Racial Harmony Day 2009

The children have many more things that they celebrate in schools these days than during our time. One of the celebrations is Racial Harmony Day.

On this day, the staff and children are encouraged to attend school in the traditional costumes of one of the races in Singapore. According to the school's letter issued to us a fortnight before the Racial Harmony Day, this means the traditional costumes of the Chinese, Malay and Indian races.

It's weird, hor, that they never mentioned the Eurasians when officially, the Eurasians are one of the 4 major races in Singapore. Or aren't they anymore??

Anyway, so the weekend before the Racial Harmonay Day, we went through the wardrobe for any suitable costumes that WY and WF might use for the RHD. WF was at first very reluctant to put on any costumes, insisting that his teacher had said that it would be alright to be in school uniform, too.

I let him try on the vest that WY had used for his K2 graduation concert. I thought it looked not bad, and more importantly, it could be taken off easily and conveniently kept in WF's schoolbag when it was PE lesson that day. WY needed some persuasion at first, but eventually, he agreed to put this on for RHD. I had to explain to him what Eurasians are and how they put on jackets and neck-ties and bow-ties etc because of their 'western part of their culture'.

Then, later in the evening, WY heard about the plan for WF's costume and commented, "Mum, you know ah, actually, the tuxedo is not the traditional costume of the Eurasians, leh. They don't wear jackets or vests like this. I think WF's costume is wrong."

Oops! Is that so? And so, we went through the wardrobe once again, and found a few more choices for WF. These were mainly Chinese costumes used previously and after some trying on, WF decided on the Chinese costume that WY had used for his K2 graduation concert.

WY, on the other hand, was dismayed to find that he has already outgrown all the costumes which he had used to put on for RHDs in the past few years. The green baju, the various Chinese costumes - all cannot fit anymore.

The poor boy wore a clear look of disappointment on his face and I felt so sorry for him that I suggested that we bought a new costume. Or he could just go to school in the school uniform, which he protested, "Then what Racial Harmony Day will that be?"

I told WY that we could try to go and get the new costume only if he managed to finish all his work the next day before 3pm. That lifted his spirits a little, I guess.

Not unexpectedly, the following afternoon, he returned from school and announced heartily, "Mum, I bring great news! I have already finished all my school work for today! So we can go and get the costume, ah?"

Although I felt so lazy about going out in the hot, hot afternoon sun that day, I had no heart to let our little boy down. He has always been very enthusiastic and upbeat about such celebrations, so I shouldn't disappoint him. Besides, it would be wrong not to keep my promise to him, right?

So after a brief lunch and some homework, we set off at about 4pm. Initially, I thought of going to the 'Yokoso' place to buy the Malay costume, but I remember how the Malay shopkeepers had fleeced us off the year we bought the green costume. So, we headed for the newly-opened Geylang Serai market instead - I think the stalls at the market are probably not so pricy.

When we arrived at the market, we were greeted by a whiff of fried banana fitters. Very distinctive but not unpleasant aroma. Over at the clothes section, we were very excited to see many stalls selling all the various types of baju that Malays wear - and those accessories for the ladies - wow, really uncountable varieties and all very glittery!

Eventually, we picked a suit of Malay baju from a Chinese lady. She was very friendly, and even offered to hem up the pants and sleeves if necessary. But her services were not needed because the baju suited WY to a T. My wallet was a good $40 lighter when we left her stall.

Next, we went shopping for a new songkho (I believe this is how the word is spelt). The old black one which WY had previously is now too small for him. After some wandering around and browsing at a stall manned by a Malay woman, we settled for an embroided one which matched WY's new baju.

Our little friend was as happy as a lark when we left the Geyland Serai market. I teased him, "Aha, now no need to worry about not having a costume for tomorrow, right? 放下心中大石了，对吗？" He gave me a gleeful look.

We bought some kueh tutu on our way home. And also bread for breakfast the next morning.

When we got home, I had the new baju washed, dried and ironed all within the night. Talk about efficiency.

The next morning, WY went to school a Kawan Melayu. And later in the afternoon, WF went to school a 华族小朋友! Happy Racial Harmony Day!

Now Hawker Centre's Turn

One day last month, WY came back and told me that the hawker centre was going to be closed until end of the year. I didn't think much about it, especially since CP had also mentioned something about that a little while before that.

