Those Were The Days

This is Singpaore in the sixties and seventies.

A police station on top of a knoll. This was just beside our primary school.

A child welfare clinic - I guess what you would call a pediatric clinic nowadays, across the road from our primary school.

This was the local cinema where the locals go to watch movies.

Life was difficult in the villages, and most people lived in attap houses.

Our Friends 38 Years Ago

More photos of those years when we were in BPES....
(from Bessey's treaure chest)

Miss Wong

Behind L to R: Bessey, Annie Chai.
Front L to R : Janet, Khrisna Veni

L to R : Bessey, Khrishna, Koh Siew Eng & ?

L to R : Pushpa, Irene, Khrishna, Bessey, Maggie

BPES Class of 1970 Reunion on 8 Nov 2008

Some old photos that were flashed on the screen but had not been posted to the blog before.......

Can You identify our friends and spot the differences in them, then ( 38 years ago ) and now, when you met them on Saturday.

L to R : Peck Cheng, Ah Gek, Er Bee Lang, Mr Kanda, Tan Kim Whatt and Peter Koh.

(hope I am right about the girls' names)

Standing L to R : Gek Lee, Sum Moi, Bee Lang, ? ? Lian Huay, ? Peck Cheng, Tiang Moi, Lee Kuen, Susan Doris, ? Yan Huay, Kim Huay, Siew Eng, ? Poh Choon, Ng Mui Hua.

Front row L to R : Ah Gek, Janet, Chai Yin, ? Pushpa, Krishna Veni, Margaret, ?


Standing L to R: Ng Mui Hua, ? Susan Doris, Gek Lee, Sum Moi, Lee Yong, Poh Choon, Lian Huay, Yan Huay, Lee Kuen, Kok Phang, Kim Huay, ? ? Siew Eng, Margaret

Front row L to R: ? Janet, Ah Gek, Chai Yin, Bee Lang, Peck Cheng, Margaret, ? ?


Please help to identify the names.



Be patient.......more photos taken on Saturday night will be coming up soon.

Please Help To Identify Our Friends

Please try to fill in the ?

Front Row

Left to right
Sien Chi, Loh Nee vee, Peter Koh, Way Seng, Roy Daniel, ? , Seah Ah Foo, Lim Wee Kwang, Parathiyar, Chia Chong Lam, Tan Kim Bock, Sim Guan Huat, Ng Peng Heng

Middle Row

Left to right
Siew Eng, Ai Lay, Susan Doris, Krishna Veni, Tay Swee Hoon, Tan Ah Yong, Ang Ah Huay, Tan Kim Huay, Choon Siew, Kok Phang, Juan Ngoh, Chong Siew Eng, ? Malikah

Back Row

Left to right
Tee Chee Sun, Seezer Paulose, Sangaran, Guna, Thnay Ger Seng, Wong Choon Keong, Kim Chuan, Sim Cheng Huat, Vijayakumar, Ng Joo Meng, Bala, Chee Seng, Goon Lye Hock, Ms Mary Chong (Form teacher).

Those Were The Days ( Seezer's Story )

Classmates who left an impression

The classmates I can remember are Bala,  Parathiyar, Susan Doris, Krishnaveni, Tee Chee Seng and (Thnay Ger Seng, can't confirm if I know him from Primary school days or Secondary school days).

Yes similar with Barathiyar I was also staying in the RAF Tengah quarters. A school bus or van used to bring me to school and back. Though we were more to the poor side, my father made sure that the children go to school in school bus and he made special arrangement with the driver to take us in for the ride.


The special girl 
I believe I was the more quiet and shy type. My father's strict measures always kept me away from mixing around and even talking to girls, though I secretly wanted to especially Susan Doris.

Thank You Mr Kandasamy
I remember Mr Kandasamy, who one Saturday took me home in his car even carrying me to and from car to my house on that day as I had badly sprained my ankle in school. It showed me a different side of him as we all knew him as the fierce discipline-master.




