Lets make our Tiong Bahru Bloom!

Hello everyone! Have you bought your New Year flowers yet? Perhaps you might want to have nice flowers and plants all year round, or perhaps make your own front and back garden even nicer! (And there are lots of nice front gardens already in Tiong Bahru). Here is a proposal from a group of residents that was sent to the blog - and so, we share it with the rest of you - do join in if you can!



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Just wanted to share that we are trying to setup a team to participate in Community Bloom project for Tiong Bahru and we are hoping for assistance to seek for project members through your blog.

Currently, we are at the initial stage of the project where we are reviewing suitable land plot. Garnering more project members is our next focus and this is where we are approaching various channels that already reach out to residents.

The team leader for this project is Gordon who can be reached at gtwork@singnet.com.sg. A similar posting has been put up at facebook on Tiong Bahru estate as below.


Facebook posting:

Are your green fingers itching to stretch itself? How about joining us to work on a community garden right here in Tiong Bahru?

If you are interested, please drop a note to Gordon, proj leader, at gtwork@singnet.com.sg or myself through fb.

Join us now!!!!

Christmas!

Now that Christmas is over (or actually, if you are a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church, it just started last Friday), time to put up pictures of the party that took place at the Seng Poh RC....

Wishing one and all a great New Year ahead!

___________________________________


Come to the party pa-rum-pa-pum-pum
At Seng Poh RC pa-rum-pa-pum-pum
They rocked the night for all pa-rum-pa-pum-pum
With carols to sing and sing pa-rum-pa-pum-pum
rum-pa-pum-pum rum-pa-pum-pum

And the folks love it pa-rum-pa-pum-pum
Rum-pa-pum-pum

We had carolling pa-rum-pa-pum-pum
The jester gave us joy pa-rum-pa-pum-pum
They gave us gifts and laughs pa-rum-pa-pum-pum
And lucky draws we won pa-rum-pa-pum-pum
rum-pa-pum-pum rum-pa-pum-pum

And Santa came pa-rum-pa-pum-pum
Everyone had fun

(photos by Lawrence, lyrics by Barnie)

Woof woof! Calling all Dog Lovers!

Calling All Dog Lovers!!

Are you interested to learn about responsible dog ownership?

Hear from a vet about how to care for your puppy or an older dog? Pick up tips on grooming and feeding?

Meet other dog lovers in the neighbourhood?

Ask AVA about the latest regulations for dog owners?

If you think you will be keen to participate in a Dog Lovers Talk at the neighbourhood, that covers the above topics, please send an email to:

deanne.tan@gmail.com

with a gauge of interest - it would then be possible to plan for the event!

Do pass the word to your other neighbours!

Tiong Bahru The Film - The Exhibition!

Hi everyone, as you may know, the film will soon be launched....

In the meantime, to see the story behind the making of the film, do check out the following exhibition at the Market, where it all happened!

2nd Oct 2010 to 10 Oct 2010.
Tiong Bahru Market Foyer,
Seng Poh Road.

' Taking place at the Tiong Bahru market from Saturday 2nd October to Sunday 10th October, this exhibition documents the three days in June 2010 when Tiong Bahru market and hawker centre was transformed into a movie set, with the help of UK-based filmmakers Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor, and 150 volunteers from the community.'

The festival of the Hungry Ghosts

Today is the 8th day of the 7th lunar month of the Chinese calendar.

Some of you would have seen these altars around the neighbourhood...



They are set out by either individual families, or by trade and neighbourhood associations who band together to offer food and drink for the wandering 'Good Brothers' - the respectful name for those who come back to this world for a month to enjoy themselves with the entertainments available on earth.

These associations often also stage a celebratory dinner for all its members. Tiong Bahru had one last week and it is one of Singapore's oldest recorded 7th Month Celebration Associations - SIN HOCK HENG SEAH:



The red bags on the table are full of useful goods to be distributed once a year to all who subscribe to the association. These would include - Rice, Oil, Sugar, Soya Sauce etc. the necessities of life!

Entertainments that include song and dance on stage - otherwise known as Getai 歌台. If you want to find out where there is Getai each night - and it happens all round Singapore - just by the daily Chinese newspaper - Lianhe Zaobao! And often, a grand dinner and auction!



Sometimes, the offerings take place on a grander scale, such as at the Buddha Tooth Temple in South Bridge Road. Tonight, long tables of offerings were laid out. Don't think that the faith does not move with the times! One of the offerings is of french fries and chilli sauce - can you spot it in the picture?





