URGENCY FOR GLOBAL CLIMATE ACTION: Pop Song Lyrics From The 60's

Newspaper Headlines From The Past:

More Floods In  Cities Today, Wildfire Spread Fast In Forest Area,  Illegal Timber Trade, December Monsoon Rain Kills Many, Massive Landslide In Hill Resort, Poisonous Chemical In Rivers Uncontrollable, Acid Rain All Over Countryside, Polluted Beaches...

'Don't Go Near The Water': Beach Boys. 

YouTube Video by: Angela de Lara.

This article has been re-posted from 10th August 2012, twelve years ago. Comments my dear readers? 

One Observation At Shopping Malls:

I have no quarrel with people who are paid by others to distribute flyers to pedestrians and passers-by.  But if we are truly going green this distribution of paper advertisements has to be curbed because the practice is growing worse by the day.

People who accept these flyers, possibly out of curiosity or otherwise, throw them away at the next bin they pass. Some even do so without reading the flyers.  And in our letter-box?  It's filled with the same junk. Tons of paper rammed down the throats of mail-boxes.  Meantime trees are destroyed.

Statistics:

"Paper is the most common type of waste in Singapore and about 1.26 million tonnes of paper waste was generated in 2008. The recycling rate of paper is 48% in 2008, and most of this paper waste is sorted, baled and exported overseas for recycling as there are no paper recycling mills in Singapore (zerowastesg.com)." And paper wastage is only one problem...

Sixties Song Lyrics:

[1] In the final verse of his song, Tapestry (1970), 60s music composer and singer Don McLean (American Pie, Starry, Starry Night) reminds his listeners about the destructive nature of man:

And every fish that swims silent, every bird that fly freely
Every doe that steps softly,
Every crisp leaf that falls, all the flowers that grow,
On this colorful tapestry, somehow they know
That if man is allowed to destroy all we need
He will soon have to pay with his life for his greed.

[2] The Beach Boys have the same message with Don't Go Near The Water (1970) warns the public:

Don't go near the water
Don't you think it's sad
What's happened to the water
Our water's going bad
Oceans, rivers, lakes and streams
Have all been touched by man
The poison floating out to sea
Now threatens life on land

Toothpaste and soap will make our oceans a bubble bath
So let's avoid an ecological aftermath
Beginning with me
Beginning with you...

[3] And one by Cat Stevens (Yusof Islam) asks his audience Where Do The Children Play (1970)?

Well I think it's fine, building jumbo planes
Or taking a ride on a cosmic train
Switch on summer from a slot machine
Yes, get what you want to if you want, 'cause you can get anything

I know we've come a long way
We're changing day to day
But tell me, where do the children play?

Well you've cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air
But will you keep on building higher till there's no more room up there
Will you make us laugh, will you make us cry?
Will you tell us when to live, will you tell us when to die?

Wastage:

I have noticed a slight change now. Tissue paper is not offered free in fast food restaurants and coffee houses.  You gotta ask for it! And that's good. But we got a long way to go.

Paper, water, electricity, food. What else are we wasting everyday? There are other songwriters who write about warning green. Remember any?

Just a reminder. Have we improved much since 2012. If we have, it's really great, so do write in... [4/12/2024]

Lyrics: from Lyrics Websites.
Images: from Google.

Quote from: http://www.zerowastesg.com/2008/12/08/paper-recycling/

Happy Lunar NIU [ 牛 Cow] Year 2021 - 新年快乐 - No COW-VID.

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Good Moo-ning Everyone

Happy NIU [牛] Year - Ox Nostalgia - Singapore 1950's

The streets, roads, avenues and lorongs [lanes] in Singapore today are mostly clean and well-paved for the expensively paid vehicles that use them 24/7. During this country's early years from about the 1940's onwards, the roads were not heavily utilised so, beside vehicles, we had animals too, parading the grounds as these creatures were used to move people and goods. The horse was well-known and even today, laboured to carry people, pull wagons and carriages.

It was no surprise then, as a child that I used to watch another domesticated animal go by on Singapore roads lugging heavily laden wagons, possibly in pain and misery. It is the bullock. There's usually a man sitting in front of the cart, directing the poor creature to its destination. And they were in the middle of vehicular traffic. And frankly, like most animals, would soil the streets whenever they wanted to. It's a fascinating sight but I would just run away.

The scene that I used to witness as a boy is not to diminish the image of this creature but to explain that it's one up for the bull, cow, ox, bison, cattle, bovine or whatever you might want to call this sure-footed beast that has been useful to Man generations on. Yes, the milk you drink, etc. - how now brown cow - that's from a bovine too. It is surely one of the most useful animals created. 

