The Great Reunion (Part II)

After the reunion, a group of us went to visit the old sitting on Emerald Hill. The visit brought back so much memories.

 
The primary school block


This was where I studied when I was in sec 2.

  
School field and basketball/netball court

 
School canteen below. Gym and library upstairs

 
These were the ECA rooms. See that old tree over there? It has been there since my time.


This lane will bring you to Emerald Hill. The current school using this place has put up grilles everywhere making this place look like a rehab center. SAD!

     
What used to be a toilet is now student services. At least they kept the NCC rifle room.


 
The old staff room and the hall. Those benches look very much like what I used to sit on

 
A final picture with our favourite tree.

What saddens me is to realise the campus on Emerald Hill was declared a significant historical site by the National Heritage Board yet it was leased to at least two international schools. They have very much destroyed the character of the buildings to meet the needs of their school. This is indeed sad for this country. On one hand the authority is creating event such as The Heritage Fest. On the other hand, these historical buildings are not being preserved. What an irony!

Three decades later…

That’s the amazing thing about we ladies. We do not have to talk to each other everyday, we do not have to see each other often but the moment we gather, we can be so comfortable with each other. There are no strangers in the ladies’ world. Perhaps, I should say, that’s the spirit of SCGS.


The gathering of lovely ladies.

Watch this space, as we meet this Sunday. A whopping 88 (still counting) of us!

Zumba is not a flirting sport

Call me old school, if you want to flirt, go somewhere else to do it. In a dance studio and in a Zumba class, it is about Zumba. Why Zumba is so interesting and effective is because it ditches the workout and moves with the music. Jumping around, moving your butt, they help to shed calories and build your cardio strength.

Well, if you gonna flirt with the instructor, please do it outside the class. If you are married and have kids, know your status. 人要学自爱！

Memories….

From now till many more days to come, you will most probably read a lot about my secondary school life. I am a SCGS girl. (Once a SCGS girl, always and forever a SCGS girl) Unlike most of the girls, I joined only in sec 1. I was from Tanglin Primary School and when I put SCGS as my choice of school, I still remember my form teacher telling me how hard it would be to get in cos’ they have a primary school and priority will be given to their girls. But I insisted and I am glad I did.

So, from 1979 to 1983 I grew up in SCGS. One of the best time in my life. Making some of the best friends of my life. I spent five years in the school because I failed my sec 1. I am thankful I did cos it was my second year in sec 1 that I found my way back to God and back to church and found the spouse. Till today, it is the same church that I am attending. Imagine, all these would not have been possible if not for my second year in sec 1. Did I become a failure because I repeated sec 1? No, I am successful in my own way. Always remember, we only fail but we are no failure. Profound?

Most of my batch left SCGS in 1983 and for these long 30 years, most of us have gone our separate ways BUT… we have found each other, a good 50% is found. Very sadly, two of them have passed away. This is life. How many more 30 years do I have. This 28th July, come what may, I will reunite with my girls.


Sec 1


Sec 4

Can you spot, yours truly?

My kid, you raise

Sadly, this is our society now. Parents no longer raise their own kids. A caregiver does it. A maid, grandpa or grandma, a nanny, childcare center teachers…everyone, anyone except the parents.

I see this maid pushing the child at 6.45am when I send Ann to school. When I come back from marketing, I will see her. On weekends, I also see her with the child. I seriously wonder what happen to the child’s parents? Are they sick? Do they work long hours? I really do not know.

A society that encourages you to have more babies but asks you to let someone else to the upbringing, has seriously gone wrong.

Opportunity knocking

Kai has been selected for the creative writers’ workshop. If he clears the criteria, he will be mentored by an author. I am so happy for him. See, don’t under estimate a “no-brand” school. Everything happen in life for a purpose. Yes, God is in control. I see so much potential in him…

Darkness
I must fight it. The Darkness. It seduces me, lulls me ever closer. I try to fight it. I am losing. My vision clouds over. I try harder. My head falls onto a hard, cold surface. I float along in Darkness. Suddenly, reality returns. Laughters. Caught sleeping in class again.

His writing has matured with him. Gone are the fantasy world of thrillers, ghosts and monsters. He can now write in various form. The next stage, I would like to bring him to write critically, argumentatively. Slowly, one step, one genre. 

The Past

The kids and I went to the National Museum. I couldn’t remember when was the last time I was there. It was good to visit. The History of Singapore was amazing. We spent three hours there, just looking and listening to the narration.


She is still looking great. I hope they won’t sell her off or flatten her to make way for roads or houses.

Then I saw this…
 
Unless you are from the school, Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS), you wouldn’t know about this desk and chair. I told Kai and Ann, this was what I used when I was in secondary school. Kai said that it could have been the exact one I used. Well, perhaps…

This chair and table opened up the flood gate to all my childhood memories. My secondary school days were the best days of my life. Yes, the 80s. The 80s was a fabulous time. Life was simple, things were nice, people were honest and warm. There was a sense of sadness that my children will no longer have those days to enjoy.

Looking at the exhibits, I marvelled at what our founding fatherS did. It was an amazing transformation. I began to wonder what was our present leaders thinking of when they sold Raffles Hotel. Should not she be the pride of our country. A heritage that should have been preserved. Actually, along with her, many iconic buildings were all demolished in the name of urbanisation. Well I see the need to build for human habitat but some things just have to preserve. Removing shorter HDB flats to build taller ones, that would be acceptable. But to destroy iconic buildings of a country…it reflects on the kind of leadership we have. We built the Singapore Flyer (the modern icon) and see what happened? Why build something which others already have?

These three buildings were all very close to the hearts of Singaporeans, they are all gone now. Replacing them are just empty land…waiting for a rich buyer?


 
 
These structures beat any of those elongated buildings any time.