My first and only adventure cycling to school
I remember one day, I think in PR 5 or 6 when after being dropped home in the van I realized that I may have left my library book at the waiting area at the school gate. Without telling anyone, I took out my bicycle and cycled to school from Tengah to Bukit panjang. The journey was never ending. Half way along the route I began to regret but kept going on. At the school gate I looked but couldn't find me book but had to cycle back empty handed. I never cycled to school again after that first time.

No chance to go for outings
I did not get the opportunity to go for outings and excursions as money was a problem and I guess my father did not see any good in it too.





The 1967 Flood
I also vaguely remember the school getting flooded in 1967 and we were delayed from going home etc


Anyway it is nice reminiscing all those forgotten years.

Pictures from the 60s

Some of us may be lucky enough to have been "downtown" when we were young. I am sure these pictures bring back some memories...

Those Were The Days (AL's Story)

Feast on Rambutans & Durians while Growing Up In a Fruit Plantation
I was also a kampong girl brought up in a rambutan cum durian plantation owned by my late grandmother. I can vividly remember my childhood days as having lots of rambutan, durian and mangosteen to eat during the fruit seasons. I also went catching guppies in the stream behind my house.

Shared Same School Transport with Poh Gek (Pr2 to Pr6 )
It was a private car (orange mercedes) owned by a coffee shop towkay. To fully reap benefit from his expensive asset, he collected $5 to $10 per child and packed us like sardine in his car. On one trip he could pack as many as 10 kids or more. Sometimes he would make two rounds and that explained why I was either late or too early for school as we were at his mercy. On some occasions his car would be hired as bridal car and he would give us each 5 to 10 cents to take public transport for that day. He even had the chick to tell us not to report to our parents about the temporary arrangement.


School Field
I remember our school field was full of thorns dropped from those giant trees planted near the fence, especially the part near the main road. We used to do our long jumps along that part. Remember I was pricked several times by the thorns because we were made to run bare-footed during PE and house practices. During our Pr1 sports day, Krishna Veni was very angry with me because I dropped one bean bag and had to run back to pick which caused us to lose the match.


The Unforgettable Sim Cheng Huat Again

Georgie Porgie

The boys may have better impression and opinion of him but definitely not the girls. To us, he was like a Georgie Porgie. I didn't like him because he was always ogling and teasing the girls and not paying attention to the teachers. Thank goodness he wasn't in my class in P5 and P6 except for Chinese lessons in P6. I remember him sitting sideway to look at Gek Lee instead of looking in front where the blackboard was. Poor Gek Lee, she must have been distracted. In one incident, there was an Indian boy who was always bottom in my class.( Kim Chuan could remember his name as Sangaran) He would complained to Ms Goh about what Sim Cheng Huat said to him (@#$%^&*). Ms Goh brushed him off by saying it was bad enough to say it once and worse for him to repeat it. Poor Ms Goh, but she was witty enough not to be caught between the two nuisance.

Amused by Secret Admirer
Sorry don't have puppy love stories to tell. First love was only in later part of life. But have secret admirer story to share.... After school year closed in Pr 6, two boys wrote to me. One asked me to wait at a bus-stop (didn't say which bus stop) and scribbled his name. So can't make out who. Another (or maybe the same boy) asked me to send him photos. I didn't reply and he sent me several stamps to lure me to reply. Of course I didn't as I wasn't sure what he was going to do with my photo (especially my grandma would tell us tales of black magic using photo, hair nails,etc). My father was very strict with us then, so can you imagine how securely I hid those letters away that I myself could not even remember where I kept them. It's quite amusing, come to think of it......Those were the days.

AL

Those Were The Days ( Bala's Story )

Recollections of Classmates Who Left Great Impressions - by Bala

Sim Cheng Huat Again
Think of it, I, too had hardly encountered any problems with Cheng Huat.May be as some of you have pointed out, Cheng Huat could be really a street-smart guy who seemed friendly with those who could help him.

Arm-twisting with Tee Chee Sun
Not sure you guys(from 1A to 4A) could recall Tee Chee Sun. He is a plump and prosperous looking guy and I think his father owned a pig farm or some kind of biz. I used to envy him for having the chance to eat delicious ice cream almost everyday at the end of school during P1 while waiting for his dad(private transport) to pick him up.

