Cantonese wayang at Sims Drive

On the first day of the second month in the lunar calendar there are cantonese street opera shows at some temples. This is part of the thanksgiving to the Gods. The opera troupe is from HK but it may also include a few performers from places like Macao, Malaysia and Singapore. Most fans usually come to see the lead stars from HK.

On the first night there is always this piece of opera called Liu Guo (六國大封相). The full version lasts more than an hour; but for street opera it is usually about 45 minutes. The street opera group will have to get extra performers for this.

There were three such thanksgiving opera shows - at Toa Payoh, Whampoa and Sims Drive. They lasted between 3 to 4 days.

I was at Sims Drive because it was the nearest.

The stage at Sims Drive was quite small and the backstage was very congested on the first night. It was very warm and humid. Imagine more than a dozen people putting on their costumes and the dressing-assistants going round to help them. Among these were 6 who were acting as warriors and had to put on their armour costume together with flags sticking up on their back.

The lead xiaosheng was Lau Wai Meng and the lead huadan was Ko Lai. The second sheng was Aw Bun Feng. I think it was the first time I saw him. He is quite good.

There were about three young performers I have not seen in the previous year. Later I went backstage to talk to one of them. She said it was their first time here. I asked her if she belonged to any troupe in HK. She said they were not actually ‘performers’ yet but were students learning the art in some association. I think they were here to gain experience and exposure. They were acting only minor roles like palace maids with few singing parts and little dialogue.

This troupe is not bad, at least they got more maids, villagers, etc. There was one year the poor princess didn’t even have a single palace maid to accompany her in one scene.

lead sheng 劉惠鳴

lead dan 高麗

second sheng 區品峰

second dan 翠縈

palace maids, Lum Lum & Vivian

frontstage

the messy backstage

backstage

Wu Opera 婺剧

These 3 Wu operas were performed by the Zhejiang Qu Zhou Wu Opera Troupe. They were part of the Chinese Opera Festival organized by CTC at the end of 1999 and crossed over to 2000. I only watched 1 Wu opera show.

The Monkey God

Empress Wu Zetian

The Beauty and the Warrior

Opera magazines

Here are some Chinese opera magazines I have.

I used to buy these 3 magazines every month. They take up a lot of storage space. So now I buy occasionally. I Judge by the content page. If got my favourite artistes on the cover I also buy.

These are souvenir magazines when foreign troupes performed here. Not many. I think on the average about three foreign troupes come every year.

These are souvenir magazines of performances of local artistes and troupes. Also not many. Two magazines in the picture are showcase performances by Christopher Choo and Aw Yeong Peng Mun. Christopher is a well-known lao sheng though he is actually a young man. Peng Mun is Singapore’s male hua dan.

These are magazines of performances I watched in HK and China. Very few. The troupes there usually don’t publish magazines of their performances because they perform regularly.

Make hay while the sun shines

I thought of this proverb when SFM Tharman said this is the right time to raise the gst. In case you don't know, hay is a type of grass farmers use to feed their cattle. The proverb means something like if you have the opportunity to do something do it now as you may not be able to do it later.

You can apply this to your life too.

Cameras

I was thinking of going to the IT show to look at some cameras. But then the news said thousands of people were thronging the place. So I didn’t go.

I have not bought any digital camera myself. The one I have was given by Starhub together with a 3-in-1 printer when I renewed my subscription. That was 3 or 4 years ago. This camera has 2 main disadvantages – the battery runs out fast and there is no ‘anti-shake’ software.

Nowadays I seldom use this camera. Most of the recent pictures you see in this blog were taken with my handphone.

For example, this one:
This one was taken with my MP3 player. But it is spoilt now because I dropped it into a drain.

Good and cheap

This evening I was waiting at a car park. Suddenly a van drove up beside me. The driver asked me for directions to the food center nearby. I told him the way. Then all of a sudden he asked me if I wanted some good quality sound equipment…very cheap he said.

I told him I was not interested but he kept on babbling away. Finally I said ‘told you not interested already; even you give me free I also don’t want’. That did it; he drove away without another word.

Then I remember last November or December a boy and a girl came to my flat to sell something (can’t remember what). The boy said they needed money to buy textbooks. I looked at them for a moment and said ‘you tell me your school, I ask your school to help you’. Apparently they didn’t like my idea; so they walked away.

