St George's Church re-opens

I was down at George Town's heritage zone yesterday morning and I headed straight for the St George's Church in Farquhar Street. The Church re-opens its doors for Service today after a 10-month long renovation work to restore the main building and the Francis Light Memorial to its pristine, almost original condition. In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful heritage buildings in the city. The design consists of strong, simple lines without any loud decorations to mar its beauty. The columns remind me of ancient Greek architecture.

This is the view that most people will associate with the Anglican Church. The Francis Light Memorial is in the foreground. The mahogany tree seen here is standing strong even though it is more than 120 years old. There is another one beside the entrance. Below is the main building, photographed from various angles.

And of course, here is the Church interior, all splendidly spruced up and ready for its first official Service today.

 

More than just to drink wine

A very familiar tune played on the glass harp!



And if you like what you saw, there's more of Robert Tiso here.

Nice touch!

Here is a good reason why I continue to like this new, exciting 2010/11 reboot of Hawaii Five-0. In the original series, you won't ever see Jack Lord doing this:

Yes, pushing a car that's just broken down! Jack Lord's Steve McGarrett would be too proud to do this on the show, and the original Hawaii Five-O was Lord's show. By the way, that's the car that Jack Lord used to drive in the old series. I love it when the current producers continue to bring back elements from their predecessor.

Two good reasons

There is one good reason why the Queensbay Mall at the southern part of Penang island should be a place of choice for anyone to visit. No, make that two good reasons.

The first is the presence of Ace Hardware. When I visited the Queensbay Mall yesterday - my first in two months, I think - I was pleasantly surprised to find that Ace Hardware has finally arrived in Penang. Whee! There's no longer a need to visit the chain at the MidValley MegaMall anymore. All I want, I can now find on the island.

And the second good reason is finding Daiso Japan also at this shopping mall. My aunt and wife would love this place! Admittedly, I'm not familiar at all with Daiso but a walk through the shop quickly told me what I've been missing all along. Daiso sells everyday household stuff at an unbelievable RM5 per item. Reminds me of those Sepuluh Sen or Dua Puluh Sen thrift shops that used to be so popular in George Town during the 1970s.

Meeting Teddy

How long has it been? I thought it was close to 30 years but I was wrong. It was much closer to 40 years. That's about how long it's been since I last met my cousin, Teddy. But I had gotten in touch with him again last month when I saw a piece of art in an exhibition in downtown George Town.

We had promised to meet up in person but it was not until today that we managed to do so at another art exhibition at 86 Armenian Street.

This time, he didn't have to share the limelight with anyone; it was his own solo exhibition, themed 7th Heaven. Do go there if you are the artsy-fartsy type and even if you're not, the artwork is guaranteed to impress you. The exhibition runs until 31 Mar 2011.

Labour pain

Labour pain? You don't know anything about labour pain unless you are a porcupine!

Art within art

Armenian Street. For a long while, this old road is associated with the historic enclave of George Town. Tourists go there basically to visit the Poh Hock Seah, the Yap Temple and the Cheah Kongsi. But not necessarily so nowadays.

Today, it has sort of become fashionable. Restaurants and art galleries are opening up along this road which makes it a destination for those people with interest in the art scene. Take 86 Armenian Street, for example. Upstairs is the Studio@Straits, a nice gallery for exhibitions. I've been there twice already. But sometimes, you have to look farther than the art pieces on display. The interior of the gallery is art by itself. During my last visit there, I took the opportunity to create my own art impressions with my cheap camera. Have I succeeded?

I'm going to show you a small corner of the gallery. There's an oil painting lodged between two windows at the studio. The painting by itself is superb but I am looking at the greater picture. Just as the artist had created art with his oils, I'm trying to show a bit of creativity myself. A juxtapositioning of colours. So without much ado, here are my interpretation of the gallery itself.

Rabbits

I've never been taken in much by all the hoo-haa over the various Chinese New Year animal signs. So what if this is the Year of the Rabbit. Okay, the rabbit is an adorable creature but that was all the furry creature meant to me. But after having gone to this year's Chinese New Year cultural and heritage celebration in George Town on 12 Feb 2011, I can well understand why people are going gaga over the rabbit.