It took a few years before bullock carts were taken off the roads in Singapore together with the animal itself to pave for a modern metropolis. There's even a road on this island named after it - Buffalo Road at Little India in the Serangoon district.

A creature humbled by Man, yet tough, will resist the enemy that is still lurking in our midst this Chinese new year... It's the Lunar New Year of the Ox - a symbol of power, determination, fertility and even stubbornness [how true]. This creature warrants praise and is even sacred across many cultures.

We should hope to have a wonderful ox year this 2021, especially in getting rid of the virus. Hopefully not another cow-vid year, seeing the rat scuttling away to remain unseen for another 12 years.

A HAPPY LUNAR YEAR OF THE COW 2021 EVERYONE. 

STAY SAFE, 8 TO A VISIT. 🐮

12022021 - a palindrome - read it forward and backward - that's 12 February, 2021.

邓丽君 - 新年好 [Teresa Teng - Xin Nian Hao].

From LIFE RECORDS Chinese.

The symbolic truth of the ox lies in its multi-nationalistic popularity; it's been painted, put up as a statue, represented in country stamps, sung about and so it goes. I have seen the Manitoba bisons [above image] in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and they are huge. The ones that provide milk are from New Zealand, the dairy farm kind.

[Manitoba - minotaur - in Greek mythology - body of a man, head of a bull].

Here's one pop country western by Elvis that not many people know about. I have a copy but on an EP with a different vinyl cover. A lovely song indeed, the type that all Elvis Presley fans in Singapore would love to listen to during a Chinese New Year get-together. No. Believe me. Yes.

Milk Cow Blues was composed by Kokomo Arnold in 1934. Subsequent changes led to 4 more versions. Elvis Presley did his version based on Johnny Lee Wills and made it rock-a-billy style, turned the cow with a boogie beat and recorded the version in 1954.

Images - Google.

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)

Elephants Maimed @ Landmines; Killed For Ivory

                     The Elephant Song - Kamahl video: Jesper Linde

This Tragedy Is Not New
Two Songs To Remember
The Elephant Song -  Sung by Kamahl
Baby Elephant Walk - Composed Henry Mancini

David Attenborough, younger brother of actor Richard, is well known for his intimate and vast knowledge of animal and plant life. He has always been in the news and commented recently that elephants face extinction within 10 years if they are not protected from poachers and if the public stopped supporting conservation charities.

                            
Tell me said the elephant
Tell me why this has to be
We have to run from man and hunter
Never safe and never free

                         David Attenborough, Marc Spits, Kamahl

The plight of these giants went as far back as 1975 when a former Malaysian singer Kamahl popularised, The Elephant Song (World Wildlife Fund anthem). Then recently in 2011 when Singapore was part of the international Elephant Parade, huge painted elephant sculptures were displayed and auctioned with proceeds going to the foundation. 

This event was created by Marc Spits and son Mike in 2006, after they witnessed an Asian baby elephant *Mosha fitted with a new prosthetic limb in Thailand. The calf lost its leg in a landmine accident.  The Elephant Parade highlighted the problem internationally.

For two days my grandson and I were chasing coloured elephants on parade all over Singapore, from the Botanic Gardens to Wheelock Place (above). It was meaningful fun.  Since smaller elephant replicas were sold at Orchard we bought the orange one (below) for less than S$50. 

So, David Attenborough is the overall caregiver, Marc Spits and his son made us aware of maimed elephants in Thailand and singer Kamahl highlighted the elephant problem with a song. As citizens of this world we try to do our part too, by buying an inexpensive replica, or if you can afford, a higher priced one.

Why am I writing this post with all seriousness? 

The Straits Times' article, Vanishing Giants (3 Sept. 2016 Pg A37), and other news media all over the world highlighted how **ivory poachers in Africa had international criminal gangs greased the trade with corruption and made law enforcement difficult.

Selling by the kilo, for more than the annual income of an African worker, the ivory is used in unproven medical treatments.  There are now about 350,000 elephants left in Africa, a population decline of at least 30 percent. 

400 tonnes of ivory was trafficked in 2013, representing the tusks of 50,000 elephants. The price of ivory in China, the largest market, has peaked from $6 a kilo in 1976 to $3,000 a kilo today. 

In fact there is a website by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust with a logo called: I Worry (sounding like ivory) that explains the elephant situation today. Researchers maintain that elephants cannot survive without stronger protection effort.  

                  Elephant killed, with tusk sawed off. Piles of ivory $$$.

From the 1st of September to the 10th, 2016, the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) congress will showcase Planet at the Crossroads @ Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, and discuss a range of international environmental issues that includes climate, oceans and wildlife trafficking. Funding for rangers and closing down ivory markets would be one of the issues.

