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)

Heritage Hunter....comes to Singapore!

Not sure when this will show, but do look out for the episode with Singapore and Hong Kong in it!



Hong Kong and Singapore are 2 of the most dynamic cities in South East Asia - both ex British colonies, both predominately Chinese. Their skyscrapers are monuments to their economic success built on the backs of an immigrant population. In these cities are treasures which hark back to a different social and economic milieu


Wing Lee Street in Hong Kong sits on a valuable piece of real estate, caught in a time warp of neglect. Its tenement shop houses have been home to immigrant families for decades. Beneath the grime are treasures to be uncovered, stories to be told.


Tiong Bahru Estate is the oldest public housing estate in Singapore. Built before the war, the architecture of the low rise flats are a heady blend of the clean lines and elegant curves of the era of art decor. In its heyday it was dubbed the Hollywood of Singapore and a favoured place for romantic trysts.The Heritage Hunter calls on the Monkey God to help her find her treasures.

Channel News Asia International produced by Sitting In Pictures

Website: http://www.sittinginpictures.com
Starring: Linda Black
Written By: Catherine Lim/ Vincent Fong
Directed by: Vincent Fong/ Catherine Lim
Plot outline:

Heritage Hunter is a 6 x 30 mins. adventure series which explores historical, cultural and environmental sites in Asia and efforts to protect, preserve and develop them. In each programme the Heritage Hunter(Linda Black) will have to find 3 “treasures.” The treasures can be tangible - a relic, a rare plant - or intangible - a legend, a task. The clues are cryptic. The “treasures” are pieces of a puzzle which are significant to the narrative of the heritage story of the people who live there.

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/HeritageHunter

16th Day of the 8th Lunar Month - the celebrations commences!

Everything is set up at Eng Hoon Street today, as the celebration for the Birthday of the Great Heavenly Sage commences - and it is also the 90th Anniversary of this particular temple.

Something to look out for this time would be the display of a wide range of historic sedan chairs for the temple that have been gifted by devotees over the decades.



The main prayer event for today begins at 4.30pm, if you are in the hood, come by too. Check out the Chinese street opera (Teochew) from this evening!



All are invited - note that the bamboo with the lanterns is a 'signal' to heavenly beings to come join in the festivities.

Tiong Bahru Tours

Geraldene Lowe is offering the following tours for Tiong Bahru, based around the Festival for the Great Heavenly Sage:

23 SEPT Thurs - TIONG BAHRU WALK 2.30 - 5.30pm ending with Monkey God Birthday Procession - great photo opportunites!

24 SEPT FRI - TIONG BAHRU WALK 9.30AM - 12.30 Both Tours meet Holiday Inn Atrium Lobby - visiting Temples, famous Market Best Cake Shop in town - stay on to have lunch and see Opera Performance specially to entertain Monkey God!

Call Geraldene for details - afternoons 67375250 or leave a message and she will call you back.

You can also email her on : geraldenestours@hotmail.com

Do go if you live here, but have not yet been on a tour to understand our neighbourhood!

Enjoy!

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!

Next Art Exhbition at White Canvas Gallery... Fernando Escora

If you have enjoyed the pen work of our sketches at the inaugural show at the WCS, here is the next show for you to consider ...




Do check out the show, which is on from 22 July to 7 August 2010.

For more details of the artist - check out the WCS website.

Its good to see more arts and cultural events in our neighbourhood - and if any one of you have similar events, do drop us a line with the details... we will be glad to post it up for you!

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.

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

Tiong Bahru Market and the Movie - come join in!

The Straits Times
Life!
Apr 29, 2010
By Magdalen Ng

London-based film-makers Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy were shocked during their first visit to Tiong Bahru Market when their order of carrot cake arrived.

Lawlor and Molloy decided on Tiong Bahru for their film project as it was one of the oldest Housing Board (sic) estates. They are now familiar with the popular food stalls at the market. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO

'It looked nothing like the carrot cake that we were used to. But it's quite good, actually,' says Lawlor in a recent interview with Life! at the Tiong Bahru Market.

Now he and his wife are no longer strangers to the market and even know which hawker stalls are the most popular.

They have been speaking to store owners and visitors to the area as part of their research for the next short film that they are making.

Set in and around the Tiong Bahru estate, the movie is part of Civic Life: Tiong Bahru, a community arts project exploring identity, memory, architecture, a sense of place and civic space that will take place in the second half of this year.

The project is a collaboration between the British Council and the National Museum of Singapore with support from the Singapore International Foundation. There will also be an online film competition for Singaporeans.

