14 Nov 2014 – And Masjid Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim.

Wed: bright and early to pay a visit to the mosque, Masjid Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim. It is the only mosque in SIN managed by the state government of Johor, Malaysia. Originally built in 1890 and named after Daeng Ibrahim, son of Temenggong Abdul Rahman.

History buffs may want to pay a visit to this mosque as the Temenggong’s tomb lies within a small cemetery surrounding the Johor Royal Mosouleum located which now has its own building under construction.

Tue3May2022: edited with this interesting YouTube link tkx to TuahBugis/SarafianSalleh but plx note that Haji Khairizan bin Haji Khair info regarding the remaining pillars to the gate is incorrect. They did NOT belong to the Istana Lama, but were remains from #5 Temenggong Rd, my birthplace and where I lived for the first 15yrs of my life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99u4Fr8cKbw

Coincidentally met up with this night guard and asked him if he had any knowledge of the neighbouring land to the mosque. To my surprise and delight he told me that when he and his friends were kids, they used to help themselves with rambutans from our trees and how the owners of the grounds let loose the dogs to chase them. OMG, I remember just like it was yesterday about those incidents. When we parted ways, he asked if all is forgiven. Told him that there was nothing to forgive as when we were kids, we too helped ourselves to the jumbu fruit trees in the cemetery and exchange was no robbery 🙂

https://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com/2011/06/12/johor-pride-and-heritage-in-temasek/

Unfortunately my knowledge of #5 Temenggong Rd (marked O on this ariel map-tkx to Benny for this map and X on other maps here) is minimum and no one from father’s generation/blue generation had any interest or facts that I can find to go on.

Used to climb down the drain behind the stone-bench in the early 1950s, one of my earliest memory recalled.

Have been told by word of mouth that grandfather LAM SongKee bought #5 from the WONG AhFook’s family. When? When was this house build?? By the time the LAM family acquired this site, it would have been around the 1940s???  Area of site????

Wong Ah Fook, Immigrant, Builder and Entrepreneur by P Lim Pui Huen 

Early 1950s – the house where I was born and grew up in from 1940-50s

Later in 1950s – after the wall was built, and I remember watching that stonewall being built in the early 1950s.

The 1950s views of the lower-field and Pulau Blakang Mati then.

When the State took over the land, it was supposed to be used for PSA then (so they claimed!). But who knows what they have in mind now?? Better with a green densely overgrown jungle than a concrete block or anything concrete. Anyway it was supposedly to be full of spirits as most of the bank staff experienced when they had to attend their annual dinners at #5. Have never experienced or seen any in the 15yrs there! But then according to my grandmother, even the spirits fear me – lol.

Much appreciations and thanks to my young hero Chris who accompanied me to #5 and helped to tear off a piece of the cement where the bulb-wire fencing was! So sorry that he got bitten by fire-ants. Without him, this journey would have not been! Now a closure to this chapter is possible before the memory fades!

Sunlight through the trees in summer
Endless masquerading
Like a flower as the dawn is breaking
The memory is fading – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats

Inside the densely over-grown jungle and at the lower field. I was a total wimp, fully dressed and sprayed from top to toe, even with gloves and cap! Not about to take any chance in case a snake crosses my path. Tripped a couple of times over the roots but thank goodness nothing broken except the heart 🙁 Disheartening to learn that the house where I was born was deliberately burnt down and destroyed.

The house in the 1950s. The stone-bench was@the upper-field when rockwall was not yet built. This pix is after the rockwall was built and the stone-bench moved to from the upper-field to the same level as the house, must have been around the mid 1950s. Remember father planting trees by the stone-bench after the rockwall was built. Discovered that part of the rockwall by the upper field still stands today.

The wall and I in its heydays 1956! Some parts of this wall still stands and as far as the memory can recall, this end section of the wall ended with a smaller set of stairs which led to rambutan orchard.

1950s view of part of TemenggongRd (by the fence) and the row-houses on TelokBlangahRd, the godowns@Gate8 with a cruiseship. Today’s (2000s) VivoCity with Sentosa in the background.

