Silhouettes of times soon to be forgotten

The silhouette of a coconut tree along the shoreline at Sembawang is seen against colours painted by the setting of the sun at 7.09 pm on 22 September 2013. Coconut trees bending to the sea, once a common sight along the shoreline, are becoming less common with development which has taken away much of Singapore’s natural coastline as well as the manicuring of many of our coastal areas. The beach at Sembawang is one of the last natural beaches left on the main island and is one of the few places left in Singapore where I am still able to find bits of that wonderful Singapore I grew up in.

The area where the coconut tree is, just around the bend of Beaulieu Road leading to the jetty (we could once drive down to the jetty), is at the western end of the beach. The waters of the sea just beyond the little stretch of beach and rocks just below the tree was where, on the many nights I spent at the jetty fishing for crabs, I would had have a grand time in catching scooping pufferfish out of the waters and watching them inflate in the 1970s and early 1980s. The area is in the midst of change with both luxury residential housing just to the east of the beach and public housing developments fast coming up which will alter the area’s character. Another change which is imminent is the moving of the shipyard – a finger pier with its cranes and ships and floating docks moored along it is also seen in the photograph. The shipyard, Sembawang Shipyard, is a remnant of what was once a huge British naval base (the yard was the former naval dockyard)  which stretched all the way to the Causeway.

A world apart

A look down Orchard Road at its junction with Killiney Road close to 40 years apart. The view in 1975 was dominated by the towering Mandarin Hotel which opened in 1971, but it was probably Cold Storage, the longest established supermarket in Singapore, which would have served as a landmark. Across the road from the Cold Storage was what became known later as “Gluttons’ Square”, a car park which would be transformed as night fell, into a sea of pushcarts, tables and stools – a food lovers’ paradise of local hawker fare which was popular with many. The area did in fact feature more than just the car park, but also across Cuppage Road from Cold Storage – with many popular hawker stalls found around the old Orchard Road Market area at Koek Road and Koek Lane.

The junction of Orchard Road and Killiney Road some 4 decades apart, as seen in 1975 and today (source of 1975 photograph: Ray Tyers’ Singapore Then & Now).

Another landmark in the area was of course the Specialists’ Shopping Centre which opened in 1972. That housed the main outlet of a retail institution, Robinson’s, after a huge fire on 21 November 1972 had destroyed its main premises. Intending initially to open a branch on a single floor at the Specialists’ Centre in late 1972 / early 1973, the long established departmental store opened on two floors on 11 December 1972. The Specialist Centre Robinson’s would be remembered for the St. Michael’s (a brand name used by Marks and Spencer’s) outlet within it on the ground floor which was popular particularly for its biscuits.

The old Cold Storage on Orchard Road.

The area now sees huge developments taking place, dominated by new shopping malls such as Orchard Central and 313 @ Somerset. One that isn’t completed which will certainly add to the clutter will be Orchard Gateway which will straddle Orchard Road with a tubular glass pedestrian link bridge between its two parts positioned diagonally across from each other.

The stretch now sees many new retail developments such as Orchard Central on the left and under construction Orchard Gateway with its link bridge which will further alter the area’s flavour.

Orchard Central as seen at the corner of Orchard and Killiney Roads.

The competition from the new malls has also seen one which has seen its popularity wane in its three decades of existence. Centrepoint, to which Robinson’s moved its fashion departments into in June 1983 – which then became its flagship store after it shut down its outlets (including John Little’s keeping only the St. Michael’s outlet) at Specialists’ Centre in June 1984, underwent a recent makeover. It will soon also see its anchor tenant moving out – Robinson’s has announced it would be moving to The Heeren next year, ending what will be a 30 year association with Centrepoint.

One side of Orchard Gateway with part of the link bridge. The conserved shophouse seen below it is fronting Orchard Road where a new Singapore Visitors’ Centre will open.

The changes that are taking place, are ones which will render the area unrecognisable even from what it would have been like a decade ago. For me, however, it will always be the gentler times of four decades past I am taken back to, times of the old Cold Storage with its deli counter which never failed to interest me – times when our shopping went into brown paper bags and used cartons rather than in the non environmentally friendly plastic bags we use too much of these days. They were also times when not only having a malted milkshake in the cool comfort of the vinegar scented air of the Magnolia Snack Bar was as much a treat as a bowl of beef noodles at Koek Lane or a plate of oyster omelette at the car park would have been. It is that simpler world I often wish I can return to, a world unlike the one I find myself in today in which the a lot more than we have does somehow seem like a lot less.

A sunrise from Ghost Island

A view of the rising of the sun at 7.25 am on 24 September 2013, looking across Keppel Harbour from Keppel Island. Keppel Island before 1983, was named Pulau Hantu or “Ghost Island” and was renamed when Keppel Shipyard started development of shipyard facilities on the island which was obtained in exchange for two graving docks, the Victoria and Albert Docks, which were transferred to the Port of Singapore Authority for development of the Tanjong Pagar Wharves. The island where the Marina @ Keppel Bay is now located, is now linked to the mainland by a cable-stayed bridge, the Keppel Bay Bridge (on the left of the photograph). The bridge, opened in early 2008, is said to be the longest in Singapore with a span of 250 metres. The bridge and marina are part of a luxury waterfront development taking place in what was formerly land occupied by Keppel Shipyard. More information on the shipyard, the historic graving docks it operated in the area and the developments taking place can be found in two previous entries: A sunrise on another strange horizon and The King that lost its glory.

