Andy 60s Music: Petite Fleur By Yen Chow

While reading through Facebook Friends' postings, I came across Ms Yen Chow's  picture; she's posed beside a pretty acrylic painting of sweet blue flowers. And she was the artist.

Here they are, showcased. Yen was a student in the 90's when she was only in secondary school. Hopefully we can see more of her art pieces in future. 

Thanks Yen for your contribution to the blog.

There are hundreds of songs, maybe even thousands about flowers. Here's one wind and brass instrumental by Chris Barber about the Little Flower or Petite Fleur.

Chris Barber's Jazz Band with Petite Fleur or Little Flower. Enjoy from video by 7707George. Thank you.

And here is Yen's masterpiece in full bloom below. She has already received nearly 100 LIKES from everyone around on Facebook. 

Congratulations Yen. Hope you will deliver more bouquets on our doorsteps.

Her first attempt on the acrylic board, this pretty piece. Perhaps you'd like to help name it? 

Here's a flower from The Sound of Music by Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra. Edelweiss is as famous as it is beautiful, both the flower and the melody. 

If you have names of songs using flowers as themes, you can contribute too. Cheers.

IMAGES; Yen Chow Collection
Videos from YouTube.

The background music from the video below is provided by Jimmy Chan and dedicated to Yen Chow. Jimmy saw her flowers, wrote to me and sent me the video.  

The guitar accompaniment was by Reggie Verghese, music producer and lead guitarist from the Quests. Jimmy too was from the Quests.

Thanks Jimmy.

Thanks to Mr Prabhakaran D. for uploading the video. Can anyone provide the title to the music?

SSO @ The Botanic Gardens: Jason Lai Conducting ENCORE

Singapore Symphony Orchestra: 22 July 2017 Botanic Gardens

A Personal Experience About Concerts In The Parks:

An SSO Concert at the Botanic Gardens will always be a treat especially if it's a stone's throw away. But if the enthusiast for classical music is driving his car, then don't complain if there are no parking lots; unless the early bird comes at about 4 pm (concert starts at 6).

A friend and I managed to squeeze into the last lot at the sheltered car park at Nassim Gate. It was a Saturday evening gift from above.

The coffee house (image) around the corner served our purpose since the Symphony Lake was another two minutes walk from there. But a fruit juice at the outlet was near $6.00 and a fizzy drink, $3.00. The 2-hour wait was comfortable as we managed 2 seats in air-conditioned comfort. These were the last seats available.

The concert venue itself was fun. Perspiring with T-shirts and track pants on, both of us had no trouble getting grass space as we squatted on the right wing facing the stage. Because we were sitting on a slope, it was a balancing act throughout the show. 

So if you don't have nimble feet and acrobatic skills go further 'upstairs' near where Chopin is sitting with his wife. A better view and you can sit on the more level meadow. No trees behind. The deadly one crashed remember?

It was about 5.30 pm. Sun kept us steaming. But the greens, flora, whispering winds and chirpy birds kept the balance; it wasn't uncomfortable.

The newspapers announced 10,000 persons came. It didn't look that many to me but the figure is possible. 

Sharp at 6 pm, handsome conductor Jason Lai, in a polo-T, jumped on the stage like the gymnast he was as he announced the evening's performance. He looked more like a fitness instructor. Fit as a fiddle? 😊 And sporting a whistle-thin moustache too.

Meanwhile, two jets flew above us, drowning Mr Lai's short introduction. National Day coming mah!

The performance was superb! I came just to listen to excerpts from West Side Story and Ritual Fire Dance. But Morning Mood from Peer Gynt (Greg) just blossomed as the Singapore sun started to set. 

When Brahms was hardly a minute on, my temporary neighbours started chatting and peanut packets were crackling. First Youth had better attention but Maria and Tonight kept everyone hushed. Some Seniors were humming. (full programme below).


