Mark Lester of "Oliver!" fame resurfaces ...

Did any of you catch the news report a couple of days ago about actor Mark Lester? Yes, that cute little chap from the musical "Oliver!". Except that alas he's neither cute nor a little boy anymore.

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It was a most interesting story. Mark Lester, 51, claimed he is the real father of Michael Jackson's daughter Paris.

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Lester was apparently a close friend of Jacko's and godparent to his children, and he now wants to contact the 12-year-old.

Here are some interesting excerpts from what Lester said to the press:

"I gave Michael my sperm so that he could have kids - and I believe Paris is my daughter."

"It's been a secret for too long. In 1996 Michael asked me if I would give him my sperm and I said yes.

"It was a gift to him, no money was paid, it was something I was honoured to do. He wanted children so badly. He realised having kids was a natural thing but that he just couldn't do it. I think he'd already tried using his own sperm but it hadn't worked, so I made an off-the-cuff comment saying, 'Try mine!'"

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What happened next was predictable. A lawyer of the Jackson family lawyer slammed Lester over his sensational claim He branded the former Oliver star's story as "another unproven and meaningless claim". The attorney said courts had no reason to go against findings that the late star is father to all three of his children.

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Lester alleged he was the father of Paris, 12, after claiming he donated sperm for Debbie Rowe, mother of two of Jackson's children. Lester, who said he was willing to take a paternity test, also claims Paris bears an uncanny resemblance to his daughter Harriet, 15.

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Canteens, Coffeehouses, Kopi Tiams, Mamak Stalls & Starbuckies

I started writing this entry in the morning while enjoying a coffee at my favourite cafe. It occurred to me that throughout our lives, if we added up all the hours, many of us would probably have spent a number of years at such outlets. And through that time, the kinds of outlets we visited might also have changed. I can think of five main types of outlets we would have frequented ...
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(1) Canteens

When we were students, we used to get our refreshments at our school canteens or places associated with the school, like St Michael's Canteen. For those readers too young to remember, St Michael's Canteen was originally the canteen that served St Michael's Club just next door. The Club used to have facilities for reading newspapers, playing mahjong and card games, and a very popular billiards table. The Club was closed many years earlier, and even the building was torn down, leaving the Canteen (which had become a favourite among students from nearby schools) still operating. Later even the Canteen building was pulled down, and the operator (John & family) moved to a shop near 3rd mile. (WJ request: If anyone has an old photo of the original St Michael's Club or Canteen, please do send me a scanned copy !)

(2) Kopi Tiams

The local kopi tiam (literally "coffee shop" in Hokkien) was brought to Nanyang by the immigrant Chinese in the mid 19th century. Back then, certain Chinese dialect groups were particularly well known for setting up good kopi tiams, although, of course, these days such categorisation doesn't apply any more. I always associate the kopi tiams of old with the heavenly aroma of freshly brewed local coffee, the shouts of the waitors ("kopi oh no!" meaning two cups of black coffee), the whitish marble top tables, the familiar cups & saucers with the green floral design, and the spitoons.

(3) Coffeehouses

Do you remember those? The ones which were popular during the 70s were Aurora coffeehouse, Greenroad coffeehouse, Supersonic and an outlet in Padungan, the name of which escapes me. Common features were that they were air-conditioned, mostly with tinted windows, sometimes with dimly lit interiors, usually offering both western and asian selections (sometimes with all-you-can-stuff-your-face buffets). They were also a bit more pricey.

(4) Mamak Stalls
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In West Malaysia, Mamak Stalls can be found in every busy neighbourhood and are very popular. The term "Mamak Stall" never quite caught on in Sarawak, although with more West Malaysians working and living in Kuching, you do sometimes hear it being referred to. These outlets typically offered a variety of food (bread, murtabab, roti canai, Indian rojak, mee goreng ...) and drinks (teh tarik being the most well known).
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For market differentiation, each outlet probably had its own Mamak Specials, competing on cup size, service and opening hours.



(5) Starbuckies

This category includes Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Spinelli's, Old Town and all the other more upmarket chains. The coffee chain is a Western import, although some Asian companies have started their own too. The concept is to provide a comfortable environment, where the patrons could enjoy their snacks and beverage - be in cuppacino or latte or expresso or other concoctions with fancy names - in a relaxing ambience. These benefits obviously come with premium pricing.
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So my friends, whatever you're doing now, do slow down, take a break and have a freshly brewed cup of KOPI-O ...
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Old, Old Kuching - Part 4

This 4th series of old photographs were taken around the centre of Kuching town. The buildings and locations are unmistakeable, even though the place looks strange, almost devoid of vehicular traffic.

The above view is of India Street (previously known as Kiling Street, which the Hokkien name for this street still recalls) in the 1950s. How often as young boys in the 60s and 70s, we went up and down this familiar street, popping in and out of our favourite shops. In those days, vehicles were allowed to drive through the street, although at the time this picture was taken, there obviously weren't that many cars in Kuching.

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Next we have a view of Main Bazaar in the year 1904. I'm not sure what the shops there were specialised on, althoug I'm quite certain there were few souvenir shops there, unlike today.

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Some of us might remember the old State mosque, which was built in 1932 and demolished in 1967 to make way for a new and larger State mosque with a golden dome.

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And here's a 1950s view of the end of Gambier Road, at the part just before it turns into Main Bazaar. One can see the old Sarawak Steamship building on the right, and the square fort on the left. There is a landing point called Pangkalan Batu on the riverbank left of the photo, where the Rajah and later the Governor of Sarawak (living at the Astana across river) used to alight from his small boat and walk across the street to the Court House to preside over important legal cases.

In 1934, this was what the Kuching waterfront looked like. Judging from the perspective, I would guess the photo was taken from the hill where the Borneo Company offices used to be located, roughly the site of the present Kuching Hilton.

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These great old photos of Kuching were sourced by NC from some small outlet in Satok Road. If you have similar old photos in your posession, please don't hesitate to contribute them.

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SJS School Choir (1977)

Another photographic contribution from KC which apparently shows the SJS School Choir of 1977. Seems that we had a whole bunch of songbirds in the cohort.
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The photo was taken in "enemy territory"(just kidding!) at St Thomas' premises where the Inter-School Choir Competition had just been held. KC, can you provide more details please ?


Sorry this old picture is a little blurry. This is the best I could do ... even with 21st century computer enhancement. Still, I've provided some close-up shots, so think you should be able to make out who are the guys and gals.




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Everybody together now - do re me fa so !!!!
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