More information on Keppel Bay Bridge can also be found at Keppel Corporation’s website (click on this link).

Light after dark (Lower Peirce on the rocks)

Twilight, 7.33 pm 21 September 2013.

Singapore landscapes: the view up north

In a Singapore which becoming increasingly dominated by towering blocks of concrete, it a always refreshing to be able to take in landscapes such as the one in this photograph. Landscapes such as this take us back to a time when we were truly a city in a garden, well before our urban planners decided to use that phrase to describe the vision of the next phase in the greening of Singapore.  Such landscapes, are to me, escapes which provide a sense of space we now lack in a Singapore that has become too cluttered. They are unfortunately fast being replaced in an overcrowded city state caught not just in a frenzy of urbanisation, but also of urbanising open spaces.

The photograph was taken in an area where the natural undulations which shaped much of the terrain around it have until now been preserved by what became of the land around it. The area was at the turn of the last century, one of plantations. The plantations made way when the land was acquired for the development of the huge naval base along the northern coastline in the late 1920s to the end of the 1930s. While the part of the area seen in the photograph is not under immediate threat of development, it is one which does see many developments coming up around it, developments which will certainly alter an area still rich in charm and character. A huge change to it will possibly come when the nearby shipyard shuts its operations (as has been identified in the Ministry of National Development Land Use Plan issued earlier this year) freeing “new waterfront land” along the Sembawang coastline (see also A Final Frontier).

The skateboard ban of 1978

Passing by Somerset Skate Park and watching a skateboarder in action, I was reminded of a time when skateboards first made an appearance in Singapore some three and a half decades or so in early 1976. Then, there were no skate parks catering to skateboarders to speak of and many would take to footpaths and even the streets. This was until a ban was imposed on skateboarding in public places including parks and void decks in May 1978 when I was in Secondary 2 – with the police warning that they would not hesitate to prosecute anyone caught as skateboarding was thought to be not just a nuisance, but also a dangerous activity. With a rink in Sentosa which had been popular with skateboarders (it was also possible to rent skateboards there) deciding to also close their doors to skateboarders not long after that, many skateboarders had to turn to secluded spots. One such spot was right at the top of Fort Canning Hill – there was actually a underused roller skating rink built in the clearing by Fort Gate which did become quite popular with skateboarders.

Over time, skateboarding did start to gain acceptance as a pursuit with several community centres offering courses, with a even a display of it during Chingay in 1989. There are today several skate parks to skateboard in including the one at Somerset which was opened in 2006.

Sunrise over a crossroad

6.51am 9 September 2013. Rays of the rising sun stream over a part of Singapore which will very soon change. The area at the crossroads of Sembawang Road and Canberra Link will see new Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats coming up, their completion estimated around late 2016, early 2017.

Now you can get yourself printed in 3D

It does seem as if there is no limit to what is possible with technology these days and it is now possible to get yourself printed in three dimensions! The 3D scanning and printing technology already widely employed in industrial uses such as rapid prototyping now sees itself being used to create life-like figurines with sufficient detail to “immortalise” a person in 3D.

A 3D ‘print’ of model Rebecca Tan on display at the Uu 3D studio.

Now, for a limited time, you can get a 3D figurine of yourself created right here in Singapore at the Uu 3D studio in Scotts Square, where you can get yourself scanned in just 30 minutes. The studio is a collaboration between a home grown creative agency, Kinetic Singapore and Mikanbako, a 3D imaging studio from Japan, with Scotts Square acting as the venue sponsor.

And one of celebrity hairstylist David Gan.

The cutting edge scanning equipment and software employed, the latest from Japan, allows an amazing degree of detail to be captured. It takes six scans of five minutes each to capture sufficient detail. The data will then be sent to Mikanbako’s lab in Japan for processing and printing which due to the complex nature of the processes will require a wait of three months from the scan for the customer to receive the figurine. The data collected I understand will be erased after 6 months.

Figurines of Kinetic co-found Pann Lim and his family – the brick being s symbol of family unity.

Figurines can be ordered in 3 sizes – small (15 cm) costing S$850, medium (20 cm) costing S$1,000 and large (25 cm) costing S$1,500. The Uu studio will be opened from 21 September to 6 October 2013, from 10 am to 10 pm and is located at #01-06/07 Scotts Square. More information can be found at https://uu.com.sg and also on the Facebook page.

The figurines can be ordered in 3 sizes – the extra small sized one seen is only available with an order for a larger figurine.

Staff of Kinetic Singapore.

CEO of Mikanbako, Wataru Hida doing a demonstration of the scanning process.

The data being captured by the software.

A light where there was only darkness: The Changi Murals

It was an air of quiet calm that greeted me as I stepped into a room where the ghosts of a time we may otherwise have forgotten continue to haunt us. The room, bathed in the glow of light painted gold by the ochre of the walls the light reflected off, seemed to extend a warm welcome which it would have in the cold dark days when it offered hope when there might only have been despair.

The Chapel of St. Luke on the ground floor of Block 151.

The room, converted into the makeshift Chapel of St. Luke (dedicated to St. Luke the physician) during the Japanese Occupation, was where a Prisoner-of-War (POW) by the name of Stanley Warren who held the rank of Bombardier in the Royal Artillery, weakened by a severe bout of renal disorder and dysentery, drew on whatever reserves he had left in strength, to decorate, remarkably, two of the chapel’s walls with five paintings of biblical scenes from the New Testament which along with the chapel became a light in the darkness of days uncertain.

