Goodbye 2008, WELCOME 2009 !

Mrs Lim Hwee Hua and her team of GRLs extend their warm wishes to all residents of Kampong Serangoon and all visitors to this site for a .......

HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS NEW

YEAR

2009 !

The videoclip is by the original ABBA singing that special New Year Song.

Those of you who had watched the recent hit movie " Mama Mia !" would love this!

A MERRY CHRISTMAS to you!

Mrs LIM HWEE HUA and her team of GRLS wish everyone in our KAMPONG and

all visitors to this site.......

A MERRY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS !

Mrs Lim Hwee Hua & team

New Maths !

Hi folks,

I bet that no smooth tongue, sweet- talking salesman, lawyer, accountant etc...can outsmart

this barnyard couple !

Watch this hilarious clip and "improve"your Maths!

Unk Dicko

Dear GRLs
Click on the link below to view the photos taken by Passion Photographers at the ZuPreem Parrots Gathering on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008
http://theserangoonpassion.multiply.com/photos/album/105/Zupreme_Parrots_Gathering_cum_Childrens_Colouring_Competition

Effective Communication ?..I wish all GRLs well !

Hi folks.

I think you will enjoy this hilarious videoclip. Many of you would remember the days of Wang Sa and Ye Fong on our local TV. The much-loved duo brought a lot of joy and laughter into our homes back then. But this clip is not about them...though you can see some semblance.

If you are ok in understanding Chinese dialects...you may laugh your head off! That funny? Yes..that funny!

Unk Dicko

NATIONAL DAY Dinner 2008, part 2

Some of the dedicated Community Leaders being presented with various Awards during the Dinner.

Mdm Hor Kum Yoke being singled out for a special, special Award !

NATIONAL DAY Dinner Aug 3rd 2008

Photos from unk Dicko's collection.

Arrival of G O H Mrs Lim Hwee Hua and her husband Mr Andy Lim.

Performance item by the little ones from our Kindergartens

The main VIP table.

The Wedding Ring...incredible but TRUE!

Hi folks,

This website of ours is intended for YOUR use, OUR use. Let's make this an ever-improving and interesting site with lots of ideas, pictures, news, articles, events, stories, humour and jokes shared by one and all.Do post anything of interest you would like to share.

This will not be a site for Complaints or negative feedback about anything ( There are other channels and proper avenues for such things ). Neither will this be an "officious " site for "officious type" reports and the like.We want this to be a LIVELY and ENGAGING site, and to do that, do source out or create your own interesting posts for sharing.

What can you blog about? Unending number of things actually! For example, share your knowledge about the history of your kampong. There are so many interesting things of the past about " Ang Sa Li " ( local term referring to Sg Gardens ). History about our kampong will make interesting reading!

• Interesting corners, shops, parks, food, schools, buildings, families, business, sports..etc.
• Your early involvement in community service under previous advisors, 60's,70's,80's etc..
• The music scene past and present
• The ambience of S Gardens past and present
• Famous Crime cases in our kampong past and present
• Well-known personalities living here past and present
• Old stories from the early days of our kampong...Etc....etc....etc...

As I stated above, you can blog about anything sensible. Include music and video clips too. I have selected one for all of you. It is called the "Wedding Ring" finger. Rather than spoil your FUN explaining it here....just click "Play" and listen carefully and then TRY it.

It's Incredible but TRUE ! Please do one more thing...go to comment and make some comments about this.

Dick Yip

Dear GRLs
Approval has been granted by Chairman of CCMC to create a Photo Gallery in The Serangoon. See photo above on the proposed site.
Passion Photographers will take the lead on this project in consultation with Mr. Wilson Low and Ms. Judy Foo. We will display photos/posters to highlight major Events organized by The Serangoon in this "high traffic" area.
We like to have your suggestions on how best we could develop this Photo Gallery. We hope you will be part of this project. Lets work together to make this a success.

