The street opera at Sims Drive ended on Sunday after 12 shows in 6 days. There were two other street opera performances during the same period at Whampoa and Toa Payoh but I don't know the exact locations.
I asked three friends where the places were and they gave me very vague answers - "lorong 7 or 8, near temple", "at Kim Keat, nearby is a hawkers' centre", "this one you take bus 124 to the terminal and the other one you take bus155 from your estate and you will see it".
Actually I need to know the name of the road and the name of the temple or landmark or the number of the nearest block so I can look it up on the map.
I went to the one at Sims Drive. The lead artistes, Lau Wai Meng and Kwok Feng Yee, were the same as the previous two (or more) years. The audience I guess were also about the same.
I talked to an elderly man. He said he was one year older than MM Lee. Apart from his big stomach, he looks healthy enough - eyesight OK, hearing OK, joints OK, memory OK. I told him that is very good already.
He said he came every year and his main purpose was to meet old friends and neighbours who used to stay with him at the kampong.However, he lamented, the number of old friends and neighbours he met has been dwindling. Not surprising, I thought, as most of them must be around his age or at least 70 and not many are as healthy as he is.
Just as Singapore does not have enough babies, we don't have enough young cantonese opera fans to replace old ones. As old fans get older and are unable to come, the attendance at opera shows drops. This is inevitable. Furthermore, the younger fans are not as passionate as older fans. Some old fans could watch opera shows for 14 days or more in a row whether street opera or in a theatre.
Forgive, you all know what it means. I checked up pardon in the dictionary. One of the meanings is to forgive someone for his wrongdoing.
Therefore, in one aspect forgive and pardon mean the same thing. For example: I forgive my husband or I pardon my husband.
Look at this sentence: The King pardons the politician convicted of corruption. It means the politician is set free without punishment. I am not sure if it still means the same thing if you replace pardon with forgive.
A reader cum performer sent me a performance poster. There is this huadan, Huang Fei, in the poster. See her elaborate colourful headdress. You know what it makes me think of - the brilliant colours of the peacock plumage.
I looked for a few more headdresses to make this post longer. Here are two more colourful headdresses ...
See Tip 3 There are lizards in my flat too. Now, where to pluck some peacock feathers.
Then I thought of chickens. Nowadays it is very hard to see a live chicken with feathers going for a stroll. When I was young we stayed in a kampong where many households kept fowls. It was common to see chickens strolling in the neighbourhood after their evening meals.
Do you know what chickens like to eat? Cockroaches and centipedes. So here is another tip - keep a chicken in the house and you will not have to worry about cockroaches and centipedes anymore. But I don't think it will work if you just hang chicken feathers in the house.
In the previous post I mentioned about sweltering heat and myself sweating profusely. No wonder, it was reported that that day was the hottest day, 35 °C, in February which is one of the hottest months in our Country's history.
About the video below ... At the outskirt of a village, it is bing huang ma luan. The villagers are escaping from a war. A village girl and a young man bump into each other.
Taiwan's Yi Xin Opera has just completed its 17-day performance at Sheng Hong Temple. Every afternoon they had to perform a set of opera rituals which lasted about 45 minutes. These are some auspicious parts meant to bless the Nation, the Temple, the people and the show sponsors.
I sat through one of them. It was a day of sweltering heat and humidity. It saps your energy and makes you sweat like a fountain. I was sitting under a fan doing nothing, yet I was sweating. I think the performers' underclothing must be drenched with sweat.
This white attire is their underclothing.
The auspicious parts ....... (Notice the two rows of Chinese words above the stage, one reads from left to right, the other from right to left.)
Then they go to pray at the temple hall .......
The praying ceremony over, they return to the stage .......
The Cave of the Silken Web - a ge zai xi performed in Hokkien by Taiwan's Yi Xin Opera Troupe.
The Silken-web Fairy forces the monk to marry her. This is a light comedy about the evil Fairy of the Silken Web Cave capturing the Monk Xuanzong and the Monkey King, Sun Wu Kong, rescuing him.
There was a short romance scene between the Monk and the Empress of the Land of Women. The empress hinted that they could live a happy life together. But of course the Monk's only wish was to accomplish his mission - to get the Buddhist Scriptures and help mankind.
There was also a frivolous scene which delighted the audience. In it the Pig Zhu Ba Jie was dressed in female clothing and later he took out a big handphone from his dress.