Tue3May2022: downloaded pix of then&now TelokBlangahRd/TemenggongRd with fond childhood memories of the ice-cream-man (can still remember his face up to today!) ringing his bell on his icicle tricycle by the EssoStation. 2000s Habourlights condo, TelokBlangahHouse.

https://amylamsg.com/2008/12/05/temenggong-road/

https://amylamsg.com/2011/04/19/habour-views/

https://amylamsg.com/2014/10/25/temenggong-rd-revisited/

 To be edited, hopefully when more lights & pix and factual info are gained…

#5 no longer exist and thus no info can be google or provided anywhere. The only info are my memory which I will be putting in this blog posting and editing when more info or facts turn up. This is a touchy subject as the State took over our family’s land with the min compensation at a time when I was too young to understand!

By words of mouths, ie not sure if these are facts: the State bought over the house and land at min price in the 1970s? claiming to be used for the cable car. PSA also had part of their hands in it. Somehow nothing was done and there were squatters in the house. The house was burnt down and destroyed…

Cousin YatSoon in London asked ‘What has happened to the site?‘ And the only answer I could provide was: the site has been taken over by the State many moons ago. Do not know when the house was destroyed as I left SIN in 1965. Today it is a an overgrown jungle and the only ruins left standing are the one gate pillar and the rock wall by the upper field.

24 Feb 2015 – saw this fantastic map at the National Library. Will look more into it when time permits.

Updating with more info&pix when they get into my hands as time goes by…

30Mar2018: https://mothership.sg/2018/03/temenggong-road-telok-blangah-colonial-houses/

Edited 10May 2018 – appreciations to the Malaya Heritage in FB and to Tuah Bugis who shared this YouTube. I heard about the Istana Lama Bugis (just learnt the name) when I was a child but unfortunately by the time I could run and play in this area it was no longer. Instead there was a BataShoe factory there and that too is no longer. Now replaced with condos.

Incorrect info the above video – both the pillars to the gate and the rock wall did not belong to the Istana Lama. They were remains from #5.

Edited 16Apr 2019 – grandfather LAM SongKee’s (1889-1950) funeral – is the building in the background part of the Istana Lama??

Mother Tsang MayLan’s (1911-1965) funeral – the roof&building in the backgound was probably the BataShoe factory??

11 Nov 2014 – Former Phoenix Hotel

Many moons and another life ago, this property belonged to my father and his partners! Now it is the one-and-only shopping mall with a library that straddles both sides of Orchard Rd.

A new mall with an overhead see thru’ tunnel glass tubular bridge (Emerald Rd side has yet to open) crossing and linking to the other side of Orchard Rd. When this is completed, it will be the ‘gateway’ to the bustling shopping belt. There is also an underpass…

Cheerful and colourful décor inside the mall with unique sitting areas.

This newly opened library@orchard is the first public library to span two storeys in this shopping mall carries the largest public library collection on design and applied arts. Worth the visit, especially now with the display of old pix of Orchard Rd.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/library-orchard-returns/1430300.html

It was interesting to see old pix of Orchard Rd in the library where the Keller Piano Co was located opp the Cathay, SIN first skyscraper then! Again this property there was owned by my father then and I do remember very well shopping for my music notes in that location. Those were the days!

Today it is a green corner area with a grey electrical or gas box and the drain is still there…

A movie just as colourful as the new Orchard Gateway – The Book of Life****an animated with a unique visual style, is the journey a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure where he must face his greatest fears which encourages us to celebrate the past while looking forward to the future.

If you aren’t in the moment, you are either looking forward to uncertainty, or back to pain and regret – Jim Carrey

9 Nov 2014 – SIN Ireland Fund Emerald Ball

Fri: finally done with the outfit after nearly a week of mess in my living space! This has cost me less than S$30 for all the materials. But if one includes time, then that is priceless.

The only snag is that the eyes are not good enough with threading a needle without the help of this wonderful little gadget and another bigger eye 🙂

Thank you Carmel & Soon for an enchanted evening at the St Regis. Appreciations to HongSze for driving us there.

