Our Tuckshop ..

.. more visits and feedback

Our Tuckshop on the Blog is now a week old. The "tuckshop" name was suggested by Bee Lok, over those of canteen, serabat stall, cafe, pub etc. It's simple, unassuming, almost egalitarian, capturing the flavours, essence and ambience of those kampong days.

Of course, the deliberation over the name choice was not devoid of contention. There was a valid concern on the potential risks of a typo in "tuckshop", with suggestions that I removed the "F" key from my keyboard! Wai Ming protested vigourously and the discourse raised into "To B or Not to B", and what would LIFE be without F?

Anyway, thanks to all the feedback, contributions of ideas, pictures, comments and poems, etc .. the visits count is now more than 300. We have only been able to reach just about half our cohort. We must try harder. If you know of anyone I should add to the email distribution list, please let me know.

We have a "Guest Book" for everyone to say something, or even to look for a "lost" friend. I hope everyone who visits leave something behind, instead of an eerie silence. Reminds me of our Bras Basah Rd Art Studio on the 3rd floor, especially when we camped overnight in the Scouts' Den. Any noise in the middle of the night was amplified many times over, and we wondered who could be exercising their artistic expressions at that hour.

Anyway, I do hope everyone will exercise their freedom of expression .. in the Guest Book, the interactive Tuckshop Notice (PostIT) Board, your vote on the Poll, or post an article, joke, photo or poem .. for posterity. We used to have prefects hovering around in the Assembly Hall to impose silence. Well, there isn't any imposition or inquisition in the Tuckshop, so say your piece, please.

RI.68.73@gmail.com
Julian pangtowchiang@gmail.com

First Reunion-2008 Meeting - Looking for Committee Members and Ideas

Report from the 1st Meeting - Wed, July 25, 2007

The first meeting to organise a reunion dinner for Rafflesians cohort (68-73) was held at Wai Ming's House on 25th July 2007. It was attended by Bee Lok, Wai Ming, Puey Cher, Seh Chong, Yum, Chik and Beng Teck

Over red wine, chicken rice, sushi and fruits served by our generous host, the meeting got off to a great start. Everyone showed their trusts in Bee Lok's leadership and he was unanimously elected Chairman again. However, a modest Bee Lok alluded that given the small size of the meeting, we may not have a quorum for such an important decision. Nonetheless, he agreed to be the interim Chairman.

Organising Committee that brought

you the Reunion Dinner in 2003.

Note how happy they were? How much food and wine
they consumed? Can we emulate this? Join us to find out

The following decisions were agreed upon:

1. Date of Reunion Dinner - 12 July 2008 (saturday) [Please note that the earlier date was wrong]

2. Venue - RI (subject to availability and confirmation)

3. Indicative cost - $ 100/- per pax (any surplus will be donated to RI)

To be close to the wine cellar, it was also agreed that future meetings be held at Wai Ming's house until the committee got too big and/or we are deemed as public nuisance by Wai Ming's family and/or neighbours.

The Committee invites fellow Rafflesians to be:

1. Volunteers to join the Committee. Fun is guaranteed.

2. Representatives to represent various groupings such as Pre-U classes, Sec 4 classes, those who left RI after Sec 4 to join other institutions such as NJC, Victoria Sec School, Singapore Polytechnic, etc. The key performance indicator for representatives is to track as many Rafflesians as possible and persuade/ beg/ threaten/ seduce/ kidnap them to come to the dinner.

We are also seeking proposals for the following:

1. A theme for the dinner such that anyone who had spent 2, 4 or 6 years during the '68-'73 period can relate to.

2. Programmes that will make the evening nostalgic and interesting.

So, if you are interested in joining us or if you have any great ideas, please reply to: RI.68.73@gmail.com or provide as comments to this post.

Thank you

RI (68 - 73) Reunion

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Next Meeting - 30th August 2007

Well, at least some people are reading this Blog. Puey Cher had a few emails to inform her that we have got the date wrong and others volunteering to join the Organising Committee. Well, the wheels have started turning.

The following had indicated that they would like to join the fun of Organising the Event: Jackson Loy, Yong Chuang, Lin How, Lai Sim, Myrtle, Chee Kiong, Roy Varghese and Naresh. There are now more than 10 of us. Wai Ming has a big compound in his house and can accommodate more. As many of us have commitments, it is good to have a big committee so that we can always have a critical mass for our meetings.

The next meeting will start at 7 p.m. on 30th August 2007. Please contact Puey Cher at pckoh5@singnet.com.sg if you are interested in coming.

Also, the committee has started the mammoth task of updating the mailing list. Some of you had changed jobs and your old email addresses are no longer valid. Earlier, we had sent out a list of people whose emails had bounced. If you have the latest email address of those on the list, please forward them to Puey Cher.

It appears that people are still not forthcoming to offer themselves as class representatives. Maybe the KPI in the earlier Blog appears to be a bit daunting. So, we have set a more modest KPI for the class representatives: to help collate and update the mailing list of your class.

Finally, we think this Blog can be good focal point for our cohort to keep in touch. So, if you have any thing to post, you can post directly in this blog, or if you prefer email, please contact: RI.68.73@gmail.com

Thank you.

New Blog on the Kip .. Soldiering on ..

Dear friends,

Beng Teck has sadly left us. But we will continue what he had started. This blog is a "meeting place" for us to find keep in touch and recall, if not relive, the special moments we treasure in the 68 to 73 years. And of course, a tribute to Beng Teck.

I have been "volunteered" by Prof Soh Chee Kiong to inherit the responsibility and task of continuing this blog. Since I could not retrieve the earlier password used by Beng Teck to create the first version, I had to create a new blog, and transferring the earlier postings across. So, do bookmark this new blog in your browser, http://ri-68-73.blogspot.com/ and re-post any comments if I have missed out any.

By the way, this is OUR blog. You are all welcome to post any item of interest. Of course, I am sure you all know the "do's and don't's". And the lawyers, judges amongst us will remind us the limits and responsibilities of freedom of expression. I will also share the blog admin password with a few of the committee members, so that there will always be a continuity.

Well, although the blog was started for the purpose of the 12th July 2008 reunion, I believe we could also use the "new technology" of having the blog serve us as a kopitiam, serabat stall, pub, speaker's corner, or whatever you prefer .. a place where friends gather.

So keep the blog alive .. post your comments, critique, suggestions, pictures, videoclips etc directly onto the blog .. or if you prefer to email: RI.68.73@gmail.com

Julian Pang
pangtowchiang@gmail.com