The Brit Club

Here's a photo of the Britannia Club on Beach Road in Singapore which was set up for members of the forces and their families for recreation and social purposes. It was also known as the NAAFI club or the Brit Club and was opposite Raffles Hotel. Inside, there was a swimming pool and in the back room was a giant scalectrix set, great for the kids though I think it was mainly used by Naval personnel!. Around and above the swimming pool was a huge balcony where we'd all eat and get drinks. You could have a full English breakfast - sausages, bacon, chips and Daddies sauce. Not a very Singaporean meal!

There were high diving boards too by the pool, though a lot of people didn't have the courage to go on them! Certainly not me!

Jalan Wijaya 1990

I've just found this photo I took in Jalan Wijaya in 1990. As you can see, it had just stopped raining. This was taken from the front of our old house looking towards Mr Lee's house on the left. The road leads to where the cold store and the other shops were in Jalan Dato Sulaiman. It's funny to think of the times I've walked along this road when I was a small boy. On the right was the area where the photo of the grass cutter was taken and also where I found the branch that became the tree in our back garden. It's funny that most of the stories in this blog centre around this small area. Lots of it hadn't changed but just further up the road, the area had changed completely with more houses and shopping centres. The land that was once just jungle was long gone. To the right of the picture, in the distance, is where the insurance man had his office and kept a monkey chained to his door. In 1990, this seemed to be some sort of garage and all of the small shops had disappeared. Mr Lee's house had grown considerably, I wonder if his family still live there. Looking back I wish that I'd spent longer looking around the area and taking photos and I'd love to be back there today just looking around. I wonder what it all looks like now?

Our new home

This photo shows Alan and me sat in the garden at Jalan Wijaya. Alan is reading, 'Mickey Mouse'! This picture was probably taken after we returned home from school, though we could have been on school holidays. I can't remember how the holidays worked, or when they were, but I know that we had them because Alan says about them on that reel to reel tape that I mentioned earlier. I hope to post clips of this once I work out how to do it! We had a Chinese landlord to start with called Yap Choon Lim but he sold the house and it was then rented to my parents by Swan Singh who I remember wore a turban and had shoes that curled up at the end. When he was asked his name, he would say, 'Swan Singh, fly like a bird!' Mr Singh would come around with his brothers if they had anything to discuss like the rent. I always enjoyed seeing them, maybe because of the way they dressed! They were all very friendly. There were times when I would just be looking at his curled shoes the whole time he stayed! I suppose I saw him like something out of the Arabian Nights! At the end of our street was just jungle, far different from now where all the land has been cleared and a Holiday Inn and shopping complex has been built. A lot of the area was covered in rubber plantations at the time. It's hard to imagine now!

Birthday parties

These two photos were taken on my 4th birthday party in August, 1965. The first picture shows Alan, me and my cake at Jalan Wijaya sat at the front of our house. I remember that this was taken in the morning before all the kids showed up to my party. Although it's a long time ago, I recognise some of the kids in the second photo.In the back row is Carol Webster who lived next door to us and then Alan and Fadzilla who was our Amah's daughter. Her brother, Fadzil, is in the front row next to David Webster and Judith Webster who also lived next door. Then I'm pulling a funny face and next to me is a ginger-haired kid who lived the other side of us but I can't remember his name.

 It was lovely all the kids turning up because they all brought presents. I remember getting a great remote control battery-operated tin car. The kid who gave it to me was so excited that he unwrapped it to show it to me! I also remember other toys like a tin aeroplane but the car must have been my favourite. There were some great toys available then. After we'd had our birthday party with lots of jelly and cake, we would play games that our mums had arranged like pass the parcel, pinning the tail on the donkey and blindman's buff. I've obviously been dressed up for the day because I would normally be just walking around without my shirt and shoes, keeping cool. It's funny that this photo would have been taken shortly after we first arrived in Singapore and Malaya. I don't think that I was even at school then. I've had many birthdays since but I'll always remember this one.

Chinatown

This very busy scene shows Chinatown in the 1960s. It was a very busy place with many market stalls and traders selling all types of goods. Washing can be seen hanging from long bamboo poles which poke out of the many windows. In the foreground is a trishaw complete with passenger. My parents were once tipped out of one of these onto the pavement when the driver had an accident with a car. He still expected a tip! The camper van in this picture looks like it has a long wait before it'll be able to make its journey along the road. Further up, a lady is loading up her car with newly bought goods. There are also quite a few trishaws further up the road maybe transporting sightseers and buyers around the busy stalls. I remember being fascinated by all the goods and eager sellers when I was a kid. When you're smaller, everything seems curious and of interest but I think maybe you miss a lot of this when you're an adult. I remember all the smells which included wicker, fish glue and the general smell of Singapore at the time! From this picture, I can see a lot of rattan goods for sale including chairs, baskets and tables. One of the chairs looks very similar to one that we had at Jalan Wijaya. The more modern building in the background looks out of place but of course, there are many far taller buildings in Singapore today.

Sampans and the Singapore River

This photo shows just some of the many sampans that inhabited the Singapore River in the 1960s. It was a very busy place with sellers plying their trade on both sides of the river bank while also loading and unloading cargo. The nearby crowded houses can be seen in this picture and these were said to resemble a beehive. There was a smell that was a combination of raw sewerage, rotting fruit and vegetables and also, there was general rubbish from the markets and hawkers. On top of this there was oil spillage and other waste water from the many boats moored there. This made it a haven for rats. When I returned in 1990, the area was vastly different and almost empty although the rats were still there. In 1977, the Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, decided that the river needed to be cleaned up. There was massive resettlement of squatters and relocation of hawkers. Refuse was collected daily and the river was dredged of all the waste that had piled up over the years. Most of the small boats disappeared and today it is much cleaner place and many species of marine life have returned. Without all the sampans though, it seems that it has lost part of its character forever.

Jason's Bay

This photo shows the huge tent my dad and his Naval friends used to set up when we had a banyan at Jason's Bay. It was ideal for keeping everyone cool. My mum and dad are pictured on the left of the photo and I'm beside them digging a hole in the sand. I think that the photo was probably taken by Alan.

My dad used to go spear fishing (very James Bond!) and I think I can see his spear gun and his caught fish in the foreground of this photo.

I remember that everyone loved swimming but I was never too keen and I'm sitting in the shade instead of being in the sun. I'm still the same today!

There was always a barbecue set up on the beach somewhere and plenty of Tiger Beer for the men. Everyone would end up swimming or playing cricket though I was just happy exploring.

I love this photo of Robert Bagwell and Alan at Jason's Bay. It was taken at a later time than the first photo, probably about 1966. This photo sums up the fun we all had and it appears on the back of my book, 'Sampans, Banyans and Rambutans.'

It was a lovely time and my parents and all their friends would join in on these trips. I remember them being quite regular events. The beach would be a very busy place when we all arrived, I wonder what all the locals made of us?