A fun evening with Irish dancing and other dancing…

Good and food and wines…

Good company.

Auctions raised  S$250,000 for the Autism Resource Centre and the government matching every S$ raised making it half a mil raised.

The Blue Head by Thierry Noir fetched a good price and appropriate for today’s date being 25yrs ago when the Berlin Wall was taken down! This painting is the 1st artist to illegally paint on the Berlin Wall.

The Berlin Wall go down, that was the most wonderful thing that could happen, absolutely. I celebrated with everybody in Berlin that day when the Wall was down – Nana Mouskouri

Les&Ivy’s Private Dinner of Gourmet Food and Stunning Vintage Wines fetched S$18,000, 4K more than last year. Les also bid for this lovely painting of his old school, the former SJI, now SAM!

Good to catch up with Josie & Brendan Lyons, SIN’s first Irish Ambassador and welcome Jane & Geoffery Keating, the new and number 5 Irish Ambassador here.

http://amylamsg.com/2014/05/11/irish-ambassadors-in-sin/

The Wall was brought down, not by Washington or Moscow, but by courageous people from the east – Gerhard Schröder, Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005

7 Nov 2014 – A Week Of Sewing On & Off

Wed: hello Evelyn (Linda’s sister), appreciate your input for The Enchanter Forest outfit and tkx for showing me her lovely apartment, 4 floors above me and the only unit apart from my that I have been into in this block.

Hopefully she will figure out what to do about the wood-worm problem and best if she can rid them in some ways or other.

Welcome back to SIN niece Yasmine and her English hubby Andrew who is visiting me for the first time in my HBD. Thought he might enjoy dinner downstairs with our Marine T heartlanders! Andrew 6’3″ is as tall as Neil Humphreys (the only English writer I know of who has lived in a HDB!) and the monkey-bars in the play cum exercise grounds are not somewhere for him or Neil to hang on without bending their knees 🙂

http://www.quora.com/What-is-a-Singapore-heartlander

Thu: thank you Pat for a lovely dinner of home-made popiah, congee, herbal omelette and desserts by Angela –  tasteful fish jelly, fresh fruits cocktail, etc. Pat is good with her organic cooking and it does taste sooo much better.

This week’s movie – Love, Rosie***Rosie and Alex have been best friends since they were 5, so they couldn’t possibly be right for one another…or could they? When it comes to love, life and making the right choices, these two are their own worst enemies.

It is supposed to be filmed in UK, but somehow the scene when Rosie’s father was working in a hotel and that hotel sure looks like The Shelborne in Dublin/Ireland!!

 Fri: dress for The Enchanted Forest Charity Ball has to be completed by the end of today. The rains in the afternoons started a few days ago not just light showers but pouring cats and dogs. It is much more pleasant than the haze and heat. Been out walking with a big umbrella and enjoying every minute of it…

The rain to the wind said,
You push and I’ll pelt.
They so smote the garden bed
That the flowers actually knelt,
And lay lodged–though not dead.
I know how the flowers felt – Robert Frost 

3 Nov 2014 – Have Yet To Give Thanksgiving A Thought…

Sat: unbelievable, Christmas decorations are up on Orchard Rd, but the light-up is not until mid-end Nov. Still it is way too early to see all these decorations when Halloween was just yesterday and there are 3+weeks before Thanksgiving!

Appreciations to Calvin for sharing his new stock of wine. Made Chicken Guacamole Beet Salad and did warn Chris about red pee! Glad to meet up with another younger charming man, Emerson. Hope that he and friends will be able to join the Iceland presentation at CC/51 Waterloo St Fri 28 Nov 1930hr, day after Thanksgiving.

Amy SG Lam is a avid hikier/walker who has been almost round the global exploring different places. This time, we are pleased to have her again for a presentation of a 9 Days Tour (1 to 9 Sep 2014) in the Best of South & West Iceland. This talk will Include the dormant Thrihnukagigur Volcano that erupted 4,000yrs ago and the ONLY volcano on earth that can be explored on the inside. Let’s get together and enjoy this joyous occasion !

https://www.facebook.com/events/1511571335768345/

While waiting for the bus, I spy these events at SMU,

and some of the outdoor displays at the National Museum.

Tkx Clement for dinner me to his pot-luck dinner. Good to see his ex-banker colleagues and a year does make a difference to their kids. Too busy watching TV with the kids that the camera was forgotten!

Audrey’s contribution, delicious beef soup and even to doggy-bag some home. Tkx Aud and also for the ride. Beef soup pix ix credits to Aud.

Sun: those who are in the areas of Fall Back (DayLight Saving Time), remember to turn your clock an hour back and enjoy that extra hour of sleep. Many moons ago when I was working with the airlines in MCO/FL, USA forgot about Fall Back and was the only one at the gate counter that early and dark morning…

Dinner at Glory and ice-cream at Marble Slab/I12, both within 10mins walk or 3 bus-stops. Chose the bus bc of the stupid haze. TKx Clem for dinner and company. Bad haze today – stayed indoors, nice to get out just for a short evening walk but the eyes were teary!

Mon: haze is still in – PSI readings, 100+ Rescheduled app to remain indoors in my own space and AC surroundings. No fan nor friends of the haze, otherwise the eyes and throat will be unhappy! Stirred-fried baby KaiLan in XO sauce garnished with celery and pumpkin puree to use up the veggies before they go to waste.

A movie from last week: The Rewrite***a romantic comedy. Keith is an Oscar-winning writer stuck in a slump and decides to leave Hollywood. He starts teaching screenwriting at a small college on the East coast,  and soon finds himself falling for a single mother who is one of the students taking his classes.

Feel good movie with Hugh Grant who plays Keith here…

The ironies of life…

1 Nov 2014 – Just Over A Month to Christmas

Wed: Happy Birthdays to Lock & Kiera. Needed to make sure that the muscle does not get knotted again. More sewing but making sure to not sitting in just one position. Got up and cleaned in between!

Thu: tkx Carmel for yummy lunch. First time tasting savoury scorns and salads with mangos and tangerines. Refreshing combination. Great to catch up with MeiLin and to meet her mom Irene. They are the only people I know who have lived on Christmas Island and seen the migrations of the crabs.

Thought Carmel would like a couple of the Shanagarry pottery bowls since she is from that area. She has the brown & whites collections. I still have one of their first mugs bought for a few pence in the late 1960s and they are the black & whites. Have been collecting them thru’ out 10yrs and some broke during the many moves.

http://www.stephenpearce.com/

Appreciations to Henry for a delightful performance of The Covent Garden Soloist Orchestra for the Charity Toyota Classics Concert at MC Theatres MBS featuring SIN-born Pamela Tan-Nicholson.

http://www.todayonline.com/entertainment/music/i-taught-sting-read-music-pamela-tan-Nicholson

Fri: Happy Birthdays to Mark and Adeline and Happy Halloween.

Thrilled to receive #6 grandchild Halloween pix – #6 Olai pix today. His mother May CA/USA,1987 and both dressed as pumpkins!

And the other 5 with their friends: #1 Katy/fictional book character named Kate Witherol , #2 Ellie/Cleopatra, #3 John/dragon behind Cleopatra, #4 Sophie/Tinkerbell  and #5 James/grey-shark. Oh how I miss them all 6…

Thanks Ivy for lunch at Halia at Raffles***This is the 2nd visit and yes better than the 1st.

Had the small pates of beef, chicken, duck and tuna which was well presented. Our waiter was rather observant. After paying the bill, I completed a form and rated ‘good’ for all except for food where I rated ‘average’. Fir, our waiter asked how they could improved on the food. Explained that the beef and duck were good, the chicken on the dry side but the tune was not fresh which we did not finish…

Apologies were extended and the charges for the tuna was deducted from the bill. Now this is service and yes I would go back again and will request for Fir to serve me.

http://thehalia.com/raffles/raffles/restaurant/

Special Nov dates:

2 Happy Bdays WONG HongSze and John KERNAN

8 Happy Bday Beverly LIN

11 Happy Bday Audrey MOH

13 Happy Bday LEUNG Yee Fun

19 Happy Bday Yulis ADAM TEO

27 Happy Bday Daisy CHIA & Happy Thanksgiving

29 Happy 8th Bday to my grandson John Whitham HALL

30 Happy Bday LAM Kwok Chai

29 Oct 2014 – And Yet Another Coincident!!

Sat: welcome to planet Earth baby Taylor. Congratulations and welcome to parenthood Lisa and Adriane in HI/USA.

