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Monday, January 6, 2014

Bukit Teresa Singapore

In the early and mid 70s. I was introduced to a serene part of Singapore, far from the concrete place that I lived in. This was the place my wife and her family lived : Bukit Teresa. It was a big kampong which stretched all the way to Radin Mas, before the HDB flats took over in the 1980s. The estate is now known as Bukit Purmei.
In this area, there is a road which leads up to the Teresa Villas condos. It starts from the present Kellock Convent. The Carmelite Monastery where the Carmelite Sisters lives is right up the hill.

http://maps.singaporeexpats.com/map-details.php?query=CARMELITE%20MONASTERY

The Carmelite Monastery
 

The road leading up down to Bk Teresa Rd from Monastery
Entrance of the Carmelite Monastery
Read more about the Carmelite Sisters from the link above
 

Gate to the Monastery
Road up to Carmelite Monastery
Footstep entrance to Monastery

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Kg Bahru Singapore

Kampungs are rare in Singapore. There are remnants of it around some parts of Singapore. One such rare sighting can be found in Radin Mas or Kg Bahru or Bukit Purmei and it was not highlighted until recently. This small area, a hillock, beside Block 102, Bukit Purmei cannot be seen from the main road. It has a few old graves, believed that they belonged to some Malay royalty. The graveyard is flanked by one zinc roofed wooden house, remnants from the Radin Mas kampung days. It brought back the good old days when the air, space and greens were free and plentiful.
Below are the pictures of the house.


Frontage of zinc roofed house

Stairs leading to house from concrete path

Side of the house

Side view of the house, graveyard at the left area
 
View of house from Block 102

Parvenu

Just finished reading 'Men in White -the Untold Story of Singapore's ruling Political party' during these days of doing nothing.

On Page 361: Ong Pang Boon lamented that Singapore is a PARVENU society where if a person was not successful, he would be forgotten and neglected. "Thus, the Old Guard members, once they retired, were often neglected as 'losers'. Their contributions would be buried and forgotten," he lamented.
This feeling more or holds true for me. Time and tide waits for no man. When someone in school tells you to 'keep in touch' it sounds hollow because many of them would not do so!!!!. The service, let alone the school will not remember you. Don't expect anything or anyone to be different. Just move on taking your past along.
Below is the appreciation certificate given out to me during the staff meeting at the end of December 2013.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Thanks, 'Cher

Thanking 'cher
Most pupils seldom express their gratitude except on certain occasions like Teacher's Day or during Chinese New year when they come back to visit their former teachers. It is not that they are ungrateful. Their day-to-day business ensured that they have no time to reflect in anything else, least to thank teachers who seemed to be 'monsters' or slave drivers in class. There were also times when we met former pupils outside school years after they left the school many years ago. Usually they would forgot about the 'bad' times. Rather, they would speak about memories in a positive mood. One pupils even pointed out to his 4 children that I was the Discipline Master when he was a pupil and that they should always behave in school or else....... Some remembered the caning, the haircuts, the scolding, etc but in the end, it seemed that they appreciated the effort of teachers.

 The messages from my last Sec 4C class of 2013.

 Message from a former pupil of 2009 who still visits the school during Teacher's Day every year.

From a pupil of Class 2010
2nd January 2014
First day of unemployment after 38 years of waking up at 0500 hrs daily. The following photos on my place of work were taken on the last day at Jurongville Secondary, 30 December 2013.

The workroom where I spent much time doing my work in peace and quiet. The AYE can be seen out of the small window, with breeze coming through.


The view from the 2nd level of the Garage is quite serene, with views of the football field, the expressway and a small garden





 The views of the Garage and the store room.











  The empty spaces in 2011 when we first moved into after PRIME