Finally, to check out the whole programme of events to explain why and how this month is commemorated and celebrated by Chinese who believe in their traditional faith, check out the event at Kreta Ayer Square, by Chinatown Complex Market and just behind the Buddha Tooth Temple. A very informative exhibition has been put up - Hungry Ghost Festival Cultural Exhibition - Free admission.



The Chinatown Business Association with the Singapore Tourism Board and the Taoist Federation, is also organising a series of talks and events for all who are interested. There is also the calendar on the blog - Chinese Temple Event Calendar.



Don't miss out what Tiong Bahru Market has to offer too - there are lots of seasonal goods on offer!

psst. For those of you who do not know, it is not polite to step on offerings or the ashes of offerings. Just walk around them.

The biggest festival day will be the 15th of the 7th month - 24th August 2010.

The YOG Flame is visiting Tiong Bahru!!!!

Latest news!

The YOG Flame will come through our hometown around 11.30 to 11.45 tomorrow - Friday, and they will run thru Lim Liak Street!

Come cheer on the runners, and take a nice picture of the flame in our heritage estate.

They will be accompanied by the local Lion and Dragon Dancers!

Nice to know that we are seen as representative of Singapore by the YOG folks too...



Wonder if Merly and Lyo will turn up?

With each generation, there is something more to be grateful for

Happy National Day neighbours and friends!

While the flats here in Corinne May's song are not of Tiong Bahru's vintage, Kampong Arang dates from the 60s when we underwent the heroic effort to rehouse our fellow citizens from tenements, slums and squatter shacks.

The simple architecture may not be considered much to shout about when compared to today's positively gleaming HDBs, but it is nice to see that these pioneer flats being celebrated, if nothing else, as a place where we started, as a place that evokes a feeling of home.

It is also good to be reminded of the role of the common-corridor - the five foot way of our Tiong Bahru flats - that was inherited from Raffles' planning rules, and transformed/brought into high-rise housing from the 60s to the 80s - that is is a place where community formation - as a result of friendships being formed - has a better chance of taking place. And its many small community/ies that come together to make a Nation.



Hopefully one day, we will have an equally nice ND song set in Tiong Bahru!

Majulah Singapura!

Happy National Day! I love Tiong Bahru, I love Singapore!

Here's a wish for a Happy National Day to all of us here who live in, or are fans of Tiong Bahru....




Our first ever community banner with the signatures of the residents who came for the tea party. Do add yours in!


(pictures courtesy of Zaihan, of WCS) The Banner will be up on display for the duration of August.

Last weekend, we had our first ever party to mark the 'launch' of our special Community National Day Banner.

Instead of having a typical design that is generic, Seng Poh RC thought to ask if the White Canvas Gallery would consider contributing the outcome of the sketchwalk through the estate, to create a special National Day banner that would have a real local flavour.

WCS and the artists of the walk readily agreed, and it was put together into what you see above. The design of the banner was done by WCS, and we hope you will agree that it is really quite eye-catching!

On the day of the launch party on 1 August, even though it was overcast and drizzled, many residents turned up to see what the banner was all about, and we have to say that all of them were pleasantly surprised to see our home town captured first in an artistic form, and secondly, transformed into a banner!

Young and Old were excited to sign their name on the banner - often looking for that particular sketch that showed their block or their street.






(Pictures courtesy of Barnie Leow)

Even those who did not plan to come to the event, but passed by, were happy to see the banner, and added their name to it, and then joined in to have a cup of tea and a chat with their neighbours.



(Pictures courtesy of Barnie Leow) The little girl at the bottom left of the picture was looking for her sketch.

So, what else is there to say but that, we do love our neighbourhood, and we do appreciate how Art can make us recognize the beauty of our hometown! Seng Poh RC is thankful for the helpful folks at WCS, the 4 artists - Don, Tia, Miel and Paul, and all the other enthusiasts who turned up for the sketch walk and made the banner possible.

Happy National Day everyone - as we so love our hometown, we can then also love our country....



p.s. Seng Poh RC welcomes opportunities for collaborative events between all who are interested in the neighbourhood, especially where the event is an opportunity for residents and friends of the estate to meet. If you have any proposals, do drop us an email here - we will forward it to the RC.

Make a date with your memories this Sunday 8 August, 10 pm on OKTO!

This Sunday, 8th August 2010, a new documentary film will be screened at 10pm on Okto.


Do you know, do you remember where this dragon is?

Okto's Special National Day Documentary Feature OLD PLACES – with support from NHB’s Heritage Industry Incentive Programme (Hi2P) - is produced by Chuan Pictures, directed by Royston Tan, Victric Thng and Eva Tang, and features the voices of Singaporeans as they recall their memories of disappearing places in Singapore.