In conjunction with SPICE @ Serangoon Open House on Dec. 6, a Family Carvinal was held in Blk 125 Serangoon North Avenue 1.
Photos taken during the Event had been uploaded in http://www.theserangoonpassion.multiply.com/ .
You are invited to visit the website if you missed the Carvinal.

Pasar Oleh Oleh, Bintan

Bintan Lagoon Resort where we spent 3 restful days with others from the Aljunied Town Council is truly a tropical paradise. It sits on more than 300 hectares of beautiful land overlooking the South China Sea. On Bintan island itself, it is located to the north, together with some other resorts. There is no major towns nearby. Tanjong Pinang, the largest town is situated far to the southwest of the island. Visitors from S'pore should take note that Bintan Island is about 3-4 times LARGER than S'pore itself.

So, with no major towns nearby for visitors staying at all the nearby resorts of Bintan Lagoon, a shopping and eating village was built to cater to them. How clever!

All of us were brought to this specially created village for tourists. Locals will never go there!

The name of this place?

Pasar Oleh Oleh
In their language it probably translates to....

Pasar = market

oleh = by

So put it together it reads" market by by".

Sounds more like " market BUY BUY ! "
Who knows, perhaps that may be the intention.

Because there is nothing else to do in Oleh Oleh

except to spend your money!

But no one is forced to buy anything. For example, when we were 1st driven there in the 2 buses, almost everyone made a beeline for Kg Lagoi which was just across the road opposite to Oleh Oleh. The shops here look too classy and so the prices are classy too, not surprising.

It was rather amusing to see so many people rushing into the only massage spa there to book their time. They did not have enough masseuse!

Daisie and I wanted to also relax with a Bintan massage. So we strolled to the Kintamani at Oleh Oleh which cost half the price charged at the Lagoi side. Haha. Same thing lah.

Helo Helo Restaurant was where we had our group lunch before departure on the 3rd day.

After having bought some batik shirts etc..we sat down to observe all that was going on around us.

SPICE @ Serangoon

SPICE @ Serangoon held its Open House at its new (very impressive) premises in Block 125, Serangoon North Avenue 1 on Dec. 6, 2008.The GOH was our Advisor,
Mrs. Lim Hwee Hua, who is also the Chairman of PCF Serangoon Branch.
Among the many parents who registered for their children was Mr. & Mrs. Victor Poo. They had booked a place for their one-year old baby boy. Indeed, it is not too early to register.

TRUE GRIT !

Hi everyone !

This is the first time that I am doing a Blogpost. It is all very new to me but with my expert "Sifu" sitting beside me and showing me the way, somehow I have managed it.

I wanted something TRULY INSPIRATIONAL to share with all of you for my first blogging attempt.

The above video from Youtube was sent to me by my 'Sifu' and without a doubt, it is one of the most inspiring videos I've seen. I would like to share it with all of you.

If ever you feel you are disadvantaged, discouraged, sidelined and that the world is not on your side....you will feel differently, after you have watched this video.

Daisie

Aljunied MP dialogue with GRLs

MPs of Aljunied GRC had a dialogue session with GRLs in the Eunos CC on Dec. 6, 2008. The presentation by Mr. Victor Lye and comments by the MPs were most enriching.
Photos taken during the event had been uploaded in the following website http://www.theserangoonpassion.multiply.com/

3 Dec 08 Fire At Lobby in Hougang Ave 1

In my first posting, I wish to share with you my friends in life things will happen unexpectedly.

We must not adopt a mindset nothing will happen to me. In the event it happened, what do you do? Take a deep breath and remain calm.

On Wednesday 3 Dec 08 @11-55pm I was sleeping in my bedroom while my kids were watching the television. They heard the sound of the red rhino wailing past the main road, minutes later it came into my carpark. My son, Emil rush to the room to wake me up shouting fire, evacuate.

