PRINT FEATURE: Keppel Links, The Good Old Days

Our story got featured as Star Story in Keppel Club's October 2015 issue!

The Good Old Days in my generation are different from our parents'.  I personally think I'd enjoy my parents' era a lot more than my own. They danced to A-Go-Go in discotheques, lived in Kampongs, ran down five-foot ways and had Matas in shorts with a baton in hand! It was an age of vibrancy with Singapore still moving from third-world to first. They've seen it all (well, more like our grandparents had seen it all) from dirty rivers to clean streets, minus the cruelty of World War II. 

Whereas for an 80s kid like me, I was born with a comfortable roof above my head - a HDB. I had buses and taxis for public transport, soon after trains were introduced. I had a wet market to go to with more hygienic stalls compared to street peddling. I was born in a first-world country but with a tinge of the past generation slowly losing its presence as we move towards technology. So I kindaf had some oldish fun too. For example, we had coin pay phones in our time, pasar malam is popularly available in the neighbourhood and we get to watch wayang every Hungry Ghost Festival.  

When Keppel Club announced the theme to their 111th birthday celebration, my father immediately informed me about it. He knew and I knew that this was my kind of party. If only my husband agrees, my home will be decorated with old-school barber chairs with Peranakan-tiled walls!

I grew up with Keppel Club at my backyard. The family is at the club every single weekend. I made friends from swim class and we spent the rest of the night playing in the games room after we had our dinners. My parents will be at the Golfer's Lounge eating and drinking away after my dad's weekly golf game. When my friends said their goodbyes, I'd look for my parents at the KTV lounge and listened to them sing to Bee Gees. We spent a lot of time at Keppel but my children will not have this opportunity for long when Keppel Club's lease comes to an end in 2021. 

This double celebration, 111th birthday in the SG50 year, would probably be the most memorable party of the centrury. I am utterly proud of the staff and management team who came up with this splendid soiree for its members. I ran company events before and I know how large-scale and out-of-hand it could get. Engaging an event company is always the easiest way out but this was not an option for the talented team at Keppel Club! They planned this party in-house. The game stalls, food stalls, photo-taking booths and human props were all manned by Keppel Club staff! They could have hired talents for this but really, this decision to involve every ground staff made it a lot more momentous and meaningful. The photo booths aren't just BOOTHS but a set out of a television screen. I felt like we were ready to shoot a movie on site.

There were Matas, Sam Seng Kias, Ah Mahs, Kachang Puteh Man and many more! *hahaa* They even included the latest fad - Chan Tian Wen's Unbelievable character - into the scene. They should have told me! I could have called my uncle (the real deal) to drop by for a guest appearance. The scenes they'd put up were so detailed, I had so much fun posing for the cameras. I wished I had a free hand to take more still shots of the props. But erm... Faye was my Samsui Koala for the night. Naturally, we were zeroed in by every one because my children blended in so well into the setting. Everyone wanted a picture with the Coolie boy and Samsui girl. However, Faye was skeptical and on high-alert about the whole deal. *hahah* She must be thinking, "What is going on here!"

I did not have high expectations on the food and had planned to dine at probably Peony Jade or Peramakan in the club after our party. I was so wrong! Meyer and I went, "Wow! This is good! That is delicious! Ooh can you take more of that Char Kway Teow please?" The food stalls were manned by in-house chefs who cooked right before our eyes with large woks by their side - just like the Good Old Days! Effort much I tell you. As we ate by the pool, our plates got cleared by Ah Mahs. Can you imagine that sight? I had at least a child in one hand and a plate of food on the other. It was a pity we didn't get the chance to photograph the food scene that lined the pool.  

Who do you think won best-dressed? *tee-hee-hee* The coolie and samsui baby of course. I sent pictures to my dad and he asked, "Does anybody know that they are Jim Leong's grandchildren?" He must be ultra proud.

The Game Stalls were really fun as well. Ewan had a go at "Wheel Of Fortune", hitting can drinks with balls, shot-gunning targets and throwing rings into bottles. There was also a very meaningful stall, a modern one, that allowed us to write anything we wanted on a piece of circular paper and with a quick lamination on a badge-making machine, we now owned a customised Keppel Club Double Celebration Badge! Naturally, our eager beaver Ewan wanted to leave his mark as well. He drew an odd shape which I thought looked like a dragon. I added its eye and wings and ta-da! I guess this is what they meant when they say, "Transform your children's doodles into art pieces."

Thank you for a memorable Saturday evening.

We bought the costumes from Children's Costume Specialist for this party. Since they were already dressed for the day, I brought them on a heritage mural hunt at Chinatown for some photography fun. Colouring Banda Street is a project spearheaded by Pricewaterhouse Coopers to celebrate the lives and places of our pioneer residents through heritage murals. These murals were painted by over 500 PwC Singapore staff volunteers over a period of six months and took 1,000-off man-hours to complete. Take some time to admire them when you are in the vicinity won't you?

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A stay at home mum, blogging to widen her social life. 
We want to echo the sound of love through our lives to inspire other mothers alike.