The chapel and murals were a light in the darkness of captivity for prisoners during the dark days of World War II.

The chapel which occupies a room in what was Barrack Block 151 in Roberts Barracks, which together with the neighbouring barracks and nearby Changi Prison became an extended gaol that the Japanese forces used to hold the large numbers of POWs they held. Block 151 was made part of the gaol’s hospital becoming part of a dysentery wing which included several other surrounding buildings.

Block 151 is one of a few structures from WWII which remain in the area.

Another view of Block 151.

Even if not for the weakened state of the painter, putting the paintings we now know as the ‘Changi Murals’ on the walls would have required an incredible effort. Based on information provided by the expert guide Mr. Vickna, we were told of how paints, pigments and even brushes were in extremely short supply, and they had to be procured through whatever means available – some which may have even put the men involved at risk.

A photograph of the late Stanley Warren who passed away in 1992.

There was also a huge degree of improvisation involved – the colour blue for example, was obtained from crushing chalk used on billiard cues.

A map of the POW camp sketched by Stanley Warren.

Too ill to be sent to work on the Death Railway in Siam, which he is said to have said probably saved his life, Warren found himself recuperating in a ward above the chapel in 1942, Warren and many around him drew on the comfort provided by what could be heard of the strains of Merbecke’s arrangement of the Litany being sung in the chapel.

Mr Vickna the guide.

It was hearing the voices in song throughout his slow recovery which was to serve as an inspiration for Warren who was approached by the chaplain who knew of his artistic background to decorate the makeshift chapel. He struggled through the first, The Nativity, for over two months, managing to complete it in time for Christmas in 1942. Warren was to complete four more works – the last, a mural of St. Luke in Prison, was completed in May 1943.

The Nativity was the first mural painted. On a copy painted on a wallboard in 1963, Warren painted an albatross in place of the horse’s head.

A feature of the murals is how Warren also used it depict what he did see around him – many of the faces were those of his fellow POWs and in the third mural, The Crucifixion, which I thought was the most moving, we do also see slaves dressed in loincloths in the same way the men around him were dressed in their rags. The words found above the mural “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” were we were told also a reference to his captors and the slaves crucifying Christ being the “slaves” many of his captors were to authority.

The Ascension – the second mural.

The murals were initially thought to have been destroyed – the Japanese later converted the room into a storeroom and were thought to have broken down walls as well as painting over the remaining murals. They were thought to have been discovered by Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel in 1958 and a search was made through the press in the UK for the painter – the name Stanley Warren cropping up only when a short description of the chapel and a reference to the murals was found in a book “The Churches of Captivity in Malaya”, which was discovered in the Far East Air Force Educational Library in Changi.

The Crucifixion, the third mural which was partly damaged by a doorway made in the wall – the evidence of which can still be seen.

Then an art teacher in London, Warren was invited to restore the murals, first refusing to do so on the fear of having to confront the demons of the dark days in which he executed the work. He did eventually return after much soul searching – first just before Christmas in 1963, and then again in 1982 and 1988. One of the murals does remain unrestored – the last, the lower part of which was destroyed when the wall was knocked down by the Japanese.

The Last Supper – the fourth mural.

It was one for which Warren did not have a copy of his original sketch of (which was found in the possession of a fellow prisoner later in 1985), and decided to leave what remains of in its original condition. Warren did paint a copy of it, a photograph of which can be seen below the mural in which he replaced one of the figures he orginally painted.

The unrestored upper portion of the fifth mural, St. Luke in Prison.

The Crucifixion is also one which was partly destroyed when a doorway was made in the wall – the evidence of which can still be seen.

A copy of the fifth mural which Warren painted.

Another interesting fact was one that we did learn about The Nativity mural – it was thought to have been destroyed and a copy was painted on a wallboard which was eventually removed by the RAF. The copy was one on which Warren replaced the head of the horse found on the original work with an albatross to as a symbol of flying men of the RAF which was using the barracks at the time. A part the original mural – that of the horse’s head, was found by one of the boys from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Boys School (which occupied the building in the 1980s) tasked with helping Warren to restore the murals in 1982.

A view of the chapel.

The work, which is said to have offered solace and hope to the many prisoners who used the chapel, is today a reminder not just of a event we should never again want to find ourselves confronting, but also one of the triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity. The building which houses the chapel, lies today in a restricted area within the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) Changi Air Base (West) and I am grateful to MINDEF’s NS Policy Department and the RSAF for the opportunity to be moved by the murals in its original setting. A copy of the murals to which members of the public have access to, can be found in the Changi Museum.

The chapel offered hope where there seemed to have been none.

Mr Vickna speaking about The Ascension.

The corridor outside the chapel.

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Information on Stanley Warren and the Changi Murals

• Infopedia on the Changi Murals
• Infopedia on Stanley Warren
• Detailed information on the Changi Murals

• The Royal Anglian & Royal Lincolnshire Regimental Association *

• Australian War Memorial Site on the Changi Murals

* with photographs of it in the condition it when it was originally uncovered

The lost waterfront

The former waterfront at Collyer Quay is certainly one place which exemplifies how Singapore has transformed over the years, discarding much of what made Singapore a Singapore which was full of character and flavour, to the sea of glass, steel and concrete Singapore has become today.