Meanwhile the people kept pouring in; in fact, they kept on coming even when the concert was about to end. Puzzling. One of the passers-by was heard shouting on his phone.

"Hey, where are you? I'm here, I'm here!" as he waved his hand in front of the crowd. The music was playing, Home.

It was a short concert but SSO on stage, with all its Botanic Gardens challenges, sweaty T shirts and wet palms, was a joy to listen to.

While walking to our car we bumped into my friend's old buddy. A member of the SSO he is. Pictures and phone numbers were exchanged.

If each one of us had taken along the rubbish we left back there and dumped them in the bins, the workers would have had a happier time the next morning.

Thank you, Jason Lai, SSO, The Straits Times and the Botanic Gardens. 

22 July 2017 Programme:

Grieg: "Morning Mood" from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46

Brahms: Third movement (Poco allegretto) from Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90

Bernstein arr. Jack Mason: Selections from West Side Story.

Morricone: Cinema Paradiso: Theme, First Youth, Love Theme

Falla: "Ritual Fire Dance" from El amor brujo

Dick Lee: Home. (Encore)

Images: A Private Collection, Google.
The video above is only temporary and will be replaced after some technicality.

Moby Dick The Whale & Sea Life Struggle On: No Killer Whale But Killer Plastic

Save The Whales And Sea Creatures: Ban All Plastic Bags.

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"Thar she blows..."

Coming from Captain Ahab whose leg was bitten off by Moby Dick, the creature was, "an accursed white whale that razeed me made a poor pegging lubber of me forever and a day (1)."

The book Moby Dick, a classic novel by Herman Melville, has brought to mind the plight of these sea mammals and other ocean creatures, victims again, not of whale hunters like Captain Ahab but by irresponsible people who use the ocean as a huge rubbish dump to discard their garbage. 

Most of these waste matters are placed in plastic bags and swallowed by the poor whales and other forms of marine life. Whales have also been killed for food by some communities. In time they die, like Moby Dick and those in the story, "Oh, lonely death on lonely life! (2)."

Michael Bangar (image right), Singapore guitarist and musician has this comment to make, "Andy, the biggest culprit is mankind, as with a lot of other problems throughout the globe. Rubbish that has been thrown overboard from seafaring vessels over many, many years are swept out to sea from rivers, streams, canals and drains worldwide.  Many countries don't set control laws and throw their waste into the oceans.

It is a huge but unseen problem that needs massive cooperation from all nations to rectify. The poor sea creatures suffer. We just don't know how many more of them have died from this catastrophe. Like the poor innocent whale, thinking that rubbish-filled plastic bags was food. So sad!"

In the song, made popular by Frankie Laine in the mid-fifties, the whale was a symbol of fear: 

Oh Moby Dick was so big and slick
There was never such a whale
He'll take a ship with the slightest whip
Of his mighty, mighty tail...

We know today that the whale is not the aggressor. Man is. Merlin Lim (image below), the former guitarist for pop band Silver Strings, roamed the world in large ships after he decided to work at sea. Here's what he said:

"Andy, I saw the video sometime back and have been thinking about how the whales and other sea life suffered because of the human being's lack of respect for these creatures. 

I recalled the time I served on board ships. All rubbish, food waste, plastics included, were dumped overboard while the ship was at sea. Seagulls would hover over the garbage, pick up bits and pieces of food and debris while the rest sink into the ocean. 

These remains will eventually end up in the stomachs of the bigger fishes as 'food'.  The practice has been going on for years from way back in the early 70's.

Sad to say, I am also guilty of this big mistake we have all made." 

Indeed Michael and Merlin. And as we, "Sink all coffins and all hearses to one common pool (3),"  we are all guilty as hell.

An Original Article (Copyrights Reserved).

I thank contributions from Michael Bangar and Merlin Lim, both rhythm guitarists from The Silver Strings.

1,2,3: Quotations from 'Moby Dick' by Herman Melville
Images: A Personal Collection; Google.