There, at the square where the Acheen Street flea market usually operates in the evenings, the organisers of the CNY celebration had included an exhibition of rabbits. (As a side note, why wasn't there an exhibition of tigers last years?) So there I was, among the curious folks who thronged the square to take a closer look at all the caged rabbits. I've got to admit that I've never known so many different specimens existed.  Some were obvious cross-breeds and that's what made them even more interesting.

And Mogwai (below) fascinated me the most.

A valentine experience

Stephen, did you find out eventually who were on the other side of the wall? Ha ha...

Unplanned highlights

My wife was asking me whether I saw anything interesting at yesterday's George Town Chinese New Year heritage celebration. I told her plenty! And then I showed her this picture of a car being towed away by the Penang Island Municipal Council. Much earlier, there was a public announcement to ask car owners to remove their vehicles from the area. Whoever drove the car either did not hear the announcement or paid no heed to it. So there it went, being towed backwards from the celebration zone with its alarm blaring. Sure people buy ang kong jee, one!

And then as I was watching a puppet show in Armenian Street, the lights suddenly went off. Seconds later, a commotion not more than 30 feet away. Some electrical lines had short-circuited and caught fire. I think that was the end of the puppet show and the nearby activities that depended on the same power supply. They might as well pack up and go home. Suddenly, I felt so sorry for them.

[A little anecdotal update (15 Feb 2011): I bumped into Salma Khoo today. She owns 120 Armenian Street, the San Yat Sen Centre, just up the street from the stage of the puppet show and so, was affected by the fire too. I asked her how long was the power cut. "I don't know," she replied, "we just locked up the house and went home."] 

Anyway, my photos on the celebration are already uploaded to facebook here.

St George's Church, Penang

After about a year of undergoing restoration work, I hear that the Church of St George the Martyr at the junction of Farquhar Street and Pitt Street will reopen very soon for its first service, possibly by 23 Feb 2011 at the earliest.

I notice that there is a new clock in the spire. There hasn't been one since December 1941 when Japanese aircraft bombed Penang. The church building was almost destroyed: the roof was blown off and the old clock was totally wrecked. Although the sturdy walls withstood the carnage, the Japanese soldiers came later to bring down one of the walls. But worse than the destruction, the place was looted until nothing was left. For the present work, the church decided to replace the clock. I hear that there is also a new priest, Padri Charles, who arrived here December last year. The church had been without one for about two years.

But there is one regret. Although the whole church building and the Francis Light Memorial in the background have been restored to a pristine condition, the perimeter wall wasn't included in the project and it remains in a bad condition. Plus, I hear that the church authorities are unable to prevent backpackers and vagrants from climbing the walls into the compound to camp during the night. Obviously, security must be beefed up after the church reopens. 

A case of condom jacking

It seems that the Malaysian Police are investigating how a consignment of 726,000 condoms can disappear while on transit between a factory in Perak and it's ultimate destination in Japan. Maybe the transportation truck overturned on the North-South Expressway and people simply stopped their cars or motorcycles to scoop up the spilled cartons of condoms, yes? Just like what happened to the spilled coins on the expressway earlier?

Anyway, a news report last week said that Sagami Rubber Industries had loaded the shipment into a container at its Perak factory but that it was empty with the locks replaced when it arrived in Tokyo. “We are unhappy. This is the first time such a thing has happened since our Malaysian production started in 1997,” the factory manager said. Sagami’s head office has said that the condoms are worth RM4.5 million at Japanese retail prices.

Already, wisecrack remarks are being made about this incident. "The police will never solve this case: the villains have protection. They may even be hardened criminals." "This story gives a whole new meaning to 'taking precautions'." "Stringent controls should be enforced to prevent similar leakages from occurring." "I think they need to stiffen the penalty."

But where can the condoms actually go to? Perhaps, these few clues can help the condom police:

I hear that 12,500 pieces went into the making of this evening gown. No wonder I couldn't see any more purple ones in the pictures below.

The white ones are definitely almost gone now...

Don't worry, at least they are not totally red or totally yellow. Just half of each, which means there will be some leftovers of the reds and yellow.