From what I can remember,
Last year a woman came to sell key-chains, said she lost her job; a man came to ask for donations, said he got many illnesses; and recently two men came to offer me red packets with 4-D numbers inside for $2.

Local Chinese Opera

“I know if Pavarotti comes, we can pay $200 for one ticket because he is cool. But for local traditional opera, we have to give tickets away and plead for people to come. If that continues, we are going to kill our own culture.”…..Chen Soo Sen, MP for Joo Chiat, speaking at the budget debate in parliament.

Mr Chen was saying that the Singapore brand is good but is not cool. So in order to make people pay good money to see good performances of the local variety, we have to develop a cool Singapore image.

Well, how to make Chinese opera cool? Change? Reinvent? Chinese opera in English? I have no answer.

For Chinese opera, local artistes can tell you it is a difficult job putting up an opera show and trying to push ticket sale. Promoting Chinese opera is thankless and relentless work.

Some Chinese opera fans are not supportive of local performances, even good ones. They say foreign troupes are better. Quite true. But local groups also have good artistes and good shows, even full-length operas. And even if they are not as good as foreign artistes, I feel that many local shows are still worth watching and supporting.

Local artistes are generally dedicated to their arts and enthusiastic about their performance. I watched an excerpt at a cc last month. The hua dan was so immersed in her role. Her singing was not very good but her movements were elegant and her enthusiasm was palpable. It was like perfume, its vapour spreading to the audience. You could see that the audience enjoyed the show… and the artiste enjoyed performing.

Housewives

Housewives are not low-wage workers, they are the core pillars of the family. They deserved a lot more appreciation….said Mr Lim Swee Say, NTUC chief.

I agree with that. Children should show more appreciation to their mothers and husbands to their wives.

Not just on mother’s day or just buy them presents and bring them out to expensive meals. Show them more care, consideration and concern.

Similarly I feel we should also not take our friends, even close ones, for granted. For example, we still have to say words like ‘thank you’ or to mind their sensitivities.


重按霓裳花絮 video

Jubilee Theatre, 4 March 2006

This is Ng Lai Si, 吳麗詩. I would give her the best performer of the night award. She gave a stirring performance of Lu Bu, 呂布.

盧少玲

陳淑華

I have no chance to take the photos of other artistes and some of the photos are quite blur. So just 3 pictures.

Car expenditure

Just paid my car insurance ($509) and 6 months road tax ($475) and also did a servicing ($170). The total came up to whopping $1154. So I did a simple ‘car budget’. Replacement of items, repairs, fines and inspection fees are not included. These are difficult to estimate.

Item	Cost
petrol	$1560
season parking	$764
outside parking	$480
insurance	$509
road tax	$950
servicing	$510
Total	$4773

See, average a hefty $398/month.

Petrol, the major item, could be considered transport expenditure as this money will be used for transport if I don’t have a car. One fixed big-money item is road tax. It is independent of usage, no difference if you drive 100km or 10 km daily.

Any ‘less road tax more usage tax’ would be good news to people like me..

Hopefully there will be rebates on road tax and season parking in future government budgets. Also hope oil prices will drop.

戰場 Battle scene

In Chinese opera a battle scene generally consists of several fighting scenes. This can be quite long. In such case there will a great display of acrobatic and gymnastic skills as well as some stunts and difficult operatic moves. A fighting scene usually ends with the warrior executing a few moves and then together with the soldiers, they strike a pose. The pose only lasts for about 5 sec. The audience will clap to show their appreciation.

This clip shows a general leading his men to battle. A short fighting scene follows. The warrior does a somersault followed by a ‘spread-legs’ jump and then another jump with a full-circle twist and finally they all strike a pose.

The actors with flags stuck in their back are warriors. The lad in green is the stable-boy. He leads the horse to the leader. The warrior in the foreground is Leong Siu Meng.

a somersault.....

.....a 'spread-legs' jump.....

Reminiscences - school subjects

I think you seldom hear people praise maths.

Maths is a lovely subject.

It was my favourite subject in school.