He tended to be abit show off and tried to demonstrate to me how strong he was and one day he twisted my arms until it really hurt. Somehow my father came to know that my arm was not OK and confronted me as to the cause. I told him what happened and the next day he turned up at school and scolded Chee Sun. Chee Sun seemed frightened
and kept on saying he was just playing with me. I felt really bad and Chee Sun since then never did such things to me again.


Found Trills in Being Driven In A Car considered as a Luxury in Those Days
Another memory I could recall is about Sien Chi, who went through an appendix operation. After his operation he was putting up at his sister's place(Ming Ming Optical) which was nearer to my place. During those times I would help him walk from the drop-off point to the class. Because of this, his brother-in-law(I think) after fetching Sien Chi  will pick me up(I think it was a red car but don't know the made) opposite the Ming Ming Optical. I was enjoying the car ride for several days with the blessing of Sien Chi. As you all know I walked to school and riding on a saloon car is a luxury.


Childhood Dream Car

Another memory I could recall was also about Sien Chi. I think it was in P3 and in one of the days when the teacher was not around, Sien Chi was looking out at the road and telling me what car it was for every car that passed by. I was so amazed with his understanding of cars that I even made up mind that if ever I owned a car I will get an Alfa Romeo as I like the name very much(don't know why).


Recollections Of Names and Faces
Roy Sivaraj was from 3B. I am very sure the boy in the photo must be Caeser Paulose(not sure if I got the spelling correct). I was wondering why Caeser was missing in the photo and now it occured to me. I met Caeser several times - during the army days in 1978 , in the bus a couple of times during the early nineties(1991 to 1993) on my way to work. I met him again at Batam Island in 2002 or 2003 & the last time in Marsiling about a year ago.( Bala's memory is fantastic, he can even recall eactly when he met a person) 

As for Lim Song Thiam(or Lim Thiam Song as per the name list), the name don't come to mind at all. If Bon Hian is right for this then I am really amazed how he could recall the names/faces of students from Class A when he was from Class B.

About Jacob
Yes I remember him and I think he was from either Class B or C. I think he did not finish his primary school with us, probably gone to India either end of Pri 3 or end of Pri 4 just like Vijayakumar from Class A.



Will get back with some more stories.
Regards
Bala

Those Were The Days ( WS's Story )

.........Cont'd

My misadventure with Gambling- by WS



Unlike the more mature young girls and boys who dated in primary schools, I don't have any juicy stories about primary schools that I can recalled to share with all of you. All I seem to remember is there was alot of gambling behind the servant's quarters and I was one of them. ( Note:Those boys didn't get away with this prohibited activity. There was a raid by Mr Kanda and Way Seng, together with the other boys, were caught and punished. WS said: "Maybe Mr Kanda saved me from becoming a bad boy. ")


Kampong Boy

Like Poh Gek, I am just a kampong boy, playing marbles, catching spiders, swimming in bomb-made swimming pool in Bukit Panjang/Gombak where MINDEF is. I also remember there was a stream with a natural water slide somewhere in Jalan Cheng Wah, where my neighbours and I used to go to. In those days, I also sneaked out and went swimming with my neighbours who were mostly BPES boys too, to Mount Emily and Farrer Park swimming pools.




Unlike the old brain can start to recall, that's all for now.

Excuse For wanting to take Viagra??

PS: Heard rumour that Viagra can make people remember better. Maybe should try!

Hello, boys, this is what happens to Pinnochio when he tells lies!

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...........more stories coming up.....

Those Were The Days ( KC's story )

..........Cont'd

Bad Encounter With Tan Boon Chong But Have Good Opinion of Sim Cheng Huat - by KC

Sim Cheng Huat (Not so notorious but unforgetable)
Somehow many of you tend to remember Sim Cheng Huat as a rascal but actually he can be a nice guy too. I remembered he was always quite friendly to me and he readily agreed to sign my autograph book too! (you saw it in the flashback video).