La Paloma: Doves Nest In Singapore Home

The dove with twigs between its beak, eyeing me suspiciously during photography.

It's April; springtime is here as birds start to nest. In Singapore it's no exception as a pair of lovely zebra doves (Malay: burung tekukor) has found a nesting place for their Easter eggs. It's a cosy little niche between our home balcony wall and a huge air-conditioner.

The lovely paloma (Spanish: dove) couple started their home building the week before Palm Sunday on 9 April as we were listening to Donald Trump on TV, after his successful meet with China's President Xi. 

We could hear the bird calls at the balcony with one dove picking twigs and flitting, possibly looking for water and fluttering up to the air-conditioner to help the mate build the nest.

The doves were starting to build their nest when we frightened them away for a few days.

When I started using my mobile phone video and camera to take shots, they seemed displeased, left their nest dangling and incomplete. They never returned.

We had forgotten about the whole incident,  On the morning of Easter Sun, when we heard the calls again we were glad to see the nest much bigger with more twigs and dry grass. Huge relief.  Today (19/4/17) one of the birds sits perched on its nest, waiting to lay her eggs.

The pair keeps busy during nesting and we love to hear the vocalization as they go: Kroo-kook-koo. Kroo-kook-koo. The sound is music to my ears.

The children waited patiently, watching the dove in its nest. They were told not to make a sound.

The birds were also keeping two children busy as they loved the presence of the doves. The kids peered through the curtains because the nest was about four feet away from where they stood (image). Our family either took turns to observe the doves nesting or we would crowd at the entrance. But we made sure that we spoke quietly and in hushed tones. 

"Or," as I told them, "the birds will just fly away..."  

I hope to be able to document what happens next.

We've had wild things coming to our balcony. Blessings indeed.

Check out these connections below and read about the monkey, the hornbill and Josh's elephant:

http://singapore60smusic.blogspot.sg/search/label/Bird%20Songs

http://singapore60smusic.blogspot.sg/search/label/Wild%20Life

The nest in its final stage of becoming a cosy nursery for the doves. Meanwhile strong winds blew.

This Spanish song La Paloma, a favourite for thousands of Singapore seniors, has been in existence for more than 140 years and written around the 1850's. Easily recognizable and like many in its genre has a tune with a flamenco beat, popular in Spain but later exported to Mexico and to English speaking countries. 

There are about 1,000+ versions of this song and it is one of the most recorded in the history of music. Elvis Presley and Dean Martin sang the English version as, No More. 

Connie Francis, Nana Mouskouri, Julio Iglesias, Engelbert Humperdinck, Placido Domingo and big bands like Harry James, James Last, Ray Coniff, Acker Bilk, etc. had recorded it in the 1950's and 60's. 

Julio Iglesias - La Paloma is one of the most popular versions available. The English version is 'No More' by Elvis Presley.

Images: A Private Collection using iPhone 6+
Video: You Tube.

Botanic Gardens: Tree Crashes Day After Valentine Gig

12 February, 2017, Singapore Botanic Gardens, UNESCO World Heritage Site.

An iconic tembusu tree, near the Symphonic Stage and very close to the statues of Chopin and his wife, toppled and crashed late yesterday on Chap Goh May afternoon of 11 February, just three days before Valentine's Day on 14 February.

The night before the tembusu tree toppled, my wife and I were witnessing the last half an hour of a concert by well-known duet Jack and Rai (image) during the Botanic Garden's Valentine's Day celebration this year. 

The guitar strums of the duo were vibrantly contrasting and bright to the still and quiet of the evening, but they seemed to mellow with the trees and cool breeze. And Jack and Rai played with excellence and skill. Very talented twosome indeed.

There was a good evening crowd, with many young couples, some with children. A few stalls, by the wayside facing the iconic white gazebo, were manned by youth, selling food, drinks and souvenirs. 