In pre-u the maths was more interesting. I enjoyed drawing graphs with beautiful curves from trigonometric equations (the types with sin x, cos x…..). I also liked to solve problems in applied maths (things like calculating velocities and resolving forces). And I find calculus, a important branch of pure maths, fascinating too.

As for the subjects I disliked …..

In lower sec it was History, in upper sec it was Literature (didn’t take History) and in pre-u it was Chemistry, especially Organic Chemistry.

These subjects have something in common – they require you to memorize a lot of facts.

What about English?

I treated it as an important subject. I put in good effort but there was little love or enthusiasm. My view is that if you write simple sentences with few grammatical errors you will get a credit. I got interested in English only when I was in sec 4.

Here is a funny ad video for China Mobile:

中國移動通信 China Mobile "溝通100 - 阿姨"

Self-motivation

Nowadays in schools there are maths camp, maths exhibition, maths treasure hunt (where you have to do some calculations, deduction or induction with the clues you get) and innovative maths teaching. These games and innovation could arouse pupils’ interest in maths, but to sustain their interest is not so easy. After the fun part the major part is still practice and solving problems.

When I was in school there were none of these things. Yet I was very interested in Mathematics. This interest was self-motivated; nothing to do with the teaching methods or whether the maths teachers were good or not good, handsome or not handsome.

You see a chinese opera actress gliding in small quick steps across the stage and flipping her sleeves effortlessly. Just some simple moves and just a few lines. But the movements are all very graceful and the singing beautiful.

As the chinese saying goes “on stage 3 minutes, off stage 10 years hard effort”. It takes passion, perseverance and discipline; otherwise she would not have succeeded. Others would have given up after a few months.

For local chinese opera artistes, I think it is also self-motivated interest. Besides all the qualities I mentioned above, they also need determination and a lot positive thinking because there will be frustrations, setbacks and disappointments along the way.

Here is a rousing music by the 6 Roses to cheer you up:

賽馬 Horse racing

Opera @ CTC Chinese Opera Teahouse

Found these two short videos. I think it is an excerpt about General Di Qing trying to get the princess drunk. The sheng is Frances Wong and the dan is Joanna Seetoh.

CO video channels

Hello, cantonese opera fans,

If you like 龍劍笙, 梅雪詩, 任劍輝, 白雪仙 you can visit Melaniemlcheung's channel. Most of her opera videos are on these 4 artistes and some artistes in the 60s like 林家聲.
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=melaniemlcheung

There are also many cantonese opera videos at Tudou. Just do a search for 粵劇. Three users have uploaded quite a number of cantonese opera videos, one of the channels is dedicated to
龍劍笙, 梅雪詩.

Unfriendly acts

I was thinking of writing about our neighbours’ unreasonable accusations and unfriendly acts like using sand to put pressure on us or blaming us for their floods. But this would require searching for facts, looking through the back news….better leave it to the journalists.

I don’t believe in trying to please or appease another country. Cooperate with them, help them if possible such as when they have disasters like floods and earthquakes but don’t expect any favour or even gratitude. Just help like you would help anyone in difficulties.

I think some politicians don’t believe in a win-win deal. As long as the other side loses they don’t mind even if they lose more.

Puzzled?

My friend Victor made this comment in one of the posts:

Frannxis, what's the "If I support Empty Paras" thing doing in your post?

I was quite puzzled and didn't know what he was referring to until I visited my blog in a friend's computer today. Then I saw this 'if !supportEmptyParas' or something like that after almost every paragraph. My computer does not have this problem.

I don't know how it came about.

So, friends, if that comes up in your screen just ignore it.

财神到

http://flash.sunvv.com/sunvv.swf?id=2046&swfurl=2046.swf

Capitalist head, Socialist heart

This headline in the papers made me recall my GP (General Paper) lessons at Pre-U. Occasionally, we discussed about things like communism and democracy. I think most of us students had only superficial knowledge of these. America was capitalism, China was communism and Singapore, democratic socialism.

I remember writing an essay, something about Nationalism. My scanty knowledge of nationalism was from a few articles I read in newspapers and magazines. But I wrote as if I knew a lot. Come to think of it, I was really a toad in a well.

