.
***********************************************************
Make sure you link to the NEW blog that supercedes this one !!!!!
It is up and running now & can be accessed at the address below..
http://josephians-of-the-seventies.blogspot.com/
Welcome to all !!!!!
***********************************************************
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Last Message from Website Jaga
.
Dear friends,
All good things must come to an end ..... Last evening, I found out that we have reached the system limit for number of pictures in a blog. Apparently Blogger sets 1000 as the maximum number of pictures or photos a blog can have, and we arrived at that mark yesterday.
I could continue to post just text entries, but I guess that won't be much fun. So I've decided to end this blog ... Thank you all and have a good life !
OK,OK, just kidding ....ha ha ha ! I won't end it just like that. What I'll do is create a new blog to continue from this one. I'd also like to use this point of transition to expand the audience for the blog. I'm told that the classes of 1976 have had a lot of good times on and through this blog, so I think it's time to extend the benefit to other fellow Josephians and friends. I intend to call the new blog "Josephians of the Seventies & Friends", which will obviously widen our potential visitors to anyone who was at St Joe between 1970 and 1979.
I will announce the new blog address in a day or two, and provide a link from this blog to the new one. I'm not quite sure what kind of response I will get, but with your support, let's give it a try.
You can continue to enter your comments to this and all past postings, so this blog will continue to live on. Also let me have your ideas and suggestions on creating an even better blog.
Have a nice day !
Dear friends,
All good things must come to an end ..... Last evening, I found out that we have reached the system limit for number of pictures in a blog. Apparently Blogger sets 1000 as the maximum number of pictures or photos a blog can have, and we arrived at that mark yesterday.
I could continue to post just text entries, but I guess that won't be much fun. So I've decided to end this blog ... Thank you all and have a good life !
OK,OK, just kidding ....ha ha ha ! I won't end it just like that. What I'll do is create a new blog to continue from this one. I'd also like to use this point of transition to expand the audience for the blog. I'm told that the classes of 1976 have had a lot of good times on and through this blog, so I think it's time to extend the benefit to other fellow Josephians and friends. I intend to call the new blog "Josephians of the Seventies & Friends", which will obviously widen our potential visitors to anyone who was at St Joe between 1970 and 1979.
I will announce the new blog address in a day or two, and provide a link from this blog to the new one. I'm not quite sure what kind of response I will get, but with your support, let's give it a try.
You can continue to enter your comments to this and all past postings, so this blog will continue to live on. Also let me have your ideas and suggestions on creating an even better blog.
Have a nice day !
Friday, October 1, 2010
Remembering ODEON and CAPITOL cinemas
.
Continuing our theme of old cinemas of Kuching, here's a nice photo that Gerard found, which clearly shows the two grand old ladies of Padungan - ODEAN and CAPITOL cinemas. Sadly, both buildings no longer around ... victims to development and progress.
I distinctly remember watching "The Blind Swordsman" at the Odeon. This starred the Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune.
I reckon I spent far too many afternoons in Capitol (and Lido) watching all manner of Shaw swordfighting and kung fu flicks.
Share your memories ...
Continuing our theme of old cinemas of Kuching, here's a nice photo that Gerard found, which clearly shows the two grand old ladies of Padungan - ODEAN and CAPITOL cinemas. Sadly, both buildings no longer around ... victims to development and progress.
I distinctly remember watching "The Blind Swordsman" at the Odeon. This starred the Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune.
I reckon I spent far too many afternoons in Capitol (and Lido) watching all manner of Shaw swordfighting and kung fu flicks.
Share your memories ...
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Remembering REX Cinema
.
How many of you still remember Rex cinema, formerly located on Wayang Street? It doesn't exist any more, having been replaced by that colourful cineplex and carpark building.
As a kid and teenager growing up in Kuching, I remember watching some great movies in Rex. One that comes to mind is the musical "My Fair Lady" starring Audrey Hepburn. There were also gun-slinging westerns like "For a Few Dollars More" with a very youthful Clint Eastwood. Then there were a number of James Bond 007 movies, like "Goldfinger" and "Thunderbolt", starring Sean Connery.
For some of the more high-profile movies, there used to be extra picture boards with lighting put up above the frontage of the cinema, depicting images from the movie. I distinctly remember the board for "Thunderbolt" as well as the first "Airport" movie some years later.
