粵劇情懷

If I were ...

2012-02-16T00:08:00.009+08:00

When you read or heard about ordinary people getting large sum of money, like $1 million, from lucky draws or lotteries, you may feel a tinge of envy. It is a normal reaction. Have you ever thought of what you would do with the money if you get a big windfall, say one quarter of a million? I do. It is quite fun.

I would give a sum to each of my siblings.

I would give my good friends an abalone meal at a restaurant. I have actually promised one friend this. I would buy some small gifts for neighbours who have been very helpful.

If it is during the CNY or other festive season, I would give ang pows to people I see regularly, doing their humble jobs keeping my precinct humming, for example HDB cleaners who keep my block and its vicinity clean.

If I go on holiday. probably I would stay in the more expensive hotels.

Charity? I have not thought about this. Please don't think I am not a charitable person. I am already donating a small amount to a charitable organization every month through GIRO. Then when there are letters of appeal for donations that come together with my bills, I sometimes oblige.

I would save at least 50% of the windfall.

Happy daydreaming.

Ci Mu Lei

2012-02-12T00:16:00.001+08:00

I have a CD which contains an old Cantonese song called A Mother's Tears or Ci Mu Lei (慈母泪) sung by Hong Seen Lui. I have always wondered if there is a movie with the same name and starring the same artiste. Recently I did a search and found that there is such a movie.

It is a 1953 production starring Hong Seen Lui and Cheung Yeng. Anyone of you seen this movie?

I remember watching movies with such a theme when I was young - a mother's love for her children. She did whatever was good for her children including sacrificing her own well-being. Unfortunately, sometimes she overdid it and spoiled her children instead.

walking in and out safely

2012-02-08T00:05:00.006+08:00

Time flies. Chinese New Year came ... and the celebrations have just ended. Before CNY, I reminded myself not to overeat. However, I still overate on a few days ... but not too much.

I noticed this little red paper taped outside a flat in my block. The words on the paper means walking in and out safely. Nowadays I think not many households do this. When I was a child, we lived in a wooden house with a zinc roof in a kampong. We used to stick these red papers with auspicious words at certain places.

I have Singaporean traits too. One of them - I like free gifts and special offers. However, I will give a miss to those that require you to queue up for hours, wake up early in the morning or collect coupons.

unSingaporean traits

2012-02-04T00:03:00.004+08:00

I am not kiasu (afraid of losing/losing out).

I don't go out of the way to eateries just to try out their famous dishes.

I won't join long queues at popular food stalls or popular 4D betting outlets.

I don't mind doing night shift if my job requires it.

I have no objection if there is a need to build a care centre for the elderly or a dormitory for foreign workers near my block.

I am not a picky shopper.

I like to use complete sentences.

I rarely wait until the last minute to do what needs to be done.

夕陽紅葉 - 丁凡, 麥玉清

2012-02-01T00:10:00.000+08:00

price increase

2012-01-28T00:08:00.001+08:00

There is never a right time for any price increase. Nobody likes it, so It is human nature to oppose it. People will think of reasons why it is wrong.

I think the reasons to raise taxi fares are valid. Demand for taxis will fall initially but will pick up again after that.

As for buses and trains, running costs like wages and maintenance will go up and fares have to go up every few years.

It is also fair for eateries to increase the prices of their food and drink during the Chinese New Year holidays. I guess the owners have to pay their helpers more and to compensate themselves for working during the holiday for the convenience of others.

Making more profits or making a lot of profits is not a bad thing. It encourages people to be productive and it is incentive for companies to invest more. If a company is contented with its earnings and does not intend to make more, workers will not get pay increase or more bonus. Some workers may even lose their job. Shops may not open on holidays and manufacturers may not want to produce a variety of Chinese New Year goods.

Greetings

2012-01-24T00:02:00.002+08:00

There are two such billboards in Circuit Road, Macpherson Estate. I think anyone entering the estate from Aljunied Road or Paya Lebar Road would notice at least one of them. I usually return home by Aljunied Road and I pass by both.

The view changes with every festive season. This view was in December 2011. I forgot to take a view for Deepavali.

new and original

2012-01-19T00:03:00.000+08:00

When you rearrange furniture or things in your house or room to give it a fresh look, it makes you happy. However, the new arrangement is not necessarily better than the old one. It just has a new appeal. Maybe that is why human beings like to see changes once in a while. So, they also take the chance to clean up the house before the Lunar New Year.

Even if you just tidy up a little so that things don't stick out here and there, it makes the place neater. You also feel happy.

Many years ago I was one of the judges for some sketches put up by classes in a school concert. Marks were awarded for originality. That time, we did not think much about this.

I think you are aware that it is not easy to say whether a sketch is original or not. If the judge has not seen it before, it does not mean it is original. If the judge has seen it before, but the producer of the sketch has not seen something like that before and he created it himself, then it is original.

An honest man

2012-01-15T00:06:00.001+08:00

Recently I wanted to withdraw $500 from an OCBC ATM. It was before the theft from DBS ATM scare. I inserted the card into the slot, went through the steps and waited. Soon, the card came out. I took it and waited .. waited ... How come no money come out? I didn't know how many seconds, but my feeling was that it was longer than the usual time I had waited in the past.

So I thought that the machine was malfunctioning. I decided to walk further up where there was a branch of the Bank to enquire.

After walking several steps I heard a voice calling from behind.

A middle-aged rotund man was pointing to the ATM and muttered something about money.

I hurried back to the ATM and found that money had come out from the ATM. I counted it - 10 50-dollar notes. They were my money.

The man said he just happened to be around and saw what I was doing.

I felt happy and indeed appreciated his honesty. Otherwise I would have lost $500. I thanked him and offered him $10 for lunch as it was around lunch time.

He declined my offer.

opera and toothpick

2012-01-11T00:12:00.002+08:00

Last week I saw the Cantonese opera Tragedy of an Emperor by Chinese Theatre Circle. It is a new version. Many years back I also watched the older version of the same opera by Chinese Theatre Circle. My view is that the old version is better than the new version. I feel that the new version is rather dull. A few of the artistes doing supporting or stand-around roles also looked bored.

My preference is still the traditional version which has more opera flavour and its theme songs are more melodious.

I have been using these special toothpicks for some time. It is a toothpick but there are bristles at one end to help you remove food particles between the gaps of the teeth. I find them effective. Compared to dental floss, it is more convenient and less messy.

Habits and routine

2012-01-07T00:05:00.001+08:00

I used to use dental floss to clean my teeth before bedtime. Not doing it made me feel as if something was not right. During a holiday abroad I suspended the habit for about a fortnight. After that I felt OK without flossing my teeth. So now I have dropped the habit.

Human beings are creatures of habits. This was said by the famous detective Sherlock Holmes who could deduce a criminal's habits by observing clues at the crime scene. The writer of these SH stories must be an astute observer of human behaviour.

Maybe about 80% of what we do everyday and how we do things are a result of our habits and they have become routine.

But habits can change or be stopped if we have the determination. You hear people say 'I cannot do without this or that, like car, maid, computer, .... ' But I believe people will adapt and will have to do without these things when circumstances force them to. After some time they could develop new habits.

男烧衣(全曲) - 梁漢威

2012-01-02T00:06:00.000+08:00

Birthdays of some HK stars

2011-12-24T00:03:00.000+08:00

All the pictures below are from the 9-year-old calender. So the photos you see here were taken at least 9 years ago..

Long Koon Tin was born in 1959, so he is 52. Wong Chew Kuarn's birthday is 9 November, but her birth year is not stated.

Yuen Siu Fai is 66.

Mun Chin Sui is 69.

Ng Chin Feng is 65.

Li Long is 59.

Law Kar Ying is 65.

an old postcard

2011-12-20T13:35:00.001+08:00

While spring-cleaning my cupboards I found an old postcard. I suppose all the faces you see in it are local artistes. Do you know anyone? I think I recognize one of them - the girl doing make-up.

Do you keep old calendars? I also found a 9-year-old calendar with pictures and birthdays or birth dates of some HK opera artistes. How old do you think these two stars are - Long Koon Tin and Wong Chew Kuarn ? Answers in the next post.

By the way, when you do spring cleaning you cannot be too sentimental. Otherwise you will be reluctant to throw away your old things. Many of these things probably have a small place in your memory. But, most likely you will not look at them again until your next spring cleaning and I think you will also not miss them if they are no more there.

Have you read about the young man who collects beer bottles? He already has about 1300 of them in his house. Then there are people who collect dolls, teddy bears and other toys. I guess finding the space to keep them and cleaning them would be quite a headache. In future would it still be a joy to clean them or would it be a chore?

opera shop

2011-12-17T10:18:00.001+08:00

I rarely look at the classified advertisements in the papers. Some days ago this one caught my attention. So I took a closer look.

It was an ad for Unisong, a shop selling Chinese opera goods.

I mentioned this shop in the post Where to buy Cantonese opera CDs. The shop was in Chinatown Point then. So now it is in Fook Hai Building..

Kids performing opera

聲輝粵劇推廣協會- 陳昶廷、李若萱 - 粵劇折子戲 - 《鳳閣恩仇未了情》

Dream of the West Chamber 西楼错梦

2011-12-14T00:22:00.000+08:00

Last month I watched the Cantonese opera Dream of The West Chamber presented by the Eunos Community Club Chinese Opera Group. The leading artistes were Wong Mei Ling (Lynn Ng) and Chan Fook Hong.

From what I recall, in recent years only two Cantonese opera groups in community clubs present full-length shows - ECHO in Eunos CC (lead by Wong Mei Ling) and the group in Tanjong Pagar CC (lead by Lou Mee Wah).