But one thing, even in those days I was aware that race, religion and language are sensitive topics. Later I also understand why Malay is our National Language. I studied some Malay out of necessity but have forgotten more than 90% already because of un-use.

Last year, a newspaper in Denmark published some cartoons on Prophet Mohammad. There were protests by Muslims in many countries. I read some blog comments. A few Singaporeans have this view - After 40 years of independence, we are more mature now, so we can discuss racial and religious issues rationally. We should be allowed to debate them freely.

I find it hard to agree with this view.

Another news item – A brief ceremony to remember victims of the Japanese Occupation - peace is precious. (Singapore fell to the Japanese in 15 February 1942.) Peace and independence are linked to defense.

Some people feel that Asean countries are friendly and we have no imminent danger of being attacked, so Singapore does not need to maintain a strong armed force or to spend so much on defense.

This is another view I don’t agree with.

These two things (policies on religion and defense) you cannot try out first and if something unpleasant happens, then revert to original position.

New.....

A journalist wrote in a commentary that the ban on the sale of sand might not be a bad thing altogether. Who knows, we could come up with new sand just as we produced new water.

We also got new land – reclaimed land.

Exciting news – Singapore gearing up for a population of 6.5 millions in 20 years. Plans for housing, recreation and transport will be drawn up. Since we do not produce enough babies, I suppose the majority of the new people will come from other countries. They become our ‘new citizens’.

Foreign students

Foreign students did well in the O-level. This is not surprising. They have been in our schools for a long time and generally they are very serious in their studies.

Around the mid 90s, there was already quite a strong presence of foreign students in a few secondary schools I knew of. Many of these students were from China and Indonesia, some from Malaysia, Thailand and HK and a few from Taiwan and Cambodia.

Many entered the school direct into sec 1 or 2 (not through PSLE) but they had to take an entrance exams conducted by the school. It usually consisted of an English paper, a maths paper and maybe a science paper. They paid full-rate school fees and I think they had to donate a sum to the school if admitted.

The China students were generally weak in English but good in Mathematics. But usually many managed to get a comfortable credit in English after 3 or 4 years with sheer determination and perseverance. But there were also a few who had to be retained or transferred to another stream because they failed English.

Naturally Singapore parents are worried that foreign students would compete with their children not only in schools but also compete for places in institutions of higher learning, for scholarships and later for jobs.

How to describe......

In today’s papers there was a report about HDTV (high-definition tv). Someone said ‘it is very hard to describe how good a picture looks’. He was referring to the image of HDTV which is more realistic and very much sharper. Those who have used it will not want to switch back to their regular tv. (I don’t have a HDTV set, so I don’t know how good the picture is.)

I remember reading this in a book - A person who has never eaten a mango will not know how a mango tastes like no matter how good your description is. You tell him it is sweet. “Sweet, I know…” this person may think he knows the taste of mangoes already.

But the sweetness of a mango is not the same as the sweetness of an orange or of any other fruit. There are as many types of sweetness as there as many types of fruits.

What about feelings?

I often hear this phrase in HK drama serials when a person tries to console another person – ‘I understand how you feel’.

She is sad or angry but you won’t know the exact feeling or the degree of sadness. Even if you have a similar experience, due to the difference in character your feeling is not quite the same.

Does a man know the feeling or pain in giving birth? He thinks he understands the feeling or he can imagine the pain but will he ever know.

There are things we think we understand or know but actually we do not.

By the same reasoning, we may not understand our friends, so it is better to be more tolerant and not to judge too quickly.

Thank you for reading this wuliao ramblings.

A different mindset

During childhood, occasionally my father took my sister and me to dinner with two of his good friends. Sometimes they also brought their kids along. After the meal, the three men would quickly fish out their wallets or money and offered to pay the bill.

(In those days a lot of people, especially blue-collar workers, did not carry wallets because apart from the IC, most of them had no other cards. So they just put the money in their pockets.)

No, they were not rich, or pretending or trying to show off. It was their mindset. To them, it showed that they were financially okay and others in the restaurant would also not ‘look down’ on them. Not doing so could make their friends think that they were in some financial difficulties. The offer-to-pay was good enough, not necessary must pay. Looking at it from another angle, it could be that they did not want to lose face.