The old Rex had no escalators and those who bought tickets to Circle seats had to walk up the stairs. I recall it was a rather narrow and winding staircase.
I'm looking for more photographs of Rex cinema (and for that matter of all other cinemas of old Kuching). The one you see below was kindly sent to me by Nick Chin and Philip Chin. It shows Rex in very early days, 1952 according to the caption.
Look at the style of dressing and also the models of cars. And notice the little cart on the left, probably a hawker selling sweets, seng boi and sotong.
Such interesting scenes from old Kuching....
.
How many of you still remember Rex cinema, formerly located on Wayang Street? It doesn't exist any more, having been replaced by that colourful cineplex and carpark building.
As a kid and teenager growing up in Kuching, I remember watching some great movies in Rex. One that comes to mind is the musical "My Fair Lady" starring Audrey Hepburn. There were also gun-slinging westerns like "For a Few Dollars More" with a very youthful Clint Eastwood. Then there were a number of James Bond 007 movies, like "Goldfinger" and "Thunderbolt", starring Sean Connery.
For some of the more high-profile movies, there used to be extra picture boards with lighting put up above the frontage of the cinema, depicting images from the movie. I distinctly remember the board for "Thunderbolt" as well as the first "Airport" movie some years later.
The old Rex had no escalators and those who bought tickets to Circle seats had to walk up the stairs. I recall it was a rather narrow and winding staircase.
I'm looking for more photographs of Rex cinema (and for that matter of all other cinemas of old Kuching). The one you see below was kindly sent to me by Nick Chin and Philip Chin. It shows Rex in very early days, 1952 according to the caption.
Look at the style of dressing and also the models of cars. And notice the little cart on the left, probably a hawker selling sweets, seng boi and sotong.
Such interesting scenes from old Kuching....
.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Musical Interlude: Blockbusters from the Bee Gees
.
I've always loved the music of the Gibb brothers, Barry, Robin and Maurice. Ever since the sixties, they had been releasing hit after hit after hit..
One of their earliest hits is "To Love Somebody" ...
Another early hit was "I Started a Joke" ...
"Words" was another great number ...
In the disco era of the mid 70's, came "Night Fever" ...
And of course their masterpiece (according to me at least) "How Deep is Your Love" ...
Enjoy !
I've always loved the music of the Gibb brothers, Barry, Robin and Maurice. Ever since the sixties, they had been releasing hit after hit after hit..
One of their earliest hits is "To Love Somebody" ...
Another early hit was "I Started a Joke" ...
"Words" was another great number ...
In the disco era of the mid 70's, came "Night Fever" ...
And of course their masterpiece (according to me at least) "How Deep is Your Love" ...
Enjoy !
Monday, September 27, 2010
A Taste of the Singapore Grand Prix F1 (kinda)
.
I've mentioned before that I'm not really a big Formula-1 fan. I only know the names of a handful of F1 drivers, and I still get confused by who they drive for. I can't distinguish between piston, the gearbox and other technical paraphernalia associated with F1 cars, though I'm slowly learning. However for the past three years, the Night Races held in Singapore have fired up my interest in the sport a little, at least during the September period.
In the first year, I watched it all on TV from the comfort of my living room. In the second year, I watched on TV too but also drove near to the racing area where I could see the bright lights and hear the powerful roar of the engines. This year, I borrowed a pass from my daughter and went into the area for over an hour in the afternoon to watch part of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Race. Then I went home and watched the F1 finals on TV. Who knows - maybe next year I might actually go in and watch a Night Race :)
Here's a shot of the official F1 programme book and my pass.
. .
Once I cleared the security checkpoint and entered the enclosed F1 area, there were clear signs showing where everything was. There were also many helpful guides to point out the directions. My pass entitled me to a seat at the Bay Grandstand.
Well, if one can't watch the F1 races, one can always take a photo in front of the big poster depicting the programme schedule :)
It was still early when we got to the seats, and it was very warm too. Should have brought my shades :)
And here's the view from where I sat ...
It's kinda hard taking photos of speeding cars, especially when all one uses is a point-and-shoot digital camera (Canon Powershot SX210 IS). Anyway I tried, and here's a little montage of what I managed to capture ...
I believe the winner of this particular race was SC Global Racing's Craig Baird.