The waterfront we inherited from our colonial masters was one of wonderfully designed buildings which might have rivaled Shanghai’s Bund. Even in 1971 after the Overseas Union Shopping Centre (see image above) did spoil some of that flavour, it still retained much of its original character. Then, the three “skyscrapers” that came up in the 1950s: the modern looking 15 storey Shell House (1959); the Bank of China Building (1954); and the Asia Insurance Building (1954) (out of picture), still dominated. It was however the grand looking edifices – several of them attributed to architecture firm Swan and MacLaren which designed many notable buildings from our past, which would have been noticed. This included the Maritime Building (former Union Building) with its tower and the HongKong Bank Chambers (1924) next to it. The Fullerton Building (1928) which housed the General Post Office also wouldn’t have been missed.

The beginning of the end for the old waterfront came at the end of the decade with the demolition of the HongKong Bank building notable not just for its English Renaissance style design, but also for its stained glass skylight over its main banking hall and huge bronze entrance doors, in 1979. The Maritime Building, built originally for the Union Insurance Society of Canton and which once housed the Far East headquarters of the Royal Air Force, soon followed in the early 1980s. What we do see today is a towering skyline of glass and steel against which the surviving “skyscrapers” of the 1950s are now dwarfed. The buildings along old waterfront which did survive are the Fullerton Building (Fullerton Hotel), Clifford Pier (part of Fullerton Bay Hotel), Bank of China Building, Customs House, and the Asia Insurance Building (Ascott Raffles Place).

A big stink (but a welcome one) hits the Gardens

The very first successful hybrid of the so-called ‘Corpse Flower’, the Amorphophallus titanum and the Amorphophallus variabilis, the Amorphophallus ‘John Tan’ – being seen for the first time in Singapore, has bloomed and now on display at the Cloud Forest, one of the two cooled conservatories in the Gardens by the Bay.

The Corpse Flower, which is native to Sumatra and grows at 120 to 365 metres above sea level, is so-named for the foul smell it emits which is similar to the smell of decaying meat. The hybrid is attributed to Ralph D. Mangelsdorff who was successful in crossing the seed parent plant of the Amorphophallus variabilis, which grows at 700 to 900 metres above sea level in Indonesia and the Philippines, with the pollen parent plant of the Amorphophallus titanum. The flower of the Amorphophallus variabilis produces a durian-like smell to attract pollinators.

The Amorphophallus ‘John Tan’ on display, the blooming of which is unpredictable, stands at 205 cm and is named after a Singaporean, John Tan Jiew Hoe, for his support of the Amorphophallus hybridisation programme. The 5.9 kg tuber was donated by John Tan to the Gardens by the Bay on 27 August 2013. The bloom is expected to last for only two days and for the very rare opportunity to view it, the Gardens by the Bay is offering 15% discount off standard rate single conservatory tickets on 18 and 19 September 2013. The conservatory is opened from 9 am to 11 pm on both days (I did not quite get a smell – but I was told it is stronger in the evenings).

The ‘sunken temple’ of Toa Payoh

A curious sight that greeted anyone travelling down Lorong 6 close to the Temple / Kim Keat Estate area of Toa Payoh in its early days and one I well remember was a temple that at road level, appeared to be have buried in the ground. The temple, Poh Tiong Keng 普忠宫 (Pu Zhong Gong), which I would refer to as the ‘sunken temple’, was one which went back to the village origins of the area, well before the towering public housing blocks of flats arrived.

The only photograph I have managed to find of the Poh Tien Keong with Block 33 seen behind it (online photograph at http://aliciapatterson.org/stories/aged-singapore-veneration-collides-20th-century).

The area where the ‘Poh Tien Keong was as seen today.

The Block 33 view of the area where the ‘sunken temple’ was.

Set in what would have been an undulating area, the levelling of the surrounding ground to put up blocks of flats in the late 1960s, it found itself in a hole in the ground with the 11 storey block 33 towering above it, surrounded by retaining walls put up by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to protect the temple from being buried. The temple was one of three existing temples which were left untouched by the HDB in clearing the land in the area for the development of the new housing estate. The other two were the Siong Lim Temple and the  Seu Teck Sean Temple.

The temple finding itself in a hole in the ground as work on the new public housing estate of Toa Payoh was being carried out in 1968 (Source: online catalogue of the National Archives of Singapore http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/).

Another photograph taken during the development of Toa Payoh in 1968 (Source: online catalogue of the National Archives of Singapore http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/).

Sadly the sight is one we no longer see. The temple was demolished in late 1977, not long after I moved out of Toa Payoh. The area where the temple was will now also see a huge change – the block of flats behind where the temple was along with several others in the area – some of which were leased out temporarily to Resorts World Sentosa to house their workers after residents were moved out, are due to be demolished (one of the blocks which will be demolished is Block 28, in front of which the iconic dragon of  Toa Payoh can be found).

The hole in the ground after the temple was demolished in 1977 (Source: online catalogue of the National Archives of Singapore http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/)

A last look around Block 33

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Afternote:

It has been brought to my attention that the Poh Tiong Beo (普忠庙) located diagonally across the road from this site was built to replace the ‘sunken temple’ as drainage was poor in the recess the original temple sat in and that would get flooded everytime it rained heavily.

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Growing up too soon in Bangkok?

A very young child “minding” a food stall at a market found along the busy Asok Montri Road (photograph taken in October 2011).

