My Queenstown 我爱女皇镇

大约五十多年前吧，当我仍系小学生时，女皇镇才刚从不怎么为人所知的乡村，以新镇（建于1952年）的姿态，展现在新加坡沿一带。几年后，我已是个中学生了，著名的红砖厝十四楼即以本区、也是当年新加坡最高的建筑地标，耸天而立。即使它周围的几座七楼组屋，以及那排蓝玻璃组屋（因该几座组屋窗口皆装上蓝色玻璃而名），相较于其它区外和我的老家–方基山区，在当年，也都显得强势多了。该时候，由于我的好多个初中同学都住在十四楼附近的组屋区内，所以我很早就跟女皇镇结缘啦！反倒是后来，为帮父亲撑起那“灾余”建起的家，放弃了上大学的理想，提前到社会上去谋生，逐较少在女皇镇活动，却仍藕断丝连地，找时间回来逛逛往昔的街市、店铺，看看曾经熟悉的住宅区有啥变化，顺道也寻访一些中学校友。
          迄至1980年代初，机缘巧合地，我带着新婚不久的另一半，迁入了美岭街150号的一座租凭组屋的单位，先呆了三几年；直到1985年，购置了史德林路大牌170的现址后，从此便定居下来，正式启动赤道风的出版工作。那时候，理想印刷出版有限公司还在，偶尔也能于寂静中听闻印刷机运作之声响。
          惟是，曾几何时，就如我的年岁日益增添那样，如今已经59高龄的女皇镇，也开始显现老太矣。不过还好，人老了，终究要入土为安，但屋子‘老’啦，却可以破土重建。
          当下，好多曾经住过美岭街、史德林路的老友、文人、墨客，搬走的搬走了、去世的去世了；几间电影院与百货公司，倒闭的倒闭，‘换装’的‘换装’；就连往昔曾经辉煌过的地标：十四楼，也已拆掉，让位给了更高、更新的未来建筑群。
          据所知，一张务使女皇镇旧貌换新颜的建设蓝图，已然摆在有关方面的议事日程上，而多处女皇镇属区亦常能听见建筑工地之打桩音响。我想啊，再过三、五年的女皇镇，应有是“人事几番新”啦！然则，兴许是岁数大了，喜欢怀旧，我总难忘怀过那些自在、悠闲的环境，惦念曾经一起欢聚，论辩的咖啡八儒，思忆以前充满浓郁、温馨气息的人间世事。
          总之就也好，新也罢，对于我这个仍在留守的‘老臣’而言，总觉依然是：新镇、老区各显风采，点点滴滴尽存胸怀。
2011年3月

为了鼓励更多女皇镇的青少年阅读华文新闻，《我爱女皇镇》将推出全新单元 《女皇镇1周新闻快讯》，把这个星期观于女皇镇的主要新闻简略的描述。
史德林路一组屋单位失火，三名邻居破门救人不果，屋内男子过后被发现烧死在睡房内。这起火灾命案发生在昨早11时30分，地点在女皇镇史德林路第48座组屋3楼的一房式单位。死者是49岁的黄福财，原本和年迈父母同住在事发的租赁单位，黄福财染上毒瘾后父母搬离，剩下他独自居住。据邻居透露，死者是嗜赌惯犯，上个月才坐牢出来。他也常向邻居借钱，表示要用来偿还水电费。
　　在隔壁回教堂担任停车服务员的的李维尔（50岁）在早上约9时许，看见黄福财住家冒出黑烟，于是拨电通知民防，但以为是顽童玩火，过后就没有多加留意。随着失火单位冒出更多浓烟和火舌，还不断传出玻璃破裂的声响，惊动了附近居民，纷纷自行疏散。其中有三名邻居见义勇为冒着危险，企图冲入失火单位救人，但眼见火势太大，在灌救十分钟后只好放弃。
　　其中一名试图救人的苏姓鱼贩（46岁）说，当时他帮忙到隔壁邻居家取水，递给另两个人救火，但火势太大，他们只好放弃。黄福财的大姐黄丽凤（54岁）受访时说，黄福财在六兄弟姐妹中排行第五，生性文静，但却在当兵后误入歧途，同家人开始疏远。黄丽凤说，70多岁的父母已经知道小弟去世的消息，非常伤心，目前只希望能完成小弟的遗愿，联络上离异多年的妻子，让一对子女能来送小弟最后一程。

Minutes seem like months for residents of Block 48 Stirling Road on Sunday, 22nd May 2011. Thick, black smoke billowing from the windows of #03-578 transformed the idyllic backyard of Queenstown into a battleground for the fire fighters of Alexandra Fire Station. There were desperate attempts to save the unconscious man from his apartment but to no avail. Frantic cries of "help" and "fire" startled the neighbouring followers from Masjid Mujahiddin. Let us unfold the drama of Stirling Road Blaze from first-hand interviews of 16 residents at Block 48 Stirling Road.

