In January this year, a Straits Times article about pet birds caught my eye. It touched on the declining number of bird owners and plunging bird businesses in Singapore. One bird shop owner interviewed considers himself lucky to sell one bird every month compared to 10-20 birds in the 90s. The prospects seems depressing for these bird shop owners and many have intentions to pull out.

The downturn in bird businesses is attributed to prevailing paranoia after the bird flu outbreak, and the growing preference for warm furry dogs over birds. Equally I felt, is the disapproval of caging a free flying bird – an increasingly unpopular notion.

I’m not a bird keeper, but I have a bird cage at home which accentuates my Zen-styled interior. It is also there as part of my nostalgic collection of hand-crafted objects. I’m a big fan for old school craftsmanship because it embodies the quality of full-hearted sincerity behind a piece of work – a lost virtue today, evident in the disappointing quality of mass produced product.

With the bird business deteriorating, it is a sad thought picturing the loss of cage making skills – what of the bamboo weaving and intricate wood carving? While the bird cage itself is losing relevence, maybe the skills of the maker can be preserved? Surely there are ways to create new life for this time-honored craft?

Guys, saw some teasers for Royston Tan’s “Old Places” this coming Sunday, Aug 8, 10pm on okto channel. I’m hooked already! Great soundtrack!

Check out these youtube teasers. But none of them showed this old 3-4 storey high dragon fountain…in the middle of HDB estate! Looks formidable!

Remember how you will always look out for these boards when you were young ..Toys that i used to play … No Playstation … No XBOX …More games …More games … But the price is a great difference from what we used to pay … almost 10 times …

When I was a child, happiness were simple. When a bunch of kids get together, everything can be turn into a game.
Near to where I used to live, there was a long stone bench next to a sloppy sidewalk. Sometimes we have nothing to do, we could just lay on the bench for hours, watching the sky and start shouting out what we see from the changing clouds. Rabbit, turtle, horse, aeroplane, trees, if we were lucky that day, we could even see superman fighting with monsters.

Those changing clouds are the drama in the sky, stimulating our imagination, just waiting for the curious mind to discover.

Hey Papas and Mamas, do you have one of these now for your kids? Or if you remember sitting in (not on) one of these when you could still fit, do share your experiences. Every time I come across one of these it never cease to bring on a smile of fond memories. In retrospect, its either endearing for those who had fun in it or sure torture for those who cried and scream to get out! Fast forward, I have yet to come across baby chairs in the market now that carry such an iconic representation of Asian practicality. Wah “chim” ah…

Found this little treasure at the aunty antique store… anyone know what is this?

smart things from the past

3 red marbles

This one for Jason…goli. Check out this blog and scroll to almost the end near the bottom, there is a little story on this tiny little jewel we carried in our pockets as a kid.

http://sarawakiana.blogspot.com/2008_06_08_archive.html

Of course, as you scroll through, don’t miss out the other memories found on the same blog.

Saw these at Seng Siong Supermarket when I was doing my grocery shopping recently… No, its NOT an “edible private body massager”…. those of my time would remember them as ‘Sng Bao’, or ‘Ice packs’ by literal translation – probably considered as the commercialized version improvised from ‘Ice balls’ of my parent’s era.

It was one of the most affordable (10cents each) and convenient choice for any kid to get a quick kick of sugar rush back in my childhood days. It’s actually flavoured syrup juice that comes in a stick-like plastic package the resembles somewhat like a two section sausage. To consume, one can either twist-off the teets at one end and suck out the juice from there…. or freeze it hard and break it in the middle to get two short ice sticks that one can share with a good buddy. Lots of flavours packed in flashy colours to choose from.

Design something to bring back this spirit of sharing!

"Sng Bao"