home from the library late one night. I think it happened in Queen Street. One guy from a group of 3 ran from across the street to accost me. He checked my breast pocket but found no money. Then he lifted up my left forearm to take a closer look at the old and worn watch on my wrist in the dim street lighting. After realising that my watch had "zero book value" (pardon the "book" pun), he decided to go away empty-handed. But before he went away, he made me promise not to tell anybody of our encounter. Believe it or not, I am breaking that promise only now.3. How did you feel/react when you heard about plans to demolish the Old National Library?Sad of course, like most people. But I didn't take any photos of the building because film photography and digital cameras were expensive then. I also didn't have the time.4. Why do you think it was demolished when there were many who felt it was worthy of preservation?The authorities always have "very good reasons" for demolishing any buildings. National Theatre is a very good example (reason - "unstable cantilever"). New 7th Storey Hotel is another (reason - construction of Downtown MRT line). Sometimes the reasons seem valid, sometimes they appear to be just excuses. For instance, as stated in my blog, the National Library was originally claimed to be demolished to make way for the Singapore Management University. However, today only a big hole stands in its place, otherwise aptly known as the "shortest tunnel in Singapore that terminates with an ERP gantry".5. How did you feel about the eventual outcome? That despite attempts to save the Old National Library, it was still demolished.Sad of course. It was like a part of your memories being wiped out. You can only look at old photos and even these are hard to come by.6. How do you find the new National Library at Victoria Street as opposed to the old one?It is modern, spacious and well-stocked with good books. There are also talks and exhibitions held at the new National Library. These were unheard of in the old National Library. Oh, by the way, did you know that the new National Library was built by demolishing an old hotel that was also worthy of preservation, in my opinion?Update on 1 Feb 2010Thanks to James Seah who sent me some photos on what the old National Library site looks like today:Compare the above photo with one that shows the old National Library behind the same set of red pillars and you can see how much this place has transformed:The following passage is extracted from this Wikipedia entry:"The old National Library was eventually torn down in 2005. Today, all that remains of the building at its original site are two red-bricked entrance pillars standing near the Fort Canning Tunnel. The controversy surrounding the building's demise has been credited for sparking greater awareness of local cultural roots and an unprecedented wave in favour of heritage conservation among Singaporeans."You can refer to James' very interesting post on the old National Library here. Going Round In Circles My name is Trachemys scripta elegansThat's what I am know in scienceOtherwise just call me red-eared sliderActually I live on land more than in waterI should have a long lifeBut deep I can't diveGrew up in this vesselNot been outside this circleUsed to have a companionBut not long was our unionYearning all day for freedomHe probably died of boredomWhy must I be imprisoned?Sometimes even seasonedAnd cooked into a soupWe strongly protest as a groupYou are not doing me a favourMy lifestyle you never can caterWhy did you have to adopt me?Can't you just let me be?My movement may be slowBut Iet me decide where to goPlease treat me kindlyThough you can't set me freeCaught between a rock and a hard placeI long for better daysI don't want to live and dieIn this miserable pig sty Save Our Film A screen grab from the film The Last Communist which is loosely based on the autobiography of Chin Peng, the legendary Malayan communist guerrilla leader. The film tells of the little-known role of the Communist Party of Malaya towards the dissolution of British rule in the country. (Photo taken from Asian Film Archive.)I received the following email from Ling Goh who represents a group of NTU students involved in a very worth cause. Please help them if you can.Help a group of NTU students and do your part to help 'Save Our Film' as well! The 'Save Our Film' campaign is a nationwide outreach effort to raise awareness amongst those aged 15 to 35 and educate them on the importance of saving our local film for the future. It is held as a part of the 5th Anniversary celebrations of the Asian Film Archive, a local charity dedicated to collecting, conserving and sharing our local films from before the Golden Era ('50s and '60s) till today, and will launch on 30 January till the end of February.Part of the 'Save Our Film' campaign involves a nation-wide Call for Memories where we invite members of the public to contribute video clips of themselves or their "memory-keepers" like parents and grandparents to share their recollections of Singapore film. This can include actual Singapore films and the experience of watching films in Singapore in the good old days of large hall cinemas and the like. These video clips will be amassed on the Asian Film Archive YouTube group to form an online video memories exhibition accessible to the public and our targeted audience of youths who will not have these memories of their own.We would like to extend a warm invitation to anyone who holds and wishes to share their favourite local film memories and will arrange to interview and record you and any other friends or family you can gather for this personal sharing session. This is a wholly non-profit endeavour aimed at recreating experiences for our youths and creating conversations between the generations. Please feel free to email us at saveourfilm@gmail.com and do come forward to join us in this very worthy but overlooked cause!Sincerely,Ling Goh The Adam Park Project Below is an email from Mr Jon Cooper who is the Project Manager of a research project called The Adam Park Project. He would appreciate if you could contribute any related information:Hello, The Adam Park Project (TAPP) Team are looking at the potential for battlefield archaeology in Singapore. Our case study is the defence of Adam Park estate by 1st Batt Cambridgeshire Regiment fro 12th-15th February 1942. More info can be found at:http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/battlefieldarchaeology/centreprojects/singaporewwiiproject/ We have pulled together lots of information on the British version of events we are currently pursuing leads to the Japanese side of the story. However we would now like to know more about the Singaporean memories of the fighting around Adam Park and the Watten Estate and life on the estates up to, during and immediately after the war years. If you have memories, photos or anecdotes that may help us then please drop me an email at jonalicooper@googlemail.com. Hope you can help us. Jon Cooper TAPP Project Manager An Appeal For Your Help Do you remember this post which I wrote on 16 Feb 2009? It was about Muhd Noor Azri Abdul Rahman, an ex-Victorian, who was badly injured in a skiing accident. Read about his story here.Azri requires costly continued treatment and therapy for his disabilities which are likely to be life-long. Azri's father, Mr Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Hamid, has set up a new blog to appeal for your kind donations. Please help the family if you can. Old "Baggage" The National Museum of Singapore is currently holding a very interesting exhibition called "The Bag - Carrier Bags in Singapore from the 1950s to the 1980s":"From basic utilitarian objects, carrier bags in Singapore have come a long way to become museum pieces. This exhibition traces the evolution of local consumer culture through 60 carrier bags from the 1950s to the 1980s."Empress Restaurant Paper Carrier Bag - This signature brown carrier bag was designed to hold mooncake boxes, which sit nicely on the brown square base. Over the years, the graphic designs on mooncake carriers have changed but their shape has remained pretty much the same.Never did I imagine that the humble bags which my late mother used to carry live chickens back from the market would one day make it to the museum as exhibits! As a kid, I always looked forward to seeing the brown paper bag that brought delicious mooncakes and little pastry piggies in plastic cages from the Queen Of The Mooncakes. After the festival was over, the bag would be recycled for carrying things... and sometimes, even a live chicken. It was amazing how well the bag fitted the chicken snugly like a glove so it could not flap its wings. It was as if the bag was tailor-made for the chicken. Only its head and neck would be exposed and its head would bob about, surveying the surroundings like a submarine periscope. The light brown colour of the paper bag matched well with the darker brown feathers of the chicken. And if the chicken soiled the bag, simply discard it (the bag not the chicken). If not, you could recycle the bag again.They say that a picture paints a thousand words. My friend Peter recently said that I've got great IT skills. So, here is a photoshopped photo to show you what I mean:Chicken in a brown paper bagBata Carrier Bag (1960s) - Bata, a Czech shoe company which started operations in Singapore in 1931, positioned itself as a one-stop shoe store for everyone. Its carrier bag said as much with the picture of a family holding a big leather shoe.Oh yes, I remember the Bata bag which came with intertwined red and white strings for a handle and the slogan "First to Bata then to school". And then there were some people who made fun out of the brand by saying that it stood for "Buy And Throw Away". But in a way, that is true even today, isn't it? If you don't use your old shoes until they are good bad enough to throw away, would you have the chance to buy new ones? Definitely not in those days when most families were poor.PVC Carrier Bag (1970s) - In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the production of the plastic bag emerged as the largest manufacturing group in Singapore's plastic industry. Consumers preferred such bags as they were light, water-resistant, easy to carry and durable. Thick bags with die-cut