The day started brightly. Eating is our number 1 pastime and we're all excited about the potluck style, dessert theme feast! Everyone brought our little snacks and desserts. There were a huge blackforest cake, 3 boxes of ice creams, 2 tubs of agar-agar, 1kg of nuggets, a dozen egg tarts, packets of crackers, etc... We have one mission today-FINISH THEM ALL!
The Black Forest Cake
Nuggets and Sausages
Getting fat is the our last, insignificant concern today! Participants have already expected that when they accepted our invitation through our online portal earlier this month. Sweet stuff always make you feel relaxed and happy. That's particular true! We continue to stuff kilograms of calories from our beloved desserts. (P.S.: Jared finished 5 egg tarts!)
All of us feel great after feasting the different kinds of desserts and snacks. Don't be envious of us!
The Magnum King!
We Want More Dessert!
Ice Cream Ninjas!
There was a point in time when some of us simply could not go on any further with the dessert items because they were simply too much to handle. After a sumptuous dessert feast, we proceed on to play some board games in the afternoon. Guess what did we play again? Yups, it's Monopoly! Owning properties and building homes seemed to the most exciting game with a mass appeal.
We are Going to Build Houses!
Take a Chance Card!
Kelvin owned 4 train stations and took home the most cash! Poor Wen Cong has to "donate" every cash he earned from rental and his "salary" until he became pok kai! All of us simply laughed and laughed nonstop! It was fun to learn new friends and play games!
The Banker! *Look at the Money Face!!*
Time and tide waits for no man as the evening sun shimmered through the windows of the multipurpose activity room. We got to leave! But we leave with smiles and more of them!
Happy Day!
Last Sunday, MyQueenstown organised our first board games session and invited residents and friends of Queenstown to this fun filled activity. More than 20 residents across ages, racial groups and backgrounds attended MyQueenstown Games and had unparalleled fun in exploring their childhood days once more.
Participants at MyQueenstown Games!
We came here too!
So are we!
While many of the participants have not played board games for many years, others will arrange gatherings with their friends just to "play games." "No-brainer" games such as monopoly or UNO are popular among light hearted participants who prefer to relax over some onek onek to heavy games such as Small World, where participants need a little planning and thinking.
Snacks + Drinks + Games
The games session lasted for 4 hours and many of us get to play 3 or 4 games! There were games that we never played before and we were glad that these "professionals" were there to enlighten us.
For faint hearted fellows
For the chim chim people
We play these games!
Games, like food, music and football, have the magic to bring people together and foster bonds among themselves. Upon seeing our fellow residents and friends giggle in elation, we are sure this games session will not be the last!
Wheee
The evening sun is scotching. And our tummies are rumbling. We made our way to Portsdown via Tanglin Halt to witness for ourselves the last few times where trains will honk past our estate with grace and splendour. Together, we trek the old flats built during the colonial period and stood at the dilapidated area where the fences were located.
Although some of the participants had lived in Tanglin Halt or Queenstown for a good part of their lives, many of them admitted that it was their first time waiting for the trains deliberately. Perhaps the hustle and bustle in our lives had stolen our precious time and made it impossible for us to enjoy the moment at its finest!
Say "Cheese" with the tracks!
Ooo.. I'm Cool!
Behaving like kids all over again, we arranged the stones/rocks on the track and waited for the train to run over them and crush them into fine sand. 6.10pm and the red coloured train zoomed past us! As the train went over the stones, the stones exploded into a mist of dust. Cool!
Fine dust particles
We followed our path down Woking Road and turned left into Portsdown Road. We trekked our way past the beautiful and gigantic Ang Mo Chus which we fondly looked up to when we were young. Childhood days were indeed so beautiful.
Rows of beautiful colonial houses
Pietrasanta Restaurant was located at the Wessex Village Square. There were a few other pubs and bars in the square which served authentic European food. The retro-themed ambience in Pietrasanta was another draw. It seemed as if we were having a mass candle-light dinner!
Wessex Village Square
There we are!
The dinner was sumptuous and filling. We tasted one of the best delicacies in town and drank to our hearts content while reminiscing about our childhood days and talking about everything under the sun!
Yummy Pizza!
Yummy Fillet!
Darkness fell. The roads along Portsdown appeared quieter and dimmed. We looked up the cloudless sky and saw an array of stars accompanying the moon. Life's so beautiful with friends around you!
