Here is an update by Ronald Wi. We must all congratulate Ronald Wi for taking effort to participate in this Starhub challenge. And, also to all the participants who would make the winning possible. Please review and give your newest and latest comments to Ronald.
Hi everybody,
Yes we have been getting some excellent commitments and good responses, and the idea of having the starhub $50k to help start our SHC Clubhouse ( although only on rental lease of 2 years – to cover rent, utilities and basic maintenance ) seems a possible reality.
Let us look again at SHC objectives, so that we can all have a clearer picture of what our SHC clubhouse should be like and be promoting.
The SilverHairsClub is a platform for us to meet new and more friends. The objectives of SilverHairsClub are:
* Find new and meet more friends.
* Share common interests.
* Exchange knowledge and information on retirement, and
* Enjoying a fruitful and meaningful retirement.
And also Starhub Challenge http://app02.vocanic.net/draw/dreammachine?cat=1
OVERALL THEME – Our Passion is to make retirement as refreshing and rewarding as possible to all Silver haired members, by sharing whatever they are good at with others, learning new interests, knowledge and hobbies. We also have monthly nature walks, group cycling, karake sessions, Investment and Retirement Village group meetings and am also promoting art, handicraft ,costume jewellery making, cooking and cake making classes. We feel that with the $50,000 we can rent a place for 2 years ,for the display of some of our members’ passion of forgottten art, paintings, crafts of handiwork. This venue will be designed to serve as our classroom, workshop, kitchen, cafe ,library, exercise room and also as a guest house for SHC friends from overseas. Visitors and memebres can discover the rich heritage of Singapore forgotten pasts of simple arts like porcelain painting, jade oranamental collection and designing, paper origami,and old crafts , and not forgetting reliving culinary skills of forgetten recipes of food dishes, cake, and desserts long forgotten. We hope after the 2 years of Starhub sponsorship ,this SHC Clubhouse can be self sustaining by charging a minimal fee that is as close to the good old days as possible, providing an escape down memory lane.
Details of our Anchor Tenants, in the SHC Clubhouse are as follows:-
1. Adult learning and Training Centre – by Thomas Kuan
For info Thomas Kuan is the president of SACE, Singapore Association of Continuing Education, and currently they are exploring Adult Education and Lifelong learning.
2. Passion for Forgotten Arts & Crafts –
a. Jocelyne Soh’s Art Collections and Classes
b. Daffydil’s Collection and Design of Jade Ornaments
c. Patricia Ng – Paper Crafts , Jewellery design
d. Anne Low’s – Collection and Design of Crystal ornamental Jewellery
3. Patricia Ng – Passion for Reliving past recipes of food , cakes, deserts and also rediscovering healthier
ingredients for a healthier recipe. Patricia Ng has been experimenting quite alot in this area and she is also willing to teach anyone who is interested. I have tested many of her new healthier recipes of cakes and
Thai salad which is a must for everyone who is a cook to learn how to make it. For info, the Ministry of Health is promoting healthier lifestyle and giving grants to those who want to open up such cafes. Hey, who knows with Patricia help and other cooking enthusiasts in SHC , and with the large number of food critic wannabes in SHC ( CC , is one definitely the first one who will turn up for any kind of food ), we can have a good food recipec experimentation and research group.
4. Suggestion of having a Karaoke Area in SHC Center, by Swee Loke
Swee Loke – Glad to hear from you , yes, it will be good if it can help to generate income so that in the long run we can keep the SHC Clubhouse not only self-sustaining but if possible profitable, so that more ventures can be explored. So far a start if we do get that $50K, can i have you to look into this area, as i do think having a Karaoke facility is a defintely suitable, but i would think we can try to build it up as cheaply as possible. Maybe we can get contributions from anyone of any equipment they have either to give or to loan etc, or we can also buy cheap 2nd hand equipment from the Converter Shop. ( I do see some good equipment there )
5. IT training, and Phototaking section – i hope Yew Kong and Benson can continue running courses (free lah) from time to time.
6. Guest House with basic kitchen – maybe just 1 room and some Sofa folding beds – ( really meant for Guest of SHC from other countries ) – to help generate income , and be for short term stay booking. Teofirst, has had experienced and can surely help us out in this area, also Gary to recommend all his SHC friends from Hanoi.
7. Health Execise – Meridian point 312 – we have Ronald Lee , who is a certified instructor , to be our resident instructor and teacher .
