Miscellaneous

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

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 .....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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