I believe, subtly they took turns to pay. Because they knew the others also thought the same way. But as I said everyone would still do the offer-to-pay part and if he happened to nearest to the waitress and the waitress collected his money, never mind also. This is not the same as pretending. Pretending means you have no intention to pay.

At that time I also did not understand.

I don’t think people think this way now. But, I think it is a good thing to be able to give others a treat.

Politics

Let us distract our people from the problems we created.
Our disposed PM met their DPM, let us cook up some story.

Got floods in our country.
Because they reclaim land.

They are going to build the IRs.
Don’t sell them sand.

If we were a poor country or if our racial mix is more even, (say 45% Chinese, 40% Malay, 15% Indians & Others) I think our neighbours, particularly the two nearest, would not target us that frequently and the animosities not that strong.

I believe one reason is envy. They are envious of our good fortune. Not just our economic growth but other things like stability. I remember someone said ‘It is not what we do, it is what we are that matters’. I think even if we try to please or appease them, it doesn’t help much. Unless we don’t progress…..

Allergy

My ugly finger and thumb. See the dry and cracked skin on them. This happened before – the skin dried up, hardened and cracked. The first time it happened, I went to the doctor. The doctor did a patch test to see if the skin was allergic to any of the things in his list. All negative. The doctor said it could be due to the skin contacted certain chemicals or due to the detergents I was using.

But how come only affects the right hand and how come the thumb and the first finger are the worst affected. He said it could be because I only use the right hand to do certain things. Right, I use the right hand to do many things – hold things to eat, crack the shells of peanuts, hold equipment and tools, scratch head when washing hair with shampoo........

“But I have been using the right hand like that all the while. How come only happen now?” I asked the doctor during that first visit.

It could be due to accumulative effect – the skin absorbed the ‘poison’ bit by bit, it accumulated with time and then it broke out, the doctor said.

The doctor prescribed some cream and advised me to wear gloves or finger cots (condom-like finger shields) to protect the fingers.

It recovered with time but comes back again, usually mildly, once in a while.

I still don’t know the cause. Anyway, it is nothing serious.

Never say goodbye

English song - 帝女花(Eng. Version)

Cool to be yourself

……..whatever that means to you.

Last week one new post65 MP said it was cool to be square. He was commenting on the PAP trying to be hip in order to connect with the younger generation. No need, he said, people support the PAP for what it is – serious and square.

In our relationship with friends, I feel you don’t have to put on an act if you don’t like or enjoy it. Your friends should accept you as yourself.

My friends sometimes say I am not sporting or not sociable when I refuse to join them do certain things. Never mind what they say.

Wise sayings

Remember Deng Xiao Peng’s remark “black cat or white cat, it is a good cat if it catches the mice”.?

Now, if it was said by a common Chinese peasant, no one would pay any attention. But DXP was the leader of the world’s most populous country and his thinking could affect billions of people. Even MM Lee admires him.

Tell you a story I read.

There was a simple-minded gardener. He was quite ignorant of other things but was very knowledgeable about gardening, plants and seeds. One day, a reporter somehow mistook him to be someone who was a well-known economist.

He interviewed the gardener and asked for his views on the economy. The gardener, not understanding the questions, always replied by saying something about gardening, plants or seeds.

His ‘views’ were published and people thought they were very good and he was very clever by using analogies instead of giving direct replies.

For example when he said sunlight was needed for a seedling to grow healthily…..people thought he was referring to the growth of the economy.

Nice story.

Road sense

Last week, from Simei I wanted to go to Bedok Town Centre which is quite near. I have done this before, so I thought I knew the way. Damn it, somehow I made a wrong turn and ended up doing a long detour.

I have gone to Henderson Community Club before but I still cannot remember the way. Every time before I went I had to look up the street directory and memorize by heart the route to take.

I am a blockhead when it comes to remembering routes. So I seldom offer to send people home for the simple reason I don’t know the way.

Some weeks ago I wanted to go to Bukit Batok CC. I think I have been there twice or thrice but forgotten where it was already. So I looked up the directory again.

Where is Chong Pang CC? I also looked up for it – wow! Junction of Sembawang Road/Yishun Ave 5, unfamiliar territory to me and far from my HQ.

And I ever thought of becoming a part-time taxi-driver!

