IF by Kipling ... facing a changing world

This is a poem by Kipling that a very good friend shared with the graduating students of 2004 during their farewell assembly, and I would like to share this with all the graduating students of 2005.

This is a poem that really anchors one to one's values, beliefs and ideals, and to never lose sight of that sincerity and trust even as one encounters wave after wave of conflicting demands from the fast-paced success-obssessed world. So, even as you move on to the next phase of your lives, this can serve as your anchoring creed,


If
by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

A New Year: 2006 JC Life

So it's now down to 3 days before the start of a new year 2006.

Here are some IMPORTANT reminders to the Sec 4s of 2005 moving on to JC1 2006.

1) Enjoy every moment of your life in JC. 2 years of JC will be over before you know it. You have only 1 experience in JC. Live it. Work Hard and Play Hard. Whether you are studying /preparing your tutorials or going out with friends and taking part in activities, embrace and savour every moment of it. Approach every JC moment with a vengence, and you will reap the most out of it.

2) Be adventurous in trying out new things. Be bold, and have that curiosity and daring to move out of your comfort zone. Follow your passion and interests, and you will find meaning and direction in your JC life.

3) Take Sincerity and Confidence as your guiding principles in making new friends. Be a great friend to others, and they will be great friends for you.

4) Whilst making new friends, remember and cherish your Secondary school friends, for they are your life-long ones. Make the effort to continue with your gatherings and outings. Afterall, you know each other inside out, and they are where your roots are.

5) Finally - THE WARNING: Do not skip lectures or tutorials - you will find the initial lectures/tutorials slow and easy, and you decide to start skipping them. However, before you know it, the topics will get more complex and the pace will speed up so fast that you would not be able to follow if you do not prepare beforehand. Woe be on you if you had skipped lectures/tutorials - you will have a most difficult time catching up. So, the lesson is NEVER to skip lectures/tutorials. This is the experience of all your seniors - otherwise you will have a difficult time getting promoted to JC2. Trust me - I had a terrible time trying to catch up in the 2nd half of JC1 because I played too much and skipped to many lectures.

So, having said that, enjoy your JC life ahead. It will be as enriching and meaningful as you make it out to be. And to quote the M1 slogan - One Life, Live It.

Happy New Year ahead!

Love, Actually

The Christmas season is the time to reflect upon the beauty of life, and love. 'Love Actually' is a British christmas movie produced about 2 years back, starring all the British greats. It's still as fresh as ever a film,, as heartwarming as ever when I caught it earlier this evening on cable.

It's a great film about how different people from different stations in life search for and deal with love. Set within the 5 weeks leading to Christmas, the film culminates on Christmas Eve itself. It has great popular love songs aptly providing a background musical commentary on the many acts of love by the different characters. There were very little gushing love scenes, but more of the subtle acts of love in daily life. I can't reveal more, for that will lessen the appreciation and enjoyment for those who have not watched it. Well, trust me, go watch it, and allow the interactions and juxtoposition of the different little nuances of love in the film lead your senses and your hearts.

I had watch the film before, but somehow this evening, its message came through with great alacrity - Love Actually. Indeed, what is love, actually? And this visual presentation provides that answer, or answers to be exact. Love is all around. Love comes in all aspects. Love exists and is manifested in all aspects of life - whether we know it or not. A father lifting up a baby in the air, parents embracing their son/daughter upon returning from a long study stay abroad, friendships, courtship and romance, etc etc.. these are all little aspects of love all around in our daily lives.

Observe and appreciate the little acts of love between the people in our lives, pass on our love to our loved ones, and let our hearts be truly warmed.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve Madness

Ok. Have not been blogging for quite some days... school gona start soon, and getting busy again with work. This has been a most slack and enjoyable hols ... been like eating and eating for the past 3 weeks ... if anyone wants to know where the good high-tea places are, ask me. Haha,,
Thankfully, I don't seem to have put on too much weight, because my friends today just commented that I seemed to have lost weight again. Great, especially after I had gorged for 3 weeks.

Anyway, this Christmas Eve is the first time in these few years that my uni gang did not have our annual hosted Christmas dinner, but decided to go out and dine and shop instead. Quite a refreshing change.. I guess we all need that element of surprise and spontaneity at our age. So, ended up having tea at Conrad .. and as we were ending our session, a choir suddenly appeared at the lobby to do carolling. It turned out to be hwa chong choir, and I think a few of our old boys were in it too. Then it was pure shopping craze.

Was looking at new phones .. time to change my Sony Ericsson 700i to a new one. It's getting all shabby looking. Samsung D500 looked good - professional looking, and apparently only cost $198, and with a trade-in of my 700i, i only need pay $18. That's a great bargain! But woe on me, I saw the D600, which looked even better! That would cost $598, and after trade-in would cost bout $400 ... a bit steep. I think I would be waiting for the price to drop then. Or maybe I will make another of my famous impulse purchase, because the Samsung 600 really really looks very sleek and professional... I want that image (don't think this would be a surprise to those who know me.)

And, on the spur of the festive spending instinct, we decided to book ourselves this suite at Oriental for new year's eve. This is really an indulgence, pure and simple. But I guess sometimes we get so bored with the same routine that we just want to do something different and exciting for once. Well, really looking forward to that, the more I think about it.

So there, this has been a most different distinctive Christmas Eve. I think the staying back in Singapore has really done me some good .. I feel rested, refreshed and happy ... don't even feel like starting school ... how i wish there's another week for me to slack .. have not prepared any real stuff yet for next year's work ... hmm ...

Well. will just really relax and enjoy this last week, and then will be recharged for next year. It will be a most challenging year .. with Sec 3 English on Tablet (exciting, but lots of work in preparing IT lessons), Sec 3 music (16 students, i think), and Sec 4 music (21 students, with 3 doing higher music - that's a new challenge)... and the band programme, the enterprise programme, research programme and other new programmes I will prob have to initiate and do .. well ... looks promising actually .. lots of things to do ...

Haha .. I managed to blog a personal life rambling entry, just as suggested by FY and griffie..

Roads in Life's Journey

Winter's Roads
by Ron Carnell

I cannot speak for all who stem
'Long roads less traveled as their way,
Nor question choices made by them
In days long past or nights long dim
by words they spoke and did not say.

Each road is long, though short it seems,
And credence gives each road a name
Of fantasies sun-drenched in beams
Or choices turned to darkened dreams,
To where each road wends just the same.

From North to South, then back again,
I followed birds like all the rest
Escaping nature's snowy den
On roads I've seen and places been,
Forsaking roads that traveled West.

This journey grows now to its end,
As road reflections lined in chrome
Give way to roads with greater bend
And empty signs that still pretend
They point the way to home sweet home.