The more strenuous fighting parts were done by the Monkey, the Evil Fairy and a few supporting male actors. To make it more realistic, in one scene the Monkey jumped up to the ceiling of the stage and flew around in circles. This was made possible by a cable attached to his body.
There was no stoppage for changes of scenes. The show just went on with stage crew pulling away a backdrop or pulling in one. There was also little change of costumes. For most performers, it was not necessary. Towards the end of the show I am not sure why the Pig dressed himself up as a cockerel.
This is one of the top stars in the troupe. She sang during the interval and went down to shake hands with the audience. Autograph session after the show ...
Waxed duck - this is something we eat only once a year, during the CNY period. We only bought the drumsticks. It is also not something you eat a lot because it is as salty as salted fish. Here is the leftover which can be kept for several days.
Eating a few pieces of this is enough to help you finish a bowl of rice.
How to cook - chop the drumsticks into small pieces, cut off as much skin and fats as possible and then steam it.
Fish soup
A friend saw me eating fish soup twice at the same stall in a hawkers' centre. He concluded that my favourite food is fish. Do you think he is right?
At that hawkers' centre, I eat chicken rice and wanton mee more than the fish soup but the friend didn't see me eating the chicken rice or the wanton mee.
Well, the wanton mee is nothing special, not one of those highly-rated. The chicken rice is ordinary, just like any chicken rice you find in a hawkers' centre. The fish soup is more popular. At peak hours you have to wait for 30 to 45 minutes.
The answer to my question - yes, I like to eat fish. But my friend's deduction method is not convincing.
By the way, I also like the waxed duck.
You know, just now I typed an f instead of a d in the above sentence. Luckily I checked before posting; otherwise you all will be shocked. Do you know that the d and f keys are just next to each other.
As we grow from childhood to youth-hood to adulthood and to parenthood, our feeling for Chinese New Year also changes. As kids we look forward to ang pows, aerated water, our favourite food and , for some of us, playing with fire-crackers. When we have children ourselves and they start growing up, we value traditions more and we hope that our children will carry on with them.
It was reported that more people fall sick during the CNY period because they overeat. Even when the CNY holiday is over, the mood lingers and food is still there and we are tempted to eat them. When we go back to our workplace, colleagues would bring goodies to share or some would go out for another feasting. It will take about one week to go back to our normal diet.
I, too, ate more during this period but not a lot more. Still, that means more salt, sugar and fats which is not good. Fortunately I didn't fall sick.
Whether you wish to have more money, good health, a good wife or husband, a pay rise or promotion, a healthy baby, good exam results, obedient pupils, to lose weight or to improve your opera and singing skills ..... may they come true.
Here is a clip of a lunar new year song with pictures of some Singapore cantonese opera artistes.One exercise for you - count the number of shengs and the number of dans in the clip, exclude the artiste in the white mask at the beginning of the clip.
Saturday evening, Chinatown was a hive of activity. The streets and shopping centres were very congested - people everywhere.
At night there was a stage show by local performers and visitors from China. And some buskers were performing on the streets. There were two groups of seniors buskers along New Bridge Road outside CK Supermarket. The performers were enjoying themselves as well as entertaining others.
Here is a clip of a woman singing a well-known oldie and a man dancing away immersed in nostalgia, oblivious of amused looks from passers-by. I think the oldie is a song by the famous actress/singer Bai Guang but I don't know its name. Anyone knows?
If you don't declare the offences you have been convicted of in your application for a job, it already gives the impression that honesty is not a value high in your list. If you have offences that you can’t remember, then state so in the form or go back and find out first.
Although we encourage companies to employ ex-convicts, I believe you have to see what type of jobs. I don't think a casino or a bank would employ someone who has been convicted for, say, cheating.
Or for example, if you need a driver for your school buses, would you hire someone who has been convicted for drink-driving or molesting children? No, right?
babies
I think if a couple do not want to have babies, they will still not produce even if the government gives them cash outright. Bringing up children is a very difficult job.
You must really love children and feel that it is a blessing to have them. Couples in this group don’t need incentives. Neither can the stress of life stops them from having babies.
So, I feel there is a limit to what the government can do. It is really up to the people themselves.
The previous post reminded me of an old book I still have. The cover is shown below. Now, don't you see the word God and you think I want to preach you religion and quickly close the blog. No, I don't preach religion..
I think if you want to spread your religion it is better to be a good example yourself and do good rather than going around trying to convert people.
Even if you are not a Christian or whether you believe in any God or no Gods, you can still make use of some of the things it says . Here is one example everyone can use:
