My Queenstown 我爱女皇镇

My Heritage, My Community, My Aspirations

Friends Forever

Posted in People | Thursday, April 29, 2010|By my queenstown

Have you ever asked yourself why you are working so hard? Some of us may work continuously all our lives in pursue of the 5Cs. Some of us may devote all our time in search for glory and fame. But is glory so tangible that it will last forever? In the first series of MyQueenstown Cares, we shall explore the lives of Queenstown residents staying in rental apartments sprinkled at various corners of the estate.

Auntie Gui Yu and Auntie Siew Zhen stay in Blk 48, Stirling Road. Auntie Gui Yi lives in the 5th storey and would visit Auntie Siew Zhen on the 6th storey daily for a chat. "Lonely," is the reason they give.

Auntie Siew Zhen and Auntie Gui Yi

Both of them reside in Queenstown all their lives. Auntie Gui Yi has 3 children and one of her sons live in Blk 159 Mei Ling Street. She used to stay in Lam Po Lay in Strathmore and tried getting a flat in Tanglin Halt when she was asked to leave because of SERS. She said she was fortunate to be physically healthy. Both Auntie Siew Zhen and her would visit the sports complex once in a while for a short brisk walking session. She believes keeping healthy is crucial so that she does not fall sick easily and incur unnecessary healthcare costs! Her grandchildren would visit her during the weekends and teach her how to use Mandarin. "Education is very important. We must carry on learning and make ourselves useful and relevant. Otherwise, being detached will make us lonely and despondent."

Auntie Siew Zhen, on the other hand, have 2 children. She has one who also lived in Blk 159. She has decided to rent an apartment because of clashes of faiths with her daughter-in-law and she doesn't want to quarrel with her and put her son in difficult spot because of that. "Afternoons are exceptionally long if I have nothing much to do," she commented. She also went on to express her concern on the impending demolishment of Commonwealth Avenue Cooked Food Centre because it was convenient for her to settle her meals there. She recalls, "Before the food centre was constructed, food is very cheap. Now every meal is so expensive and it will be worse in the future. Therefore, I would visit the market every day and cook something nutritious yet affordable for my child when they come back for work."

A quiet corridor of Blk 48 in the afternoon

They are ordinary people leading ordinary lives. I believe there are many others in Queenstown who have family issues and conditions similar to that of Auntie Siew Zhen and Auntie Gui Yi. Some of us may come from richer and more stable family who do not have to worry about food or our loved ones. They may come from the lower income group but there is nothing different in the way their experiences and destiny for the future! Let us show our concern and friendship today!

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Mee "Shiok" Rebus

Posted in Makan Shiok | Tuesday, April 27, 2010|By my queenstown

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The Last Weekend at the Last Shop of Blk 39A

Posted in Shop 'Til U Drop | Sunday, April 25, 2010|By my queenstown

Mr Yeo was knocking onto the old and rusty shelves and cabinets when we visited his store on their last weekend. At first, we've not intended to post this article. But several residents have wrote in to us to write something to preserve their wonderful memories with the friendly and humourous owners of the Mama shop.

金协成 Jin Xie Cheng (Hanyupinized Title and pardon for the translation because the word doesn't exist in the dictionary) was established in 1969 when Mr Yeo's father, a descendant from Kinmen in Taiwan, moved from a kampung stall in Zion to Blk 39A in Margaret Drive They started as a family business serving the residents in the kampung. In the 1970s and 80s, they would deliver food stuff and groceries to the households living around the district as part of their service. Surrounding their stores were tailors, opticians and rows of stores that sold delicious food and snacks. It was around 1990s when his neighbours started to move out because of the closure of the cinemas and emporiums. They were unable to compete with the vast resources and variety offered by the supermarket chain, NTUC Fairprice too. He stayed on because he wished to spend more time with his friends and residents who built a strong rapport with him and his brother over the years.