But all roads lead to where we go
And where we go is where we've been,
So home is just a word we know,
That space in time most apropos
For where we want to be again.

For even home, it seems to me,
Is still a choice we all must face
From day to day and endlessly,
To choose if home is going to be
Another road - or just a place.


I came across this poem yesterday. It's a poem about life and choices in life. It reminds one that many a time, when we travel along our planned paths in life towards our destinations, it is the places along the way that makes up the journey, not the destination itself.

I like this thought. Afterall, our lives are made up of the little experiences, people and events that we encounter at different moments of our lives. Sometimes, we tend to place our vision only on the destination far ahead, that we forget to look around and indulge a little in the things around us. This applies even when we just walk ahead on a road on a normal day.

Sometimes, we should just dally a little along the way and smell the roses. Life is more than mere purpose-driven paths towards pre-defined success. The excitement of life comes from the riots, discoveries and inspirations along the way. The journey process makes us who we really are, not the destination. We determine who we will be as we make choices along the way. We must savour every moment of life, than to discover at the end that we have not lived.

Below is the background to the poem, as given by the poet Ron himself:
The Winter of 1998 was the first time in over two decades that I found myself immobilized by heavy snow of Michigan. For three very long days. One result of that enforced isolation was a poem called Winter's Threads. Not being one to repeat past mistakes (I much prefer the excitement of making new ones), I packed my motor home the day after Christmas, 1999, with the intention of spending winter in California. I made it only as far as Louisiana, where I stopped to visit family (and instead became involved with family). Nonetheless, I stayed warm, renewed some familial bonds, and learned I'm really not very well suited to the travelling life. Eight weeks later, with warm weather breaking in Michigan, I again headed North. While on the road, with little else to occupy my mind, I penned this sequel to Winter's Threads. And like its precursor, the poem is less about Winter and more about the choices we make in life.(With apologies to Robert Frost, who also wrote of choices, in a very similar format - and did it much, much better.)

JC Days ... A (Lengthy) Nostalgic Indulgence

The PAE and JC are the two key terms in many’s minds these 2 days. Some are in elation, others in dejection, and many agonizing over whether to appeal, or to later transfer JCs after the O Level results are released. Some are concerned about the prestige of the JC they are posted to, others about the supposed lack of life in certain JCs. Well, from the perspective of one who has been there before, I would say when one's JC life in essence is determined by how much on embraces it and makes of it. I embraced mine so fully, that when I graduated at the end of the 2 years, I was so overwhelmed with a sense of reluctance and loss.

JC was one of of the significant segments of my life - it made much of what I am today. I was in Hwa Chong. But it was not merely about academic achievements or prestige. That would have been most shallow and meaningless. What was lasting was a HC experience that shaped much of what I am today. I spent most of my JC life in my CCA, the band, and my friends. There were so many different school, class and CCA activities, celebrations, festivals, movies, gatherings, meals, outings etc. That’s why most Hwa Chongians have a great sense of community and collegiality.

The entire school went down and cheered at all major competitions, and every other morning, there were announcements of wins, and sometimes losses. Losses were most heartfelt – there would be public atonement, vows and cheering again, when a team lost the finals. We had numerous meetings at class, faculty and cohort levels, and Mrs Ho our Vice-principal would tear as she spoke to us about the daunting hard times HC faced in rising up the ranks. We felt a common destiny then, and a strong sense of duty and honour to study for the school.

Festivals were a big aspect of HC, great aplomb. Orientation was the commencement – with hikes, trials, mass singing (we had our own Hwa Chong songs), mass dances (Electric Dreams, Time of My Life, Wild Wild West etc.. I saw the current students still dancing them when I went for last year's HC Homecoming), banner-making, and of course the campfire. Then the ‘Huang Cheng’ city gate would be up for Chinese New Year. HC was always affectionately referred to as Huang Cheng.. the Yellow City … because it was the bastion of Chinese culture – the culture of the Yellow River and Chinese people. Valentine’s Day fever came complete with song dedications and the Secret Pal game in all classes amd CCAs. The band and class diaries came in most handy then. - no longer for nonsensical doodling or outpouring of thoughts during boring lectures - now cryptic messages for secret pals dominated the diaries. Mid-autumn Festival was the final festival to await - huge class lantern constructions, big fire cauldroon for camp fire with a fireball gliding down on wires from the 4th storey one year and a female councillor as Chang'er gliding down another. The mass singing and mass dancing rounded up all festivals. The whole college, with lots of previous batches who would return in classes, attended with great glee. One year, my class returned even with a chinese tea-set and mooncakes.

Performances sapped students' attention too .. starting with the mother of them all – the Chinese Society and its 2-day run at the Victoria Theatre of their annual Chinese Drama Extravaganza ‘Huang Cheng Ye Yun’ (A Soiree in the Yellow City … The Chinese Society was a most expansive CCA; its props department alone is about 100-strong. So you could imagine the Chinese Society's clout. Rehearsals went on almost every night. Skipping lessons for rehearsals was the norm. In those days, the Chinese Society had a stack of pre-signed excuse slips for their members. The Performance was all that mattered.

The musical performances took centrestage in May and June, with the concerts of the Band, the Chinese Orchestra, the Guitar Club and the Choir. They all enhanced the college spirit – the college song was sung at the end of every performance. For the band concert Capriccio VI, we painted this gigantic banner 2.5 stories tall and wider, spending many nights to complete it, and it was unrolled from the rooftop during flag-raising publicity, complete with syncronised advertising script and live accompaniment by the band itself. The main concert backdrop was of a monstrous affair - huge Styrofoam words of Capriccio VI on a humongous wooden frame of heavy planks. That backdrop took up the entire, backwall of the Singapore Conference Hall stage and took hours to rig up - delaying rehearsal time. It was all the concoction of us J1’s ambitious idealistic minds – to construct the most impactful backdrop ever, and indeed it was so. Throughout the actual performance, we were most worried about it toppling over the entire band’s head and killing all of us. But it was all worth it; it looked most grand and classy with the words in royal blue against white edgings.

JC life in HC for us students really evolved around activities and festivals. There was this saying back then that the HC students are 'full time CCA members, part time students'. In the preparations and celebrations, we had our ‘fellowship’ with each other through the late dinners, suppers, practices, and in various outings.