Take a walk down memory lane and revisit Old Places in Singapore once again.

Reminisce yesterday's past today. Don’t forget to tune in. Tell your friends!

Have you entered the competition yet?

The British Council sponsored Civic Life project is having its 'Where the Heart Is' film competition for all who live on this island of Singapore...




90 seconds is all it takes to get your chance to win a place to the world's most prestigious short film festival later this year...

read more about it on:

WHERE THE HEART IS

All the best!

National Day - Launch of Community Banner & Tea Party

Dear Friends and Neighbours,

Come join in the launch of the 2010 Tiong Bahru Community Banner for National Day! This year's banner is made up of sketches created by sketchers from all walks of life who took part in the Tiong Bahru Sketch Walk on 17 July, that was organized by White Canvas Gallery. You can sign your name on the banner, which will be displayed for the next few weeks, for our National Day. Tea and Cake will be provided... do come! All residents, and friends of Tiong Bahru, are welcome to join us!

The Banner is going to look good!

1 August 2010
Sunday
1-3pm
Seng Poh RC
Block 48 Moh Guan Terrace.

See you on Sunday!

Pictures from the sketch walk....

Many thanks to the White Canvas Gallery for organizing the first ever sketch walk in Tiong Bahru - it was very encouraging to see about 100 enthusiasts coming along to look, and to draw our hometown! Here are some pictures of the event....























they drew everything!

And guess what - we will be using the sketches to form our National Day Community Banner - which will be launched jointly by Seng Poh RC and WCG on 1 August at Seng Poh Garden (more details to come)

Some of the participants - who came from both Tiong Bahru as well as beyond (so glad to know that we have friends from all over Singapore!), have asked if it could be done again... well, lets see how it goes?

:)

Thanks to Barnie for the pictures!

Sketchwalk 17 July 2010 at Tiong Bahru

A reminder of the upcoming community event organised by our lovely partners in the 'hood - White Canvas Gallery.

SKETCHWALK WITH TIA BOON SIM, PAUL WANG, DON LOW and MIEL.

Sketches by all participants - we hope you can also contribute your work to the creation of this year's National Day Community Banner for Seng Poh (Tiong Bahru) Estate.

WCG will help to take pictures of all the sketches that are created this coming Saturday, to be compiled, in collaboration with Seng Poh RC, into our very first special Banner that will be on display at the Seng Poh Tea Garden from 1 August 2010 (More details coming soon)

17 July, Saturday, 2 pm
SKETCHWALK by ARTISTS, OPEN TO ALL, MEET AT THE GALLERY.
FREE

BEGINNERS WELCOME!

For more information:
Call Ricky at the White Canvas Gallery: 62208723
or
Email: ricky@whitecanvas-gallery.com

Here is a preview of the sketchers at work.

Your thoughts on community safety

Some residents have written back to share on their thoughts on the safety of the neighbourhood:

If we have to do it,carry a torchlite and have a vigilante group prowl around Tiong Bahru estate if necessary.I will be the first volunteer,good exercise for the legs and doing a good turn for the community bonding the estate,thus detering unwanted attention to our property.
The CC,RC,should look into such area where its more meaningful,I have experienced it in Taiwan,very friendly kind of atmostphere when we met them in a darken street near our hotel vincinity.
Report any people or person loitering near your area for more than half an hour or aproach them and ask if you are of any help thus taking note of features,dressings which might be of help during investigation.Rather we could ask NHP to make petrol on behalf,you hardly see any petrol cars around,only when trouble has happened.
Usually such cases happen around 3 to 4 am where most of us are sound asleep.If happen to wake up for the necessary,just keep alook out on the streets or back lanes call for help if suspicious sound or characters for no reason loitering in your scope of vision.
Make sure public lightings is in working order,especially staircase landings and entrances.



Thanks for the info,will be more alert.Being one of the targets hit three years ago six cases in all within 3 months,my shop was burgled in the heat of the night by likely tenants on the upper floor.Especially there are renovation going on.Units should be on guard,in the area.
I am more careful not letting anyone unfamiliar to enter my back portion of my shop thus observing the weak areas which we have patched up.Installed motion detectors in critical area suggested by the Police and Insurance agent.
Hope to keep Tiong Bahru safe for all.
Thanks again for the timely reminder,I almost forgot about the situation I was in nearly four years ago.Although its a few thousand dollars its heart breaking and tension for the family.

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By the way, the reported house breaking occurred about 10 plus in the evening it seems.