Happy was the elephant
Happy was his jungle life
And then they came, the cruel hunters
With their rifle and their knives...

Please help the elephants and other wildlife.

An original article with information from Websites

Baby Elephant Walk by Henry Mancini. Video Ja Rnd.

*Mosha reminds me of Baby Elephant Walk (1961) by Henry Mancini, which won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for the movie, Hatari.

                                Mosha with prosthetic leg.  Poachers stealing tusks.

Images: Personal Collection and Google.

                             You Tube Videos: Jesper Linde and Ja Rnd.

The Platters: "But Only God Can Make A Tree."

Early one morning, about two weeks ago, I saw a very old tree being trimmed along a road that I pass frequently. I have fallen in love with this tree and so have my grandchildren because whenever we walked up to it we would feel and touch the rough, scarred surface of its enormous trunk. 

Strangely, the tree seemed to react to our touch as some tiny pieces of bark and green moss would stick on our hands.  

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest, 
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast.

                                                  This trunk feels to our touch.

When we asked the gardeners who were trimming it what had happened they explained that a thunderstorm which occurred a few days earlier had ripped part of it and, like a surgical knife, removed a large giant arm off.  This black stump lay quiet and still on the ground today.  

A tree that looks at God all day, 
And lifts her leafy arms to pray. 

Singapore is exceptional because this tiny little island, in ratio to its land mass, has more than enough trees everywhere; many were specially planted by its citizens. 

And November is a month for trees because that's when our first PM, Lee Kuan Yew,  consciously reminded every Singaporean to plant trees, lots of it, during this month. 

                           Promoting Trees On Jan's T.

At the same time, the month is also one where damp devastation takes place so when the monsoon blows and cries and sings its songs of woe, trees come down, forced by the destructive nature of the weather.  This wicked climate worsens in December and January.   

Upon whose bosom snow has lain, 
Who intimately lives with rain. 
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

The beautiful growth is a heritage lychee tree that doesn't fruit under Singapore's condition.

Songs I Love:

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair...

Trees is a song by The Platters. It was recorded in 1961 and based on a poem written by Alfred Joyce Kilmer in 1913 and set to music by Oscar Rasbach in 1922.  This particular composition comes with 7 other songs by the group with Only You, one of 1001 songs you must hear before you die.

Trees...
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray

Trees...
Upon whose bosom snow has lain
Who intimately lives with rain
Poems are made by fools like me
But only God can make a tree
Poems are made by fools like me
But only God can make a tree
(I think that I shall never see...)

Above is the large arm that was amputated by lightning.  Below is the aftermath

There are many songs about trees or lyrics that have the particular word in them. Here is a short list of 20:

Annie's Song - John Denver
Big Bad John - Jimmy Dean
Cottonwood Tree - Marty Robbins
Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree - Andrews Sisters
Draggin' The Line - Tommy James/The Shondells

Dream A Little Dream Of Me - Louis Armstrong
Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
Lemon Tree - Trini Lopez/Peter, Paul and Mary
Lemon Tree - Fool's Garden (1995)
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - The Beatles

No More Walks In The Woods - Eagles
Norwegian Wood - The Beatles
Oh, What A Beautiful Morning - Ray Charles
Rockin Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
The Happiest Christmas Tree - Nat King Cole

The Lumberjack Song - Monty Python
Tie A Yellow Ribbon...  - Tony Orlando/Dawn
Trees - The Platters
What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley
You and Me - Moody Blues

It is a heritage lychee tree.

NB:

This posting is especially for my 3 Jays, whose love for trees and most of nature takes them to the Botanical Gardens nearly every week.

Images and article: A Personal Collection.
You Tube 'Trees' by The Platters - Video from Mr. Tripeo47.
Poem by Alfred Joyce Kilmer (1913)/ Music by Oscar Rasbach (1922). 
Book: Tony Visconti and Robert Dimery, 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die.  (The Fifties Page 67). 

Lychee Tree Update: 7.7.17.

Passed by the same tree this morning and they are propping it up, like an old man with a walking stick. This tree, according to the workers, is 200 years old.

Great news because the tree might just crash to the ground during a storm. It will take about a month for reinforcement and about 8 workers are doing the hard labour.

It has been nearly 3 years since the first awareness post (above) has been put up. Visit this post again in a month's time and we'll meet the people who made this difficult job possible.

How our authorities saved a tree.

Before the job and afterwards when steel structures were erected to prop the lychee tree to its glory. Cheers.

IMAGES - A personal collection and the poster is a mix from Google and my own ideals.