Today, I am in Hyderabad, staying at the Taj Benjara Hotel and having an afternoon tea alone. Gosh, alone again, but my mind is pretty active with SilverHairsClub. Surprising in India, where the population is 1 billion, the hotel has a 2 girls Filippino band playing and singing and entertaining the high tea crowd.
From time to time, we see some amateur singers from within SilverHairsClub, popping up once in a while. I don’t mean the professionals who sing with bands or in clubs. I mean those who can go on stage, hold a mic, sing without scripts, without a karaoke system, but with accompanied music. And, able to entertain the audience.
One person who can sing, but can be entertaining if he wants to, is Timothy Liu. I saw him sing in Batam. Two ladies whom I have observed as very entertaining with Cantonese and Hokkien songs are Janet Chan and Peng Peng. Caroline Gee has the courage and the guts, and she sings confidently English songs. There is another gentleman, whom I recently met, and who sings and plays the organ and the guitar is Hou Chong. I met him in Perth. No doubt, we have a Rod Stewart in the body of Boon Liang. He is great. We also have Shirleen Kao with her Japanese numbers. Heard her sing at Kukup.
I am not a singer, but I believe we have many talent spotters who have seen other SHCians sing and entertain. If you know of someone within SilverHairsClub and who can sing and entertain, accompanied by music, as an amateur, not a pro, plse share with us who these SHCians are. He/she can sing in any language or dialect, but must be entertaining too.
Why am I asking? This is for an activity which I plan to organise next year. I have not spoken with our Club Manager, as she comes online only on 1st May. No, this is not for Stars-in-Concert.
So, you can see my mind works, even on a Sunday, and while doing nothing over High Tea and listening to a sweet 2 ladies band in Hyderabad, India.
Geok Suan, Dhevi, Dolly and many more talked about this too. All to find reasons for us to get together, and know more friends, our age.
Terence Seah
“One person who can sing, but can be entertaining if he wants to, is…….” Sengh, with your conjunction “but”, it’s clear that he cant, not can, sing……..knn, you think you can sing better huh?
Jokes aside, recently I watched and heard Ronny (or is it Rodney?) sing. He has a great vocal, is versatile with both English and Mandarin numbers, presents his osngs very well and has good showmanship. Was told that he’s also a belly-hop natural……..
Hi Terence,
Yes, I fully agree with Tim. Ronnie Kow, new SHC member is a very talented & good singer. He sings like Tom Jones. So is Patrick Chan, who is a talented guitarist & MC too. Performs like Elvis. Both of them jam regularly at Tanglin CC on Friday nights, with Pat & his live band. If you’re in town on Friday nights, come down and watch. There’s alot of other good SHC singers who hangs out regularly @ Tanglin too. One of them is Clara Chay, whom i do duets with. There’s many more… just come down & spot more SHC talents.
CHeers, Lydia.
Hi LydiaC,
I guess anyone who can sing with Clara Chay, is also a good singer. Do you know if Ronnie Kow is a professional. Patrick Chan is a professional, so he is good, and I cannot include him in my list. I am looking for amateurs.
Terence Seah
Ronnie Sow is the silverhaired gentleman in the first picture. From the karaoke where we met, he told us that he is a singing teacher.
Lina & Tim, beside having a great vocal, Ronnie Sow is a fun & jovial person too. At the last Karaoke session, I saw smiling Ah Tim clapped & clapped after Ronnie finished singing, wow! damn good……..And then Karaoke manager, Lina instructed that everybody stopped singing, let Ronnie sing…let Ronnie sing……… I think he got a bit of sore throat after that.
Ah Nee
Yes, ANee, you are absolutely spot on with Ronnie’s singing prowess. He naturally dazzles and I dont praise a person freely unless he measures up. He can even do what most of us cant, however good we are…….he can mimic like a pussy in heat and gyrate tantalisingly.
It’s guaranteed fun to have him around at k’oks and parties, and I cant help but to recall Edwin Chen. Another maestro in his own rights.
Hi Terence
I am definitely an amateur. Sing in karaoke, showers, four walls etc but never with a band. Planning to have singing lessons (do I qualify if I did?)
What do you have in mind? As I have to make a trip home for whatever activity, please keep me posted. Thanks!
p/s as you travel a lot, please be aware of the swine flu and take care……..
Hi Terence,
I totally agreed with Lina, Ah Tim and Ah Honeey that Ronny is a indeed a v. good amateur ?? singer.
His voice can reverberate sounds like Tom Jones- Delilah,Engelbert Humperdink – Spanish eyes or Elvis-Blue Hawaii.
