26 September 2009

Old Singapore Quiz (12) - Circus, circa, circle...


Circus, circa mid-1960s

After an octagonal quiz, I thought it would be refreshing to have something round instead. The word "circus" usually means "a travelling company of entertainers; including trained animals". However in Singapore's context, the word is also synonymous with "rotary" which means "traffic circle - a road junction at which traffic streams circularly around a central island".

And as if that is not enough, taking us around in circles several times is Chun See. You see, he has a series of quizes called "Roundabout Quiz", the first of which is here. You may have noticed that Chun See had used yet another synonym for "circus" i.e. "roundabout". Well, I hope that you are not giddy from all that turning by now, kekeke. Also, I think it is not too late for me to jump on the merry-go-round bandwagon. This circle circus game is just as entertaining as an animal circus, I assure you.

So here are my questions for the above "circus, circa mid-1960s" photo:

1. What is the name of this circus?

2. What is the name of a landmark which you could identify from the photo? Beside and besides the circus, that is.

As usual, I will reveal the correct answers in a week's time.

21 September 2009

Old Singapore Quiz (11) - Answers


Fuzzoo, YG and Icemoon got one of two answers right, i.e. the photo is a shot of a building's ceiling. But nobody could identify the location of this building. (In this regard, I ought to apologise to Icemoon for saying that the 4 "dots" in the photo are not lights. At first I thought that they are water sprinklers but after taking a closer look at another photo, I think Icemoon was right after all - they are indeed lights - spotlights, specifically.)

So where is this place? Maybe you could tell after seeing the photo below:


Still can't? How about if I tell you that the bust is a 1973 work of Mr Wee Beng Chong? Or that the bust is that of Mr Tan Lark Sye (1897-1972)? Mr Tan was a prominent businessman and philanthropist from the Hokkien community. He was noted for his many contributions to education, not just in Singapore but in the region as well. However, his most outstanding contribution must have been the founding in 1953 of the Nanyang University or Nantah (now known as the Nanyang Technological University).


Singapore Chief Minister David Marshall accompanied by Minister for Education Chew Swee Kee and Minister for Labour Lim Yew Hock taking a tour of Nantah in the rain. David Marshall and the other ministers were met by Tan Lark Sye, Chairman of the organising committee. (Photo credit: Chinese Heritage Museum.)


Before the opening of the university, this Nantah landmark building served as an administrative office. Later, it was used as a library. (Photo credit: Chinese Heritage Museum.)


The building as it stands today.

By now, you should have an idea where I took this photo. Yes, it was taken in the Chinese Heritage Centre:


The shot was taken from the ground floor towards the ceiling, right in the middle of the octagonal air well:


The Chinese Heritage Centre is actually a museum. When I was there in early June this year, there was an exhibition titled "Chinese More Or Less - An Exhibition on Overseas Chinese Identity" running. The exhibition was supposed to answer these questions:

1. How Chinese am I?

2. In what sense am I Chinese?

3. What does it mean to be Chinese?


Did I walk away with the answers to the above questions? Er... sorry, I was more interested in taking photos.

The museum's opening hours are as follows:

Mon-Fri: 9.30am to 5pm
Sat & Sun: 10am to 5pm
Closed on Public Holidays
Admission is free

You can find out more about the Chinese Heritage Centre from the following links:

1. Chinese Heritage Centre website;

2. Visit Singapore - Chinese Heritage Museum

13 September 2009

Singapore's First Topless Car Wash


Today's New Paper headlines caught my eyes:

"S'PORE'S FIRST TOPLESS CAR WASH"

What? In Singapore? At first I thought it meant a car wash specially dedicated to washing convertibles otherwise known as "topless cars":



But no, it really meant topless the way lecherous men know it:



Let's hope that it is only a joke like this one: