Kenyalang Park

Over the last couple of weeks, maybe 2 moons ago, there were some discussions amongst us regarding the old Cinemas in Kuching. We spoke of Sylvia Cinema, Lillian Theatre and the rest. Steve Voon and Nashiko San provided some photos which churned up nostalgia ....for me, at least ! We did it through our normal chain e-mails. Now we have a Blog !

I "stole" the following from one of Ewin's e-mails and the photos from the blogsite of a much younger generation of Josephians.... .Form Fivers of '76 I think....KIDS ! Take a look.

Ewin wrote :-


"Went to my favourite see-ham kway-tiaw stall in Kenyalang Park for breakfast this morning and took the opportunity to check out the cinema there . I knew what the building's ground floor was like , having patronised the shopping arcade selling almost exclusively China-made products before. But what got my goat was the realisation - when I had to ask my way to the cinema proper - that I had never, in all the years of its existence , watched a movie there !

A short flight of steps cluttered with mannequins led me up to a decidedly empty foyer, ie. not counting the elderly fee-collecting Tamil lady sitting by the washroom door .The several shops which encompassed the floor , and which probably vended ice-cream , pop-corn and miscellaneous snacks once , stood starkly empty .

The Tamil lady turned out to be friendly , as she was quick to answer that obvious question from me with .. "Wooh , sini suda banyak tahun ta'da bikin wayang " Happy with my 'discovery' , I went back downstairs and bought myself MR10 worth of preserved plums .... no , not the salty sng boi ..the sweeter type ......and yes , China made !"


Anyone have a photo of the Kenyalang Park Cinema ? Please post it here. Remember Capitol and Odeon and Rex Cinemas/Theatre ?












Memories, light the corners of my mind,
Misty water colored memories,
Of the way we were....






Go here for the song "The way we were" by Barbra Streisand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNEcQS4tXgQ

Steve and Nash, please post the photos of Sylvia and Lillian, will you ?

The Kuching Laksa Outing Foursome

Did I Get This Right?

Hi Frank/Wayland, hope am in now. This is a trial posting. Please let me know if I got it right and soonest I know I'd post more comments............how now do I get to those pages with pix and your comments?

Richard Welch and Mental Photography

Are you a "voracious" reader ? Are you a passionate learner..by that I mean are you inclined towards wanting to learn "everything" in the shortest time possible ? Do you have Dyslexia ?

If your answer is "yes" to any of the above, watch the following YouTube clip.



Imagine reading a whole book in a couple of minutes ! If you own an iPad, think about your Internet bills !!!!

Relaxed at mini reunion at ERAMA 09-10-10

'Win, quick, pull my finger !!!!

Left to right : Gerald, Thiam Fatt, Erwin, David, Raphael.

Spanx ....aimed at men instead of Ladies.

Ya ya I know, it's me again !



At our age and after a zillion litres of beer, laksa, bak kut teh, kolomee, nasi lemak, sup kambing and satay ketupat it would be a wonder if we were able to fit into waistline size 30 in. Jeans anymore. Not to worry ! I saw the following advert in the online version of London's Daily Mail :-



















A Simon Cowell lookalike at the launch at Selfridges today for the men's undergarments designed to 'firm and flatten', keeping beer bellies in check

Read more at :

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1324511/Spanx-reducing-underwear-body-conscious-man-hits-high-street.html?ref=nf#ixzz13iuEAZqx


So guys, if you want to look your best at our Golden Reunion on 11-11-11....I am not saying that you are not looking good right now....... you might want to give it go, no ?

Naaaaaah ! Ya, me too. I am just going to let it bulge out as testimony to my love for the bubblies ! Anyway there will not be any St. Theresians to impress.....will there ?

Hound Dog

Sorry people. It looks like I am hogging all the posts but I'd die if I didnt post this. It was 1956 and this was the first time "THEY" allowed Elvis to be shown from head to feet on TV at the inssistence of Ed Sullivan, the host.




The birth of Rock and Roll !!!

Are you lonesome tonight - senior moments version

I cannot get the youtube video embedded. Try the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfPgSzcu9RY

Kuching food

This video has been going around. You may have seen it, and even forwarded it to me. It should be bookmarked, especially for those overseas, salivating at the sight of the dishes. Somehow the famous "bestest" Kuching laksa is not featured. The video is in Hokkien, but the videos are self evident.





Muchos gracias to Wayland and Francis for guiding me to my first blog ever

Roy Orbison

Continuing our stroll down memory lane through songs here's one I simply couldnt resist posting. I am sure for every single one of us this song brings back a special memory.

Memories from Music

Last night I came across a song as I was browsing through YouTube. It had a profound effect and memories came flooding into my mind. Nostalgia hit me and I was 25 again. The song was "What is a Youth" from the film "Romeo and Juliet", a Cinematic adaption of Shakespear's play (As if you didnt know that.). I "time-travelled" back to 1968 as I replayed the YouTube clip over and over again. We all had crushes for Olivia Hussey.......and before her, Sandra Dee.

Olivia Hussey Sandra Dee



Go here to watch the clip :-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK8Ek2v-lWk


From the first days of reconnection members of this group of St. Joe's Old Boys have been reminding each other of the wonderful days gone by through music and songs.

Ewin Wright had this to say :-


"Over the last couple of weeks or so , I have been wallowing - thanks to you - in musical delicacies of yesteryears , taking some time to reflect on " who were you with , what were you doing when this song was popular". Not only did I savour, yet again ,the songs I knew so well but saw them sung 'live' . Isn't youtube just great ..music and songs ad-infinitum ! Informative too .( Never knew that Elvis also recorded Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood , indeed by many others too ).




