Lipp Kee back in Singapore before heading to Canada

Our old buddy Chieh Lipp Kee (Form 5, 1976) is back in Singapore for a couple of days before he heads home to Vancouver, Canada.

We had a late night snack at Newton Food Centre.

Olivia Live in Singapore !

Last night, I had the chance to watch my long-time musical idol Olivia Newton-John perform at the Esplanade Theatre, Singapore.

One of the best concerts I've experienced in a long time ... she did a wide variety of songs from her repertoire NON-STOP for almost two hours .... the songs from Xanadu .... Physical .... the Country numbers .... the classics from Grease (complete with shoo-bob-sha-wadda-wadda-yippity-boom-de-boom) ..even a great rendition of "Send in the Clowns".... and she ended with her signature "I Honestly Love You" to a standing ovation.

The lady is 63, but looks not a day older than 40 (at least from where I sat :)

Brilliant.

More on John Lee's Trip

Here are some updates from John Lee (Class of Form 5, 1976) who is back in this part of the world ...


From: saylu59@hotmail.com
To: jslyong@hotmail.com
Subject: Mini Reunion in KL
Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 09:26:42 +0000

Hi....James

On my recent visit to KL, I had a chance meeting with some of our schoolmates - with the help from Lee Kien, I was able to get in touch and meet up with some of our friends. Unfortunately there were others who was either unavailable or cannot make it on that day, they were Philip Chin, Cyril Moh, Harry Goh, Dato Anthony Macpherson, there may be others but may be you or someone else may be able to name them so that we or anyone calling at KL would be able to call upon. we need another "Bob Chew" in KL. 

1. First meeting was with Chee Kok - we had a drink at the Shangri La Hotel

2. Second meeting was with Lawrence Chin, Kueh Fook and Chee Kok  - we met up at the Pavillion Mall, having some Bak Kut Teh

Best wishes to all.

John

He sent me some photos ... (which I admit taking some artistic license with  :)

Photo 1: With Chee Kok

Photo 2: I couldn't resist doing a "Then and Now" on this one ...

As I post this, John & his missus are now in Singapore, and we will meet up later for dinner.

Added Later

Here's the group at dinner at No Signboard restaurant, located at the Esplanade Theatres by the Bay ...

Photo 3: After dinner in Singapore (11th Jan 2012)

It has been 35 years since I last met John. I think it's about the same for both Liang Fang & Richard Lim

Welcome to Malaysia and Singapore, Mr & Mrs John Lee ...

Bro Columba in Singapore

Last evening, a group of around twenty Josephians from different years hosted Bro Columba to dinner in Singapore. Ta Ker is on his way back to Sarawak.

Here are a few photos from the evening. See who you can identify ...

Fig 1a

Fig 1b

Fig 2

Fig 3

Fig 4

Fig 5

Fig 6

Fig 7

Fig 8

Perhaps I'll add more photos later  ...

Josephians Mini-Gathering in Singapore

Last evening, my family and I had a very nice dinner with two other  Josephians, both of whom were also at St Joe in the Seventies. They were Ignatius Lee (living in Singapore) and Ken Lai (living in Australia).

L to R: Ignatius, James & Ken

To make things more interesting, here's a little quiz for you (total 20 points)

Q1.   For 2 points, can you put them in the order they attended St Joe (earlier to later)?

Q2.   For 3 points, can you roughly guess the years each person was at St Joe?

Q3.   For 4 points, can you name 2 products/services being shown in the photo?

Q4.   For 11 points, can you comment who is the most good looking? Ha ha ha ha .....

Attractive "no prizes" for the one with highest score ....

Bro Columba's Upcoming Visit

Here's an email sent out by fellow Josephian, Ruth Wong, who is now working in Singapore. The message is targeted at Josephians based in Singapore. I guess those of you in Sarawak may want to make your own arrangements for dinner or meeting with "Ta Ker" ...