I look out of the window and the firemen were rushing to the lobby with their hoses. At this point I could smell something burning. My 3 kids and myself rush down from the 6th floor to the ground floor from another side staircase. We met another neighbour who suspect 2 youngsters they saw earlier might have thrown something on the items left there and fire lighted.

The fire was put out in 3 minutes and the wall and floor was covered with black soot and at

least 8 tiles cracked due to the heat. Shortly later, another fire appliance and police arrived.

I am glad my son Emil who is 9 yrs old is able to react quickly and get the family out of the flat.

He and his younger brother Elson witness the Emergency Prepareness Exercise at Blk 147

Serangoon North Ave 1 on 23 Nov 08. I was the Rescue Platoon Commander for the exercise which put out the fire, provide first aid and evacuated the victims. Then this fire happenened

to my own block lobby.

Residents should dispose their rubbish properly and not just leave it on the lobby.

Propose town council to install a CCTV at the lobby area and signage not to dispose items at

the lobby.

How to shoot Fireworks

The beauty of Fireworks captured by Passion Photographers.

Photos taken by Passion Photographers for Events organized by The Serangoon are in the following website: www. theserangoonpassion.multiply.com

You are welcome to visit the website to see what you missed.

Group photo of CCC members with our Advisor, Mrs. Lim Hwee Hua

The Serangoon's Icon .........Our pride and beauty !

PCF Serangoon Graduation

Our future leaders at the PCF Graduation held in The Serangoon MPH on Nov. 12, 2008

The Singapore Flyer

More shots of the Singapore Flyer at Sunrise and Dawn !

Where to shoot the Singapore Flyer ?

This photo was shot from the Marine Barage early in the morning at about 6:30 am.

Interested in photography ? Contact Passion Photographers at www.passionphotographers.com

Happy faces captured by Passion Photographers during the New Citizens Ceremony held at The Serangoon MPH.

The Serangoon's New Citizens

Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC New Citizens Ceremony was held on Nov. 21, 2008.

The photo on the left shows the additions to the Serangoon Family.

Lets join us to say "Singapore welcomes you......"

The Serangoon EP Day - Nov. 23, 2008

The Serangoon Emergency Preparedness Day was held on Nov. 23, 2008. For those who missed this special Event, you may visit the following website: http://www.theserangoonpassion.multiply.com/ to view the photos shot by Passion Photographers...............we were there to cover the event for you !

Serangoon's hidden BEAUTIES exposed !

Hello CCC members and aspiring blog authors ....it

took me less than 6 minutes to upload these " COLLECTOR'S PHOTOS" here.

I was just with you moments ago and now am blogging again.

It's really simple!

Let 'sifu' teach all of u.

Victor refused to be exposed...so he is still a big Mystery!

BTW, I have just ADDED the following as blog "Authors" for this site.

MRS Lim H H,

Daisie Yip

Benedict Koh

Claire Ng

Wilson Low

William Teo

Poon MW

using your known email that is with me.

You now need to respond to the invitation that u will receive in your email and then create a Google Account....as I explained earlier.

Then activate it.

Cheers!

'sifu D'

Night Fireflies River Adventure !

After that lovely sunset Dinner at the Kelong Restaurant at Sebong Bay, everyone was excited about the next portion of the programme....The Fire Flies Trail ! This night tour departs at about 7.30 pm each night. There is only one tour for the night. Sometimes they refer to this as the Mangrove Discovery Night Tour.

We drove through some flat wastelands in the rustic countryside in pitch total darkness. Only the vehicles lights prevented us from entering ditches and potholes.


About 10 minutes of a zig-zagging, meandering ride brought us to the river's edge at Tanjong Uban. We alighted and climbed up a wooden stilt house that had wooden steps going down the other side to the waters' edge. Each of us was given a life jacket and we attached it securely. Then we clambered into the long double seater prahu managed by a boatman and a guide acting as bowman. There were no navigational night lights on the boat although the boatman held a kind of torchlight. Thus, we were moving across the waters in pitch darkness! The guide instructed the boatman to move closer to and along the fringe of the Mangrove swamp. Then...we saw the fire flies ! By the hundreds! Thousands even... if you could count!
Giving the branches a shake will make them glow even brighter as they are disturbed. They have the ability to flash on and off..the lights on their aabdomen.

