How to catch Singapore TV while overseas

We discovered a new use for Skype today.  We were Skyping in the evening when the girls ran off to watch Ninja Warrior (weekday TV is banned except for shows that Mummy and Daddy want to watch).  I decided to join them.  As we let out a collective cry whenever a contestant faltered, it really felt like I was home and sitting with KK and the girls in front the the TV. 

Will he make it?

Tok Tok Noodle Girl

It's the last place I would expect to find a bit of Singapore history but there he was, hawking his noodles just outside Kong Kong's house in Khon Kaen Thailand.  Sai Pi did the tok-toking while the Tok Tok Noodle Man busied himself whipping up our lunch.  He claims to have picked up his noodle skills in Singapore but his noodles tasted pretty Thai to me (and more importantly very yummy!).

Long Distance Nagging

"It doesn't look like you are visiting Kong Kong; it looks like you're on vacation without us!"  cried Pumpkin over Skype.

Can't it be both things?  Yes I came up to Thailand together with Sai Pi primarily to visit Kong Kong who had an operation recently but it was also a nice break from our school routine.  But one thing I didn't take a break from.... nagging!

"Did you do any reading today?  Chinese book also ah!  Don't forget to do all those things you are supposed to do.  Take this opportunity to show me that you can take care of yourself, that you don't need me there to tell you what to do [although that's exactly what I'm doing now].  Have you finished your Chinese work?  Make sure you study, your exams are coming.  Go ride your bicycle; you have not used your bicycle much since buying it.  Tai Pi you should skip 200 times to grow taller......"

As the Diana Ross song goes:

Ain’t no mountain high enough 

Ain’t no valley low enough 

Ain’t no river wild enough 

To keep me from NAGGING you

Long distance nagging courtesy of Skype

Our first short film!

The girls were watching iCarly on Nickelodeon and kept asking me if it was real i.e. is there really a web show called iCarly where you can submit your own videos to. I explained to them that iCarly is really just a regular TV show (about some friends who have their own web show) but that they get their viewers involved by inviting them to submit videos which they feature at the end of the show.

The girls seemed interested in having their own show so I said we could actually do it if we could decide on the subject matter. At the same time, I had seen a series of Heritage TV videos at yesterday.sg which is the National Heritage Board's website and thought it might be interesting to do something along those lines.

And then it all came together the Sunday before last, when we were at the National Museum for the Christian Lacroix exhibition. While we were having lunch at a cafe there, I remembered that I had read somewhere that Singapore's first public drinking fountain could be found on the grounds of the museum. I half suspected that the fountain was removed during the recent major renovation. I asked a couple of museum staff but they had never heard of the Gemmill Fountain. Even a friend of mine who was involved in the renovation of the museum was not aware of it. Nevertheless we went around the museum on a futile search for the 145-year-old drinking fountain and I recorded it using the video function of my still camera.

I was intrigued by the idea of this forgotten fountain so I did some research at the library and showed the girls the old newspaper articles I found on the Gemmill Fountain, the earliest dating 1939. We then did some more filming for our documentary. The girls were very game and improvised on the lines I gave them. Then Tai Pi wrote to the director of the museum to ask about the fountain and got a reply the next day although she didn't see the email till a couple of days later.

After we got the reply from the museum, we completed the remaining voice-overs and filming and viola, we have our first documentary! It certainly isn't my first home-made video as I have edited many a holiday video and growing-up videos, that's one of my hobbies, but this one was different from my usual and we had fun putting it together.

And now to broadcast our show. I uploaded it onto YouTube and created a blog to link the video to and also sent it to yesterday.sg which is featuring the video as today's entry. The guys at yesterday.sg said they were impressed with the work that went into the video (actually it's probably not as much work as they thought!) and want to give us a present... ooh I wonder what it could be.

Designer Handbags

Sai Pi and I attended a workshop for young children yesterday at the National Museum called "I can be a fashion designer", held in conjunction with the Christian Lacroix exhibition.  Two guys from Toy Box Edu-tainment conducted the workshop and later brought us for a short tour of the exhibition.  They were really excellent; I have never seen better children entertainers (in an interactive "show") than these two guys.In the workshop, the children were exposed to "boring" designs and "exciting" designs and later given a chance to design their own handbag by drawing on and sticking scrap materials onto a cardboard "bag".  