A rental resident, Mr. Ng Hock Chye, at Block 48 Stirling Road lost his life in a blaze yesterday morning. The charred body of the jobless man was found in his bedroom located at the 3rd storey of the rental block. Firefighters have since put out the fire.
According to the national reports, residents were alerted to the thick dark smoke billowing out of Mr Ng's unit and fled their homes. Some of the residents in the block hurriedly filled buckets of water to try douse the flames.

7 funerals in 2 weeks. There is a flurry of "activity" these two weeks for correspondents from My Queenstown. We did not leave our traces in photographs as a mark of respect for the deceased. We did leave our sincere prayers and heartfelt condolences for those present. Quietly and fleetingly, we made our way to some of the funerals and understood that all of them had passed away because of natural causes.
What that caught everyone's attention was probably the unfortunate suicide at Buona Vista last week. A 26-year old Indian national was fatally hit by a KTM train at about 1.15pm last Wednesday. His dead body was found at the glass verge next to the railway tracks near Block 12A near Buona Vista MRT Station. According to national reports, he was a cheerful and well-liked student at a private university in Alexandra.

为了鼓励更多女皇镇的青少年阅读华文新闻，《我爱女皇镇》将推出全新单元 《女皇镇1周新闻快讯》，把这个星期观于女皇镇的主要新闻简略的描述。
疑压力大留遗书 26岁大学生 遭火车碾死 
印度籍青年命丧火车轨，大学生生前曾写下遗书,疑自杀轻生。 目前,警方将案件列为非自然死亡,案件细节正在调查中。附近6天前 聋哑男丧命 6天前,1公里外发生另一起铁轨命案。 5月5日上午7时许,41岁的聋哑清洁工人洪康怡,疑走捷径上班,结果遭火车撞飞惨死。 事发地点在联邦通道第79座组屋后面的火车轨道,距离印度学生死亡地点仅约一公里。 遇困难 请求助 生活中遭遇困难,可拨以下热线求助: ●援人协会(SOS):1800-2214444
为吸毒7次抢妇女项链 道友求情：须照顾老母 求情不通过判坐牢7年 
被告在去年12月4日到今年3月1日,掠夺7名妇女的金项链,总值约2300元。 他的犯案地点包括:直落布兰雅弯、亨德申路、惹兰红山、东陵福路及史德林路一带。案情显示,被告总是出其不意的走近戴有金链的妇女,迅速扯去金链后,跳上电单车逃之夭夭。 

For the past 42 years, Mdm Ker Ah Kin, 64, and her husband have been mending the unimpressionable Long Hwee Book Store at Mei Ling Street diligently. They sell bags, shoes, cassette tapes in addition to their wide collection of Chinese novels and literatures.
Long Hwee Book Store at Mei Ling Street
Married in 1969, Mdm Ker and her husband had initially rented a small space at Beauty World Shopping Centre for their book store. They bought over the shop house at Mei Ling and started their ‘small business’.

我在大牌39A组屋底层走回了一会，便看到56岁的李先生提着六个鸟笼。笼子上的雕刻十分精致，里面有一个喂食的小瓷罐。笼子里有一只小鸟，眼睛大大的，十分掏喜可爱。
住在联邦弯的李先生每逢星期四早晨都会把他的宠物鸟从高层建筑的组屋中带到这里。据了解，大牌39A宽大的建筑结构能让这些鸟儿充满活力，唱起歌来也非常清脆悦耳。听着鸟儿的歌声能让他瞬间忘记烦恼，并给予他在生活上的启发。当李先生得知大牌39A租屋在今年内即将拆迁，他不禁感到十分惋惜。

The industrialisation programme took off in Queenstown when the Tanglin Halt Industrial Estate was established to generate employment in the neighbourhood. Initially, the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) planned a small industrial estate at Tanglin Halt to provide employment for the new residents. Measuring some 20 acres of land consisting of 38 factories lots for cottage industries, Tanglin Halt was chosen for its proximity to the railway tracks. Tanglin Halt Industrial Estate quickly established itself as one of the key driving forces in Singapore’ industrialisation programme in the early 1960s.