The glow in the park

The Mid-Autumn festival is one which always provides a burst of colour to light the evening up. The glow from a burst of colour which is definitely worth being bathed in is the sea of lights found at one of Singapore’s latest and most popular attractions, the Gardens by the Bay which plays host to a magical display of light and colour in the form of hand-crafted lanterns from 13 to 22 September at Mid-Autumn Festival @ The Gardens 2013.

Being bathed by the glow in the park.

The display in the outdoor gardens and The Meadow is free and is arranged around several themes which include Jurassic Park, the World of Fairy Tales and zodiac signs. During Mid-Autumn Festival @ The Gardens 2013, which is organised by Chinese Newspapers Division of Singapore Press Holdings, People’s Association and Gardens by the Bay also sees various fringe activities such as stage performances, competitions and exhibitions.

There is food glorious food to also look out for at Asian Food Street at The Meadow with delicacies from China, Taiwan and Singapore on offer, including those brought in by the China Hainan Provincial Committee. The committee will be at the event to showcase the Hainan region’s specialties which also include dance and music performances and the sale of handicrafts. The performances can be caught from 6 to 11 pm on Monday to Friday; and 3 to 11 pm on Saturday and Sunday during the event period. There will also be fundraising activities held, the proceeds of which will go to President’s Challenge 2013. The fund raising activities include the release of water and sky lanterns and a one-day Family Fun Walk.

Release of water ‘Loi Krathong’ lanterns.

Another highlight to look forward to is the new Mid-Autumn themed floral display in the Flower Dome. This see three dragonfly lanterns perched over a field coloured by “lantern flowers” such as Begonias and autumn-blooms like Chrysanthemums, Astilbes and Celosias.

A dragonfly lantern in the Flower Field of the Flower Dome.

For Mid-Autumn Festival @ The Gardens 2013 there will be an extension of operating hours as well as a 15% discount on admission tickets to the conservatories. The discounts are applicable on the prevailing Standard and Local Resident admission rates only and applies only to tickets purchased at on-site Ticketing Counters. Discounts are limited to 4 tickets purchased during each transaction and does not include OCBC Skyway and Garden Cruiser. The extension of opening hours applies to the two conservatories and OCBC Skyway which will be opened from 9 am to 11 pm (last ticket sale 10 pm / last admission 10.30pm) from 13 to 22 September with the operating hours for selected F&B outlets in the Gardens also extended.

A Snap & Win! Instagram photo contest will be held in conjunction with the event with 3 winners walking away with Gardens by the Bay memorabilia gift packages worth $50. To participate, visitors can upload photos of the Mid-Autumn celebrations at Gardens by the Bay on their Instagram account with the hashtags #midautumnatgb and #gardensbythebay.

For me, one of the highlights is an installation put up by Keppel Club at the Supertree Grove – the 3D Pandora Exhibitions which requires 3D glasses to be worn. This is opened from 6 to 11 pm on Monday to Friday and 3 to 11 pm on Saturday and Sunday and involves props made out of recycled materials. More information on this and the whole big glow in the park can be found at the Gardens by the Bay’s website.

Look Ma, I have three toes!

Through the 3D Pandora Exhibition.

50 years ago on 16 September 1963

50 years ago on 16 September 1963, Singapore together with the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak, became a part of Malaysia. For Singapore, it was a union which lasted less than two years – with Singapore separating from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. The date, is celebrated as Hari Malaysia or Malaysia Day by our northern neighbours.

(Photo: National Archives online catalogue http://a2o.nas.sg/picas/)

Straits Times News articles on 16 September 1963:

The Straits Times front page

It’s here (Tengku Abdul Rahman’s Malaysia Day Message)

And the winner of the ICON Martell de Cordon Bleu 2013 is …

The winner of the coveted ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu 2013 was announced at an award ceremony at the Chan Hampe Galleries last evening. The evening belonged to the young but highly regarded Sarah Choo who picked up the top prize which carries a cash prize of $30,000. Along with the top prize, two Discernment Awards each worth $8,000 were also given out, with Sim Chi Yin and Darren Soh picking them up. A Eternal Discovery Award worth $1,000 plus a bottle of Martell Cordon Bleu was also presented to Sim Chi Yin for having the most number of public online votes.

Sarah Choo speaking after receiving the award.

The award which recognises the top photographer in Singapore, is one which is decided on by a jury made up of both international and local members presided by Madame Agnes de Gouvion Saint-Cyr Sarah, a photography curator. Also on the jury is Mr Gueorgui Pinkhassov, a Magnum Photographer; Ms Emmeline Yong, Partner, Objetcifs Centre for Photography and Filmmaking; Mr Venka Purushothaman, Provost, LASALLE College of the Arts; and Ms Charmaine Leung, Marketing Director, Pernod Ricard, Singapore.

Sim Chi Yin and Darren Soh who picked up the Discernment Awards.

Speaking at the ceremony, Madame de Gouvion Saint-Cyr explained the decision which was made by the jury after a long debate. It was felt that Sarah Choo’s works “masterfully addresses the theme of solitude with her multidisciplinary approach of photography.” She also added that Sarah’s series on teenagers suffering from anorexia and eating disorders, work which she is not able to show publicly out of respect of privacy for those she photographed, “displays a very accurate use of the photographic medium based on strong pictorial know-how such as a sense of composition, framing and the use of light”.