Social responsibilities

One night last December I was walking home past several blocks of flats. It was past mid-night. The place was deserted. Then I saw a man urinating at the side of one block. He was dark-skinned, tall and stout and looked drunk.

I was thinking if I should do something or not. Call the police? No point. Take photo? What for? Go and tell him off? What if he beats me up? What else could I do?

In theory, it is easy to say what you would do but in practice it is not so easy.

As I walked past the block, he had finished his job and was keeping his tool.

Never mind lah, I thought, let him go, just that he drank too much beer and was urgent. Not good for him to control for too long.

What about people having sex in a bus? I would intervene, tell them to buy some shields and go to a hotel or at least I would tell the bus-driver.

Someone cycling on an overhead bridge? I think I won’t do anything. But if he knocks down an old man or a pregnant woman, he could face serious consequences.

Performance by the Kreta Ayer CC Cantonese Opera Troupe

13 January 2007 – Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre

The KACCCOT is an all-female troupe. It has a history of 18 years. It puts up performances occasionally, usually at the CC. The leader and lead sheng is Chan Mei Yin. She performs and sings well.

Mei Yin rarely performs as a dan. She used to have a regular dan partner but I have not seen this dan perform for many years already.

This show had a guest artiste from oversea – Lam Kar Boh from the Guangdong CO troupe. He performed an excerpt with Mei Yin who played the dan role. She had another excerpt in which she was the sheng. She is a beautiful dan but I still prefer her sheng role.

Some ladies sitting behind me were commenting that the ticket prices were expensive. I suppose they were referring to the $50 and $40 seats. I think the organizers can have the $50 and $40, but could have reduced the number of seats in the more pricey categories. Normally CO fans are not too enthusiastic about performances by CC groups. And CC groups normally choose smaller venues like Jubilee Hall.

xiao sheng Chan Mei Yin

hua dan Chan Mei Yin with Lam Kar Boh

Chan Choon Hei and Chan Oi Leng

The xian nu at the forefront is Chan Mei Leng, sister of Mei Yin.

the usual group photo

Quiz

Hello friends, just thought of 2 questions to 'test' you. The answers are below but make a guess first.

1. Most tests, exams and other hurdles I managed to squeeze through in the first attempt but there was one test which I had to take several times before I got through. What is it?

2. In our jobs there are many things that are stressful, like given a new project to be in charge of. There is one thing that I find very stressful. It doesn’t take very long and is actually quite easy. Ministers do it all the time and PM Lee has done it for as long as 3 hours. What is it?

………………..
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1. driving test 2. giving a speech

Philosophy

I have this habit of reading back issues of the newspaper when I get back from holidays. My own experience is that the news becomes less important and my response to certain news also less emotional.

For example if you read about the Bali bomb explosions or a man got arrested for chopping up his China girlfriend hot off the press, your emotional response would be quite strong. But if you first read about it two weeks later, your response would not be so emotional.

Similarly, if you are experiencing a difficult time now it will become the past and may not seem so bad later on.

This brings me to something I read in a book. It says (not the exact words):

When you are feeling very stressful or distressful and that you will not be able to bear your burdens any longer, tell yourself that this is not going to last very long. It will become the past too. This is a very comforting thought. It gives you the courage and strength to go through the bad days.

And when you are feeling very happy and joyful, tell yourself that this is not going to last forever. This will help you prepare psychologically for the cloudy days ahead. You could also prepare by showing more love and kindness to others, strengthening your bonds with your family members and friends, taking better care of your health and saving a bit more of your bonus.

Hong Kong

The second place I have been to more times is HK. My first trip was a HK-Taiwan tour, the second was a HK-Bangkok tour and the third a HK-Macau-Shenzhen tour which actually had optional tours for the three places. We did not choose the half-day HK tour.

After that came the budget airlines - Valuair and Jetstar. Then HK became quite attractive - airfare about $340, travelling time about 3.5h and the climate in HK in December was cool. HK is also a good place to watch cantonese opera shows, more convenient than in China.

For transport around HK, I think its MTR and buses are a little more efficient than ours. But I have never taken buses in HK during peak hours or to outlying areas.

For food, we are better in terms of varieties, taste and hygiene.