As for Cheng Huat, I think he had lots of "survival" skills then.  He was friendly to those whom he could copy from during tests, etc; more so to those who allowed him to copy or did not complain about it to the teachers. So, Bon,you must have been one of them.  I'm sure he scored very well whenever he copied from you !! hahaha. And now you should know why Cheng Huat was not friendly to Juan Ngoh and even threatened to "wait for her outside school"!  

Slippers Stealer
There was actually a more horrible guy by the name of Tan Boon Chong, quite tanned and stayed somewhere in Jalan Cheng Hwa area.  He liked to fight with that tall guy called Rajendran. I once had my brand new pair of slippers stolen by him on the first day I wore it to house practice.  Remember we had to leave our slippers at the foot of that big tree close to the school's main gate during house practice? My slippers disappeared after that and I had to walk bare footed all the way home! Went home and cried like mad because I really treasured all my belongings in those days. 

On the next house practice, I went earlier and was watching everyone's slippers like a hawk when I saw him coming in wearing my pair of slippers!  I confronted him immediately and he sheepishly handed them over to me. I was then quite happy that it was his turn to walk home bare footed but come to think of it, and knowing him, he could have stolen another pair of slippers on that day! Anyone lost your slippers there before ?

Boon Chong was one who did quite badly in his studies then.  I remembered he spoke more Hokkien; usually punctuated with lots of vulgarities, more so when he fights with Rajendran. 

Tee Chee Sun ( textile seller's and not pig farmer's son)
I do remember Tee Chee Sun but I thought his father owns a night market stall (the "pasar malam" of the old days). I have seen him at the stall with his father when the pasar malam was held weekly along the main road outside our place then. I think that stall sells cloth by the yards.   

Juicy Love Stories Not to be Shared
Err... but I don't have any juicy love stories to tell leh.... I only had my first girlfriend after my 'A' Level exams !! Like Bon, I also now regret that I didn't develop as fast as Sien Chi and knew nothing of such things in primary school ! You know, as I was looking through my autograph book to extract some of the pages for that flashback video, I actually told myself : "Oh my, none of the class girls wrote in my autograph book!!" haha.

KC
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Not the end yet............to be cont'd

Those Were The Days ( Bon's story )

......Cont'd

My Carefree Childhood - By Bon

Now that Janet has started sharing, I hope this will open the floodgates a bit for whoever feels like sharing or whatever we may recall from those days so many years ago ....

I actually don't remember much of my own recollections of those carefree days except for

- worrying that I don't have appropriate clothes and shoes to wear when Mr Chow invited us to those places of interests (Botanic Gardens, etc) because we were very poor then.

- how I was going to train/practice and beat Parathiyar and Leong Ding at badminton matches and how to beat Princess Elizabeth Pr School

- not studying much except for History (favourite subject)
- wondering how come not made a prefect ??

- always looking forward to School Sports day because got cakes and drinks (cold Milo, yummy) to heart's content

- having to do housework at home, including going to market for fresh produce and groceries at 11 miles Yew Tee Village area

'Almost Drowned' Experience
- remember being swept away by heavy flood water just after Roy Daniel's house while walking home. Drank some mouthfuls of water but luckily someone pulled me up. Don't know who though, a passer-by. I think another girl, Josephine (always in pony tails), was just ahead of me and suffered the same fate but was also rescued.

Familiar Faces
- There was this girl, Tiang Moi (or something like that) who lives off Woodlands Rd (opposite Lor Lompang). In the early 80's, still see she and hubby ran a chicken rice stall at  Bukit Timah Hawker Centre.
- Kept in touch with this guy, Ng Peck Hoon, who lives in Lor Lompang till early sec school. Met him again in NS somewhere, can't remember where though.

Best Friends
- Best friend then was Kian Seng. Also very close to Kim Chuan and Way Seng.


Regret Not Being Matured Enough
Looking back, was a bit regretful that I wasn't as mature as Sien Chi and didn't share in his early interest in girls. Goon-du, lah ! 