Madame Agnes de Gouvion Saint-Cyr.

Besides the cash prize, the winner Sarah Choo also wins an organised trip to a photography festival of her choice in France which will present her with an opportunity to network with galleries, curators and agents based in Europe.

The winners with the members of the jury.

Cognac and photography at its best

The annual ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu season brings with it not just great photography by some of the best practitioners of the art but also opportunities to indulge in some of the cognacs the oldest of the great cognac houses has on offer. I had the opportunity this year to attend a tasting session at the Chan Hampe Galleries during which I got to sample four different cognacs in Martell’s range, learn a bit more about the cognacs themselves, as well some interesting notes on the design of the bottles. There was also a chance to hear from two of this year’s nominees for the prestigious award (the results of which will be announced this evening), Darren Soh whose work on changing landscapes I can identify with, and Sim Chi Yin – who is my personal favourite for the award, present their works.

The cognacs that were served during the tasting session were the Martell Cordon Bleu, Martell XO, Martell Chanteloup Perspective, and Martell Création Grand Extra, all of which (particularly the last) I am given to understand goes very well with chocolate (who can resist that combination – and I had to miss the chocolate tasting session the next evening)!

Cognacs on offer at the tasting session: Martell Cordon Bleu (single bottle), Martell XO (left), Martell Chanteloup Perspective (middle at the back), and Martell Création Grand Extra (right).

What I did first find out about cognacs are they are made from white wine produced from grapes grown in the Cognac region: Borderies, Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne and Fins bois. The wine or eau-de-vie is twice distilled twice before being aged in oak casks. Cognacs also are a blend of several vintages and of eau-de-vie made from grapes from different cultivation areas giving each blend a unique flavour which does make it a challenging task being a cellar master.

Of the four on offer, the blend that I did enjoy the most was the Martell Création Grand Extra.  I can’t (and probably don’t want to) admit to knowing what I am talking about when it comes to tasting cognac, so the tasting notes I received on the four do come in handy:

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Martell Cordon Bleu

Martell Cordon Bleu is the cognac for true connoisseurs and has acquired legendary status since its creation by Edouard Martell in 1912. Its distinctive taste, characterised by a predominance of eaux-de-vie from the Borderies growth area, and its timeless bottle design make it a classic unequalled in the world of cognac.

Martell Cordon Bleu Tasting Notes

Elegance and aromatic richness. Explosion of fruity and spicy notes. Rich in mouth.

Aspect:

• •Deep, golden copper

Nose:

• •Orchard fruits: crystallised plums and apples
• Roasted notes: mocha coffee, toasted almonds, vetiver
• •Rich spice aromas: cinnamon, orange tree flower, honey and beeswax

 Mouthfeel:

•  Well rounded mellowness•
• Sustained finish with fruit and spice notes•
• The preponderance of Borderies eaux-de-vie gives Martell Cordon Bleu an elegant, mellow and complex character

 Serving:

• Ideal for special occassions. Best enjoyed near or with a splash of water.

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About Martell XO

With its distinctive arch-shaped bottle, Martell XO is a powerful symbol of vision and inspiration, which is a testimony to Jean Martell’s will to connect the best of things. A unique combination of the elegance of the Borderies and the power of the Grande Champagne, Martell XO is an outstanding XO which bears the hallmark of the Martell style.

Martell XO Tasting Notes

More secret on the nose. Starting with the elegance of the Borderies, then followed by the intensity of “Champagnes” eaux-de-vies. Long after taste.

Aspect:

• • Golden amber with dark copper and mahogany highlights

Nose:

• Ground spice (black pepper, coriander) and red berries
• Rich fruit flavours: fig chutney and compote, almonds and walnuts
• Beeswax and sandalwood

Mouthfeel:

• Rounded and fruity on the palate (notes of fig and walnut) followed by the characteristic power and finesse of eaux-de-vie from Grande Champagne
• A long and silken finish

Serving:

• Ideal for special occasions. Best enjoyed neat or with a splash of water

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About Martell Chanteloup Perspective

Martell Chanteloup Perspective is an invitation to pass through the gates, to enter within the secret Chais of Chanteloup, where precious eaux-de-vie lie.

It is also a tribute of a cellar master to a specific place: the belvedere which leads to the Chais de Chanteloup, which offers a magnificient perspective that has inspired each and every generation of Martell Cellar Masters.

Martell Chanteloup Perspective is an extra-old cognac that has recently joined the ultra prestige quality segment of Martell.

Martell Chanteloup Perspective Tasting Notes

A nose specially complex and characterised by riched honey notes. Complex and fruity notes. Longer after taste.

Aspect:

• Amber hue that catches the light

Nose:

• •Fresh stone fruit aromas: peach, apricot
• Crystallised fruit: figs•
• Dried fruit: raisins, almonds and other nuts

Mouthfeel:

• •An aromatic impression remarkable for the depth of its fruits.
• The rounded, balance tenor of these aromas joined with the structure, elegance and power that yield a long, ingering finish in the mouth

Serving:

• A cognac to enjoy neat for a unique and special occasion

The unique grill gate on the Martell Chanteloup Perspective was inspired by the gates to the Chais of Chanteloup and a tribute to a cellar master.

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About Martell Création Grand Extra

With its unique architectural arch-shaped decanter created by famous French design Serge Mansau, Martell Création Grand Extra is a tribute to the creative spirit of the Martell house. At its heart is a powerfully built blend made of a marriage of the fresh and fruity notes from the Borderies with the subtle, spicy notes of aged Grande Champagne eaux-de-vie.

