It’s the mid-1960s. We’re on a shopping trip to Orchard
Road. We take an STC bus from Whitley
Road and jump out at the junction of Scott’s Road and Orchard Road. Across the road is the Lido Cinema, a stunning
1950s creation, showing The Sound of
Music, but today our first port of call is C. K Tangs. The building is a prominent landmark, with
its Chinese style roof and awnings.
Inside it’s a department store with an Eastern flavour, and my parents
loved to look around. My mother still has a camphor wood chest from Tangs. My brother and I would head straight for the
toy department … probably the best toy department on the island. They had some wonderful model railways,
mostly Marklin, from Germany, including a working layout. My mouth would water when I looked at those
lovely models, and my eyes would water when I saw the prices. Anyway they were not compatible with our
Triang trains, so we were happy to just look.
The other German import that I loved was the Schuco car system. It went straight to the top of my Christmas
wish list, and Santa came up with the goods.
I still have a couple of cars from that system.
Next stop was Fitzpatricks, for some
grocery shopping. This was a short walk
along Orchard Road. At this time Orchard
road was a busy dual carriageway, with traffic flowing intensely in both
directions. Most of the road was lined
with traditional old shop-houses, interspersed with more modern buildings like
the Lido, C.K. Tangs and Fitzpatricks.
This was a time of transition.
In the mid-1960s Fitzpatricks was the model
of a modern supermarket, with novelties like check-out belts and push-button
tills. No bar codes back then. I don’t remember much about the food section,
except for a massive sign advertising Foster’s Lager. Upstairs was a café and a bookshop (where I
spent my pocket money on Biggles and Jennings stories). If I’m not mistaken, there was also a record
store where I purchased my first-ever Beatles album.
Next we walked on to Cold Storage. To get there we had to pass Princes Hotel
Garni … a classy looking hotel/restaurant that I never entered. Then there were more shop-houses, including a
rather grand men’s hairdresser (or Barber, if you prefer) where we had our hair
cut. This was like the barber shops you
saw in old American films from the 1920s, with panelled walls, and huge, plush
leather barber’s chairs that could be raised and lowered with levers. Part of the joy of waiting your turn was to
read some of the American comics (Superman, Batman, etc.) that were provided. Out on the street there were always a few
hawker stalls, cooking food to order on mobile woks. These hawker stalls contributed to the unique
smell of downtown Singapore, which I’m sure was a cocktail of … well, lots of
things!
Another place we sometimes frequented was
Hiap Chiang and co.. This place seemed to sell a variety of things from
swimming costumes to pewter ornaments. For
some reason, my parents took a liking to this shop and patronised it when they
could. But today we walked past Hiap
Chiangs to the Cold Storage Creameries for a milk shake or an ice cream
soda. The Creameries was a good example
of American cultural influence … a classic Soda Parlour. The Creamery was a good place to cool down
and watch the world go by.
We gave Cold Storage a miss on this
occasion, having got what we needed at Fitzpatricks. We continued our walk down Orchard Road past
the market buildings. I only once
ventured inside the market, and for some reason I found it a bit scary. Perhaps this was the first time I had seen
raw butchery close-up. Not pretty.
More shop houses followed, and eventually
we came to MacDonald house, where my father worked. We had arranged to meet him after work.
Last time I went down Orchard Road, about
10 years ago, I was astounded at the change.
It was almost impossible to get a sense of where I was, because there
was almost nothing left that I recognised.
MacDonald House was still there, and the Presbyterian Church, but
everything else was completely alien.
Even the ultra-modern Lido Cinema had given way. C.K. Tangs was a massive disappointment …
just another department store. I don’t
know any other place on the planet that has been transformed as comprehensively
as Orchard Road.