There was always music in our Bedok kampong house - not surprising as our late father worked at Radio Malaya since 1953 (retiring 32 years later). In December 1962 he bought this Schaub Lorenz transistor radio for the family and listening to music on the radio was a daily thing. Some of our best memories of the kampong house was due to the music that was playing at that time, cementing those moments in time for us. Remembering so clearly that first day of January 1970 and listening to this radio at the corner of the house veranda with our cousin, the Archies' Sugar Sugar went to #1 in the local Singapore charts. Later in 1971, one night Rainy Days and Mondays (by the Carpenters) was playing on this radio which was just on a tabletop just inside the bedroom window you see in the photo. I was thinking at that time (just 10 years of age), what is to stop anyone from climbing into our house here and robbing us then?
Photo taken from the original manual (still kept to this day)
Original receipt, warranty card and operating instructions (still around now) but the radio itself is gone
The Schaub Lorenz Weekend TE 203 - Photos credit from Radio.museum.org
This corner of the veranda where the cousins were listening to this song on the first evening of January 1970
The house had no fencing so anyone could just climb in - if they did it would have been a 'rainy day and monday' indeed
Here is some ‘claim to fame’ for us: In 1971, we (at aged 10 and 8 then) were thrilled to turn on our black and white TV at our Bedok kampong house to watch Mel & Joe Ferdinands compete in the RTS Talentime then. We most remembered them singing the song “I Play & Sing”. At that time, they lived further up from our place at Bedok Road at the Bedok Walk area and we took the same bus to our primary school then, St Stephen’s (at Siglap Hill). Unfortunately by the time the school bus arrived at their place, all seats were taken and they had to stand but Joe was really friendly to us and smiled mostly! (these days standing not allowed but those were the days) (photos not ours)
“What? You brought him back from the barber without him having his hair cut?”, this writer’s (the older brother) mother asked my father incredulously as he brought the by-now dried eyed little boy back from the ‘frightening’ experience at the barber’s to our Bedok kampong house. “He refused to have his hair cut, so I brought him back…” was my father’s honest reply. Babu (or Mr in Indian terms as explained by former neighbour Ronald Ho) was our preferred go-to barber for all the male-folk in the family, not the Chinese one situated a little farther along. Babu’s shop was located near (or next to) Ah Yam’s provision shop, along Bedok Road (Ah Yam's story was posted on October 16, 2024) and just where the bus stop is (now Cold Storage). He was mostly dressed in a white short sleeved shirt and had a genteel and calming way about him. He was great, but not the aura of his shop and equipment! As a little me recalled, I intensely disliked seeing the chair which had a fear aboding loo...
Each Thursday evening around 6pm, our grandmother would have someone from the household burn some kemenyan incense on a holder and carry this burner to every room and corner in our Bedok kampong house. We knew this was a spiritual practice but just recently informed by our mother that this act appeases the spirit owners of the house.... can still recall the distinct smell and incense smoke as this post is written.... 1955 photo of our Bedok kampong house with our grandmother (58 years old here) posing.. Kemenyan incense burner/holder (photo not ours)
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