Putting up an opera show is a tedious task. Besides taking care of your own role you have to attend to a dozen other things. You also need a group of good friends to help you. Then you have to get financial support too. Mei Ling may not be very well-known, nonetheless she is passionate about her art and is tenacious in the pursuit of artistic excellence.

Dream is not the type of shows that attract young people. One thing, it is very long. Another thing, it can be boring at times even to fans and ardent supporters of Cantonese opera.

That afternoon, the show started several minutes after 3 and ended at 8 at night. There was an interval followed by a short souvenir-presentation ceremony. Even if you disregard this and the time for change of scenes, the show itself is about 4.5 hours long.

Besides Mei Ling and Fook Hong, veteran artistes Leong Kam Fai, Chow Chun Hong and Chen Ming Cai also put up creditable performances. I think this was the first time I saw Chen Ming Cai. According to the write-up in the souvenir booklet, Chen Ming Cai has performed Peking opera, Teochew opera as well as Cantonese opera before.

The joy of spring cleaning

2011-11-23T00:10:00.001+08:00

Blink your eyes and Christmas will be upon us.

I decided to start with some spring cleaning. The first targets were my drawers. They were clustered and untidy. I threw away tons of trash. It included receipts and bills, expired guarantee cards, newspaper cuttings, instruction booklets for things like cameras and phones, old photos, old spectacle frames, old VCDs .....

You know, spring cleaning has a psychological effect. When you see your things getting organized and orderly, it lifts up your spirit and you feel happy.

After the clean-up my drawers are now neat and tidy and still have some space left.

There are still more to be done but, no hurry, I intend to complete spring cleaning before Chinese New Year. Still a lot of time, right?

Meanwhile I am taking a break. There will be no new posts for about 3 weeks.
.

God helps those who help themselves

2011-11-19T00:16:00.001+08:00

How to make millions from sales! Get the job you want!

These were two of the topics in positive thinking books I read long ago. I didn't make millions and I didn't get the job I wanted.

Not everyone can do what the writers say. Even if you follow the advice, it doesn't necessarily mean you will be successful. People have different personalities, temperaments and abilities.

Not long ago a successful person tell students that getting 'As' is not important but creative thinking is. I guess the speaker is one of those who became successful this way.

Getting 'As' may not be important but getting 'As' is better than not getting. And thinking won't help you much if you are lazy.

There is a practical handbook which I find quite helpful. I have written a post about it last year.

For example, it would say something like this ...

If you have a problem, don't just ask God for help and then just sit down and hope for a miracle to happen. Miracles very rarely happen this way. God helps those who help themselves. God has put on Earth people and resources to help you. He works miracles through them.

So, if it is a medical problem, go and see a doctor. Take the first step and He will guide you along.

Meanwhile, have faith in your prayers.

got queue means good food

2011-11-16T00:03:00.000+08:00

Are you one of those who think that if there are a lot of people queuing or waiting for their food at a stall, then the food there is good to eat.

If you are and if you happen to be in Macpherson Estate and you feel hungry and you like to eat porridge, then you can try this porridge stall the Pipit Road market which is opposite the Macpherson Community Club. Every time I passed this market in the morning, there was a queue. The stall is closed on Mondays and it opens only in the morning.

One evening I was at the food centre at the Chinatown Complex. Some Western tourists were having a discussion and then two of them went to join a long queue at a popular noodle stall. I think generally Western tourists know little about local hawker food and they are not particularly enthusiastic about the taste of the food. So, probably these tourists also believe that Got Q means good food.

This Ah Lo Cooked Food at the Centre always has a long queue during the few hours that it is open and the food is sold off very fast. The day I took this photo it was closed.

琵琶行(全曲) - 鄧志駒, 曾慧

2011-11-13T00:02:00.002+08:00

This is a full version of the song. It is 21 minutes long. Both singers are pupils of Sun Ma Si Zhen.

Still Can Use

2011-11-10T00:05:00.001+08:00

Still Can Use - That is the name of a shop at the Chinatown Complex in Smith Street. It sells old things. I think it was opened only recently. There are old Chinese movie magazines, black and white photos of old movie stars, posters, CDs and even old records - those black round flat discs that can only be played with old record players with a needle. Maybe the shop sells these old players too. (I forgot what you call these discs or the old players.)

This is the view of the centre from Keong Siak Road. The shop, No. 133, is on the ground floor.

old and older

2011-11-07T00:07:00.000+08:00

In an earlier post I said that the San Wang Wu Ti master of rituals is getting older.

Look at these 2 sentences:
(1) He is getting older.
(2) He is getting old.

Do they have the same meaning? Does older mean very old?

It depends. However, in many instances older is not old at all.

For example, you may tell your teenager son: "You are getting older. You must be more responsible."

In fact older is only a comparative.

Everyone grows older everyday. But we cannot say Everyone grows old everyday.

In some cases saying to your friend 'You are getting older' is better than 'You are getting old'.

一葉輕舟去，人隔萬重山 ...

2011-11-03T00:03:00.001+08:00

大家來唱 - 鳳閣恩仇未了情

生：（白）異國情鴛驚夢散，空餘一點情淚濕青衫。

生：【胡地蠻歌】一葉輕舟去，人隔萬重山，

合：鳥南飛，鳥南返，鳥兒比翼何日再歸還，

生：哀我何孤單。

旦：休涕淚，莫愁煩，人生如朝霧，何處無離散，今宵人惜別，相會夢魂間，我低語慰壇郎，輕拭流淚眼。君莫嗟，君莫歎，終有日，春風吹渡玉門關。

生：情如海，義如山，孰惜春意早欄柵。虛榮誤我怨青衫。

旦：憐無限，愛無限，願為郎君老朱顏，勸君莫被功名誤，白少年頭莫等閒。

生：柔腸寸斷無由訴，笙歌醉夢閒，流水落花春去也，天上人間。

旦：獨自莫憑欄，無限江山，地北與天南，愛郎情未冷，情未冷。

生：一葉輕舟去，人隔萬重山。

合：鳥南飛，鳥南返，鳥兒比翼何日再歸還，

生：哀我何孤單，何孤單 .....

三皇五帝酬神粵劇

2011-10-30T11:55:00.001+08:00

The Cantonese street opera at Chinatown sponsored by disciples of the San Wang Wu Ti religious sect completed its 15-day performance a few days ago. I think this is the only remaining Cantonese street opera in Chinatown. I watched only a few of its 30 shows.

Some fans preferred to watch from the outside.

The lead sheng and the two lead dans are popular. They received '$$$ gifts' frequently throughout the 15 days. Each flower design had a 1000-dollar note attached.

The spectator hall is wide and well-ventilated. The stage as well as the backstage is big and spacious. However, at times smoke from the burning of incense papers and joss-sticks drifted over from the prayer hall. And on some occasions, while watching the show you might also hear loud proclamations by San Wang Wu Ti's master while performing his ceremony in the prayer hall.

Attendance at the night shows were good. On Saturday and Sunday nights and the two nights of Charity songs, the organizers had to add extra seats. There were people who watched all the night and weekend shows and there were people who watched many of the shows. However, you could see that the audience consisted of mostly elderly people.

In years to come, some of these people will not be around and some will find it too cumbersome or tiring to go to watch street operas. But there are not enough younger fans to replace them.

When will the curtain fall on the SWWT street opera in Chinatown?

I found out from older fans that in the old days there were several street operas in Chinatown. For example, there used to be one at Mosque Street and there was also one at Keong Siak Road. And SWWT used to bring in troupes twice a year.

Through the years, the curtain fell on them one by one.

As for the SWWT opera, I heard they might not be able to use that piece of land for their activities in future as the land has been slated for development. Then the SWWT master of rituals might not want to do the rituals, like cutting his tongue with a knife, anymore as he is getting older. This will affect income for SWWT..

So you see, there are many negative factors regarding the continuation of the last Chinatown street opera.

敦煌三十週年粤韵戏曲晚会

2011-10-26T11:46:00.001+08:00

This concert was the second of two night concerts staged by Chinese Theatre Circle to commemorate its 30th anniversary. The first night was 'A Showcase of CTC's signature operas'. However, there was no excerpt on another CTC's beloved opera, Madam White Snake.

What I also find missing were some well-known former CTC members who are still active in the opera scene. I think fans would be happy to see them perform their signature excerpts again.

Here are the presentations on the second night.

鳳閣恩仇未了情

十三郎 - 关小萍

对花鞋 - 林嘉文, 卢少玲, 陈良兴

紅楼双玉折梅情 - 徐艳紅, 洪清芳

水淹蓝桥 - 陈沛诚

苦凤离鸾 - 罗秋鸿, 卢少玲

閒谈 - 李季桦, 卢少玲, 罗秋鸿, 徐艳紅, 陈淑桦

斩经堂 - 郭广麟, 利莲茜

Mr Law Chow Hong and his wife (second last photo, 3rd and 4th from left) are Cantonese opera songs teachers in Hong Kong.

Ms Lam Kar Mun (third photo, sheng in the centre) is an opera teacher in England.

When you see Kwan Siu Peng, she is always dressed in her trademark suit (second photo). She was the compere on the first night. I was surprised to see her in a cheongsam (or qi pao). I thought she looked nice in it and she would wear something like that on the second night too. I think it would suit the song she was singing. But she wore her trademark suit again.

Here is a low quality short clip by Law Chow Hong by Loh Siew Leng. There is a good quality video of this song, by Law Chow Hong and another female singer, at YouTube.

Lost Horizon

2011-10-23T01:28:00.001+08:00

During my 4 years of Literature lessons in secondary school I must have read about a dozen Literature books. I can only remember three of them - Great Expectation by Charles Dickens, Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare and Lost Horizon. Anyone of you used Lost Horizon as a literature text?

These 3 books are not easy to read, one reason being they were written long ago and so the language the authors used is quite archaic.