Hearing is Believing.
Hi Terence
Yes, singing is one of my favourite pastime and has been a faithful Karaoke adherent since the early 90s, crooning more than half the time in karaoke-pubs where sometimes one can duet with the pub-hostess. But of course, the increasingly popular Mandarin & Chinese dialect songs are definitely out of my repertoir.
Nearly all social clubs, and in recent years even the staid and dour Chinese clans’ clubs had introduced karaoke singing in their premises, do have a karaoke-set(some of these clubs impose a token charge on members utilising the karaoke facility) and karaoke-singing is one of the main attraction in “pooling” members to the club. Personally, singing is de-stressing.
Before the popularity of karaoke, a clubhouse serves as a watering-hole of social interaction in other activities like, playing chess, draughts, etc.
Unlike the big country-clubs(my employer is one) most social clubs do not boast more than one thousand members and many of these clubs do not operate every day, usually due to minimal visit by members on certain days of the week to warrant the club opening its doors daily and operating hours vary between 6-14hours on opening days, with frequent visitors being members of retired status which means a SHC clubhouse will on most days be quite packed with SHCians of the more silver-haired variety like yours truly.
Perhaps it is now quite imperative for SHC to consider securing a clubhouse premises in the forseeable future which I reckon a premises area of a 3-room HDB apartment(about 700sq ft), probably the average area-size of more than half social clubs, will comfortably accomondate forty SHCians at one time.
Regards
Abel Tan
Hi Abel,
I envy the way you direct your thoughts into something workable. Why do you think that a physical club will work for SHC, considering there are many other physical clubs out there with limited attendance by members. Somehow I tend to view variety as attractive, but I may be wrong.
Any members have thoughts on what Abel is thinking?
Terence Seah
Hi Terence
I am in total agreement with you…. and it’s not just for the variety…..
As it is, there are enough events and activities held in venues that are absolutely free of charge such as cycling @ ECP, pot-luck @ Botanical Garden, gatherings @ Han’s, etc. Why be bogged down to a single venue with monthly overheads, maintenance and management problems to worry about?
It makes more financial sense to scout for a venue on ad-hoc basis as and when we need an enclosed space to exclusively accommodate 80 or more members for a particular event such as the D&D, Talentime, Concert, etc. that comes equipped with whatever is required for that event.
Hi Terence, Lily
Admittedly, it is due to vested interest on my favouring SHC securing a clubhouse premises and plus installation of a karaoke-set as then my expenditure of more than $60,70 on twice monthly visits to karaoke-pubs can be curbed.
A clubhouse serves as venues for members holding high-teas, potlucks, individual private parties of members, also birthday parties for SHCians’ grandchildren, and for such exclusive usage a token rental fee can be charged. A clubhouse does and should not inhibit members’ preference to hold the occasional outdoor picnics. The “pro” is the convenience while the “con” is the familiarity.
Administrative paper-work can be curtailed considerably by us still maintaining our current communication with one another via emailing.
From my observations during the past decade, granted that some members do treat the clubhouse as a ancestral home due to reasons like mirroring yours truly’s experience with my own Baba & Nyonya club, in that since 2006, I have not made more than 2 visits annually to the clubhouse for reasons that all my kakis have “disappear”, one sadly succumbing to an untimely death, one emigrating, two looking after their grandchildren and another one making a comeback to the workforce.
On the other hand, increasingly more women members are utilising social clubs’ premises for activities like cooking/baking classes, soft excercises of Pilates, Hatha Yoga,line dancing, etc, wellness knowledge repartee among themselves, bridge-card playing get-together and several other more activities.
At this juncture, it is best noting that some “single” members are prone in utilising the clubhouse premises as a second-home and therefore Management committees of all social clubs do firmly but gently deter such “single” members from the occasional “board & lodging” request.
My take is, a clubhouse presents an abode of “belonging” to its members. The familiarity and cosiness of the place is ideal for smaller-crowd gotong-royong. Gathering of ten to twenty persons for private tete-a-tete among one’s own kakis is welcomingly wholesome with the attrative draw where one can let one’s hair down in a most familiar watering hole.
Regards
Abel Tan
Hi Abel,
May I suggest you initiate a new Post entitled “A club for SHC”. Go ahead and see what kind of responses from members. If you can pulled together a working idea, I guess you will find support.
This Post is for amateur singers.
