An 85th birthday tribute

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This week a special mention goes out to a first cousin of our father and paternal aunties, who is celebrating her 85th birthday. That year 1940 saw the birth of five baby girls within the extended families, with our late paternal aunt and her among them. They grew up together at Kampong Soopoo before the move to our Bedok kampong house in 1954 and often hung out together, even with the move to Bedok. Often going to the nearby Bedok beach or even visits to the Botanical Gardens, she was close to our aunts especially, even as they grew to adulthood. Eventually she and her husband became godparents to the older of us. With their children, they were frequent visitors to our Bedok kampong house, too. Her family (now totalling almost 20) is close knit and at 85, ‘Kai Neong’ is now a great grandmother twice over. So ‘selamat hari jadi to you, panjang panjang umur’ ya!



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