Memories of Caldecott Hill: May 2010

This message has nothing to do with memories of Caldecott Hill. My grandpa , Philip J T Tay , who is still working on Caldecott Hill for the past 43 years and who is the administrator of this blog has allowed me some blog space to pen what I am going to say for the record. Ha Ha.
I was born on Thursday 22 April 2010 at 1741 hrs at Thomson Medical Hospital . My weight was 3.09 kg and now a week later is 3.2kg. I stayed in the hospital for two days being in the “cocoon” which I crouched for the past 10 months. Sure glad to be out!
My dad was given the chance to cut the umbilical cord and the ceremony of this is recorded on camera. It is going to be exciting when I view it when my sight matures.
The first talk I had with my mum is by the method of crying loudly. This seems to be modus operandi and the next few days I had to communicate by this means whenever I need to be fed or when I pooh.
Kongkong(father’sfather) came over every night to take a look at me and carry me just to tell me he loves me very much. Grandpa Tay also came over my cot many time to peep and admire this little me. He shyed away carrying me and I know he is clumsy at this. By his own confession he hardly carried my mum when a baby. The excuse was late hours at Caldecott Hill lah!
Now I am seven days old and everybody from nanny,grandma and pa. mum and dad and my aunties had studied me inside and out. And they seem to know and understand my crying . I was never left to cry for more than 2 minutes!
Dad has started a facebook for me and got me a email . Grandpa promises to start a blog so that he can document my early life from birth till I am able to operate a blog independently. He is retiring soon and he thinks it is great to start blogging me!
Well that’s all folks . Hope to tell you more on my blog as the days pass and the years come…

PS: One of the photos shows I sent a greeting card to my uncle in Sydney and my auntie in Sengkang to wish them happy bithday on 2 May.

With Love from Claire Ong

I remember Raymond Anthony Fernando. He was the smartest dressed officer in the days of RTS/SBC. With the Public Relations department, i think he was one of courteous person I had met. He recently wrote this to me. He has something to say on behalf of senior citizens..

"Doing more for senior citizens -Show re-runs of old TV Shows. Many of our seniors citizens who have fulfilled their responsibilities in the past should be able to look forward to a better quality of life in their twilight years. ... See MoreMediaCorp TV and radio have a role to play in supporting our elderly. Certainly a trip down memory lane will help to revive the beautiful memories that our seniors have of what they once enjoyed. During the 60s and 70s, there were some very entertaining programmes on television and radio. Television shows like Dr Kildare, Ben Casey, 77 Sunset Strip, Sea Hunt and many more always had a large following. Westerns such as The Rifleman, Rin Tin Tin and The Lone Ranger also had viewers glued to the small screen. Ours seniors will definitely appreciate a revival of such TV shows including comedies like The Jack Benny Show and I love Lucy. I remember Jack Benny could easily secure a laugh just by his body language. Even our local TV productions such as Pop In, Dendang Ria and Talentime were also delightfully entertaining. Though all these programmes were in black and white, I am sure ours seniors will enjoy watching them all over again because it brings back beautiful memories. Could MediaCorp TV introduce a senior citizens slot on Channel 5 to recognise those who have contributed much to nation building?Community support I remember veteran broadcaster Lucy Leong hosting a radio show dedicated to the sick. Listeners could write in and request songs and send get-well wishes for their loved ones who were hospitalised. Such a programme could be brought back as part of a community project to support the sick in hospitals and nursing homes. It will also help seniors if our major supermarkets make available ready-to-cook meals. When the Japanese supermarket Yaohan was in operation here, these cleaned and packed ready-to-cook meals were very popular. Meat and fish packed with vegetables, garlic and ginger enabled consumers to prepare a meal in less than 10 minutes. Such products may also prove useful for working couples who often have little time to prepare dinner.

RAYMOND ANTHONY FERNANDO