Finally, here's the front page of the local newspaper this morning. I think you can make out the headline on the F1 results ...
It was an interesting weekend. Of course, I must add what everyone already knows ... that the Singapore Night Races are always held on or around 26 September to commemorate the birthdays of me and Ah Loot ... LOL
.
I've mentioned before that I'm not really a big Formula-1 fan. I only know the names of a handful of F1 drivers, and I still get confused by who they drive for. I can't distinguish between piston, the gearbox and other technical paraphernalia associated with F1 cars, though I'm slowly learning. However for the past three years, the Night Races held in Singapore have fired up my interest in the sport a little, at least during the September period.
In the first year, I watched it all on TV from the comfort of my living room. In the second year, I watched on TV too but also drove near to the racing area where I could see the bright lights and hear the powerful roar of the engines. This year, I borrowed a pass from my daughter and went into the area for over an hour in the afternoon to watch part of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Race. Then I went home and watched the F1 finals on TV. Who knows - maybe next year I might actually go in and watch a Night Race :)
Here's a shot of the official F1 programme book and my pass.
. .
Once I cleared the security checkpoint and entered the enclosed F1 area, there were clear signs showing where everything was. There were also many helpful guides to point out the directions. My pass entitled me to a seat at the Bay Grandstand.
Well, if one can't watch the F1 races, one can always take a photo in front of the big poster depicting the programme schedule :)
It was still early when we got to the seats, and it was very warm too. Should have brought my shades :)
And here's the view from where I sat ...
It's kinda hard taking photos of speeding cars, especially when all one uses is a point-and-shoot digital camera (Canon Powershot SX210 IS). Anyway I tried, and here's a little montage of what I managed to capture ...
I believe the winner of this particular race was SC Global Racing's Craig Baird.
Finally, here's the front page of the local newspaper this morning. I think you can make out the headline on the F1 results ...
It was an interesting weekend. Of course, I must add what everyone already knows ... that the Singapore Night Races are always held on or around 26 September to commemorate the birthdays of me and Ah Loot ... LOL
.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Mid-Autumn Festival
.
Do you remember the story behind the mooncakes? If not, here's a 30-second refresher so that you can relate it to your kids or impress foreign friends of your cultural knowledgibility.
During the Yuan dynasty (A.D.1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongols. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D.960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without it being discovered.
The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Baked into each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack.
On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend.
Anyway during this time of the year, Chinese societies around the world will celebrate by stuffing themselves with mooncakes wth all sorts of fillings (red bean paste, durian, mixed nuts, lotus with multiple egg yolks ... recently I even saw one outlet selling peanut butter & jelly mooncakes !). Personally I prefer the more traditional fillings.
Invariably in all towns and cities, there will be lantern processions and public places will be decorated with multi-coloured lanterns. Often there will be shows and visits to temples to give thanks to various dieties.
xxxx
xxx
Pic 1: Beauty with lantern (painting)
Here are some photos of the lantern decor in Sibu. Thanks Leo, for the contributions. Now all we need are photos from Kuching, Miri and other locales around the world.
Finally I can't end this posting without showing some mooncake pictures, can I ?
Enjoy your Mid-Autumn Festival ...
Do you remember the story behind the mooncakes? If not, here's a 30-second refresher so that you can relate it to your kids or impress foreign friends of your cultural knowledgibility.
During the Yuan dynasty (A.D.1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongols. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D.960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without it being discovered.
On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend.
Anyway during this time of the year, Chinese societies around the world will celebrate by stuffing themselves with mooncakes wth all sorts of fillings (red bean paste, durian, mixed nuts, lotus with multiple egg yolks ... recently I even saw one outlet selling peanut butter & jelly mooncakes !). Personally I prefer the more traditional fillings.
xxxx
xxx
Pic 1: Beauty with lantern (painting)
Here are some photos of the lantern decor in Sibu. Thanks Leo, for the contributions. Now all we need are photos from Kuching, Miri and other locales around the world.
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5
Pic 6
Finally I can't end this posting without showing some mooncake pictures, can I ?
Enjoy your Mid-Autumn Festival ...
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Allure of the Singapore Grand Prix F1 2010
.
How time flies! It's September once again, and on the sunny island of Singapore, the main event that's coming up is the Grand Prix Formula-1 Night Races this coming weekend (i.e. 24-26 Sept 2010)
.