handles such as this were extremely popular.I was given a bag similar to the one above when I collected my black plastic spectacles from Chai Meng Optician located on the ground floor of a 9-storey red-brick SIT flat in Upper Pickering Street. Maybe they had to use such a heavy-duty bag because my glasses were thick and heavy like the "bottom of a Coca Cola bottle", as a so-called "friend" puts it. The SIT flat, my thick glasses as well as the friend are gone today - I had cataract operations done for both eyes 10 years ago and the short-sightedness was corrected as a "side-benefit". I don't think I need to elaborate why the other two items disappeared as well.Unidentified student wearing thick black plastic-rimmed spectacles (not an exhibit) like mine.Other exhibits include the following items:Paper Carrier Bag With Advertisement (1954) - The oldest carrier bag in the exhibition doubles up as an advertisement for Goles kidney purifying tablets, with text in English and Burmese. An accompanying image shows how the bag travelled with its owner to public spaces.Letterpress Metal Template (1980s) - This template belonged to Hup Huat Paper Products, which went into the paper-bag business in 1942. Eventually, the production of paper bags became less profitable and the family-run business stopped making them in the 1990s to focus on supplying paper instead.Paper Carrier Bag for Robinsons French Fortnight (1967) - It seems Singapore's oldest department store Robinsons has always done things in style. This carrier bag was created specially for the store's French Fortnight from Sept 18 to 30, 1967. Melwani's Paper Bag (from far left) 1960s; Heng Lee Paper Carrier Bag 1970s; Hilda's Paper Bag 1960s - Before the emergence of Orchard Road as a shopping hub in the 1970s, Singaporeans thronged boutiques and textile shops in Raffles Place, North Bridge Road and High Street. These shops' carrier bags often featured women, their key customers.Carrier Bag For Nestle With Milo Advertisement (1960s to 1970s) - Advertising text and illustrations covered bags, promoting products and services like posters and banners did. Bold prints and colours were used to make the message or product stand out.Paper Bag (1980s) - This paper bag of Chuen Fong Soy Company advertises the product and comes with intertwined red and white strings for a handle.More About The Exhibition:Where: National Museum of Singapore, The Balcony, Level 2, 93 Stamford RoadMRT: City HallWhen: Till April 18, 10am - 8pmAdmission: FreeTel: 6332-3659You can find out more about the exhibition from this link.Source of photos and captions used for this post:Photos - Aidah Rauf, National Museum of SingaporeCaptions - Lifestyle Section, Straits Times dated 1 Jan 2010Update:Here's a sypnosis of the exhibition from the organisers themselves, i.e. the National Heritage Board, extracted from the Dec 09 - Jan 10 issue of the NHBuzz:This one by Lactogen, a brand of baby formula milk, is in Malay. Translation by Victor: "Throughout Malaya, prize-winning children drink Lactogen. Children's food that is complete. Contains 9 vitamins and iron." (Note that there are even 2 asterisks to indicate that the phrase on top should join to the one below. How thoughtful!)"From its humble beginnings as a form of packaging to its present status as a fashion accessory, the simple carrier bag has come along way. And paying tribute to this daily necessity is a special exhibition titled THE BAG: Carrier bags in Singapore from the 1950s to the 1980s at the National Museum of Singapore. Featuring over 60 rare vintage carrier bags (Bata and Yaohan anyone?) from the National Museum's collection, THE BAG documents Singapore's consumer culture through the years.Apart from their utilitarian function, mass produced carrier bags also serve as markers of Singapore's retail history and evolution. Changing patterns of affluence, the growth of local consumer demand and the influence of Western culture were all instrumental in bringing about changes in Singapore's retail industry, and these were captured through carrier bags. Paper bags, for one, gave way to the increasing popular plastic bag in the late 1970s which were favoured for their lightness and durability. Preceding the onset of mass media, carrier bags were also one of the earliest and simplest forms of mobile advertising as businesses started using carriers to publicise their products and services.Aside from charting the progress of our retail scene, this exhibition also shows how carrier bags spawned an industry of paper bag makers made up of industrious women who worked hard to produce the bags to help supplement family income in Singapore's early post-war period.Amidst the sea of carrier bags we have today that take on all shapes and forms, THE BAG takes a nostalgic walk down memory lane and provides a refreshing look at the retail icons of yesteryears. Don't miss the chance to view original vintage carrier bags that have endured the times and survived chapters of Singapore's history." Old Singapore Quiz (16) - Answer - Garden City Built But Garden Street Lost Singapore built a Garden City but lost a Garden Street. Garden Street was an old L-shaped street that joined Beach Road to Rochor Road. It existed up till the early 1990s. The 1963 road map below shows the exact location of Garden Street. (The red arrow shows the direction in which the camera lens was pointing when the 1970s photo was taken.)Note that one end of the street was opposite the Clyde Terrace Market while the other was opposite the New 7th Storey Hotel. Sadly, both landmarks are no longer around - the former was demolished in 1983 while the latter was demolished only last year, i.e. 2009. Clyde Terrace Market was torn down to make way for the Gateway twin towers while the New 7th Storey Hotel had to go because of the construction of the Downtown MRT line. Below are some old images of New 7th Storey Hotel and Clyde Terrace Market compared to what the sites look like today.New 7th Storey Hotel, a year or two ago.The site where New 7th Storey Hotel used to be.Clyde Terrace Market on right of photo (c 1900). Source: NAS.Clyde Terrace Market (c 1900). Source: Singapore - 500 Early Postcards.Clyde Terrace Market (c 1920). Source: Singapore - 500 Early Postcards.Beach Road (c 1930). Clyde Terrace Market being visible from Beach Road; many rickshaws and a few cars are parked alongside the market. Source: Singapore - 500 Early Postcards.The twin towers of the Gateway today stand on the former site of Clyde Terrace MarketIn fact, these are not the only 2 landmarks that had disappeared from the 1963 map or the 1970s photo. There have been many changes in the landscape of this area since the 1960s. The other changes are described below:1. Masjid Bahru ("New Mosque") in Jeddah Street, labelled no. "30" in the map. First built about 1870, and rebuilt in 1928. The majority of the smaller streets in this neighbourhood were laid out between 1860 and 1875, when Beach Road ceased to be a fashionable residential area, and most of the nearby buildings date from this period.2. "Redstone" from this forum summarised it very well:"I remember when I was young, like around 1994/5/6, the shophouses on Parkview's current 'field' is still around. The Blanco Court was still around, so was Kallang Gasworks and the shophouses around 7th storey hotel. It's really very sad, for it was THE original "old town" of Singapore. Seriously it's a very bad decision.Clyde Street and Beach Road junction (c 1963). Source: NAS.Clyde Street (c. 1979). Source: NAS.From old maps the streets names were Fraser, Farquahar, Barnard, Clyde, Sin Koy, Garden, Jeddah, Beach Lane, and one Shiek "something", an Arabic name which I forgot. The streetscape was almost same as the Kampong Glam core. With the main street, Beach and North Bridge Roads, Ophir and Rochor Roads on all 4 sides. The central street, Jeddah Street, of which is a cul-de-sac, and has a mosque, if I remember correctly from the Street Directory as late as 1995, the name was Masjid Bahru. The mosque has been demolished too. If given a choice, the old town of Singapore versus the whole Beach Road / Jln Sultan / Crawford public housing estates and even in exchange for Parkview Square, I would like to have the Old Town. Now there are only a few shophouses fronting the original beachfront at Beach Road.Last time the shophouses stretched all the way from Blair Plains almost unbroken all the way Crawford, then again at Katong. Now... I think only 30% remain?"Note: The "shiek something" which Redstone forgot was Shaik Madersah Lane.3. Blanco Court, the building under construction in the top right of the 1970s photo, was ironically "blanco-ed" from the area towards the end of the 1990s to make way for Raffles Hospital which was officially opened on 16 Mar 2002. Blanco Court was a place where you could get everything you needed for a kid's party. It also had a food court which sold delicious fried fish bee hoon and kway chap.4. Blk 405 Victoria Street - the tall 20-odd-storey HDB block that you see in the 1970s photo was demolished a few years ago. I remember eating Bak Kut Teh in the coffeeshop below the block many years ago. Bugis MRT Station was located right next to this block.If you blow up the 1970s photo, you could vaguely see the street name "Garden Street" on the left of the photo. (I am a little surprised why Icemoon, who has always been very meticulous, had missed out this important detail.)Comparing the 1970s photo of Garden Street with a second-shot of the same view today ...... as well as the 1963 map with today's map... and you will surely agree that this area, otherwise known as Kampong Glam, has undergone tremendous changes over the last few decades. However, the old landmarks were certainly not sacrificed because Singapore wanted to built a Garden City. On the contrary, they were somehow lost in the process of turning our city into a concrete jungle that lacks the character and the charm of the Old Town, as Redstone so fondly called it. Old Singapore Quiz (16) - A Garden City Built But Something's Lost According to the National Parks website, efforts to turn Singapore into a Garden City started some 4 decades ago. The driving force behind the greening of Singapore was none other than the former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yee who launched the Tree Planting Campaign in 