A Weekend Outing Into The Past

Posted by vickoo under Explore Singapore 2006, Explore Singapore!
(7) Comments • (3812) Reads • Permalink

Vickoo describes his visit to the Heritage Road Show, one of the many exciting events lined up in the Explore Singapore! campaign.

Last Saturday, my wife, the young man (my 15-year old son) and I were pining for the toasted buns and hot drinks sold at a coffeeshop at the corner of Purvis St and Beach Rd:

The coffeeshop had a retro decor - it had marble tables and wooden chairs which were common in coffeeshops of the 1960s. The setting reminded me of the Heritage Road Show at the National Library. The 2-day show was part of a series of events called Explore Singapore!, “a multi-faceted campaign which encourages everybody to embark on fun and fascinating journeys to discover our island’s colourful past, rich heritage and vibrant cultures”. (The campaign is jointly organised by the National Heritage Board, National Library Board and Media Development Authority and lasts from Nov 2006 - Jan 2007.)

Since the National Library was just a stone’s throw away from the coffeeshop, we decided to drop by for a visit. When we reached the Plaza of the National Library, it was past 5.30 pm (the show was to end at 6 pm):

(I just heard from the news that the show attracted the public to contribute over 700 old documents. You could read about the top 10 rare finds on 11 Nov 2006 here.)

By the time we reached the library, we must have missed the crowds:

However, I still participated in whatever way I could - I went up stage to kick a chatek (which is a type of shuttlecock). It was a game I used to play as a kid and I was very good at it. I could manage more than 100 kicks at one go… but that was more than 4 decades ago! To win a prize, I had to kick the chatek at least 5 times at one go:

(The man in the above photo was not me but someone who went after me.)

Although my ankle was still hurting from a bad sprain, I managed to kick the chatek 6 times and was awarded a keychain which reminded me of a landmark that no longer existed:

If you have missed this event, don’t fret because you still have time to catch the others. Just refer to this website or the posters at some bus-stops for more juicy details:

Tags: explore singapore, museum roundtable, national heritage board, national library board, media development authority, singapore, singapore nostalgia

Rating:

Share and Enjoy:

(7) Comments

Posted by: amy
Posted on: November 13th, 2006

Nice post, Victor! Thanks for burning the midnight oil to finish it. Er, I think I better point out the fine print in that sexy poster, before people get the wrong idea : P "In 1929, the first public cabaret opened at New World Amusement Park. The signature act of Rose Chan, the "Queen of Striptease" in Singapore and Malaya, was dancing with a python. Once she was nearly strangled by her python and it took 10 men to pull the snake off her! For other interesting facts about Singapore, visit www.yesterday.sg/explore. You can also embark on fascinating journeys online and participate in 30 exciting events and activities at museums, libraries and more."

Posted by: chunsee
Posted on: November 13th, 2006

Hey .. I was there too on Sat. I wanted to donate my father's birth cert (dated 1949 although he was born in 1918) and citizen cert (dated 1962). I did a scan about 2 years ago, but unfortunately I couldn't find the documents. I sent them the scanned images though. Anyway, to make up for it, I donated the 2 original copies of my own birth cert 1952. And let them scan my primary school report book - which should be useful becos my pr. school, Braddell Rise School is no longer in existence. But in the process of searching for my father's documents, I found 2 rare photos of Lorong Chuan, without the usual people posing. I doubt many Sporeans have seen the ponds of Lorong Chuan right where the school is now.

Sorry; St Gabriel Pr School.

Chun See: We're allowed to donate birth certs? I thought these types of official documents (BC, IC, passport) were to be kept by us permanently? :-o

I donated 2 duplicates (thin beige colour paper)and kept the original (grey colour thick paper). Very strange, the 2 copies are slightly different; one with writing behind.

Posted by: vickoo
Posted on: November 13th, 2006

Amy, aiyah I wanted to boost the number of hits to this blogsite by leaving out the details about the sexy legs poster. Looks like I am not the only one using the topic of sex to attract interest, hehe. Chun See, how many times were you borned? How come you got so many copies of birth certs? One is a registration certificate lah (the one printed in red).

Posted by: chunsee
Posted on: November 14th, 2006

Wah .. pythons those days must be very strong. Hee.