What's a 6-month wait? Nothing, and it's not as if we regularly buy food from the hawker centre.

I think the upgrading is probably more of a good thing than bad. Afterall, the hawker centre has come to be in a dilapidated state, so the renovation is most likely going to do it some good.

Then, one day earlier this month, I passed by the hawker centre on our way out. This is how the place (from the outside) looks now.



Suddenly, I miss the hawker centre - because the elderly uncle who sold the best sugarcane juice that I have ever come across in my entire life, may not return when the renovated hawker centre opens! Or will he?

First Time in 3 Decades!

For the first time since we moved to this estate, there was a MacPherson Town Day on 12 July 2009!

The banner went up several days before the event, so we all knew about it. (The fact that the information is available before the event is already a vast improvement compared to the organisers' previous practice of not letting people know about such community events - unenlightened residents often had to guess amongst ourselves what event the RC was holding because there had been no publicity except amongst the organiser's own 'in'-group of RC people.)

On the Thursday evening before the event, WY, WF and I were playing badminton in the open space outside the B121 RC when a truck carrying kiddy rides (helicopters and trains etc) came trundling by. The excited WF suggested that perhaps, the pasar malam was coming to our place?! Then, WY pondered a while and concluded, the rides must be for the MacPherson Town Day! And so, the boys pleaded to be allowed to go join the carnival that day.

That Sunday morning, we had breakfast at home. Then R took WY and WF downstairs to check out the carnival. As WY and WF had lessons at LW and with CP respectively that day, our deal was that they were to return after an hour or so.

But alas, their 'an hour or so' turned out to be much longer - according to R, F gave the boys some tickets and so they happily went about the rides and queued up for some snacks etc. WF later told me that at first, there were no more tickets for sale but Ah-Gong gave them tickets when he saw them at the carnival! How gleeful WF was when he related this to me!



After the boys returned and went about their respective lessons, I took some time off to go take some photos of this never-before spectacle right at our doorstep. As expected, some people stared a bit but probably because everyone was in a 'carnival' mood, there was no unfriendly looks.

It was incredible how long the queue for the various rides were - our people are really this deprived, ah?! Luckily, the weather was great that morning (having a heavy, stormy downpour the night earlier) and in the cooling breeze that came along so often, I guess everyone felt ok even though the queue didn't move very fast.

In the big tent (which we later know was meant for another big community 'prayer' event later that day), the children were riding their stallions! Not bad, hor, how they galloped!



In the compunds of the CC, there were some stalls selling confectionery, cotton candy and some popcorns, but these stalls were relatively quiet by the time I went there. Next to them was a photography stall where families could take photos - I think the A5 digital photo each cost $1.



Then there was a station where children could get stickers 'tattooed' onto their hands. And a balloon-twister man commanding a formidable queue of fans. The balloon-twister had an elderly man kaypoh-ing around (just look at his posture!). They were both just opposite the by-then-almost-empty booth for depositing lucky draw coupons.



The children must be the happiest of all. They giggled a lot, bursting into squeals of laughter every now and then. They were everywhere - on the giant slides, train rides, helicopter rides, and some maze thingy.



I think those in the water-based play stations must have been the happiest because such water-playground was truly a rare treat! (WF told me that he had also gone on the bumping-boat ride earlier.)



Then I took a stroll just before the stalls handing out snacks. I think the donuts must have tasted not too good because I saw several part-eaten ones had been tossed onto the grass under the trees a little away - I cannot imagine anyone doing that to the donuts from Donut Factory, for example.

There were also candy floss, popcorns, Yakult, bottled water etc handed out to people browding around the stalls. Those manning the stalls were the typical 'RC'/'CC' group of people.

Then, I cheekily asked the man at the potong ice-cream stall whether the ice-cream were for sale by cash, he quickly said in a most unfriendly, anxious and irritated voice, "No, no, no! Only for those with coupons!"

The man next to him must have noticed my shock at his colleague's unpleasant demeanour, so he quickly added in a better tone, "Because we have limited supplies, so we must limit to only those with coupons."

Actually, I wasn't really thinking of buying the ice-cream from the stall. It was just that I was so curious that an elderly auntie who had just passed me by had a whole plastic bag of at least 8-10 sticks. Wow, she must have had many coupons to redeem!