'The British Council is a cultural relations agency whose aim is to create meaningful discussions around the ideas of creativity, culture and education. This project involves close collaboration with our Singaporean partners and a rich engagement between Singaporean and British artists,' says Mr Dan Prichard, director of programmes of the British Council in Singapore.

He adds: 'Joe and Christine's films are beautiful, but it is their commitment to the community and their engagement with the community at all levels in the project that make the Civic Life films so special.'

Lawlor and Molloy's movie, as yet untitled, is the third in a series of short films involving communities that they are making.

The first two Civic Life films were set in Dublin, Ireland, the duo's hometown. Moore Street was filmed along the iconic street where many migrant communities settle, while Leisure Centre focused on the leisure centre situated on Main Street Ballymun, which has long been associated with crime and poverty in the media. Both films were praised at various international film festivals.

For their Singapore film, they surveyed other places including Bedok before deciding on Tiong Bahru, because it is one of the oldest estates in Singapore, and is a place rich with history and culture. Also, almost every Singaporean they encountered seemed to have an opinion about Tiong Bahru Market.

'Some of the people we spoke to used to live here and have since moved away. But they still come back week after week to eat their favourite food,' says Lawlor.

Molloy adds: 'But there are others who refuse to come back after the refurbishment of the market, because they feel it's no longer the same place they remember.'

While filming is slated to take place in June, they are still working on the plot and script after three visits to Singapore. They plan to develop the script gleaned from conversations with residents and visitors in the area.

They are also inviting people to contribute their memories of the place to the project at the website, http://www.civiclife.sg./

'There are certain things that we will definitely include, but we don't know exactly what we want to do yet,' says Lawlor.

songyuan@sph.com.sg

Submit your memories of Tiong Bahru for this project at www.civiclife.sg

Tiong Bahru The MOVIE!

Have you ever wanted to be in a movie?

A real film shot on real film stock?

Here is your chance to do so... to share about the neighbourhood that we all love and care for... what are your stories?

LONDON-BASED film-makers Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy were shocked during their first visit to Tiong Bahru Market when their order of carrot cake arrived. 'It looked nothing like the carrot cake that we were used to. But it's quite good, actually,' says Lawlor in a recent interview with Life! at the Tiong Bahru Market.

picture courtesy of NEA

Now he and his wife are no longer strangers to the market and even know which hawker stalls are the most popular. They have been speaking to store owners and visitors to the area as part of their research for the next short film that they are making.

Set in and around the Tiong Bahru estate, the movie is part of Civic Life: Tiong Bahru, a community arts project exploring identity, memory, architecture, a sense of place and civic space that will take place in the second half of this year. The project is a collaboration between the British Council and the National Museum of Singapore with support from the Singapore International Foundation. There will also be an online film competition for Singaporeans.

'The British Council is a cultural relations agency whose aim is to create meaningful discussions around the ideas of creativity, culture and education. This project involves close collaboration with our Singaporean partners, rich engagement between Singaporean and British artists,' says Mr Dan Prichard, director of programmes of the British Council in Singapore.

He adds: 'Joe and Christine's films are beautiful, but it is their commitment to the community and their engagement with the community at all levels in the project that make the Civic Life films so special.'

Lawlor and Molloy's movie, as yet untitled, is the third in a series of short films involving communities that they are making.

Read the full report in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times' LIFE!.

Are you into sketching? Come join us!

A local group that is focussed on sketching the city that they live in, will be organizing a 'sketch walk' in our neighbourhood.

27 March 2010, Saturday, 9am.



More details below.

Check out their blog!
__________________________

The upcoming sketchwalk will be around Tiong Bahru, one of the older neighbourhoods in Singapore and also a place where good food abound! Meeting point will be Tiong Bahru Market (a short walk from Tiong Bahru MRT station). Starting off time will be 9am sharp! Those interested in joining us for a leisurely breakfast, please meet at 8:15am instead. Please call Andrew 91070735 if you can’t find us. No need to sign up, just show up if you are attending.

Film location needed! do you want to take part?

Happy Lunar New Year to one and all....

lets open the year's postings with this call for filming location in Tiong Bahru, from a local production company - local in that, they are actually based in our neighbourhood!

If you are interested in helping out - do contact Nadia directly! it would be good to have TB featured more in the media, especially for children!

___________________

Hi there,

I'm Nadia Shah, an assistant producer at local production company Eyecon Production (S). We're looking for three households in the Tiong Bahru area as venues for the production of a children's programme for Mediacorp's Okto channel.