Flash

Last Saturday night I was watching Gary's show at KAPT. The man sitting next to me was taking photos of every scene with his camera. I took a peep and saw him zooming in on the lead performers. It looked quite clear. The stage was very bright. But he was using the flash. Necessary or not? Then we were sitting about 15 rows away from the stage. Is the flash effective so far away? Anyone knows?

Gary's Show

Gary Kong (25 years in cantonese opera) - 23 Dec 2006 - Kreta Ayer People's Theatre.

Gary performed 5 excerpts with 5 hua dans.

The 5 hua dans and Gary: standing - Sally Low, Chik Chiew Kuarn, Chen Yin Ling, Gary, Chor Wun Yeok and Cheung Seok Lin. Next to Seok Lin is Christoper Choo. The dan in the purplish costume, squating, is Leong Sau Fong.

I have watched Gary’s performances, big and small ones including those at Clarke Quay, for years, I think since the early 90s when he was with the Chinese Theatre Circle. He came across as a consistent, reliable and good artiste. One of his fortes is his excellent memory. Throughout the 4h-long show I think he did not forget a single line. His voice is strong, something like Aw Kai Meng (a China artiste) though the qualities are not the same.

My favourite is the fourth excerpt, 聚英臺. It is one of those with lots of loud drums and cymbals.

Very unfortunate, the first excerpt was ruined by the faulty microphone of the hua dan. It was like listening to a badly-recorded cd – sometimes loud, sometimes faint, sometimes got screeching or humming sounds. It was annoying to the audience and very frustrating to the performer. All her hours of practice and rehearsals seemed to be wasted. Didn’t they test the sound system before they started the show.

Fortunately, the other 4 excerpts went on smoothly and all put in their best efforts to put up the show successfully.

Thailand

One of the two places I have been to more times is Thailand. It is a good place for holiday. Besides the bustling metropolis Bangkok there are the rustic charming Chiangmai, the idyllic seaside resort Hua Hin, the ancient city of Ayutthaya and many other interesting places. And Thais are generally friendly and helpful.

I knew of a Thai when he was a student in a sec school in Singapore. He had a house in Bangkok and one in Haadyai. Once I went to Bangkok, his father came to our 3-star hotel in his chauffeur-driven limousine to fetch us to a posh restaurant for dinner. Such warm hospitality. After that I did not want to trouble him again.

My most memorable trip was one which lasted 28 days. We did not fly. It was the days before budget airlines. At that time the return airfare to Bangkok was about $400, now you could get it for as low as $120 with promotions and some luck. Although say 28 days, but about 5 nights were spent in trains and buses and many hours were spent travelling. From Sungei Golok in the east we travelled to Haadyai in the south, then up north to Bangkok, Cha’am, Hua Hin, and Chiangmai. And then back to Bangkok and Haadyai.

Thai trains are very clean (toilets included). The attendants clean the toilets and mop the floor quite often. Although there are carriages for meals, the attendants walk down the carriages regularly selling cakes and hot and cold drinks. Then when the train stops at the small towns, young boys and girls would come up the train selling food like fried chicken and barbecued meat. They would jump off only when the train starts to move.

You could sit by the window and watch the sceneries, mostly farmland, roll by. You might catch the sun setting in the distant hills or see naked boys waving to you in the stream. And where a road crosses the tracks, you could see cars speeding on the road in different directions and you see maths in motion. I am referring to relative velocity, something you learn in school but only in theory. Travelling in a train in the vast landscape you could see and experience relative velocity live.

As dusk falls the attendants pull out the seats and make them into two beds – the lower berth and the upper berth. (This is for second class seats; for third class you have to sleep on your seats.) They will give you pillows with covers that still have the warm freshly-ironed smell. They will also put up curtains to shield your beds.

You wouldn’t sleep soundly because of the chugging engine, the rumbling wheels and the rattling carriages. But this is what makes the journey more exciting and memorable.

You can’t experience all these sitting in an aeroplane.

Season of Joy and Goodwill

Hello everyone, wish you a
MERRY DECEMBER !!!

I will be taking a break till 20 December 2006.
Till then, bye bye.

Slow reading

I remember reading an article about the joy of slow reading in an old edition of Readers’ Digest. The writer was at a place where books were hard to come by.

