Bukit Ho Swee

These are the last pictures taken at the area near Tiong Bahru Plaza. It was a place which I grew up during my teenage years. The staircase leading up to the show flat does not exist anymore.The block which I stayed in (Block 13) was situated on the very place where the show flat is. It consisted of one room apartments then.

Soon after, I took these pictures, all these Tiong bahru flats were torn down for future development.

Margaret Drive Singapore

These pictures of Margaret Drive and its market area was taken at the end of 2004. Not much changes were made to this childhood area of mine since late 1950s. It retains the old charm but sadly, this is disappearing. Soon, the whole area of Margaret Drive would be rebuilt into a modern town. a similar story that was repeated for many areas in Singapore.
My old primary school, Birkhall Primary was gone, assimilated with Queenstown Primary. The Reformative Centre, the Polyclinic, the former Margaret Drive Primary school ( we Birkhallians called Monkey-Donkey School), the former Hua Yi Govt High School and the hawker centre are still around. Gone were the low one story and four story houses.

Places to Walk in Singapore 1

This nature walk along the lush greenery at the side of BKE is more 5km long. It starts from one of the blocks at Woodlands and could end at Bukit Timah Hill. You could also branch off and stop at Bukit Panjang. Try walking at night. Most of the pathways are grass and it is not muddy even after raining. It will be very exciting at night especially when walking along the Mandai Forest and you may even meet a snake or two.

Top two pictures showed the start of the walk at Woodlands Street 2, near Marsiling MRT Station. It is all grass along the way, quite flat.

Along the way you can also balance-walk along the water pipeline. You will pass by the perimeter of the former Mandai Armour Camp and the SAF training areas. There is an abundance of fruit trees like durian, rambutans, jackfruit and bananas. At certain stretch, you would have a clear view of the BKE and its traffic.

After passing Mandai Camp, you can go under the BKE to cross over to the other side. If not you will reach the biking track which goes all the way to Bukit Timah Hill.

Guarantee you a pleasant walk and you may as well end up at the hawker centre in Bangkit Road, Bukit Panjang for a good bowl of 'bak chor mee'

Ortega Cup 2005

The Ortega Cup was revived after more than 20 years of absence. This series was started off in the 70s when RI and SJI were at the Bras Brasah area. It was an annual event, both school pitting their best teams against each other in an one-of game. Each school took turn to host the event and was considered a highlight in the sporting calendar of the two schools. The cup was donated by a member of the SJI staff, Mr Sidney Ortega.

Unfortunately, for some unknowm reasons, it was stopped in the late eighties and seemed to disappear into history until the old boys decided to revive it in 2005. In the afternoon of 25th May 2005, at the SJI ground in Malcolm Road, the oldies kicked off the series again. The bulging bodies of these old boys played their hearts out. Some of them even lasted the whole 90 minutes game.

Mr Mah Bow Tan and Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, both old boys of the school were present to witness the match and present the trophy, won finally by RI old boys, 2-1.

Quah Kim Song, Singapore's best known footballer, made a short appearance for the RI team. Fred Martins, Emran Yusoff, Marc Tan Eng Teng, Teo Liang Huat, Ling Beng Huat, Juraimi Ali, Yuan Chee Onn, Richard Pereira, etc were in the victorious team. In the SJI team, Leong Kok Fann was leading his team. Some retired teachers like Mr Hector Chee were also present. It was very nice to meet the old boys once again and relived the old days whe soccer was a major game/CCA in RI.

Let's keep this tradition flying!

Auspicium Melioris Aevi