Martell Création Grand Extra Tasting Notes

Powerful and intense aromatic architecture. Good length in mouth.

Aspect:

• Amber topaz, catching and reflecting the light as it glows.

Nose:

• •Compote and jam: lemon and orange peel and dark-red plum.
• •Exotic riches: cocoa beans and strong, dark chocolate, vanilla pod.
• •Woody, spiced notes: curry paste, rancio and amber leather.

Mouthfeel:

• •Silky-smooth attack
• •Mellow mid-palate
• •Powerful and unique finish, its duration punctuated by woody and spiced notes.

Serving:

• •A cognac to savour neat, for a unique tasting experience

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Photographs from the event:

Sim Chi Yin.

Darren Soh.

Don’t miss the boat

A bumboat sits high and dry, resting on a bed of sand in Pasir Ris, seemingly out of place in a sea not of water, but one of the concrete structures which now dominate much of Singapore’s suburban landscape. The boat is itself made of concrete, built not to carry the loads that the wooden vessels it is modelled after over water, but to provide a place where children of the neighbourhood it finds itself in can find amusement.

The bumboat of Pasir Ris.

The boat, designed to resemble the bumboats or twakows – the workhorses of the once busy Singapore River, is one of several unique playground designs that hail from a time we seem to have forgotten. It was a time during which the Housing and Development Board (HDB) had a department within their Landscape Studios, dedicated to developing playground designs to complement the landscape of the public housing estates that were fast coming up, during which several notable playground designs were developed.

The starboard side.

The efforts go back to the mid-1970s, when Mr Khor Ean Ghee designed the original dragon (playground) of Toa Payoh. That stood in a pit of sand at Toa Payoh Town Garden. This design was to serve as a basis for the sand-pit mosaic-faced dragons, pelicans, doves, elephants and spiders which would have been a familiar sight to the child of the late 1970s, the 1980s and perhaps the 1990s, with a vast number built together with the huge second public housing building wave which started in the mid-1970s which was to see the monster estates such as Ang Mo Kio, Bedok and Clementi being built. Several of these playgrounds were also installed in the older estates, of which a few are left. One is the orange dragon of Block 28 Toa Payoh and another, the last dove standing at Dakota Crescent.

Climbing the dragon at Toa Payoh Town Garden, 1975.

Moving into Ang Mo Kio in the late 1970s, it was the pelican that I encountered not far from where I lived in Block 306. These playgrounds also marked a shift in playground layout. Whereas the ones I played on in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many with tubular steel structures on a hard concrete ground, were set expansively such that children playing seemed to have no boundaries, the new designs were a lot more compact sets of concrete with terrazzo and mosaic finishes placed in a a raised pit of sand, had well defined boundaries. Perhaps I had by the time outgrown playing at the playground, but having spent most of my childhood climbing on metal waves and globes, swinging from swings suspended by long lengths of chains, and sliding down high steel slides, the new playgrounds offered  a lot less enjoyment to me.

The playground I derived the most pleasure from – the one in front of Block 53 Toa Payoh when I lived there (scan of a postcard courtesy of David Jess James – On a Little Street in Singapore).

The last pelican which has been demolished.

From the animals of the early 1980s, the designers explored fresher themes during a two year period from 1983 to 1985. These efforts yielded designs which revolved around well-known fables such as the tortoise and the hare and also familiar local objects such as kampung houses and trishaws. It was from the next creative wave from 1986 to 1990 that the bumboat was designed. One of 23 designs from the period, the bumboat was one of several which included a kelong designed to represent elements of our multi-racial heritage – the bumboat a representation of Chinese heritage (the twakows were wooden boats used by Chinese traders to carry goods from the ocean-going ships anchored in the inner harbour to warehouses up river).

The period also yielded other rather interesting designs which included those which revolved around nursery rhymes such as Humpty Dumpty and the  Old Woman who lived in a Shoe; popular childhood games such as snakes and ladders; designs inspired by fruits and vegetables such as the watermelon, mangosteen, pineapple, mushroom and egg plant; and also insects such as ladybirds. A few of these can still be found including a watermelon and mangosteen in Tampines and a double clock in Bishan. Other interesting structures put up during the time included everyday objects, of which the clock is one example, a telephone, a lorry, and not so common (at the time) items such as a bullock cart.

The passing of time. A last clock stands in Bishan.

During the same period, attempts were also made to provide the newer estates being built with their own identity. Playground designs were also selected for new towns on the basis of this identity. An example of this is the use of fruits and vegetable themed playgrounds in Choa Chu Kang – developed from what was a rural and farming area of Singapore. While the selection of playgrounds were very much left to the architects responsible for the designs of each neighbourhood, an attempt was made to allow for some variety across each estate in which playgrounds were distributed such that there was one for every 400 to 800 dwelling units by limiting the use of any design to maximum of five per estate.

The more complete face – with the hands intact.

The death knell for many of the homegrown playground designs was probably sounded with the advent of modular play equipment in the 1990s. This, coupled with safety concerns raised by a Canadian playground safety expert which followed an incident in 1993 in which a five-year old boy had his thumb severed whilst sliding down a poorly maintained metal slide in an older playgrounds (fortunately his thumb could be reattached) saw a change in direction on the part of the HDB. While there was probably a conflict of interest on the part of the expert who also represented a Canadian modular play equipment manufacturer, the safety concerns could not be ignored.

