Candle 4: Josephine Tan

My name is Josephine Tan Cheng Choo. I left Form 5 in 1975 as a full-blown BBGS scholar. I was in Four Arts 2 and then Five Arts 1.

I was very active in sports and wrote a play for 4 Arts 2 - My Fair Lady - which was performed by 5 Arts 2 . Upon leaving BBGS I went to England to pursue my studies , actually to repeat some O Levels and then A Levels in Boarding School in Belfast Northern ireland.

After Diploma in Hull - West Yorkshire, I went on to London to do a Degree in Sociology which I did not practice or use. I then stayed in London for many years working in Oil and Gas Company all over the world, until I got fed up and came back to South East Asia seven or eight years ago and then worked in Singapore, Vietnam , Shanghai and now back to Singapore.

I am also looking for the Class of 1975 and the teacher for Form 5 Arts 1 - Mrs Thanen. Anyone out there? Come on, there must be for all the form 5 students of 1975. Let's get onto Facebook and load our stories. I will return to KL to dig up photos of BBGS and load it - to jot down all the memories. I hope that we can gather up as many old girls as possible for a reunion.

1975 - I was only 15 and now 33 years later , today I am 50 years old. Still very much in awe of the memory of our school and Miss Cooke.

Walking into the Pavilion makes me feel utterly distraught. Each shop I walk in, I imagine the classroom, the canteen area, the jaga's house, the Science lab, the School hall etc instead of Calvin Klein, Gucci, Tangs, Le Stenza, and other fancy shops. It is so sad that I did not go back to BBGS and take pictures of the school. I also studied in the Primary School.

The little green pinafore with green and white stripes was one of the best memories and I remember being so PROUD of the school uniform of those days. Okay I dont miss the bloomers but it must have been one of the good school uniform designs in the days of 1960's to 70's, before it was replaced by standard uniforms.

I have said enough, and goodness I can go ON and ON and ON. Let me find my friends, let me reconnect, let me feel the good 'ole days and most of all let me convey warm wishes to all.

Candle 3 : Farida & Fariza Aman

What a wonderful start to the Chinese New Year holidays! My family and I were reunited with the Aman family yesterday. Farida, Fariza, Julie and I have known each other since birth as our mothers are best friends who taught together in BBGS Primary School 2. Hjh Pn Che' Su (or Aunty Che Su to me) taught Bahasa Melayu in the primary school for 34 years and retired as the Supervisor. Her daughters, Farida (class of 1980) and Fariza (class of 1990) are also loyal BBGSians. We haven't seen each other since 1991 when my mother transferred to Penang. Thanks to Facebook, Fariza and I got in touch and arranged to meet at the aptly named Restoran Muhibbah at Taman Tun Dr. Ismail.

Best Buddies - Hjh Pn Che Su & Mrs Yeoh were thrilled to see each other

Our mothers talked non-stop for 3 hours. There was so much news to catch up on : other teachers, marriages, grandchildren and a hodge-podge of happy memories.

(L - R) Joanna, Julie, Farida & Fariza

Meanwhile, the "younger" generation didn't waste time catching up about:

• having to tie up our hair when it reached the collar resulting in silly instances when the ribbons were longer than our hair-stubs
• kneeling down to check the length of our pinafores
• the "spirits" of Prouse Wing and the primary school hall
  
• writing original poems for Choral Speaking that were shamelessly stolen by the next generation of girls
  
• this blog (hooray!)
  

The reunion was thoroughly enjoyed by all (including our fathers) and we can't wait to meet again. And we'll make sure it won't be another 20 years ;-)

Candle 2: Veronica Yap

The story behind Candle No. 2 is unique. When Veronica Yap (BBGSian from 1977 - 1981) sent me these pictures, I could hardly believe my eyes. She is such a loyal BBGSian that she married her husband, Allan Yong, in the school hall and they held their wedding reception in the school canteen! Don't believe me? Check out these priceless photos.

A BIG thank you to Veronica for sharing her special memories with us.

Wedding ceremony @ BBGS school hall

Bride & groom making their way through our beautiful school grounds and gardens

Wedding reception at the school canteen - I love the pots and pans in the background :-)

Candle 1: Harrietta Munap

One week after the launch of Project Kindle, the first candle has been lit by Harrietta Munap - class of 1987. GO Harrie!!

Hey Jo,

Happy New Year and Gong Xi Fatt Chai in advance. Excellent job on the blog. My hubby is extremely impressed that we BBGSians actually have our own blog. Even my mom thinks that the school that she is currently teaching in should have a blog like ours. Heh...heh...I am truly proud to be a BBian. Anyway, was browsing through some of our old photos and found this...

Remember the day when we got into Lower Six? How our seniors had a field day "ragging" us. Anyway, I have attached a hilarious photo....one of you and me...face all plastered with 'bedak sejuk" (dunno how you got away with it..) singing "Bengawansolo" if not mistaken. Boy were we on the roll or what... WILD CHICKS RULE!!! Oh, lucky you again.... got away with the crazy hairdo coz you had short hair. Check out Mun Sze's, Choy Chiew Ling's and my hair do... we looked so "FUNKY!!!" Hee...hee... Well those good old days.

[Joanna says: ICK...that's not me...blush]

Oh here's another picture of all of us the day after we won the Chorus Speaking competition in 1989.... remember that? It was excellent. I clearly remember our finale when we sang "We did it our way.... BBGS, our alma mater...We salute you!!!"...it was a tear jerking moment. Could see tears in our teachers' eyes and as soon as I got off stage, I too broke into tears knowing for a fact that at the end of our school term, we would no longer be in the comfort zone of our school. The younglings have now grown and must brave a whole new world alone. But I know the sweet memories of BBGS will always linger in my mind.

Well you take care and keep in touch. Looking forward to any events you will be organizing. Let me know if you need a hand in anything ya?

Cheerio!!

Love,

Harrie

Celebrating 116 years

BBGS turns 116 this year.

In order to celebrate, Back2BBGS is launching Project Kindle.

We are inviting BBGSians to show their love and loyalty by sharing their memories about BBGS. For every story published on this blog, we will light one candle. Our goal is to light 116 candles by the end of 2009. One hundred and sixteen memories preserved for the next generation of children who will never have what we had.

From 1893 - 1999, generations of girls and teachers called BBGS home. If you are one of them, please write down your stories and unearth all those old photos and memorabilia. Send them to joannayeoh@gmail.com with the following information:

• Your name
  
• Years at BBGS e.g. 1977 - 1987
• What you did after leaving BBGS
• Your fondest memories, proudest moments, best friends, favourite teachers, timeless traditions, funniest stories, broken rules, secret hideaways, painful lessons...in short, anything about BBGS

It's up to you to light one candle, preserve one memory.

***********

P/S: Please help spread the word about Project Kindle by sending this link to all the BBGSians you know. Thank you.