Cliff Richard: Still Reelin' And Rockin'!

If there is one singer whose voice I would describe as being 'rich as velvet', it would be none other than Cliff Richard (or more respectfully, SIR Cliff Richard....he was knighted in 1995).
It's amazing to know that he has been in the music business for 54 years and is still going strong!
Just look at the poster for his current world tour:

 

I've known Cliff since my childhood days with a very distinct memory of seeing him on the telly driving a big, red London bus and singing Summer Holiday. The song was so catchy and memorable but it was his voice which stood out...and of course, his handsome good looks. ;)

 

I don't profess to be his greatest fan but his distinctive voice and a whole list of wonderful songs over the years have ensured that he remained one of my favourite artistes of all time. I may not have many of his albums but the few that I do have been listened to death, especially Private Collection, and I love Some People the most of all!

I had the good fortune to see him in concert here in Singapore in 2007 when it was held at the Indoor Stadium. Needless to say, my girlfriends and I enjoyed it thoroughly so when I caught sight of the little snippet in the local paper announcing his upcoming tour which included our sunny island again, I wasted no time in getting the tickets. This was back in early December 2012 and his concert was scheduled for two nights, 25 and 26 February 2013.
My fellow fangirl for the night would be my dear schoolmate, Syl.

The buzz for the concert started sometime in February with a nice article in the local paper which had Cliff looking all suave and haha...don't you just love that proclamation?? ;)
I thought it was super cool and really shows how comfortable he is and how well he has managed to stay the course in this business. Such a lesson in longevity for younger artistes!

February 26 soon arrived and I went through my workday in a semi-impatient mood, just counting down the hours to when I could get off and head to Marina Bay Sands (MBS) to meet Syl for a quick dinner and then to see Cliff!!!
The foodcourt at MBS was full and judging from the crowd, it was obvious that almost everybody was there for our velvet-voiced crooner and before you knew it, Sylvia and I were settled into our seats, taking some pics and getting all excited.
The concert started a little later than the scheduled time of 7:30pm but no matter.

The lights dimmed, the audience started screaming and with the opening notes from the band, Cliff burst onto the stage and our night of awesomeness with a living legend began.
Photo-taking was allowed but not on 'professional'-looking equipment so what I have is from cameraphones and one which is from a fellow fan on Facebook.

He pranced around like a man half his age and his voice still had the power to make me, Sylvia and I'm sure pretty much everyone else MELT! Especially in the slower songs....that's where the velvet-ness shines through.
His duet with Suzie Furlonger for The Twelfth of Never was simply heavenly and I kept going "Omg omg omg..." to Syl...lol!
Honestly, I think he sounded even better this time than in 2007 ( or maybe the sound system at MBS is just waaay better than the Indoor Stadium!) and I could not help trying to record a couple of vids (albeit surreptitiously). As such, I only got two slower numbers. Besides, I wanted to really savour the whole experience and not spend all the time recording. ;)

This is about 3/4 of Ocean Deep:

And 3/4 of Suddenly (audio only):

More stuff from youtube which I found:

Cliff's sense of self-deprecating humour was evident throughout the night as he recounted amusing anecdotes of his experiences with the band and fans all over the world. Gotta love him even more for that!

I lost count of the number of songs he performed but he pretty much covered most of his hits from the early years with the Shadows all the way to the present and announced that he was working on a new album in Nashville of rock and roll classics. Can't wait for that!

Syl and I (and most of the fans) were singing along and clapping and generally having the time of our lives, punctuating the end of every song with screams of approval. ;)

Cliff changed to skinny jeans, black shirt and a snappy red jacket, complete with sneakers after the intermission and boy, can he still gyrate his hips, which were enhanced by said skinny jeans. ;)

Here's a lovely pic from Slune Chan on Facebook...doesn't he look great?? As one of my friends said: "Not an ounce of fat on him!"

 And when the concert had seemingly ended, he came back for a fabulous set of songs for the encore, at which point many of the fans from the back of the theatre started flocking to the front!
Without further ado, Syl and I squeezed our way past the people in our row who were amazingly, still seated, stepping on a few toes along the way and apologising profusely.
But nothing was going to stop us from going forward and seeing Cliff up close and personal.
And see him we did!

Here's Syl's photo: (I was too excited and hands too shaky!)

