To those who went through the hard times in the 50s/60s/70s and even the 80s

[erection2015]

ya man...i see that you witnessed this too. I thought i was alone.

he blew dem in2 balloons b4 washing dem ...

 

[chuckyworld]

Bro, did i know you before ?..seems Like the same things i have done too..

No idea, those day are much more simple, catch long kang fish guppies usually or fish for eels, swim in the pond, climb rambutan tree but alway kenna bite by red ants(farms) present day Toa payoh, every morning see ah neh herding a few cow.

Ride bicycle all the way to katong Park swim and look for fight.......

 

[zeebjii]

those born in the 70s experience the transitions of the nation. i remember having bus conductors/ticket sellers then bus turn into OMO. from coin based fare to stored value magnetic card. first few years of my life in rural setting then grew up in hdb. ...

I was born in the 70s. Though I wish i was born 10, 20 years earlier. I was chased out of kampong when i was only 7 years old. I miss my kampong so much that i still dream frequently of it. I also missed out on real street hawker food, bugis street, 60s and 70s music.

 

[chilakak]

hi there


1. wa, ah bro.
2. my eyes were tearing when reading your materials.
3. yes, me remembered the days of the kallang roar with kassim, kim song & the boys.
4. when ms chee swee lee won the 400m gold in the asian games.
5. for those brief moments, i was once very proud to be some sheep in the making!

Wah man! Your point 3 brings back sweet memories of my childhood in Farrer Park. I used to watch Uncle Choo training those true blue Singaporean heroes of the 70s - Mat Noh, Dollah, Kim Song, Rajagopal, Seak Poh Leong, Paine etc. I grew up a stone's throw from Uncle Choo's sports shop on Owen Rd. In a back lane across from his shop was the best teochew muay I have ever had.

And Chee Swee Lee, she was one hot babe at that time. If I recall correctly, there was also another solid runner called K. Jayamani. And of course, C Kunalan. All true local talents. And our true local swimmers like Pat Chan and later Junie Sng. Singapore was quite a true sporting nation then and could hold its own in this region without resorting to mercenaries.

And like some others mentioned, I miss Fanfare too! I also miss The New Nation and if my memory does not fail me, another paper called The Singapore Herald or something like that?

As Halsey said, life then was simpler but more enjoyable. People were indeed warmer and friendlier with neighbors watching out for one another. PAP had just come to power so they really needed the people's goodwill and support, no arrogance. A far cry from now! Everyone was proud to be a citizen of the young nation then and pulled together to bring it to where it is. ONLY to now see the cake being sliced up and handed over to instant citizens! I guess it was only a matter of time for a country that was famous for producing instant trees to produce instant citizens.

Just saw a report yesterday proclaiming Singapore as the richest country in the world now by GDP per capita. So what? Pride in the nation now is only a fraction of what it was in the difficult and undeveloped days of the 60s and 70s! What's the big deal about being the richest by GDP in a country with no soul?

 

[Equalisation]

The Jap occupation was indeed times of great stress.

There was one time, right in the middle of the night, the Jap soldiers came to our village and do a search. They said they were looking for a chinese rebel fugitive. They searched the whole village and left with a makcik with big melons, never to be seen again.:(

Subsequently, no more makcik, pakcik gave away one son because too many children and nobody look after. Gave to opposite village and gave him new name who did good later. Name : Buang Abu Bakar !!

 

[The_Hypocrite]

To those who endured the hard times,,living in over crowded flats etc,,,wasnt the stop at 2 policy a good thing to reduce the population and allowing families to concentrate on work and giving a better life to the few kids they have??

 

[nato33]

Started with bottle caps, then kuti kuti and finally Top Trump cards.... a sense of achievement when I saved enough to buy my first set of Top Trump Cards (it was fighter aircraft series)

Hantam bola, one leg, marbles, football on basketball courts (using plastic balls bought from Mama shops)....those were the days when we still had ample space (and sand) to play such games freely without having to book courts and halls

 

[halsey02]

Wah man! Your point 3 brings back sweet memories of my childhood in Farrer Park. I used to watch Uncle Choo training those true blue Singaporean heroes of the 70s - Mat Noh, Dollah, Kim Song, Rajagopal, Seak Poh Leong, Paine etc. I grew up a stone's throw from Uncle Choo's sports shop on Owen Rd. In a back lane across from his shop was the best teochew muay I have ever had.

And Chee Swee Lee, she was one hot babe at that time. If I recall correctly, there was also another solid runner called K. Jayamani. And of course, C Kunalan. All true local talents. And our true local swimmers like Pat Chan and later Junie Sng. Singapore was quite a true sporting nation then and could hold its own in this region without resorting to mercenaries.

And like some others mentioned, I miss Fanfare too! I also miss The New Nation and if my memory does not fail me, another paper called The Singapore Herald or something like that?