The production will be shot during the March holidays, two weekends in April, and the June school holidays. However, since not all scenes will take place at the same venue, we may only need each household for at most 10 days.

Of course, remuneration will be provided for the home owners: $75 for a half day shoot and $150 for a full day shoot.

Kindly let me know if you know anyone who might be interested in this. You can drop me an email at nadia@eyecon.com.sg.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you!

Best Wishes,
Nadia Shah

Living culture on our street

A stilt performer playing the role of Monkey - the Heavenly Sage.

Hello!

Now that the 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar is well underway, I’d better get the posting up for the last procession that was held in our neighbourhood.

Many thanks to Wai Kin for sharing his pictures of the street parade that was held to mark the birthday of the Monkey God whose temple is on Eng Hoon Street.








Such temple parades and performances are a part of the long lasting Southern Chinese folk culture. Recently, China managed to get UNESCO to recognize the Mazu Belief and Customs as Intangible Cultural Heritage.





The temple medium as the Great Heavenly Sage, while in trance. This tradition is explained for the very first time, comprehensively, by Margaret Chan, in her ground breaking book 'Ritual is Theatre, Theatre is Ritual'. Now available at one of my favourite book shops - Select Books at Tanglin Shopping Centre.

A visiting friend from Beijing had not seen such events before back in China, and found it wonderful that we in far away Nanyang had preserved and sustained tradition in a way generally not seen back on the Mainland. See what she shared on her blog.



The devotees carrying the sacred sedan chair where the spirit of the deity is resting. It is said that the chair is lighter than normal when the deity is present in the chair.





The procession passing Chay Yan Street. The big headed doll is not so often seen these days.




By going around the estate, the procession renews the blessings of the deity to the estate. Believers see this as a form of spiritual protection for the estate. Minimally, the dances, dragons, cymbals - would create so much 'noise' - the louder the better - as the 'lau jiat' atmosphere serves to drive away all lurking spiritual baddies.


Perhaps one day, other forms of festivals and folk opera will be equally recognized.
Enjoy!

There was another parade recently... posting up soon....

The Birthday of Tai Seng Yah - a.k.a. Monkey God

The flags are up along Tiong Bahru and Tiong Poh Road.... pointing to the up coming birthday of Tai Seng Yah - The Great Heavenly Sage, a.k.a. the Monkey God whose temple is at the corner of Tiong Poh Road and Eng Hoon Street.



Yes, flags along roads are a sure sign of a temple festival in Singapore. These flags have peaches embroidered on them, as they are His favourite fruit (and also the fruit that got him in to trouble with the Jade Emperor and his consort long long long time ago....)

This temple is over 80 years old, and the big birthday, on the 16th day of the 8th Lunar Month, just after Mid Autumn Festival is the major event for the temple.

So, if you want to catch sight, or join in the festivities that is a real local folk festival, do take note of the following schedule of events:

Sunday 4 Oct - 3 pm, commencement of festivities, with lion and dragon dances.
The temple medium may be in attendance.
7pm, Teochew Opera nightly

Monday 5 Oct - afternoon and night, Teochew Opera
8 pm, dinner for temple supporters, lion and dragon dance, auction.

Tuesday 6 Oct - afternoon and night, Teochew Opera

Wednesday 7 Oct - afternoon and night, Teochew Opera

Thursday 8 Oct - 8 pm Getai show

Throughout the days of festivities, there is likely to be visiting troupes of Lion Dances who will come to pay respects (representing other neighbourhood temples) in the afternoon.



To read a good description of the temple in the 50s, check out this link to Dr Leon Comber's pioneering work - 'Chinese Temples of Singapore'.

All in all, its a great event for culture and photo buffs - the opera and dances are a sight to behold. The temple has adherents locally, as well as from Malaysia and Indonesia.



And if you are NOT a fan of Southern Chinese Folk Opera, well, its time to spend a few nights in town... :)

Photography for you!

Hello friends and neighbours!

Are you all getting ready for this coming holiday weekend?

If you are a fan of photography, and want to meet up with shutterbug enthusiasts in Tiong Bahru, do consider turning up this coming SUNDAY, for the first get together of the Tiong Bahru Seng Poh Resident's Committee Photography Interest Group Meet!



Seng Poh RC
Ground Floor
Block 48 Moh Guan Terrace
Facing Seng Poh Tea Garden

Spread the word around!

The new blog is up!

Hello!

This is the first attempt to have a blog for the residents and friends of the heritage and culture of Tiong Bahru. How will it go? I am learning as I type this - on how everything works!