Here’s an
extract from my book Good MorningYesterday which I want to dedicate especially to teenage boys of 21st
century Singapore.
“Believe it
or not, getting my first pair of trousers (long pants) was a milestone in my life.
I remember looking forward to that day which in my case was when I reached
around Secondary 2 or 3. We had to go to the tailor’s to make our trousers (our
clothes were normally sewn by my mother). As we did not have such a tailor in
our kampong, we went to the one at Braddell Road near the junction with Lorong
Chuan. The name of the shop sounded like Golden Coach or Golden Carriage.”
I remember Golden
Coach was operated by two brothers. They
were about the same age as my older brothers. Subsequently, when Toa Payoh New
Town was completed, they shifted to Toa Payoh Central occupying a shop along
Block 177 which faced Toa Payoh Central (road). Across the road, facing the
shop was a very interesting block of flats. This was Block 79. It’s long,
curved shape reminded me of a Claymore mine. I don’t think I have ever come
across such a long block of HDB flat; have you?
For a
number of years, my brothers and I continued to patronize Golden Coach;
possibly until we moved out of our kampong in 1974 to Farrer Road.
Today
Golden Coach is no longer in Toa Payoh Central.
I did a search on the internet and found a Golden Coach Tailor at Ang
Moh Kio Ave 1, Block 332 #01-1897. I wonder if they are the same? Should pay
them a visit and perhaps renew old friendships.
18 comments:
Chun See
Getting my first trousers was not a milestone in my life. My milestone was when I earned it by using my school pocket allowance to buy one (school uniform in Sec 3and civilian in Sec 4). Of course when I went to work part-time I could afford more trousers and suits.
Blk22 Sin Min Rd, among the Sin Ming Industrial Estate is another one of those long curved block of HDB flats. I'm not sure which one is longer though...
Chun See, do you remember Blk. 30, Lorong 5 in Toa Payoh? I think Phillips Singapore used to be close to that block. I remember it as one very long block and higher than the surrounding blocks. I visited a relative there a few times and found the corridors winding, very quiet and you don't seem to be able to see the other end as you walk. It didn't help that quite a few suicides happened in that block. The other thing about this block was, it faced the old Toa Payoh Garden and had a beautiful unobstructed view of it.
I not familiar with Lor 5. Nothing to eat there ... haha.
But wait. Now that you mentioned, I remember one makan place there. But anyway, Philips was is in Lor 1; quite far away from Lor 5?
There was a row of shops in Lorong 5 selling good Lor-Ark( braised duck) and Orh-luark( fried oysters that you missed........
Akan datang. Eating places @ Toa Payoh. Jade. How come you know TP so well?
Erm....don't know if the shops are still there. Used to patronise the Orh-luark store after a night out with the then boyfriend (now husband). i lived in Toa Payoh for a while after shifting from the kampong.
I once had a 15-inch bell bottom pair of trousers made by a tailor in Katong. My mother hated bell bottom pants and said that she was prepared to tolerate up to a 12-inch flare. She freaked out when she saw my 15-inch bell bottom pants. She said I could sweep the floor with it. But then again, my mother freaked out at anything modern, such as jeans, patch pants, hair length that didn’t conform to the government’s specifications, miniskirts and fun things like A-Go-Go dancing, twisting and Deep Purple music. Mom was such a square. I told her that Deep Purple used to play with an orchestra backing but she nearly had a heart attack when she heard Highway Star and Smoke on the Water. She said, “That’s not an orchestra playing!” To her, Highway Star sounded like “theow tang”, which is a Teochew word for a Taoist guy in a trance-like state, shaking all over and uttering incomprehensible and scary sounds. My mother said that jeans were made of canvas, and that canvas clothes were worn only during funerals. I presumed she was referring to the old days in China. She was obviously very superstitious. Like Peter, I, too, have my milestone – the 15-inch bell bottom pants that I thought made me look cool.
Edward. Yr story is so funny. You shd ask you mother to listen to this song. (I think you can alr guess what song)
Do you guys wear platform shoes with the bell-bots to appear taller and elegant? I think the women were into pantaloons (pants tight around the hip but loose from the hip down, just as broad as the men's bell=bots.
Oops, I meant, "Did you guys...."
Yes, I had a pair of platform boots in the 70s. It had a long zip at the side and no laces at all. I brought this pair to Melbourne but hardly wore it, as it wasn’t quite fashionable then. Moreover I became somewhat conscious of the 3-inch heels.
One morning the front half of the sole of my right shoe fell apart when I accidentally kicked the kerb on my way to the tram stop. I went back to my flat and changed into my platform boots as I did not have a spare pair of shoes. It was a welcomed distraction for my colleagues; they spent the morning poking fun at my Elton John’s platform boots. During my lunch hour I bought a new pair of shoes. What a relief it was to put on normal shoes for the rest of the day. This was in 1985.
CS,
You have a part of the TP central at the bottom of the map. So i thought I would like to ask if anyone knows the story and history behind the chinese temple under a banyan tree right smack in the center of TP central. It looks like everything was built around this temple.
Also if anyone knows why is there a Kim Keat Link in TP at the SAFRA Lor 6? Looking the map, opp PIE is KK Road. Was there any linkage before PIE was built?
MC. The ans to yr 2nd question is easy. According to my 1963 st directory, this Kim Keat Link used to be part of Kim Keat Rd; going all the way to Balestier Rd, and crossing the Sungei Whampoa. Try to picture a map without PIE and without any TP Lorongs.
I thought so too, geographically it lines up. Thanks CS for the confirmation.
On the map, Kim Keat Rd just ends there; not far from the Siong Lim Temple. I guess that would be today's junction with Lor 6. Likewise, many of the other roads like Ah Hood Rd, Toa Payoh Rise; they just end suddenly. Which means that in those days, Toa Payoh was one huge farmland. How nice if there are photos of it before. I would imagine full of ponds, forests and vegetable farms.
Block 22 Sin Ming Road has the exact same design as the late Block 79 Toa Payoh. However, Block 79 only had 10 floors whereas the current Block 22 has 12 floors and is upgraded under MUP.
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