Did we ever study? Well, yes we did. Lots of it. The reading rooms and library were forever hogged, and we had our standard tables which no one else could take. Between lessons, and after school, many of us huddled there mugging. Yes, mugging … particularly so in J2, when we all realized that we were running out of studying time. We had to study. For those of us ill-disciplined, like me, who spent too much time on CCA and having fun, it was pay-back time. At times, I really regretted being too playful and not managing my time well in J1. I could have played a little less, and studied a little more. Oh well…

I enjoyed myself tremendously in JC, but I played too much in J1 and only managed to scrape through promos. I had a hard time catching up for the A Levels. That abandoning of self-discipline was a serious error I vowed never to repeat. JC is truly all about independent discipline. It is the time when you are given all the grown-up freedoms, including the freedom not to study and work hard, but you have to bear the consequences. The lectures and tutorials would start slow at the beginning of J1, and would seem to be merely revisions of O Level stuff. So you start letting your guard down and have fun. You skip your first lecture and tutorial, and the next. The tutors don’t seem to bother much. They don’t come yelling at you for skipping lessons … they don’t humiliate you by making stand outside the class. Hey, this is great freedom! That is JC life – you are treated as responsible young adults, and you bear the consequences – and that’s how you learn from the real knocks of life. Before you realize it, suddenly you can no longer follow and catch up with the pace of the lectures. The people around are studying now, and they seem to be doing so much better. Well, it happened to me… and I panicked, and I studied and studied, and did piece after piece of the tutorials, for the A Levels. So lesson learnt … one MUST manage one’s time wisely amongst the Fun and the Work.

Every college would have its own culture and character, formed through the activities. Hwa Chong is a most exciting JC, but the excitement is due to the imaginations of the students. All the audacious and memorable moments and feats that we attempted were manifestations of our youthful daring and ideals. That arrogance of performance, the monstrous backdrop, that daring feat of gliding down from a few stories above. Truly, each generation will bring with it its dreams and feats, and that will contribute to the traditions and culture of the school and college.

Students are the ones who refine and shape the college culture; every one of us play a part in making our college life what it is, and what it will be for us. Each new generation would add on to the past’s and it’s a great continuum. Today is a continuation of the past, and the future a sum of the present.

A London Love Affair

Just saw this fantastic film on HBO about a simple love story between two people in two cities – New York and London. I don’t even know the title of the film, but I was just drawn to it. It’s not the love story that’s engaging; that’s so stale and predictable. I was more captivated by the juxtaposition of similar settings or similar places and happenings in New York and London. It this whimsical contrast brought across by the camera that engages.

Well, I have only been in London, not New York, and I do love hearing the British accent – so ‘Lundoon’ and so ‘classik’, if one is to be naughty. I like that British sense of honour, propriety and humour, and tempered with an air of no-nonsense that could only come from a nation of shopkeepers, as Churchill would put it. It’s this sense of ‘shan’t complain, have a cup of tea, and we shall be fine’ that saw Britain through the Blitz. Most of all, I love the excitement of the city itself, the pomp, the heritage, and also the modern, the bohemian and avant-grade.

London for the average tourist would simply be Buckingham Palace, Changing of Guards, Big Ben, St. Paui’s, the Tower, Tower Bridge, and the London Eye. They would pack in a West End musical, go off to Covent Garden and visit the Opera, and say hello to Lord Nelson and the pigeons in Trafalgar Square. The slightly more adventurous would venture into Greenwich, far out in the east, or Richmond and Hampton Court, farther out in the west, and the more arty people would visit the Tate, Tate Modern and the British Museum.

But London is more than that for me. I have always read about London since young, and I have always followed British news with interest. London is beyond the pomp and heritage. London is a living organism in itself. I last visited London some 5 years ago. I enjoyed traversing London on foot, and on the Tube. That’s the best way to experience London – its people and its life. For a mere few pounds, you could get a single-day inner zones multiple-trips ticket for the Underground, the Tube. Of course, you might have to endure the disruption to service on particular lines, and that used to be quite frequent. Londoners are quite used to it actually. Anyway, you would make your way across the grubby entry gates, or the modern automated ones in the newer lines, and then, upon hearing the trains coming in, rush down many flights of stairs in the older stations, making many odd turns along the way, before you emerge onto the underground platform full of pleasant Londoners who keep to themselves, focused on the incoming train, ignoring the loud colourful billboards that line the platform walls. Most classic would be the constant reminder from the announcement system at every stop, articulated in a low deep voice – ‘Mind The Gap’. It has become an iconic statement of the London Underground, that there are souvenirs bearing this tagline. I really love station hoping, or visiting – each time you emerge from a station, you encounter a different world altogether – the character of these places are distinct in pace, clothes and environments, many of them individual villages or small towns before being absorbed by the arrival of trains into greater London.

Most brilliant would be the last trains of the day, when the driver would himself make the announcement in a jolly voice asking all to pack in so that all can get home. And it would be delivered in typical British humour – one driver asked our train passengers to ‘please move in – if you think that this train is packed, the next one will be running on flat tires!’ That elicited many chuckles from the passengers, and all of us gamely and collegially packed ourselves in further. There was this sense of camaraderie between fellow passengers on the same ship, or train, helping each other out. It’s this sense of practicality with that dry British humour at work. No wonder they could stoically continue with their lives through the wars, and through the recent terrorist attacks. And this humour and sense of jolly good fun is everywhere. If you were to walk the distance, as I did from Russell Square past Holborn all the way down to the Strand, you could drop into one of the bakeries and grab some bread and muffins, and the waitress at the counter would again rattle off on a conversation with you, including many witty lines along the way.

London also has a great sense of respect for the individual and for privacy. I guess this comes from its heritage of being a royal city with centuries of traditions and order. You see the same sense of order in the quiet patience at queuing, the sense of decorum at service, the sense of respecting each other’s private space. So even in the busiest of places, whether be it at bohemian Camden Market, Portobello, or at the upscale South Kensington, Knightsbridge, Oxford Street, or the bustling Piccadily Circus area, or academic Bloomsbury borough, everyone is quietly going about their one businesses, leaving space for each other – no pushing or shoving. I guess the rowdy behaviour only comes out at night after many drinks in the pubs, and that’s a minority. What’s more common a sight are the vagrants and tramps that emerge at night all across London, because they simply don’t have a home. Quite a pitiful sight, and they would be asking passersby if they have ‘got some change’. But many of them would squander whatever money they have away, and be still on the streets many years down.

London is so predictable, yet it’s so full of contrasts, dichotomy and life. The famed Barbican Centre was a maze to navigate – I had to really follow the coloured lines on the floor. Then out on the road, I could just turn the corner, and suddenly be confronted with Bush House, the BBC World Service headquarters. And while on the topic of BBC, I came across some BBC audio CDs at … gasp … Camden, where I had a most measly KFC meal as well. I could emerge at Green Park station, expecting to see something like Hyde Park, but it’s just a small little green square of lined trees; oh it’s beside the Ritz. I came out of Bank station one night, in the City of London, that financial district like our Shenton Way, all silent at night, but suddenly saw a few skateboarders. In the daytime, the City bustles with sound and life. You have to shout to be heard in the City. But there are quite squares of respite as well – the churches, so many of them designed by Wren after the Great Fire, and the Law Courts and Inns. I enjoyed one morning walk around Lincoln’s Field and Inns of Courts. I could not really gain access to that privileged private grounds of course, but I could peer from the gateway into the large garden quadrangle of Lincoln’s.