Actually I can't remember who wrote Lost Horizon. I also remember little about the story or its characters except that it is about a paradise-like place called Shangri La.

So, I searched for 'lost horizon'. And here are some information.

Lost Horizon is a 1933 novel by English writer James Hilton. It is best remembered as the origin of Shangri-La, a fictional utopian lamasery high in the mountains of Tibet.

Shangri-La is a fictional place described as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains.

Hugh Conway, the character in the story, was a veteran member of the British diplomatic service. He finds inner peace, love, and a sense of purpose in Shangri-La, whose inhabitants enjoy unheard-of longevity.

Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia — a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world.

MPs at Chinese opera shows

2011-10-19T00:11:00.001+08:00

MPs I saw at Chinese opera shows in previous years .....

Cedric Foo at The Frontier Community Club ...

Fatimah Lateef at The Drama Centre ...

Chan Soo Sen at Kreta Ayer People's Theatre ...

Other MPs I remember seeing were Yaacob Ibrahim and Lim Biow Chuan.

drinking wine the Chinese opera way

2011-10-15T00:36:00.002+08:00

I found these two photos and downloaded them some time ago. I can't remember the names or web addresses of the sites or blogs. I hope the site owners won't mind I use their photos.

The huadan in the first photo is Chor Wun Yook.

This photo shows the huadan drinking wine. She holds the vessel with her lips and slowly bends her body backwards to let the wine flow down her throat. I have seen two operas in which the huadan drinks wine this way - The Drunken Gui Fei, 貴妃醉酒 and Dick Cheng, 狄青.

During the whole process she doesn't use her hands at all. She uses her mouth to grip the vessel on the tray held up by a maid and then she lifts it up with her mouth. When she has finished drinking she places the vessel back on the tray with her mouth .

I don't know what this show is or who the artistes are. Looks like this huadan has been drinking too.

seven storeys

2011-10-11T00:08:00.002+08:00

Most horror stories are forgettable. However, there are a few that are quite unforgettable. You cannot remember details but the story line sticks in your mind. I have already mentioned one in a post somewhere in this blog. Here is another one.

A man was admitted to a hospital. It was not something serious.

This hospital has seven storeys. Patients with the least severe illness go to level 7. At each lower level, the severity of the illness increases. Level one is for patients who are going to die.

The man was admitted to level 7. Days later, for some flimsy reason he was moved down to the 6th storey. Inexplicably, as days and weeks went by he was moved to yet another lower level again and again until he was on level 1.

Is there something sinister going on in the hospital or is there some supernatural force at work?

Does it sound like a horror story to you?

Well, it is not the type that makes you scream or squirm. It is the ominous undertone that rattles you. Its horror lies in its sense of foreboding and the dread and fear that come with it.

You would not like to be admitted to such a hospital, would you?

When they were young .....

2011-10-08T00:10:00.001+08:00

... they were cute, cuddly and adorable.

Parents wished they had a child like her. ... Fung Bo Bo, 馮宝宝. (Anyone knows who the man is.)

Or they wished they had a daughter as filial as she. ... Siew Fong Fong, 萧芳芳.

Or that their sons were as smart as he. ... Yuen Siu Fai, 阮兆辉.

The older Yuen Siu Fai, a well-known Cantonese opera artiste in HK.

The young Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee with Siew Fong Fong

Recently I had a sudden surge of interest in the old movies and movie stars. Many of the stars I have not even heard of before. Some of the old movies sound pretty interesting and the old stars look amiable, reminding me of friendly folks in my neighbourhood in the old days. Here are a few of the old stars.

蓝夜 ...

邓美美 ...

小燕飛 ...

林妹妹 ...

伊秋水 ...

李月清 ...

This was probably one of the earliest movies about Emperor Guang Xu and his concubine Zhen Fei. I have never heard Leong Mo Siong sing this song.

more nostalgic stuff - 粵語片演員

2011-10-05T00:16:00.002+08:00

While looking for pictures for the previous post, I found some other old stuff which might be of interest to you.

1. Ng Chor Fan and Bak Yin - My father was a great fan of these two old movie stars.

早年的電影，看過的，都有印象。
故事簡單，情節感人。
吳楚帆一句：食碗面，反碗底！
讓你銘記於心。

2. Here is a movie starring Xie Xian and Jiang Xue. It was also shown at the then Hollywood Cinema.

3. I think this is the first Condor Heroes in Cantonese and the first Yang Guo was Xie Xian and Xiao Long Nu was Nan Hong.

1960年李化導演粵語片，《神雕俠侶》一共四集，謝賢、南紅成為第一代楊過與小龍女。

4. This is probably the first Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre in Cantonese starring Cheung Ying and Bak Yin. These two stars rarely did wuxia movies. Heaven sword and Dragon Sabre is the third of The Condor Heroes Trilogy.

白燕擅演「苦情戲」，「俠女」形象比較少見。圖為白燕飾演的殷素素及張瑛在《倚天屠龍記》的劇照。

5. A scene from another wuxia movie, The Buddha's Palm, 如來神掌. These were the special effects in those days. These effects were to show the internal strength of the martial experts.

6. This is Cho Tat Wah. Here he was in one of his well-known roles - a detective.

曹達華1949年憑《逼虎跳墻》獲封「銀壇鐵漢」，同年的《七劍十三俠》（1至6集）更創下當年最賣座紀錄。1964年，《如來神掌》系列風靡影圈，同時，曹達華在《黃飛鴻傳》中扮演黃飛鴻大弟子梁寬，開始《黃飛鴻》系列七十多集的演出。「神探」系列，亦為曹達華「煞食」戲種，他因此又有「曹探長」外號。

7. This is Leong Sing Por in his younger days. He was not fat then.

梁醒波年輕時照片。梁醒波（1908─1981年），原名梁侍海，廣東南海人，出生於新加坡，其對粵劇的喜好，乃受父親名武生聲架悅及姐姐名花旦花旗金之影響。

8. Leong Sing Por at his last appearance on TV in 1980.

波叔最後一次亮相螢光幕是1980年12月《歡樂滿東華》慈善籌款晚會，最後一次演出粵劇是1980年12月12日參加雛鳳鳴劇團在粉嶺演出神功戲，當晚演出《跨鳳乘龍》後，便不支病倒，入住醫院。其後因患肺炎，一病不起。

9. This is Mak Beng Weng, movie actor and Cantonese opera artiste. He was famous for his deep rough voice and his fans love his gruff singing.

以「豆沙喉」唱腔別具一格的麥炳榮。

10. The 4 famous villains in Cantonese movies, 粵語片四大奸人

Sek Kin, 石堅

Mak Kei, 麥基

Keong Chung Peng, 姜中平

粵語片四大奸人之一的姜中平因癌症逝世，終年77歲。姜中平1947 年從影，以演花花公子、鹹濕老闆著名。

Lau Hak Suen, 劉克宣

These two actors also often did the bad-guy role.

Long Kong, 龍剛

Fung Feng, 馮峰

nostagic stuff - old movie stars

2011-10-02T00:10:00.009+08:00

I was reading the post on Hollywood Cinema at the blog Times of My Life. The cinema does not exist anymore. The premises are now occupied by Sheng Siong Supermarket.

I do not know if Siew Fong Fong or Fung Bo Bo performed at Hollywood Cinema before. However, I remember a movie star who made an appearance there. She was Jiang Xue, 江雪. In those days it was quite common for movie stars to make a personal appearance on stage at the cinema in conjunction with the screening of their movies.

This is Jiang Xue, 江雪.

Jiang Xue was a lead actress with the Guang Yi Movie Company, 光藝電影公司. The other more famous lead actresses were Nan Hong and Jia Ling. Jiang Xue was lesser-known and she looked like the goody type. I don't think she did any TV shows or dramas. I think after a short period she just vanished from the movie scene and there is little information about her. Nonetheless, of the three actresses she was my favourite.

This is Nan Hong, 南紅.

This is Jia Ling, 嘉玲.

And the lead actor of Guang Yi was Xie Xian, 謝賢. Unlike Jiang Xue there are plenty of news and gossips about him.

謝賢, 江雪

光藝是香港粵語片最後一個黃金時期的主要力量。

光藝電影公司係60年代是全盛時期，該公司出產電影質數很高，這八名影星是光藝基本演員，計有周聰, 嘉玲, 謝賢, 江雪, 余美華, 王偉, 南紅, 龍剛。

One of the last productions of the company - 《英雄本色》. Later I think there were two remakes of this movie.

Quiz for you

How many of the old stars do you recognize in these two photos? In the first photo I only know Cheung Would Yau and Bak Yin; and in the second, I only know Cheung Would Yau and Cheung Ying. I doubt anyone of you knows all of them.

Answers

Photo 1:

《十二金釵戲玉郎》（1951年）劇照。前排左起：林家儀、周坤玲、紅線女、張活遊、白燕、小燕飛、李雁；後排左起：伊秋水、陳翠屏、鄧美美、藍夜、秦小梨、林妹妹、梅珍、劉桂康。

Photo 2:

《為情傾倒》（1952）左起﹕任劍輝、周坤玲、張活游、張瑛、白雪仙、甘露、何少雄。

curtain stuck

2011-09-29T00:08:00.000+08:00

One problem that could happen during an opera show is the performer's microphone or the sound system malfunctioning.

Last week I was at a show and there was a rather unusual problem - the curtain on stage got stuck.

The curtain was the type that can be raised or lowered by pressing a switch.

It was before the last item. The curtain was being lowered. Most of it was about one-quarter way down when it stopped moving. However, one part continued to move until it was about three-quarter way down before it stopped.

Attempts to fix the problem were unsuccessful.

Finally, the organizers moved the table and chairs and other props to one side of the stage where the curtain was one-quarter way down and you could still see the faces of the performers. And the show continued.