It was actually our routine evening walk in the Gardens and we just managed to catch Jack and Rai singing two Beatles songs, the last one, Hey Jude. The duo surely spurred the spontaneous crowd to sing the refrain. Only a few weeks ago PM Lee Hsien Loong obliged a selfie with me at the same spot where the gig was held.

After the show we had to pass the tembusu tree and walking towards our car, near the coffee house on the Dalvey Road/Nassim Road side of the Gardens. We were discussing how old many of the trees were. They were perhaps older than the Gardens itself. 

With the present heavy rains and thunderstorms, we were concerned about the safety of people who patronized the area. It was a strange co-incidence to have discussed the calamity before it happened the next day.

According to news reports one lady had passed away and a few others were injured during the incident. We send condolences to the bereaved family and hope the rest who were at the scene are safe and unharmed.

The Botanic Gardens is a lovely place to visit, having been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site by its Committee during its 39th session. My grand children and I visit it often, most times in the late afternoon. The kids could run wild and scream in the large open areas. 

But be more careful walking by the side of the lakes when feeding the fishes and turtles. There is no fencing around the lakes and the pigeons could be too friendly, flying close to children who are near the edge of these lakes. A safe place it is but sometimes danger lurks as it would anywhere else.

Disclaimer:
This posting explains the incident as it is. There is no intention to criticize any organisation, party or individual. Please write to blogger if information is inaccurate and post will be deleted.

Images: Botanical Gardens Facebook and Website.

           Jack and Rai Make You Feel My Love: (cover Bob Dylan)

Wild Singapore Visit Our Homes - Hornbills, Doves n The Monkees

Wildlife in Singapore

There have been many wild-life sightings in Singapore lately. Monitor lizards are common and a grass snake slithered into our kitchen some time ago.  Also, crocodiles have been seen at reservoirs and lately boars (image 3) roam freely on certain roads. * "Here we come, walking down the street, We get the funniest looks from everyone we meet."


1. Monkey at our neighbour's balcony. Is it the long-tailed macaque?

Mr Hornbill

We live in an area where we have wild things visiting our apartments and knocking on our doors. My posting about a hornbill a few months ago was a pleasant one because it came when our glass doors leading out to the balcony were shut, so we managed to enjoy the company of the huge bird within touching distance because we were separated by the glass partition (image 2). But my next door neighbours were not so lucky. "You know that we want to, Do what we like to do, The only time we get restless, Is around something new."

2. A hornbill at my balcony.

Mr Monkey

A few weeks ago these neighbours, who lived across the corridor, had the naughtiest wild thing visit the kitchen.  The apartment was on the same floor but it was facing the dense shrubs, bushes and trees within the little urban jungle.  One afternoon without warning or waiting for an adult monkey, with a very long tail, came into their kitchen after accessing the drain-pipes outside the apartment. 

According to our neighbour it grabbed the bunch of bananas on the cabinet, messed the floor with banana-skins and settled on the balcony with a packet of its favourite peanuts in hand (image 1).  Peanut skin and slices of bread were later found scattered all over the car-park, thrown down from another apartment from the 13th floor by the same monkey. "Hey, hey, we're the monkees, And people say we monkey around, But we're too busy singing, To put anybody down."


3. Boars At Peirce Singapore.

So to keep these creatures at bay, the drain-pipes had barbed wires coiled around them. Then a trap was set and an orange placed in the cage. Looking at it I realised that it would be near impossible for our nimble relatives to be caught as these were intelligent ones that were born and bred in Singapore :-). We found out later that the monkeys went up the apartments again despite the barbed wires.

Mr n Mrs Human

Meanwhile, residents that included elder folks, maids with children and babies got about their daily business.  After some days the monkeys were still around.  "Anytime or anywhere, just look over your shoulder, Because we'll be standing there. Hey, hey, we're the monkees, And people say we monkey around, But we're too busy singing, To put anybody down."