Looks like there will be leftovers of the greens too since the leftover whites are used to fill in the blanks.

Surely, this can only be creative use of all the odds-and-ends coloured pieces? Never put them to waste if they can be recycled.

Oh, and while I'm on the subject on recycling, I came across this old story about recycled used condoms. As an ethnic Chinese who considers Malaysia home, I am embarrassed over the greedy antics of the Chinese in China. They are without any scruples. They will not stop at anything for profit of any kind with disregard to public health or decency. Tainted milk and tainted medicine. But using used condoms as hairbands? Now, that's a new low.

While my guitar gently weeps

I just have to share with you this interpretation of George Harrison's song. A great collaboration between arguably the greatest ukulele and acoustic guitar players today, Jake Shimabukuro and Tommy Emmanuel.

And here's a second version of Emmanuel and Shimabukuro jamming away at a concert.

Shaolin

Have you watched the latest kungfu action flick, Shaolin? Is it this good?

Cause and effect

How can I believe in them anymore? Serious. They say all sorts of stuff, they claim all sorts of stuff. They stretch their own credibility to the limit.

Here is possibly the biggest joke of 2011 ... so far! At a recent Chinese New Year open house, Penang's former chief minister, Dr Koh Tsu Koon, tried to take credit for the state's success in attracting new investments in 2010. He claimed that the achievements enjoyed by the current Penang government were due to efforts carried out by the Barisan Nasional (BN) state government previously.

Oh, what a laugh! What an utter nonsense. If this was indeed true, then I think we must go further back in time to the days of Francis Light. After all, if that man had not the vision to set up a trading post here in 1786, we would probably not have any worthwhile civilisation here! So the good old captain must be given due credit for Penang's current investment and administrative success, don't you think so?

I positively think there are lots of sour grapes in the failed politicians of the previous state government. I positively believe that they still can't accept the reality of the day. It is not as if the present government had been sitting idle and reaping in the fruits from the past. What fruits, anyway? Not much, as far as I can remember. In the 1990s and early 2000s, we were doing just about enough to maintain the status quo in Penang. At that time, we were really only basking in past glories. Penang's name did not impress much among investors anymore. Penang's past achievements did not matter anymore. And the real culprits for this state of affairs must rest on the shoulders of Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar Ibrahim and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. And to a lesser extent, Koh Tsu Koon and even Lim Kit Siang.

I have always felt that it was Mahathir that suppressed Penang's growth. He couldn't do anything about the bridge because it was already being built. But he tried all he could to turn his Langkawi into the next preferred tourist destination, at Penang's expense. He tried to build a new international airport at Sungai Petani, at Penang's expense. During his tenure as the deputy prime minister and finance minister, Anwar could have done much to improve Penang's lot but he did not. He had it within his means to do so but he, like the rest of his federal government cronies of that time, looked the other way and concentrated resources elsewhere. Abdullah Badawi tried to do something but he was too weak politically to make things happen fast. Plus, he chose the wrong projects that benefited only his circle of people. But what's new in that? Nothing! Dr Koh turned out to be so much of a Yes man to his political masters in Kuala Lumpur that it became ingrained in his character. In trying to please everyone, the best solution was to do nothing and maintain the status quo. And what about Kit Siang? He had a role to play too. He tried to topple everyone at the General Elections, knowing fully well that it would be at the expense of the incumbent Dr Lim Chong Eu. Lim Kit Siang takes credit for unseating Lim Chong Eu but he should also be made responsible for gifting Koh Tsu Koon with the chief minister's seat. Who knows how Penang could have progressed further if the no-nonsense Dr Lim had continued sitting in that chair? We'll never know.

Anyhow, a government that thinks they can rest on their laurels will always find a rude shock standing in their way eventually. It is only through constant hard work that any state administration can continue to draw in the investments. And I am satisfied that a lot of work has been done by the present government. It's not that apparent, of course, as the mainstream newspapers choose to downplay the attempts but ultimately, the statistics cannot lie.