I think the organizers were aware that the curtain was faulty because they did not use the curtain in the other items.

Fortunately, the last item involved only two artistes and they didn't have to move all over the stage or to fight with each other.

A memorable concert

2011-09-26T00:07:00.000+08:00

I have watched Cantonese opera shows in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou. I couldn't remember most of them. Here is one concert that I remember quite well. It was "Chan Ling Yeok's Cantonese Operatic Songs Concert".

I have also seen Chan Ling Yeok perform at The Kreta Ayer People's Theatre in Singapore and the Nan Fang Theatre in Guangzhou.

The show was in December 1999 at The City Hall Auditorium in Hong Kong.

This was the programme ...

These were the performers. They all sang very well.

miscellaneous

2011-09-21T00:12:00.000+08:00

This apple was put in the refrigerator for one day. When I took it out to eat, it has cracked. Maybe the outer layer cooled faster than the core and the contraction caused it to crack.

The 24-hour FAIRPRICE supermarket in my neighbourhood is not the super big one or the mini small one. I think it is in the lower of the medium range. There are 5 female cashiers from China, 4 female Indian cashiers and the other cashiers are Chinese. But there are no Malay cashiers. Not unusual, but quite odd, right?

Occasionally you hear people say "The reason is because .....". Do you still remember your lessons on clauses when you were in school? It should be "The reason is that .....".

Wuchuan and Nanning

2011-09-17T00:15:00.005+08:00

In 2008 and 2010, the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre Foundation brought in two China troupes from outside its normal sources. They were the Wuchuan Cantonese Opera Troupe and the Nanning Cantonese Opera Troupe. They were new to opera fans here.

The Wuchuan troupe are particularly noted for their traditional opera skills which are very difficult to master. Both troupes also performed operas which were not performed by other troupes which had come here. It was a refreshing change to fans who have been watching the same China troupes and artistes for some 20 years.

The Wuchuan Troupe in 2008 ...

This was the leading sheng ...

Here is one of their shows. I already have a post about this show.

The Nanning Cantonese Opera Troupe in 2010 ...

The leading sheng ...

One of their shows ...

China Troupes in the 80s and after

2011-09-13T00:13:00.005+08:00

Answers for quiz

The answers given by the two anonymous persons, whom I think are very dedicated Cantonese opera fans, are correct.

1 - Law Ka Yeng, 2 - Wun Fei Yin.

The mid 80s to the 2000s were the golden years for China's Cantonese opera troupes in Singapore. The first Cantonese opera troupe from China came in 1980.

It was the China's Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe.

From the mid 80s more and more troupes from China came to Singapore. On the other hand, troupes from HK became fewer and fewer. The China troupes were also well-received. So, Singapore became a popular destination for China troupes. The popular performance venue was Kreta Ayer People's Theatre.

Some of the troupes came several times during these years. The Foshan Cantonese Opera Troupe came 4 times and holds the record of performing to a full-house theatre for 28 nights in 1991.

Below are some souvenir magazines of performances by China troupes or artistes in the 90s and in 2000s. Most of them were engaged by the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre Foundation.

Foshan Cantonese Opera Troupe (1993) ...

Guangzhou Cantonese Opera First Troupe (1995) ...

Foshan Cantonese Opera Troupe (1998) ...

Zhuhai Cantonese Opera Troupe (1999) ...

The best of China's Cantonese opera artistes to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Kreta Ayer People's Theatre in 2000.

Zhao Qing Cantonese Opera Troupe (2001) ...

Shenzhen Cantonese Opera Troupe (2002) ...

Zhanjiang Cantonese Opera Troupe (2003) ...

Golden Blossom Cantonese Opera Troupe (2005) - the only troupe from Hong Kong ...

Guangdong Cantonese Opera First Troupe (2005) ...

Hong Dou Cantonese Opera Troupe (2007) ...

The Golden Years of ...

2011-09-09T00:16:00.003+08:00

... Cantonese Opera in Singapore were probably in the 60s and 70s. In those years, besides performances by active local groups, troupes led by top Hong Kong stars came to Singapore to perform at frequent intervals.

This was what Joanna Wong, well-known Singapore Cantonese Opera personality, said in an introduction to a book. The name of the book and its author are underlined.

All pictures in this post were scanned from the book.

In 1975, HK stars Leong Hon Wai and Chung Lai Yong performed at the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre. Dr Goh Keng Swee, then deputy PM and Defence Minister, was honorary sponsor. Ticket prices from $2 to $8. (A plate of fried kway teow cost 25 cents those days.) Leong Hon Wai passed away just last month at the age of 67. He died from 胰癌.

1966 - Troupe led by Sun Ma Si Zhen and Ng Kwan Lai performed at the National Theatre. The National Theatre has been demolished.

1967 - Mak Beng Weng and Law Yim Heng at the National Theatre.

1976 - Street opera at Lorong 17, Geylang. Top HK stars were Yuen Siu Fai and Leong Chui Fun.

1980 - Street opera at Chinatown celebrating the Seventh Month Festival.

Here is a quiz for you. The pictures below show 8 opera artistes. Besides Leong Sing Bo, I think number 1 and 2 are more familiar to Singapore opera fans. Who are the opera stars numbered 1 and 2?

God works in mysterious ways

2011-09-06T16:13:00.002+08:00

I was reading about Dr Seet Ai Mee and her hospice movement in the Sunday papers. She was our first acting female minister. She said, "The funny part of this story is God works in very mysterious ways."

Somehow her remark set me thinking of the presidential election. Is this one of God's mysterious ways?

I look at it this way - the outcome is not bad though the winning margin is as narrow as a hairline. It shows people want a president who is not only able and experienced but who could also connect with the masses.

Looking at it from a positive angle, I believe each of the top two contenders has the support of over 50% of Singaporeans. We can vote for only one candidate but we can support more than one.

virgin chicken at Chinatown

2011-09-04T00:15:00.001+08:00

I was looking for something to eat at the Smith Street Food Centre in Chinatown. I saw this virgin chicken stall. I think it is quite new. Business seemed to be good. So I tried its chicken rice - $2.50 a plate. I added a chicken wing, $2 more. The chicken is quite good. But it is the skin that is the tastier part. So, if you are one of those who don't eat the skin, I suggest you go to the stall in the third picture.

This is soya sauce chicken. I already have a post about this stall in this blog. I prefer the virgin chicken.

There are several chicken rice stalls in this centre. This is a popular one.

There are two fried kway teow stalls. This is the stall I prefer.

male chicken in geylang

2011-09-01T00:28:00.001+08:00

Last week I noticed this eatery along Geylang Road. It is Rooster Hot Pot or Ji Gong Bao. Maybe it is also the Chong Qing type which is quite popular in some parts of China. I think you can find it in some Singapore food courts too.

For your information:
A male chicken is called a rooster or cock.
A young male chicken is a cockerel, usually under one year old.
A female chicken is a hen.
A young bird is a chick.

Cow meat is beef and pig meat is pork but there is no special word for chicken meat. So, chicken can also means chicken meat, for example, Do you eat chicken?

I was looking for food which uses male chicken meat and found these funny food items - steaming cock, spicy deep frying cock, slaver cock, broiling cock ... If you replace cock with chicken, it sounds better.

嫦娥奔月 - 蔣文端, 白庆贤

2011-08-28T12:37:00.001+08:00

I only took the first part of this opera excerpt Chang E flies to the Moon. Unfortunately this clip is marred by people walking in front of my cam. See how many annoying people you can count.

Singapore first

2011-08-26T12:33:00.000+08:00

In Chinese, the sound of words is important.

紅梅姊妹 - Hong Mei sisters. Actually Mei should come first because she is the older one, but Mei-Hong doesn't sound nice.

When people mention Singapore with other countries, Singapore always comes first because it sounds better. For example ...

Xin-Zhong (Singapore, China)
Xin-Mei (Singapore, America)
Xin-Yin (Singapore, Indonesia/India)
Xin-Ma-Tai (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand)

紅梅姊妹

2011-08-24T00:14:00.004+08:00

Here is a photo and some information about the two lesser-known Bai sisters, 白雪紅, 白雪梅. The older one, 白雪梅, is on the left and the younger one, 白雪紅, is on the right. Don't they look like twins?

早年任劍輝、白雪仙、與(左)白雪梅 , (右)白雪紅相聚合照

白雪梅、白雪紅是當今香港典堂級名伶白雪仙同父異母的妹妹。戲行中有「小生王」之美譽的白駒榮便是她們的父親 , 白駒榮的行腔是公認為最柔韌有韻味。她們的姊姊白雪仙 , 更飲譽梨園達五十之久 , 白門粵劇藝術家學淵源 , 無庸置疑 , 雖梅紅兩姊妹早移居外國 ,也為傳統粵劇藝術出了分力 , 推廣揚鳴海外 , 亦不失其粵藝水平。

白雪梅的功架 , 唱腔都有乃父之風。至於扮演文武生行當 , 白雪梅說是當年任劍輝鼓勵她嘗試的 , 因她的身高有五呎七吋 , 扮演文武生十分有睇頭 , 於是她努力學習 , 終於把握到這行當的演出特色。

在八十年代後期，白雪梅到美國三藩市留學，開始人生另一頁，1988年她被加拿大溫哥華悅聲劇社聘為導師，從此展開教授粵劇曲藝的生活，並於1992年開設「白雪梅粵劇藝術學校」，成立自己的傳道授藝事業。

白雪紅說出她十年來努力的辛酸 , 道路並不平坦。初來到温哥華 ,創辦了雪紅粵劇藝苑 , 全職的教學生涯 , 演好舞台上的每一個角色與工作目標 , 延續粵劇舞台光輝。她與丈夫女兒都是虔誠基督徒 ,公餘時她樂於參與傳揚福音, 並灌錄過福音 CD 。

白雪紅與胞姊白雪梅倆曾生齟齬 , 有段時期更不相往還 , 只是彼此的性格與觀點不同 , 當年她們在移居加國後 , 自立門户各自授徒 , 之後減少往來 , 久而久之更沒有聯絡。隨着年紀漸長 , 就體驗親情可貴。白雪紅是虔誠基督徒 , 為此誠心禱告 , 盼望與姊能冰釋前嫌 , 近年姊妹倆的關係已有改善。並於白雪梅週年院慶日, 兩姊妹難得同台演出搶傘一幕。

The three opera sisters

2011-08-22T00:09:00.003+08:00

白雪仙, 白雪紅, 白雪梅 - They are sisters.