So every book that he could lay his hands on he would read everything in it, even things like acknowledgements and printing history. He would read the story slowly. He would pause to ponder over the meaning of a word or linger over a passage savouring the emotions it had evoked in him.

I have tried it but could not sustain for long. It needs patience, discipline and a conducive environment.

I have seen tourists sitting on deck-chairs and reading books at the beach in Koh Samui (a beach resort in Thailand). I can’t do that. I would rather enjoy the sea breezes, the sounds of the waves and the sights.

Anyway, when I read a story book, I don’t rush through. And if I read an article whether in magazines or blogs I don’t just skim through; I try to read every word. Habit.

Crowded trains

Last week a report in the papers said Singaporeans complained about our trains too crowded. People interviewed said the situation was much worse in New York and Tokyo.

I have not been to New York; I have been to Tokyo but did not take the trains. But I can say that in Hong Kong the trains (they call them MTR) are always crowded most of the day and during peak hours it is terrible.

You would be amazed by the massive waves of humanity at the train stations during peak hours. When you arrive at the platform, there would already be hordes of people in front of you. You wonder where they come from. You won't be able to board the first train that arrives. Most likely you could only board the third train.Forget about getting a seat, you would be standing all the way and sometimes with people squeezing you from behind, left and right.

So, comparatively our trains are not that crowded. And relative to the fares we pay, I think the service is also not bad.

Showcase for Gary Kong

Venue: Kreta Ayer People's Theatre
Date: 23 Dec 2006 @ 7.30pm
Details in poster, click to enlarge.

Opera Shows

at the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre from 14 to 17 Dec 2006
Details in the posters, click for larger versions.

Yue Opera

Two operas by the Shanghai Yue Opera House at the Esplanade Theatre:
22 Dec 06 - Dream of the Red Chamber
23 Dec 06 - The Meilong Inn
Tickets: SISTIC
Details: http://www.tang-renaissance.com/

Minimum wage

I was wondering how a minimum wage would affect the job market.

I have not read any economic theory by any professor. Just a layman’s view:

Workers get more pay. Good for the worker and his family.

Will this result in better morale among workers, increased productivity, lower rate of job turnover, higher service standard, attracting higher-quality workers. Not necessary. I think all these are debatable.

For employers, they might hire fewer workers. Workers will find it more difficulty to get jobs, especially the lower-skilled workers. Then, since it is the same wage, some employers might replace their existing workers with better-qualified ones. Some workers might lose their jobs. I think all these are quite possible. No?

I don't know whether it will affect foreign companies intending to set up shops or how it will affect small businesses.

Opera in the earlier years

This post is partly due to Victor's remarks on his observation of street opera in his neighbourhood. The picture below of a street opera is in much earlier time - I think before the 50s.

a street opera show in the early days

hahaha...these people watching from under the stage

amateur opera groups

clan opera groups

Street Opera

This cantonese street opera at Chinatown is into its 11th day today (Saturday, 18 Nov) with 3 more days to go. So far I have watched only one night show. For a street opera, the ticket prices are expensive, from $4 to $25. There is only one row of $4 seats – the last row. I heard that the male lead from HK is also very expensive; someone told me $1500 per day and he only performs the night shows during weekdays.

The enclosure is very very warm and humid even though the three sides are open and the fans are working full speed. One good thing is the floor plan – from the row nearest the stage the floor slopes upwards so that everyone gets a clear view of the stage.

At one end of the field is the opera show and at the other end the religious rites of the ‘San Wang Wu Ti’ sect are carried out.

In the past years there was also a Hokkien opera (for 3 or 4 days) going on during the same period in an adjacent field in conjunction with the religious celebrations of another Taoist sect. The juxtaposition of these different operas in the same area and together with the fervent religious activities going on presents a unique Singapore Experience.

But this year there is only one vacant field. I don’t know where the Hokkien opera has been moved to.




Saturday afternoon I went down to have a look. It was extremely hot. But there were quite a lot of opera-crazed people outside and inside the enclosure enduring the oppressive heat to watch the opera.

Photo-taking

A short clip of the artistes getting ready for the photo-taking after their performance. (See the post below)