8. Other acitivies – Monthly walks, cyling activities.
9. Library and Cafe section – Oi Cheng , Christina Chan
10. Retirement Village – I must say our retirement village seems to be quite the opposite , as we seems to want more out of life when we retire. Our expectations after our recent trip to Gunong Ledang & Malacca , seems to be confirmed that though we may want to travel and stay for a short term elsewhere, home is always where our hearts can find peace.
Observations from Trip to Malacca, Gunong Ledang private and public resorts and Eco – Village in Senai (Green Valley Eco Village )
a. On the positive side, as Spore progresses and cost of living has increase, the quality, facilities and expectations of our living style has also increased. So unknowling ,we do expect much more even though we may want to retire in a cheaper place. Sad to say, that even though we can lower our expectations, the quality and development of the our neighbours seemed to be quite a gap apart, and this gap seems to be
increasing even more.
b. Green Valley Eco-village, seems a little small with only 20 acres, and though it has been started 10 years ago, the progress seems quite slow. There are some farming or Roselle , Vinegar ,etc in collaboration with the UTM (University of Technology of Malaysia) but the variety is quite limited. There is also no paved road to the farm , and though the Main Building is quite big and nice , it is not yet furnished with basic needs of an air-con or ceiling fans. ( On the positive side, it needs a lot of help, financially , ideas, and marketing , so a good investment opportunity for those who wants to build form scratch )
c. Condos in Malaysia – we went to look at two Condos belonging to a friend, and these are our findings-
d. Selat Horizon – along Klebang Besar, just acceptable with basic security and a swimming pool, not something you will be impressed. ( Like i have stated , our expectations are always moving upwards while theirs do not seemed to be moving in the right direction ).
e. Golden Showers – also along Klebang Besar just beside Selat Horizon, – from the outside we did not even feel like going in, looks worse than any 1 room HDB block,especially the external paintwork and surroundings.
Please feel free to send me your comments, suggestions, ideas and dreams even.
At the same, Happy Holidays, Merry X’Mas and a Happy and Prosperous 2007 Year ahead.
Cheers
Ronald Wi
Hi Ronald,
Just to keep you posted on what we’ve discussed and done at Jocelyne’s
place. It was unfortunate that you were unable to join us and I was
expecting more than just the two of us (i.e. Benson and myself only).
Anyway, just to give you a wrap up of what transpired at last night’s
meet:-
1) Jocelyne walk us thru her work i.e. porcelain painting, batik
printing
and doll making etc.
2) We brainstormed on what should be up on the website and it was
unanimously agreed that certain work e.g. those commissioned by
Ministries
and dignitaries or celebrities should not be put on the website as it
may
not be right to display them for all to see without first seeking their
permission and violate any infringement rights. With that, it was
decided
that we can however show them on the album should we have a place of
our own
like SHC club.
3) Benson suggested that we should put up the website ASAP as we’re
running
out of time, thus he suggested that he take some pictures of whatever
is
available and return for some daytime pictures another day.
4) Benson suggested that Jocelyne arranged to have all her work laid
out in
the order she wants it displayed e.g. by category, dates or ‘special
works’
etc. as this would enable him to work in a more efficient and effective
manner. Important thing is to get the website going and pictures can
be
replaced and rearranged later.
4) As for the website, I’d like to suggest that the first index.htm
page
have the various content tab like; Home, About, Work Samples, Events,
Updates, Contact etc just to name a few. Pls note that this is only my
personal suggestion, other input from other members welcome. Under
each
tab, we can then have a drop down menu like:-
Under ‘About’ – Profile of Jocelyne’s background
– Awards or recognition of her work
‘Samples’ – Porcelain making
– Batik Printing
– Doll making
‘Events’ – Upcoming Events
– Past events featuring some exhibition participated
by
Jocelyne.
‘Updates’ – e.g. Current classes available
‘Contact’ – Contact details
– Location Map of Jocelyne’s place
‘Enquiry’ – Jocelyne’s email address etc.
Although Jocelyne had shared with us both her thoughts on why she’s so
passionate about this project, it’ll also be good if someone could help
her
do a write-up and fine-tuned it for publication (would be great if
there’s
any SHC member who has some journalism experience).
The evening ended with a home-made pancake & tea treat from Jocelyne
and we
bid our adious approx 10:30pm.
Appreciate if you could summarize this up and post it for all those
members
who have indicated their interest to help but did not turn up so as to
keep
them in the loop.
Thanks and regards
Lisa
Hi Ronald,
Can’t agree more that we shd do the 1st thing first, i.e. send our
submission first and the rest can follow suit. Anyway, here’s my
2-cents
worth of input to ignite our brain pool flowing. I’ve used the 6
categories
given by StarHub so as to ensure that we cover everything. Here goes:-
“With the evolution of the aging population in mind, if we had
$50,0000/=,
we would like to CREATE a platform for senior citizens to ESCAPE and
congregate to LEARN new things, SHARE like-minded interests, leave a
legacy
of their passions and the things they LOVE to do and last but not
least,
LIVE harmoniously with friends, old and new, for the rest of their
golden
years. (TOTAL: 66 words only)
Hope you’ll receive more ideas and input to give you more inspiration
for a
fantastic write-up.
Have a great day.
Regards
Lisa
Dear Ronald
Let me congratulate you on taking up the Starhub Challenge. It is indeed a lot of effort made & precious time spent.
SHC is very fortunate to have you taking lead in the Starhub Challenge. The $50k sponsorship is a very good headstart for the Clubhouse. I am facinated by the idea of Guest House for SHC members from other countries.
I believe that the hard brain work & so much effort made will definitely bring the result as expected. Keep your finger cross.
Wishing you Every Success in your endeavour.
Best regards
LC
I wld definitely continue and hope to do more topics for SHC members.
Topics are –
general PC / laptop maintenance including protection against attack by virus, online transactions, digital photography (hopefully with Benson), downloading stuff from internet and transfering stuff onto CD (process of burning).
All these sessions will be free except fee payable for using premises to hold the sessions.
Merry Xmas
“I was attracted ot Silver Hairs Club (SHC – http://www.SilverHairsClub.com, ) by its platform of “No talks on Sex, Religion, Politics, and MLM”. After attending a meeting at an SHC member’s condo, I was very impressed with the vast knowledge and experience that many SHC members possess, and willing to share with others. Our host showed us her large collection of porceline art, which she had painstakingly painted and fired with her own kiln. One beautiful piece pictures our President Nair, and the work was specially commisioned to her. Other subjects of interest include Short-term Living Abroad (my personal favourite), Retirement Village, karaoke, cycling, nature walks, cooking with traditional recipes, brewing beer, internet, knitting, etc, etc. It is the aspiratiuon of many SHC members to have a clubhouse to showcase our works of art, and for regular gatherings. Hence my entry for this Starhub Challenge, in the hope that the S$50,000 prize money will help us rent a clubhouse for 2 years. After that, I am sure SHC will have attracted many more members (at present 2700), and supporters to the benefit of our Society at large. — written by Chan Sig Yam, 26Dec2006″
Maybe some kind member can instructed me on how to send in my entry.Many thanks…sigyam..
Silver Hairs Club could not be a better platform for all the ‘golden
boys
and girls’ to come together and share their rich experiences, skills
and
passions.
For me, SHC has given me a chance to share my lifelong passion of
Porcelain
painting with other members which I have done for the past 45 years. My
fervent wish is to win the StarHub Challenge so that we can start a
dream
club for other silver hairs all over the world, to come together and
share
their other passions and skills and hopefully, leave behind a legacy
for the
future generation.
100 words
———
As for myself, if I have the time, I’ll try to submit one too. May one
of
our entries get that $50K for us all. Kudos to the SHC spirit!
Regards
Lisa
SHC was created to stimulate social, educational and recreational interests among silverhairs. Membership is free.
It is the dream of our 2700 strong members to setup a Centre for Meaningful Activities. Our members have artistic, teaching, IT, craftworking, sporting and cooking skills and expertise. All are eager to pool their livelong passions and special talents at this Centre.
We envision the Centre to be a hothouse for learning and arts, creative expression, inspiration and imagination, truly a place where the sun never sets for silverhairs to hone their passions.
Winning the Starhub Challenge will fulfil this dream.
(97 words)
Regards,
Daf
With IRs operating soon, Singapore is increasingly an Increasing Revenue Oriented City. The heritage of our forefathers of being passionate and creative, while being responsible bread winners, is becoming a Lost Art . With $50,000 as rent, SHC (www.silverhairsclub.com), with 2700 members, can design a multi-purpose clubhouse and promote this Art, internationally within 2 years. Jocelyne Soh, an art teacher of 45years, whose artworks have been presented to President Nathan and foreign royalties, with passions for cooking, craft-making, says ” It is a God send to know SHC members whose passions and friendliness are not found anywhere else “
“I wish for a place where we have a cafe and a mini
library for Silverhairs to meet up for a cuppa, read a
book or magazine.