When I was in London, there was this snow ring set up at Somerset House, and the Londoners were excited all bout it because it had not snowed in London for years. There were many children having fun on the snow ring. Somerset House is no longer a government office or the Registry of Marriages, Births and Deaths; it’s now an art gallery and museum. Then, you could walk across to the other side of the Thames, and visit Southwark, with its Cathedral and the more medieval streets. I came across this old grammar school there, in red brick buildings, a bit worn. Or you could walk across to Festival Hall and the second-hand book stalls below it, I got quite a number of books there which were so heavy to lug back to Singapore. And while on the topics of books – I tried to search for 84 Charing Cross Road, that bookstore made famous in that 1970 book by Helen Hanff about her love affair with England. It was nowhere to be found by now; it’s all modern huge concept stores and mega bookstores there now.

One most memorable day of that visit to London for me would be that morning that I dragged all my friends with me to walk in the park. It was really cold in winter, and kudos to my friends for gamely and selflessly walking with me in Hyde Park. We encountered the mount guards in the park, doing their morning rounds. The towers of Bayswater buildings could be glimpsed through the lovely trees of the park, some trees with the last colours of autumn, the rest already in barren winter, and slowly made our way towards the Serpentine that links it to Kensington Gardens, ending at Kensington Palace. Crossing Kensington Road leads to museumland, where the Royal Albert Hall holds court, but the gem of that land is somewhere in the sidestreets behind – where the Royal College of Organists is.

There are numerous arts colleges, many of them with Royal charters, there, the most prominent being the Royal College of Music in its own castle-like buildings. Down the area, much further away, is the V&A, or the Victoria and Albert Museum, a most handsome set of buildings which house a spectrum of art and craft, including ancient musical instruments. That was memorable for me, because I bravely decided to visit the sculptures and stones in the basement. Being evening in the winter, it was practically dark and sparse as I walked alone amongst those stones, many of them more suited for the churchyard. I gave up halfway and quickly made my way up back up to the comforts of South Kensington.

There are many aspects of London yet to discover. I have not really visited the East End as yet, though I visited the new developments at Canary Wharf. But I am talking about the East End of the real Londoners, the docklands. The West End and Central London are the well-off portions of London, while East London are the more communual districts. Then there’s the outskirt little suburban towns and boroughs, with all the quaint names like Chalk Town, Oak Wood, etc. There are so many of these, that the most interesting way to see experience the daily lives would be to hope onto which ever Line of the Tube that’s at hand, and let it take you to whichever station stop that you suddenly take a fancy to. That’s the real way to see London, and I am going to do that the next visit.

Interesting Links:
84 Charing Cross Road: http://www.enotes.com/84-charing/28450
London Underground Blog: http://london-underground.blogspot.com/
London Tube Website: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/
London Tube Map: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/downloads/pdf/maps/large_print_map.pdf
See This: http://www.wakemeupat.com/

Bored Ramblings ... Remembering Past Students

I am really bored. Everyone is abroad, and they all seem to be heading for either Australia or Taiwan this time. I am left stranded here in Singapore. Thought of doing a tour de force of Singapore, but let's leave that for another time. Just want to do nothing and really slack these last weeks of the hols. Yet, I am complaining that I am bored. Quite a paradox, I am. Even blogging does not seem so exciting today, now. Nevermind, I shall just start writing and see where it leads me. What have I been doing these two weeks? Eating.. lots of that .. well, I love food, good food ... in good settings. Meeting people, old boys, outside and online.

Well yes indeed, these few weeks have been quite a walk down memory lane for me, meeting quite a few former students online and chatting bout old times. Interesting ... I seem to be getting really old, because I tend to remember the details of events and people many years ago, than those of just a few days back. In fact, this morning, I was just wrecking my brain trying to recall who it was I had the conversation regarding memory lapses with two days back.

Quite a whirlwind chance meeting of old boys, these few weeks. Met Zheng some time back online, then Hansel - we actually talked bout SDU, my goodness. Hansel is this great debator and violinist, and he's gona do Law at Cambridge, if I remember correctly. Then, at Alvin Tan's wedding, met Jeremy. Hansel, Zheng and Jeremy are all from my first batch of students I encountered when I first started as a trainee teacher; they were in Secondary 2 then. Jeremy and I were reminiscing about all the people from his batch, the 2001 sec 4s .. names like Boss Jing Hao, Jonathan, and their teachers Mrs CMC, Mr See BT, etc. Many of them are not in CH anymore. Wonder how the rest of his batch are doing. Only Joe Lui is online most of the time. Have not heard from Alvin N for some time. But I last met Boon Hua and Vincent at the Band Alumni practices, and Jeremy Chen, and Bertrand who is still equally fantastic at the piano. Bertrand and Vincent - they are extremely gifted in performance.

Boon Hua, Vincent, Hansel, Zheng Yi, Joe, Alvin Neo, Emmanuel Tng, Kai Chen, Victor Hui - these are my first 'O' Level Music students from 2000/2001. We had lessons in the afternoon then, 2 afternoons a week, lasting till like 6pm in the evenings - and they would be seated comfortably with cushions at their tables in that old music room, while I went on and on about the composer or work. We did Mozart 40 as the set work that year, and the day before their Listening paper, Hansel and Zhengyi had jitters and came over to my place for final revisions. I think I showed then the DVD on Mozart's life that day, and the essay question that came out was on his life and contemporaries. It shocked all the schools, because we had not expected such an easy and straightforward question at all. Anyway, Boon Hua went on to be a great student conductor in his jc band, and we got him to conduct our alumni band too. Joe has moved on to Australia, ahd he's now doing the electric/bass guitar, away from the classical violin which he was extremely gifted in. Kai Chen went on to NAFA to do art - he was a special one that year, doing both art and music for 'O' Levels. Hansel and Zheng Yi are picking up their instruments again. See Alvin Neo sometimes when he comes back for visits.

Then there's Eric from 4-8/2000, who dropped by my blog few days back; he's one of the most hardworking student I have ever got, a first class athlete too. He was from my first English graduating class. They are all in university now - time flies - met with him, Calvin, Mark and Han Bin for a meal in June. Oh, and Seetoh Wei Han ... also very hardworking, and basketballer, and his fantastic first paragraph that he memorised ... the other basketball fellow .. Leonard ... and the Three Musketeers. How's John and Timothy now? And Minlun and Min Rui, and Nicholas .. so many of them. I remember that class the best, every one of them, because they are my first EL class. There are also Mervyn L and Chungyi from the other class 3-4 which I had in my first year. Mervyn used to be short, and he has really sprouted up; was at Raffles City some years ago when this tall tanned fellow suddenly called out at me, and it's Mervyn. He actually came back to do relief teaching this year.

