Tag Archives: history

It’s So Easy to Fall Out of a Routine of Good Habits

I fell out of my routine since my last holiday. You see, my routine was very much a forced thing. I was waking up pre dawn, as early as 4.30am, even though I’m naturally a night owl, and going to … Continue reading

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Tasmania Trip 2019 Day 2: Cascades Female Factory

A female penal colony in South Hobart, that operated between 1828 and 1856. It was used for colonisation as well as punishment. The women were seen as immoral and corrupt. The Factory was located, in damp swamp land, and with … Continue reading

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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

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My Eldest Cousin M

Been thinking a lot about my cousin M lately. To be accurate, he’s never left my mind. After he passed away in his sleep in 1995 (he was only 37 years old and it was attributed to an epileptic fit) … Continue reading

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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

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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

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What I Admired Most about My Father (Partner Edition)

His penmanship comes to mind. It was beautifully and artistically rendered. Calligraphy in fact. I admired his cool signature. He had to stop schooling at Primary 3 because he was biologically the eldest kid and had 5 or 6 younger … Continue reading

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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

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My Uncle relating to me the Story of when his Father Died in 1960 & How They All Coped

It sounded pretty traumatic to me. For all the 7 children ranging in ages from 10 to 24. My uncle was 17 years old and that was the year he had to prepare for his O levels. They received the … Continue reading

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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

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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

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Snake Charmers

Was at Little India in Singapore recently and B pointed out some informational posters to me. One of them brought back memories about snake charmers. B had never seen them as a kid, but I recall seeing them quite often. … Continue reading

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One of My Mum’s proudest moments as a kid back in 1957

My mum always told me the story of how she failed primary 3 and had to repeat it. Every time, she sounded so sad and dejected. She only failed by 1.5 marks too and she was a sickly child. We … Continue reading

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Conversations About The Second World War

We mentioned to my almost 86 year old uncle that we recently visited the National Museum. There was an exhibit about the Second World War and Japanese Occupation of Singapore. It made him recollect: “When we heard the sirens we … Continue reading

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Singapore Museums: The National Museum is Amazing & A Must Visit

It’s free for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents so we really should take advantage of this. The building itself is spectacular and we are always awestruck looking up at the dome with the stain glass. As I went with two darling … Continue reading

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Yes, Obama Won!

I am not an American but I am so happy that Obama won the election. Feels like I’m watching history in the making. Restores my faith somehow. My whole family – all Obama supporters. Happy as well. Also thinking of … Continue reading

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Old Colouful HDB Flats at Rochor

I believe Rochor Centre and these flats will be torn down to make way for a new highway and they will be gone by 2016. I just wanted to take a photo to preserve the memory of these colourfully unique … Continue reading

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Haw Par Villa: Gruesome & Strange, but a Once in a Lifetime Kinda Place

My mum recalls that when I was a toddler I used to love sitting on the plastic tiger at the entrance of Haw Par Villa. Back then we called the place Tiger Balm gardens. Try as I might I couldn’t … Continue reading

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A Bit About the History of Tekka Market

Hope you read about one of our oldest markets at White as Milk. I have to confess that as a child I didn’t like coming here as the fresh meat and fish used to stink so bad. I used to … Continue reading

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Asian Civilization Museum: Indian Textiles from 1400-1900 & more of what we saw

Indian Textiles and a dress that reminded me of what my aunts and mum used to wear. Dresses they sewed themselves, in this very style, on a white singer machine. I found the hall itself quite lovely. The architecture of … Continue reading

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Ancient Indian Art at the Asian Civilization Museum

To be honest, we found many of the pieces here familiar and I think someone new to Asian culture would find it much more captivating. I would definitely recommend this place as a must see for tourists who have never … Continue reading

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The Fullerton Hotel: Christmas & New Year Decorations

The Fullerton Hotel which was a former post office during colonial times is truly majestic looking. The christmas decorations were tasteful on the outside and spectacular on the inside. I am rushing to get these shots up before Christmas is … Continue reading

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