Make Thine Music , 40 Miles of Bad Road ,Rock Kuek , Johnny Tillotson , Duane Eddy , Tornados , Blue Rebels , Raunchy ...and today.. Harry Belafonte !!



How old were we then ..17, 18 ? Thanks to the music , these were some of the best years of my life , as I'm certain they were yours too . Even boy/girl pursuits took the back seat (I think) like Wayland's Seven Little Girls ! The late 50s and early 60s were heady days for us music lovers weren't they....and , would you know it, Rock & Roll 'single-handedly' did it .

Born in cottonfields of USA, the litany of names spreading it is long , but stand-outs include iconic ones like Chuck Berry , Little Richard , Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and the undisputed top-dog Elvis Presley . Soon after, the British would come up with their own version of that music genre , though generally a tad toned down . Recognisable names included Gerry and the Pacemakers, Dave Clark Five and the vastly popular - at least in our part of the world - Cliff Richard . There was also The Animals who favoured a raw and rough-edged R&R , and whose heavy use of the keyboard made them quite un-British . For some reason , I never really cottoned to The Rolling Stones ....but kudos to their longevity . The Beatles were , needless to say , in another stratosphere , all by themselves






And so it was in this era that we lived our puberty, with songs and music of the time taking up a good part of it. And where did we get our 'fix'? Yes , Radio Sarawak ( remember Anne Tan and her Saturday afternoon's Record Request? ) , or from tuning to Radio Australia with our little transistor radios late at night .


So thank you for the music Guys, as it has brought me nothing but pleasant memories."


What a wonderful write-up ! Thanks 'Win !

Early Years 2

Jimmy and The Tornadoes! This was the late fifties when young Ashari was lead guitarist for the then top band in Kuching. We used to tune in to "Make Thine Music" hosted by Mr. Rock Kuek to listen to Jimmy belting out Cliff Richard songs. Their theme was "40 Miles of Bad Road" which can easily be heard now on YouTube played by Duane Eddy. What memories does this bring you ? What were you doing then ? Who were you with ? Remember the greasy hairstyle kept in place with "Yardley Pomade" or "Himalayan Bouquet" . Tony Curtis curls and Elvis "Curry Puffs" and "Duck Tails" were in fashion. Girls wore Pony Tails and Can Can Skirts !



Well, talk about early....that's Frank and me and a friend posing with "Runaround Sue". It was 1962 and we were working in Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Brunei. The Bike was a 350c.c. Triumph Tiger and was named after Susie H. The crush hadnt rubbed off yet.
That's it for now. If any of yous want to have your stories posted dont hesitate to let us know. We will include you in the contributers list.
Cheers !

p.s. For more info on Runaround Sue watch this YouTube link :-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c49klxPex-k

Early Days

Just to jumpstart this very new Blog I shall be posting photos of our early days at St. Joe's to lure the rest of yous into visiting often. Frank and I know that there is a "treasury" of stories and memories locked up in the brains of the rest of yous and we wish you would share them. William (Dirty Goose) appears to have the sharpest ability for retrieval of data from his memory banks so we await his input. Ewin has a way with words. With him on board, this could become the best St. Joe's blog of them all.

Please take note that NOTHING personal will be published without the permission of the subject or subjects. Photos will be posted with discretion....Eg "The Laksa 3-Some" and "Young Mr. Babu". It would be most ideal if everyone contributed. The "Keyword" here is DISCRETION.

Here goes :-

Somebody sent this in an e-mail but I forget who. This must be a Six Form Class in 1962 as I seem to be missing. We need some assistance with identification here please fellas. I see Brother Edwin and Brother Hilary, Mr. Polycarp Sim, Mr. Poh.

There isnt any zooming feature at Blogspot but I shall try and magnify this for a later posting.

Signing off now but I shall be back.

Laksa Foursome

The title of this post suggests a foursome but only three handsome guys are in the picture. The fourth, yours truely, was the one behind the camera.

This establishment is somewhere along Palm Road, opposite to the Mirama Plaza.

As I said before the Laksa is the bestest in the

world. The Col. had a second helping of the gravy.

After Laksa we went to Pete's Pad to look at his

Banana.......which appeared to be his pride and joy. When we saw his garden we realised why he was so proud of it . He had three groups of the

Cavendish variety of Bananas which was growing

very well. When we left we had him promising to

cut a couple of young plants for us to cultivate in

our gardens as well.

(Left) A Photo of the Real McCoy !

Young Mr Babu

I'm here, so what's keeping yous ?

Hey Frank ! Thanks for allowing me to be a contributor to this Blog. It was ok for me because I have already got a gmail account which is b.t.w. david.aka.wayland. If any of you becomes fed up with teewrex you can also reach me at david.aka.wayland.

I am not going to add anything else at this juncture but I must say that the get together at Ewin's on 09-10-10 was really great. I got to see many more classmates whom I had not seen for over 40 years. There was Kueh Hong Siong, Lim Kim Hui, Gerald Lee, Raphael Nissom, Anthony Ramanair, Datuk Wong and of course Col. Hj. Sharkawi Hasbie, Khun Jian and Alan Chan.

Pete Kuek took us out to have the bestest Laksa in the Universe but I hear tell there are other joints which also boast of being the bestest in the Universe. Ok, most of yous know by now that I am inclined to exagerate so let's just say...bestest Laksa in the World.

As the other guys start joining in and become "FOLLOWERS" of this Blog please remember to follow "PRIVATELY". Otherwise, like in facebook, all your contacts and their profile will be viewed by other contacts who are not in this group...whether invited or not.

Hope to see more of yous soon !

At ERAMA October 9, 2010

Still very good looking ... 50 years later! Would be even better if Amoi was here.