When the children were done, they showed their creations to one of the guys from Toy Box Edu-tainment who proceeded to give each one a glowing critique.

The workshop was followed by a short tour of the Christian Lacroix exhibition after which we were to collect the handbags from outside the art lab.  Unfortunately forgetful me left with Sai Pi without the handbag.  Sigh.

So I promised Sai Pi that we would make our own designer handbags and here they are - made from paper plates with cords from paper bags for handles and decorated with scraps and stickers:

Earth Hour

"You have 5 minutes to pack your bags!"  It was 8:25pm and I was rushing the girls to pack their taekwondo bags before the start of Earth Hour.

At 8:30pm we turned off all lights and the fan.  The girls spent a few minutes in the car park outside reading their magazines by the light of the lamp posts before I decided we should walk over to the supermarket and get the free pack of Sunshine buns we could exchange for with three Sunshine White Bread wrappers.

So we ended up at the mall where the girls ran about at the atrium and we did some grocery shopping, all in lighted, air-con comfort.  

We got home with ten minutes to go before the end of Earth Hour.  Tai Pi and Sai Pi sat at the doorstep reading by the light outside while Pumpkin rode around the car park on a skate scooter.

Somehow I feel we cheated this time round, seeking refuge at the mall, but it's a good start anyhow.

Reading in the car park

At the mall.  What Earth Hour?

7:59 AM

The Straits Times has a weekly article called "7:59 AM" which features a photograph showing a scene in Singapore at precisely 7:59 AM. Here is our own 7:59 AM moment taken this morning. We had just reached the park and were putting on our rollerblading gear. It would have been earlier than 7:59 AM if I hadn't left behind a couple of pairs of skates causing us to have to go back home to get them. Fortunately we live near the park.

7:59 AM

After rollerblading, we had breakfast at Old Town White Coffee, an eatery done up in modern traditional coffee shop style. An elderly waitress served us and seeing the girls, asked, "Don't you have school?" I mumbled, "No school." She continued, "School holidays are over right? They don't have school?" "No. No school today," I insisted. Tai Pi said to me after the lady left, "Why didn't you tell her we were homeschooling?" "She probably doesn't know what homeschooling is," I explained and I wasn't in the mood to introduce the concept of homeschooling to anyone just then.

So did we not have school today? The girls would have loved to have a whole day of fun but yes we did have school (except for Sai Pi who skipped kindergarten this morning), just that we started in the late morning instead of the usual 9am. That's one of the best things about homeschooling; it allows us to schedule our time in a way that works best for us, so if early morning is the only time Daddy has to spare, then lessons can wait till later because family comes first.

Breakfast at Old Town White Coffee

Arty silhouette shot

Private Bowling Alley

We don't live in a condo so it's nice having family and friends who do, so we get to enjoy a swim or a tennis game when we visit.

Last Saturday, we visited a friend's new condo.  This one's really different because it came with its own bowling alley!  Shoes and balls were provided and there was someone stationed there during the game to work the system.  It was the smallest bowling alley I had ever seen - just 2 lanes but who's complaining.

Playground in a pool!

Bowling alley all to ourselves

What's the score?

Non-bowlers operating a hair salon

Who made me?

I am well prepared to answer questions on the birds and the bees.  After all, I had bought and read to the girls "Where Did I Come From", a best seller by Peter Mayle.  My mum bought this same book when I was seven and it taught me everything a little girl needed to know about sex.

Then 10 minutes ago, Sai Pi asked me, "Who made me?"  

I replied, "Mummy and Daddy."

Sai Pi: "No I mean who made me?"

Me: "Mummy and Daddy.  Mummy's egg and Daddy's sperm come together and..."

Sai Pi: "No, I mean who made ALL of us?  Is it Jesus Christ?"  I see the church kindergarten she attends is having a bit of influence on her.

This is a difficult question for me to answer as I'm a free thinker although I started life as a Catholic.

Just then Tai Pi chips in with her answer - "God" and then proceeds to stuff her teddy bear under her dress and go into labour, wailing as she "pushed" the bear out.  That amuses and distracts Sai Pi enough for her to forget her question... for now.

Sai Pi's First Song!

