Kodak

A giant has fallen and is breathing its last breath. Will it be able to get up again? I attached much sentimental past with Kodak cameras and Kodachrome movie film. During school days I had a Kodak Brownie camera. It was cheap and easy to use. Later I upgraded to a Brownie box camera. Each negative was square in shape and the hard copy was exactly the same size as the negative.

Square negatives and photos

I do not know the reason for keeping the negatives except putting them aside after the photos were printed. Now they have become more precious as the negatives and the photos reminded me of the past, especially my growing up years.

In the 1950s and 1960s there was only Kodak and Ilford films in the market. Japanes brand like Fuji and others were not introduced in Singapore yet.

Besides Kodak cameras I also owned a Minolta movie camera. There was no Japanese 8 mm film for movie camera on sale except Kodak 8 mm movie film which could be processed only in Australia. I forgot the cost for each reel of movie film but the cost of processing was S$10. It took at least about a week for it to be sent to Australia for proessing and back. I took movies mostly of my kids. We visited many places of interest in Singapore such Haw Par Villa, the old National Theatre and Van Kleef Aquarium, Raffles Place, Changi beach and others. I have posted a few film clips on the Facebook.

Each small reel of movie film was glued together to make it into a spool for about half an hour show. I had a Japanese projector but the film was often jammed and burnt due to very intense heat from the projector's light. I had to cut the film, removed the burnt part and joined the two ends together. Much films were wasted in this way. It was very tedious as everything was done manually. Thinking about it, the time spent  was really worth. Now I can look back when I was once young. I can still see in the movie films (converted to DVD) the places that had disappeared or had new landscapes. National Theatre and Van Kleef Aquarium had been demolished. Raffles Place has new landscaping. The Changi beach that we used to go for swimming and picnics is different now. The kelongs or fishing stakes that were close to the beach and the sampans for hire had disappeared too.

8 mm Kodachrome movie film

small reels of 8 mm movie films

spools of 8 mm Kodachrome movie films

新年快乐

New Year Visitors

Chinese New Year is fast approaching. It reminded me of the time when I was still working in Jurong. Every new year my colleagues came visiting and we had an enjoyable time together. A group picture was taken each year for remembrance. They were Chinese, Malay and Indians. It was real racial harmony.

Chines New Year 1978 & 1979

Many Chinese are looking forward to this coming Chinese New Year because it will be the 'Year of the Dragon'. An auspicious year for most Chinese who wishes to have a 'dragon' son or grandson. Dragon is the fifth sign of lunar cycle. There are five types of dragon and each has an element such as metal, water, wood, fire and earth. My son was born under the sign of 'wood dragon'. He has chosen to live in US. During one dragon year I painted a dragon on the wall to remind me of him. An elder relative who came visiting then told me that my dragon had four claws which was no good and advised me to erase it. I did not bother to find out the reason then. After the festive period was over I erased the dragon painting with a few coats of white paint. Each lunar animal sign has a cycle is twelve years. When the dragon year was approaching, I painted a five claws dragon on another wall. I still do not understand why a four claws dragon is bad. Perhaps, someone can enlighten me.

Happy New Year 2012

                                                         
                                           Wishing All Foyers and Viewers
                                      A Happy New Year for 2012!

Christmas 2011

My family celebrates Christmas with friends and relatives every year. We had an Australian friend who was our Santa Claus. The kids loved him for he brought presents to them. Instead of riding his reindeer sledge and coming from the sky, he came down from upstairs carrying a heavy load of presents for everyone. After Santa Claus had settled comfortably on a chair, he dipped his hand into the bag to fish out a  present. Everybody was looking at him anxiously hoping his/her name would be the first to be called. When a name was announced there was acclamations and cheers. The person went promptly to Santa to claim the present. In the end, each of us got about half a dozen presents but the kids got more.

Next it was time for Christmas carol. We had a pianist to provide the music. Song sheets were distributed and the singing began. After singing until our voice hoarse it was time for dinner. We had an arrary of Christmas food such as roast turkey, honey baked ham, baked salmon etc.

Tomorrow is Christmas day. We shall be going to church for Christmas service and Christmas celebration with the family. The Aussie Santa Claus had gone home and we shall have a new Santa Claus.

Seasons' Greetngs

Time for new PAP story

The Straits Times on Monday 5 December 2011 published an article Time for new PAP story.

Paragraph 3 said: "Every politcal party needs a story. A set of belief about what would lead to a better world, convictions that will draw man and women to stake their futures on the party".                           

Above statement reminds me of the PAP in the early 1960s. The party believed that the only way for Singapore to get independent from the British was through merger with Malaysia. The opposition Barisan Socialis thought otherwise. The PAP worked very hard to win the hearts and minds of the people for merger with Malaysia. The then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew gave a series of talk through radio broadcast as well as rallies which were held till very late at night.

I could see he was very tired but it was very crucial for him and the PAP. I kept the little book

"THE BATTLE FOR MERGER" for more than half a century. It consists of a series of talk broadcast by then Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew over radio Singapore between September 16 1961 and  October 9 1961. At that time the domino theory of communism coming from China was very real. North Vietnam had already fallen to the Vietmin communists in 1954 and the war was on the way down towards the south. Fortunately, the US and its allies stopped communism's southward march until the Vietnam War ended in 1975 or the domino theory could have come to pass.  

During the referendum majority of the people in Singapore voted for merger with Malaysia. When Singapore left Malaysia in 1965 I was surprised to see in the television that Lee Kuan Yew cried. He wanted Singapore to be an independant country but thought that the British would not let it.

However, he made Singapore's independent a sovereign country, not directly from the British but by a roundabout way.

 Many thought Singapore was surely doom but thanks to the PAP Singapore 'Boleh'.