From: WONG Yeang Lam Ruth (ELL) [mailto:ruth.wong@nie.edu.sg]
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2011 7:53 AM
Subject: Bro Columba's visit 2011

Dear all

As some of you know, Bro Columba will be passing this way in Nov, on his tri-annual visit to the Land of the Hornbill. He has expressed a preference for meeting up with smaller groups for more meaningful interaction. However, he stressed that if that is not possible, then he’s ok with meeting up with a big group as we did in the past. He understands that we are all busy working people J

I have drawn up his itinerary and indicated the available makan slots (available from Ruth). The plan is that you gather some friends and “chope” a slot. I wld appreciate the “coordinator” of each slot providing the following information:

1.      Coordinator’s name (Year in Form 5 or Form 6 – just to help Bro C place your group)

2.      Contact no.

3.      Suggested venue

4.      Start time of gathering

I am happy to coordinate the dinner for 25 Nov (Fri), and welcome all those who’d like to join me in this slot. Just let me know and I’ll contact you again nearer the time re the venue.

Thank you.

Regards

ruth

National Institute of Education (Singapore)
http://www.nie.edu.sg




Those in Singapore who are interested in participating, please contact Ruth directly. I'll probably join Ruth and the others for the dinner on Nov 25th, provided I don't have any last minute travel.


I believe Bro Columba will be in Sarawak between 28th Nov to 12th Dec 2011.

Vrooooom Vrooooom in Singapore Again

This weekend, the Lion City is abuzz again as the Singapore Grand Prix Formula One races are held here for the fourth time. The event is still unique in being the only night races in the world. For those who have never seen it, come next year around this time.

Here are some photos ...

Here's a good view of the Marina Bay Circuit, with some of Singapore's prominent architectural highlights in the backdrop.

Fig 1: The Racing Circuit

Fig 2: Going round the Bend

Fig 3: Red Bull's car driven by Sebastian Vettel

There were also a lot of world-class artistes in Singapore and performing at associated events. Here's one star you might recognise ...

Fig 4: Can you name this hip-shaking babe?

The qualifying races were held tonight, and Sebastian Vettel (driving for Red Bull) made the fastest time.

Well, I'll try to post more details tomorrow when the finals take place. I don't claim to know a whole lot about Formula One racing (I know some of my friends are ... including a certain Mr Sia) but I will definitely be glued to the telly on Sunday night ...

Oh, I almost forgot. These are the Singtel Grid Girls for 2011 ...

Fig 5a: Singtel Grid Girls

Fig 5b: Singtel Grid Girls

Enjoy.

Singapore Goes To The Polls

Today is Polling Day in Singapore. The polling stations close at 8pm, barely an hour away. By late this evening we should know the results - how many did the PAP win? How did the Opposition do? All constituencies are being contested except for one - Tajong Pagar, a Group Representation Constituency (GRC), helmed by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, which saw a walkover.

Here's a scorecard for you to more easily track who's contesting where ...

Many have noted that this General Election has seen the most aggressive campaigning by the opposition parties. There are a number of veteran Opposition leaders as well as new faces which have gained renewed prominence during this election period.

Here's an interesting set of posters I got which reflect the personalities in very creative poses ...

Well, I'll be keeping my eyes peeled this evening, watching the election results as they unfold. Will further update this posting later.

Bye for now ...

The Day After

Well, as you might have heard from the news, the PAP won all the constituencies except two. In Hougang (a single member constituency), the Worker's Party candidate Yaw Shin Leong won (64.8% vs the PAP's 35.2% of votes). Most significantly, in Aljunied (group representation constituency), the Worker's Party led by Low Thia Kiang won (54.7% vs PAP's 45.3% of votes). The WP team comprised Low, Sylvia Lim (another firebrand of a lady!), Chen Show Mao, Pritam Singh and Faisal Abdul. So for the first time in Singapore's political history, there will be 6 Opposition members in Parliament. Let the fun begin ...

For other reading on the Election results, check out the New York Times or Yahoo News Singapore or The Straits Times article or this other Straits Times article or even Nicole Seah's post-election message ...


FULL RESULTS

This is from the Sunday Times on 8th May 2011 ...

