PG Wodehouse, Tom Sharpe and John Mortimer

When I was younger and needed a big guffaw or a small chortle in my life, I turned to books. Not any ordinary book, mind you, but books by British writers. As far as I was concerned, only they - the British writers - could have such a flair with words. Words to make me laugh my head off when I was alone with myself. Words to make me smile politely when I was surrounded by people. 

I discovered PG Wodehouse in the 1980s when I was a constant lunch-hour visitor to the British Council in Green Hall, George Town. To my amazement, their library was filled with all types of books and magazines that agreed with me. I could spend hours reading here, except that I had to rush back to the office when the lunch hour was over.

(By comparison, the United States Information Services Library or USIS Library was like a damp squib. In the 1960s and 1970s, I was aware that there was a USIS Library in Penang, located at the India House in Beach Street. But though it was an informative place, I never quite enjoyed visiting it. Eventually, the USIS Library in Penang closed in the 1970s, I think.)

Apart from Wodehouse, I soon got to know other British writers like Tom Sharpe and John Mortimer. From that time onwards, crossing the Penang Ferry was no longer a boring process. From the moment I plonked down on the benches to await the ferry's arrival at the terminal or while the ferries were plying the Channel, a book would appear on my lap and I could spend maybe 30 minutes with the books. Oh, if only I could have laughed out loud but I had to stifle myself so many times.

Over time, I built up a small, modest collection at home. Only 16 books in all. Titles by Wodehouse, Sharpe and Mortimer. Three days ago, I decided to donate these books to The Old Frees' Association. They shall be for their Library which I hope is now the richer by these books as well as my nine other books by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn. Like I told the staff at the OFA, these were not worthless books that I was attempting to discard but rather, my precious books which I'd like to share with more appreciative readers.