My 2002 form class people are now still in NS. Winston, Nick Beh and Joseph are usually online; wonder how Yuan Kai, OJ, Malcom, Vincent etc are. Leslie still comes back every Teacher's Day. Our previous outings were in 2003, at the Istana Park bar (can't remember the name), and in 2004, when Charles came back from abroad. We went to this pool arcade besides Park Mall, and I remember I had this splitting headache, and had to leave them halfway before dinner at Fish and Cos. Then from that batch of band people, Hanyuan and Tze Yee stay in touch very regularly, and I guess we talk about everything under the sun in that aspect.

Also saw people of the 2003 batch by chance this hols. Joel Yap and his friends were at Bishan MRT when I came out of it. I was just looking ahead, and this person was like smiling and waving. I took a double take, then realised it's Joel. He has grown quite a bit, going into NS soon. Then last Sat, while at Orchard MRT going for tea, chanced into Mou Hui. Very confident and well-spoken, he was with his girl friend. He's going into NS too. His is the NS batch for these few months. My music students from that year - Chee Hang, Mark. Joseph, Derrick and the others - got Chee Hang to compose a Band overture for our band to play, will try to get it performed at next year's concert.

2 weeks ago, met Zhengyu at church. Zhengyu was from my EL class from 4-11 last year. Then Elson, Zhengyu's classmate came online yesterday, to invite me for their class chalet. I remembered the triangle and glass window that I used to direct him to, and he recalled how I went after them once when they skipped my EL to play ping pong. He also remembered the dance studio in which I cramped 3 full classes of 120 students to do intensive EL comprehension practice in the lead-up to last year's 'O' Levels. Will be looking forward to seeing all of his class for their bbq on the 20th. Then I can recall Ming Bang and gang from 4-2. Jerrick is now in Shanghai/Suzhou, can never really remember which, and he's online regularly. Louis from 4-10 also came by 2 weeks ago to borrow raincoats for some production. His class was spectacular in English .. they would just read and read .. remember Ben, Chen Ting, Tze Yang, Clement, Sebastian, Jeffery, Shawn and all the others. Reading is good .. they did very well, that class - about 80% Distinctions in EL. Oh, and met Brendan just last Friday at Borders by chance - that's the place to meet people. He was our emcee with Louis for the 1st CH Music Awards back in 2003. Bump into Marcus Sim and Justin Jap quite regularly too. Great singers, both of them. Extremely magnetic quality to Justin's voice, while Marcus's has that worldwise edge in his. Both were in the CH Music Awards last year, with Justin sweeping Best Performer in Vocal Solo and Overall. He did Leave Right Now for the preliminaries, and it was like .. wow...

My EL students from this year are now enjoying their break before JC starts, haha. Last saw all of them at the Grad Nite. Should say that they enjoyed themselves taking photos and chatting away. Nicol just came back from Europe with lots of great photos, Glen is now in Europe. Msned with Zheng Kai and Royston too the other day. Bumped into Jing Yuan and his girlfriend last week at Lido. From 4-11, Wilson Wee and Sng Tiak are regularly online, but usually in busy/away mode. Sze Huan is around once in a while. Just discovered Lan Guan is online, always mistook his msn for someone else. Last week, Toon Hwee smsed me in the middle of a movie I was watching bout the 4-11 chalet bbq on 28th. Looking forward to that too.

Had a chat with Chunyang on msn the other day - he's the one whom I talked bout memory lapses with, and I could not remember that the next day. He's from my first complete 2-year form class in lower secondary, and I just recalled the class play that they put up that year, with him acting as the Gyspy. Daryl just msned me that he acted as the Priest, and they won the Best Play of the year. Chunyang was my Band leader too, so I saw him developed over the 4 years. They're doing very well now. The other band people from his batch are either abroad or in NS now. Shaun and Derrick are now in NS, Marcus, Daryl and the rest going in Jan or April. Met quite a number of Band old boys recently actually, Kwang Han who came back the other day, Andrew for supper sometime last week - he was the one who put the idea of a blog into my head, and Mark and Ketsu for tea and dinner. Meet up with Ketsu quite regularly for dinners; he's a very talented boy in all areas of performance. Mark's my band leader for this year, and he was excellent at motivating and leading the band towards the SYF Gold with Honours. Spoke with Alford two days back bout the Band blog. Melvin just came back from Greece. Everyone's managed to go abroad! Sigh. Sherman online now, asking all of us to support him at the TJ concert tomorrow. Have not seen Daniel Chang for quite a while though. Will be having a bbq/chalet for all the band old boys on 27th .. hope to see them there. I think I am most familiar with all the band people, and I can't list all their names here. Will fill up pages.

The list goes on - each meeting ends up with lots of catching up and discussions about school latest happenings. Quite a good feeling now, reminiscing bout my past students. Can't include all of them in this post. There are just too many. But they are all in mind long term memory. In retrospect, these few weeks have been quite fulfilling afterall. Because I am in Singapore, I have the luxury of time and space to just laze around and catching up with people. This is really quality time of sort, for in term time, we are always rushing, even during overseas holiday.

Well, this time round, I think I am experiencing some quiet quality life. And yes, I don't mind my short term memory lapses, as long as I have an excellent long term memory retention.


Lots of chalets/bbqs/gatherings the next 2 weeks ... almost everyday. Life is getting exciting again.

Note: Thanks to all the mentioned people - I took the liberty of including your names in my ramblings. Apologies also if I have missed you out. I am in quite a dazed mind now....

Ho ho ho .. Santa Trauma

Right folks ... time to let your hair down... This is the ultimate ... UK is apparently issuing a countrywide warning to schools to 'protect' the children from possible trauma of Santa Claus.
With a complete list of dos and don'ts ... you have to read it to believe it. Shocking, isn't it?

My comments ...
Ho ho ho ...
This is the most hilarious and ridiculous list of dos and don'ts I have ever encountered. Unbelievable. And this is a list drawn up by educators?
Ho ho ho ...

Read about it in the site I first came across this: the PCWatch site.
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com/
This is the full Daily Mail article itself.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/christmas/christmas.html?in_article_id=371390&in_page_id=1322&in_a_source=&ct=5

The Wave

Just finished a most thought-provoking book that now leaves me dazed and depressed - 'The Wave' by Todd Strasser. Not sure how many have read it.