This is the legendary 白雪仙. I have never seen her perform opera in person. I have also not seen her opera movies in the cinema. It was only later that I saw her operas on video tapes and VCDs.

This is 白雪梅. I saw her perform only once - on 7 December 1999, at the City Hall Auditorium in Central, Hong Kong. That time she sang a song with Chan Ling Yeok, both singing in the male voice. I have quite a good impression of her.

This is 白雪紅. It was last Saturday that I first saw her perform. When I saw her photo outside the theatre, I thought she looks like one HK hua dan. Don't you think she looks like Ng Mei Ying?

During interval I went backstage to see if she looks like the photo outside the theatre. There she was doing a little warming up - flipping, flapping, flicking and twirling the long sleeves of her white costume. It was her performance after the interval. I think you know from her costume what role she would be doing. Right, it is Madam White Snake.

header pictures

2011-08-18T00:16:00.000+08:00

A blog header picture tells us much about the blogger's passion, interests or sentiments. However, most bloggers don't restrict their posts to just one topic. Here are some nice header pictures.

Ah, those carefree days

Remembering Times of Your Life

Sentimental about movies and stars of yesteryear

A tourist in her own country

Unbreakable bond with Chinese opera

If only real life were like opera

odd pi dan

2011-08-14T00:05:00.000+08:00

The normal colour of a century egg is black. Have you seen one in another colour? Here are two century eggs in two different colours.

The black one was from a pack bought a few days ago. The yellow-brown one was from a previous pack bought one or two months ago. There were 4 eggs in the old pack but the other 3 eggs were black colour. How come different colours?.

國太民安

2011-08-11T11:25:00.000+08:00

This dish of abalone and vegetable is called Guo Tai Min An, 國太民安.

The green represents a green peaceful Island of harmony while the abalone means the people not only have enough to eat but they can afford to eat expensive food like abalone.

rare surnames and sluggish computer

2011-08-08T00:05:00.000+08:00

Recently I attended a performance. Three of the performers have rare surnames. The performers are 练观妹, 香金枝, 巢紫贞. I think these are their real names

The surnames ...
练, lian - to practice or train
香, xiang - fragrant
巢, chao - nest

Rare, right?

Of late my computer has become sluggish. Maybe some parts are getting old and like an old lady, it cannot move fast. Sometimes it takes a few seconds before it responds to clicks or when opening a program. Sometimes it just hangs for minutes.

During the years I have downloaded quite a number of free softwares some of which I rarely use. Maybe this is one reason - the computer gets too clogged up. Just like the blood vessels get clogged and blood cannot flow smoothly. Probably I also downloaded some irksome spy-wares or viruses. I have an anti-virus software but it doesn't seem to be very effective.

Any suggestions how to make the old lady move faster?

8 August is my friend's birthday. It is a day that is easy to remember. He is a teacher and schools celebrate National Day on this day, so he likes to think that the school is celebrating his birthday too.

Majulah! Shades of patriotism

2011-08-04T00:10:00.001+08:00

During this National Day festive period I took a walk around my neighbourhood. Most of the flags were put up by the hardworking RC groups. They also put up flags at a few blocks, especially those facing the roads. Before they did it for my block, about 30% of households at my block display the flag.

Of course putting up the Nation's flag doesn't mean you are patriotic. Nonetheless, it is a thoughtful act, just like it is thoughtful of you to send a birthday card to your friend.

Shades of patriotism around my neigbourhood ........

Macpherson Community Club

A block facing the road

ITE Macpherson

Kong Hwa School

Market at Pipit Road

Market at Circuit Road

blackout

2011-08-01T00:07:00.001+08:00

Last week there was a blackout at my block. It happened some time after eleven at night. If I had gone to bed earlier I would not have known that there was a blackout when I woke up the next morning unless I compare the time of the electric clock with the time of my watch.

Since I was awake, I endured a little inconvenience. But it was OK. I had candles, matches, torch-lights and hand fans. In fact I was not too unhappy with the blackout. I had the chance to play with candles and torchlights, something I enjoyed doing in childhood and during camps in school.

An incident like that reminds us how dependent we are on electricity. Without it, a lot of our appliances cannot function and we cannot charge our gadgets.

I don't have gas, charcoal, firewood, tree bark or a stove in my house. If there is power failure I can't even boil water or cook instant noodles.

I am glad there are always people on standby for emergency when we need them.

It is good to let people experience some inconvenience and hardship once in a while. It is a way of reminding them not to take things for granted.

clubs and associations at BPR

2011-07-27T00:06:00.001+08:00

This is Bukit Pasoh Road on a Saturday afternoon, quiet and peaceful ...

This building is at the end of BPR next to New Bridge Road. I don't know what club this is. Anyone knows?

Tung On Wui Koon

Gao clan association

Yee clan association

If you are tired of walking, you can take a drink and snack at this cafe. If you like old-style type coffee-shop, you can go over to the road parallel to BPR - Keong Siak Road.

This looks like a place of religious worship ...

This is Siong Leng Musical Association, the Nan Yin enthusiasts.

I am Cai Shen Ye.

2011-07-24T12:07:00.000+08:00

I have a long-time friend who treats me as if I were his Cai Shen Ye. We do not contact each other often. But when we do, one question he invariably asks is " Any number?"

You see, once I gave him a 4D number and he got a sum of money from it. He also said that whenever I accompanied him to the casinos when we were in Macau, he always won some money in the end.

Obituaries

Do you look at the obituaries in the papers everyday? I don't; I just don't have this habit. I also don't look at things like job vacancies or houses for sale.

I was chatting with another long-time friend. He told me that a principal of our former secondary school had died. I said I didn't know because I don't look at the obituaries. He said he looks at them everyday to see whether anyone he knows has died. At first I thought it sounded a bit weird but later I thought it is really nothing weird. Probably he has been doing this for a long time and it has become a habit.

We are slaves to our habits whether they are gambling, exercising or some daily activities.

There is a blog called Singapore Obituaries. The picture above is taken from it.
(http://singaporeobituaries.blogspot.com/)

Miscellaneous

2011-07-21T12:12:00.001+08:00

Do you know what these are?

They are nose pads of your spectacles. If these pads are damaged or lost, you can go to a spectacle shop to try to get them replaced, no need to buy a new spectacle frame. This pair cost me $2.

What do you think I was doing with the egg?

I was trying out TIP 3 to see if it works or not.

CO project

2011-07-18T00:11:00.002+08:00

Once in a long while someone who intends to do a project on Chinese or Cantonese opera in Singapore would stumble upon this site and ask for assistance. It is a wide area and there are several sub-topics. I don't have the knowledge or experience to be of help. Sometimes I refer them to more knowledgeable people who are authorities in this field like Joanna Wong (in first picture), Chua Soo Pong (in second picture) .......

If I decide to do such a project, this is probably what I would do:

1. Go to the libraries and bookshops to look for books that are available. (Actually there are already quite a number of such books.)

2. Go to the performance venues like theatres, community centres and street opera sites, befriend and chat up some old folks to get information. Some of them might also have old souvenir magazines or posters at their homes.

3. Get in touch with people in charge of opera groups or associations and arrange meetings with them to find out about the histories of their organizations. Prepare questions to ask them.

4. Interview some well-known local artistes to get their views.

5. Do a search and visit the sites related to Chinese opera in Singapore.

Puduraya Bus Station .....

2011-07-15T00:07:00.001+08:00

A few days ago there was a report about the Puduraya Bus Station in Kuala Lumpur having a new look. Suddenly I felt a tinge of nostalgia and longed to visit the Bus Station again. Somehow it evokes memories of KL and its surroundings. Another place in KL I would like to visit again is its Chinatown.

I have taken buses from the Puduraya Station to Ipoh, to Cameron Highland, to Genting and to Singapore.

I would also like to visit Penang and Ipoh again.

However, I am not too passionate about conserving old buildings, old cemeteries or other old places. My view is the Country's needs come first or if it is too costly to upkeep an old place that has not much significance in our history, then it has to go.

I think many of you know that once upon a time there was a Happy World Amusement Park. It was one of my favourite haunts when I was a teenager. If I had a Magic Lamp, I would ask the genie in it to bring back Happy World again with everything in it as it were in those days including its three cinemas. Well, just bring it back for a few days, let us nostalgic folks relive our memories and then make it disappear.

opera photos

2011-07-12T00:05:00.005+08:00

A few 'old' unedited photos in their original large size. Did you watch any of the shows or do you still remember the artistes?

A street opera show at Sims Drive ...

An artiste at an autograph session ...

Artistes of the Nanning Cantonese Opera Troupe ...

The Guangdong Cantonese Opera Second Troupe ...

president and fasting

2011-07-09T00:05:00.000+08:00

We have three persons who want to be the next President of Singapore. It could happen that the elected president gets less than 50% of the votes. I hope he will get more than 50%. It would not look good if, say, only 40% of Singaporeans supported him. I think the most important things are his personality, temperament and qualities and not whether he is 50%, 75% or 100% independent.

May the candidate with the right qualities suited for the job be elected.

