Our Bedok Kampong House Singapore

We just visited our maternal eldest aunt, our beloved Tua Ee, who celebrates her 94th birthday this week. As we gently held her hands, we marveled at them, for they carried us back through the decades to our growing-up years in our Bedok kampong house. These hands are now frail, their strength gradually yielding to the passing years. And yet, they are the very same hands that once held us when we were babies. The same hands that effortlessly carried bags of confectionery from Chin Mee Chin or Cona in Katong to our home on weekend visits in the 1960's, bringing treats that delighted us children beyond measure. The hands that coaxed dough to yield beneath her touch as she lovingly shaped our favourite Chinese New Year delights, pineapple tarts and fragrant love letters (kueh belanda). These were also the hands that held ours as we plucked blue pea flowers from the garden fences surrounding our kampong house - flowers that would later provide the natural blue hue for the Nyo...

1963. On his off-duty days, our father would sometimes borrow a camera to photograph his young family. This simple picture was taken in the garden of our Bedok kampong house, but it also captured something unexpected in the background, a block of flats where several RAF families lived (the other building “Sar-chan- lau” located just behind the rest house and other adjacent bungalows and not featured here also had RAF families living in them). While we were creating memories in our little corner of Bedok, other families from the United Kingdom were doing the same nearby. Many had travelled thousands of miles to Singapore with their spouses and children while serving at RAF Changi. While some personnel lived within military barracks, others rented homes and flats around Changi, Bedok and the surrounding areas. Readers such as Michael Hall, Jackie Munro and Ann Froud have fondly recalled those years, remembering not only their time in Singapore but also the friendships, neighbourhoods...

1968. Dawn breaks over the Bedok coastline, slowly revealing the many kelongs on the horizon. As the first rays of sunlight dance upon the sea, a lone rower makes his way ashore after a night's catch, returning to the warmth of his kampong home. As light ushers in a new day, may this Deepavali bring hope, peace and joy to you and your loved ones. Wishing one and all a blessed Festival of Lights. Many thanks to Jackie Munro for usage of this 1968 photo taken by her/her family

Whenever it rains, our minds drift back to the days of our kampong in Bedok. We always knew when the rain was coming. The first drops would begin drumming on the corrugated zinc roofs, growing steadily louder as the shower swept across the kampong and reached our home. At first, the pelting rain seemed noisy and disruptive. Yet after a while, it would blend into a familiar rhythm, becoming a form of white noise that was surprisingly soothing. Few things were more therapeutic than stretching out for an afternoon snooze while listening to the rain beating gently on the zinc roof overhead. The sound became such a natural part of our lives that when we eventually moved into our HDB flat in 1974, we often did not realise it was raining outside at all – until when we happened to glance out of the window. For those of us who grew up in kampong houses with zinc roofs, the sound of rain was part of everyday life, woven into our memories of home. How many of our fellow former kampong dwell...

Many thanks to Marhamah Sapandi and Saadiah Ahmad for welcoming us into their home at 35M Jalan Greja, before it became a remnant of our memories. Posing proudly beside this display in their kampong house are Marhamah's cousins, Saadiah's sisters. As we admire their glass-fronted display cabinet, we see carefully arranged sets of Pyrex glass containers, tea sets, dinnerware and other household wares behind the sliding glass doors. Reserved for Hari Raya and other special occasions, these items were brought out only when the occasion called for them. This was truly a showcase of treasured possessions. Above the cabinet, decorative items add warmth and personality to the room. The vintage artificial floral sculptures perched on pedestal planters bring back waves of memories from the 1960s and 1970s. Then there is the wall calendar, another familiar fixture in kampong homes. Here, it features a portrait image that serves as both decoration and daily reference. Hanging ab...

Our blog has surpassed the 50,000 blog pageview milestone! And we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has joined us on this journey down memory lane. What began as an effort to document the memories of one Bedok kampong house has grown into something far more meaningful: a shared celebration of family, friendship, community, heritage and the Singapore many of us remember so fondly. To every reader, follower, contributor and supporter, thank you for your encouragement, your memories and your continued companionship on this journey. Every visit, comment, share and story contributed has helped keep a small piece of our kampong spirit alive. After all, memories only truly endure when they are shared. Once again, our heartfelt thanks!