The watermelon.

While some of the older playgrounds were upgraded to improve their safety including having sand pits which were thought to be too shallow replaced with rubber mats which provided a soft landing, a massive wave of upgrading efforts which swept through many of the older HDB estates in the 1990s and 2000s did see many of these playgrounds demolished in favour of modular equipment which were also a lot easier to maintain and the population of the distinctive mosaic faced structures dwindled over time to the handful we find today.  Although there is hope that at least one, the dragon of Toa Payoh (see news report dated 19 May 2013)  will be kept for some of us to remember a time which will soon be forgotten, there probably is not much time left for some of the others for children of the 1980s and 1990s to catch the boat to bring them back to their childhoods (a dove, one of two that did remain, was very recently demolished) before these structures along with much that is familiar is erased from our ever evolving suburban landscape.

The mangosteen.

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Old playgrounds:

• The huge playground I practically grew up in  (Block 53 Toa Payoh) [demolished]
• The iconic dragon of Toa Payoh
• Another look at the dragon
• The dove which was recently demolished
• The last dove at Dakota Crescent
• The Elephant of Pasir Ris
• One recreated by NParks for Five Decades of Greening in Singapore

Work resumes at St. Joseph’s Church

Great news delivered over the weekend – the much delayed work on the stained glass restoration at St. Joseph’s Church will be resuming today. The work will restart at the south (or west) transept where the first batch of stained glass windows were taken down in the second half of last year. Work on this batch of windows has in fact been completed and that does mean we shall soon have a first glimpse of some of the beautiful windows restored to its full glory when the windows are finally re-installed.

A look across to the west transept.

Part of the west transept seen to the right of the sanctuary.

Close up of the window at the end of the west transept.

60 years of the Procession

Those familiar with what has come to be referred to as the Novena area of Singapore would probably know of an event, the Novena Procession in honour of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, once a year which sees crowds filling the two terraces used as car parking space in front of Novena Church. The event, held every first Sunday in September, is one which through much of its history, has also brought much colour to the area with beautiful floral decorations being put up on the church’s rather well known façade and on the two retaining walls flanking the church.

Decorations during the annual procession in 1987.

This year’s event which was held on 1 September 2013, which attracted a crowd of some 10,000, was one which also celebrated its 60th anniversary in Singapore and is the 61st edition of a tradition which was started by Fr. William Dowling in 1953. From the inaugural procession held on 21 June 1953, the annual event has attracted huge crowds – there have been occasions when crowds spilled onto the slopes leading down to Thomson Road and even the sidewalks on both sides of the busy street. The significance of the occasion also saw the Archbishop of Singapore, The Most Rev Msgr William Goh; the Superior General of the Redemptorists  Fr. Michael Brehl; and Fr Patrick Massang , the Vice-Provincial of Singapore/Malaysia in attendance with Fr. Brehl giving the sermon. 

Decorations at this year’s procession.

Despite the treat of a storm, crowds gathered well in advance with blue skies seen just before the start.

An image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help being carried during the procession.

The Most Rev Msgr William Goh, the Archbishop of Singapore.

The procession which for many in the crowd, including for one man who has attended every procession since 1953, is a means to thank Mary, “Our Lady of Perpetual Help” for the many intercessions made and would have involved nine weeks of devotions in the lead-up to it. The practice of devotions to Our Lady of Perpetual Help is one that is popular with many followers and non-followers of the Catholic faith in Singapore and is one which sees the devotional sessions held every Saturday at the church, packed through the day. The devotional session is called a ‘Novena’ from the Latin word ‘novem‘ for nine as it does involve prayers made over nine consecutive occasions and is what has given its name not only to the church (which properly is the Church of St. Alphonsus), but also to the area and to the MRT station which now serves the area. The practice is one that is promoted by the religious community which runs the church, the Redemptorists, who traced their history in Singapore back to 1935. 

The Archbishop with the image of Our Lady.

Fr. Michael Brehl delivering the sermon.

L-R: Fr. Simon Tan, Rector of St. Alphonsus; Fr. Patrick Massang, Vice-Provincial of Singapore and Malaysia; and Archbishop William Goh.

The crown after the blessing.

Archbishop William Goh crowing the image.

The practice of putting up floral decorations on the church’s front – there have been some very elaborate and beautiful ones put up in the past, goes back to 1959, when Redemptorist Brother Casimir Godebye, came up with the idea, with many in the congregation donating flowers for the effort. The decorations have of late, including this year’s, have become a lot simpler in form compared to the decorations of that I have seen in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s – I did dig up some photographs of the one put up during the procession that was put up in celebration that coincided with the Marian Year in 1987 which does show how beautiful the sight of the decorations – particularly when illuminated at night, could be.

More photographs from 1987

This year’s celebration will also be one of the last that will see it celebrated as has been for the last 60 years in front of the old church – expansion work planned for the church which will see a new church building built next to the old (which has conservation status), is slated to be carried out after next year’s procession. Estimated to cost some S$45 million, the fund raising efforts have so far raised just above half of the amount necessary – work will commence once 70% of the estimated costs have been raised.

More photographs from this year’s procession

Archbishop William Goh addressing the crowd.

Fr. Simon Tan speaking.

A video made for the 60th Anniversary looking back at the history of the Procession