Oh...Cliff was awesome! It was an absolutely ROCKING encore medley of rock and roll songs and all of us were screaming and bopping along vigorously. Cliff made sure to wave and cover both sides of the stage as he ran everywhere. The atmosphere was simply HIGH!!! LOVED IT!!!!!
This is how all pop/rock concerts should be and it exceeded all my expectations for the night!

Here's another fancam vid of the fantastic encore medley...watch him go! 

But all good things come to an end and Cliff had to make his final curtain call. amidst screams and yells. The house lights came on and the audience filed out but with an immense sense of satisfaction. :)

Off I headed to the merchandise store and here are my acquisitions viz souvenir teeshirt, book and mug!

Syl and I stopped for a drink at the foodcourt before heading home and we enjoyed chatting with other fans there as we had our refreshments.

It remained for me to get home (courtesy of Syl), upload vids and write on Cliff's FB Page, thanking him for a fantabulous evening and hoping he'll come again soon.
And the next time, I'm getting top-dollar tickets and including other friends who found out about the concert too late and could not join me.

Stay strong, Sir Cliff!
I'm sure you're good to go on for another ten years!

Here are a couple of links to good interviews with him for this tour and the secrets behind his success:

http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2013/02/22/still-rockin-cliff-richard-returns-to-southeast-asia/?mod=WSJ_SEA_Blog

http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/91585/tennis-and-performing-thats-what-keeps-cliff-richard-fit-at-72

The Complete Twilight Saga Movie Marathon

21st November 2012 finally dawned (pun intended!) for the Complete Twilight Saga Movie Marathon, for which my Twi-Mum friends and I had been anticipating most eagerly and planning most meticulously (or almost!).
The prospect of watching all five movie adapatations of Stephenie Meyer's phenomenal book series was immensely exciting and something I had been waiting for ever since I watched the first Twilight movie waaay back in December 2008.
The movies are Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn Part One and Part Two.
Even with a different director helming every one, there has been a distinct continuity as the screenwriter, Melissa Rosenberg and music producer, Alexander Patsavas have been constants along with Stephenie Meyer herself providing input and overall approval of the adaptations.
Watching the movies back-to-back brought out this continuity very well and of course, lots of credit is due to the well-chosen cast members who have brought their respective characters to life so wonderfully!



Goodie bag, entry pass, poster and postcards!

 Programme for the day:

 

My Edward Cullen pillow and blanket:

Tips to enjoying a movie marathon

*Watch out for announcements and APPLY FOR LEAVE the second the date is confirmed. Then pray very hard that said leave is approved!
*Inform kindred souls and fellow fans to book tickets immediately!
*Plan timing for arrival at venue to get in line to 'chope' (reserve) the best seats.
*Bring stuff to keep warm and hug: cardigan, shawl, blanket, pillow. And yes, fiinally, my Edward Cullen blanket and pillow were put to good use!
*Bring portable phone charger: everyone wants to take photos and update their Facebook, all of which drains your battery.
*Bring emergency meds like antihistamines, eyedrops, Panadol, etc. Thankfully, I did not have to use any of these!
*Wear comfortable clothes: dress, pants, well... whatever will allow you to sit with legs crossed or up and won't nip you in the waist!
*Bring toothbrush and toothpaste: it's a long day and night in the aircon; breath must be kept fresh.
*Bring small waterbottle for sips throughout movie.
*Snacks if you're so inclined.
*Exercise and stretch during breaks
*No matter what little glitches occur...chillax and have fun!

It was my first ever movie marathon and I'm so glad it was for a beloved franchise which culminated on a very satisfying note indeed, as the finale was truly epic.
With the well-timed breaks for meals and other reliefs, it was, overall, quite a fantastic experience and a great time was had by all!
Fifteen hours in the Twilight universe with Twi-Hards was INSANELY FUN!!!

You know what??
I'd do it all over again!!!

NB:

Here is my review of BD2 for the Golden Village website:

"True Twi-Hards who love the books and the previous movies will catch and enjoy all the little nuances, cute quips, music, twist in the tale and the loving tribute at the end. Wonderful closure to a beloved franchise!"

