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Neighbours - "Sa-Chan-Lau" just after the Bedok Rest House

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Located just behind/next to (depending on one’s orientation) the Bedok Rest House at our Bedok Laut kampong where the Bedok corner was, was a concrete three-storey house us fellow kampong folk called ‘Sa-chan-lau’ (3 storey building in Hokkien 三 层楼 ). Sa-chan-lau, listed as 2B Bedok Road was just next to our Indian neighbours at 4E. We walked by this place each time we left our house to go onto or return home via the main Bedok Road, and it seemed a place of mystery to us until now. Many thanks to our recent interactions with new friend and former neighbour Mrs Jackie Munro who lived in this house, we have a story to tell about this building. She and her Royal Air Force (RAF) husband moved into one of the 8 flats inside this house (believed to be owned by a Chew family) in October 1967 as newlyweds. There were 3 flats on the ground floor, 2 on the first floor (or 2 nd storey, where they lived) and 2 on the top floor or 3 rd storey (we used the British term ‘floor’ until 1983 when w...
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Kelong!

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In those days kelongs (a wooden structure in the sea a distance from shore, with wooden poles or stilts used to construct a funnel-like structure to guide the fish into the net in the centre of the kelong to be caught, then sold by the fish farmer). They were a common sight all over the Singapore coastline and for us living near the Bedok beach, it was a daily sight to behold. While we do not have a photo depicting one where we lived, here is one taken in 1959 off Katong Park at Meyer Road where our mother, her sister and her cousin posed for the camera when they made the trip there. See the kelong in the distance.. 1959 photo colourised from original black and white
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The old Upper East Coast Road coastline

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This photo of a quiet stretch of sun-soaked shoreline along Upper East Coast Road going towards Bedok corner where we lived (where the Bedok army camps are now) sees those gentle waves rolling in to shore, meeting the coconut trees swaying in rhythm and tandem with them - in a scene that invokes from within a stillness, settling our busy thoughts and racing heartbeats, giving one absolutely peace of mind, bringing us back to those lovely days gone by. Based on some investigation and AI research on Copilot the photo could have been taken between 1955 and 1962 because by 1963 the coastline would have begun to disappear due to land reclamation works. Also the red car helped in the identification and was likely a Hillman Minx Series III (1951–1956), a British car. Thanks to Mr Yeo Hong Eng for sharing this photo with us.
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House Treasures - the old Chung Khiaw Bank animal coin banks

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Like many children in the 60’s we too owned the old Chung Khiaw Bank bronze animal coin banks. It was a great way for our parents to start inculcating into us the habit of saving money. Our animals were the Frog and the Rhinoceros. We also had another smaller plastic coin box of a boy holding a large piggy bank. Just twist off the head and the coins (it is only for the smaller coins) can be retrieved. And like quite a few other grown-up, grown-old kids now, the Frog and the Rhino are still with us in our current respective homes! Juxtaposing our 1969 photo in to lend context to this post. The boy bank was taken off the internet, the background bank photo was also taken off the internet and adjusted with AI
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Walking Under The Pants!

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Our cousin, just 8 years old then told us this interesting story. In December 1958 when our paternal aunt got married, she happened to be the first one in the family to do so but at that time our father, the oldest sibling was still unmarried. There is a Chinese tradition to be followed when such a situation happens. Our mama (grandmother) instructed that the bride and groom walk under the older brother's trousers, literarily. The purpose of this ritual was to show respect to the elder brother.  We checked that the Chinese word for "trousers" sounds like the word for "wealth," so the item is also associated with bringing prosperity. The trousers are typically hung across the main door of the family home and the bride and groom had to walk underneath as they enter the house. In our case it was a pair of pyjamas our paternal aunt and Ah Tio walked under as they entered our Bedok kampong house! Our mother told us it wasn’t a brand-new pair! While we don’t have phot...
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The Mosque in our Bedok kampong

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This writer, the older of the boys was in Jakarta, Indonesia a few years ago, when he was in his early 60's. One evening back at my suburban hotel, I heard a familiar sound ringing out into the neighbourhood and it instantly brought me back to our childhood days living at our kampong house in Bedok, giving me a sense of familiarity and comfort – the sound of the call to prayers from the nearby Masjid Bedok Laut mosque. This mosque was close by within a very short walk from our house. I was informed by my Muslim friend that the calls to prayers are now only broadcasted aloud from the Sultan Mosque at North Bridge Road and not elsewhere but still audibly available via radio broadcasting five times a day. Thanks to this precious photo of the mosque (probably taken in the early 80’s after we moved out) and being able to share this by permission of the National Archives of Singapore, we are indeed grateful. Approval to reproduce was given by the NLB/National Archives upon submission req...
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1960s weddings – A Gallery of 18 beautiful couples

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A fitting way to start the new year is to honour new beginnings when a man and woman come together in holy matrimony. Here is a tribute to the beautiful wedding studio photographs from the late 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s celebrating the union of 18 of our relatives - from both maternal and paternal sides of the family - our parents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Several are no longer with us, but the love and commitment on display is everlasting and lasts for all time, and the remaining partner carries on emboldened by the love of their marriage that strongly endures still to this very day. Enjoy this gallery of 18 couples celebrating their blissful day captured in time, originally in black and white, and now brought to life in colour
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