About Sim Cheng Huat and Tee Chee Sun (both not contactable but unforgettable)
I don't remember Boon Chong but I agree that Sim Cheng Huat was not that bad at all. We were actually quite good friends. Maybe, he was only 'bad' with the girls.
Recalled him,Shukor,Mohammed Ali, Way Seng sitting around edge of the well at home.
I think I remember this Tee Chee Sun person. If I am not mistaken, he lived in Lengkok Saga, further up the road from Sim Cheng Huat's house. His dad had a Volvo, I think and they sold textile/cloth. 

Goon Lye Hock lived in Stagmont Ring near 12 miles Woodlands Rd. I used to see him till early secondary school days. Now we have lost touch completely.

Rgds
Bon

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More stories coming up.................

Those Were The Days ( Janet's story )

Dear Friends of BPES

Our gathering on 7 June 2008 , according to Mr Chow... "It is just the beginning. In time, more will be connected and as we approach this stage of our lives, every time we get together we recharge one another and bring back youthfulness to all."

I agree with him wholeheartedly. However, most of us would have wanted to catch up with one another but the evening was too short for everybody to do so. Hence some of us have agreed that our individual recollections be posted to the blog for all to reminisce and to maintain our bonding. I am sure you have noticed the flooding of emails during the past week under the heading "Its payment time". Those interesting contributions have been collated for this blog...Have fun reading!
AL


My unforgettable group dating and copy cat days by Janet:

Not much juicy story to tell except that Ah Foo and I were "lamposts" to Iris & Sien Chi .. There was nothing going on between Ah Foo & Me OK! ;).. We were staying in the same neighbourhood behind the wayang stage at Coconut Hill End..

I remember Sien Chi, Iris, Ah Foo & I went swimming in one of the swimming complexes. While trying to swim, I somehow got underwater. Upon seeing all the legs dangling by the wall & hearing the howling water sound, I was really frightened . After that incident, I dared not go underwater for a long long time till adulthood... We were just trying to lend a hand to SC.. They call it group dating?

Some time when I recalled my primary school days, I felt quite embarrassed. I supposed in your mind, I was very naughty & very fierce,right? Because I was class monitress and prefect. Tell me frankly ..
(Janet was very confident. That was why she was Mr Kanda's apple and was a prefect cum monitress of Pr6A)


On one occasion I was severely caned by my mum, leaving behind "kway teow" lines all over my legs. Normally during recess time, I would play 'One-leg catching' in the quadrangle under the hot sun, bare-footed. Because of this, my feet would develop some blisters.. With all "kway teow" strokes on my legs, I was so embarrassed that I just stood against the wall outside the tuckshop during recess, thinking that no one would notice.. So silly.. haha.. Aiya.. I regretted having done all those I naughty things. But I was quite strong willed too. I was afraid of nobody as a result of all those caning.

In Pr6, I met my match, Cheng Huat! One day I saw him copying during our Chinese test. Immediately, I told the teacher aloud, "lau shi, Cheng Huat dou kan shu". He was then punished. (If I'm not mistaken, he was caned by Mr Kanda). After that, Cheng Huat threatened and warned me that he would "wait" for me outside school! I was fearful and dared not go home immediately after the bell had rung. I waited till everybody had left school, then sneaked out, looking back and forth just in case Cheng Huat pounced on me! I lived in fear for the following few days.. haha.. Somehow, he didnt take revenge on me.. Phew! Else I wouldn't be here to organise our class gathering.. :)

Well, these are some small incidents to share :)

I have got some confessions to make....but it's not what you are thinking....

I used to wonder why Bon could write English Composition so well. Whenever Mr Kanda asked me to carry English Composition books, I would always try to look through Bon's book. At times I would 'borrow' sentences and rewrite mine before SUBMITING TO Mr KANDA .. It had never occurred to me that Mr Kanda would know that I copied. :) Too Simple minded then... Mr Kanda however NEVER UTTERED A WORD to me!.. I suppose he felt that at least by copying I learnt something.. For that, I appreciate him. Thank God, I didnt get caning like Cheng Huat!

Maybe my composition did improved, thanks to you, Bon. Will buy you coffee, some time..




Janet


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PS: Akan datang, more to come......