It was truly a captivating night scene.

For me, I have seen fireflies before even in Singapore but not in such abundance!

All pics came from my camera. I think if you look closer you can actually see a firefly at the left side of this pic.


Our firefly guide standing up managed to catch quite a few for one Naturalist Scientist on my boat. I think her name begins with a C ! She was very proud of her specimens despite the guide telling her her joy will last for a day only.
Why? How come? Ask those who went for the answers.

How do fireflies produce light?
Fireflies produce light via a chemical reaction consisting of Luciferin (a substrate) combined with Luciferase (an enzyme), ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and oxygen. When these components are added, light is produced. McElroy (1951) described the reaction as:
There are several theories on how fireflies control the "on" and "off" of their photic organs. However, the exact mechanism(s) has yet to be worked out. The "Oxygen Control Theory" is based on the firefly turning on and off its light by controlling the oxygen supply to the photic organ for use in the chemical reaction. The "Neural Activation Theory" hypothesizes that fireflies have neural control of structures called "tracheal end cells" which, upon stimulation, may release a messenger molecule in the photic organ which initiates the activation of the chemical reaction. Regardless of how fireflies control the "on" and "off" of their bioluminescence, the production of light in the above manner is very efficient, with very little heat being given off as wasted energy. Imagine what would happen if the beetle got as warm as a light bulb!



Again, I was very surprised that my tiny camera has such powerful flash!

It made this very dark night swamp look like noon day!

Back on the stilt house again, I got those nearby for a group pic with our firefly guide.

Ah-so-deska! Now you can see the nature Scientist in green T and preciously holding her bottle of fireflies and also a leaf to feed them with.

A Gentle side of the Kelong.

On the way out, after dinner was completed I chanced upon this cute little baby boy. He was in the arms of his doting mother on the right of the picture. And unk Dicko was trying to test out his baby talk expertise on this cute wee baby.

Along came two even more experienced, proven mums and they took over the "cooing and the baby so cute thing"...which attracted the attention of the babe's grandma.

So, unk Dicko got them all nicely framed for a nice and memorable picture.

Thank You for all the hardwork!

Midway through the seafood dinner, Chairman Mdm Cynthia Phua went to each separate table to raise a toast to them. The loud "Yam Sengs" were as good as any I've ever heard being hollered.

Spirits were high as everyone seemed to be better bonded after the camaderie of the team building sessions and the many hours they spent discussing and planning for the future.

Wah...this one cannot lose ah!

Must yell even louder ok?

Ready, one , two three....!

Have u tried gong-gong ?

For our Farewell Dinner on the 2nd night, we were all driven in a convoy of mpvs and vans to a Kelong Restaurant at Sebong Bay. It is built on stilts over the sea waters. On arrival, we could just about see the beautiful soft glow of the setting sun in the distant horizon. The shadows and inter-play of light between the darkening day and onset of night cast shimmering reflections on the gentle, rolling waves. I saw quite a few excited people whipping out their cameras to capture the picturesque scene.

In no time at all, staff of the kelong served up dish after dish of the most delectable sea food.

One of the first was a big serving of the sea-shell we call "gong-gong".You need either a tiny 2 pronged fork or a long toothpick to pull the edible portion out from the shell casing. Then? Then just dip it in chili sauce and pop it into your mouth lah! ATC Chairman, Cynthia Phua saw some doing that and cautioned that it may be wiser to remove the innards before eating it.
"Aiyoh! Too late lah, already swallowed the whole thing"...I heard someone saying.
No one asked what would happen if the innards are eaten.
I think nobody wanted to know.

Better not know..then can enjoy the food more.

Mr Naidu holding up a "gong-gong" for me to snap a photo.