In case you cannot read the info on the newspaper page clearly, here are the official results of Singapore's 2011 General Election (accurate as of 4am on Sunday 8th May 2011). Postal votes may change the numbers a bit, but are not expected to make a difference to the final results in any constituency ...

Bukit Panjang SMC 

PAP's Teo Ho Pin - 20,349 votes (winner)

SDP's Alec Tok - 10,362 votes

Hong Kah North SMC

PAP's Amy Khor Lean Suan - 18,149 (winner)

SPP's Sin Kek Tong - 7,553

Hougang SMC

WP's Yaw Shin Leong - 14,833 (winner)

PAP's Desmond Choo Pey Ching - 8,053

Joo Chiat SMC

PAP's Charles Chong You Fook - 9,630 (winner)

WP's Yee Jenn Jong - 9,248

Mountbatten SMC 

PAP's Lim Biow Chuan - 11,965 (winner)

NSP's Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss - 8,436

Pioneer SMC

PAP's Cedric Foo Chee Keng - 14,581 (winner)

NSP's Steve Chia - 9,430

Potong Pasir SMC 

PAP's Sitoh Yih Pin - 7,973 (winner)

SPP's Lina Loh Woon Lee - 7,859

Punggol East SMC

PAP's Michael Palmer - 16,969 (winner)

WP's Lee Li Lian - 12,765

SDA's Desmond Lim Bak Chuan - 1,386

Radin Mas SMC

PAP's Sam Tan Chin Siong - 18,591 (winner)

NSP's Yip Yew Weng - 9,110

Sengkang West SMC

PAP's Lam Pin Min - 14,667 (winner)

WP's Koh Choong Yong - 10,585

Whampoa SMC

PAP's Heng Chee How - 13,015 (winner)

NSP's Ken Sun - 6,672

Yuhua SMC

PAP's Grace Fu Hai Yien - 14,081 (winner)

SDP's Teo Soh Lung - 6,977

Aljunied GRC (5 seats)

WP's Chen Show Mao, Sylvia Lim, Low Thia Khiang, Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap, Pritam Singh - 72,165 (winners)

PAP's Lim Hwee Hua, Ong Ye Kung, Cynthia Phua, George Yong-Boon Yeo, Zainul Abidin Rasheed - 59,732

Ang Mo Kio GRC (6 seats)

PAP's Ang Hin Kee, Inderjit Singh, Intan Azura Binte Mokhtar, Lee Hsien Loong, Seng Han Thong, Yeo Guat Kwang - 112,544 (winners)

RP's Lim Tung Hee Arthero, Lim Zirui, Mohamed Mansor Bin Abdul Rahman, Osman Bin Sulaiman, Tan Zhi Xiang - 49,779

Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC (5 seats)

PAP's Hri Kumar Nair, Ng Eng Hen, Josephine Teo, Wong Kan Seng, Zainudin Nordin - 62,282 (winners)

SPP's Chiam See Tong, Lee Yeong Wee, Wilfred Leung, Mohamad Hamim Aliyas, Benjamin Pwee - 47,092

Chua Chu Kang GRC

PAP's Gan Kim Yong, Low Yen Ling, Alex Yam Ziming, Yeo Khirn Hai Alvin, Zaqy Bin Mohamad - 89,605 (winners)

NSP's Jeisilan Sivalingam, Nor Lella Mardiiah Bte Mohamed, Hazel Poa Koon Koon, Tony Tan Lay Thiam, Sebastian Teo Kway Huang - 56,817

East Coast GRC (5 seats)

PAP's Lee Yi Shyan, Lim Siang Keat Raymond, Lim Swee Say, Mohd Maliki Bin Osman, Tan Soon Neo Jessica - 59,895 (winners)

WP's Gerald Giam Yean Song, Glenda Han Su May, Mohamed Fazli Bin Talip, Png Eng Huat, Eric Tan Heng Chong - 49342

Holland-Bukit Timah (4 seats)

PAP's Christopher James de Souza, Liang Eng Hwa, Sim Ann, Vivian Balakrishnan - 48,682 (winners)