Terence Seah
Hi Terence
Perhaps due to Sporeans’ “newfound freedom”, meaning in my opinion, many afforable retirees in particular, do go on frequent but short unconducted tours, which make us attracted to embrace organisations which do not warrant some obligations from us, thus enabling the hassle-free choice of “floating in and out” as one wishes at any given time.
With due respect to all my fellow SHCians, the above concept to my conservative deduction is akin to that of a man and a woman cohabitating permanently, but without ever wanting their tyrsts to happebn in secured premises, therefore being perennialy contented in conducting their liaisons from one place to another, although extolling variety but alas without the acknowledged recognition.
The Nature Society (my regsination was in ’05) is essentially an outdoors organisation where members gather in one or two or more groupings during weekends and public holidays, for excursions to wooded areas, locally as well as overseas. Yet by the early 90s, some of us do acknowledged the “binding cohesiveness” of having a clubhouse premises. But except for a chess and draughts boards, no other recreational diversion is available in the clubhouse where members meet solely for the purpose of eschanging past excursionary experiences or brainstorming coming future ventures.
Probably being conservatively-minded, I have never felt “attached” to the Red Hawk Sports Club(a walk-jog club) a no-premises club till today which recently celebrated its 30th anniverssary which saw 54tables being occupied, albeit one reserved for invited VIP guests. Besides the mentioned annual D & D and a couple of barbeques organised annually, Red Hawk members gather in one or two or more groupings on three or four occasions weekly for walk/jog/run in various locations of the island and we do participated in the Penang Bridge Run, New Paper Big Walk, Tuas & Benjamin Bridge Run, the odd Marathon, etc.
The SMMWU(Spore Manual & Mercantile Workers Union) of which I am a member has a attractive karaoke room in the Union’s 6th-storeyed building but its location in Geylang’s red-light district do put off some members like me from frequenting the place.
In all social clubs, there will bound to be a few “tribal” groupings, in not only activity-interests but also as normal in all larger organisations, in sectional-affiliations of personal rapport, though usually of not more than 20plus persons in each “tribal” group. Paramountly is, these groups must maintain their “estranged cordiality” towards one another, as expected from responsible dignified adults, instead of degenerating disgracefully into spiteful public barbs.
My take is, it is downright churlish for one member to abscond promptly after discovering an estranged fellow-member’s presence in the club. However, from experience, there will be the fortright member who can and will provide mentoring influences to turn away one member’s negativeness.
Honestly Terence, you being a popular founder of SHC is absolutely the most appropriate one who can definitely “sell” this project more succesfully than any other member on account of the premise, “It is not what you know, but whom do you know”.
Regards
Abel Tan
Abel
The Nature Society’s first permanent premises was for free. It was the management office of the condo I live in. My wife was their full time unpaid volunteer for 14 years and I have to answer the phone sometimes. Now they have their own office. They need the office to house their nature literatures, conservation plans and permanent staff. Members have one common interest, they meet to discuss projects and share conservation and nature information.
I think SHC’s interest is too diverse to have a small club house. You want to sing karaoke, others wants to dance, some wants to bowl. I want to eat durian, some will faint from the smell. How to share a clubhouse?
SHC is now a virtual club and it is current and may even be ahead of its time. Kudos to the founder/s.
Hi all,
This issue of the ideal clubhouse has been discussed before and it is good to hear if there is interest to revive this dream, as I am still a dreamer.
However as I did mentioned other options like having different venues at different places, even at member’s house for simple interest group gathering is also a kind of clubhouse facility and thus can continue and be expanded for other activities. Currently Badminton, bowling, walking and cyling are already ongoing activities that are serving us well.
I am also looking and would like to support the idea of having a booked function room for music jam or karaoke if anyone knows of such a facility. It should be reasonable in cost and centrallly located. For a start it can be only for a day in a week from 6 to 11 pm . This arrangment is what Patrick Chan’s band ground has and can serve our purpose too.
Also looking for amateur/retired guitarist or musician playing organ or any other insturments to jam with us. Currently it is being held once a week from 2 to 5 pm and anyone keen to know more can email me at bswi@yahoo.com.
Cheers.
Hi Ronald,
2-5pm where and which day of the week? I’ll like to join you if I can make it.
Cheerios!
Vivien
Hi Tian Soo
Just overlooked to enquire whether we had been together in one or more Nature Society’s group outing in the past, prior to our introduction in Tanjung Balai, Karimum Island because your features do seem quite familiar. Most of us are not formally introduced to one another on these outings as usually “we get to know each other as we go along”.