Was unfortunate that something was up  and could not attend their beautiful wedding Mar 2013. The very best and well wishes to the additional to their family.

Sun: tkx for nice lunch company Ting, CH and Hannah. Decided to give a twist for the condiments display, with Christmas in mind! Ting owns Urban Farm & Barn, and most of the herbs I use in the Nasi Ulum dish are available at her farm.

Good luck to Hannah for the orienteering race at Pulau Ubin, and hope that the compass will be of good use! Have been told that there is some woman there who makes excellent Nasi Ulum.

Mon: Happy 90th Birthday to L&Ms Norwegian paternal grandmother. The best grandmother to my 2 daughters and the best great-grandmother to my 6 grandchildren. Thank you, Ellen.

Stay indoors all day trying to sew an outfit for the Charity Ball. Somehow the creative juices are not working with me for The Enchanted Forest theme today. Only forest in mind at present is the ruins gate-pillar of #5, not a cheerful thought. Perhaps visiting Temenggong Rd was not such a good idea. To top it all, some thigh muscle got knotted and it is not comfortable!

Tue: met with Larry to say goodbye and was limping thru’ out the day. Visited Campers Corner and fortunately, Thomas from Anytime Fitness was there to try to un-knot me! Feeling better but will take a few days before the limp goes away. Tkx Thomas and will highly recommend you to anyone. Oh the tell-tale signs of aging!

Wed: received this magazine from my bro Les who is one of the best cardiologists in SE Asia. So proud of him and blessed to have him as my bro.

Drillings which I thought was some unit being renovated turns out to be on-going roof-work. What is worse, out and about in this heat or turn on the AC and radio with ear-phones?? In no position to complain. Thoughts of the workmen in this heat on the roof-top and the drilling is enough to shut me up.

Cheerful thoughts of the grandchildren seeing these every time I pass by the pre-school downstairs. Reminding me of how L&M used to like building with the smaller Legos and had a whole village built in the attic of our house. Now Olai also likes the bigger Legos and will probably like the smaller ones too when the time is right. Such fantastic timeless toys.

Another coincident and its weird like how I caught up with Leng in OSL a couple of years ago. This morning in the elevator getting away from the drilling and Evelyn was also doing the same. Have had short hellos with her in passing. Today she offered me a ride to Parkway and somehow thru’ the conversation, I discovered that she is a sister of Linda Lim who was at Alex with me in Dublin. Linda also married a Norwegian, but somehow we lost contact. App 5mil ppl in SIN, and Evelyn lives in the same block…

We are continually shaped by the forces of coincidence – Paul Auster

25 Oct 2014 – And A Forgotten Reservoir

Thu: excellent movie The Good Lie*****is an American drama film written by Margaret Nagle and directed by Philippe Falardeau. The film stars Reese Witherspoon, Corey Stoll, and Sarah Baker.

Based on real-life events, it features Witherspoon as a brash American woman assigned to help four young Sudanese refugees (known as Lost Boys of Sudan) who win a lottery for relocation to the US.

Seems to be some movie making in this Lim CheeGuan BakKwa****stall in Chinatown. Tkx for dinner Henry with Larry’s good company.

Fri: first sighting of blue sly since my return. Pleasant bus ride to the dentist at NCD passing thru’ CBD. The shortest building – the former General Post Office/GPO. I do so remember buying postage stamps over the counters there in the early 1960s. Now the 5* Fullerton Hotel is located by the SIN river’s mouth.

LauPaSat=Old Market is revamped again. Built in 1894, it is now a national monument and protected. Seating for 2,500diners with 54stalls and 14mini restaurants!! The former Asia Insurance building, now Ascott used to be the tallest buildings in SIN when completed in 1955. Fond memories from the 1950s of Sundays dim-sum on the upper-floors with the Kwoks and the Leungs.