SDP's Ang Yong Guan, Michelle Lee Juen, Tan Jee Say, Vincent Rene Wijeysingha - 32,322

Jurong (5 seats)

PAP's Ang Wei Neng, Halimah Binte Yacob, Desmond Lee Ti-Seng, ong Kim Huat, Tharman Shanmugaratnam - 76,489 (winners)

NSP's Abdul Rasheed, Christopher Neo Ting Wei, Noraini Yunus, Ong Beng Soon Elvin, ong Hock Siong - 37,734

Marine Parade GRC (5 seats)

PAP's Fatimah Binte Abdul Lateef, Goh Chok Tong, Seah Kian Peng, Tan Chuan-Jin, Tin Pei Ling - 78,182 (winners)

NSP's Abdul Salim Bin Harun, Cheo Chai Chen, Ng Chung Hon, Nicole Rebecca Seah Xue Ling, yeo Tiong Boon - 59,833

Moulmein-Kallang GRC (4 seats)

PAP's Yaacob Bin Ibrahim, Lui Tuck Yew, Denise Phua Lay Peng, Edwin Tong Chun Fai - 44,828 (winners)

WP's Mohd Rahizan Bin Ya'acob, Toh Hong Boon, L Somasundaram, Frieda Chan Sio Phing - 31,721

Nee Soon GRC (5 seats)

PAP's K Shanmugam, Lee Bee Wah, Lim Wee Kiak, Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Patrick Tay Teck Guan - 80,659 (winners)

WP's Chong Cham Weng, Angela Oon Kheng Faye, Poh Lee Guan, Sajeev S/O Kunju Raman Kamalasanan, Yam Poh Nam - 57,482

Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC

PAP's Gan Thiam Poh, Janil Arusha puthucheary, Penny Low, Teo Chee Hean, Teo Ser Luck, Zainal Bin Sapari - 100,382 (winnesr)

SDA's Harminder Pal Singh, lee Song Juan, Jeffrey Lim, Mohd Shafni, Sidney Soon, Tan Keng Hong - 54,546

Sembawang GRC (5 seats)

PAP's Hawazi Daipi, Khaw Boon Wan, Ellen Lee Geck Hoon, Ong Teng Koon, Vikram Nair - 84,185 (winners)

SDP's James Gomez, Luo Jie Jarrod, Mohd Isa, Sadasivam V, John Tan Liang Joo - 47,578

Tampines GRC (5 seats)

PAP's Baey Yam Keng, Heng Swee Keat, Mah Bow Tan, Masagos Zulkifli BMM, Irene Ng Phek Hoong - 72,664 (winner)

NSP's Fong Chin Leong, Goh Keow Wah, Goh Meng Seng, Raymond Lim Peng Ann, Syafarin Bin Sarif - 54,337

Tanjong Pagar (5 seats)

PAP's Chan Chun sing, Chia Shi-lu, Indranee Thurai Rajah, Lee Kuan Yew, Lily Tirtasana Neo - uncontested (winners)

West Coast (5 seats)

PAP's Arthur Fong, Foo Mee Har, Lim Hng Kiang, S Iswaran, Lawrence Wong - 72,465 (winners)

RP's Ho Soak Harn, Kenneth Andrew Jeyaretnam, Kumar S/O Appavoo, Low Chiak Huan, Zhu Laicheng - 36,395

Leo Drops by the Lion City

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Last weekend, Leo Sia (Form 5Sc, 1978) dropped by this little island, while on his way to yet another island. We went for some dim sum, after which I drove him to a lesser known Singapore attraction - The Marina Barrage.

The Marina Barrage was opened in November 2008. It is essentially a dam built at the mouth of the Marina Bay. An award-winning project, costing about S$230m, it turns the Marina Bay and Kallang Basin into a new freshwater reservoir, at the same time providing a mechanism for flood control as well as becoming a new lifestyle park. More information on the Marina Barrage can be found here and also here.

