The Minstrels Made Hari Raya at Serangoon a night to Remember!

On Sunday 3 October 2010, Kampong Serangoon celebrated Hari Raya big time at the SERANGOON. When I was approached, some 3 weeks earlier, by the Chairman of the Org Committee requesting if my newly formed group...The Garden Minstrels.. could contribute an item, my response went further than that.
"No, not just an item. Instead I'll give you an old-style gotong-royong Singalong where those attending the event can join in and make it a memorable night for all," was my reply.
Chairman Mr Rafi and a few others were incredulous!
Normally, at such short notice and with my minstrels being so new to most everything...the songs, music arrangement, public appearance, practice and rehearsals..etc, most in my shoes will never accept such an assignment. And rightly so too, if I may add.
But Unk Dicko relish such challenges, always have!
However, it required a lot of real, solid hard work and effort on my part to prepare the songs, teach my members from scratch for 3 of the 'keroncong' songs and getting a songsheet out with lyrics for all 11 songs. All done happily and voluntarily for the good of the community.

Getting ready for our performance

Earlier in the evening, our Minstrels had provided pre-Dinner music at the entrance to

the Hall. That set the mood for more and better things to come. Our resident MP, Minister Mrs Lim Hwee Hua was away in Brussels for a Conference. Guest of Honour was MP Yeo Guat Kwang seated at the VIP table. The Programme began with dance items while dinner was served.

More items followed. We were to make our appearance somewhere mid-way. But that was changed rather suddenly and we were told we would be the last performing group. Sometimes, these things do happen for whatever reasons...and the best option is to keep cool, see the brighter side of it, accept it. It turned out perfect without my doing anything at all. I had anticipated that what we will be doing would round off the night nicely if we came on last.

And now was told so. See, keep cool.

We arranged ourselves in an informal way on stage, with 2 guitars on the left, 2 ukuleles in the centre and 1 more ukulele to the right.

Our left section looking towards my direction for the cue to begin.

Richard and Unk Dicko was at the centre.

I had prepared a medley of 10 songs broken into 3 parts. Before we began, I introduced the Garden Minstrels as a group and mentioned that we were only formed 2 months ago and already this was our 2nd public performance. Striking a chord with a crowd or audience is always very important and that was my job as Leader. The best way to get a crowd loosened up is to make them smile and laugh. And that's what I did with a few choice crackers. It went down very well and I could hear much laughter. Made it short, sweet and infectious.

Then I gave the "intro"' and we began.........!

Presenting...Unk Dicko and The Garden Minstrels....

This old -style Singalong was the highlight of the evening


The Minstrels in full swing with their singing and music.

Solid Ukulele sounds from Richard and Unk Dicko

The crowd getting really warmed up as you'll see later....

The "Gelek King" has sadly left us.

Received this piece of news online. Dollah Kassim
our great "Gelek King" has passed away. Below is the report.

Singapore Straits Times online.
Home > Breaking News > Singapore > Story
Oct 14, 2010
Dollah Kassim dies
By Sanjay Nair

Dollah Kassim, otherwise known as the 'Gelek King', has died at 61

-- ST FILE PHOTO: CHOO CHWEE HUA
SINGAPORE football icon Dollah Kassim has died after being in a coma for a year.

He was 61.
Known for his superlative dribbling skills, the 'Gelek King' suffered a heart attack in October last year during a friendly match between ex-international players from Singapore and Malaysia.
According to doctors, he sustained an injury due to a lack of oxygen to his brain immediately after the collapse.
He had been in a coma since then and was cared for at home.

In the 1975 Malaysia Cup, the 'Gelek King' dribbled past five defenders from the halfway line, rounded the 'keeper and scored against Pahang, helping Singapore to a 6-0 thumping.
From 1968 to 1979, Dollah formed a hypnotic combination - first with Quah Kim Lye, then especially with his younger brother, Quah Kim Song - to light up the National Stadium in the 1970s.

Unk Dicko's comments:

Yes, I was at that game between Singapore and Pahang in 1975, described in the last para. When Dollah and his merry men ruled the soccer field back in those truly great days of Singapore soccer, like the thousands out there, I hardly missed any of those M'sia Cup matches. Looking back at the array of talent and wonderful players in S'pore colours, no matter which way I look today, there will always be only ONE Gelek King....Dollah Kassim.

The word "gelek" roughly translates to mean " a swig of the hips ". It is more commonly used to describe the way in which some ladies and nonyas ( Peranakan) sway their hips seductively when walking ( geleking ). Not many footballers or for that matter other sportsmen have this innate ability of deceptive gait. So is this a strength to possess?

Definitely so!

You cannot develop or carbon copy this if you haven't got the natural tendency in the first place.

No other player possess it to the extent of Dollah's.

Truly, he and only he alone deserves this "King of Gelek" title in our local context.

The only one who has come close, to me, is Lionel Messi...currently best player for Barcelona Football Club. Even then, I would place Messi 2nd to Dollah...that's my unbiased judgement having seen both in action.