The BPES Folk Dancers

For whatever reasons, some of us were picked to take part in folk dancing for a inter-school competition. I certainly do not remember or think it was on a volunteer basis, else having Sim Cheng Huat and our senior Tan Hoi Lee as part of the minority boys is hard to explain. Or we had more boys in the team on reserve, because I definitely remember Chee Seng on the team also.


I think the folk dancing item was the brain child of Ms Goh. She was the main choreographer of this folk dance. We practised very hard for this competition which saw us through to quarter or semi finals which was held at the old National Theatre (1969)




Whatever the reasons, it was months of hard and regular practice to the tune that is still stuck in my head today after 40 years, and friendships made that will last a life time. The National Theatre then was a grand structure located next to Van Cleef Aquarium, where Ms Chong Ai Moi also organised a class outing. Unfortunately both buildings have been torn down in the name of development and left with an empty space at the corner River Valley Rd and Clemenceau Ave. The pretty lass in the center is our babest teacher Ms Heng Huang Ngoh. Pretty Hainanese who lives in 21 Malabar Street, but will punish you by squeezing your hands with pencils in between. She must have worked in the prisons before becoming a teacher. The teacher on the extreme left is Ms Sharifah.

Miss Goh Kwan Gek

We have been wanting to contact a teacher, Miss Goh of P4A (1968). Janet through her resourcefulness, managed to trace her whereabout.

Today Janet and myself visited her. She looks quite fragile, very quiet and doesn't seem to remember much about BPES days except certain names such as Loh Sien Chi, Loh Kim Chuan (for some reasons).

She told us that after leaving BPES she went to teach a Lim Chu Kang Pr and was posted to Teck Whye Pr before she retired in 2006.

We are sorry we could not persuade her to come to our gathering on 7 June. We bade her farewell with heavy hearts as we do not really know what was on her mind. We wish her all the best.

Lucky to live in Singapore?

When Friday comes, we are often cheered by Way Seng's jokes and humor. However, as many of you may have read in this morning's papers, we need to count our blessings living on this little island free from earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami and hurricanes. Let us remember those who perished while we worry about rising electricity, petrol, and food prices. Much less political freedom. freedom of the press, Mas Selamat, bad customer service, and smelly public toilets.

At the end of the journey, one sure equalizer is that we will all have to face and be certain that it will happen is our own mortality. So let us remember and stop to smell the roses, talk to our children, call your mum, kiss your wife, take your pet for a walk, and show up at Mr Chow's birthday party. When all is said and done and more of us have time to travel, we should all go on holidays together, whether to golf or to just cruise the Yangtze and visit the 3 gorges dam.

I always remind my wife that as long in lifetime we live in a region that we don't have to experience war, famine or persecution, we are the luckiest lot compared to all our ancestors and the generations after us.

Sien Chi

The Silly things we do for Love

No I don't mean getting married, but allowing and not stopping your over friendly and over enthusiastic hair dresser HELEN from giving you a hair perm for the big day just to be different. And living the rest of your life wondering how did that happened?


Now I must apologize to everyone for being sloppy in keeping in touch with all of you during my secondary school days at Whitley, NJC, Army daze, and the years I was away studying in USA (79-82) and managed to get only a few of you to my wedding on January 26, 1985. There were no handphones or email or MSN then, and our diaspora from the Village. Just 6 digits tel #s.

Mr Chow still looks very chio then, about 37 years old, and definitely a 'To Sir With Love" heartthrob for Christchurch Secondary School girls, like he was for our BPES girls.

Can anyone recogise the rest? We are still trying to locate Gek Lee, seated 2nd from left. Next to Iris Sim, whom I was unsuccessful in wooing. She was then a Singapore Airlines cabin crew and had wings that fly away. Neo Eng Kiong is the one standing in the middle.

More Pictures from Kim Chuan's treasure chest

Me: Luo Xuan Ci a.k.a. Loh Sien Chi (Ai Lay says the naughty one)

The school flower Sim Sea Hong a.k.a. Iris Sim, my puppy love

Miss Chong with some school mates that we have not identified yet (Leftmost)