The story relates how a history teacher was having difficulty persuading his class how the entire German nation could be caught up with the Nazi fervour and atrocities in WW2. The teacher then decided to create a situational experiment in the class. He initiated a 'Wave movement', slowly and quietly introducing militalistic physical and psychological elements similar to that engaged by the Nazis, for the students to experience and learn for themselves. He did not let the students into his intentions. It was all done in a very subtle manner. Over the next few weeks, the movement, known as 'The Wave', soon swept the entire class along with it, and gained momentum, spilling into other classes. Things began to get out of control. Students started getting threatened and hurt. Discriminatory abuses seeped in. The community and parents started raising concerns. Finally, he had to think of some way to end this monster he had created, and he did so in a most spectacular manner.

I had initially read the book with some skepticism. It was at first simply a good read. Afterall, how plausible is it? Can the experiment develop in this manner if it is conducted in a real life classroom?

Imagine how stunned I was when I finally read that the story, in fact the entire 'Wave movement' experiment, had been closely based on a real school incident that took place in a high school history class in Palo Alto, California, in 1969. Furthermore, this book is now required reading in many German schools today, and has been dramatized on the screen and stage as well. The actual history teacher concerned was invited by the German government in 1993 to address anti-facist gatherings and spoke at the actual sites of the Nuremberg Nazi rallies and Hitler's Gold Room.

How the impressionable young minds of the students were so easily manipulated and caught up in the frenzy to be part of the 'in' group really leave much for thought. More insightful is how those students who were formerly unpopular or marginalised grabbed at this new chance, and pushed themselves to the forefront of this new movement. It also reminds one of how the youths were all caught up in the Red Guard fervour of China's devastating Cultural Revolution.

And all these actually happened.

From Idiot To Intelligensia

Ok. Started with the intention of a short entry, but it ended up quite some length and somwhat rambling.

Was reading Michael Moore's 'Idiot Nation', and he was listing all the examples of how the Americans can be termed as 'ill-informed', and how today they can send an equally ill-informed' person to be master of the White House.

Interesting, because the other day, I was just sharing with some of my students and friends about how much the world today is ruled by the 'tyranny' of the uninformed/ill-informed majority. Just look at Taiwan politics today - and their people accept that. Many a time, it is precisely because the less informed or unread people cannot comprehend or envision the logic and argument, that the intelligensia or governing body has to give in to irrational demands. It is really not how intelligent or good you are, but how persuasive and appropriate you are, when it comes to policy implementation.

And this is only gona get worse. The number of people doing real self-edifying reading is really on the descent these decades. The number of people who can hold real intellectual discourse in conversation or in the written form is also going down. Even the most popular blogs are those which are abrupt and hurried in their at times incomplete sentences. When people have nothing really serious, weighty or intelligent to nourish their minds, what then is there to really debate or hold discourse about?

Even in Singapore, the Melvyn Tan episode with all the forum letters and reponses indicates the relatively low level of knowledge the population has of NS and the arts career in the past, as well as the lack of true rational and logical thinking. More shocking is how the agency concerned was somehow 'forced' by the ill-informed public outcry to take a less then enlightened stand.

Frankly, it is mainly the system's fault in this case - for not having provisions for really talented performers. Truly, the opportunity will not wait for the man. The man's fingers and art is more valuable to our nation than doing physical activity. Soft power is equally, if not more, important then mere brute force in advancing our nation's influence and cause. I fully agree with what MM LKY said about a particular aspect of censorship the other day, that for him personally it's 'to hell with it', and yet the middle and lower management will never bother to question or think until you tell them the law's changed. Well, with the new Singapore Arts School coming up, it's perhaps time for the govt agencies to really start revising and reviewing the NS categories. It will be a joke if all our carefully nurtured arts talents never manage to reach the international stage because their upcoming opportunities, platforms and careers are curtailed by NS. Worse, their fingers are made inagile by NS.

Well, so there ... the intelligensia of the Age of Enlightenment, the Romantic Period, and even up to the Post Colonial Period, is on its way out in many developed countries. And that can be the beginning of a developed country's decline. A country stops being great when its people stop being knowledgeable, stop being aware of things beyond themselves, and stop questioning and debating higher issues. It gets into serious trouble when its people are easily swayed by simplistic viewpoints that hinge on prejudice, bias, half-knowledge and rhetoric. That's why education is so important today, and not just in school, but through all contemporary aspects of media for the general population, to create a nation of intelligensia for tomorrow.

Pride and Prejudice

I sat through a ghastly screen adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. It is not that the film is badly done or of a shoddy quality. Nay, for the film is indeed lavishly produced and eloquently presented. My qualms are the film's cultural interpretation and the screenplay adaptation. Frankly, with the amount of talent, resources and original novel quality, it really could have been better.

There are many jarring ill-conceived additions screaming out for justice. Seriously, the Mister, Missus, and Misses Bennetts in Jane Austen’s original tale were country gentility, and definitely no farmers. It was a bit of a shock when a sow suddenly appeared right in the huge screen, making its way comfortably through the kitchen door into the house. The family house itself was a pig sty. Now, the Bennetts were indeed not very well-off, but in no way were they impoverished, as evident from the many servants that they could afford. As articulated by Miss Elizabeth Bennett in the novel, she is a ‘gentleman’s daughter’.

That’s not the sole liberty taken with the novel in this film. Most illogical would be Lady Catherine de Burgh's visit to the Bennetts in the middle of the night to extricate a marriage denial from Elizabeth. We may consider this normal today, but it would have been most imprudent and socially shocking in those days. Certainly, Jane Austen placed it in bright daylight, and rightly so.

The climax, when Ms Elizabeth Bennett expressed her change of heart to Mr Darcy, was in the novel a slow lyrical build up. The BBC mini-series is more successful here, much of it accomplished with unspoken emotions conveyed through the actors' eyes, and aptly accompanied by a classical clarinet concerto. It perfectly complemented that pastoral setting and the light flutter of emotions in both Darcy and Elizabeth. Yet, in this current film, the dialogue was shortened and made urgent, with important portions carelessly curtailed, and accompanied by some romantic styled lush orchestral sweep. Frankly, the BBC adaptation is more appropriate and superior in its subtlety of emotions and stately pacing. Miss Jane Austen certainly expected more subtlety in her characters. One only has to refer to the novel to see that Jane Austen certainly did not have her Mr Darcy and Ms Elizabeth exchange their words in such a hurried manner.

Most awful is the newly included ending. We were subjected to a crass repetition of 'I love you' over and over again by Mr Darcy and Ms Elizabeth Bennett (now Mrs Darcy). We were practically cringing in embarrassment. It is not the declaration that seemed wrong, but the denseness and crudeness of it all. If only the additional scenes were dismissed, and we let the characters and plot stretch and breathe a little more.