There are many things you can do in Queenstown on a Saturday. Be it Kite Flying or Makaning sumptuous food with the MyQueenstown Team, there are many activities and places you can explore in Queenstown. In our all new editorial feature, we will showcase all the obscure activities that Queenstown residents do and meet all the interesting fellows through interviews and videos.
In one of our most commented posts last week, many residents have come forward and tell us about their great memories of the KTM tracks at Tanglin Halt and how they will cross the tracks and come over the Portsdown for some exciting discovery trails or chill-out sessions like the one we will be conducting soon! However, some residents may not know that Portsdown houses a few art galleries and holds arts classes. Today, My Queenstown team will explore one of them and interview its founder, the multi-talented James Holdsworth.
Ang Mo Chus in Portsdown
Blk 26 where James Holdsworth's gallery and art classes are located
Assistant Professor James Holdsworth was educated in the United Kingdom and has a degree in Fine Arts. He works in the Nanyang Technological University and conducts art classes at two locations, namely Portsdown and Blk 43, Jalan Merah Sega in Chip Bee Gardens. Block43 Studio-Gallery is one of the region’s first artist run galleries for Fine Art education and it is dedicated towards educating all who are interested in exploring art, ranging from beginner level through to tertiary level. He has won numerous awards, such as John Bell Simpson Award for Painting. Some of his widely acclaimed works include "Sentosa from Mount Faber" (2002) and "Sungei Buloh View From Tower." We are unable to republish his works but you can visit his website!
Mr Holdsworth has stayed in Portsdown for the past 10 years. He explained that his arrival in Singapore was an accidental and he did not expect himself to stay for so long! His most memorable impression on Singaporean students was their fear and anxiety while taking art courses. As the education system in Singapore does not focus on aesthetics development, many students who are inclined in arts do not get support from the government. He noted that rents at the bungalows in Portsdown has been surging from $2000 to $4000. He felt that a vibrant Arts community can make Singapore a more attractive and exciting place to live in!
James Holdworth
The art classes he conducted (Courtesy of Blk43.com)
Beads of sweat trickled down our shoulder when the afternoon sun blazed mercilessly at the Margaret Drive Open Space. A light drizzle in the morning seemed to diminish our hopes of flying kites since rain had been a common denominator of the weather throughout the entire this week. All our worries were uncalled for. The sun was a blessing and the light breeze was a plus. We, the kite flying enthusiasts, set the Strathmore skyline alight, with our youth and exuberance and caught the stares and glees of many nearby residents! Yeah, Queenstown is forever young! =)
The players plus a few others not in the picture
We were initially surprised by an uncle who drove his van to the car park and passed us a beautiful kite! He must have gotten wind of our activity and decided to support us! We were obviously untrained and inexperienced when we started flying at 2pm. Strings were entangled and the kites couldn't seemed to follow our will and fly into the sky. Some of us were slow in reeling back the thread to make it fly or releasing them to make it go higher! The kites "holland" and often resulted in a myriad of laughters!
"Paiseh I didn't know why the kite fly towards me instead!"
Sian... the thread keeps entangling
Many of us got a free tanning session this afternoon. While we expected rain to arrive either in the early or late afternoon, it never materialised. Instead, the sun was getting brighter and brighter. We drank gallons of water and needed some really cold stuff to cool ourselves down.
Resting and gulping the popsicles!
Some of us seemed to become a professional kite flyer over night. Our kites flew higher and higher-The eagle designed kite was even taller than the Strathmore and Dawson blocks. Some crows that flew passed mistakenly taught that it was a real eagle and detoured!
High...
Higher!!!
Evening seemed to come too soon today! We had our fun and it was definitely enjoyable. We had our dinner at Ridout and shared our stories among ourselves! Do join us the next time round! Wheeeee
We're coming back again!
Love@MyQueenstown is a social integration initiative that will commence tomorrow, 1 June 2010 at Tanglin Halt. It will cover over 130 blocks and 14000 households in Queenstown.
