Friends of Yesterday.sg (a.k.a. FoYers) gathered to receive our copies of Horse-powered & Man-powered Transport: a philatelic excursion. This book is the culmination of a terrific effort from fellow FoYers, Tan Wee Kiat, Victor Koo and Noel Hidalgo Tan. Wee Kiat and Victor were on hand to sign our copies of the book.
Today’s meetup was a quick and simple affair, compared to previous gatherings where we had a big pot luck at Chun See’s, Sunday Brunch at the Chinese Swimming Club and even a picnic/book club session at National Library.
We traded stories, as we always do at these gatherings. Wee Kiat also encouraged all FoYers to work on our own books. If Victor and Noel can do it, we can too.
I mentioned Vanishing Trades in passing, and Wee Kiat pounced upon this as possible topic! After thinking about it, I would rather work on a book about Pasir Panjang. There are quite a number of angles from which to approach this:
- The Malay Regiment & the Battles of Pasir Panjang and Bukit Chandu – World War II & Military History
- The flora and fauna on Kent Ridge – Biodiversity & Parks
- National University of Singapore – Education
- Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, NUS Museums, Reflections at Bukit Chandu, Grassroots Heritage Gallery – Museums
- The names Kent Ridge (previously Pasir Panjang Ridge), Clementi Road (previously Reformatory Road), Ayer Rajah Expressway (previously Ayer Rajah Road) – Toponymics
- View of the Southern Islands, Singapore City & (in the past) Bukit Timah – Geography
- Reclaimation of Terumbu (Pulau) Retan Laut, Pasir Panjang Container Terminal, lost coral life – Ports, Development, Environment
Looks like I got a little carried away there. I’m already looking forward to the next meetup!
Patricea
/ Sunday, 19 August 2007Hey, if I’m not in Singapore most of the time, can I still join Yesterday.sg? I should start rummaging through my parents’ photographs to see if I can dig up something interesting :p
acroamatic
/ Sunday, 19 August 2007Sure! Sign up as a member at Yesterday.sg and you can post there. Doesn’t matter if you’re not in the country at the moment.
The Friends of Yesterday.sg are the moderators who decide what gets published.
py
/ Sunday, 19 August 2007Hi Kenneth, thanks for the update. It helps me catch up on what I have missed. Was practising with my friend-and-pianist yesterday.
Lam Chun See
/ Sunday, 19 August 2007I enjoyed reading this one and Wee Kiat’s other children’s books. I think they are ideal for busy adults because all the information is there in easy of read format plus beuatiful colour illustrations. I am still not finished with the Munuments book. That one a bit heavy on facts, but makes a good reference book.
Victor Koo
/ Monday, 20 August 2007Thanks Kenneth for blogging about our meetup. Regarding the book, no lah, there wasn’t much effort on my part. Most of the work was done by Wee Kiat. And yes, I would encourage you to write a children’s book too. In fact, it looks like you’ve enough material to write several.
acroamatic
/ Monday, 20 August 2007@ PY My pleasure. Getting ready for the performance at NLB in September, yah?
@ Chun See Agree with you, Chun See. I’ve not got a copy of the Monuments book though.
@ Victor Heh, you’re being modest again. Write several? Must start with one first, right?