There was a small visitors centre in the building, which showcased the story of Singapore's long time struggles with water - from getting enough to supply its people (and we all  know about the thorny issues over the water (dis)agreements with Malaysia), the creation of NEWwater, the clean up of the Singapore River, and the development of various reservoir systems on the island.

There was also a scale model of the area within the centre ...

... as well as some nifty "take a picture and send a e-postcard" devices along the corridors ...

They have made the roof of the building into a nice landscaped garden, with a nice view of the city skyline.

One could say the Marina Barrage is another of Singapore's initiatives towards creating a greener or more environmentally sustainable society. And since tomorrow (April 22) has been designated Earth Day, I guess that's a good place to end this posting.

FoodFinder: QQ Noodle House, Singapore

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This posting would probably be of more interest to those deprived souls living outside Sarawak, and who happen to be staying in or passing by Singapore. Well, last night we discovered an outlet that serves pretty good Sarawak Kolo Mee and other related dishes (though no Sarawak Laksa unfortunately).

As you can see, the name of the place is QQ Noodle House, and it's located at 231 Victoria Street, Bugis Village, Singapore 188025. The telephone number is (65) 63362698.

Here's the cover of the menu.

This was what I had ... yum ... kolo mee !

Some of the other side dishes - a bit of ngo hiang and roast chicken

And if you are hunting for the place, they have this banner sign outside the outlet, so it should be easy to spot.

Enjoy ...

Bob in Singapura

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Our buddy Bob Chew (Form 5Sc, 1976) was in sunny Singapura for a short visit recently. I caught up with him for drinks.  No time to attack those Eng Seng ketam this round ...

The following photos were taken at the Esplanade, overlooking Marina Bay Sands integrated resort (Pic 1) and the Singapore financial district (Pic 2 and 3).

Pic 1: Bob's Lucky Pose as he sits with Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino behind him

Pic 2: Overlooking the city skyline with the Fullerton Hotel in front.

If you squint, you can even see the Merlion landmark.

Pic 3: Bob looking distracted ...

Must be communicating with his stock broker. "Yes, buy this one ... no, sell that one!"

Safe travels, Bob.
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Hot Report : LOBO Concert in Singapore

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Earlier this evening, we just attended the Lobo concert in the Max Pavilion at the Singapore EXPO. A majority of the audience were in their forties and fifties, but there were also a number of younger people, including small children - obviously brought along by their parents. It was very entertaining, and the music transported us back to the 70s.

It started around 8:20pm (only twenty minutes late :-)  The opening act was a local duo of brothers, Mel and Joe, who sang a combination of country and rock-and-roll. They also did a good rendition of "Imagine". Apparently these two were quite well known as child singers, having made waves when they won the (Radio Television Singapore) Talentime singing contest in the Singapore of the 70s. Later they were also part of the band Gypsy.

Then Lobo came on. He looked older and somewhat more frail this time round, but his voice was still pitch perfect, and sounded exactly like in all his recordings. His delivery seemed effortless.

He sang almost all the popular songs we knew - "A Simple Man", "Don't Expect Me To Be Your Friend", "It Sure Took A Long, Long Time":, "Universal Soldier", "Love Me for What I Am", "Rock and Roll Days", "Rings", "Who Will Stop The Rain ","Yellow River" and of course "Me and You and a Dog named Boo" (and he assured the audience there really was a dog named Boo, someone's Alsation which was fortunately passing by when Lobo was mulling over what rhymed with "you" as he was penning the song).

In one part of the show, his partner went down among the audience and cajoled members of the audience to sing the chorus of "Stoney". Here's one of them ...

"Stoney, happy all the time, Stoney, life's a summertime ..."

There was also a cute little boy who bravely sang the Stoney song - a little out of tune, which made it even more adorable - and this brought a huge smile to Lobo's face. Clearly his music can transcend generations.

Here' a view of the audience ...

Something new about Lobo that we learnt tonight was that he has been married for 34 years, and that his son (shown below) is the drummer for the band.

The show ended around 11pm, with one of his signature songs "How Can I Tell Her".

A most nostalgic night indeed ...
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