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The last days of Empire
On the afternoon of Chinese New Year’s day, 75 years ago in 1942, Singapore fell to the Japan. It was to bring three and a half years of hardship on Singaporeans and a shift in power that would bring...
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The Thaipusam Chariot Procession
One of Singapore’s more colourful religious festivals, Thaipusam, will be celebrated tomorrow, primarily by the Hindus of the Southern Indian community. As always, the festival is preceded by a...
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Photographs of Thaipusam 2017
Today’s Thaipusam, an annual Hindu festival celebrated in Singapore that being a most colourful of spectacles, is perhaps also a most photographed. The festival sees a procession of kavadis – burdens...
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11 July 2017, the day the Thieves of Sungei Road will be executed
The once bustling flea market, known to me as “Robinson Petang” – Afternoon Robinson’s or simply as Sungei Road in my younger days, will soon be more of a distant memory. Come the 11th of July this...
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1972, when the Concorde first flew over Singapore
Singapore had a brief love affair with the Concorde. Arguably the only supersonic passenger aircraft to be successfully deployed, a London to Singapore was operated by its National airline, Singapore...
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Moving images of the Syonan Jinja at MacRitchie Reservoir
A rare clip with scenes taken at a ceremony at the Syonan Jinja (from 1:23 to 3:30 in the clip), a shrine built during the Japanese Occupation with POW labour. The shrine was to have been a most...
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Back to school at Armenian Street
Detention class, tuck shop, science lab, literature class and PE – names that evoke an instant recall of the best (or worst) days of our lives – will haunt Armenian Street this weekend when just like...
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Singapore in untypical light
What defines Singapore isn’t just its well photographed icons of the modern age, food, its colourful festivals and its now ubiquitous blocks of public housing flats. Lots go on without ever being...
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In search of love in the old GPO
I loved the old GPO. It was a post office like none other in Singapore. Its main hall, which you entered after a climb up a short flight of stairs, was grand and airy. Stretching almost the entire...
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Good Friday at the Portuguese Church
Good Friday, which for believers marks the day Jesus Christ was crucified, has been commemorated in a very visible way on the grounds of St. Joseph’s Church for more than a century. Conducted very...
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The hunt for eggs this Easter
The hunt for eggs this Easter should start at the Singapore Philatelic Museum. The museum, despite its name, is not just about stamps but has quite an interesting mix of exhibitions that will delight...
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New Novena Church to be dedicated on 1 Aug 2017
In a tweet yesterday, the Church of St. Alphonsus – popularly known as Novena Church – announced that it will be holding a dedication mass for the new church being built on 1 August 2017 – the feast...
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Say goodbye to Caldecott Broadcast Centre
A rare (and final) opportunity to visit the Caldecott Broadcast Centre (CBC) presents itself during this year’s edition of the Singapore Heritage Festival. The centre, home to radio and television for...
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Tanah Merah, 1965
Old photographs, of much cherished places that are no longer with us in Singapore, are a godsend. They help me to hold on to my sanity in a country that due to the relentless pace of change, feels much...
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Army Open House 2017 Highlights
Update (27 May 2017, 1900 hrs): Army Open House 2017 has been extended to 29 May 2017 by popular demand After a break of 5 years, the crowd-pulling Army Open House returns this weekend (27 and 28 May)...
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Great fun for the young ones at the National Gallery
The National Gallery Singapore’s inaugural Gallery Children’s Biennale, themed Dreams and Stories, opened to a bang last week and on offer is one of the many exciting events our very fortunate children...
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Parting Glances: Pasir Panjang Power Station Quarters
Thanks to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and Mr Morhan Karup, representing the families of the former Pasir Panjang Power Station (PPPS) quarters, I found myself at a huge gathering of the PPPS...
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Schooldays in Bras Basah
Sent by a fellow old boy, this video is one that brings back the most wonderful of days – my schooldays at St. Joseph’s Institution when that was in Bras Basah Road. Produced for the school’s 15oth...
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Making the cut (rubber and the forgotten art of rubber tapping)
The cultivation of rubber, once the mainstay of the Malayan economy, has left a mark not just on our northern neignbours, Malaysia, but also here in Singapore. Clusters of aging rubber trees or even...
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To infinity and beyond with Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow opens at the National Gallery Singapore today. The highly anticipated exhibition takes visitors through the preeminent Japanese contemporary artist’s seven...
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