I was taking a shower about half an hour back and as usual I had company.  Sai Pi came into the bathroom as I was drying off and announced that she wanted to be a singer.  She then proceeded to sing a tune hesitantly and I later found out that it was a song she made up herself as she went along.  I told her to sing it again and she launched into a different song and this time I listened closely so I could write the lyrics out exactly.  Here's the song she wrote:

Song title: I Love You

I love you when you are anywhere

I love you when you go away

I love you when you're on tip toe

I love you when you are on the toilet bowl

I love you when you are a soap

Looks like we have a singer-songwriter in the making!

Baba House

We had a very interesting little excursion this morning to Baba House located at 157 Neil Road.  The house is believed to have been built in the 1860s and is one of the few intact Peranakan homes to have remained in the hands of its original owners, in this case the Wee family. The house was purchased by NUS Museum with a generous donation from Agnes Tan, the last surviving child of Malayan political leader Tan Cheng Lock. She had specifically requested for the money to be used to purchase the Wee family home and for it to be restored and used to educate the public about Peranakan culture.

It is because of the generosity of Agnes Tan that we had the pleasure of visiting a traditional Baba home today. We learnt that the two lanterns hanging at the front of the house are surname lanterns (hurry get yours done in Malacca where there is only one known surviving maker of such lanterns!) and got up close and personal with lovely ornate Peranakan furniture and the girls' favourite feature of the house - the peephole in the second floor bedroom which allows you to spy on the person at the front door!

All the three girls now want to own shophouses. Not cheap I tell them. Tai Pi says one way is to gamble to raise funds but she decides that it is not a good idea. The other way according to Tai Pi is to take on many jobs - this is the possible career path she is considering: Taekwondo instructor cum fashion designer cum calligrapher cum restaurateur cum property agent cum bakery owner cum geriatric nurse cum horticulturist. Whew!

The Baba House at 157 Neil Road

Ornate pintu pagar indicating the wealth of the family residing in the house

Singapore City Gallery & Chinatown Heritage Centre

It's school holidays for Sai Pi this week so it's a good time to go on excursions. We set off this morning for the Singapore City Gallery which is run by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. 

 

Outside the Singapore City Gallery (URA Centre) 

with Liu Jilin's "Samsui Women"

The first thing we did when we got there was to take part in a quiz hosted by Gurmit Singh which tests you on your knowledge of Singapore.  We took our places behind individual stands with A B C buttons, ready to pick our answers as the video played on the big screen.  We learnt some interesting facts from the quiz.  Did you know that Toa Payoh and Paya Lebar mean the same thing?  Toa Payoh is "big swamp" in Hokkien and Paya Lebar means "wide swamp" in Malay so they both refer to those areas being big swamp lands.  And now we know that the three tallest buildings in Singapore are Republic Plaza, UOB Plaza and OUB Centre.  All three are 280m tall, 66 storeys high.  In accordance with aviation regulations, no structure in Singapore can be more than 280m high.  You will find skyscrapers only in downtown Singapore because that is the only place far enough from any airport to allow buildings of that height.  Ahso!

Then it was on to the galleries each focusing on a different theme relating to Singapore's urban development. I was interested in exploring the history and conservation galleries but the girls were more excited about the architectural models. There were two - one 3D model of the whole of Singapore featuring all the buildings on the island (we believe we found our block), and the other one of the city centre.

3D model of the whole of Singapore with all buildings represented

We love shophouses!

I was amused by this quote from Lee Kuan Yew where he admitted that it was a mistake to have demolished many of the old and quaint buildings in Singapore as they were a valuable part of our cultural heritage (yup, agree) and they were what tourists found attractive and unique about us - alamak, who cares about the tourists?!  Yet another indication that economic considerations dictate policy making in Singapore.  No wonder the old National Library along Stamford Road was demolished; wouldn't earn us much tourism dollars.

When we were done at Singapore City Gallery, we crossed the road to have lunch at Maxwell Road Food Centre which started life in the 1950s as a wet market for the Chinatown area.  It was hard getting a seat as it was lunch hour and there were umbrellas and various items used to "chope" seats.  Poor office workers.  Tai Pi declared that when she grows up and works here, she would bring her own lunch instead of waiting around for a table.