1963.The following passage was extracted from the "Garden City" entry in the book "Singapore - The Encyclopedia":"During the 19th century, the jungle was cleared in Singapore, first to make way for agriculture, and later to make room for urban growth. The colonial government introduced street plantings and civic spaces, attempting to preserve the remaining natural vegetation and ameliorate the loss of greenery. This was, however, interrupted by the onset of World War II and the Japanese Occupation.In 1963, Lee Kuan Yew identified a 'Green Singapore' as a key competitive factor in attracting foreign investment and contributing to the quality of life of Singaporeans. Resources were directed towards building up Singapore's natural environment through the active planting of trees and shrubs along roads, on vacant plots and on new development sites. The Parks and Recreation Department (PRD) was formed in 1976 for this purpose. As most of Singapore's streets were devoid of greenery, the key task of the PRD was to increase the amount of plant and vegetation in public spaces. Fast-growing indigenous trees such as the angsana, rain tree, yellow flame and ketapang were introduced.The next phase of the Garden City programme saw the cultivation of free-flowering trees and shrubs like frangipani and bougainvillea, which added colour to the landscape. In addition, paved areas, such as car parks, were planted with trees to attenuate the build-up of heat over asphalt surfaces. Concrete structures, such as flyovers, were also planted with creepers, such as the climbing fig.By the 1980s, Singapore had tree-lined roads interpersed with parks filled with flowering plants and greenery. 'Green lungs' had been created in commercial areas such as the Marina City Park, while developers of residential areas were required to plant roadside trees and set aside land for open space. Parks competed with residential, commercial and industrial developments for land use, and park planners had to consider factors such as the location of population centres and accessibility.In 1990, the National Parks Board (NParks) was formed, comprising the Singapore Botanic Gardens and research divisions of the PRD. NParks also undertook a major programme to rejuvenate the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Fort Canning Park found new life as a performance venue. Singapore's nature reserves were also given new resources for conservation.On 1 July 1996, the PRD as a whole merged with NParks. NParks instituted community outreach and education programmes such as the 'Adopt-a-Park' scheme, through which schools and other organizations were encouraged to help tend their own special garden plots with an aim to cultivating a sense of ownership of the natural environment.As the Garden City took shape. NParks introduced the Heritage Trees concept in 2002 to preserve and maintain prime specimens of old trees, while the Heritage Roads scheme (also launched in 2002) sought to preserve distinctive roadside landscapes.NParks now manages a hierarchy of parks and open spaces, including nature reserves, roadside greenery and vacant state land. The Park Connector Network, a comprehensive network of park corridors, links major parks and nature areas. To sustain the development of the Garden City, NParks has completed its islandwide Streetscape Greenery Master Plan, which is aimed at creating distinctive landmarks out of future roadside greenery. Skyrise and rooftop greenery is also encouraged as part of the aim to optimize land use. Such features include rooftop gardens, landscaped bridges, terraces, decks and balconies. Other forms of skyrise greenery are plants on flyovers and pedestrian overhead bridges, as well as landscaped gardens above basement carparks."The above passage is summarised in the following YouTube Video titled "The Garden City Story":Quiz Question:Well, that explains the part about building a Garden City. You must now be wondering what the second part of this article's title, "But Something's Lost" is all about. The 1970s photo at the beginning of this article was passed to me by my friend Peter Chan. The pre-war houses in the foreground of the photo had been demolished. Can you identify the place in the photo? As with my 3 previous quizes, the place is in town. (Of course, Peter is automatically barred from participating in this quiz.) What? Got To Get Today From Orchard Road? I am not so lucky as some people who get Today and MyPaper newspapers delivered to their doorsteps everyday. To get my hands on a copy, I need to visit my neighbourhood 7-Eleven convenience store. Usually, I will buy a copy of the Straits Times so that I "qualify" to get my free copy of Today. Also, I have to do that early as the free newspapers are usually all given out by noon.Before committing 90 cents for a copy of the Straits Times, I would peep behind the counter to see if there are any copies of Today left. If there are no more copies left, usually a serious-looking middle-aged Chinese woman behind the counter would tell me, "Finished."But today was different. A Malay woman staff saw me looking behind the counter and said, "Ah, ah, no peeping."I asked her, "Got Today?"She replied, "No Today today. You've got to get it from Orchard Road today." But with that, she passed me a copy of Today without me having to buy anything. Just then, YG called me on my mobile to wish me Merry Christmas and also to arrange a meet-up with a mutual friend.After talking on the phone for about a minute, I went back to the counter to pay for a copy of the Straits Times. I asked the woman, "How much?"She replied, "90 thousand. You made me wait so long". Then she broke into a smile.I congratulated her for being so cheerful and humorous in doing her job. I said her predecessor was a bit too serious. She said, "Must joke lah. Otherwise very stressful."Hmm... did this taxi plough into the 7-Eleven at Tiong Bahru Plaza to get his free copy of Today too? Aiyah, no need so gan cheong lah! Season's Greetings Wishing all readers of Taking Up The Challenge:Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.Also Happy Birthday to my son who turned 18 today. He will be serving his NS with effect from 11 Jan 2010. Singapore's Carpark Wardens Through The Years - By Peter Chan Scene 1:Woman claims she parked at 1.10pm. URA car park warden, Ms. Kamsiah bte Wang claims woman parked at 12.51pm. The woman appeals against fine for the second time, claiming her watch is accurate. She decides to appeal (as a matter of principle and not because of the $30 fine) to the URA “relevant authorities”, only to receive a flat rejection letter. Will she go to Subordinate Court #26?Scene 2:A motorist considers it a waste of money to use a 50-cent parking coupon and leaves his car at the kerbside. He claims he can see his car and since everybody else is also doing the same, should be no problem. He goes into the kopitiam for that famous Bak Chor Mee and cuppa of coffee. Then all hell breaks loose as someone loudly screams, “Mata lai lor! Kah pak liak! Chut Saman! You see men (and women) dashing off to their cars leaving their bowls of Bak Chor Mee half eaten.Singapore is a really “fine” city because we Pay And Pay. We have fines for all kinds of offenses, including a fine for paying a fine late. I guess we need fines to maintain discipline otherwise how could Singapore have got to where it is today? But who is that “Chenghu” (Hokkien for the authority) on the street? It is none other than our URA parking warden whose duty has somewhat changed over the decades.Photo 1: Left; lonely warden writing on her booklet. A Hock Lee Bus passing by the public car park (circa 1967). Right; two wardens needing to rest their tired bodies against the cars. Notice a lorry double-parking “waiting” for a car park lot (circa 1972). In the 1960s, the car park warden was responsible for issuing tickets to motorists in public car parks and at kerbside parking. Wearing one of those “Chinese funeral type” straw hats, she could be easily recognized by any motorist.She had in one hand, a booklet of parking tickets, a stiff cardboard to provide hard support and to prevent writing through the carbon paper. She did not have the non-carbonized paper type but the Pelikan brand which came in black ink. The carbon paper was trimmed to the size of the booklet and inserted between the original parking and the duplicate parking tickets.The entire process of issuing a parking ticket and making a payment was simple. After a motorist pulled into a parking lot, she walked towards him and asked how long he would be parking. The motorist was given the original ticket whilst the parking warden kept the duplicate. Payment received would be kept it in one of her safari jacket-pockets whilst the small change was kept in the other jacket-pocket. If a motorist exceeded his parking time, he was issued with a pink ticket neatly tucked under the windscreen wiper. All he now needed to do was to walk up to her and make the additional payments. The car park warden checked the time the pink ticket was issued and the time on her wrist watch. Mentally working out the duration, she would tell him the right amount to pay.A fine occurred when the motorist drove off. The URA sent out letters of demand within 2 weeks from the date of the offence - stating the fine, the amount for the exceeded time and due date for payment. The first letter of demand was in white and the final warning letter was in pink. When the motorist chose to ignore, a visit to the courts was not unusual. You don’t need to guess how come I knew so much. In court, you see a long line of traffic offenders in a queue, each person waiting for the prosecutor to call his or her name to stand before the magistrate. When I pleaded guilty (always a smart thing to do instead of raising your hands or displaying a “boh chap” attitude because this adds to the cost) the compounded fine was S$50/.Photo 2: Left; One display method (circa 1980), Middle; Parking coupon + computerized fine (circa 2009), Right; Car Park Warden speaks: “Madam I already key into computer. You not happy, you can always write in. I am only doing my work.” Then Madam speaks: “Chi kuan a lang bor tow lor….wah buay tahan. Gor a ji tu buay sai……” One thing good about yesterday’s parking. You doubled-park your vehicle against a double-white line and wait; allowing your passenger