It was between 1988/89-1991/92 that I did visit the condo “office”, on the second visit to meet up with Mrs Tan E L who was the Society’s Secretary for more than a decade.
Agreed, the durian’s pungent odour can be quite nauseating to some like yours truly, but my contention is the “offended” member can exercise tolerance by moving into another compartment of the clubhouse, usually in nearly all social clubs of the 3-room HDB-sized area premises, is compartmentalised into the small office(the smallest area), the lounge-sitting room which is the biggest space in the clubhouse for members’ socialising and a smaller ante-chamber for holding the monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly Management Committee”s meeting as well as provinding for members’ one-to-one/private discussion venue and serving as the buffet-spread room.
Except for a handful of the big country clubs like my employer, which can afford and has the space to provide bowling-lanes, many other social clubs of the 3-room HDB-sized clubhouse premises simply due to space constraints, do not have a ping-pong table or even the popular smaller-spaced American pool table.
One bone of contention which has surfaced, albeit controversially, in many social clubs in recent years is that, some members do frown upon male members whom visit the club habitually acccompanied by their foreign female guests.
My take is, as long as members are willing and prepared to exercise the utmost “give-and-take” outlook on quite “frivolous” matters, a social club will not be often rocked by minor quakes.
Regards
Abel Tan
Hi Ronald
My employer, The Chinese Swimming which is located at Amber Road in the Katong/Tanjong Katong vincinity, has a smaller function room equipped with a karaoke=set/video screening, etc which can comfortably accomondate forty adults and is mostly utilised (token fees imposed) by members’ weekly karaoke-sessions(besides the formal twice-weekly Live-music lounge), private funnctions and so forth.
The club do rent out the premises, mostly via members’/staff’s contacts. Please contact Ms Wendy from the Lifestyle Dept at 63451221.
I do have a retired guitar-playing friend who on-and-off jams with some other oldies at the Tanglin CC.
Regards
Abel Tan
I am the owner of Hog’s Breath in Vivo City. We started an event on Sunday that involves a band call The Edvis Mafia.
Lead singer is Eddie Foo, one of the best Elvis singer in town. It caters to the Silverhair crowd and we have had our very first successful debut last Sunday.
We would like to offer our venue for your Bollywood night too. If you would like to hold other events there too we could discuss. Our restaurant is about 4,000 sq ft with a small stage and we can clear part of the floor for dancing.
Hi Bernard Tsai,
…HOG’s Breath in Vivo City ?
Is it a franchise?
1) We had visited one in Perth last Oct. 2008.
HOG? We thought it was only pork as the name suggests. However,it has beef and lamb as well.
Mind you the lamb chops were really ,sweet,juicy and tender after more than 45 mins of waiting time for 10 pax .
Aussie chefs take pride in their cooking. Moe Tak theng!
It was well worth the long wait. And the bill was pretty good too amounted to 480 Aussie dollars with red wines.
NEVER had lamb chops so skilfully cooked. I believe why the lamb meat is so tender is because it can be easily obtained directly from the farms. In Spore, it is air flown and refrigerated at low temps and takes many hours and thus the sweetness is gradually gone.
Just a suggestion only , any special concession for SHC members?
2) Even the ice cream at Mac Donald tastes better than those in Spore. It is creamier and richer in texture.
I had 2 servings of ice cream before I departed from Melbourne Airport in 2000. Again,it is because the milk is fresh and comes directly from the farms. Even the cakes tastes better because of the fresh creamy milk being used.
Hi Steven
Yummy!! Your description of the lamb chops make me drool…….and with red wines? I want to go! Then you went on to have TWO servings of ice cream? Lucky!!
“NEVER had lamb chops so skilfully cooked….why the lamb meat is so tender is because it can be easily obtained directly from the farms. In Spore, it is air flown and refrigerated……..and thus the sweetness is gone”.
Sad to say it, Steven-C, the clock cant be turned back and Punggol cant be an animal farm again. So what you can do is to change your choice of meat, and you still can have them fresh.
Try eating lizards, spiders and cockroaches which you can find in abundance at home and in the gardens. If the saying “you are what you eat” is true then you can look forward to climbing walls, spinning webs and running very fast to hide from predators not to mention the great food you can make out of these tame creatures that you wont have to fight to kill and cook.
Hi Bernard Tsai,
Hog’s Breath in Vivo City? Is this a pub cum restaurant? I would like to check out this new joint. And you’ve live band, The Edvis Mafia? And Lead singer is Eddie Foo? And he sings only on Sundays? Pls let us have more information.
Thanks. LydiaChin.