Blog To Express: February 2011

Feb 26, 2011

First Week of Primary One - Singapore Schools

Following the "3D Blog - First Day of School" , in Singapore yonder days, watch the Ministry of Education on Facebook "First Week of P1" video to see what our children experience in their first week of primary school.

Do you have a distinct memory of your Primary 1 days? What was it like to step into the school or classroom for the very first time?

What are your favourite Primary 1 memories? Share them in less than 50 words and stand to win one of five iPod Nanos!

Please see the contest tab for Terms and Conditions.

Share these memories with us and stand a chance to win attractive prizes.

Your comment must be less than 50 words and it must start with "I remember..."

There are five prizes of an Apple iPod Nano (8GB) to be given away.

Contest ends on 8 March 2011.

Labels: First Week of Primary One - Singapore Schools

Feb 23, 2011

MyPaper - February 7, 2011

Sources: "MyPaper" dated February 7, 2011. Thanks to Jerome Lim who tagged a photo of us in the "On a little street in Singapore" group on Facebook.

The photos of "MyPaper" published on February 7, 2011 and translated the Chinese article into English with the help of LKM, Andy Lim's friend of "Singapore 60s: Andy's Pop Music Influence" blog.

Archiving Bloggers' History - An interview with Icemoon of "2nd Shot" and Jerome Lim of "The Long and the Winding Road" blogs.

"Briefly the report is about the importance and the technological challenges faced to archive digital histories that some bloggers are writing on various aspects of a community's culture e.g. food, housing, entertainment.

In an interview with My Paper, Mr *Paul Arthur, an Aussie scholar in digital histories, opined the need to systemically archive bloggers thinking and reminisces of history. He said this is an enormous and challenging task technologically.

The main challenge is how to preserve the interactive nature of a blog as an archive, given its digital links. Some local bloggers e.g. 2nd Short interviewed felt that blogs of historical value should be archived. The NLB is studying the possibility of doing so.

The side report presented the argument whether a blogger's personal perception of history can qualify to be archived as official history. The President of the Singapore Heritage Society thought an individual's reminisces of history are important as they reflect the experiences of grassroot level of society while Mr Arthur opined that over the past 20 years, history scholars have given more attention to the study of individuals' personal accounts of life experiences because they can reflect certain turning points in history.

The Report mentioned that there are a number of local blogs on historical and cultural heritage worth archiving. The best method is to systemtically group them in various categories in www to facilitate accessibility from public."

Images: from 'My Paper'

*Paul Arthur: www.paularthur.com

Blogs cited in newspaper article:

http://www.goodmorningyesterday.blogspot.com

http://www.blogtoexpress.blogspot.com

http://www.bullockcartwater.blogspot.com

http://www.singapore60smusic.blogspot.com

www.thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com

http://www.singapore1960s.blogspot.com

http://www.2ndshot.blogspot.com

Sources: "MyPaper" dated February 7, 2011.

Labels: MyPaper - February 7 2011

Feb 16, 2011

3D Blog - Bugis Street (Places)

The blueprint and proposed master plan of this building was submitted by the architects over a century ago. Although these planners and construction builders likely not on this earth today, their design, plans still stand at Bugis Street, Singapore today. Many, many changes have been made and re-made over the year to the internal renovation, use of trade and business, shophouse ownership, its the same place, different times, different nature of business. Photo Credit: National Archives of Singapore (NAS).

As a sequel to this blog on 3D - Blog Street (People) , here's 2nd Shot's blogsite with great photos, interesting and informative articles on The Real Shophouses of Bugis Junction to find out more.

Another "Boogie at Bugis" blog here .

Histories of architecture not only explore the remains of what has been built in the past, but also architecture of which no remains can be found but only written testimonies. The existing historical architecture is nothing more than a fraction of what once existed, and even that little has usually been so greatly encroached on by restorations and rebuilding that even fraction ends up more as appearance than reality. (Source: "Memories of Architecture" by Wim Denslagen. Translated by Donald Gardner).

History of Bugis Street

Its old buildings of character has a rich architectural heritage worth preserving.

The original street was a well-known "world" tourist attraction frequented by tourists,especially in the 1950s & 1960s,when it was notorious for the transvestites found there.It was popular with British colonial soldiers & seamen on shore leave with US military on "Rest & Recreation" (R&R) during the Vietnam War.The charm of the place even attracted locals. Lined with old shophouses,food stalls parked outside offered al fresco dining serving local specialities until the early hours of the morning.In the height of its notoriety,when the street was gangster controlled,it was rife with con men,pimps,street vendors & touts trying to sell their wares.Bugis Street 's cabaret atmosphere began only in the evenings.The main highlight was the 'parade of transvestites' as they made their nightly appearances with "showtime" starting at 11:00 pm.It was the only alternative for night entertainment after midnight.The street would remain alive until dawn.

The dirty back lanes,smelly drains,unhealthy sanitary & rotting conditions in the area necessitated a clean up in the 1980s.Despite an outcry from both Singaporeans and tourists alike,the street was resited right opposite the original street, between Victoria Street & Queen Street.The bustling Bugis MRT subway Station & the Bugis Junction shopping mall are where the crowds gather today.Bugis street still serves food and is transformed into a night bazaar in the evenings but no longer does it have the colour and flavour of its past life.

Chinese Name:
In Hokkien,Peh sua-pu possibly means "White-wash" where peh is "white".The name is derived for uncertain reasons with the following being some possibilities:
(1) from the white sands of the seashore there.
(2) from the business of the white shore sand being sold in Bugis Street for the construction industry.
(3) it was believed that the houses there were given an extra coat of whitewash.

Malay Name: Others suggest the name is derived from the Malay word sapu for "broom" or "sweep".

Bugis Street is part of “Ta Po" (大坡) referred to the area south of the Singapore River, and “Xiao Po" (小坡) referred to the area north of it. There are 2 roads in 大坡, and 7 in 小坡. Chinese used to refer to the roads in these areas in numeric sequence rather than their original names:

1) Da Po 1st Road - South Bridge Road
2) Da Po 2nd Road - New Bridge Road
3) Xiao Po 1st Road - North Bridge Road
4) Xiao Po 2nd Road - Victoria Street
5) Xiao Po 3rd Road - Queen Street
7) Xiao Po 4th Road - Waterloo Street (At Krishnan Hindu Temple & Kuanyin Temple)
8) Xiao Po 5th Road - Bencoolen Street
9) Xiao Po 6th Road - Prinsep Street
10) Xiao Po 7th Road - Selegie Road

Photo Credit: National Archives of Singapore (NAS).

Photo Credit: National Archives of Singapore (NAS).

Bugis Street (Today)

Today,Bugis Street has revamped itself by providing sheltered walkways & air-conditioned shopping zones.Now housing over 600 stalls,it offers an eclectic mix of trendy and functional street wear,cafes,hawker food & services.Possibly one of the best known areas in Singapore,Bugis Street retains its disctinctive street shopping feel.

New Bugis Street which can be seen bordering Bugis Street, is a newly created shopping street that was actually developed based on the old Bugis Street. It features a number of narrow alleys lined with stalls selling "pasar malam" or night market goods. This is in fact the only area in Singapore where tourists can experience a bazaar style shopping expedition, bargaining is commonplace here and a number of specialty goods such as traditional clothing, souvenirs and culinary delights can be found.