Alright, now that I have vented my frustrations about the film, I must be fair. The film has quite a number of redeeming qualities. For the modern uninitiated audience, the film is a most exhilarating tour de force of its plot, characters and settings. The charismatic energy of the film would persuade the viewer to pick up the novel and discover greater joys. Judi Dench as Lady Catherine was a highlight. Knightley as Miss Elizabeth was most charming. The dance scenes in a country boisterous spirit quite accurately presented the ‘four and twenty families’ as written. Certainly, all important scenes were captured in the film. And Rosings and Pemberley were breathtaking locations here.

The director must be congratulated for creating a flowing and appealing visual feast, one that manages to engage the modern young audience. Accolades must be given for the lavish sets and costumes. The central Austen themes of pride and prejudice, and of marriage, were articulated with great clarity. Considering the complexity of characters and themes in the novel, this is indeed a film most courageously done.

So ignoring my preceeding reservations, indeed the film is true to the novel in many aspects. It has good production and narrative qualities, deserving a 4 stars rating. It is not that ghastly, I suppose - it's quite breathtaking and entertaining. It seems that perhaps, I had been prejudiced and filled with a snobbish pride about my knowledge of the original novel after all.

A Date with Tokyo

It is unimaginable that I am still in Singapore at this time of the year. I would usually be somewhere abroad.

Last year this time, I was in Tokyo. It was the end of autumn and the beginning of winter; cold but not chilly, and the towering skyscrapers of Ginza, Shinjuku, Akihabara and Shibuya districts sheltered me from the occasional wintry wind. Japan, or rather Tokyo, presents a most absorbing study in high living and fashion. The Japanese drama series have all created this hype about a metropolis teeming with beautiful people leading beautiful lives. To be frank, most of the people I saw on the streets of Tokyo were beautiful. Not that they were endowed with angelic or handsome features, for not many were good-looking, but they were clearly experts in packaging themselves into elegant confident people, both genders. Brows plucked, hair styled and showing off the best of their wardrobes, the commuters striding swiftly towards the numerous trains at Shinjuku station exuded a complete confidence of a people who knew that they looked good and were good. Even the many touts milling around the less savory districts of Tokyo were stylistically arrayed, not quite differentiable from the sales assistants of the upscale luxury stores of Ginza.

This widespread attentiveness towards the aesthetic ratio permeates all aspects of Japanese life. The bold architectural styles of buildings, the numerous public parks, the temples, the museums, the presentation of dishes, the storefront windows, the most advance product designs of electronics and accessories, and the lovely little paper packages that they would carefully wrap the tiniest of your purchase in, and the list goes on. And every shopping experience, with or without purchases, threatens to deliver one into consumer bliss. It makes one willing part with our yen, and to look forward to the next purchase. Even a take-away purchase of a single cream puff which I bought at a train station came complete with a petite packet of packed ice, a small plastic fork, and layers of textured wrapping paper. I felt positively criminal just to peel away the layers to fulfill my impulsive craving for a light snack.

I witnessed a Christmas celebrated in lavish style in Tokyo. The stores paraded their entire collections amidst a Christmas splendor of deco. Shoppers exuded the romance of a northern wintry Christmas in their furs and coats. Christmas trees lining pedestrian platforms and large walkways heralded the season’s arrival. The fairyland lightings outside the 7-storey Takashimaya departmental store thronged with couples and families. Not too distant away, across the railway station and tracks, just beside a Starbucks café, a carefully constructed lawn of lit trees, pebbled paths and a musical bridge complete with a blinking star elicited appreciative oos and ahs from all. And it was not just simply stringing rows and rows of coloured lights across the main roads, or streaming lights down from the trees. Every Christmas decoration, or should I say presentation, presented an artistic concept, and vyed to better that of the neighbouring building or store. It could get a trifle chilly at night in Tokyo, but it seemed just right when coupled with the sublime aesthetics of these Christmas lightings and decorations. I would not have wished it otherwise.

I have other fond memories of that trip last year. Following a radio programme outside a see-through radio studio at Odaiba, browsing through a secondhand CD shop in the cold December night at Ikebukuro, sitting at the Starbucks café opposite Shibuya Station and looking down at the massive endless crowd below, walking up to Shibuya 109, and trying to walk on the spur of the moment from Harajuku to Shinjuku – that was a folly not to be repeated. And there was that river stroll I wanted to make visiting the bridges of Tokyo – I did not manage to complete that, having gone in the wrong direction from Shiodome that last evening. I had then told myself that I would leave that as a little regret of the visit, and to assign it to my next visit to Tokyo.

I had planned on returning to Tokyo this holiday, but I guess my condition really does not permit that now. But I like this feeling, that of having an unaccomplished desire, a yearning. It’s sort of a little bittersweet, and it is like that unfulfilled holiday that I would look forward to.

I would visit Tokyo again next December.

The Golden Years

We were having cakes and tea at the Hilton lounge this evening. My university friends were intent on celebrating my upcoming birthday for me, and to be honest, I am not particularly enamoured with birthdays. Not especially now that I have reached the thirties. A birthday means another year of youth gone, and I am not really ready to accept that as yet. So, it was really an intervention of chance and fate tonight when a group of four elderly people sat down at the next table.

They seemed to be tourists staying at the hotel, and they were a picture of contentment. Meticulously dressed as grandfatherly and grandmotherly people would be, they exuded the glow of having indulged in and enjoyed a well-deserved vacation. There were smiles and quiet exchanges between them. They did not order any of Hilton’s famed pastry delights, and they seemed to amuse themselves at times by quietly glancing at my party. Another elderly couple sat at the table behind ours, similarly very well turned out, the lady with coiffure hair and characteristic large pearl earrings that grandmothers love, and she was observing my party's conversation with a happy and keen appreciation.

We must have appeared a fascinating sight. They were most likely Americans I suppose, Hilton being an American favourite, and looking on at a group of young locals enjoying an evening night’s out at their hotel lounge would be charming. Indeed, old people do like to observe. To be frank, my party would be an item of interest, for when I glanced around the lounge and hotel lobby area, we were the only locals having tea there. Afterall, the Hilton is indeed a little off the exciting part of Orchard Road, not too well frequented by Singaporeans.

Not long after, many other old people, similarly immaculately attired and glowing with the same aura of aged self-appreciation and true enjoyment of life, appeared at the adjacent. Perhaps you could say that I was being nosy or inquisitive, but I just like seeing old people, as in the elderly, traveling abroad on leisurely tour packages. So I looked at the elderly figures assembled at the lobby. They were leaving, going home - there was a buzz, a sense of excitement, and also a sense of quiet content. Some of them had large paper bags and parcels with them, most likely some Christmas gifts that they had bought on this short trip here, and two of them had larger hand carriers. Our aged friends at the next table were in the same tour group, for the quartet soon stood up and ambled over to join the rest. And so there they were, waiting in a quiet appreciative little group near the main hotel doors. I have a deep respect for people of their generation, for they were brought up in the conventions of a more genteel society. I could observe that in their carriage, in their gait, in their impeccable choice of garments of matching patterns and colours, and in their polite little smiles and nods to each other. And as they finally made their way out to the coach, one couple holding hands - even at this age, bless them – took a quick turn round the tall glittering gold Christmas tree just at the entrance, and seemed to be committing to memory a mental picture of the surroundings. Then, they were gone.

I like to see old people enjoying themselves. They are truly a lesson about living, that we should fully experience and savour each moment of life. I like the idea of grandfathers and grandmothers, having worked for the most part of their lives, retiring thereafter, and having saved up that tidy sum of money, finally embark on that long awaited little holiday. They would not really splurge of course, for that would not have been prudent or proper, but they would be pleased with each other’s company, and would appreciate being in a different or at times exotic location, enjoying the little pleasantries of seeing places, meeting people, and making loving purchases for little Bill or Mable back home. Old people indulging in such little well-deserved treats are a beautiful and gratifying sight to behold. They have such grace and elegance that only age and accompanying wisdom would bring. They have rosy cheeks and twinkling eyes in these moments of leisure, not too different from that same descriptions of young children.

To most of us concerned with staying the ravaging hands of time, perhaps growing old need not be so feared after all. Our elderly friends of this evening have shown what the ‘golden years’ are – the sunset moments of shimmering shades and colours, glowing with a vividness and brilliance. They are truly a testament to the richness and splendor of life itself.

Perhaps, I could love birthdays afterall.

A Journey in Music

A Musical Rediscovery at the 15th World Music Contest, Kerkrade, Netherlands

post written 14 August 2005

‘Beautiful…’ That was the evocative word whispered, soft yet audible, by one member of the audience in the centre block in the Rodahal as the last chord of Jericho ebbed away into a moment of magical silence. Then, applause broke out amongst the 2000 odd audience for the Catholic High School Symphony Band performing in the indoor stadium at the Closing Ceremony of the 15th World Music Contest.

One of the youngest band taking part in the 15th World Music Contest held once every four years, we were honoured to be the performance band at the Closing Ceremony held on 31 July 2005. The stage was decked with flowers and flags. We were a 55-member strong secondary school band from Singapore, with members ranging from 13 to 16 years old. It was a breathtaking moment for us as we performed the Dutch National Anthem under the baton of young Dutch conductor Henk Mertens and was enjoined by the entire audience singing with pride. At that moment, it could not be a more apt manifestation of the vision of the World Music Contest – The World Meets In Music. We were a young Asian school band performing a Dutch Anthem with a young Dutch conductor at the closure of the most important international band competition. As intended by the organizers, it was a statement about the future – a musical interaction and bonding between youths of the world.

For our band, this sojourn to the Netherlands was a journey of musical discoveries and experiences. Our boys stayed in the makeshift classroom bunks of College Rolduc Holz. We rehearsed in interesting variety venues in the precinct around the magnificent ancient monastery of Rolduc. We engaged the interest of many, as school bands are a rarity in continental Europe - the sight of young Asian school band members playing classical European band repertoire was distinctive and inspiring. There were always onlookers at the windows or doors of the rehearsal venues, with enthusiastic responses after each piece. It was a sincere interaction between the people of Kerkrade, the visiting bands and us. And this musical trip was also not just about practising. We walked the grounds of the monastery. We walked the aisles of its chapel. We walked in the parks and the woods. Our boys sang their respective parts of the English Folk Song Suite as we wandered through the wooded paths; music has truly taken on a real meaning there.

Finally, on 31 July, the last day of the festival, we performed in the early morning at the Theatre Kerkrade for the Third Division of the Harmonie Band category, and we were awarded the Silver medal. We were told it is a great achievement for such a young band on the international stage, but in truth, we were disappointed, missing the Gold by 1.8 points. We had earlier this year garnered a Gold with Honours at the 2005 Singapore Youth Festival. We had hoped to bring back a Gold for Singapore’s 40th Birthday and for Catholic High’s 70th Anniversary Celebrations. Of course, our band on this trip is much younger than our SYF band, with many secondary one members with merely some 6 months of playing experience. Still, we had taken on this challenge and brought everyone along on this musical journey.

As we walked back from the Theatre to our college, it rained heavily, the first downpour in our 4 days in Kerkrade. Yet, through the anguish and pain, we found faith, we found hope, and we found music again. We knew we had the Closing Ceremony that evening to perform, and we had to bring honour to the Singapore flag, to the World Music Contest organizers, and to the Dutch Anthem. We came together and prayed that afternoon, placing ourselves in the hands of the Almighty. There was a strong parallel to the context of our competition piece Jericho, the biblical tale of how in faith, the Israelites brought down the walls of the city of Jericho with one shout and entered the Promised Land. In faith, we rallied together, we rebounded, and we went on to put up a most unforgettable performance that evening. In Jericho, the intensity and intentions were truly there in all starkness and nuances. There were the pain and labour in the woodwinds, the anticipation and militant purpose in the brasses, and the shout in unison by the whole band. The walls crumbled and the horns led the band in a soaring exultation of the final victory. At the end of the piece, the band created the shimmering final moments of salvation and eternity. And in celebration, we had the audience dancing and singing in a spontaneous burst of gusto and exhilaration to our finale pieces of ABBA Gold and Tequila. Our boys played with a fiery passion that evening. We touched the audience with music, and we were shown the power of music. We overcame our disappointment and emerged stronger. We took flight again and soared even higher. We broke down walls and barriers and entered the universal world of music.

It was a special performance for us. The whole Rodahal was full, with the Concert Division bands packing the floor, awaiting the results of the top division. The band world was in attendance there, including renowned symphonic band composers such as Johan De Meij and Hardy Mertens, and it was telecast ‘live’ by the Dutch national television and radio media. It was the finale to a 3-week long musical gathering of some 270 concert bands, brass bands, fanfare bands and marching bands from around the world. Yet, that evening, we were all reminded that the World Music Contest is not just about competition, and that is the most significant lesson of all. Truly, there was a connection between the audience and music that night.

And that is what this trip by our band is about. There had been numerous musical experiences in the halls, in the woods, in the abbey. This journey is not merely about competition and medals. It is about music embracing all and conveying passion, compassion and humanity. It is about coming together as one band, sharing in one musical experience, and making connection with our art. It is about Music.

Indeed, if this musical journey is to be summed up in one word, it would be - ‘beautiful’.