you own the road outside your house?

talking about buying houses, i think some house owners seem to give the impression that when they buy a house, they automatically own the road space just outside their house.

my friend was trying to explain that the tyres could have been placed there by the people who live in the house opposite to this one as they may have problem reversing the car out of their driveway if a vehicle is parked at where the tyres are.

some use tyres. some use dustbins. some use broken furniture. some use heavy metal pieces. some use bricks. what else can be used to 'chope' the space?

film show in the open

(photo from national archives of singapore)


before the advent of black and white television, entertainment for the masses was not something that was readily available on a regular basis during those early kampong days. the screening of old movies and documentaries by the ministry of culture, which was awaited eagerly by the children especially, was carried out a few times a year. in spite of the inevitable breakdowns and sometimes, lengthy intervals, nobody really complained. sometimes, we would watch 'silent movie' when the sound system failed. in the dark, we would have to wait for sometime while the projector man changed the spool.

long before the projector was set up, the younger ones in the village would have taken up their positions at vantage points near the huge piece of white cloth. we had to wait until the lighting condition was right before screening began. while the majority watched the show from the front, there were some who opted to watch it on the other side of the screen. it was standing room or sitting or standing on chairs or stools.

as the show was practically at our doorstep, nobody bothered to dress up for this kind of 'outing'. we went in our singlets, pyjamas and whatever home clothes we were in. although some of the films might be re-runs, it did not really bother us as we were there more for the chance to enjoy the togetherness and the atmosphere.

the kachang puteh man, the drink seller and the other small-time hawkers would be there to cash in on the large number of people outdoors at such an occasion.

memories of balestier road

further to chun see's blog about the thomson/balestier heritage area and my exchanges with one of his ardent readers, i have decided to add a bit of what i know about balestier road.

the bottom picture shows the corner of jalan raja udang. i used to visit a former colleague who lived in the private apartment block on the other side of the road. because of an en-bloc sale, he has moved out of the place.

when anonymous/katherine mentioned that she lived above peking studio, i knew exactly where because i am familiar with that area. i started my teaching career at balestier hill integrated secondary technical school (bhists). then it changed its name to balestier hill technical school (bhts). some years after i left the school, it became balestier hill secondary school (bhss). today, the school is still around. the two primary schools - balestier hill east and balestier hill west - have become one: balestier hill primary school.

certain things have not changed. the rakyat (people's) clinic, associated with the barisan socialis political party, is still around. one of the bars, a legacy from the 70s, is also still in business. the glass merchant at the corner of irrawaddy road has not moved out yet. the bird shop, located along the same road as pegu road outpatient dispensary, is still chirping away. on the other side of balestier road, the spectacle shop and the hardware shop, nearer to the former towner road, have withstood of the challenges of the time.

the other two pictures show the newly-renovated balestier market which is no longer a market. it is now a 24-hour food court.

when it was a wet market, i hardly stepped into it and the couple of times when i did, i did not buy anything from the stalls. however, i know of an old neighbour - who used to live at jalan tenteram - who preferred to go marketing at this small wet market to the one at whampoa.

beneath the veneer of a staid facade, balestier is actually quite a colourful place. away from the old cinemas, bars, temples and makan places are private apartments where the rich and wayward men like to house their mistresses. in a way, it is like river valley road but not so upmarket. hidden among these apartments are also gambling dens and places which offered discreet massage services. i am not so sure if the massage services are still available nowadays.

i am not a cinema fan and i have not been inside a cinema for more than twenty years but i do remember going to watch some shows at hoover and ruby cinemas when i was a teenager. i also used to accompany my mother, at an unearthly hour, to pray at the tua pek kong temple on the 9th day of the lunar new year. when i had bad cough or had flu, i would visit the outpatient dispensary at pegu road. the building is still around but it is leased to some private company.

so, balestier is not just about bak kut teh, boon tong kee chicken rice, tau sar piah and durians; it offers much more.

campervan tour of new zealand

this morning, i was at bukit timah nature reserve visitors' car-park when i saw this campervan parked in one of the corner lots. took some pictures of it and found out that it belonged to a french family on a world tour. it brought back memories of our first trip to new zealand and our own small adventure in a campervan. of course, our two-seater campervan, rented from newmans, could not be compared to this luxurious iveco fiat.

the campervan that we used was actually a converted toyota hi-ace. it had a pop-up roof so as to provide more head-room. this had to be kept when the vehicle was on the move. there was a wash basin, a cooker, a fridge, a heater and a range of cooking utensils. there was a foldable table and a bed that could sleep two adults. because of the tight space, i opted to sleep under the bed. there were also curtains all around it - on the inside, of course. the water-tank which we had to top up at camp-sites, was hidden.

just before night-fall, we would try and reach the campervan site. at some of these sites, such as the one at glentanner park, there was a kitchen-cum-lounge, where we cooked our dinner and ate it around a proper dining table. powered sites charged nz$7 for an adult and half the price for a child. although it was late spring/early summer during our first visit, it was quite cold so we needed the power to run the heater.

driving a campervan did not require any special skill; it was very much like driving a bigger and heavier car. nevertheless, one had to be careful when driving it into a covered area because of the greater height of the roof. one friend got his van stuck in a covered car-park. i had a slight problem handling it in dunedin because of the many steep roads.

masked plovers @ upper seletar

i seem to be meeting not so common species of birds at upper seletar reservoir park. the last time i came across hornbills, two days ago came upon these six plovers feeding on the grassy slope facing the executive golf course at upper seletar.

"the masked plover or masked lapwing, also commonly known simply as “plover” is a medium-sized conspicuous bird with loud, penetrating calls. it is a bold bird that swoops at intruders and its apt scientific name of miles comes from the latin for soldier and refers to the spurs, which give an armed appearance.

features that distinguish the masked lapwing from other plovers are its black crown and nape separated from the mantle by a white collar; white underparts; yellow bill; bright yellow wattle that reaches well behind the eye and hangs down beside the chin; and a long and sharp wing spur."

these birds are known for their swooping actions when their youngs are still not mobile. they will attack any intruder, including human beings. sometimes, venturing into their territory called the swoop zone is enough to invite an attack.

(p.s. victor, please do not assume that i am a bird expert (ornithologist). the last time you labelled me a botany expert, now my walking kakis call me ' the boh terr ni man'.)