If anyone wants to take part in possible neighbourhood patrols, do drop us an email and we will see what we can do to get something organised.

Fortunately, this estate is still safer than most, as we have more eyes on the street to look out around for each other. Still, as some of you have shared - nothing like helping each of us as neighbours and friends to keep the area safe for all!

Where the Heart Is - Civic Life - the Film Competition and More

Hear from the 2 directors, on the motivation behind the filming in Tiong Bahru, and also, the launch of the Film Making Competition - 'Where the Heart Is'.



You also get a quick sneak preview into how some of the scenes will look!

So, get your digicams/cameras/mobilephone ready to make your film of Where your Heart Is, in Singapore... share with your friends and family....

And thank you once more, to all who took part in the film project, and to British Council and National Museum for bringing this project - Civic Life - to our hometown!

ALERT ! HOUSE BREAKING ! ! !

Dear Friends and Neighbours

This is to alert you that in the last week, there has been a break in at Block 82, Tiong Poh Road, at night.

One of the flats on the 2nd floor had its bedroom window broken into and things were stolen.

It seems that the thief targeted the unit where the rear courtyard of the ground floor is roofed over - which enables the thief to walk over and into the flat.

The thief then left thru the front door it seems.

The Police is now investigating the issue, but they have asked all of us to do the following:

a. Do not leave rear doors/windows open when you are out of the house.
b. Keep valuables locked away.
c. Do note if there is suspicious sounds coming from the rear roof.

and MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL I would say -

d. Keep an eye out for each other and if in doubt, call the police.

There is nothing like knowing your neighbours and looking out for each other. Only in this way can we help to keep each other safe.

Civic Life - Tiong Bahru The Movie - Read all about The STARS

Hello!

Some of you were seen at the filming over last weekend... I am sure all of you had fun! For the rest of you... find out more about how it looked - lots of lovely pictures shot by Samantha Tio....and on the Flickr Album here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48246027@N05/sets/72157624257551435/

The event was also covered substantially by many journalists, including The Online Citizen. Read all about TOC's review of it and their interview with the STARS from our community here, where the 'stars' from the community are featured!



From Left: Joe Lawlor, Christine Malloy, Leo Mak, Mdm Lim, and Veronica Patricia Rio
Picture by Samantha Tio

Sketches of Tiong Bahru - 30 June to 17 July

Last night was the grand opening of the first local art show that is focused on our neighbourhood, at our new local gallery White Canvas Gallery. Run by Colin, Maria and Ricky, their gallery's first show is dedicated to our home town.

Through the eyes of Tia Boon Sim, Don Low, Miel and Paul Wang, the sketches, in the different styles, showcase the sometimes hidden beauty of our estate.





















Do catch the show, the sketches are beautiful!

Most works are for sale, and you may consider getting something for your own flat...

2 other events that you can consider joining in as part of the exhibition:

3 July, Saturday, 2 pm
ARTISTS TALK at THE GALLERY

17 July, Saturday, 2 pm
SKETCHWALK by ARTISTS, OPEN TO ALL, MEET AT THE GALLERY.
FREE

For more information:
Call Ricky at the White Canvas Gallery: 62208723
or
Email: ricky@whitecanvas-gallery.com

A very Meowy evening at Seng Poh RC... 3 July 2010.

“Ever since the Pharaohs we’ve been unable to agree about cats. And we still can’t really decide whether to love them or loathe them. How could something so innocent and beautiful be so divisive?”
Joanna Lumley


Dear friends and neighbours,

We'll be watching the second installment of the Catwoman show, and a slideshow of stray cats from Greece (by our very own resident photographer Mr Barnie Leow)



Come join us!

Bring your friends and family and feel free to bring munchies to share. We can go for a walk after the event to look at the neighbourhood's cats!

Sat 3rd Jul,
7.45pm onwards at Seng Poh RC
Block 48 Moh Guan Terrace

FREE

Suitable for all ages

2 More days to the FILM!

Joe and Christine were interviewed this morning on Prime Time Morning , while an episode of Singapore Discovered, to air on Channel News Asia in August, will be shot this weekend in around the estate and will feature the film prominently the host of the programme will actually take part in one of the scenes, which will be featured in the TV programme)

The project also appeared in the Straits Times..



So glad to have local residents wanting to take part - and thanks to Mrs Chia for supporting her husband!











Reporters from Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Shin Min Daily News and TODAY will be attending the shoots, as will writers from the website ONLINE CITIZEN and YOUTH.SG.

How exciting!

Hope some of you have signed up....