Recently I went for a blood test at a polyclinic. Before that, fasting was required - about 10 hours. You can only drink plain water. However, I fasted longer than that, about 16 hours. The laboratory technician who took my blood said that fasting too long was not recommended as it could affect the accuracy of the results. I did not see the doctor that day so I had no chance to ask her.

Does anyone know if this is correct?

old stars

2011-07-06T00:05:00.001+08:00

Seeing photos of old stars makes you feel nostalgic ... how time has flown and a reminder you are not that young anymore ...

These two I think you all know who they are ...

These were the 'big ten' stars during the golden era of Cantonese movies. How many of them you know? The photographer didn't seem to notice that one face was blocked by the person sitting in front.

Here are the answers:

後排: 鳳凰女、新馬師曾、曹達華、梁醒波，南紅

前排: 林鳳、任劍輝、白露明、白茵、丁瑩

train journeys

2011-07-04T00:09:00.001+08:00

In recent weeks there were plenty of news, articles and blog posts about our rail transport history and the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. Usually it is when some part of our heritage is going to fade into history that people get interested. Some of these people who thronged the TPRS in the past week have never been there before or have never taken a train before.

When I was a child I had a fascination for ships and trains. They were modes of transport across great oceans and vast continents. To me, they were associated with adventure and faraway land and strange people. Globalization and the convenience of air travel has somewhat diminished such fantasy.

In the past I have travelled quite a number of times on trains. If you are adventurous and have more time to spare, travelling by train is a good way to see life in another country. There is always the excitement and expectation when the train stops at the smaller stations along the way.

My first train trip was from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. I think it took about 6 hours.

My longest train journey was from Singapore to Bangkok.

It started at about 1.30pm at TPRS in Singapore and ended at about 8am, the third day, at Hua Lamphong Central Railway Station in Bangkok (above picture). It included two nights on the train. Actually the whole journey was made up of 4 parts .....

1. Singapore to KL, afternoon train

2. KL to Butterworth, night train

3. Butterworth to Haadyai, morning train. (At that time, the train from Butterworth stopped at Padang Besar and we had to transfer to Thai train to proceed to Haadyai. You also passed through Thai immigrations here and your passport stamped.)

4. Haadyai to Bangkok, afternoon train

Between 1 and 2 and between 3 and 4, there were more than 2 hours to spare. So we had ample time for dinner at KL and lunch at Haadyai. However, between 2 and 3 there were only minutes to spare.

If you spend the night on the train it is better to travel second class. A second class ticket includes a sleeping berth with a mattress, pillow and blanket. You could still catch some sleep even with the rattling and rumbling. If you travel in a third class carriage you will have to sit throughout the night. I doubt you could sleep. And it could be very cold.

Opera at Hougang

2011-07-01T00:16:00.000+08:00

I have never been to this place before. That night I decided to go and take a look. It was at Hougang Avenue 5. I think this site is not suitable for Chinese opera shows.

The small stage was just about a metre or two from the end of a block of flats. The ground floor is void. The corner flat at level 2 was the nearest to the stage. The occupants could enjoy listening to the show from start to finish without leaving their flat or they would be annoyed by the loud music and singing for about 3 hours, depending whether they like Cantonese opera or not.

I heard that during a night show in a previous year there were complaints and the show had to stop before it could end. It seems that at that time there were 2 shows - one customary one to ask the gods for blessing, followed by The Patriotic Princess which is a long opera.

It was the last night and there was a dinner with more than a dozen tables. There were also auctions of auspicious things. So about 90% of the place was used for these activities.

As a result, people watching the opera show were confined to the small area in front of the stage. And several metres from the stage were trees blocking the view of the stage.

The leading sheng and dan were 任丹楓 and 紫令秋.

The show ended at about 10.40pm.

This is 任丹楓 as 沉香 .....

沉香大戰二郎神 .....

團圓 .....

By the way, the sheng and dan have a site here: http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/pm-co/

Ms Sour Face and Ms Happy Face

2011-06-06T13:02:00.001+08:00

Observe the contrasting moods of the two women that morning at this market stall. This was taken quite some time ago.

There will be no new post until July.

Contributors

2011-06-03T00:15:00.001+08:00

I was looking through my old emails and realized that over the years quite a number of people have sent me posters or information about Chinese opera performances in Singapore. Some of them are regular contributors. Thanks to all of them. So I made a list. Hope I didn't miss out anyone. Here they are:

Elizabeth Ng
Janet Wong
Evelyn Tan
Annie Chin
Ng Lee Lee
Linda
Allan Woo
Michelle Quek
Mary Lee
Anne
C Angie
Wong Siew Ying
Lu Pai Ling
James Tan
Lawrence Wong
Wong Christine
Candice Chia
Joanna Wong
Rosa Wong
Jason Chan
Yeo Seng Leng
Chua Soo Pong
Art Ang
Spore Girl 1
Zen Star
Rene Chan (Hokkien opera)
Javier Li Yong-En (Teochew opera)

盡力而為, 知足常樂

2011-06-01T00:13:00.002+08:00

The first phrase means Do your Best. The second means Be Contended and you will be Happy.

We cannot be too easily contended. Otherwise there will be no improvement and progress. Technology will not improve. Singapore will not progress. So, do your best first before you can be contended.

Wealth is not the key to happiness. However, I believe money is an important key.

Decades ago people would be happy if they had a job, a roof over their head and food on the table. Society has changed. Now, people have many wants and more worries.

I think the key is for everyone of us to have its own strategy for happiness. We may re-look at our priorities in life, plan realistic goals and should be prepared for hardship and to accept disappointments and failures.

cube watermelons

2011-05-29T17:55:00.001+08:00

There was this news several days ago about people successfully grow cube watermelons instead of spherical ones. I wonder why people want to grow these squarish watermelons unless they taste better or have special benefits.

Of all shapes, the round shape is the most pleasing to the eyes.

And, the sphere has the greatest volume for a fixed surface area. In nature, an object takes the shape of a sphere whenever its surface wants to be as small as possible. Examples include bubbles and water drops.

For a fixed perimeter, the greatest area you can get is a circle.

黃妃, 陳歌華

2011-05-26T11:00:00.000+08:00

樓台泣別 - 黃妃, 陳歌華

Below is a short clip by Huang Fei (in black outfit) and Chen Ge Hua from the Marine Parade Community Club Cantonese Opera Group. Huang Fei sang the male part while Chen Ge Hua the female part.

王愛明, 沈芝華, 張飛燕

2011-05-24T10:43:00.002+08:00

Cantonese child star of yesteryear - Wong Oi Meng, 王愛明

One of her movies ...

The older 王愛明 with actress 陈复生(left)

The seven princesses in the old Cantonese movie era.
七公主, 當年無人不識 - 馮寶寶, 王愛明, 薜家燕, 馮素波, 沈芝華, 陳寶珠, 蕭芳芳 ...

陳寶珠, 沈芝華

沈芝華 with sister 沈月華 (left)

There is not much information about the child star Cheung Fei Yin, 張飛燕.

張露露 (Cheung Lo Lo)，原名：張飛燕 (Cheung Fei Yin)，在1964 年開始在粉菊花主持的「春秋戲劇學校」學習京劇北派功架的童星.

Here is a short clip of Cheung Fei Yin in action ...

Answers to Stars of yesteryear

2011-05-22T10:40:00.001+08:00

Actually I know only a few of them. All of you who gave the answers are more knowledgeable. I match the roles they perform with the performers' list. I think No 7 is not so well-known or seldom performed in the old movies. A bit more about 7 and 8, and a little about Wong Oi Meng in the next post.

1. Yu So Chow
2. Boon Yat Onn
3. Len Chi Bak
4. Lau Hak Suen
5. Li Heong Kam
6. Seet Kar Yin
7. Cheung Fei Yin
8. Sum Zi Wah

Here are the answers from the performers' list.

Miscellaneous 2

2011-05-20T10:37:00.001+08:00

I checked up the history of my constituency - Macpherson. I didn't realize that so many parties had contested here before - SDA, DPP, SDP, NSP, UPF, WP. They lost and disappeared. No party stayed on for a second attempt. Two of the contestants were Chee Soon Juan and Sin Kek Tong. There were also walkovers when it was in a GRC.

I think it is better to have admission by tickets rather than free admission if you are holding a Cantonese opera show in a community club. Many people have the perception that free shows are of a lower standard, mainly performed by new pupils. Some will decide at the last minute whether to go or not. Then they are probably too lazy to go.

If you have admission by tickets (free or at a nominal price), people will try to get the tickets or the performers will give some tickets to friends to invite them to come. People who have tickets will go because they have paid for the tickets or they feel obliged to support their friends who have invited them.

Stars of yesteryears

2011-05-18T10:30:00.006+08:00

I have added two more pictures of 5 and 6 to help you identify them. No 5 often acted as the 'evil empress of the west chamber' in old movies. No 6 has come to Singapore to perform or engage in other activities a number of times. She is not slim now. Answers will be published in the second post after this.

The pictures below are from an old opera movie. How many stars do you know?

These two I know - Lum Ka Seng and Chan Ho Kau (the one on the left, second picture).

How many (1 to 8 ) can you recognize? No 1 was often in swords-woman's role in kung-fu films. No 5 and 6 are also well-known stars in movies and dramas.

Miscellaneous

2011-05-16T10:25:00.000+08:00

Some blogger friends like Victor, Mingde and Amai are posting less and less frequently in their blogs. Maybe they are busy with their work.

Recently I paid my first visit to an Integrated Resort - Sands. Besides the $100 entrance fee, I lost $150. I think gambling is not in my DNA. I don't get thrills gambling and I have no desire to win huge sum of money. I only bet small amount on 4D which won't make me very rich.

I was a bit surprised that the IR employs quite a number of older people at the gaming tables and there were more males than females.