为了鼓励更多女皇镇的青少年阅读华文新闻，《我爱女皇镇》将推出全新单元 《女皇镇1周新闻快讯》，把这个星期观于女皇镇的主要新闻简略的描述。
联邦通道 聋哑男抄捷径 惨遭火车撞死 
一名聋哑人士走捷径上班,被火车撞飞20米,当场惨死。 这起事故发生在今早7时35分,地点是联邦通道第79座组屋后面的火车轨道上。 40岁死者洪康怡是一名清洁工人,在高科技商业楼Neuros和Immunos工作了3年半。
联邦通道 变态男独爱偷 俏女经理衣服 电眼拍下全程 
变态男独爱偷一户人家的女装衣,而且一偷半年,气得屋主装电眼,把录下的偷窃全程交给警方。 最近一次偷窃发生在本月1日早上8时20分,地点是联邦通道第94座组屋4楼。 28岁的财务经理黄女士说,她是在一年多前和丈夫搬到事发组屋,同住的还有表妹和一名朋友。 
东陵福路 假建屋局人员 组屋四处骗人 ·居民报警 
阎女士(73岁,退休人士)透露,前天下午3时左右,一名27岁青年自称建屋局人员,到她女皇镇东陵福路第30座组屋的住家,声称要检查天花板。她指,对方过后告诉她,需要强制修天花板。 “他告诉我,政府会付一半,我只需要还220元,先交50元。

For the past 2 years, Kumari, 18, has been helping out her mother, Liti Devi, at the vegetable stall No. 58 at Tanglin Halt Wet Market. At 11pm, they will visit the wholesale market at Pasir Panjang to select the freshest vegetables before loading them into baskets. Since they neither have a driving license nor a truck to bring the vegetables to Tanglin Halt, they got to hire a taxi to bring them back. On alternative days, they will travel to a wholesale market at Toa Payoh to select the greens. 

For 3.5 years, Mr Ken Ang, 40 has been taking the short cut behind Block 79 at  Tanglin Halt to get to his workplace at Biopolis. This short cut requires residents and friends to walk across a dirt muddy path created by thousands of footsteps through the years, walking across the railway tracks used by the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) trains. Unfortunately, tragedy struck yesterday morning when he was knocked by an incoming train at 7.35am. Mr Ang's motionless body was found beside the tracks and he was pronounced dead soon after at 7.50am.

The Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) set aside seven sites for religious use and advertised for religious organisations to ballot in the 1950s. Of the ten enquiries received, four withdrew, leaving six Christian organisations. These went on to build the first churches of Queenstown; Queenstown Baptist Church, Queenstown Lutheran Church, Faith Methodist Church, Church of the Blessed Sacrament, True Way Presbyterian Church and Church of the Good Shepherd.
The Queenstown Baptist Church first started when a Baptist missionary, Miss Dorcas Lau began house-to-house visitation in the housing estate with Miss Lora Clement, a resident in Barbary Walk. In 1956, the Malaya Baptist Mission of the Foreign Board from the Southern Baptist Convention of United States voted to purchase a vacant plot at 495 Margaret Drive. It opened doors to her followers in November 1962.

为了鼓励更多女皇镇的青少年阅读华文新闻，《我爱女皇镇》将推出全新单元 《女皇镇1周新闻快讯》，把这个星期观于女皇镇的主要新闻简略的描述。
就一通电话、一个会晤，还有选举官的肯定，让谢世儒医生在短短的22小时之内当上丹戎巴葛集选区议员。他说：“如果说不感到意外，是在撒谎。但这也不是出乎意料的，行动党一直嘱咐我，要随时做好（临时上阵）的心理准备。”
新加坡中央医院骨科外科医生谢世儒昨天透露，他是在前天接到没有显示号码的几通电话，但当时因为在手术室动手术，无法接听。大约下午2时之后电话再响，是教育部长黄永宏医生传话要和他会面。“他告诉我身为候选人应该要有什么样的表现，要我亲口说我准备好了，然后就直接去见基层和选民了。”
丹戎巴葛集选区行动党女皇镇支部秘书麦智泉（53岁，房地产经纪）向本报透露，他前天下午先接到陈振声的电话，问他当晚是否有空，和马炎庆一起出来谈话，谈话内容由马炎庆来透露。“我们就约在某家酒店。晚上8时30分到了停车场，就看到马炎庆、陈振声和谢世儒，当时心里有数了。”麦智泉表示，马炎庆说谢世儒将接替他在女皇镇的职务时，自己感到有点不舍和难过。
       他在昨天早上8时，和马炎庆一起见了女皇镇区基层，把临阵换人的消息告诉正准备到提名站的支持者。提名活动在昨天中午结束时，他已自动当选为新议员。马炎庆受询时说，自己是在前天傍晚得知自己被调到淡滨尼集选区，党这个突如其来的决定让他感到“有点惊讶”。他对于必须离开已服务了五年的女皇镇居民表示难过，不过能够加入淡滨尼团队也让他感到荣幸。