Poster of our English Pamphlet
Poster of Our English Pamphlet (Back)
This programme aims to fulfill 3 purposes in integrating residents and friends of Queenstown. Firstly, residents and friends of Queenstown will follow the MyQueenstown Team during the interview and understand the needs and queries raised by other residents of Queenstown so that they will get a better picture of what goes on in other districts. Secondly, this initiative enables MyQueenstown to propagate our services to low-income families who do not have access to internet presently. This ensures all families in Queenstown will have a social safety net where they can seek assistance or integrate with other residents in the community. Lastly, information collected by our team will be used to organise better activities or programmes that cater to the needs of the residents.
MyQueenstown Team welcomes all residents and friends of Queenstown to take part in this meaningful activity. We believe strongly that this initiative can go on to make our community more caring, self serving and vibrant! Leave us a note @ our facebook page or SMS 91769891 to indicate your interest in contributing to this initiative!
Poster of Our Chinese Pamphlet
Poster of Chinese Pamphlet (Back)
It was a humid afternoon and the sun was blazingly hot. However,the weather did not dampen the spirits of MyQueenstown's second gathering with residents and friends of Queenstown at Commonwealth Avenue Cooked Food Centre!
We Ate Duck Noodle Today!
Initially, each of us held our reservations because we did not know each other personally before this event. We were afraid to say the wrong things or do the wrong things. But, all of this disappear as long as we begin recalling the wonderful memories everyone of us have in Queenstown while makaning the ultra delicious duck noodles from "Venus Braised Duck" shop.
From Left: Jasper, Ser Yeng, Serene, Siwei and Sinha
Ser Yeng was a PhD candidate with NTU and volunteered actively in various community organisations in Queenstown.
Serene was an ex-Queenstown Primary and Queensway Secondary Student. She recalled vividly about Queenstown Central, where she frequented after school.
Siwei studied in Queenstown Secondary School and was a frequent visitor to the cinemas and the food centre, where he had his first date!
Sinha was a former resident in Margaret Drive and Stirling Road.
Though it was a short lunch session with us that lasted over an hour, we shared many aspirations and views about issues pertaining to Queenstown ranging from the high prices of flats in Queenstown to the friendly neighbours and friends each of us have encountered in Queenstown. Although we were strangers at the beginning, it was definitely memorable and meaningful to learn new friends and recollect the wonderful memories in the estate. Though Commonwealth Avenue Cooked Food Centre may be the next victim of the bulldozer next year, the ties that each of us share and the recollections of this beautiful estate will stay with us for all our lives!
From Strangers to Friends
It was pouring this afternoon and I thought that we may have to cancelled the haunting session today. However, looks like the mok mok is determined to let us discover them tonight. For disclaimer purposes, we just took random photos about our trip and sometimes we are unable to see them with our bare eyes. If you manage to see some weird photos, please do let us know! It was a successful trip for 2 reasons! First, the rain is scared of us! Second, we managed to connect with the online residents of Queenstown!
Some of the many participants in MyQueenstown Haunts!
Before the trip, all of us seem to be in a cheery mode. None of them appears scared or afraid of meeting ghosts (Yeah right). However, I manage to witness some of them searching frantically for their torches and putting brand new batteries to make sure the torch works.Some of the participants like Ms Mah would stuck the ears with plugs or connected to a MP3. We walk into the pathway that leads to the old carpark of Blk 6 and Blk 6A. For younger residents, Blk 6 and Blk 6A is no longer around. They are flats directly opposite Go Sports!.
Spotted any weird things must tell us!
We trek the path slowly. All the trees seem to be rustling in unison as the wind blows. As I walked past the bushes (as tall as the young girl in the photo), shadows seem to fleet past us. I ignore them, thinking that they are the effect of our torches. As I marched past taller bushes, I saw occasional shadows on my right. There's neither anyone shining a torch nor cars beaming their headlights at the forest. What's it? Is someone following us secretly? I hope not.
Ridout/Dempsey Park
Our Trek discovered cactus too!
A tall tree
We eased ourselves from the defunct Car Park to the Remand Prison before arriving at the new Margaret Drive extension. As mentioned by some residents, it is also the location of a cemetery which was cleared during the construction of Queenstown Estate. As we walked past Hua Yi Secondary School, an occasional shift in my lens discovered some white object moving about inside the class. I hope I'm being over sensitive. When I returned home and look at the camera pictures, it seems there's a human object in one of the windows in the picture below. Or I'm pak jiao?
Along Hua Yi Seondary School
Did you see the image of a person in one of the windows?
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