Which brings up another matter. I shall call it the biggest joke of 2010. As late as 28 Oct 2010, people in the previous state administration were still claiming that Penang's foreign direct investment was not healthy. On the decline, said Dr Teng Hock Nan, chairman of Penang Gerakan. Huh, I haven't heard anything from him since news of Penang's latest investment figures hit was released last month.

Oh well, so much for failed politicians.....

Among old friends

So how was your extended weekend? For me, it was hectic enough. On the third day of the Chinese New Year, my family spent one whole day on the island and got ourselves caught up in a traffic jam stretching from Pangkor Road to Batu Ferringhi. Came back in the evening and my whole body was tingling from the effects of the sun although we were out of the direct sunlight most of the time.

But one day earlier, I had spent a pleasant evening in the company of my old schoolmates. Yes, after eight long years, we had a big reunion dinner again. Though the attendance was much less than in 2003, we still had a sizeable crowd present. It was good to see all of them again. But in the intervening years, we lost friends like Mokhtar, Pheng Kooi, Beng Beng, Saik Kee and Saik Chuan. I'm looking forward to the next big reunion. It may not happen soon but surely, we are targetting 21 Oct 2016.

Standing (left to right): Seng Oo, Bakke, Ewe Leong, Soon Chye, Teik Wah, Kah Kheng, Michael, Kok Hin, Siang Jin, Tow Keang, Huan Chiang, Seng Chye, Kah Thiang, Abu, Leong Teik, Chun Hoo, Hock Leong, Eng Siang, myself, Chuan Keat and Teong Siew. Seated: Poh Guat Cheng, Hwang Hong Shi, Daisy Chuah, Phang Peng Yoke, Cheng Hin and Tan Joo Sin. Squatters: Errol, Kean Chuan, Choi Choon and Swee Poh. Not in the picture: Sani, Kwek Kong, Kian Foo, Chin Chuan and Cheng Chye.

Actually, we went one step better this year. We tried to touch base with a few schoolmates from the primary schooldays. Not very successful as they are much harder to contact. Nevertheless, here we are, four of us from Westlands Primary School.

Myself, Seng Oo, Chien Cheng and Siang Jin. Missing out in this picture are Cheng Chye and Chuan Keat. Would have loved Keat's Old Farts cap!

Reunion dinner

This is already the second day of the new Chinese New Year but this is the first real opportunity to sit at my desktop computer to do some updates to this blog. Partly, this is because I've just managed to get my hands on the camera which holds the pictures of our reunion dinner.

For the past few years, ever since we moved to Bukit Mertajam, it has been the steam boat. I told my aunt a few days ago that we should be cutting down on the amount of foodstuff on the table. Always, we have been unable to finish them. This year, although she did cut back on the food, we were still unable to clear the table. Maybe it is a good sign because traditionally, it means having an abundance for the year. But I should also stress that our food never go to waste. It'll be into the refrigerator for all the uneaten stuff; to be brought out again and reheated in the next few days.

Anyway, I'd like to wish everybody a Keong Hee Huat Chye again on the occasion of the second day of Chinese New Year.

By the way, today is also the Coming of Spring, otherwise known as Li Chun. So if you haven't gotten ready all the square pieces of red paper with the character Huat, to be stuck on your family rice urn at 12.34pm today, please go and do it now. Happy Li Chun to you too.

United's greatest!

The top 10 Manchester United players of all time:

1. Ryan Giggs
2. Eric Cantona
3. George Best
4. Sir Bobby Charlton
5. Cristiano Ronaldo
6. Paul Scholes
7. David Beckham
8. Roy Keane
9. Peter Schmeichel
10. Wayne Rooney
 

Farewell to Gary Neville

"Obviously I am disappointed that my playing days are at an end. It comes to us all and it's knowing when that time is, For me that time is now. I have been a Manchester United fan all my life and fulfilled every dream I've ever had. I have played in the most incredible football teams, playing with some of the best players in the world, as well as against them, and I have been lucky to be a part of the team's achievements and the club's great success. There have also been so many great players that I have had the privilege to train and play alongside. The experiences we've shared will be with me for the rest of my life."

Keong hee huat chye

Let me wish you a very happy new year the real Penang hokkien way with a "keong hee huat chye".