Barry Manilow and First Love

Time to revisit this blog which I've woefully neglected!

One singer who holds a special place in my heart is Barry Manilow.
Yup, the guy with the hooked nose, bug eyes, curly hair and nasal voice....and who, incidentally is also a phenomenal songwriter and performer with multiple awards and accolades to his name.

Why so special?

Hmm...a little secret here:

I'm always reminded fondly of my very first boyfriend, E, who was forever humming Mr Manilow's songs whenever we went out....many moons ago when we were still in our teens.

I remember very clearly our first walk together one fateful Saturday evening when we were on our way to a church group BBQ at East Coast Park.
I don't remember how we ended up taking the bus together but somehow we alighted waaay too early at Marine Parade and had to walk all the way along the park up to the Bedok area. I had not really had much opportunity to talk to him prior to that but our chit chat flowed smoothly as we made our way along, not having any idea just how far up from Marine Parade Bedok actually was on foot!
It was an enjoyable tramp, though, made even more fun by the background music of Barry Manilow's songs which E would hum when the conversation lagged.
Of course I had known Barry's music even before that, as Donny and Marie Osmond liked to cover his songs on their variety show.
So it was no problem for me to hum along and after about an hour, we had arrived at the BBQ venue, tired but happy.

Happy?

Indeed.

You know that unmistakeable feeling of gradually realising that you like someone?
It was dawning on me during our jaunt that evening as I found that E was really nice and easy to talk with.
Haha...he was also not too bad in the looks department....not overtly handsome but with a ready smile and a demeanour which belied the fact that he was two years my junior.
He also made me laugh easily....with his deadpan jokes and self-deprecating humour always taking the mickey out of me. :)

I guess the feelings were mutual because after that party, we started going out more and yes, I can remember equally clearly the very first time he held my hand...after a bus journey to Changi Airport on a date...and the sweet emotions that evoked on my part....le sigh....

Anyway, Barry Manilow's music is the soundtrack for that particular relationship, which, sadly lasted less than a year; we broke up due to factors which I shall not enumerate here.
But no, there was no third party nor scandalous affairs of any sort. ;)

I do want to mention one favourite Manilow song which E introduced to me...the lyrics kinda resonated with our situation then too.

The song is Somewhere Down The Road (which is, however not written by Barry) and till now, it still has the power to move me when I listen to Mr Manilow sing it:


We had the right love at the wrong time 
Guess I always knew inside  
I wouldn't have you for a long time
 
Those dreams of yours are shining on distant shores 
And if they're calling you away  
I have no right to make you stay
 
But somewhere down the road  
Our roads are gonna cross again 
It doesn't really matter when
 
But somewhere down the road  
I know that heart of yours will come to see 
That you belong with me
 
Sometimes goodbyes are not forever 
It doesn't matter if you're gone 
I still believe in us together
 
I understand more than you think I can  
You have to go out on your own  
So you can find your way back home
 
And somewhere down the road  
Our roads are gonna cross again  
It doesn't really matter when
But somewhere down the road  
I know that heart of yours will come to see  
That you belong with me
 
Letting go is just another way to say  
I'll always love you so  

We had the right love at the wrong time
Maybe we've only just begun  
Maybe the best is yet to come
 
'Cause somewhere down the road  
Our roads are gonna cross again  
It doesn't really matter when
 
But somewhere down the road  
I know that heart of yours will come to see  
That you belong with me

I'm glad to say that many years later, our roads DID cross again!
When we were both already happily married to others (of course!).
I saw him a couple of times near my workplace and hesitated initially as to whether to approach him.
After some to-ing and fro-ing, I decided...WTH, it had been such a long time....the worst scenario was that he would ignore me.

But thankfully, he was still ever the gentleman and we subsequently met up occasionally for lunch and the conversations flowed on like in the old days....he had also not lost his unique sense of humour and I could not help thinking that his wife and kids should be very grateful for a lovely guy like him. ;)

Do I ever wonder "what if?" we had managed to stay together?
Of course....and all I can say is that I'm glad my first relationship was with such a decent fella and equally, I'm happy that we are now friends who keep in touch occasionally and yes, the conversation can still flow.  :)

Update on 20 Sept 2012:

A Love Letter a la Manilow:


Dearest Mandy,

Could It Be Magic, that Weekend In New England At The Copacobana, when I Made It Through The Rain at Daybreak and Even Now, I'm Ready To Take A Chance Again, 'cos it Looks Like We Made It and I Can't Smile Without You and I Don't Want To Walk Without You, so let's Keep Each Other Warm All The Time, and now I Write The (Old) Songs to sing with my One Voice...This One's For You so Please Don't Be Scared, Stay and we'll never be Lonely Together Somewhere Down The Road.