The familiar store will be a part of memory on 30th April 2010

Decorations in the store was pretty simple. There are old plastic columns containing small items like tissue paper where you would open them like a jar. The antique clock ticks without any roman numerals, was a striking feature. At the back of the store, Coca-Cola and Taoist figurines decorated the display shelves and brought us back by 30 years into the 1980s. Mr Yeo and his friends would sit at the corner of the shop and chatted with his long time friends and buddies. The familiar glee and general concept of the Mama shop was a striking difference from the commercialised chains of supermarkets and shopping centres we can find virtually everywhere. Time seems to freeze for a moment when we could visit this store for one last time. And someone, somewhere would hope that time could freeze forever for us to reminisce.

The old shelves and display

As the doors shut, it marks the end of an era in Queenstown

Blk 39A

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How Am I Supposed to Live Without Queenstown?

Posted in People | Friday, April 23, 2010|By my queenstown

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Queenstown's Version of NTUC Fair Price (I)

Posted in News in the Dump | Tuesday, April 20, 2010|By my queenstown

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Oh! She's Aunty Nancy

Posted in Shop 'Til U Drop | Monday, April 19, 2010|By my queenstown

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Tah Chung Emporium

Posted in Places | Saturday, April 17, 2010|By my queenstown

The above shopping complex has upped Queenstown's X-factor in the 1960s and 70s by several notches. It houses Golden Crown Restaurant and a night club in the top level, the popular Tah Chung Emporium at the second and several smaller shops at the ground level. Before Tah Chung Emporium was completed in 1967, makeshift roadside markets along Margaret Drive and itinerant hawkers along Commonwealth Avenue blossomed. This new complex provided the residents with better hygiene, convenience and comfort as residents of Queenstown can now embarked on their shopping tours under airconditioned comfort.

Kamaruddin Hassan commented, "I'll always ask my mom every pay day to buy toys at the emporium and have ice kachang after that. That area nvr fails to bring bck my childhood memories everytime I pass by that area."

Jenn-Lee Ong recalled, "There was a bakery opposite the coffeeshop and a OUB bank behind, nearer to the bus stop. Tah chung emporium had a supermarket department downstairs and I remember there's a ice stall selling like slurpee where you can cut out a coupon-like logo to collect and exchange for stuff like T-shirts.

Patrick Samuel Chan mentioned, "It's a pity Golden Crown Restaurant is no longer around but at least they still produce mooncakes every year. Some of them are the traditional ones like lotus paste with melon seeds and they do have some 'newer' flavours like green tea but nothing too funky..."

Ng Wee Kiat said, "That's the place where I took my 1st step in collecting toys. I still have some of them in my collections I bought transformers there, which were mostly paid by my grandfather. I remember buying my 1st video game western bar and it's still in working condition."

The empty plot of land today is the former Tah Chung Shopping Complex

Landscapes refer to the repositories of the ways societies function at any particular time as different eras of human occupation and actions leave specific traces in the landscape that can be detected, recorded and examined. Tah Chung Emporium is our expression of physical processes, individual and collective actions. It may have been a piece of insignificant history to the younger generation today and most likely be worthless. However, as long as it remains a part of us, it is our collective memory.

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It's A Long Walk to Dawson

Posted in People | Thursday, April 15, 2010|By my queenstown

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No.1 Western Food

Posted in Makan Shiok | Tuesday, April 13, 2010|By my queenstown

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MyQueenstown SMS!

Posted in | Sunday, April 11, 2010|By my queenstown

The road out of poverty for many older residents in Queenstown is a long and hard one. The mind is strong but the flesh is weak. There are occasions when they work hard for a change but the tide is changing. No matter how hard they try, they can't seem to fathom why their lives remain so different from those "rich men." Unfortunately, most of us are just young people studying or volunteering in Queenstown or residents who have enough to make ends meet and we are not able to provide material assistance to them. Therefore, we hope that we can offer a listening ear or give them directions on what's their next step. However, we cannot do it alone. If you spot them in your neighbourhood or in some secluded corner, do pass them this number 91769891. Tell them to SMS us!

We hope to see happy faces in Queenstown!

Developments in Queenstown have been fast and furious. Many ex-residents may not recognise the place any longer when they come back. They may have lost touch to their favourite food stalls or lost their way in a particular alley in Queenstown. That's understandable. Queenstown will always be a part of your memory, a part of your life. You can SMS for directions to plan your journey ahead. We try our best to offer maximum assistance to your queries!

Still remember where you can find this sign?