to do errands such as running into the bank to make a deposit or to deliver goods. Surely these errands could take up to 30 minutes but the car park warden never chased you away. You could block other motorists also but as long you move your vehicle, it was alright. All kinds of reasons not to pay were accepted by the car park wardens. Maybe people in the past were more reasonable and forgiving. Try doing the same thing today in front of the Bank of China Building on Battery Road. Did you see in the rear mirror someone taking out his “Weapon of Mass Destruction”?Things changed with the introduction of self-ticketing parking coupons in 1980, the HDB joining URA later that year. In 1980 there were 658 URA car park wardens employed. When the self-ticketing system was introduced, car park warden duties were changed to enforcement duties at the car parks. They imposed surcharges on the spot when motorists display invalid coupons. The surcharge was four times 40 cents parking if it lapsed within one hour, when more than an hour an additional $10 was imposed.By this time, URA created a special “Hit Squad”. Enforcement wardens on scooters were sent out to keep a look-out for motorists who did not display valid car park coupons, tampering with the coupons (folding backwards without tearing away the tabs) or cheating on the starting time.Photo 3: The law on wheels; yesterday and todayI observed that with the implementation of self-ticketing parking coupons, city parking charges went up even faster than before. Consider that in 1965 it was just 20 cents for one-hour, then it became 40 cents for one hour in 1974, 50 cents for one hour in 1980, 60 cents for half-hour in 1985, and now $2.00 for one hour. There were all sorts of variations as shown in Photo 4 that can be very confusing for motorists. Fines also escalated to newer heights.Photo 4: Motorist woes, government happiness. Left - Early 1970s; Middle - Late 1980s; Right - TodayWith coupon parking and Cashcards, it has lead to the demise of the once popular URA car park warden. Now we have the CERTIS-CISCO carpark wardens but they belong to the “Hit Squad”. Thirty meters away, you hear “Vrooom Vrooom, Vrooom”. Then nearer to you, he loudly beeps the scooter horns. You can’t pretend you didn’t see him coming because very soon you see on the driver’s side of the window, a familiar figure in dark glasses starring hard at you. “MOVE!” Sheepishly you crank your engine, move the gears and step on the accelerator. It certainly looks like our car park wardens have “reinvented themselves” so that they can stay relevant in this modern age. Old Singapore Quiz (15) - Answers Looks like Old Singapore Quiz (15) was too easy for the oldies old timers. I should have provided a false clue like "mammary organ of a female transformer robot" to mislead you. :pI got a feeling that Icemoon knew the second answer but only gave the first one, i.e. "bolt from a bridge". So gentlemanly of him. Stanley got "One Fullerton" mixed up with "Fullerton Hotel" but I am certain that he knew which bridge it was. YG's guess of Anderson Bridge was close in terms of proximity but far away in correctness. (You can see Anderson Bridge in the background of the last photo.) Ironically, it was someone without a name, i.e Anonymous, who came up with the correct name - Cavenagh Bridge.The passage below is reproduced from the NHB heritage marker at the bridge:Built in 1869 to link the Civic District on the North Bank with the Commercial District on the South Bank, this is the oldest bridge along the Singapore River in its original design. It is also the first steel suspension bridge in Singapore. Before its construction, access between the two districts was only possible by a detour over Elgin Bridge or by paying one cent for a boat ride.Named after Colonel (later Major-General) Orfeur Cavenagh, the Governor of the Straits Settlements (1859-1867), the bridge was designed by the Public Works Department.It was manufactured by P & W MacLellan in Scotland and the parts were shipped here and assembled by Indian convict labour.According to the original design, the bridge was to be raised during high tide to facilitate the passage of barges. However, this proved to be technically impossible and it became a fixed suspension bridge. By the late 1800s, the bridge could not withstand the growing volume of vehicular traffic and Anderson Bridge was opened in 1910 to ease the flow. Cavenagh Bridge thus became a pedestrian bridge.A police notice put up to regulate the use of the bridge, banning heavy vehicular traffic exceeding 3 cwt (hundred weight) or 152 kilogrammes, still stands today at either end of the bridge.Cavenagh Bridge has been depicted in Singapore stamps at least twice:a. In March 1985, a 35-cent stamp featuring the bridge was issued:And especially for Icemoon, below is a second shot of the bridge taken from a similar angle as the above stamp.Below is the transcript of the above article which is extracted from the book "Singapore's Monuments & Landmarks: A Philatelic Ramble" by Dr Tan Wee Kiat, Mr Edmund Lim W K and Mr Kevin Tan Y L. (You can read this book for free at Dr Tan's Retrievia blog. Several other philatelic books written by Dr Tan and other co-authors are also available at the blog.)Cavenagh Bridge - Near the mouth of Singapore River, there is a beautiful small bridge, built in 1868. It is named after Governor Sir Orfeur Cavenagh. It has the distinction of being Singapore's oldest cast-iron bridge. An interesting fault in the design emerged at high tides - the barges could not pass under the bridge. To cope with the ever-increasing volume of land traffic a bigger bridge (Anderson Bridge) was built in 1909 parallel to Cavenagh Bridge. A sign was then put up on Cavenagh Bridge forbidding "vehicles, cattle and horses" from using the bridge. The sign can still be seen to this day.b. In August this year, Singapore and Philippines jointly issued 4 stamps of bridges to commemorate 40 years of diplomatic relations between the 2 countries. Cavenagh Bridge was depicted in one of the stamps:Have you noticed that the values of the 2 stamps, i.e 35-cent and 65-cent, add up to exactly 1 dollar? Well, I believe that this is purely coincidental.Below are more photos of Cavenagh Bridge:An old postcard of Cavenagh Bridge circa 1920s. This photo was taken from Fullerton Square. You can see the clock tower of Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall in the background of the photo.Lighted-up Cavenagh Bridge by night (1) - 1935Lighted-up Cavenagh Bridge by night (2) - 1935Cavenagh Bridge today - dwarfed by the skyscrapers in the backgroundFurther Reading on Cavenagh Bridge:1. Retrievia.2. Infopedia.3. Street Directory.4. NHB's Heritage Trails.5. Singapore Travel Tips.6. Virtual reality tour.7. Lifestyle Wiki's article. Old Singapore Quiz (15) This is my 3rd polygonal quiz. (The first 2 are here and here.)For this quiz, can you identify the object and where is its exact location?Could it a part of a cake, wheel, crane, gate or pillar? Hmm...Clues:1. This object is in town.2. It is fixed and does not move. In fact, it has not moved for over a hundred years.3. The underlying material is metal.4. The outer coating is paint and not butter cream.5. It measures about 10 inches or 25 cm across.6. There are several of such objects nearby.7. And lastly, if you really need this last obvious clue, the object is connected to old Singapore, of course. Bra As Mask An invention that makes an impactIn a crisis it can save your lifeIts only side effect:Reminds one of tender moments with wifeWhat's wrong with a regular mask?Let me hazard a guessStocking up is so impossible a taskThat women have to go braless?In fact Bodnar's invention is nothing newSomeone has already thought of thatVisit this link to see it's soHow resourceful can you get?Are these people mad?First, they used it as pampersCould next be sanitary pad?These inventions really make (one) wonders Old Singapore Quiz (14) - Answer What a disappointment! Despite so many clues given, nobody came up with the correct guess for the last quiz. I am sure that once I reveal the answer, you will be saying to yourself, "Why didn't I think of that?"Quiz Question:Where did these patterns come from?Answer:Not from an old blanket but from Fairfield Methodist Church (花菲卫理公会). This church is located at the junction of Maxwell Road and Tanjong Pagar Road. The building has been conserved. (Owners of conservation buildings cannot demolish the buildings or make major alterations to their structures or facades.)Mr Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development at the 2005 URA Architectural Heritage Awards Presentation Ceremony at Malay Heritage Centre on 26 Sep 2005 said:"Another post-war building approved for conservation is the former Metropole Cinema, otherwise known as Jing Hwa Cinema. Together with the Majestic and the Oriental, Jing Hwa Cinema, built in 1958, was one of Chinatown’s three famous cinemas. Some of you may recall traveling from outlying areas to catch your favourite Chinese movies there. Its successful new life as Fairfield Methodist Church today shows that modern-style buildings can be retained and modified for new use."The building was built in 1958 as Metropole Theatre (金華大戯院). It was one of three famous cinemas in Chinatown - the other two being Majestic Theatre and Oriental Theatre. In the 1990s, Metrolpole Theatre was converted into Fairfield Methodist Church.As I mentioned in one of the clues, I took the photos from only one side of the building. As indicated by the red arrows, all the 4 patterns appeared in this photo:Metropole Theatre (1958-1985):The following description of Metropole Theatre was taken from 4 posters displayed on its ground floor:This was the main ticketing booth of Metropole Cinema. Patrons could purchase $1 and $1.50 tickets for seats in the main cinema hall at Level 2. The cheaper $1 seats were in the first few rows.Kuehn Hall [entrance door in the centre of the above photo] was part of the cinema's basement car park. This car park is significant because it is the first basement car park ever constructed in an air-conditioned cinema in Singapore!The front of Kuehn Hall was the ticketing booth for the more expensive $2 and $2.50 circle seats at Level 4.At both ticketing booths, cinema goers would choose their seats from a piece of paper that