First Lady Of Musical Theatre: Elaine Paige

The headline in the Life section of The Straits Times caught my eye:

"Esplanade presents ELAINE PAIGE and Special Guest, Kris Phillips (费翔)"

The name that struck me, of course was Elaine Paige but who in the world was Kris Phillips?
A closer look at the inset picture and the Chinese name and I immediately recognised Fei Xiang, one of the most handsome Taiwanese-American singers from the 80s, with a voice to match his looks.
This was a must-go concert but strangely enough, none of my usual gang was keen and it was not until I read Susan''s post on Facebook, declaring her affection for Mr Fei, that I found my concert companion. :)

Walking towards the concert hall, we noticed a couple of parliamentary ministers and some local celebs from the theatre community.
Our seats were up in the Circles and my only regret was that I had forgotten to tote along my binoculars. :(

Nonetheless, there was no doubting the quality of the performance; Elaine is not known as the UK's First Lady Of Musicals for nothing and she brought the audience through songs from Evita, Sunset Boulevard, Jesus Christ Superstar, Chess and Cats, including a number of duets with Fei Xiang. (I'm sorry...I can't bring myself to call him Kris...)
The latter was also in fine form and received loud cheers and applause especially when he sang Andrew Lloyd Webber's Till I Hear You Sing, from the sequel to Phantom Of The Opera, Love Never Dies.
Elaine also got jazzy after the intermission, with some cool numbers featuring a saxophonist and she also paid tribute to Edith Piaf towards the end.


There was a fair bit of banter with the audience from both of them, with Fei Xiang explainng that he would take good care of Elaine and show her around Singapore and perhaps even try durian. ;)
Elaine, on her part, spoke a few lines in Mandarin, saying she was very happy to be in Singapore and even attempted an "Ok lah" at one point. ;))
One notable encore was the song, Grow Young, by Jimmy Webb.
It was the first time I was hearing this and the lyrics struck a chord, so to speak.
I'm reproducing it here to share:

Don't get so busy
Don't get so tired
Climbing the ladder
And counting each rung
Try not to worry
Too much to have fun
Don't get so old
You forget to grow young
Grow young
Grow young
And maybe this way
You'll be a child Again someday
Grow young
Grow young
And maybe this way You'll be a child Again someday
Don't get so caught up
In telephone wires
That you can't remember
The songs that you've sung
And feel sorry for things that
You've already done
Don't get so old
You forget to grow young
Grow young
Grow young
And maybe this way
You'll be a child
Again someday
Grow young
Grow young
And maybe this way
You'll be a child
Again someday someday

It was a wonderful performance from Elaine and Fei Xiang; one which the truly cosmopolitan audience lapped up.
Heh...I'm pretty certain many of them were there more for Fei Xiang so this was a win-win collaboration for both.
Elaine did mention that she had known him for many years from his time spent in musical theatre.

There was even an autograph session after the concert, which came as a pleasant surprise. As the queue appeared to be moving smoothly, I decided to join in later and got a photo and autograph with Elaine!
Pity there wasn't a session with Fei Xiang, though. :P

Tickets!!

Elaine walking to the autograph table; note the queue behind. 

My autographed flyer addressed to both me and my friend, Susan. 

ANIME(A)-NIA! aka Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2012

Heh...that is one anime series I am a little more familiar with, if only with a few of the names...lol!
Yup, those are the cosplayers dressing up as characters from One Piece during the just-concluded Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2012 (AFA) which was held this year at the Singapore Expo.

Technically, this post is not about my fandom as I am not a fan of manga nor anime but my youngest son is and as I think he probably got his fandomania genes from me, it was only natural that I would be interested in the many aspects of a fan culture which, although it originated from Japan, is quite quite alive in Singapore.

That picture above shows just a section of the crowd which had gathered at Singapore Expo waaay before the doors were due to open at 9am on 10 November 2012, a Saturday morning.
F (my dear hubby), Jer (my son) and I had initially and dutifully waited further behind where there was supposed to be a queue.
But as time went on, it became increasingly obvious that the anxious fans were not going to adhere to any sort of queue and frankly, as there were no specific barriers or markers, it pretty much became a free-for-all-no-holds-barred attempt to get to the front so that one could rush in once the doors opened so as to make a beeline for the booths selling merchandise.
I'm somewhat sheepish about the fact that we were amongst the kiasu (read scared of losing out) people in the front and even then, many other even more kiasu individuals had no qualms about elbowing their way even further front than us!

Anyway, once the doors opened, there was a roar, almost a war-cry from the predominantly young male crowd as all and sundry stampeded into the exhibition hall. It was, frankly, a rather scary experience as the crush was quite incredible and I'm just thankful that no one fell or got stepped on.
This is a lesson (amongst many others!) which the organisers will have to take home when planning next year's festival.

F and I had been pressed into service as line-up-pers for Jer at two booths whilst he went for a movie screening. F managed to get to his Cospar booth and became the tenth person in line and got hold of the bag which Jer wanted.
I was headed for the Sword Art Online (SAO) booth but Jer beat me to it and got into the queue which was already snaking around to the back. The SAO staff appeared unprepared for the overwhelming demand and the queue was shuffled here and there as they attempted some form of crowd control. I took over Jer's place but it still took nearly an hour before I reached the cashier. We learnt later that all the merchandise was sold out by afternoon, disappointing many who had queued later or were planning to come on Sunday. (See pic below which shows the interior of the SAO booth)

F and I went around after that, soaking in the atmosphere of profound manga/anime geekdom and I can safely say we were the oldest folks there. Not that we cared. ;)

Here are some cosplayers which we took pics of:

 

And these dolls were really cute!

F and I left after going through the booths and returned later in the afternoon for the Anisong concert, which was scheduled for 7pm at the Max Pavilion.
This would feature five acts which were the performers for the music of the various animes, all featuring interesting names typical of J-pop bands and singers.

However, due to some technical difficulties, the organisers could not make good on the promise to open the doors at 6.30pm and consequently, the start time of 7pm was also impossible.
Yes, they let us in at 6.50pm but after that, we were made to stand outside the auditorium (whilst some rehearsals were still on-going, probably to adjust the sound system or something) for thirty minutes before we could enter to get to our seats. This was quite unexpected and for me, a first amongst all the pop concerts I have ever attended. Another lesson for the organisers to take home.

I'm very familiar with waving glowsticks, jumping and singing during such concerts so it was no surprise to me that the fans were on their feet the entire time the artistes were performing. There was no let-up in their energy and enthusiasm and most interesting to me was that Jer was doing the same. He truly is a fanboy. :)

The artistes last night were: BABYMETAL, m.o.v.e, fripSide, LiSA and FLOW.
Unfortunately, we missed FLOW as it was getting really late and although we did not have to catch the last train, we were feeling very tired and as Jer was not keen on FLOW, we left after LiSA's performance. 
NB: Another reason the concert dragged on somewhat was the long intermissions between acts which lasted fifteen to twenty minutes. Yet another lesson for the organisers.

Of all the acts, I enjoyed m.o.v.e.and LiSA the most, as their songs were a little more up my alley. 

m.o.v.e. got me interested when they mentioned Initial D, which I was familiar with thanks to Jay Chou's 2005 movie which was an adaptation of the anime series. :)
Here's a link about them:

http://strawberryscentedburnout.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/m-o-v-e-my-favorite-j-poprockwhatever-music-group/

LiSA's songs were good too and reminded me of Paramore, an American band which I like. :)

Here's the wikipedia link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiSA


All in, it was an experience of anime fandom which I had a taste of and it was quite mindboggling, especially the cosplayers' efforts and the level of fanaticism displayed by the fanboys at the concert. 

Would I go again next year?
Keep watching this blog. ;)

Trekkie and proud of it!

"Space, the final frontier..."

Who doesn't wonder what outer space is like?
From Space 1999, that TV series about Moonbase Alpha in the 1970s to Star Wars and of course, Star Trek, aliens and starships have always been interesting for writers to fantasise about.


Well. it's Star Trek's 46th birthday and a good time to write about my Trek fandom.
In the pics above are various publications and episode guides of the three post-Kirk TV series, which gave Trek new life after a lapse of 21 years, when the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation was aired in 1987.



I'm a Trekkie, Trekker, whatever....it doesn't matter to me.
All I know is that ever since my dear hubby, F introduced me to Star Trek: The Next Generation some time back in 1991 or 1992, I've been quite fascinated by this franchise which the late Gene Roddenberry created back in 1966 with Star Trek: The Original Series.
Indeed, much of the technology featured in Trek sci-fi lore has made its way into reality over the years.