After lunch, we headed off for the Chinatown Heritage Centre located at Pagoda Street.  Along the way, we popped into the Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore's first Hindu temple.  It was built in 1823 by Naraina Pallai who arrived in Singapore together with Sir Stamford Raffles.


As we made our way along Pagoda Street, the girls were engrossed with the souvenir stalls while I lamented to myself the sad state of touristy Chinatown; that's progress for you.  Then we found ourselves at the Chinatown Heritage Centre which was haplessly lost among the shops selling silk robes, Merlion keychains, CDs and T-shirts.

It was certainly worth wading through the tacky souvenir shops to get to the Chinatown Heritage Centre because it gives an excellent glimpse into the lives of the early Chinese immigrants - the coolies, Samsui women, tailors, etc who made Chinatown their home.  The most interesting part of the museum was the Cubicle Living section which stretches over 2 levels and recreates the living quarters of the families who lived in such a shophouse, divided into little "cubicles".  There was Ah Ngoh Chieh, a shoe seller who lived alone in a tiny cubicle crammed with sacks of shoes and barely space for sleeping, and the painter with 5 daughters and 3 sons whose wife and daughters occupied a cubicle the size of my storeroom.  It was truly fascinating although Pumpkin was a little spooked by the dark interior.

Cubicle occupied by the painter's wife and 5 daughters.  

The painter and his 3 sons occupied a separate cubicle.

As we were leaving the Chinatown Heritage Centre, a group of school children were just being ushered in by their teacher.  Whew, we made it just in time to avoid the maddening crowd.

After that, we walked over to Eu Tong Sen Street to catch a cab home and along the way, took a picture with The Majestic and Yue Hwa Building.  The former was originally a cinema while the latter was The Great Southern Hotel (aka Nam Tin) until 1994.  The hotel opened in 1936, catering mainly to Chinese travellers and was the first Chinese hotel in Singapore with a lift.  The building now houses Yue Hwa department store, a far cry from its glamorous past.

Majestic Theatre and The Great Southern Hotel in the 1950s

Peranakan Dollhouse

Last Sunday, while we were at the Singapore Art Museum, Sai Pi and I popped by the Museum Shop where Sai Pi picked up a Peranakan shophouse postcard for $2.  The girls and I have always loved Peranakan shophouses but I don't think we would ever have the means to live in one.  But a $2 postcard, that I can afford.  And not just any postcard but one that has since defied its destiny, risen above its humble stationery background to become part of a dollhouse with just a few cuts made with a pen knife to open up the door and windows.  Like a conservation house where only the facade remains true to the original, our Peranakan dollhouse has an authentic frontage and a modern interior.  So we do finally own a Peranakan shophouse even if we can't live in it.

Toilet Tube Dolls

Say hello to the Toilet Tube Dolls!  Toilet tubes all dressed up and ready to partee!

Sai Pi's arty afternoon

Every Sunday, Sai Pi and I have time to kill in the afternoon while Tai Pi and Pumpkin are at taekwondo class.  Fortunately the taekwondo school is located close to the National Library, museums and shopping malls so looking for a place to hang out is never a problem.

Our choice for today were a couple of art venues.  First a visit to Sculpture Square where there was a little outdoor bazaar going on which didn't interest us very much.  Indoor there was a sculptural installation called "Let the Rivers Clap Their Hands" by Sunsook Roh.  The artwork was a depiction of the movement of water.  When I told Sai Pi the title of the artwork, she walked about to view the various parts of the installation and gave me her commentary on the piece - "This is a seashell.  This is a wave.  This is the beach and this part is the water because it is wavy."

Seashell according to Sai Pi

Waves of water

After that we made our way to the Singapore Art Museum where there was an exhibition of Korean contemporary art.  Sai Pi's favourite art piece at the exhibition was "Floor" by Suh Do Ho.  At first look, I thought the installation was made up of lots of little pieces of crooked sticks but those "sticks" were actually little figurines holding up the glass panels so that when you view the artwork from the top, you see lots of little palms pushing against the glass.  Intriguing.