I have finished reading The Cobra. Briefly it is about the drug menace in America getting out of hand with young lives and families destroyed while the drug cartels and traffickers making huge profits. You have ruthless drug lords with no regards for human life, the failed states in Africa, corrupt officials and inefficient law-enforcement agencies.

According to the writer, Americans think nothing of thousands of people killed by their troops in other countries but would squirm if a single American were to be killed by hostile force on American soil.

GRCs not relevant?

2011-05-14T10:24:00.000+08:00

After the general elections I read several arguments that the GRCs are not relevant. Most of them take Michael Palmer, K. Shanmugam and Tharman Shanmugaratnam as examples to show that good credible candidates from the minority races can be elected.

But they are only looking at the present scenario. These are strong candidates standing alone or leading a strong team from a strong party contesting against weaker opponents. They are veterans or familiar with Singaporeans.

We cannot guarantee that it will be like that in future. Things will change.

No one has suggested a sure way that we will have elected MPs from the minorities. So, I would say GRCs, despite its shortcomings, are not irrelevant.

If we have two equally strong candidates, say Teo Chee Hean vs Tharman , then most people will likely pick one of their own race. It does not mean they are racists or they vote along racial line, it is just a natural preference.

frederick forsyth

2011-05-11T00:12:00.000+08:00

Hello thrillers fans, here is a new book by a thriller master, Frederick Forsyth. I am into chapter one now. It looks exciting enough.

However, his books are not easy to read because there are a lot of details (objects, procedures, history and places), flashbacks, names of people and acronyms. Then his language and writing style is also not easy to follow. Still, I have read many of his books. Here are three of them. The best is still The Day of the Jackal. I have written a post about this story.

My MP - Tin Pei Ling

2011-05-08T10:24:00.001+08:00

This is the team for my Constituency.

This is the MP for my ward. Despite negative comments about her, I have no prejudice against her. On the contrary I have quite a good impression of her.

师生演出狄青 - 楚云玉, 楚如双

2011-05-05T16:10:00.001+08:00

Chor Wun Yook performing with her pupils at Leng Kee Community Club.

狄青 - 楚云玉, 楚如双

The quality of this video is not too good because it was taken with an ordinary camera with only 7x zoom.

粵剧义演节目 - 陳福鴻, 戚超群

2011-05-02T09:46:00.000+08:00

粵剧义演在人民剧场

This video and the three below were taken from the same distance with the same cam. Did you notice that the face in one video looks clearer than another. I think it has to do with the make-up.

one father and duck eggs

2011-04-29T00:05:00.001+08:00

A conversation, in Chinese, between a young man and a young woman who wanted to know more about each other.

Woman: Your home got what other people?

Man: Only got one father.

Woman: Only one father?

Man: Only one. You got how many fathers?

A man asked his Cantonese friend ...

'Long time no see your father, how is he?'

'He gone to sell salted duck eggs already.'

'Good profit or not?'

'Hee hee, you want to sell salted duck eggs also?'

no GST for basics?

2011-04-27T00:10:00.001+08:00

Some people say remove GST for essential or basic items to help the poor. I suppose basic items are things like rice, oil, sauces, bread, vegetable, fruits. However, even things like rice and oranges, there are cheap ones and expensive ones.

For example, the superior grade of a brand of soya sauce costs about 2.5 times more than the standard grade.There could be more expensive ones which I don't know of.

Then, healthy salt (contains some minerals but less sodium) costs about 10 times that of ordinary salt.

Poor people buy the cheap ones while people with high income, which includes foreign talents, buy the expensive ones. If you buy the expensive ones, then you cannot be considered poor.

No doubt the poor will pay a little less. However, a lot of tax would be not be collected from the rich.

So I prefer to collect this tax money from the rich to help the poor in other ways.

bananas and money

2011-04-25T00:04:00.000+08:00

I bought a bunch of small bananas when they were still green. After about five days, only the bananas at the top turned yellow while the bottom ones were still green.

After another five days .... the remainder were still green. Quite unusual, right?

Last week I got unexpected money. First I received a cheque from MDA - a refund of TV licence fees. Also I got a cheque from INCOME - a bonus or incentive for being a loyal customer. Lastly I got some money from STC - winning from a 4D number.

Not much, but somehow unexpected money like that makes you happy.

慈善点唱 (3) - 楚云玉

2011-04-23T00:04:00.003+08:00

粵剧义演在人民剧场 - 点唱节目

慈善点唱 (3) - 楚云玉

慈善点唱 (2) - 戚超群

2011-04-21T00:12:00.001+08:00

粵剧义演在人民剧场 - 点唱节目

慈善点唱 (2) - 戚超群

慈善点唱 (1) - 卢眉华

2011-04-19T00:05:00.001+08:00

粵剧义演在人民剧场 - 粵曲点唱节目

With donations from pupils and supporters, there were songs by Wu Wai Fong, Aw Yeong Peng Mun, Chik Chew Kuarn, Ngai Wai Ying, Lou Mee Wah, Chor Wun Yook, Pang Chee Kuen, Ng Yim Hong and Wun Kok Wai. I recorded three of them. Here is the first one:

慈善点唱 (1) - 卢眉华

經典筹款粵曲

2011-04-17T00:06:00.000+08:00

粵剧义演在人民剧场 - 14 April 2011

經典筹款粵曲

A classic Cantonese song often used at charity events to raise funds ... You can see some artistes, like Lou Mee Wah, going round to collect donations.

they are ....

2011-04-15T01:50:00.000+08:00

Answers to who are they?

The first pair are Leong Sau Fong and Gary Kong Yew Cheong (梁秀芳, 龔耀祥). Here is a clearer picture.

The huadan is Chung Lai Yong (鐘麗容). Here she is in opera costume.

The sheng is Choy Mei Wun (蔡美雲). Another picture ...

And here she is in plain clothes ...

schooldays nostalgia

2011-04-13T00:10:00.003+08:00

When I was in Pre-U, male students wear PAP-style uniform - white shirt and white long pants. I couldn't remember what shoes we wore. In sec 4, I was in a boys' school which allowed only prefects to wear long pants. All others, no matter how tall you were or whether you had hairy legs, wore white shorts.

The principal of my secondary school was very strict. Sometimes we saw him walking along the corridor holding a cane in his hand and we wondered if someone had been caned or someone was going to be caned. Or maybe he was looking for a victim, hoping to catch a boy misbehaving in class.

And in those days, what mattered was not what you liked or what subjects you were good in. It was what the school had to offer. In upper secondary, besides the compulsory subjects, my class studied two science subjects, two technical subjects and two maths subjects - 8 subjects.

Actually I was not interested in the Woodwork (a technical subject) and Chemistry. I was interested in the Maths subjects and Physics.

In Pre-U, my class had GP, Pure Maths, Applied Maths, Physics and Chemistry. Again we had no choice. Otherwise, I would like to take Economics or Statistics instead of Chemistry.

I especially liked Applied Maths. It deals with practical things like forces, momentum, velocity, etc. I find it difficult to memorize facts in Chemistry.

who are they ?

2011-04-10T00:05:00.002+08:00

This is a quiz for Singapore Cantonese Opera fans. I think it is not hard. Answers will be given in the second post after this.

I was looking through some photos I took at opera shows. A few are not clear (for example, the first photo below) but the blurriness makes them suitable for quizzes. I don't think I have posted these photos before. All are Singapore artistes.

Who are these two?

Who is this huadan?

Who is the sheng?

fan luck

2011-04-07T00:12:00.000+08:00

The car in the previous post is a Fiat 850 Coupe.

A few days ago, I dismantled a 16-inch table fan in order to wash the casings and the blade. I found that there were cracks on two fins. So I took the blade and went to the electrical shop on the ground floor intending to buy a new blade.

'Don't have the right one' the lady boss said. 'Not one type fits all, you know. The screw rod must be able to go into the hole'

You see, there is a rod with screw thread at the power block and this must be able to go through the opening in the centre of the blade.

'Thanks, I try another shop' I said.

'Buy a new fan better.' she said. 'The blade is not cheap.'

'Never mind' I said. 'I try another shop first.'

Then, yesterday as I walked down the stairs of my block , I saw a discarded fan at the corner of a common corridor. It looked like a 16-inch. So I removed the blade and took it home.

And it fits and it works !! Time and money saved !

Haha, now I will be looking out for a discarded computer monitor.

first

2011-04-04T00:05:00.001+08:00

The first car that I drove after getting my driving licence was a Volvo, a big powerful car compared to the Morris Minor I used in my driving lessons. The first car that I had was of the make and model of the car in the picture below. Do you know what car this is.

This is the first expensive pen I bought with my salary after I have started working. Do you know what pen this is?

tin pei ling

2011-04-01T00:12:00.002+08:00

She might be a candidate in my ward in the coming parliamentary elections. She is young but this doesn't mean she cannot be a good MP. It takes a lot of courage to do what she did. Three cheers for Pei Ling ! Vote for her !

random thoughts

2011-03-30T00:10:00.004+08:00

I was watching the Chinese Classic, Journey to the West (JTW). It reminded me of a book I read when I was in school.

There is a book called The Pilgrims' Progress. I think it is Christian Literature. No, I did not read this. I read another one with the same moral values but a simpler one which is meant for kids. It is called The Land Far Beyond by Enid Blyton. I could remember little of the story. I think it is about a group of youngsters reaching their destination land after going through a lot of obstacles.

I also remember watching the film The Ten Commandments.

Back to JTW, the Monk was telling his 3 disciples that they should not kill demons and spirits because they have a life too. Compassion! A basic ingredient of Buddhist philosophy.

Buddhism doesn't have commandments or laws but it has some precepts which followers are encouraged to observe. One of them is refrain from killing. But I think Buddhists can eat meat. You also cannot ask another person to kill. For example you go to a market, buy a live chicken and ask the stall owner to kill it for you.