Tkx to Les&Ivy for wine and dinner at Paragon’s DinTaiFung****Their foods have yet to disappoint me. There was enough food me for me to doggy-bag for another meal. Kiera really likes their internationally known xiaolongbao /小籠包

Remembered very well when Albert took me to the original DinTaiFung in Taipei/Taiwan in 1996.

Sat: Forgotten Reservoir Guided Walking Tour was an educational, hot and green walk. Tkx to our guide, Charles Goh who actually is a Paranormal Investigator and happened to stumble upon this reservoir when he was searching for a tomb!

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/abandoned-reservoir-telok-blangah-road-discovered-201409

Edited 29Jul 2017 with above link.

Since I was in the area, decided to revisit Temenggong Rd.

It saddens me to see the fallen gates which once led to a stately house where I was born in 1950 and lived there until I was 15.

New  iron gates at the dead-end of Temenggong Rd, and also the 2 caves or rather 1 cave and the other was a big hole,  have been sealed and now a white-washed concrete wall.

The foot-path to Mt Faber is no more a dirt-path but that has been paved even from the last 2 visits!

Bay Hotel, address 50 Telok Blangah uses Temenggong Rd as their entrance; is the newest addition to the neighbourhood. Some people might mind about staying in a hotel next to the mosque and burial grounds. But of course this is no ordinary burial grounds…

http://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com/2011/06/12/johor-pride-and-heritage-in-temasek/

The supervisor at Bay Hotel kindly let me into one of the unoccupied 10th floor rooms to take some pix.

B/W from 1950 and the colours from today

If #5 still existed, one would be able to see it from this view from one of the 10th floor rooms at Bay Hotel.

Ruins of the top gates at #5.

Bottom gates are now completely destroyed, the ruins were there at my other visits, but now completely gone.

View from #5 in the 1940-50s.

Today’s view is VivoCity, taken from the 10th floor of the Bay Hotel, which was the location of a petrol station in the 1950s.

This was what it looked like where Bay Hotel is now standing. B/W pix credits to my father LAM TinYue (1911-1996)

 http://amylamsg.com/2008/12/05/temenggong-road/

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again ― Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

23 Oct 2014 – Followed By A Discovery Walk

Wed: Happy Diwali to my Indian friends and to those celebrating. To those who are not aware, Deepavali, Dipavali, Dewali, Deepawali or the Festival of Lights, marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year. Pix taken a week ago, and no I am not brave enough to be there now. Nice to have a public holiday mid-week

Wed: must have been 10+yrs ago since I last step into this 5* Four Season built in 1994 and renovated in 2008. Memory has failed me here as I hardly remember it. If I had a blog then, perhaps it  might have helped with the memory! Appreciations to niece Daisy who included me to their family lunch on this Diwali public holiday. Always good to catch up with family & friends, and with a family of my size, the fun is never-ending 🙂

Semi-buffet lunch at One Ninety**** was not your usual kind of buffet. The buffet-spread was the sides and dessert, actually more than enough as a meal. With an additional cost of S$10, one can also order a main to accompany what was on the buffet. I decided on the Wagyu beef/rare and it was an excellent choice for me!

Clement & I decided to walk this walk I have wanted to do for a long time. Tried to do it earlier this year but the stair-case leading to the Sheares Bridge from near the Sun-Tec side was barricaded. This time we started at

Gardens by the Bay: over-loaded with pix from the Garden Festival posting – http://amylamsg.com/2014/08/20/2014-garden-festivalsgf/

Well-maintained walkways towards the satay joint and other food stalls.  Stomach not ready to taste this place yet! Another time.