Sai Pi's favourite exhibit - "Floor" by Suh Do Ho

Another one that caught Sai Pi's fancy - Yim Tae Kyu's "Fly Away Home"

There was one art piece that we had fun with.  It was a huge installation measuring perhaps 5 metres high and 3 metres wide.  It comprised individual square tiles about 6x6cm many with objects stuck onto to them; random objects such as a rubber duck, a calculator, a stapler, a Spiderman figurine, etc.  I'm not sure what message the artist meant to convey and I forgot to take note of the name of the installation but it was just perfect for playing I Spy which was exactly what we did, what fun!

I spy a toy stove (just above Sai Pi's neck)

As we were making our way out, I snapped this photo of Sai Pi, capturing the lovely tiled floor of the museum.  I think the boys who studied at St Joseph's Institution when it occupied this building were really lucky to have had such a cultured environment for a school, so different from the characterless school buildings we have these days.

Hmmm, might look nice in my kitchen

The Screaming Banshee strikes again... and again

Twice it happened this week.  Not once but twice.  

First time I was in the study or what we call the classroom going through with Tai Pi the mistakes she made in a math practice paper.  I lost my patience and screamed at her like a banshee.  The air-con servicing man was in my bedroom and came over to close the door of the study, muttering “很吵”.  He meant the noise from his servicing of the air-con but my immediate interpretation of it was that I was making too much noise and from the sheepish look on his face I believe I was right.

And then today, Pumpkin, instead of getting on with her Chinese homework, chose to spend her time whining and whining about it and that earned her an earful from me.  My yelling reached the kitchen (actually not just there but possibly the whole neighbourhood reverberated with my screams) where our guest, KK's uncle was chatting with my mother-in-law.  As he closed the kitchen door, he kindly explained that their chatting might be too loud but really it was obvious where the real racket was coming from.

So note to myself:  stop raising your voice and remember that children learn from the example their parents set.

NEWater Excursion

Since we started homeschooling, I've been to places with the girls that I otherwise would not have visited.  This morning we went to the NEWater Visitor Centre.  Tai Pi was studying about water as part of the Science syllabus so I thought a fieldtrip to learn about our water resources would be good.

We had a nice breakfast with KK before he dropped us off at the Centre.  When we got there I felt a little bad at first when I found that we were the only ones there for the 9am tour because it seemed such a waste of electricity and the guide's time for just 4 persons but then again it was great to have the whole place and the guide all to ourselves :)  - our reward for waking up early.

At the end of the hour-long tour, we hopped on to the centre's shuttle bus that took us out to a bus stop where we could take a bus home.  Again we were the only ones; our very own private bus :)

Walking on NEWater

Water for recreation - navigating a raft

Listening closely to the guide

Bottles of thirst-quenching NEWater!

When life gets too boring...

Fine if your life is a little boring, or somewhat boring, or very boring.  But when you feel you've had enough, you can make your way to Marine Parade Community Club where "life is never too boring".

Would you PUT your parents in a nursing home in JB?

Straits Times, Feb 10:
SINGAPOREANS could consider living in nursing homes in neighbouring Johor Baru, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan suggested yesterday....
Mr Khaw added: ‘Of course many visit daily, but quite a significant number visit only during the weekends, so what is the difference in putting them in Johor Baru?’

Dear Mr Khaw Boon Wan,

How could you suggest to us to PUT our parents in a nursing home in JB?  I know it is very tempting because it would cost so much less across the causeway, just like seafood and DVDs but it would be very unfilial to do that, don't you think?  You know how it is with old people; they don't like to live in unfamiliar surroundings.  I know you are ex-Malaysian but many of us are not and we prefer to die here in our homeland.  If you have no qualms "putting" your parents into a nursing home in JB, that's fine with me but please don't drag the rest of us to hell with you.  It cannot be that we can afford to have so many golf courses but cannot afford to care for our elders.  So please go gather your well-paid scholar civil servants and come up with a better proposal that doesn't land us in hell.

Punishment for being unfilial.  Eeks I don't want to be ground to a pulp!!!

Fort Canning Park

We started lessons on Singapore history this year and my plan is to have lots of field trips to bring the subject to life.  Well, of course we are not very good at hanging on to our heritage, seeing how even the National Library at Stamford Road was demolished despite much protest from the public, but what remains is still worth a visit.  

Our first field trip for Singapore history was to Fort Canning Park last week.  Originally known as Bukit Larangan (Forbidden Hill in Malay), it is believed to have been the site of an ancient palace.  Sir Stamford Raffles built his home here and also used the site to experiment with crops.  In 1859 the site was handed over to the military.  The governor's residence was then demolished and a fort built on the hill which led to the name Fort Canning Hill.  

Our first stop - Spice Garden.  I doubt the botanic gardens that Raffles established on the site was anything like this.  I suppose the Spice Garden is just a reminder of the work he did on the hill experimenting with crops.  Here and there were little bowls containing spices you could touch and smell.  I thought that was a nice touch although later at home I realised I have a whole lot of different spices stashed away, still in their packaging, which I had bought last year during a short period of time when I was determined to learn to cook.

Brewing Chinese herbs

Sniffing pepper

Here we are at the Gothic Gates.  The letters IHS above the gates stand for Iota Heta Sigm, the first three letters of the Greek word for Jesus.

A Christian cemetery once stood on the hill.  It was cleared and some of the tombstones were set into the wall surrounding the open field.  We walked along the wall and read the tombstones.  Many of the dead were infants and young children with very few aged above 50.

Tombstone of W.H.Stephenson, Captain of Ship Santiago, 

died Oct 31 1850 aged 41

And for one James Brooke Napier, a mere tombstone wouldn't do.  His father, William Napier, had a memorial built for his infant son.

James Brooke Napier Memorial

A stone's throw away stands The Cupolas designed by architect George Coleman (I think his tombstone is also somewhere on the wall), the first Superintendent of Public Works, whose projects included Armenian Church and Parliament House.

The Cupolas by George Coleman

After all that walking, we stopped for a rest at Fort Canning Centre where there were excavated artefacts on display.

Then it was on to the highlight of Fort Canning Park - the Fort Gate and Wall.  I told the girls Mummy and Daddy had some wedding pictures taken here at the gate.  The girls were a little freaked by the dark passageway at first but once they got over it, they had fun going up to the roof of the gate and down.

Close to the Fort Gate and Wall is the OMSQ - Old Married Soldiers Quarters which I suppose was the residence of married soldiers and their wives. Next to it was a swing, old but still fun to sit on.  As we sat on the swing enjoying the breeze and the beautiful surroundings, I thought what a nice place to live, but then again it probably gets really creepy at night.

After that, we went searching for the sally port.  A sally port is a hidden door that leads in and out of a fort.  There is only one sally port remaining at Fort Canning and I took quite a while to find it despite having a map in my hand (did I mention that I have a very poor sense of direction).  

While looking for the sally port, we came across a Cannonball Tree.  This is a South American tree introduced into Singapore some 70 years ago.  It has big attractive flowers and fruits that looks like little cannonballs.  It is not a common tree here so I was thrilled to find it. 

Entering the sally port

"Hidden" door of the sally port

Cannonball Tree.  Note the fruit in the centre of the photo.

Flowers of the Cannonball Tree

Near the sally port stands The Battle Box where General Percival made the decision to surrender to the Japanese.

The Battle Box

Then we made our way to where Raffles' house once stood.  Along the way, we met a couple of 9 pound cannons and got bitten by more mosquitos (argh, forgot the insect repellent!).  When we got there, we had a quick look at the lighthouse and the flagstaff.  I wasn't very keen on these because they were just replicas and not the real thing.  I thought the most interesting thing there was a tree with huge leaves.

One of a pair of cannons that was meant to shoot 

9-pound cannon balls.  Playing a decorative role rather 

than a defensive one, the cannon was fired three times 

a day at 5am, 1pm, and 9pm to announce the hour. 

It was also fired as a salute and warning of town fires.

Replica of the original lighthouse

A couple of days before, I received our Family Season Pass to the museums so we visited a couple of museums that were in the same vicinity as Fort Canning Park - The Peranakan Museum before we went up the hill and Singapore Philatelic Museum after we came down.  The girls especially love the Peranakan Museum because they give out this "Family Treasures" activity sheet which you bring around and get it embossed with Peranakan symbols and at the back page there is a illustration of a kamcheng that you can colour in yourself.  What fun!

We had a great time that afternoon but I must be growing old because my legs were aching soooo bad that night.  Nevertheless I'm looking forward to more of our heritage excursions.