If you don't observe any precept, it doesn't mean you are a bad man but you will bring sufferings to yourself.

Then I thought of leadership. If a person is too compassionate, too kind or too nice, he would not be an effective leader. He would not get things done. People would take advantage of him. That is human nature.

shows

2011-03-26T00:12:00.003+08:00

If you are woondering whether I collected the free gifts, I did - 20 sachets of these instant coffee .....

I was looking at coming shows at SISTIC and saw these opera shows. They are in Mandarin but there is no information about what genre of opera they are or who the performers are. It is here . Anyone knows?

the seduction of free gifts

2011-03-22T00:10:00.001+08:00

I was passing a Video shop. There were stick-ups on the walls blaring special offers and big discounts. I went in to take a look. I decided to buy a DVD set of a Chinese drama. It cost $24.90 before discount of 20%. Why not a round figure $25, I thought, then it would be $20 after discount.

At the counter the cashier said, '$19.90 after discount. 10 cents more and you can get our free gift. Why not choose one more show? We give a free pack of instant coffee for $20 purchase.'

I said, 'Never mind, you can charge me $20.'

She shook her head, 'Cannot. We have many shows from $1 to $8 each. Why not take a look?'

So I took another look and picked a single-movie DVD.

After I had paid, the cashier said, 'You can collect your gift at this shop, it is at .....'

I said, 'How come just now you didn't tell me must go to another shop for the gift?'

She said, 'Oh, it is not far, you go down to the centre and then walk along this road right to the end and ... bra, bra, bra ......... must go today, OK ?'.

When I left the shop it was raining, just like it had been been raining in the past few afternoons.

stretch your dollar

2011-03-18T00:13:00.008+08:00

Last week I bought this antiseptic cream from Watsons. It cost $6. Then I went to a FAIRPRICE supermarket. This one is quite big and there is a pharmacy inside too. I found this cream selling for $4.80 only. So if you want to buy this cream, better go to a pharmacy at FAIRPRICE.

At the FAIRPRICE supermarket there were mangoes at special offer - three for $1.99. If you just buy 3 mangoes and nothing else, you pay $1.95 because prices are rounded down to the nearest 5 cents.

There was a crowd at the mangoes which looked appealing. If you see a lot of housewives buying something, usually it is a good bargain - for food and household items, not bonds and shares. Later when I came back to look at the mangoes, quite a lot were sold already. I also bought three.

Here are two of them, two because because I have eaten one soon after I came home. It was sweet.

Don't they look tempting? A mellow golden yellow covered with tantalizing nectar that has seeped out.

How to stretch your dollar

劉惠鳴

2011-03-15T10:05:00.001+08:00

劉惠鳴在新加坡万山福德祠土地诞演出 2011

The hua dan at the end part of the video is Ko Lai.

opposition

2011-03-13T00:16:00.000+08:00

I think the opposition parties, especially the stronger ones, should contest as many seats as they could, no need to worry about 3-corner fights.

Then each party will know how much support it has. The better parties will likely to attract more capable people. I think this is one way for a strong opposition to emerge. It is also better for whatever talents they could get to be in one party rather than spread out in ten parties.

The opposition seems to think that people who want to vote for the opposition will support any opposition party. If this were so, doesn't it means all the opposition parties have similar ideology and manifesto. Then they may as well come together to form one party.

Assuming 60% want to vote for the opposition. Of this 60%, maybe only 30% will vote for any Tong, Yacob or Kumar. The others have their own mind what oppositions they want.

For example, you support FLOP (Frannxis' Love Opera Party) but it is not contesting in your ward. Since you do not like the other opposition party, you might vote for the ruling party or you may spoil your vote.

V is for ...

2011-03-10T00:16:00.001+08:00

I have been watching some old sword-fighting movies. They have a lot of violence. It is not uncommon to see a knife sticking in a body, blood gushing out or an arm being chopped off. I guess some of these scenes were censored when the movies were shown in the cinemas back in those years.

Another common thing is the hero fighting dozens after dozens of men and killing all of them and finally facing his chief opponent for a duel.

G is for ...

2011-03-07T00:20:00.000+08:00

I was reading a post about Graduates parents produce smarter children. The writer came across non-graduates who have smart children. So she disagrees with the statement.

People get their genes from their parents. The genes dictate your characteristics, for example skin colour, body size and facial features. They can even tell you if you are prone to certain diseases.

If you believe in genes, then you will agree that tall parents produce taller children than short parents. Nevertheless, there are exceptions.

Smart parents will also transfer their smart genes to their children. Graduates are supposed to be smart. Therefore they produce smart children.

Now, there are many non-graduates who are smart but they do not go to university for various reasons. So, non-graduates produce smart as well as not-so-smart children.

Hence I think it is not wrong to say graduates parents produce smarter children.

But intelligence doesn't necessarily make your life happier. Happiness is relative to expectation. For example, an average student scoring Cs for his subjects is just as happy as a smart student scoring As. If the average student scores a few Bs and As, he will be happier than the smart student.

There are things that are more important, like your attitude towards life, religious belief and emotional stability.

I stands for ...

2011-03-03T18:06:00.001+08:00

Inflation is one of those things that will never go away. I think inflation began when man started to trade with each other. When I was young I didn't know about inflation but often we heard our mother grumbling about prices of rice and kerosene going up and telling us not to waste our food and to spend less.

I do not know if that time Government got give out money or not.

I did not study economics in school. I think two fundamental factors are raw materials and world population. Raw materials including food get less and less while the world population increases. So supply cannot meet demand and prices go up.

If I were the finance minister, I would not give out money to everyone. I think most people can cope with moderate inflation if they make some adjustments to their budgets. Suppose your expenditure per month is $2000 and inflation is 4%. So you will need $80 more to spend on the same services and goods. I believe it is possible to cut down on some expenses.

For some people it might be a good thing because they eat too much, talk too much, buy too many 4D numbers, use too much electricity and water.

Haha, if I stand for election, I will lose my deposit.

China, the by-election strategy

2011-03-01T00:08:00.000+08:00

Recently I read some commentaries about why China will not go the way of Egypt. I agree with the reasons. Basically China is not the same as Egypt. The Chinese want less corruption and more fairness and justice but they have no desire to remove the leaders or change the government.

I watched a Chinese movie which made me think there could be another reason. It has to do with Chinese culture and beliefs and China's history. Generally, Chinese people believe in one's fate. It is destined and is not easily changed. So, if a man is poor, he will not blame anyone or the government. He accepts it as his fate.

For centuries, the Chinese people lived through great turmoils, upheavals and devastation. China was ruled by emperors and warlords with absolute powers. One power overthrew another and one emperor or warlord replaced another. Meanwhile it was the ordinary peasants who suffered in the wars and fighting. Then the Communist Government ruled and with it came the tumultuous years of Mao's Great Cultural Revolution. Again, ordinary folks suffered.

The Chinese have had enough instability and chaos. They want stability and the chance to do well in life. I believe changes for the better will come, but they will be gradual.

Someone said the by-election strategy which the oppositions in Singapore have used before does not favour weak opposition parties. I think in some circumstances it might work.

For example, if a lot of people were very unhappy with some policies and they would like to vote for the opposition, any opposition candidate. Now, if the oppositions contested every constituency, after the election Singaporeans could find themselves ruled by a weak government - a coalition formed by the oppositions who could not even agree on fundamental issues.

So, people might hesitate to vote for the opposition. I think the the by-election strategy might be useful here.

广东粤剧青年团生旦 - 彭庆华, 曾小敏

2011-02-25T10:28:00.000+08:00

彭庆华, 曾小敏

粵劇情懷

If I were ...

Ci Mu Lei

walking in and out safely

unSingaporean traits

夕陽紅葉 - 丁凡, 麥玉清

price increase

Greetings

new and original

An honest man

opera and toothpick

Habits and routine

男烧衣(全曲) - 梁漢威

Birthdays of some HK stars

an old postcard

opera shop

Dream of the West Chamber 西楼错梦

The joy of spring cleaning

God helps those who help themselves

got queue means good food

琵琶行(全曲) - 鄧志駒, 曾慧

Still Can Use

old and older

一葉輕舟去，人隔萬重山 ...

三皇五帝酬神粵劇

敦煌三十週年粤韵戏曲晚会

Lost Horizon

MPs at Chinese opera shows

drinking wine the Chinese opera way

seven storeys

When they were young .....

more nostalgic stuff - 粵語片演員

nostagic stuff - old movie stars

curtain stuck

A memorable concert

miscellaneous

Wuchuan and Nanning

China Troupes in the 80s and after

The Golden Years of ...

God works in mysterious ways

virgin chicken at Chinatown

male chicken in geylang

嫦娥奔月 - 蔣文端, 白庆贤

Singapore first

紅梅姊妹

The three opera sisters

header pictures

odd pi dan

國太民安

rare surnames and sluggish computer

Majulah! Shades of patriotism

blackout

clubs and associations at BPR

I am Cai Shen Ye.

Miscellaneous

CO project

Puduraya Bus Station .....

opera photos

president and fasting

old stars

train journeys

Opera at Hougang

Ms Sour Face and Ms Happy Face

Contributors

盡力而為, 知足常樂

cube watermelons

黃妃, 陳歌華

王愛明, 沈芝華, 張飛燕

Answers to Stars of yesteryear

Miscellaneous 2

Stars of yesteryears

Miscellaneous

GRCs not relevant?

frederick forsyth

My MP - Tin Pei Ling

师生演出 狄青 - 楚云玉, 楚如双

粵剧义演节目 - 陳福鴻, 戚超群

one father and duck eggs

no GST for basics?

bananas and money

师生演出狄青 - 楚云玉, 楚如双