.
.
Everyone is waiting for the roar of the engines ... the fumes from the exhausts ... the super bright lights around the circuit ... global performing stars (this year Mariah Carey, Adam Lambert, even the Chippendales :) ...
... and of course the SingTel Grid Girls ...
Anyone coming over to watch?
.
How time flies! It's September once again, and on the sunny island of Singapore, the main event that's coming up is the Grand Prix Formula-1 Night Races this coming weekend (i.e. 24-26 Sept 2010)
Everyone is waiting for the roar of the engines ... the fumes from the exhausts ... the super bright lights around the circuit ... global performing stars (this year Mariah Carey, Adam Lambert, even the Chippendales :) ...
... and of course the SingTel Grid Girls ...
Anyone coming over to watch?
.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Hari Raya at Dato' AM's House
.
On 10th September 2010, a few of the boys visited Dato' AM on his Open House on the first day of Hari Raya.
PC reports:
"As usual, AM and his family were so warm and welcoming. The home-made laksa and yummy rendangs + lemang made us feel very much at home. Being the perfect host, the harried AM was already sweating by the tim we got to his place at 11.30am. Dozens of well wishers were already milling around while others were busy eating at secluded nooks around the house."
Here are a couple of photos ...
On 10th September 2010, a few of the boys visited Dato' AM on his Open House on the first day of Hari Raya.
PC reports:
"As usual, AM and his family were so warm and welcoming. The home-made laksa and yummy rendangs + lemang made us feel very much at home. Being the perfect host, the harried AM was already sweating by the tim we got to his place at 11.30am. Dozens of well wishers were already milling around while others were busy eating at secluded nooks around the house."
Here are a couple of photos ...
Buddies all
.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Giving Back to St Joe - The Handover
.
Here's some quick photos from the donation handover and walkabout at St Joe this morning ... This is just to satisfy the impatient who are asking for the blog to be updated 30 seconds after the event. LOL
Anyway I'll be posting more stuff later today or tomorrow ...
We donated student desks and chairs,and teacher tables for 3 classrooms, plus a projector. The picture above shows the projector being handed over, in the presence of eight representatives from the Class of 1976. We also had a reporter from the Borneo Post in attendance.
Principal Mr Thomas Lau then brought us to each of the classes with new furniture and we spoke to the teacher and students.
We shook the hands of each and every student ...
Here we are in another classroom with the Prinicipal and one of the teachers, Ms Sandy Wong.
Of course, we had to test out the desks and chairs for ourselves ....
A shot outside the classes ...
And a final shot with the Old Boys Block in the background ..
Here's a BEFORE and AFTER look at one of the classrooms ...
This was a small but meaningful project. In a way, this is a project reflecting our three HOPEs. We hope our contribution of desks, chairs, tables and projector will make a small but positive difference to the learning environment of St Joe. We hope that other former students will also band together to make similar (hopefully BIGGER) contributions to their alma mater. Finally we hope that the government may also take note and lend us further support in this effort to boost the quality of education for Sarawak.
Item in Borneo Post (16 Sep 2010)
.
Here's some quick photos from the donation handover and walkabout at St Joe this morning ... This is just to satisfy the impatient who are asking for the blog to be updated 30 seconds after the event. LOL
Anyway I'll be posting more stuff later today or tomorrow ...
We donated student desks and chairs,and teacher tables for 3 classrooms, plus a projector. The picture above shows the projector being handed over, in the presence of eight representatives from the Class of 1976. We also had a reporter from the Borneo Post in attendance.
Principal Mr Thomas Lau then brought us to each of the classes with new furniture and we spoke to the teacher and students.
We shook the hands of each and every student ...
Here we are in another classroom with the Prinicipal and one of the teachers, Ms Sandy Wong.
Of course, we had to test out the desks and chairs for ourselves ....
A shot outside the classes ...
And a final shot with the Old Boys Block in the background ..
Here's a BEFORE and AFTER look at one of the classrooms ...
This was a small but meaningful project. In a way, this is a project reflecting our three HOPEs. We hope our contribution of desks, chairs, tables and projector will make a small but positive difference to the learning environment of St Joe. We hope that other former students will also band together to make similar (hopefully BIGGER) contributions to their alma mater. Finally we hope that the government may also take note and lend us further support in this effort to boost the quality of education for Sarawak.