We have been told not to mind them i.e. they will leave us alone if we do likewise. I am not too sure about that. My two young nieces aged 6 and 8 had their food packets snatched from them when they were walking at MacRitchie Reservoir with their grandmother. The children were traumatised by the ordeal as the monkeys scooted away. Local newspapers have reported similar incidents.

It's been sometime now since the monkey(s) were caught but there's been no news about our nimble friends. Hopefully the organisation in charge will round them up quickly.  We are keeping our windows and doors tightly shut, always alert for the appearance of other wild things. 

#"Wild thing... you make my heart sing... You make everything, Groovy, I said wild thing..., Wild thing, I think I love you, But I wanna know for sure, Come on, hold me tight, I love you, Wild thing...you make my heart sing..., You make everything, Groovy, I said wild thing..., Wild thing, I think you move me, But I wanna know for sure, So come on, hold me tight,You move me.

I am not sure about holding them tight.  No ^empowering, psychologically astute parable about a child and his anger here but the reality of having monkeys and other wild things around can be very stressful.

Can wild things be found in your area? Tell us.

 (Singapore has roughly: 60 species of mammals, 365 species of  birds, 107 types of reptiles, 28 species of amphibians and 1193 types of plants Wildlife in Singapore: Wikipedia).

Credits

*All line quotes from: Hey, Hey We're The Monkees, lyrics from  TV Series, The Monkees (1966) Album by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.

#Wild Thing, (1965) by Chip Taylor is made famous by The Troggs in 1966.

^Where The Wild Things Are: The Psychology Behind Maurice Sendak's Classic by Mikaela Conley (ABC News).


Image One: from neighbour.

Image Two: from Andy Lim Collection.

Other images: Google.

Crocodile and monitor lizard pictures were taken in Singapore.

                                We're The Monkees from: zazzaz99

Images: Personal ones and from Google too.

https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2017/04/la-paloma-doves-nest-in-singapore-home.html

Yes, they did. These zebra doves built nests on the air-conditioning unit in our balcony. And they settled in cozily with the fledglings a few weeks later, coo-coo-ing the whole morning and afternoon, while mother bird flitted around looking  for tid-bits to feed them.

The dove on our balcony. It's had a twig in its beak, wary of my taking a pix.

One For The Birds - A Hornbill At My Balcony

 

You Tube Video: Snowbird by Anne Murray (The Oldrecordclub). 

SONGS I LOVE:

I heard a thud on my balcony while reading the newspapers this last morning of 2012. I looked out and saw a hornbill.  I was thrilled. Compared to the numerous sparrows and merbak jambul that frequent our place, this one up close was a huge creature as it perched itself roughly on the shiny garden chair. I have been trying to observe this particular bird for months having seen it streaking around this wooded area with its yellow beak and jet black feathers.

It was about nine o'clock and cloudy but I whipped out my trusty iPhone and took some shots. The bird flew away after it left some poop on the ledge. It must have got bored.  I checked Google Images and realised it could be an Oriental Pied. Here's a paragraph about this bird.

"The Hornbill is the national symbol of Sarawak. The people there view the bird as a symbol of purity. They use either the bird itself or its representation in their religious ceremonies. In Sarawak, as in other South East Asian countries, the hornbill is a protected species: from essortment.com"

As usual, my music memory took me back to days of yore and songs with a bird theme. There is Humming Bird, Mockingbird Hill, Snowbird, Bye Bye Blackbird, Bye Bye Birdie, Blackbird, Fly Like An Eagle, Mockingbird, Rockin' Robin, When The Red Red Robin, Eagle. And the famous Indonesian one is, Burung Kakak Tua (Parrot) by Anneke Gronloh.

It's a short selection because I am sure there are many more songs with 'bird' titles. If you know any please contribute.

Happy New Year 2013 everyone. Symbol of purity huh? Hope the bird brings me better luck than the dragon year did. But it's not over is it, the dragon year?

Marina Bay Countdown 2013 Tonight.
http://www.essortment.com/hornbill-bird-25714.html