Sharing life’s lessons and adventures with each other
while enjoying board games like scrabble or cultivate
one’s patience with Jigsaw puzzle. Silverhairs can
also use the place for sharing IT skills, investment
knowledge, health exercises. They could also have a
karaoke session or organise a cooking cum baking
class. With $50,000, we could use it on rental for a
place where we Silverhairs could meet, share, learn
and relax. ”
Total 96 words.
Oi Cheng
Apparently, we are allowed only 350 characters so below is the actual submission.
“I wish for a cafe and a mini library where Silverhairs can gather for a cuppa. To share their skills and knowledge on cooking, baking, painting, handicraft, investment, IT, and health exercise. Enjoy karaoke, board games or just fellowship. $50,000 can provide a head-start for rental of a place and thereafter we will find our means to carry on.”
Entry submitted by D Ang:
I will use the $50,000 to set up home for SilverHairsClub. SHC is a non
profit club for Singaporeans, over 45 to meet new friends, learn from
one another and enjoy each other’s company. The club needs a home to
host activities and to showcase silverhairs’ talents. Having a home
will
be a wish come true, not for one, but 2,700 silverhairs members.
62 words and 343 characters.
Try again from GARY:
Our 2-year old SilverHairsClub, has 2700 members. We aim to contribute socially towards a ‘dignified living’ culture by conducting meaningful activities that stimulate the aesthetic senses. Such are learning artistic, handicraft skills, culinary initiatives, IT, and adult learning programs. With 50K, we wish to rent a premise for 2 years and our various activities should enable self sustenance for future.
349 characters
This is my entry for the Starhub Challenge:
‘To set up a SHC Meeting Place for 3rd age citizens to share
their wisdom and to explore new learning opportunities. The
S$50,000 prize money will be used to rent a premise for 2 years
where members could share experiences in: porcelain painting, jade
appreciation, craft works, recipes, health & wealth tips, adult
education, travels and IT skills.’ – (58 words, 350 characters).
Hope we can get it for SHC!
Regards,
thomas kuan
Hi everyone,
I like to thank everyone for going along with my idea to participate in the Starhub Challenge. I found that by giving i have received much more friendly gestures, warmth from all and learn much more that i ever did. Yes, yesterday lunch and meeting was really enjoyable and a good reflection with all to chart what we can enjoy in future with or without winning the Starhub Challenge.
I feel it is not just the winning, but the journey, the spirit of trying out best, and engaging our minds to bring out the best in all of us, as what Jocelyne, our mentor in Art and also in the Art of Living affirmed with us, that really matters.
With that i hope that one of our entries can convinced the judges hearts and if not, the hearts of more members in SCH. That is sometimes, you just have let your guard down, forget the excuses, obstacle, and blame on anything, and to share your joy with others for nobody can tell what the future will bring. (It Snow in Australia, yesterday in Summer ?)
Finally i hope, i have summarised all the ideas discussed, in this entry:
“SHC help retirees to stay, healthy, mentally alert, financially independent by conducting get-togethers, interest group acivities, classes with SACE, and be relevant and respected in society.
Jocelyne, 72, says her passion of 45yrs are appreciated and feel a clubhouse(rented) with new technology, can provide worldwide interaction with U3A,and SCHs.”
Thanks to everyone, for wonderful 2006 since i knew SHC, (Terence and founders)and happy New 2007 Year everyone.
To me ,my Retirement Village is already here, knowing all of you , people who are easy to get along and most importantly being sincere , warmth and passionate when sharing ideas, experiences and even welcoming us to your homes.
Cheers
Entry submitted by Rosalind Tan,
“The aims of The Silver Hair Club are to find and make new friends. We share knowledge on activities such as cake making, cooking, old recipes, porcelain and pottery painting, photo taking, website creating, walking, jogging, karaoke, board games, potluck, budget traveling and retirement village etc.
As we have no fixed venue, we depend on email. Each meeting can only hold 15 as no home is that big. If we can rent a shop house, we can post our schedule, have a fixed venue and have more people attending, more meetings.”