Lunchtime Reunion at Ipoh Kopi Tiam (23 Aug 2009)

A lunchtime mini-reunion was organized by GL, BC and BW at the Ipoh Kopi Tiam, Kuching today. There were many attendees - in person and online.
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Here are the photos as the party began ...

Slowly the group forms ...

More friends arrive ...

GL and JK are here. JK is back for a holiday. He's normally based in Plymouth, UK


The place is equipped with wireless Internet access. Here come the Notebook PCs ..

Look, that's Khim (Mrs JK) sitting next to Pip ...

More friends meet up ...

Yum. That looks like curry chicken rice. Nice, Sim?


Bob Chew chatting with JY and CLK (m) ...

Nice cake. Happy Birthday Pip !
(Pip's normally based in KL, but is back in Kuching for the weekend)


Cake cutting online ...


Here's a group photo ... can someone name the individuals?




It was obviously a very fun session for all.

(More photo updates as I get them ...)

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Kuo's Visit & Mini-Reunion in KL

Yesterday, five or six friends came together for lunch at the Ming Room, Bangsar Shopping Centre in KL when James Kuo dropped by for the day. I won't list the names as I'm sure regular readers of this blog already know them.

It's been a long time since some of them last met Kuo, who's now fixing hearts in Plymouth, UK. Still looking pretty fit, though a little thinner on top.

Kuo flew back to Kuching later that day. No doubt there'll be more reunions to report soon.

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Sunday Brunch Alert (Kuching, 23 Aug 2009)

Here's an alert for all our friends who are or will be in Kuching on 23 August.

Bob Chew, Ben Wong and George Lo are organising a brunch for James Kuo, who will be back in Kuching at that time.

Date/Time:
Sunday 23 August 2009, at 12 noon

Venue:
Ipoh Old Town Kopitiam,
located at Brighton Square
at Jalan Song
[in front of Titanium Building]
KUCHING
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All guys from SJS form 5 1976 [and partners], plus honorary members like Leo, are invited. And of course our sisters from STS and SMS are also welcome to drop by and have a cup of Ipoh Old Town coffee with the gang.

GL says "Do bring cameras to take pics for the blog too. There's free Wifi, so bring your notebooks and you can send the pics to WJ straightaway"
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FURTHER UPDATES
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Thur 20th Aug (evening)

Bob checking out the food. Hmmm, note the satisfied look ...
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GL brought along his notebook to test out the Messenger video connection. WJ is on the other end ...

Bob joins him in chatting with WJ.

Ben not seen in the photos but is the one taking the photos.

A Historical Detour: The Sarawak Story in Sheepstor

Today this blog gets a bit more serious and sophisticated as we make an interesting historical detour, courtesy of our surgeon friend James Kuo.
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James lives in Plymouth, in the county of Devon in southern UK. This is not far from a certain small town called Sheepstor, a beautiful little village set in lovely countryside on the western edge of Dartmoor.
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The picture below shows Sheepstor Church.

So why are we so fixated on this little town? Hold on, it'll become clearer in a minute. First put on your glasses and look at the tiny reddish rectangular object on the right side of the church grounds, near to the further wall. Do you see it?

Well, here's the same reddish object at close range ...

Can you guess yet? Well, these are the graves of James Brooke (1803-1868), Charles Brooke (1829-1917) & Charles Vyner Brooke (1874-1963), the three White Rajahs of Sarawak. [Kuo, I know the red grave is James Brooke's final resting place. Can you remind me again which one is Charles' and which Charles Vyner's]. Boys & girls, remember your Sarawak history lessons back in school?
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After returning to England in 1863, Sir James Brooke bought a home in Sheepstor. His house was called Burrator House. Here's the front gate. Pity we can show it to you as it is now private property.


Hanging prominently inside Sheepstor Church is a "Pua Kumbu" or ceremonial blanket, which was presented in 1996 by Dr James Masing, then Asst Minister of Tourism, as a gift from the people of Sarawak. Indeed many Sarawakian names can be seen in the visitors book at the church, as they pay their respects to the three generations of Brooke who were so influential in the early development of Sarawak.





Well, I hope you enjoyed that historical journey. Thanks again to James Kuo for making the trip to Sheepstor and supplying these photos. Kuo, your former history teachers would've been proud of you. They might even excuse you for those warm afternoons when you dozed off in their class.

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James & James - Meet-up after 15 Years

Two James' from Form 5Sc, namely James Kuo and James Yong, met up in London in December 2008. After St Joseph's, both James' did their A-levels at Sevenoaks School in Kent, UK, before proceeding to university. The previous time they met was some 15 years ago. James Kuo is now a heart surgeon with Plymouth Hospitals, Devon, UK. James Yong is a regional director & writer, with Cisco Systems and based in Singapore.