Queenstown is place for all ex-residents, residents and friends who patron the estate frequently. We understand that facebook, twitter and blog may not be sufficient a medium to spread the word. Therefore, through this one-stop SMS service, we aim to make your stay in Queenstown a comfortable one. We hope there will not be abuse to this service (aka prank calls). After all, we are just residents and friends of Queenstown who hope to make lives better for our fellow neighbours! Finally, do visit our facebook page for more information of MyQueenstown SMS! service.

If the SMS service is taking too long (sorry!),do email us at myqueenstown@gmail.com! We are hooked on the net 24/7

Yours sincerely,

My Queenstown Team

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Buses, Buses, Where art thou Long Buses?

Posted in News in the Dump | Saturday, April 10, 2010|By my queenstown

I remembered my father once told me that Singapore had a few bus companies before SBS comes about in the 70s. Remember STC, Hock Lee or ABS? Perhaps they were known for their colours! I did a small insignificant research on buses plying Queenstown in the late 60s and 70s and realised that some of routes continued to this very moment.

Remember ABS (Red Bus) No.2? It plied from Commonwealth Avenue to Changi Village! How about ABS (Red Bus) No. 12 from Margaret Drive to Simpang Bedok or ABS (Red Bus) No. 13 from Commonwealth Avenue to Orcahrd Road. A look down the list of buses and you can see many, many familiar routes such as ABS (Red Bus) No.20, 84, 103, 111, 144, 147 ABC (Blue Bus) No. 21, 22, 32, 90, 122, 148, 192, 193, 198. UBC (Yellow Bus) No.64, 93, 112, 153.

Yes, 111 still plies the same route as 40 years ago although the rationalisation of buses took place in 2003 due to the construction of North East Line shortened it quite a bit! 147 too! Just that it was extended to Hougang today!

A Singapore Tramway Company Limited Bus

Recently, the news of dividing the long haul bus services had not gone particularly well to Queenstown residents who had been using them for many, many years. Transportation and communication is one aspect that is peculiar to each individual and one blanket policy is going to solve the problem in one household and cause unnecessary trouble in the other. Today, MyQueenstown went to buzz around the estate and investigate how the public feels towards the impending fate of long haul buses in our estate.

Currently, SBS Transit No. 51 plies between Jurong East to Hougang via Queenstown is the longest bus route in Singapore that requires 2 hours 6 minutes (non-peak), 61 and 147 are routes that are more likely to face the "bulldozer approach."

One resident, Raymond Tan, pointed out, "Well, personally I am a retiree and do not travel so frequently as compared to people who are either working or studying. I would travel once in a while on buses such as 51 to Geylang in search for good food. Even then, I can foresee the problem whereby people who commute long distances daily would definitely have to pay much higher transport fees as they need to transfer buses. However, I also think that people who travel short stances would like the new bus routes since the bus frequencies would increase."

Raymond Tan

Another resident Miss Wendy feels that the replacement of these bus routes would definitely affect her greatly. She travels to and fro. 3-4 times per week on long bus trips. She feels that it would cost her a lot more if these bus routes are replaced. She said that she prefers taking buses over MRT as buses would generally take her nearer to her destination.

Mr Wang, a cleaning supervisor in New Town Primary School, said that it was not a big problem for him as he lives in Strathmore and only take short bus rides. He has a wide range of alternative public transport.

Mr Wang, a resident in Strathmore

There are many reasons why residents or friends of Queenstown took long haul buses like 51, 61 or 147. Some took it to Alexandra Hospital because the shuttle bus is slow while others took 147 to Stirling View/Jalan Bukit Merah. Generally, in our poll of 50 residents and friends during our 2 hours hunt at bus stops opposite Commonwealth and Queenstown MRT, 43 of the residents are not overtly concerned with the changes but expressed fears over the impending price adjustments.

MyQueenstown, on the other hand, would like to propose on the possibility of establishing branch lines, that is, short trips on specific routes of the service that have high possibly of having jams. That means empty buses would station there (in case) there is jams. This was done to SMRT Bus 190, where additional empty buses will station along Scotts/Orchard Road during peak hours so that they can carry passengers upon complains of insufficient buses or long waiting times.