Love,
Barry

I Remember SG: My School Days

Tonight's post is my submission for the 'I Remember SG' Singapore Memory Project.

I feel very fortunate, in a way, to have grown up in an era, where there was no school rankings, no DSA, no Gifted Education Programme.

What is known as CCA now was then ECA (Extra-curricular activies) and one could join whichever sport without having to undergo selection trials or risk being kicked out of the ECA if one was not in the school team.

I was in the gymnastics team...and honestly, I don't think I ever got round to perfecting a sommersault, but I had great fun training for whatever few skills I could master.

Streaming in the primary school was unheard of.

Those were the days when the PSLE results slip only stated whether one passed or failed.

And there were only two choices for secondary school.

There was no agonising over where to go for many of us from the mission schools as it was a given that we would go on to the 'affiliated' secondary school, thus maintaining bonds with many friends who had grown up with us from childhood; bonds which have endured till now.

Life in St Anthony's Convent for me was outstanding in two key aspects:

1) The presence of the Canossian nuns and the prayerful atmosphere in school.

Being a convent school, this was inevitable but neither was there ever any outright proselytisation which would have made the non-Christian students and staff uncomfortable. In fact, the Malay/Muslim teachers and students got along very well with the nuns, who walked the talk of showing God's love to all, whilst maintaining strict discipline with the help of the teachers.

And because of their 'actions speak louder than words' examples, many girls would go on to convert to Christianity on their own accord.

True, there were nuns who were 'holy terrors' by virtue of their at-times fierce demeanour, but deep down, the girls knew they cared and in turn, returned that affection.

2) Music/drama activities.

Music was omnipresent in SAC. 

Hymns were sung at assembly every day and in my time at both the primary and secondary school, we had absolutely fantastic music teachers who had no end of activities to keep us occupied, where music and drama were concerned.

Music lessons were never sacrificed for revision of other subjects and they were definitely the favourite periods for us girls.

My primary school music teacher was Miss Monica Toh, whose soaring soprano voice kept us enthralled even as she drilled us in theory and taught us how to sing (and speak) clearly, learn to play songs on the recorder, pianica and harmonica.

The one most vivid memory I'll always treasure is the opretta she produced when I was in P4 viz The Magic Rose. It was a stage musical and involved almost the whole of one session of the primary level.

Oh...that was amazing! 

It had acting and singing; there was a choir and instrumental ensemble and we ran the show for not just one, but three performances!

The Youth Festival was also something to work towards and I remember playing two Filipino songs on the pianica for that in an ensemble and being dressed up in a traditional Filipina dress too when I was in P5. :)

My secondary school music teacher was no less amazing and she is the one and only Mrs Christine Kanagarajah, who taught generations of SAC girls and imbued in us a musicality which would remain with us all through our lives. Even now, so many years after leaving school, the hymns and songs we learnt stick in our brains and just a line or two can trigger a warm rush of nostalgia.

Incidentally, she is also the composer of our beloved school song, a marvellously melodius and emphatic anthem with meaningful lyrics which truly embody the Canossian ethos by which we were schooled in.

Drama was another activity which was encouraged, with each class usually having to put up some skit or other for big occasions like Teacher's Day, Foundress' Day or smaller events in school.

There was also the annual Inter-Class Drama Competition, with each class putting up a play. 

I most distinctly remember my Sec One experience where the play centred around a bird family and we had to wear a chatek feather on our heads to symbolise our avian origins...lol!

Ah...the goings-on that went on at the small stage in our 'Big Hall' during these performances!

It was also in Sec Three that I finally discovered my *ahem* more feminine side when I started taking an interest in dance.

Rose Eberwein taught lessons in our school for a spell, and eventually, Miss Emily Hogan took over and I remember her drum which she used to thump out the beats and rhythms for us to follow.

We choreographed items for school performances using popular tunes from then....including Funky Town, A Fifith Of Beethoven (from Saturday Night Fever) and the theme from Close Encounters of The Third Kind...and the reception from the audience was always nothing short of enthusiastic!

I'm pretty certain what we went through laid the groundwork for present-day SAC to find her niche in the Performing Arts, whilst providing a holistic education for the girls. :)