As Halsey said, life then was simpler but more enjoyable. People were indeed warmer and friendlier with neighbors watching out for one another. PAP had just come to power so they really needed the people's goodwill and support, no arrogance. A far cry from now! Everyone was proud to be a citizen of the young nation then and pulled together to bring it to where it is. ONLY to now see the cake being sliced up and handed over to instant citizens! I guess it was only a matter of time for a country that was famous for producing instant trees to produce instant citizens.

Just saw a report yesterday proclaiming Singapore as the richest country in the world now by GDP per capita. So what? Pride in the nation now is only a fraction of what it was in the difficult and undeveloped days of the 60s and 70s! What's the big deal about being the richest by GDP in a country with no soul?

We were rooting for Home Grown Talents, not some "buy from " some where to win medals for a country, they never knew or loved!. We were proud in school then, holding that tiny Singapore flag on National Day , singing the Anthem & reciting the pledge..then came the PAP who blurred the line between a Nation & a Political party, the generation thinks that SINgapore is PAP & not a country called SINGAPORE!, we have lost that pride! we have lost it as a people of a country.

Not New Nation, the first afternoon paper was the SINGAPORE HERALD, it was too liberal for the Min of Culture, if my memory serve me well, they closed it or bought it over? and it became the trashy paper called "New Nation"...Singapore Herald was very popular for its editorials written by REAL JOURNALISTS!!

What is having great material wealth, when we don't feel proud to hold the flag in our hand, sing the anthem & recite the pledge anymore, those who grew up in the 50/60/70 & even 80...will glow with that pride...we are SINgapore..SINgaporeans!!

 

[goodtool]

Looks like alot of bros here of the same era. LOL
Ever break your classmate's marble into 2 in one blow?

I kept mine in a 555 cigarette tin and I killed my own champion when I shut the lid on him and severed him in half.

It was the most traumatic experience of my life. The emotional and mental scars persist to this day.

 

[Leongsam]

Looks like alot of bros here of the same era. LOL
Ever break your classmate's marble into 2 in one blow?

Yes but it required one of those super expensive marbles which were a lot heavier and stronger than the cheaper ones.

 

[yinyang]

Ah Hia kia Wang Kay Swar Kah.

Tio, ah tee here shacked up in wang kay swar kah (that area fondly called by past generation).

Also, before my teens -mom used to bring me to this teochew opera troupe's base-cum-residence (for those bonded to troupe) in a grotty shophouse along same river valley stretch ...closer to Hill St police station end. Recall 1/2 fowls running along the air well next to mosquito net beds kns!

until I discovered he was Siva Choyi an Indian, heh heh, and Sylvia Toh ( Paik Choo) was a beautiful girl, ha ha ha , kitchi boy, sarabat store..etc.. I remember "Fanfare" magazine my favourite, I hoarded the first edition to the last, still have two of the giveaways that came with it, which I will never part , The New Seekers EP, " I would buy the world a Coke", & Paul Mccartney " Give Ireland Back To The Irish" ( with the green shamrock)

Wah bro, you hoarded well your treasures. C'mon, Sylvia was a swee 1? Still a spinster last I heard. I won a princely 20 bucks for some slogan contest in Fanfare. Kns, had to collect cheque from old ST place in Kim Seng rd ...and didn't know how to credit stash to POSB account. So proudly walked up straight to cashier to claim real money instead

See this thread is another nostagia trip

 

[yinyang]

super expensive marbles which were a lot heavier and stronger than the cheaper ones.

Ever break your classmate's marble into 2 in one blow?

1 crony confessed recently he won a small fortune and was goli champ because he used a ball bearing (smothered in some dubious stuff) to hantam competition.

 

[erection2015]

how u feeling bro? Better ?

1 crony confessed recently he won a small fortune and was goli champ because he used a ball bearing (smothered in some dubious stuff) to hantam competition.

 

[yinyang]

how u feeling bro? Better ?

Thanks, live again this morning (after crashing out at ungodly 2030). Old body can't take too much punishment:o

 

[erection2015]

be like me....do overhaul or trade in.

Thanks, live again this morning (after crashing out at ungodly 2030). Old body can't take too much punishment:o

 

[Leongsam]

1 crony confessed recently he won a small fortune and was goli champ because he used a ball bearing (smothered in some dubious stuff) to hantam competition.

I actually tried that too but got caught out and had to buy the opposition new marbles after being beaten up. The paint that I used to disguise the "marble" came off in one huge chunk.

 

[erection2015]

you were fortunate in that they didnt beat up your two marbles....or did they ?

I actually tried that too but got caught out and had to buy the opposition new marbles after being beaten up. .

 

[yinyang]

fortunate in that they didnt beat up your two marbles....or did they ?

Oy, no big no small? Else, outcome might have been diff ..eunuch looking after some harem instead:p

 

[streetsmart73]

you were fortunate in that they didnt beat up your two marbles....or did they ?

hi there


1. aiyoh!
2. bro, from riding the seatless thing.
3. from the impact, marbles became marble-less or smaller marbles.
4. hahaha!

 

[erection2015]

i think after the beating it became 1 big 1 small

Oy, no big no small?