Unk Dicko was a personal friend of Dollah's elder brother Ahmad Kassim. Ahmad looked almost like Dollah except that he wore a pair of spectacles in the late 80's. Ahmad and his daughter were members of our Serangoon Gardens Sing Singapore Champion Winning Group of 1988...that was led by yours truly. ( I have not blogged about this historic event yet. There are

pics of Ahmad Kassim and his daughter - Dollah's niece ).

Singapore has lost one of its greatest football heroes with his passing.

Unk Dicko and wife send our deepest condolences to the family.

May he rest in peace and may he never be forgotten for the joy he had brought to us.

I have a few special blogposts with original news clippings and photos about the

Malaysia Cup 1977 and about our unforgettable Dollah. Click HERE.

Unk Dicko and the Minstrels...jamming, practising, rehearsing.

Here is a candid look at how Unk Dicko and the Garden Minstrels
prepare for performances we have been invited to and which we have
accepted.

For our public events, most of the songs are selected by me. I provide the
technical requirements for the songs, music and performance. However,
we all work as a team for the musical arrangements. With 2 guitars and 3
ukuleles plus the percussion section...it's a guaranteed blast!

This was like the gotong-royong days of old...very informal yet
much was achieved.

Receiving Malay lyrics input from our organiser friends.

Other minstrels provide percussion sounds to give it better tempo
and rhythm.

Steven and Chong on the right synchronising ukulele to guitar.

Unk Dicko ( lead ukulele), Steven Goh and Edmond Tan on Rhythm
guitars...working on our musical synchronisation and arrangements.

We had some ardent admirers when we rehearsed...here's one !
Double thumbs up, wow!

The Hari Raya celebrations of Kg Serangoon on Sunday 3 Oct 2010.
Unk Dicko and the Minstrels were invited to provide pre-Dinner entertainment
and to round up the night's function with a Performance/Singalong.

For this segment, the crowd was slowly arriving for registration with parents and
grandparents and their kids in tow. The Guest of Honour had not arrived yet.
So the Garden Minstrels provided the soothing sounds to keep one and all relaxed.
In many ways, this informal seranading was unique! We had a wide repertoire
of songs and as soon as I began playing the 'intro' to one, the others followed quite easily.

This is a truly enthusiastic bunch of new ukulele players/learners
who came to the Hwan Gardens public event at my invitation.
I wanted them to see for themselves a "live" performance involving
guitars and ukuleles...and provided them an opportunity to jam with
me after our gig. Sat, 18 September 2010...Hwan Gardens Park.
I had blogged about them in an earlier post. Check 'Minstrels at Hwan Gardens' in archives.
[ Photo source: Jennifer Yong ]

[ Photo source: Jennifer Yong ]
Unk Dicko showing some basic fingering techniques and strumming styles
to these young but eager learners.

It was 'J' who brought the group of family and friends
to meet up with me. She's a regular visitor of this Blog.
[ Photo source: Jennifer Yong ]

Active Agers Awards, part 5 - The IDA family

When the evening's programme ended and the President had left, IDA staff requested Sam, Harry and me to stay behind as IDA chief Ronnie Tay wanted some group pictures to be taken by the official photographer. I thought I saw a few of these pro shooters that night. They probably represented different organisations like the media and press, govt agencies, stat boards and maybe even the many sponsors for the C3A and the Awards.

Come to think of it, such pro shooters were also there in previous events but I've hardly seen the results of their work. No idea why.
That's why it's imperative to always carry a small digital camera, like I usually do, for any event big or small.
That way, we don't have to wait for or depend on others for snapshots of the occasion.
So, here are some snapshots from my camera that captured those moments.

The 3 Infocomm Champions with IDA CEO Ronnie Tay and his staff

AAA Infocomm Champions - From L, 4th Sam Liu [2009], 6th Harry Lo [2010]

and 7th Dick Yip [ 2008 ].

The 3 wise men surrounded by all the pretty IDA ladies

IDA staff with Sam Liu, Unk Dicko and Harry Lo

These are my fellow 2008 Active Agers Award winners

L to R: Mdm Krishnavani, Mona Yeo, Unk Dicko, Tang Wing Kee, Daniel Koh

Since 2008, these Active Ager Award Winners are as active as ever.

Mdm K is still dancing away!

Mona Yeo is still a great story-teller!
Tang Wing Kee..is still roller blading away!

Daniel Koh is still adventuring abroad!

Sam Liu is still conducting IT at RSVP!

And Unk Dicko......?

Active Agers Awards 2010...part 4, President honoured.

The presentation of the Awards began midway through the evening. Of all the hundreds who were nominated for the 7 Active Agers Awards 2010, the most outstanding ones were selected by the panel of judges/interviewers to be publicly honoured and recognised. They received their much deserved trophies and other prizes from President Nathan.

However, the runners -up for the Awards were not forgotten either. They were similarly invited to the event and presented with their own sets of certificates.