Marina Barrage: glad to see so many enjoying themselves and what beautiful kites! Observations for  the size of one of the kites tells me that there are some serious kite-flyers! Here is in memory to you,  Shakib Gunn who was the founder of the SIN Kite Assoc…

http://amylamsg.com/2009/03/01/memorial-service/

Sustainable Singapore Gallery: pleasantly surprised by this new gallery and a cool break from the humidity! Another variation to selfie there 🙂 🙂

Marina Golf Course

Sheares Bridge: discovered where the parade floats hide when not in used! At last got to finally walk this bridge, and we had to cross part of  dangerous roads due to barricades at the end of the staircase when we got down. Tkx to a dear nephew for being such a sport to accompany me on this 5hrs journey with many stops for new discoveries and pix credits to him for the two panoramic shots.

My doctor tells me to push myself and after 5+hrs walk from 2 days ago and then another 4hrs from yesterday, will that be considered to be pushing?? 🙂 🙂 🙂

Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee,
Little Jackie paper loved that rascal puff,
And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff.

Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail
Jackie kept a lookout perched on puffs gigantic tail,
Noble kings and princes would bow whene’are they came,
Pirate ships would lower their flag when puff roared out his name.

Dragons live forever but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant strings make way for other toys.
One sad night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.

His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain,
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane.
Without his life-long friend, puff could not be brave,
So puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave –  Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow

21 Oct 2014 – Welcome to SIN 15th Uncle

Sat: trying to clean and to do laundry but that takes time with a small washing machine and lack of space for hanging.

Welcome to SIN,15th uncle LAM TinCheong/Jimmy – father’s youngest full bro from Vancouver/Canada. Appreciations to Les&Ivy for seafood dinner. Yummy Black-Pepper Crabs, Bamboo Clams, Durian Pudding at Long Beach Seafood Dempsey Hill****

Sun: LAM family Heritage from Jiangmen 江門 in Guangdong province in southern China for15th uncle and his friend Carmen to view.  My personal family chart is way out of date and has to be updated but will take time. Any members of the family are welcome to take pix of all these items…

http://amylamsg.com/2009/05/10/happy-mothers-day/

http://amylamsg.com/2011/02/28/pearl-river/

Discovered over the years since my first visit to the ancestral village, May 2009 and second visit in Feb 2011 that chasing this illusion would have emptied what I have saved to live until 70yrs. Also that it will be a thankless job. Tkx to 15 uncle for lunch at Glory***

Got back to stumble upon Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong/吴作栋 at ‘Marine Crescent Gardens Residents’ Chit Chat Session. Mr Goh was SIN PM from 1990-2004, and also MP to Marine Parade GRC since 1988. Living here in this MarineP GRC, we are lucky to have Mr Goh who does his job well and keeps me wanting to live in this area. Now that says a lot coming from me 🙂

Mon: someone must be renovating, a lot of drilling going on and now I know what it like for the neighbours when my renovation was going on in 1999! Decided to do some shopping at Plaza SIN to get ideas for an outfit for the upcoming charity ball with The Enchanted forest theme – maybe I should go as a troll 🙂 🙂

Watch The Judge***Hank Palmer is a successful lawyer who returns to his hometown to attend his mother’s funeral, but shocked when he finds out that his estranged father, Joseph, who is the town’s judge is suspected of murder. He sets out to investigate the truth and along the way, he reconnects with family he left behind years before.

Have always enjoyed the two Roberts’ acting.

I prefer rain -sometimes I feel sunlight will turn me to stone – perhaps I’m a Troll – John Geddes

Edited 22 Oct – appreciations to Lucy Tan for sharing the pix of Mr Goh & I where according to Cheng Chee Hoew – ‘Should’ve asked for a box‘. If a box was within reach, would have probably stood on it so that Mr Goh can hear me better… hahaha

Thank you also to Chee HongTat (Chief Executive to Energy Market Authority), a fine young gentleman to 4 children (SIN needs more people like him!) for listening to my babble and taking time to even visit my place. Too busy talking that forgot to take pix of HongTat (another time round HongTat 🙂 ). When Mr Goh retires, I will vote GongTat for Marine P next MP ie if HongTat goes into politics… LOL

Lucy Tan shared your photo.

Me: Thank you Lucy Tan for your kind words. Will vote for you if you ever go into politics but am seldom long enough in one place, especially during voting times… hahaha 🙂 🙂 🙂