Noise Noise Noise!

What do you do when your neighbours drive you up the wall with noise late at night?

Here's the response from the friendly local Police to a complaint on Guan Chuan Street - so, take note, and use them!

Dear Sir

I refer to your preceding email of XX November 2009.

The Police recognise that noise pollution at night is likely to cause
greater annoyance. As such, for noise pollution complaints at night (
typically between 10.30 p.m. and 7 a.m.) the police officer will attend to the scene.

Therefore you are advised to call the Bukit Merah East Neighbourhood
Police Centre at 1800-2369999 to seek their assistance if the noise created is extremely loud and intolerable. We have informed the Central Police Division to step up frequent police patrol in the vicinity.

Thank you and regards.

Esther Tan
for Quality Service Manager
Singapore Police Force

Don't forget, the email address to send your complaints to formally is:

SPF_Customer_Relations_Branch@spf.gov.sg

Singapore in the 1970s... in colour!

Thought to help advertise one of my favourite films of Singapore's recent past - Peter Bogdanovich's interpretation of Paul Theroux's 'SAINT JACK'.

What will you see? Here's some hints:
Singapore River (before it was cleaned up)
Bugis Street (before it was cleaned up)
Ann Siang Road (before it was cleaned up)
Amoy Street (before it was cleaned up)
Orchard Road
Raffles Hotel, and some really interesting aspects of Singapore's history from the 70s that we have forgotten/not told ourselves.

This film was banned in Singapore until only a few years ago. Read more on this part of its history on Ben Slater's Blog.



Its showing on:

THU 26 NOV 2009 7:30pm &

FRI 27 NOV 2009 1:00pm

Gallery Theatre, Basement

National Museum, Stamford Road.

Here is the blurb from our National Museum's event site:

The only American film to be shot entirely on location in Singapore, Saint Jack was completed in secrecy in 1978 and then swiftly banned for nearly three decades. It’s an adaptation of an early novel by Paul Theroux about a middle-aged Italian-American drifter called Jack Flowers (played by Ben Gazzara), hustling a living in the seedier corners of Singapore. Director Peter Bogdanovich and his team set out to tell his story as authentically as possible, and spared no effort in scouting locations and casting locals. What they created was a vivid, colourful document of the swinging Lion City of the ‘70s, capturing the high and low-life, the gangsters, the towkays, the Brits, the Yanks, the good-time girls and boys, the glitzy hotels and the crumbling mansions with immense wit and style. Watching Saint Jack is a chance to return to a forgotten time and a vanished city.

Members of the cast and crew will be present at the screening on Thursday 26 November, 7.30pm, which will be hosted by Ben Slater, author of Kinda Hot: The Making of Saint Jack in Singapore.

Don't forget to join in the mystery tour!

A GO GO GO GO CHRISTMAS!

The holiday season is soon upon us, and we are glad to announce two upcoming events at the Tiong Bahru CC this coming December.

19 Dec 2009
Tiong Bahru CC Womens’ Executive Committee presents a fun night of A GO GO.
Tickets at $10.
6.30 to 11 pm. Come dressed in your retro best. Food, Games, Entertainment, Prizes and Dancing!

26 Dec 2009
Jalan Membina RC brings you their annual Christmas Carnival.
1 pm to 5 pm.
Tickets at $5

Do bring your family and friends to both events.
Tickets available at Tiong Bahru CC Counter.
The Tiong Bahru CC is open from 9am to 10pm daily.

New at the Community Centre

After a few months of work, we have finally put up the Tiong Bahru Estate Heritage Wall at the main lobby of the Community Centre.

Looks great doesn’t it?

The content tells the story of how Tiong Bahru SIT Estate came to be, and has some lovely old archival pictures as well as more recent images.

Now when your friends and family visit you and wish to find out more about the history of this estate, you can start them off at the CC!

Opening hours of the Community Centre are from 9 am to 10 pm daily.
The Tiong Bahru Community Centre is located at 67A, Eu Chin Street.

The Heritage Club would like to thank the CC and its Manager for showcasing our history, and for thanks to the members of the Club who put the pictures and design together. To find out more about conservation, do visit URA's website.

Upcoming - the information will be translated into Chinese, Malay and Tamil and also put up on the wall.

Christmas Fair - Support Tiong Bahru CC's Sewing Circle!

A handcrafted bear from the Sewing Circle that I bought a few years back. I just love the ‘Singapore’ fabric. His hands and legs move too!

Some of you might remember Lynda Koh, our local volunteer heroine, who helps with the needy in our area.

Do you know that she also has a long established Sewing Circle, based at our local CC, that produces a whole range of hand sewn goods, lovingly handcrafted by female residents of our neighbourhood? One of them is my neighbor.

Every year, they will sell their products at the Ngee Ann City Christmas Fair. This year’s fair starts this Saturday, and the Sewing Circle stall will be manned from 10 am to 5 pm.

Check it out at the Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza.

What will you get there? Bags, Bears, Quilts and more.

They will be Christmas presents, with a difference! Designed and made in Singapore.

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....

Tiong Bahru (VERTICAL and HORIZONTAL) Challenge

Hey folks!

Ever wanted to take part in a vertical race?

Well, on 13 December, Tiong Bahru will be host to our very own Vertical Race - up a 30 storey block of flats! There is a horizontal element as well - a 5 km run before we huff and puff up the new flats at Boon Tiong Road....



Online registration for the Challenge is available here.

You can also register at the Tiong Bahru CC personally.

Alternatively, a copy of the registration forms can be requested from TBChallenge09@gmail.com and payment for registration can be submitted via mail of a crossed cheque and duly completed registration form.

Great prizes to be had! See you at the Challenge!