Also invited to this prestigious event were all former winners of the Active Agers Awards from
2007 to 2009. Their spouse or family member was also included.

The inspiring stories behind these 7 winners have in this past week appeared in the press in all
the languages...Malay, Chinese, Tamil and English.
The event also made it to the TV news.

The Runners-up in the Active Agers Awards were honoured too.

This is the 2010 Infocomm Champion Awardee, Harry Lo

The 1st winner of new POSB Active Award, Jim Then

Active Ager Award winner Betty Wee

Active Ager Award winner Zaleha bte Akbar Ali

President SR Nathan receiving his special Active Ager Award 2010

from C3A Chairman Gerard Ee

When President Nathan had given out the last award, he was then told to remain on stage for a moment. What happened next was a complete surprise to all, most of all to the President himself. The C3A presented him with a most Special Active Agers Award 2010. When the M C explained the circumstances of the Award...the President received the loudest applause.

The President of Singapore has set and is still setting an excellent example for all.

He's 87 and is still working as hard as ever in shouldering his state responsibilities and keeping very active. He embodies much of the qualities for giving out these Awards.

He fully deserve such a special Award!

Active Agers Awards 2010 - entertainment by..Part 3

The evening's entertainment was provided by the versatile duo of Robin and Terry.
Robin did his magic on rhythm guitar and also lead while Terry added the all important bass quality to their singing style.
They must have picked their songs most carefully knowing well beforehand this was an 'oldies' event!
All the songs were from that great era of music...the 50's to the sweet 70's.
They slowly got the listeners warmed up as they gently played those familiar old songs.
As soon as Terry played the intro to that great Russ Hamilton's hit ... I whispered to D2 "Rainbow! ". Sure enough, that got everyone clapping and snapping their fingers as we at our table sang along with Robin and Terry. More joined in, caught by our infectious singing.
We could see that the duo was very motivated and appreciated our warm response to their music.
It was no surprise then that the very next song after that was the one song most old timers will always associate with Russ Hamilton.."We will Make Love".
That got everyone in the hall swooning and grooving again.
D2 wrote out a request for Johnny Horton's " North To Alaska" and R and T responded superbly!
When they took their break, both walked over to our table and thanked us for the support.


Robin and Terry... the entertainers

Rita Chua was introduced as S'pore's own Teresa Teng

Another entertainer for the evening, Rita Chua, catered to those who love Mandarin songs.

Rita said she has not been performing in public for quite some time but decided to do so for this event. She asked the audience to forgive her as she may be "rusty". It was not necessary. She still had a good voice and stage presence and gave quite a good rendition of Teresa Teng's numbers.

The VIP table with President Nathan and Mrs Nathan

Our table # 9

Our Table # 9

A surprise birthday cake was sent to me by the House

After the main course of our dinner, a few waiters approached our table. One was holding a platter with a birthday cake on it. He said to me, " Happy Birthday sir! "

Taken aback, I thanked them but asked who arranged or sent it.

He smiled and said, " It's on the house sir. "

A few others including Eleanor Yap came over and all sang"Happy Birthday" to Unk Dicko.

D2 helped spread the cake around.

On reflection, I have had many a birthday celebrations over the years but Never with VIPs present. And never with the President of Singapore, seated 2 tables away, also present.

Active Agers Awards 2010...part 2.

Brian Richmond has been the long-time host of Gold 90.5 Fm, especially of the popular 'dedicate and song request' segment. He has also been closely associated with these Annual C3A awards since its inception...as the M C.
So before anything began, we had a quick chat. It was always good to meet up with my " older by 3 week, senior" and friend. How did I know all that?
I have blogged about it in 2008, HERE.

" How are things? " Brian asked.
" No change.. and you are still older by 3 weeks!", I answered and we laughed most heartily.
He'll always remember that and. For me, as I'm listening to his golden voice on Sunday nights...
my mind goes, ''ah Brian, good ole' Brian.. my older senore ".


Our handshake is always very,very firm !

Unk Dicko and Eleanor Yap...a great friend and lady writer.
She is the owner of this website...click Here.

The Banner for the evening said it all.
All? Not all lah!
Yes, the date is clear as transparent glass for all to see. But no
one knew it was also my personal 'Big and sentimental ' day, that day, except my wifey.
Yes Unk Dicko was born on October 2nd some 63 years, ago same as Brian, born 3 weeks earlier in the same year.


With fellow AAA winners -Mr Sabapathy (2009) and Mr Singh( 2007)

Brian.. all ready to roll out his cute one-liners and lively jokes.

Our table was # 9
L to R: D2, Unk Dicko, Daniel Koh and wife, Mrs K's daughter.

This was still before the President arrived. He was delayed
slightly. It could be because, unknown to any of us inside the hall, at about 5.40 pm that same day, Mrs lee Kuan Yew had passed away at home.
Obviously news of such a happening must be relayed to all in the government and elsewhere...
and some advice to go with it.
None of us were aware.
I only knew when an SMS reached us...that was after President SR Nathan had arrived.