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Category Archives: History
Revelations by my Youngest Uncle
Uncle S related that it’s very hard for him to recollect a lot of the past as he has memory lapses due to the seizures he suffers from. But I appreciate that he did try very hard to share his … Continue reading
Posted in Culture & Society, family, History, Singapore Living
Tagged Ceylon, family, Jaffna, Life, Living, youngest uncle
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My Childhood: Garden Stories & Jaffna Cousins
I miss our small tropical garden. Of course, as these things go, I didn’t appreciate it till it was reduced to just a tiny patch devoid of any fruit trees. I miss the Japanese roses my mum tended to in … Continue reading
Posted in family, History, Midlife Musings, My Childhood, Singapore Living
Tagged childhood, cousins, family, Jaffna, Life, memories, Singapore, suicide
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Uncle A: My Grandpa at Work & Other Stories
Following my last post about one of my grandma’s specialities, fried mutton with potatoes, my uncle confirmed that it was one of his favourites too. I then asked him to tell me about what family meals were like back then. … Continue reading
Typical Day in the Life of My Mum in the early 1960’s
She couldn’t recall exactly what time she woke up, but it was to the crowing of the neighbourhood roosters and not an alarm clock. They were extremely loud she said. She ironed her uniform the day before. Once adorned, she … Continue reading
Posted in Culture & Society, family, History, Singapore Living
Tagged 1960, 1960's, culture, family, history, Life, Living, mum, personal, Singapore
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Family Ties: Aunts, Uncles & Cousins
I recently asked my uncle how he felt when his son was just born. “Were you nervous being a father now? Nervous about having to carry a baby.” He said not really, and then I realised my baby cousin (I … Continue reading
Posted in Culture & Society, family, History, Singapore Living
Tagged aunts, ceylonese, cousins, culture, family, Life, Living, personal, Singapore, uncles
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Ocean Liner Stories from the Past
Had a chat with both my Uncle A and Aunt S since they happened to be there at the same time. They are siblings 7.5 years apart, but the age gap seems to be negligible. Wanted to gain more insight … Continue reading
Posted in family, History, Singapore Living
Tagged 1960, Ceylon, history, Life, Living, ocean liner
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What do you Admire Most about your Father? Question posed to my Uncle, Aunt & Mum
I’ve been exploring prompting questions to ask my relatives, and I thought this was a good one. It really doesn’t matter if the answer goes a bit off tangent as the key goal is to prompt memories about a loved … Continue reading
Posted in Culture & Society, family, History, Midlife Musings, Singapore Living
Tagged Aunt, father, grandfather, grandparents, history, Life, uncle
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Conversations with My Mum’s Younger Sister
One of my role models of being an aunt is how my aunty was towards me growing up. She was young and vivacious and in my eyes stunningly beautiful especially in her saris. And she was absolutely doting and indulgent … Continue reading
Posted in History, Singapore Living
Tagged 1960's, Life, Living, memories, personal, Singapore
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Asking My 79 Year Old Uncle about his Childhood
My uncle used to swim in the Kallang River and rushed back home by 5.30pm when his father (the grandfather I never met, as he died a decade before I was born) would be home. My uncle (second eldest son … Continue reading
Posted in History, Singapore Living
Tagged 1950’s, childhood, family, grandparents, history, Life, Living
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Asking my 76 Year old Mum About her Reaction to the Queen’s Passing and About Life Under British Colonial Rule
What follows is in my mum’s words: When I read the news about the queen I thought she looked much younger than her years. I was impressed that she didn’t age that much. I only wish she could live until … Continue reading
Posted in Culture & Society, History, Singapore Living
Tagged 1950’s, 1960's, British rule, British Singapore, colonial, history, Life, Living, mum, Nostalgia, personal
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What it was like growing up in the 70’s and 80’s – corded, rotary and pay phones
To have privacy for my phone calls as a teenager, I had to pull the cord of the only home phone and I couldn’t even shut the door of my room as the cord was thick. You were restricted by … Continue reading
Posted in Culture & Society, History, Midlife Musings, Singapore Living
Tagged childhood, Life, Nostalgia, personal, rotary phones, telephones
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Her Grandma was Miss Singapore in 1960
As I was researching about macarons, I stumbled upon gold. A beautiful post by Aliya, a Singapore girl in Perth who writes about her grandma winning the Miss Singapore crown in 1960. The title was Miss Singapore City 1960. The … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged 1960, Aliya, blogger, Dunlopillo, grandma, history, interesting, kebaya, latex, mattress, Miss Singapore, Perth, pillow, vintage
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History: Singapore in 1957
I got interested at the 4 minute point onwards. It’s fascinating for me as Singapore seems an utterly different place. Even the Lion dances and satay were so much more authentic. The only thing that bothered me was the imperialist … Continue reading
Vintage Singapore 1961: Backstreets
Another really wonderful video shared by Michael Rogge on YouTube. He is now 81 years old and living in the Netherlands. My aunts and uncles would probably find the scenes familiar. I so love looking back to the charming era … Continue reading
Vintage Singapore 1960s: Street Urchins
I am absolutely mesmerized by this old video. I feel so lucky with my hot showers, when I view how the children are bathed. But it also seemed a more idyllic time or perhaps it’s my nostalgia for a charming … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged 1960's, bathing, culture, historical, Life, Living, old Singapore, Singapore, Singaporean, Singaporeans, street scenes, urchin, Video, vintage
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Singapore Food Trail: An Attempt to Capture the Past
I expected much more from the Singapore Food Trail which is the latest food attraction at the Singapore Flyer. At first glance I was impressed, as I am by anything novel, but after my inspection I was left wanting more. … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged attractions, bottle drinks, culture, daisy milk, F&N, fizzy, Food, Food Trail, history, ice ball, Life, Living, memories, Nostalgia, orange, personal, photography, photos, Singapore, soda, triangle packet, what to do
6 Comments
Tourists May Be More Intimately Acquainted with our History than we are
I am quite bashful to admit that I am not as proficient as tourists armed with a guide book and internet research may be, when it comes to our little historical tidbits. For one thing I only discovered more about … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged Ann Siang Hill, Architecture, beautiful, cafe, Chia Ann Siang, club street, guide, history, Life, Living, shots, Singapore, tourists, travel
1 Comment
Leave Bedok Hawker Centre Alone
All hawker centres in Singapore for that matter. Just as I was down about inflation and feeling that the one affordable thing we have left is hawker food, I read about the possible privatisation of hawker centres. Oh the horror! … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged attraction, Bedok hawker centre, cost of living, culture, Food, Food Republic, hawker, hawker centres, history, inflation, K F Seetoh, Life, Living, prices, Singapore, tok-tok man
7 Comments