Our Bedok Kampong House Singapore

We treated her like family. Kak Alimah, a neighbour staying in another part of our Bedok kampong was the confinement lady for our mother when she gave birth to us in 1961 and 1963. She soon evolved into our family washer woman who would come into the house daily to handle the morning washing of our laundry (handwashed in a large oval metal tub along with a wooden washboard), then have the clothes hung up to dry within our compound. Over time we became close like family. Being invited to her kampong house (very much like ours with wooden plank walls and zinc roof on concrete stilts) to attend her children’s weddings in the late 60’s and early 70’s was always a treat. Enjoying the homecooked nasi briyani (eating with our hands and then washing them with the hand washing kettle pot at the table itself was such a thrill) and taking home a nice egg cup with colourful tinsels around it was a delight for us boys. Add to that her green fingers seen in the luscious display of maidenhair fern po...

1970 – A day out from our Bedok kampong house for our families to enjoy a trip to the park at MacRitchie Reservoir. Everybody headed to the zig-zag bridge for the kids to run about and peer down to see if we can spot any fish. Of course we had to have photos taken by the giant clock, and tall distinct signages! It was an amazing trip, especially for the 5 of us cousins! 1970 at MacRitchie Reservoir - Cousins, children of our dad and his 2 sisters, and all living in the Bedok kampong house, posing at the zig-zag bridge 1970 at MacRitchie Reservoir - our parents let us run, to tire us! 1970 at MacRitchie Reservoir, taken at the giant floral clock 1970 at MacRitchie Reservoir with the unmistakable sign

This post is a special tribute to our youngest paternal aunt’s husband, Uncle Gar-lo who was a critical part of our lived-in family nucleus at our Bedok kampong house. 86 years old this year he is still full of vibrancy and life and wit! Born into a poor Cantonese family in 1938, he lived at Kampong Soopoo in Kallang where his future wife (our late aunt) also lived and that was how he got to know her, admiring her since then. His family name was Siew but ever since we were kids we only called him Uncle Gar-Lo, while all the grownups called him Gar-Lo. Recently he shared with the older of us as to how he got this nickname, which was something we never seemed to wonder, until now. The year was around 1943 or 1944 during the Japanese occupation. Poor kids like him were frequently going around topless or at times bottomless. One day, Uncle Gar-Lo and his father passed by a small troop of Japanese soldiers who took notice of this little 4 or 5 year old boy. A very anxious and worried fa...

A 1955 photo of two 15-year-old teenagers (both our future paternal aunts with one visiting) enjoying the cool breeze in the verandah of our Bedok kampong house within months of moving in. At this time the central concrete staircase was not installed yet allowing for better access to the garden. But the bamboo chick blinds, the ventilation spaces between the walls and the ceiling and the distinct lattice woodwork gave this house its definition. 1955 at the verandah

February 1972, and our father took the family from our Bedok kampong house, driving all the way to Yuan Ching Road, Jurong (no expressways then) to visit the Jurong Drive-In Cinema and watch Bruce Lee’s “The Big Boss” on the big screen in the open there. We were early so managed to play in the nearby playground, and also took snapshots at the open gallery. It was quite an exciting experience, parking on an inclined slope to view the screen, then removing the car speakers to hang onto our car doors with the windscreens down. Leaning on the car speaker stands for a photo with the huge screen behind us Posing by the seated gallery Here is our father's car a second-hand Toyota Publica Photo by NHB The Big Boss movie poster

Further to an earlier post about Bedok Hill, Mr Yeo Hong Eng, author of ‘The Little Red Cliff’ shared with me this postcard of Bedok Beach along Upper East Coast Road, most likely taken from the top of the hill. This hill is less than 2km from our Bedok kampong house. In the early 50’s our late aunt and her friends had been to this place to enjoy the beach and even climb the hill! Sad that the hill was more known to be one of the venues for the Sook Ching Massacre during World War II. The original hill is no more and the area is now occupied by Temasek Primary School but we believe remnants of the hill still exist in what is now ‘The Summit’ and surrounds. Photo of Bedok Beach along Upper East Coast Road, taken from atop Bedok Hill. Above coloured photo shared by Yeo Hong Eng from his collection, undated and source unknown. Used with permission. 1950's - Bedok Beach, likely where Upper East Coast Road is Early 1950's - Concrete stairs up the hill Early 1950's - photo taken ...

Back in the days before the advent of the dating apps, many couples were introduced to each other. Our mother met our dad through introduction via his best friend who knew our mom. So one kind deeds begats another and this time it was for our mother's youngest brother to meet his potential future wife, a friend of our cousin who lived with us at our Bedok kampong house. The year was 1973 and they first met in the kitchen of the house. It was also great the couple was captured on film in our garden! About 18 months later they tied the knot and now 50 years on, with a family and a granddaughter, we heartily congratulate the blessed couple for all the years they had together and many more happy years ahead! 1973 in the garden of our kampong house