Item in Borneo Post (16 Sep 2010)
.
Dinner with Buddies in Kuching
.
I flew back to Kuching today. Went for dinner with some of the guys, namely Bob, Edward, Ben, Jensen and Mark. Many thanks to Jensen for "belanja"ing the delicious dinner.
Our lawyer friend, George, joined us a little later.
Tomorrow we go over to St Joe to do the donation handover ...
.
I flew back to Kuching today. Went for dinner with some of the guys, namely Bob, Edward, Ben, Jensen and Mark. Many thanks to Jensen for "belanja"ing the delicious dinner.
Our lawyer friend, George, joined us a little later.
Tomorrow we go over to St Joe to do the donation handover ...
.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
AW visiting Perth
.
I received a note from Alfred Wong on his recent visit to Perth ...
Dear James,
.
I had the great opportunity to meet up with two of our Form 5 Science classmates in Perth last night, Kevin Chin and Philip Tang. I have not met them since I left SJS 33 years ago and it was pleasant to catch up with them again after all these years.
.
Even though I have been coming to Perth regularly to visit my two children, I didn't manage to contact Kevin and Philip until this trip (thanks BC for the email contacts).
.
It's great to see that the guys are looking fit and doing well professionally. Kevin works for the Australian Goverment and has three children. Like me, two of the children are doing undergraduate studies in UWA. Kevin has been in Perth for 22 years while Philip has never left after graduating from UWA. Philip is a research engineer with a local company.
.
I have uploaded a few pictures of the mini reunion to share with you. Once again, thank you Kevin and Philip for the meet-up and hope to see you guys again next trip!
.
Alfred Wong - Form 5 Science 1976
Here are the photos of the mini-reunion ...
Good to see another reconnection, many years in the making.
Best wishes to all of you.
.
I received a note from Alfred Wong on his recent visit to Perth ...
Dear James,
.
I had the great opportunity to meet up with two of our Form 5 Science classmates in Perth last night, Kevin Chin and Philip Tang. I have not met them since I left SJS 33 years ago and it was pleasant to catch up with them again after all these years.
.
Even though I have been coming to Perth regularly to visit my two children, I didn't manage to contact Kevin and Philip until this trip (thanks BC for the email contacts).
.
It's great to see that the guys are looking fit and doing well professionally. Kevin works for the Australian Goverment and has three children. Like me, two of the children are doing undergraduate studies in UWA. Kevin has been in Perth for 22 years while Philip has never left after graduating from UWA. Philip is a research engineer with a local company.
.
I have uploaded a few pictures of the mini reunion to share with you. Once again, thank you Kevin and Philip for the meet-up and hope to see you guys again next trip!
.
Alfred Wong - Form 5 Science 1976
Here are the photos of the mini-reunion ...
Three buddies
With the wives (Bettie Wong, Christina Tang and Pearl Chin)
Another ladies' shot
Good to see another reconnection, many years in the making.
Best wishes to all of you.
.
RLNH visiting KL
.
This week, Richard Lim Ngee Hong visited KL, and had teh tarik with some of the guys there ...
I'm sure by now, you'll have no trouble naming the guys in the photo.
BTW, nice T-shirt, Ric !
.
This week, Richard Lim Ngee Hong visited KL, and had teh tarik with some of the guys there ...
I'm sure by now, you'll have no trouble naming the guys in the photo.
BTW, nice T-shirt, Ric !
.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Giving Back to St Joe (Part 4)
Well guys, after several months we're finally getting to the last stage of our "Giving Back to St Joe" campaign ... The official handover will be very soon.
Before we show you the new furniture, here's a reminder of what the class looked like before.
Now here are the photos of the new desks and chairs our donation made possible. A million thanks to Bob for all the hard work in coordinating this.
A closer shot of the label ...
Now for the teacher's table ...
Bob decides to test drive the chair and desk ...
Another view of the desks and chairs ...
Another view of the classroom ...
Wow, what a difference !
Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri !
.
To all our Muslim friends ...
Enjoy yourselves ...
Any open houses? :) Feel free to send me any photos of your celebrations and I'll post them up for all to enjoy.
.
To all our Muslim friends ...
Enjoy yourselves ...
Any open houses? :) Feel free to send me any photos of your celebrations and I'll post them up for all to enjoy.
.
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