Then I saw an 'empty' stall only with some brochures for PassionCard membership - yes, it was the ticket stall! But the sign said it all.



The turn-out at this event was, I believe, quite good although at the time when I was there, the crowd wasn't exactly thick. But it's a good start. A good start to remind the people running this place that MacPherson is not really an old folks' estate only.

WY: Piano Practice

These are 2 of the 3 exam pieces taken during one of the 2 practices at the studio before the piano exam early this month. Not completely satisfactory but enjoy anyway.

The other pieces is longer and the clip takes more than 100kb! So, cannot upload it here.

New B89 Market

On May Day this year, to the delight of many aunties and uncles, the new B89 market at PR opened.



Many people were excited about the new place. I can understand how eager the aunties like M, who had had to go marketing at other not-so-nearby markets during the period of closure (I think it was 9 months or so). See my pre-renovation photos.

I checked it out, too. But I was a little disappointed.

They had the upper floor removed. So I had expected the place to look brighter and be more airy. But alas, this was not to be. The place looks dark and very confined - it has a very 'boxed-in' feel about it.



Look at the heavy reliance on ceiling fans and lights. Even on a bright sunny morning, the inner portion of the market needs its lights to remain switched on! Why? Because the smart architects had ordered the airwell covered up with opaque material!!! So much so for improvement! From what I can see, this is really 2 steps backwards! How much utility bills do you think the stallholders will now have to fork out? And eventually passed on to customers?

The fans do not help cool the place. Years ago, when I used to wait for M as she went about choosing the fish and selecting the vegetables etc, it was always nice to feel the occasional breeze brush us by. It didn't happen very often but when the breeze did come, it felt good. But now, it's not possible for any breeze to come in anymore. The place is simply too 'boxed up'.

Sure, the stalls are much more organised now. They look neater, cleaner and very 'regular' aka very 'standard'. From what I can see, the size of each stall is smaller than the size of my work station in the office, so it's no wonder that most stallholders occupy at least 2 stalls. Some bigger-scale vegetable-sellers even had 3 or more.



With the removal of the upper floor, the stalls selling the wide array of things were compacted. I think this is good because now, the aunties and uncles no longer need to climb up the stairs to go get their coffee powder or fruits or eggs or pork or curry mix or even shorts, t-shirts and slippers.

All the stalls are now located on the ground floor. So we can now stroll from the butcher's to the fishmonger's to the vegetable-seller's to the egg-seller's to the sundry-goods-seller's to the clothes-sellers etc in a smooth, swift one-floor-only action. Given that the majority of the regular market-goers are now silver-haired, I think the compaction will be really helpful.

The only other improvement that I can see of the market is its toilets. What a contrast they are now to their predecessors. In the old market, the toilets were but 2 almost-unseen and always-avoided 'storeroom-like' cubicles on the obscure end of the upper floor. They also stank.

Now, the toilets are located right beside the bin centre. They look bright and airy and even had a resort feel about it because its back walls are landscaped with palms and other ferns! Now there's no excuse to hold the bladder until we get home.



Although some people might find the new signs overhead helpful, I think they are more useless than useful. Who (but for my taking the photographs) would look up to see these and try to decipher them? Given the size of the market, are they really going to be helpful at all? I think at most, they should have indicated the location of the toilets.



The cooked food portion of the market remains largely unchanged. Stalls look smaller but still in the 2 neat rows they had always been in. Some stalls have retained more or less the same position as they had been at, but others have changed place. So it took me a while to orientate myself so I can zoom in on my favourite nonya-kueh stall manned by a friendly uncle who doesn't seem to have aged even a bit since the first time I bought kuehs from him almost 3 decades ago!



The laksa stall and porridge stall at the 2 ends of the row facing the flats remain as iconic as the bread stall and the pancake (面煎糕) at the other 2 ends of the other row, are.

It's not easy to take photographs at the market because people tend to stare with an obvious 'Why is she taking my photograph?' kind of doubtful look. And glared. At some parts, I fear that some sensitive people might even scold me (for example, the front of the toilets), so I didn't take these.

So photos here may not be completely representative but got no choice. Make do.

And the last one here is taken from the balcony. I think it is not bad - I mean, how the market looks 'back to life', once again, each morning now.