displayed the overall seating arrangement before the seat numbers were manually written on the tickets.A typical cinema seating plan in those days looked like the one in the above photo. The ticket seller, usually a woman, would cross out with a blue or red colour pencil the seats on the plan for which the tickets have been sold.To get to the various levels of the cinema, patrons could either use the main spiral staircase......or the lift which was manually operated by a dedicated lift operator. (You can see the current lift in one of the photos above.) The lift had a foldable iron gate as the lift door. (Please see this post for a description of a similar cage lift.)More Recent Photos of the ChurchBut How Did The Interior of the Cinema Look Like in the 1960s?All the black-and-white photos below are by courtesy of the National Archives of Singapore:The above photos were taken at a speech by C.V. Devan Nair, Member of Education Advisory Council at the Metropole Theatre in 1964.Do you recognise this very famous Cantonese star who made an appearance at the Metropole Theatre in 1967? She was only 16 then.This is how she looks like today:Yes, she is Sit Kar Yin, also known as Nancy Sit. She is still pretty and charming after all these years, just like the Metropole Theatre.Further Reading:BullockCartWater's Metropole Cinema (Kum Wah) Old Singapore Quiz (14) - Old Blanket or Old Building? The above photo looks like part of my old homemade blanket. However it is not. (In the olden days, thrifty mothers would save scraps of cloth left over from making clothes for their children. They would then use these mismatched scraps to sew blankets for the family.)Quiz Question:Where did these patterns come from?Clue 1: This is an old building and not an old blanket.Clue 2: This is not a rock climbing facility.Clue 3: "These patterns came from Victor's camera" is true but not the correct answer.Clue 4: Like all of Icemoon's quizes, this is an easy one.Update on 24 Nov 09Thank you for all your answers. It seems like this quiz is not so easy after all as nobody has got the right answer so far. Hence I will accede to Chun See's request for more clues.But first, I am quite sure that most of you have seen this building before. If I show you the entire building, you would certainly have no problem identifying it. This seems to teach us a philosophical lesson, i.e. sometimes in life, when you look at a problem too closely, you might miss the wood for the trees and cannot solve the problem. You may need to take a step back and view the problem from a different perspective.Okay, here are another 4 clues:Clue 5: Like Whiteaways used to be, this building is located in town.Clue 6: But unlike Whiteaways, this building is still in existence today. In fact, it has been conserved.Clue 7: The 4 photos in the montage are all taken from the outside of the building. In fact, the 4 patterns are all visible from just one photo which I will show you when I reveal the answer in a few days' time.Clue 8: One photo in the montage is deliberately shown upside down. It should be clear which one.There, it should be much easier now. Happy guessing.Update on 26 Nov 09There are still no correct guesses. Alright, one last clue - a photo taken from the inside of the building. This should give the game away. If not, I will reveal the answers by this weekend. In Your (60s) Neighbourhood, Where You Gonna Call? The inspiration for the title of this article came from Ray Parker Junior's very catchy 1984 hit, the Ghostbusters:However, I must confess that the inspiration for writing this article came from Chun See's article on a similar topic.In the 1960s, whenever we "city folks" wanted to call someone, we would use the phone of the coffeeshop located below our block.The coffeeshop owner was nice enough not to charge us for the use of the phone. (But then again, my mother paid in another way via her illegal chap ji ki bets placed through the coffeeshop owner.) The numbers "9" and "0" were locked with a copper padlock so that people could not make unauthorised IDD and trunk calls which required the dialling of a "0".The telephone looked exactly like the one in the illustration above but was black in colour. On its front (bottom portion) was emblazoned a gold-coloured logo with the letters STB which was superimposed onto an image of a flying swallow, if I remember correctly. The letters stand for Singapore Telephone Board, I think. (Telecommunications, both the capability and the word, may not have been invented then.)I would not be surprised at all if people of the younger generation today tell me that they do not know how to use the telephone. So how would a telephone number be dialled then? You must follow adhere to the following dozen steps strictly:1. Make sure no one is using the phone. (Queue for your turn, if necessary.)2. Ask the coffeeshop owner for permission to use the phone.3. If permission is given, lift up the handset.4. Listen for the presence of a dialling tone in the ear piece.5. Dial the first digit by poking your digit index finger into the hole marked with the correct number behind it.6. Turn the dial clockwise with your finger until it stops at the metal catch at the 5-o'clock position. (Try as you might, the dial could not be turned anti-clockwise.)7. Unplug your finger from the hole. (The dial will return to its original position.)8. Repeat steps 5 to 7 until all the numbers are dialled.9. Listen for ringing tone in the ear piece and answering party's "Hello".10. If connected, say what you have to say and keep your conversation short (less than 3 minutes).11. When call ends, replace handset onto the cradle of the phone.12. Last but not least, remember to thank the coffeeshop owner for using his phone unless you are not going to do it ever again.As you can see, the elaborate dialling process itself could take up to half a minute or more. Luckily in those days, local telephone numbers were only 6-digit long.Although I am not an engineer by training, I can tell you that there was another way with which you could get connected without ever touching the dial. How? You use the cradle instead of the dial. Follow Steps 1 to 4 above but instead, Step 5 onwards is as follows:5. Tap the cradle in quick succession the same number of times as the first digit of the telephone number.6. Pause for about a second.7. Tap the cradle in quick succession the same number of times as the second digit of the telephone number.8. Repeat Steps 5 to 7 until all the numbers have been entered.You should get a connection if you have done the process correctly if the coffeeshop owner has not stopped you by now. I know it works because I have tried it before. This is because the telephones in those days work on a "pulse dialling" system. (You can't do that with the later "tone dialling" system which is still in use today, if I am not wrong.) The pulse dialling occurs in Step 7 if you use the dial, and both Steps 5 and 7 if you use the cradle.It was certainly a good thing that we finally got our own telephone when we moved to our new Haig Road flat in the mid-70s.Update on 20 Nov 2009:I have found a National Archives photo of the black telephone described above on Laokokok's blog here: British Withdrawal From Singapore Singapore faced many challenges in its early years of independence, one of which was the British withdrawal by the end of 1971. This development was well-documented in various media:Singapore - From Settlement to Nation Pre-1819 to 1971A further challenge came about when the British announced that it would be withdrawing its military forces from Singapore by the end of 1971. At that time, British military expenditure amounted to 12.7% of Singapore's Gross National Product (GNP). Read what Dr. Toh Chin Chye, the then Deputy Prime Minister, said about the British withdrawal in 1968:"Besides 30,000 civilian workers employed in the military bases being faced with the possibility of losing their jobs, there would be hundreds more who would be affected because their business and their livelihood depend on supplying goods and services to the British servicemen living in Singapore." (Adapted from The Straits Times, 1 Jan 1968, a New Year message by Dr. Toh Chin Chye.)Other than the economic impact, the withdrawal also meant that Singapore now had to build up its own defence to protect the nation from both internal and external threats. Without securing political and social stability, it would not be possible for economic development to take off.Singapore - Journey into NationhoodIn July 1967, Britain dropped a bombshell on Singapore: it would pull out all its troops by 1968. At least £50 million or close to 20 per cent of Singapore's economy came from the British military presence. Nearly one family in ten depended on the troops for its livelihood. There were some 30,000 civilian workers in the bases. Thousands of women worked as domestic helpers. Shops, restaurants and bars depended on the patronage of soldiers and their families. Singapore was facing a major economic crisis as well as a security one. The presence of British troops meant a minimum of precious funds had to be spent on defence.Negotiations in London led to agreement that troop withdrawals would be phased out and completed by the mid-1970s. However, Britain went back on the agreement and in January 1968 said that withdrawal was to be completed by 31 December 1971. This was an extension by nine months of the original March deadline, reached after some desperate negotiations. To soften the blow, the British threw in all the bases and their facilities to which they had title, as a gift.A Bases Economic Conversion Department was set up to look into commercial uses for these assets. The three Royal Air Forces bases alone covered some 2,428 hectares of land. The naval bases had potential as shipyards.The nine extra months gave Singapore a little more time to make the changes necessary to meet the economic crisis. To prevent a recession, urban renewal was accelerated, industrialisation speeded up and infrastructure projects carried out in order to spend $900 million, the amount the British military would have spent between 1968 and 1971. The Singapore Armed Forces was expanded which also settled the question of security as well as increased jobs. So frantic was the pace of economic development that by the time the British completed their pull-out in 1971, Singapore was moving towards full employment.Singapore - The EncyclopediaIn January 1968, the British government announced that it would pull out its troops in Singapore (and Malaysia) by spring 1971. This sudden and unexpected news shocked the Singapore government as it had been given to understand that the British would defend Singapore after its independence. Apart from security issues, the move would also affect the economy - at least 20 per cent of Singapore's economy then came from the presence of British military personnel. About 10 per cent of the working population depended on the troops for its livelihood. There were about 25,000 civilian workers in the bases. Thousands of women worked as domestic helpers and many shops depended on the patronage of British soldiers. British services spending in Singapore was as much as $550 million a year at the height of the Confrontation in Malaysia. In short, Singapore was facing a major economic crisis in addition to physical insecurity.During defence talks with British leaders in London, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew told reporters that he would forgo economic aid in return for security for Singapore and would have to hire mercenaries to defend Singapore if Britain pulled out its forces too quickly. The British agreed that the withdrawal of troops would be phased and completed only by mid 1970s to facilitate major cuts in Britain's armed forces and overseas defence spending. However, the British later changed their mind and informed Singapore that the withdrawal was to be completed by November 1971.To fill the vacuum that followed the ending of the Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement (AMDA), the British proposed the Five-Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) made up of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore, that would be consultative, not a binding defence obligation. On 31 October 1971, AMDA was replaced by FPDA.Photos from National Archives of Singapore27 April 1967 - British Defence Secretary Denis Healey at a press conference held at Phoenix Hotel. He announced that British troop withdrawal from the Far East is targetted at 20,000 before April 19681972 - Preceding 3 photos show Changi Cinema and shops in Changi Village. Changi, the last area in Singapore to see the British forces pull-out, is in the throes of transition today. With the Royal Air Force (RAF) troops out and the British withdrawal completed they could expect the going to be rough temporarily but it has a prosperous future as neighbouring Bedok will be the site of a new satellite town, the fourth in the republic.Finally, Dr Loh Kah Seng is writing a book on the British bases and military withdrawal from Singapore. (Please see his open letter below.) If you or anyone you know have any stories to share, please get in touch with him. You can find out more information from his blog.Dear fellow SingaporeansI am a Singaporean historian looking to speak to people who remember the British bases and their withdrawal in the early 1970s. The withdrawal was the first major crisis independent Singapore faced. The 56 bases, contributing a fifth of the country’s GDP, were its largest industry, and the pullout threatened the livelihood of one-sixth of the labour force, including an estimated 8,000 amahs.The pullout also transformed the economy, society and landscape of Singapore in the 1970s. Most of the bases were converted to commercial use, while many base workers underwent a 3-month retraining crash course. Technical and vocational education also expanded, as new laws sought to increase labour productivity and attract foreign capital investment.These developments resonate with us today: the retraining programmes, the mobilisation of the young, the philosophy that ‘no one owes Singapore a living’. There is also a forgotten social history to unearth: how retrenched base employees coped with the crisis and how workers adjusted to new work routines.If you remember the British bases and rundown, or have a family member, relative or friend who does, kindly contact me to lend your voice to an important episode of our national story.Please pass this message along to those who might be interested.Thank you.Loh Kah Seng (Dr)Visiting Research FellowInstitute of Southeast Asian Studies,Singapore Email: LKSHIS@GMAIL.COMMobile: +65 81981172Blog: Click hereFurther Reading:1. Infopedia: British Withdrawal from Singapore;2. Wikipedia: History of the Republic of Singapore3. Mindef Singapore: 1968 - British Withdrawal Old Singapore Quiz (13) - Answers - Nothing Over $10 Thank you for all your answers to the last quiz. The photo used for the quiz was edited from the above 1961 photo from National Archives of Singapore.Here is a summary of all the comments:Don't be misled by Thimbuktu's youthful-looking photo in his avatar. Although Thimbuktu is way above 50, he didn't know any of the answers. He explained that his "area of operation" as a youth was limited only to places within postal district 3. Chun See also didn't know but possibly still thinks that he's young enough to deserve more clues. The saving grace came first from PChew. He was spot on with his guesses:Q1. What was the name of the building at that time?A1. Whiteaway.Q2. What was it used for?A2. Department store.Q3. Where was its location?A3. Battery Road.Q4. The building changed ownership in the 60s. Who took over the building?A4. Malayan Banking.The department store's full name was quite a mouthful - Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co. Ltd. Its Chinese name was Hui Luo You Xian Gong Si (惠羅有限公司). The company was incorporated in England. In its heydays, Whiteaway was a giant company. It had branches in about 20 cities all over the world. Regionally, it had stores in the Straits Settlements, including Singapore, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Taiping, Seremban, Klang, Malacca and Telok Anson.Below is an extract on Whiteaway, Laidlaw and Co. from Singapore: The Encyclopedia:Department store. The firm of Whiteaway, Laidlaw and Co. established its flagship store in Singapore in November 1900 on D'Almeida Street. Later, the store moved to the corner of Hill Street and Stamford Road before moving back to Battery Road at Raffles Place, where it remained until its closure in the 1960s. The company was the leading draper of its day. In addition, the store had a boot-and-shoe department, a crockery department and a general outfitter. Whiteaways - as the store was sometimes called - was considered the biggest rival of the other two major department stores: John Little and Robinsons.In the 1950s, Whiteaways advertised itself as 'The Department Store that Offers You Everything Under One Roof' and 'The Store of a Thousand Good Things'. Its ground-floor perfume department was legendary. It was the agent for Elizabeth Arden cosmetics, among other brands. In addition to its Singapore store, the company also had stores in India, China, Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), South Africa and South America.Whiteaway Laidlaw is now the name of a Manchester-based bank in UK. As to how the department store ended up being a bank, I have no idea at all.Now let me show you some old photos and advertisements of Whiteaways. (Unless otherwise stated, photos are by courtesy of the National Archives of Singapore.)Whiteaway at the junction of Cecil Street and D'Almeida Street in the early 1900s.Whiteaway at Battery Road, possibly in the 1910s-20s. (Photo from Singapore: The Encyclopedia.)Whiteaway at Battery Road in 1935. (Photo from book "Singapore Silver Jubilee Celebrations" - NLB.)Whiteaways on the left, Bank of China on the right and Cavenagh Bridge in the foreground - 1954.PM Lee Kuan Yew at an election rally on 18 Sep 1963. The background of the photo shows Whiteaway Building undergoing renovation to become Malayan Bank Chambers.Malayan Bank Chambers standing at where Whiteaways used to be - 1969.Whiteaways had stores in other parts of the world. On the facade of this Whiteaway building, you can read the words Calcutta, Shanghai, Hongkong, Singapore, etc. (Could this be the Whiteaway building in Calcutta?) - circa 1930s.So how did it look like inside the Whiteaways?The gown salon inside Whiteaways - 1954.The clientele of Whiteaways - mostly wealthy Westerners - 1954.Hats at Whiteaways dress salon - 1955.Santa Claus at a Christmas celebration in Whiteaways - Dec 1955.Some Whiteaways advertisements in our local papers:1958 advertisement from Singapore: The EncyclopediaThe above image shows a full-page Whiteaways advertisement in a local Chinese newspaper in 1932. You may find it hard to believe that the prices of the merchandise on offer at Whiteaways did not exceed $10! But then again, you must remember that most salaried workers earn less than $1 a day then. To get an idea of how expensive and up-market the department stall was, you must multiply all amounts by a factor of 50, at least. Below is a table showing the prices of all the advertised items:What a Cheap Sale! From 27 June - 2 July 1932 Only!Price ($)NormalSaleMen's Hat (A)4.501.75Men's Hat (B)2.95Men's Sheep Fur Inner Shirt3.75Turkish Bathrobe6.75Belt (A)0.55Belt (B)1.50Belt (C)0.50Men's Shoes/Pair (A)18.5010.00Men's Shoes/Pair (B)8.504.50Table Cloth 50"x50"2.30Table Cloth 70"x70"3.40Table Cloth 78"x88"4.20Table Cloth 70"x106"5.50Sheets & Pillow Cases0.40-6.75Reliable Raincoat10.00Men's Hankerchieves/Dozen0.75Printed Cotton Bedspread2.50Bath Sheet1.95Doric Wristlet Watch5.00Ladies' Shoes/Pair10.00-16.502.00Cotton Tea Cloth0.65"Kumfy" Girl's Vest/3 pcs1.00Household Damask Napkins/Dozen2.30-3.00Bath Soap/Box0.75"Bryaroot" Pipe0.50Table Lamp8.50-12.504.95-5.95Sunglasses1.75Drinking Jug With Cover0.50Ladies' Hankerchieves/Dozen0.50Water Colours/Box0.30-0.85Travelling Rugs4.50Pendant Light17.508.95Update on 9 Jan 2010The following passage is extracted from Page 49 of Chronicle of Singapore:"27 December 1961 - After 60 years of business in Singapore, leading department store Whiteaways announced it would close shop in February the following year.Whiteaways cited the termination of its lease and poor business as reasons for the closure. The sale of its landmark building in Fullerton Square was finalised in October.The store had tried to find new work for its 90 local employees three weeks prior to dismissal.In an advertisment that appeared in The Straits Times, Whiteaways said its staff would get the 'highest recommendations' for their prosective employers."Further reading:1. Infopedia article - Whiteaway Laidlaw.2. Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co. - Calcutta3. Stamford House built for Whiteaway Laidlaw. Old Singapore Quiz (13) This quiz is really for the oldies. Why? Because the above photo was taken in the early 60s. By mid 60s, the building looked completely different. So if you are above 50-year-old, you might just remember this building. Of course my quiz is still open to young people like Icemoon. But to prevent his uncanny ability to read very small signs, I have doctored out all the telltale signs, including what little remaining background the photo still has. However, I have decided to let the "No Parking" sign remain as I don't think it will give the game away. Can you spot it? (Sorry, this is not a quiz question.)I am sure people like Peter Chan should have no problem with the quiz though. Hmm... should I bar people like him from taking part?Quiz questions:Q1. What was the name of the building at that time?Q2. What was it used for?Q3. Where was its location?Q4. The building changed ownership in the 60s. Who took over the building?Clues if you need them:C1. The building was in town.C2. It is no longer around. Phoenix Aerated Waters Following my last blog article on Framroz's Aerated Waters, I am writing about Phoenix Aerated Waters this week.Photo of Mr Navroji R. Mistri (1885-1953) by courtesy of Mr & Mrs Noshir Mistri. Originally published in National Heritage Board's newsletter here.Phoenix Aerated Waters was started by Mr Navroji R. Mistri in 1925. Mistri was trained as an engineer. From 1913-1923, he was working in a fellow Parsi's company Framroz Aerated Waters as a manager. Relation between Mistri and Framroz soured as the former had signed an undertaking not to start a similar business after leaving Framroz. The matter was brought to court which ruled in Mistri's favour.Mistri was also a philanthropist. In 1952, he donated a princely sum of $950,000 to the government. The money went towards the erection of a 4-storey building for sick children in Singapore General Hospital which was named Mistri Wing in his honour. Sadly, Mistri passed away a year later. Today, the Mistri Wing houses the National Heart Centre.Phoenix Advertisements in the Newspapers:22 Feb 1930 Straits Times:"Delightfully different, Phoenix Orange Pop made entirely from best California oranges. Healthful and refreshing. Phone 3463 for your trial order. Phoenix Aerated Water Works, Singapore."5 Nov 1930 Straits Times:"Have you tried our new fresh fruit drink? Phoenix Aerated Water Works Singapore. Trademark. Guaranteed made from fresh California lemons. Product of The Phoenix Aerated Water Works."However, the most classic advertisment of all must be this one from a Chinese newspaper dated 10 Mar 1926:The following information is revealed in the last advertisement of Phoenix Aerated Water Works:1. Its tagline was "There's joy in every glass!"2. Its contact details were - "Office and Works, 63 Anson Road, Singapore. Telephone 3463, Telegram Phoenix."And the piece de resistance is a kind contribution by "Anony-mouse" - a 1957 photo of him sitting on stacked-up crates of Phoenix bottles:Hmm... how come I've never played with such a cute face mask when I was a kid?And they certainly don't make such strong glass bottles anymore!Further Reading:1. Infopedia entry on Navroji R. Mistri2. National Heritage Board (NHB) publication Flame of the Faith - An Insight into the Parsi Zoroastrian Tradition.3. Street Directory's Entry About Parsi Road4. A Story about Rival Parsi Water Sellers5. The Parsi Community in Singapore Framroz's Aerated Waters My interest in Framroz's Aerated Waters was aroused when I came across 3 different old photos recently with the name "Framroz" on them. The first photo is an entry from someone called Krishna Kumar which was displayed at the "Then & Now" photo exhibition at Orchard Central in August this year:Krishna said, "Could this really be Jalan Besar Stadium? You could be forgiven for not recognising it, as in its place today stands a modern stadium with state-of-the-art facilities that easily eclipses this nondescript image of a bygone era, with its ill-attired athletes reverberating the nonchalance of a period long forgotten."Well, I certainly didn't forget this place as my secondary school was just next door. In the early 1970s, Jalan Besar Stadium was usually the venue where the Victoria School football team played most of their matches against other schools.But I digressed. Notice the building with the big word "FRAMROZ" at the right of the photo? It was located at the plot of land bounded by Jalan Besar Road, Allenby Road and Tyrwhitt Road, i.e. the photo was taken in a north-westerly direction. Incidentally, Framroz in Jalan Besar was mentioned in ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) newsletter of Aug 2000 to be already equipped with "some kind refrigeration plant with cooling tower or evaporative condensers" in the early 1950s.The second photo was taken by Michael Frost circa 1948:I didn't realise that it was a scene from Orchard Road - more precisely, Emerald Hill or Peranakan Place - until Icemoon blogged about it here. You can't miss the "Framroz's Aerated Waters" sign in the above photo.The third photo was taken from this blog by Singeo. The original photographer was a Czech by the name of Dr Baum who took this photo of what is believed to be Framroz's shop at No. 87 Cecil Street in 1929:Framroz Aerated Water Factory was started in Singapore by a Parsi named Mr. Phirozshaw Manekji Framroz in 1903. I don't know how long the company lasted but in Mar 1973, Framroz (Pte) Ltd was awarded SISIR's Quality Award for Soft Drinks. Several congratulatory advertisements appeared in the Straits Times of 10 Mar 1973. Hence, Framroz must have lasted well into the 1970s.In its heydays, Framroz must have produced millions of bottles of aerated water annually. Yet would you believe that I couldn't even find a single photo of a Framroz bottle to show you? All I managed to find are photos of 2 ashtrays and a drinking glass which bear the Framroz logo:From the above objects, you could tell that the Framroz logo was a crown. Hence I believe that the Cantonese used to call this drink 皇帽汽水 or "Crown Aerated Water". (I couldn't find any information to support this belief. Can someone please help to confirm this?)Have you noticed that almost nobody uses the term "aerated water" nowadays? Instead, people prefer to use the term "soft drink". And the reason, according to this link is as follows:"As flavored carbonated beverages gained popularity, manufacturers struggled to find an appropriate name for the drinks. Some suggested 'marble water', 'syrup water', and 'aerated water'. The most appealing name, however, was 'soft drink', adapted in the hopes that soft drinks would ultimately supplant the 'hard liquor' market. Although the idea never stuck, the term soft drink did."Of course, as Chun See pointed out, the Cantonese called soft drinks "hor lan shoi" (荷兰水) which means "Holland Water". I surmised that the term actually originated from a Hokkien who while entertaining a visiting guest, called out to someone in the house to "hor lan chui" which means "serve the guest water". Chun See had dismissed my story as plain nonsense. What do you think?I end this post with an anonymous comment reproduced from Icemoon's blog:"The signboard "Framroz's" sure brought back memories.During Christmas each year, for a number of years I recall, a family friend, would present us with two cases of Framroz aerated drinks. It was a delight to receive this gift, for such drinks were then considered a luxury.However, the drinks were only reserved for guests. We, children (then) could only hope that there were balance left in the bottles after the guests' glasses were filled.I recall that we served drinks to our guests in glasses, one glass per guest, and not filled to the brim, unlike the days of plentiful today. Nowadays, we say "Help yourself to whatever you want ... don't be shy." Imagine the amount of wastage! We have indeed come a long way..."Further Reading:1. Infopedia link on Parsi Association in Singapore2. Parsi Zoroastrian Association of Singapore3. Heritage Tour: Singapore's Parsi Community4. "The famous brand then was Framroz, and hence there was no Pepsi for Chinese New Year"5. Drugs for sale in Cecil StreetUpdate on 19 Oct 2009Thanks to Andy Young for the following comment:"There was a large Framroz advertisement on the outer wall of a shophouse along the Geylang Road and Lorong 24 junction across from the Geylang Road Post Office. It could have been one of the factories. Always see lots of crates and bottles on the five-foot ways. It was in the 60s."Andy was referring to Eastern Aerated Water Co. Ltd. (东方汽水有限公司) i.e. the building in the following photos:Eastern Aerated Water on 23 Sep 2006Eastern Aerated Water on 22 Aug 2009Thanks also to Chun See who sent me a scanned image of the Framroz bottle as well as of a Eastern Cola bottle. He had obtained the image from a book published by the National Heritage Board some years ago. And you know what? According to the image, Eastern Cola was bottled by Eastern Aerated Water - the company whose building appears in the last 2 photos!We also know what the taglines for the 2 drinks were:Framroz - "Famous since 1904 but don't know till when"Eastern Cola - "The taste tells but don't know who" Let's Go Haadyai Again! - By Peter Chan In the 1970s, when I told friends I was in Haadyai, suddenly all eyes became wide opened and conclusions were quickly made. SEX was the perception. Has it changed since then? Depending on your background, your views may be different from mine but it's probably because we are looking at the same thing in a different way. If I am new to Haadyai, I probably thought the same way as you did but hopefully perceptions can change over time. Surely we all know we live in a world of sin but we don’t have to be sinners. Photo 1: The 1974 memories are kept alive in my photo album including those of the late Michael Chua who wrote, “Dear big Pete, whenever you look at the photo think of the good times we had together and me.”Haadyai, isn't it a big farang