Truth be told, I have not watched any of the TOS episodes in their entirety and I only got to know Kirk, Spock et al after I got hooked on the revived series, Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG)...and the third season at that.
It was showing on cable TV but of course, that was not immediate enough for us to get our Trek fix.
As usual, when there's a will, there's a way....and thanks to info from other fans, we soon discovered a treasure trove of TNG video tapes for rental from a little shop in Tanglin Shopping Centre!
This haven was run by a lovely gentleman known as Mr Odell, and his equally lovely wife and although small, was packed to the gills with video tapes of loads of TV series...not just Trek.
We could only rent three tapes at one go, though, and each tape contained three episodes.
So that made a total of nine episodes to feast on for the week before we headed back to Mr Odell's, usually on a Saturday afternoon to rent another set of tapes.
 I guess we were much like fans of any other drama series in our addiction, like the Hongkong, Taiwanese and now Korean ones which of course are available on DVDs and what-have-you.

We finished the entire TNG series from those rented tapes and proceeded on to Deep Space Nine, which I enjoyed but not as much as TNG.
By that time, Star Trek: Voyager was also airing on cable TV, with one episode every night so we stopped going to Mr Odell's shop after a while.
Haha...I would diligently record every episode on video tapes so that I could replay my fave scenes and boy, did I amass a HUGE collection of tapes over the seven seasons!
But of course, when the DVDs were released, those tapes just had to go.
But they had served their purpose well by then. ;)

Although TNG was my induction into Star Trek, I have to say that of all the three series, Voyager was my absolute favourite as it was the one which I caught right from the pilot episode, which kept me hooked all through seven seasons, as I followed the crew on their adventures in the Delta Quadrant whilst trying to find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant.

Voyager also had the best theme song...to me. Composed by Jerry Goldsmith, the whole theme music was soaring, majestic and graceful, yet conveyed a sense of a lost starship looking for home. Accompanied by beautiful images of space and of course, Voyager herself, it never fails to move me...at times, almost to tears!

I also loved that the captain of Voyager was a woman! (see pic above)
And a very strong and compelling character too!
A female captain of a series was also where no Trek had gone before.
Kathryn Janeway was authoritative yet warm and maternal; had a voice which was becoming of a starship captain; and was feisty, spunky and kicked ass like no other woman character I had come across in the earlier series.

Besides the Captain, Voyager also had the best written and strongest female characters amongst the three series.

B'Elanna Torres was the human-Klingon Chief Engineer (another first!) with ongoing inner battles but eventually found love and self-acceptance with Tom Paris (more on him further down).

 Kes was the Ocampan female who may have looked petite and demure but had a strong moral core.

And of course, Seven of Nine just blew everyone away when she joined the cast fulltime in Season Four, with her cold hard science yet sexy-as-hell appearance and having to learn more about humanity as she interacted with the Voyager crew.

Another interesting character was the holographic doctor, known simply as...the Doctor, whose snarky and sarcastic personna often served to irritate, entertain and yet had distinctive relationships with each member of the crew.

But my biggest 'crush' was on Tom Paris, the cocky pilot of Voyager, whom I absolutely detested in the first episode but gradually warmed up to him as his character became much less self-centred and I certifiably fell in love with him when he fell in love with B'Elanna...awwww!!!
He also became a defacto medical assistant for the Doctor eventually and was also the BFF of Harry Kim (see below), a relationship which was established early on in the pilot episode (and which made him a little less obnoxious...lol!)

And here, of course, is Harry Kim, the requisite Asian face in this multicultural crew. Fresh out of Starfleet Academy, Tom 'rescued' him from a cunning Ferringhi in the pilot episode and their friendship was cemented there and then. :)


And this would not be complete without a pic of the Delta Flyer here....the shuttlecraft which Tom, B'Elanna,Tuvok and Seven put together, incorporating Borg technology:

http://memory-gamma.wikia.com/wiki/Delta_Flyer_class

Isn't it such a lovely little ship??


After Voyager, there was another series viz Enterprise but that did not keep me as occupied somehow, although I will always love Trek and things got better when JJ Abrams rebooted the franchise with the 11th movie, simply entitled Star Trek, making it a prequel to the original series.
It was a stroke of genius and a well-made movie, with a wonderful cast which breathed life into Trek (again) and I'm now awaiting the next movie due in the summer of 2013!

Trek has somehow managed to stay the course all these forty-six years, in spite of ups and downs...no mean feat.
What attracted me was the quality of the writing, the strong characters, amazing actors and the social commentary aspects which sound less preachy when aliens and non-human species are involved.
Detractors alway make fun of the fact that everyone can understand English but there's a good explanation for that...Universal Translator, anyone??

What also makes me very happy is that my sons also like and enjoy this franchise as much as me and my hubby!
Trek lives on!!!

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. :)