tourist trap? It was actually a big tourist town from the late 1960s through 2007 for tourists from mainly Malaysia, who were there for the weekend although some Singaporeans did go there. However Haadyai is unlike Phuket, Pattaya or Bangkok’s Patpong because Haadyai was never on the R&R list of U.S. servicemen involved in the Vietnam War; so the influence was never there. While you can find wild crowds of merry Westerners, street bars, katoeys, pole-dancing, lap-dancing, street walkers, and music (that increases in volume as the moon rises), the same cannot be said of Haadyai. Photo 2: Left – Standing on Niphat Uthit 3 Road. In the background is the present-day Yong Dee Hotel and Yongdee Market. Middle – We’are on the way to the “chicken farm”. Right – The short and taller blocks of Novotel Centera Hotel (circa 2009). The shorter block was the original Sukhontai Hotel. The neon corporate hotel logo faces the Hadyai Junction Railway Station.My recent trip to Haadyai was more heritage than anything else: of utmost importance was to locate the old Sukhontai Hotel where we stayed, 35 years ago. That day my luck was pretty good. I spoke with a Thai-Chinese money-changer and was told the Sukhontai Hotel (under new management and ownership) is now Novotel Centera Haadyai. I hurried off with my friend but a big surprise awaited me. The single 10-storey block became a part of an even taller tower block with a podium block. I was very happy on one hand and confused on the other. I could not figure out some of the old photos with the street names and nearby buildings. Once my orientation became better, nostalgic memories came back: our Minute steak at the Morakat (the popular Sukhontai coffee house), BBQ seafood, cha-cha-cha dancing, our first experience with fiery hot Thai chili padis, Mohan Rao’s hand trapped between the elevator doors, and not forgetting the night life in Haadyai. What night life?We got educated about “chicken farms” and what was available as an after-dinner treat. We probably pissed-off the bell-hop (who acted as a sort of go-between) after visiting the “chicken farm” on the outskirts of Haadyai town. Despite generous discounts from the opening price of 1,300 bahts or so for an “8pm to 8am companion” our minds were made up. We were not into that kind of excitement. I still can remember the moment our tuk-tuk arrived at the “chicken farm”; a loud whistle brought all the girls together forming a circle as if ready for parade inspection. You won’t find chicks from southern Thailand, the vast majority of the girls selling their bodies (as is usually the case) were from the northeast of Thailand. Why would an 18 year fair-skinned girl do that? We got the standard answer: farmers and families paying off their loans in kind because the rice harvest was poor that year. Then there was the occasional Myanmar girl who was given a Thai nickname “Nok or Phin” - and she looked similar - but you will only discover that if you speak Thai. Generally, the Myanmar girls don't speak any Thai, or speak a very limited amount. “Lah” means he’s from Malaysia. If you hear “Cheap”, that’s from Singapore.We went to check out a few night spots because we heard so much of their cabarets and unique shows. As these photos show, we soon learnt the "house specialty". Initial bubbling excitement soon became monotonous. We had many questions but few answers. It was easy to deal with the ala Rose Chan performances but suggestive non-stop couple-acts (and more couple to couple acts) and paraphernalia were very mind-boggling. Was it humanly possible to do it? It sure looked a tough way for any (Thai) (wo)man to make a living. Well I thought I found the answers when I had to use the loo - which also doubled up as the backstage changing room. Photo 3: Left – Can you use your hands? Full suction power to pick up the coin (or suck Singha beer through the straw) and transfer it to another bottle? How could she ever do it? Another entertaining act we saw that night was one of using an artist brush to paint a “Van Gogh”. (Funny thing - Asians, especially couples, like to sit in the front row while Angmohs sit backstall.) Those who sat in front row got a rude surprise. The performer sprayed “water” by bending her knees/body backwards and resting her palms on the floor. Right – In the dark the audience could not make out whether the sexily-clad dancers were real women or "post-ops". Could you tell the difference? I think I might have the answers for both photos.There has been an effort in the last few years under the leadership of Mayor Prai Pattano to clean the town up. The results can be seen with the new sidewalks and the removal of the overhead electricity cables, but it has gone a little further than that. Ever since the Muslim insurgency problems in the southern provinces flared up, Haadyai's tourist economy had to change. Today you can be forgiven when you mistake Haadyai for a Malaysian town because out in the open, many Thai Muslims and Thai Muslims of Malay origin are wearing the tudung.Photo 4: Left – Everywhere you go, you find this new Haadyai cultural landscape. Right – I tried the “Korek Telinga” service at 50 bahts. Everywhere I went, I found foot massage services.Before rushing off to catch the last train back to Padang Besar, we found time for one “last fling”. We headed for the spa because we know that in Singapore, a spa treatment can run into hundreds of dollars and you had to reluctantly purchase a package of 10 sessions in order to get the best deal. Here at the Preuksa Spa (ask for “Toy”), an hour cost me S$20 (S$1 = 23 Baht); in Singapore the equivalent of S$90 at a wellness and spa retreat. Come to think of it, even a doggy in Singapore gets a good body massage, so why can’t I pamper myself? Photo 5: Doggy gets a massage at Bishan Park (Photo Credit: a Flickr user). Middle – The spa tariff from Peruksa Spa on Niphat Uthit 3 Road (Photo Credit: Ms. “Toy”). Right – One of the treatment rooms at Peruksa Spa. I slept for 3 hours because of the rustic ambience, the soft piano music and lavender-scented body massage. Personally I am glad I found my old Sukhontai Hotel. When the group holds the reunion at this year’s end, we should have a good program lined up. Where else can you have a bowl of original beef ball kway teow soup for 30 bahts? Tired bodies and Singapore-made stress? I have the answer. Even Mr. Asdang Sukwises, the general manager of Novotel Centera has promised us the hospitality of a lifetime after he heard about how we crossed the Malaysian-Thai border to come to Haadyai 35 years ago. Now, it’s time to sit back and reminisce about Haadyai back in 1974:In the concluding series, I will tell you more of our return trip through Sadao to Changloon, the nearest Malaysian border town 10km from Thailand. Old Singapore Quiz (12) - Circus, Circa, Circle... - Answers Thank you for all your answers to Old Singapore Quiz (12). Peter and Chun See got the answers right. YG almost got one answer right but he was not sure in the end.The correct answers are:1. What is the name of this circus?A. Delta Circus.2. What is the name of a landmark which you could identify from the photo? Beside and besides the circus, that is.A. Singapore Steam Laundry.Hear is another view of Delta Circus in the early 1970s:Photo credit: Both old photos of Delta Circus are by courtesy of db1688.You can see from the right side of the above photo that Blk 77 Ganges Avenue had been constructed by the early 1970s. Some plants could be seen growing in the circus in this photo while the circus in the earlier photo looks bare. Both photos were taken from Blk 48 Lower Delta Road which is still standing today:Below is a 1963 map of the area:Below is a recent photo taken from the same angle. As you can see, the view of the road junction is largely obscured by trees - testament to the very successful move by the authorities to turn Singapore into a Garden City. The site occupied by Singapore Steam Laundry is where Delta House stands now. (You can see part of Delta House at the left of the photo.)Db1688 has a vivid memory of the laundry building on the other side of the Delta Circus:"My mother lost some heirloom blankets there as the neighbour she entrusted to drop them off forgot to get the claim ticket. My mother pleaded her case with management but apparently some unscrupulous employee took the blankets. You probably remember back in the day when heirloom blankets were given as a wedding gift, right?"More About Singapore Steam Laundry:1. Straits Times 9 May 1927 - Apparently, Singapore Steam Laundry had been operating in Singapore as early as in 1927 as the following extract from an advertisement shows:"Singapore Steam Laundry 361, Havelock Road. Phone 43??7. Proprietors The Indian Trading Co., Ltd. (Incorporated in Denmark) ... done by the most modern and sanitary methods under European supervision, at competitive rates. Our lorries will call and deliver regularly at customers' houses or flats. Special terms to hotels..."2. Straits Times 5 Apr 1934 - There was even a "receiving depot" under the company's name at 255 Orchard Road, opposite Cold Storage:"Articles may be handed in for special and express laundry service. Dry cleaning waterproofing invisible mending undertaken. Weekdays, hours 7 a.m.-2 p.m. 4-6 p.m.; Saturdays, hours 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Receiving depot Singapore Steam Laundry Limited. 255 Orchard Road, opposite Cold Storage..."3. Possibly in the 1930s, the company was owned by Straits Steamship:"A much smaller Company purchased at the same time was the Singapore Steam Laundry which eventually was to launder all Straits Steamship's linen. Small and insignificant at the time, this Company grew into a valuable asset of Straits Steamship."4. In the 1950s, Straits Steamship disposed of most of its holding in Singapore Steam Laundry to Sime Darby & Co Ltd even though it was continuing to expand and extremely profitable.5. Straits Times 19 Aug 1977 - Singapore Steam Laundry up for sale:"Sime Darby (S) Pte Ltd. is taking the steam out of its laundry business. It is now looking for buyers to take over the name and operations of Singapore Steam Laundry, a wholly-owned subsidiary which has been in existence in Alexandra Road since 1932..."Below are some 1927 photos of Singapore Steam Laundry, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore: