Crafting :- A Ribbon Fun

Watched the Olympics this year?

We were inspired to make our very own gymnastic ribbon stick!

The easiest way is probably to glue the ribbon directly to the wooden stick. I didn't want to do so because I would like to recycle these materials again if possible after my girl got sick of it. So I make a detachable one. So long she doesn't want to play with it, I can detach the pipe cleaners and everything will be undone.

Below are the materials needed and steps to make it.

Material needed:-

• Tape
• 1 wooden stick
• 1 long pipe cleaner ( I used 2 short ones)
• 1 long ribbon (satin will be best)
• scissors

Steps:-

1. Tape the ribbon to the wooden stick

2. Roll the ribbon all the way down the stick

3. Secure the ribbon with the pipe cleaner. Check that the sharp ends of the metal are hidden.
We tried securing with only tapes at both ends initially but after flicking a few times, they always come undone.

 4. Wind the pipe cleaner all the way down and finally tighten at the end of the stick like below.

5. Start waving and flicking your ribbon to make sure it is secure.

Now my gymnastic wannabe is demostrating how you should move the ribbon. She had even lifted on leg up while playing. I was just simply not fast enough to capture the moment. She move super fast you see.

If you child is big enough, you may want to ask them join you in making this simple craft.
This home made toy is not meant for children below 2.5  years old.
Supervision is definitely required when they play with this toy. Be mindful to remind your kids that the sticks are not to be waved near the eyes or other parts of the body.

Innovative design

Last week. I made a post on this.
Could you guess what it is?

It's actually a simple home made device my hubby made to lead the water from the leaking pipe into the pail. He used only a disposable wooden chopstick and wire to do it.

Of course, we could always turn off the water supply but I think my hubby wants me to still enjoy the luxury of being able to use the sink without much inconvenience.
I think it is a wonderful design although he doesn't feel so. He had fixed the leaking pipe the next day. =)

The Continuation of Toilet/ Potty training

After the long stretch of holiday, little one's toilet training does not yield a very satisfying result.

I proceed with toilet training after school.

Below are some very interesting  incidents as well as some misfortune. 

Day 1

Little one probably had drank a lot of water. There was an accident. 15 minutes later, she told me that she wanted to pee again. I thought she wanted to play with the potty but she sat down with her pants on because she couldn't pull it down! I tried to get her up telling her to take off her pants but she was 'releasing' her waste. The urine was on the floor as a result. I am very amused and nearly laughed my head off. I simply can't believe she could urine again within such short time frame. At the same time, I am glad she know she needs to pee. But then, hates it because I have to clean up. 

In order to encourage her to pee, I told her I would reward her with stickers for every successful release of human toxin. That works! She peed 3 time with me prompting her to do so.

Day 2

I am now a proud mama. She peed 3 times today with her pants down and had voiced her need to pee. She had now recognised her body cues when she need to use the potty. Although sometimes she said she wanted to poo but it's a pee instead.

Day 3 to 5
It seemed to me that she don't seem to recognise the cue for pooing. I have been getting poops on the floor! She only know that she's pooing when the poos rolled down her pants... ekkks! Bath time...

Day 6
She successfully pooed once into the potty with no prompting at all. We went out this afternoon. Hence, we put on  her diapers for her, just in case, she has accidents. We reminded her that she can request us to take her to the toilet although she has the diapers on. She didn't pee or poo into it. It was only 3 hours later, she released her waste after we were back at home.

We were out in the evening for family visit. This time, she requested to use the toilet several times. Still, she dirtied her diapers twice. Once, she pooed but she only notify after she had done so. The second time was because we thought someone was using the toilet, so we told her she can't use it until it's available again.

Day 7
Little one greeted me with teary eyes this afternoon. :( The teacher told me that she wanted to poo but only pooed once. I thought maybe the little girl is having some constipation, so we left school. Later I got to learnt from the little one that she dread to go to the toilet because she couldn't come down from the toilet. Then the poor girl asked whether she could poo in her diapers because her stomach hurts a lot! I wonder whether she had been with-holding because I have drilled into her so much that she's now a big girl and should go to the toilet. Poor baby looked teary again and was complaining about pains. So I allowed her to do so and it was a lot! This was not the end of story, I realised that she was having diarrhea! I had brought her to the PD and was subscribed some probiotics. I guess toilet training will have to stop temporarily until her diarrhea clears. Sigh!

Type 5 to 7 signifies diarrhea

Post note:- Gracious moments

As opposed to the unpleasant, dangerous bus rides I had years ago, today I had a pleasant one.

Nearly arrived at the bus stop, when I saw the very bus we are going to take this morning! I rushed down the ramp to the bus carrying my heavy little girl, I board the bus. Fidgeting to get my ez-link card so as to pay for the fare, the bus driver waited patiently for me to scan the card. As the front seats were all taken up by the elders, we walked towards the back of the bus. Again, the bus driver waited patiently for me to put little one down before he drives off.

I am very grateful that he had showed us some considerations. We had a safe journey and it really make my day.

How about you? Have you.enjoyed your rides today?

Linking to:

Clash of the 'Titans'

Source: National Geographic

I don't know how I should share this. I am still shuddering when I think about it.

It was supposed to be a normal evening, we decided to dine in a neighbourhood coffee shop when suddenly we heard some men ( presuming to be slightly drunk) quarrelling a few tables away from us. They were shouting vulgarity at each others. They even dare each other to a fight. Several men went over to move them away from each other. The shouting 'game' gets louder and louder. I was worried. I had flashback of a night many years ago when I went home late. I had heard shouting then from the coffee shop opposite my block. The next moment, I see one man covered with blood walking towards me! I was in uttered shocked.

With my little kid around, I was felt scarier this time. What if they really fight like the man I saw years ago. Will any one get injured? My hubby says this kind of yelling is quite common in coffee shop, especially when they are drunk. The diners were behaving normally. No one seemed to panic. Still I felt worried. I try to keep my eyes on the 2 men, watching their every move. Suddenly, the two men were fighting against each other! People rushed forward to pull them apart and try to keep them away from each other!

At that point in time, my heart froze. I'm really glad that someone went forward to stop them from hurting each other. However, the 2 men did not leave. They were still hanging around smoking and  drinking their beer. They were still gesturing and shouting at each other. I eyed them.warily. I only felt utterly safe when one of them finally left the place.

Have you been in such situation before? Would you have stayed or left the place? Anyway, we are glad that there's no one seriously hurt tonight.

A fun day at the zoo.

We are going to the Zoo, zoo, zoo. How about you, you ,you?

We have never been to the Singapore Zoological Gardens  together as a family. The first time she went to the zoo with her Daddy and my in laws. I was sick. The second time was a zoo excursion organised by the school which I ent along with her because my hubby couldn't take leave. So. we plan and decided to have a trip on National Day.

When we arrive, it was so , so ,so crowded! The queue was extremely long! However, we skip the long queue as there was another counter which accepts cash payment only. We were left cashless after paying for the tickets. Luckily, I have brought some peanut butter cups! Otherwise, we would likely be hungry, tired and cashless after the whole event!

So, is there any difference between going to the zoo on a normal weekend and a national day?
Not much difference I would say unless you want to show your children that elephants knows how to raise a Singapore flag (one of their performance). =) My kiddo wasn't that interested though.

Here are some of the photos! Enjoy!

Fishes feeding on the algae on the hippo

My girl eating her extremely large peanut butter cup

She's the happiest here

Yummy Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

Blueberries is one of my favourite food. If I could have it my way, I would eat lots of them, probably the whole package of blueberries (125g) if they weren't so expensive in Singapore. The ones that I recently bought cost S$3.25 from the Netherlands.

Usually, I would share these precious berries with my little kid. Blueberries are full of antioxidants which are good for the body. Someone also told me that blueberries is good for the brain, especially developing kids. Due to that very reason, sometimes, I do sacrifice my own serving just for the little one.

My favourite use of blueberries is to eat them raw with yogurt, toss them into a bowl of fruit salad.
Otherwise, I'll just make blueberry puree for bread. However, blueberries is listed under the dirty dozen list. Hence, I usually buy organic. If I intend to cook them, I will go for the non-organic ones.

I am very happy to share this recipe from Nami, Just One Cookbook.

The frozen yogurt was a hit in my family. It tasted like Yami Yogurt according to my hubby. The only minus point was it tasted a little icy when we took out from the freezer. I am not sure why but I think it's due to the fact I stored it overnight. After thawing a while, however, it felt creamy, just like the texture of ice cream.

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

Recipe slightly modified from Just One Cookbook!

Ingredients: ( 3 to 4 servings)

• 1½ cup (250g) blueberries
• ½ cup sugar 
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• a pimch of salt
• 3/4 cup Greek Yogurt
• ½ cup milk 

Procedure:-

1. Combine blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and salt in a saucepan.
2. Heat them up in medium heat. 
3. Stir till sugar dissolve. 
4. Use a potato masher to mash the berries up. ( I use the ladle.) If you want a smoother texture, blend the blueberries before cooking.
5. Let it cool for 20 minutes. 
6. Stir in the yogurt and milk until incorporated
7. Chill the mixture in the fridge for several hour. ( I only chill for 3-4 hr.)
8. Transfer mixture to container and put in freezer. Stir twice every 1.5 hr t break up the ice.
9. Stir every half hour after that vigorously until it is creamy enough to serve.

Note: the first 4 step is also use to make blueberry jam. 

Step 1

Step 2 and 3

Step 4

Step 6

Serving it like a bunch of grapes.

My girl loves this so much that when we are eating from the tub till almost finishing, she asked me to go away because she wants to finish it all by herself!

Innovative design

Any idea what this is?

Bok choy Tuna Mango wrap

I am not a wrap person and has not tried wrapping a wrap before. I thought it would be easy, instructions was given on the Mission Wrap itself. My first attempt was to do a mango chicken wrap but I simply couldn't wrap it like a popiah as suggested on the package! (Too much fillings) =X

So when DinoMama asked me to post up a link at her site, I was embarrassed because I made a mess.

After searching the internet for how the ideal wrap should look like, I finally come to a conclusion. 

I do not have to wrap it like a popiah, it can be simply rolled up without folding in the opposite sides and tie with a string. Some even used leaves as wraps! 

I have some leftover Mission flatbread which are to be consumed within 3 days after opening. So, use them, photograph them and blog them.

The idea of getting bok choy comes about because I couldn't find any organic lettuce or spinach. Actually, when it comes to salad, I prefer to use organic veggie. The supermarket near my place only has organic tomato and sprouts. Tomato will be good but my girl doesn't like them. Sprouts with tuna... ehh?!? Can't imagine that. And hence, I consider steaming some greens, bok choy should be perfect with tuna, I guess. Some onion and potatoes should be fine too. Then, I went along with the idea of tossing in the last mango into the wrap. Hmm... maybe it's a little too small. Anyway, just toss in.

Bok Choy Tuna Mango wrap

Bok Choy Tuna Mango Wrap

Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 wraps
• 1 potato
• half an onion ( I use yellow onion)
• 1 can of tuna chunks in water (I use Ayam brand)
• 1 mango ( Suggest to get the big ones, if possible, get another to make a mango puree)
• Baby Bok choy

Seasoning:

• 1 tsp olive oil. (you may want more if you like)
• 2 dashes of pepper

Procedure:-

1. Prepare a steamer and start to boil the water. ( I used rice cooker )
2. Wash, peel, cut potato and onion into dice.
3. Wash and cut the Bok Choy stems away from the leaves.
4. Dice the Bok Choy stems
5. Open the can of tuna and empty the tuna into a bowl. Discard water.
6. Add in the dice potato, onion and Bok choy stem.
7. Add the seasoning and mixed well.
8. Put in rice cooker and steam for 15-20 min before adding in the leaves of baby Bak choy.
9. Steam for additional 5 more minutes.
10. While steaming, dice the mango. (I choose to slice and dice it)
11. And also dry fry the wraps.
12. After the steaming is done, proceed to spoon the ingredients on wrap after you drain the . If you have mango puree, you can drizzle them in as dressing
13. Roll it up and fold in only one side of the wrap so that it now look like a tall cup.

Fillings on the right side of the wrap, covering about 1/3 of it, leave space at the sides and bottom for folding purposes

Final product:: top exposed , bottom folded.

Verdict:-
I personally think it's refreshing to use bok choy.
My hubby said too little mango. Hence, the above suggestion. He thinks it would be better if there's more mango. Exactly my sentiments too. Ah girl doesn't really like wrap but she does like the fillings. Probably it's almost like what she often ate at home?!?

As a novice, I enjoyed my wrapping experience. Probably may try out again using wholemeal wrap.  It's more nutritious than plain ones.

Wordy Musings : A day in the Kitchen

20th August 2012

I couldn't believe I spent almost 6 hours in the kitchen! It's the longest time I ever spent in a kitchen. 

For someone like me who prefers to keep meals simple, this is a record! 

I made planning to make some cakes this Hari Raya holiday. Try steaming a bigger cake using my newly bought baking tin from Daiso. I wanted to tried out several recipes from the blogs I read too.

So, this is what actually happened

In the morning,

9.30am          Quick Breakfast (dine outside )

10.00am        Make a run at the super market to get ingredients for lunch. (Super long q)

11.00am        Getting all the stuff ready to make blueberry yogurt ice cream. (Can't wait to share this recipe)

11.30am        Make blueberry frozen yogurt (BFY) 

Afternoon

12.00pm        Prepare lunch, put in the cooled BFY mixture in fridge

1.30pm          Lunch

2.00pm          Washing up and prepare to make cakes

2.30pm          Start to make cakes. Start with the bigger banana cranberry cake. (BCC)

3.00pm          Transfer BFY mixture into an airtight container. Stir vigorously and store in freezer

3.15pm          Put in BCC mixture into steamer. 

                      Start making second batch of cake, mini lemon blueberry cake. (LBC)

3.30pm          Put in LBC mixture into a frying pan to steam.

3.50pm          All cakes done. Washing up

4.30pm          Stir BFY mixture vigorously again. And repeat at 6pm and every half hour after that.

After spending half a day in the kitchen, I wondered how women of the past do it. Taking care of children, cooking and doing household chores, can they really be done single handedly especially they do not have machines like ice cream maker or oven? They do not even have washing machines, fridge and vacuum cleaners. How do they really handle, especially the meals have to be all made from scratch? Probably that is why they invented food like kimchi, salted fish, cheese which can stored easier and could simply whip a meal using them? 

I am thankful of having the option to dine out and the option to buy convenient food like ready made bread, so that I do not have to do everything from scratch. It can be quite difficult to plan for myself whenever my hubby and kid is not at home.

I am thankful that I have my hubby to watch over the little one while I am busy in the kitchen. In the olden days, they had bigger families and they lived together. Probably the womenfolk divided the chores among themselves so that some women would do the cooking, while the others do the household chores and take care of the children? 

Whatever it is, I am sure, it's not easy. I spent half a day in the kitchen and I was already glad that I didn't have to prepare breakfast and dinner. Then again, I still like to make meals for my family, and whenever possible, everything from scratch.

Toilet training for the little one

Little one had been complaining how tight her diapers are. She is wearing L size. I know I can switch her to the XL size but I feel it's really high time she should start to learn to use the toilet or potty and get diaper free.
She is now coming to 2 years and 9 months old. Actually, I am partly at fault that she's not trained now.

I bought her a potty, potty seat for toilet and even a children book on toilet training way before she turned 2 years old. She successfully peed or pooed in them for a few times but rejected them after that. And she doesn't voices out her need to pee or poo but almost every time I change her diaper, she'll poo straight after that.

I sought advice from the childcare centre beginning of this year, they told me I could try making her sit in the toilet every two hours. I kept forgetting to do it. The teacher also suggested the use of pull up pants which she now wears for several months already.

Then as little one starts to complain her diapers are getting tight and she doesn't like the way I clean her after she pooed. (I still clean her like a baby while the teacher cleans her by washing her ass). Every time she complains, I will tell her that she needs to voice out that she has to use the toilet. Still, she doesn't. Maybe she is too comfortable with diapers.

I decided to end this 'misery' step by step.

First, get her to like the potty or toilet.
Find a stretch of holidays whereby she doesn't have to go to school.

This Hari Raya holiday is perfect. (From 18th August to 20th August.) We stayed at home with her for 3 days and let her go diaper free. I was pondering whether to let her go "half monty" or wear at least a underwear or shorts. Finally, we decided to let her wear the old shorts or underwear. Just in case, if she soiled them, we can just throw them away. (Lazy to wash). The best part is lesser mess to clean. Probably. Also, my girl doesn't like to on the fan. She often request it to be switched off. We can't have her running around half exposed with the door wide open.

Then, the real challenge comes.

18th August 2012
Little one's activity was restricted only in the living room. She can't sit on the sofa though. She can only sit on her own plastic chair or on the floor. We can't have any toys or books on the floor. Good time to discipline her that books are to be read on the table.

She had an accident in the morning and uttered "uh oh".... Her expression was priceless. She was half lifting one of her legs due to that. I couldn't take a photo as I was all alone with her. I had to clean up quickly with a smile. I told her that she had just peed and that should be done in the potty or toilet. And I add on Mama was not angry with her. I washed her up and changed her into another shorts. Then proceed with cleaning the floor.

Early afternoon, she didn't pee or poo. We had our lunch and she drank some water. My girl doesn't have the habit of drinking lots of water... Sigh... I went out to run some errands. Hubby told me that she peed successfully in the potty when I was not around.

Late afternoon, she went to nap in a diapers.

Evening, she woke up and went diaperless again, had dinner and before she bathed, she peed successfully in the toilet. She was damn happy that she can flush the toilet.

She didn't poo. We were wondering whether she was trying to withhold it.

19th August 2012
Her activity area broaden but she's not allowed in the master bedroom where all the mattresses are.

She peed successfully in the toilet. We noticed most of the time she will go toilet only when we ask. She still doesn't voice out. We noted she always want the step up stool to be around when she sits in the potty seat on the toilet. We also noticed she likes to play with the flush button and would sit in the toilet for hours just to wait for the pee to come. My stubborn girl would not come out of the toilet despite we tried to entice her to come out. In the end, we have to force her out of the toilet. Haiz... We did an explanation after she cooled down. She can't treat the toilet like a toy and hog it for hours. What if Papa and Mama have a stomachache and need to use the toilet? We really hope she understands. After that, we decided to stick to the potty. She finally pooed in the potty in the late afternoon. Sometimes, she'd sit on the potty but didn't 'release' anything.

20th August 2012
We were getting a little restless being bind at home for 2 days, 2 nights. Little one wanted out. So, we risked a little to the food court and had a quick breakfast. She didn't have any accidents. After that we stayed home all day.

The strange thing is little one didn't pee in the morning. Hubby attributed that it could be due to the hot weather. We decided not to remind her today. At around noon, she peed but into her long pants. =_= Then, more accidents came. She pooed a small stool... And then other pee... When she had that last accident, I was with her. She peed a little at first and I could see she tried to control her urine because it stopped a while before letting go again. She only successfully peed once into the potty. And that's done when we asked her too. Haiz... I read some where that if we were to let her went diaper-free for 3 days, the accidents should get lesser and lesser. Then, why is she still having accidents? Did we do something wrong or she is just not ready.

In conclusion, little one doesn't voice her need to 'release' her waste. She doesn't seem to have a clue that she need to pee/ poo. When we don't tell her to, she doesn't seem to know when she should pee/poo. We asked her, does she prefer to have diapers on or diapers off . She replied diaper on.

I guess I would probably continue giving her pull up pants when she goes to school but will let her go diaperless at home. I'm taking it slowly at a time now.

Source

What about you? Do you have any toilet training experience to share?

Oh... What a monstrous looking cake!

Does the cake looked scary? My hubby said it looked worse than a person full of acne. Ouch!.... But this cake tasted great! Especially when hot. Even after putting in the fridge and eating it cold. Of course, I don't recommend you to eat it cold. It's best eaten fresh from the steamer. My hubby doesn't like cold food. As for his comment, I am quite used to it. The food I produce usually taste good but don't look good.

Anyway, I was playing around with steaming cakes again. This time a bigger portion just to see whether the cake would raise. I was trying to do an upside down cake with no added sugar. Probably a little too ambitious... heheheh...

Sugarless Blueberry Banana Cake 

Below is the recipe for blueberry banana cake. Yes it's blueberry banana cake again but a larger portion.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain flour + extra for coating fruits 
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp milk
• 4 tbsp oil (any flavourless oil, I used EVOO)
• pinch of salt
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• 2 big ripe banana (mashed) + extra banana cut longitudinally for upside down cake
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 cup fresh blueberries 

Procedure:-

1. Set up the steamer and boil the water over medium high heat
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda in a big bowl using fork for about 20 - 30 times. 
3. Then beat the egg in a separate bowl. Add in milk , oil , orange juice and salt and whisk together
4. Grease the baking tray  ( I used a deep dish instead and olive oil to grease)
5. Coat the longitudinally cut banana and some blueberries with extra plain flour
6. Line the bottom of the baking tray with the coated fruits
7. Combine the two mixture (pt2 and pt3)and mixed till fully incorporated.
8. Fold in the blueberries and mashed  banana mix.
9. Pour the batter into baking tray.Load them into steamer (make sure the water is boiling) and steam for 30-45 min (depending on size of the steam cake)
10. Use a toothpick or skewer to test whether the cake is ready.
11. Once it's done, take the cake out and allow to cool.

If you do not want to do upside down cake, you can omit step 5 and 6. I got to know later that in order for fruits not to stuck on the tray, it is better to grease with butter and or covered with sugar.

Then how on earth did my cake got this monstrous appearance? I reserved some blueberries and added on top of my batter after I poured in. Strange thing to do, but I was playing with my food, you see.

My upside down cake was stuck onto the dish! 

Still taste great despite the look of the cake

Conclusion and Tips:

1. If you are making a cake bigger then the size of a cupcake, don't put topping. It'll probably end up ugly. 
2. If you are making upside down cake, coat the bottom of tray with butter or sugar.

I would probably try to make another upside down cake but not so soon. Been eating too much cakes recently. This cake was done 2 weeks ago. I had just made another 2 batches of steamed cakes today.

Pancakes for breakfast anyone?

I missed having pancake for breakfast, the first time I made them, I used pancake mix. This time, I decided to make it from scratch. It's quite easy. As this recipe doesn't use any leavening, hence, it's a flat pancake. Probably this is how the idiom comes about. I think I am unlikely to add in any fruits or nuts into it for fear it may break under the weight. I need something else to pair up with the plain pancake. I have decided to use honey and my newly made peanut butter.  Below are the flat pancake which I made some time ago. 

Here's the recipe which I've got from the net.

British Pancake

Adapted from About.com!

Ingredients:

• 1½ cup plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 2½ cups milk
• 2 tsp melted unsalted butter and some for cooking
• pinch of salt

Procedure:-

Pan frying a flat pancake

1. Sieve flour into a bowl and add a pinch of  salt. 
2. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the eggs. Beat until smooth . ( I am using fork the beat so it took quite sometime to do it)
3. Add half the milk and the 2 tsp of butter. Beat again. Add the remaining milk and stir.
4. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes
5. Grease the frying pan with a little melted butter just enough to coat the base of pan. Heat until very hot and add a ladle of batter coating the pan evenly and thinly. Cook till set and lightly golden. Flip the pancake over and cook the other side for about 30 seconds.
6. Remove the pancake and place on a plate. Continue till the batter is used up.
7. To serve, you can roll it up like a wrap and serve with lemon juice and sugar. This morning, I watch the television and they drizzle it with orange juice! 

I was quite worried when I made the batter. I didn't have a electric beater and have to beat it manually. The outcome of the batter is quite watery and there were some yellowish floating particles. (See below picture) Quite different from the one which I made using pancake mix. I thought, probably, I probably will not succeed in making it this time. Any way, I went ahead making it.

Watery batter

I spent about 1 hr in total making making 12 pancakes. If they are eaten with the peanut butter only, the combination is quite dry. After adding the honey, the taste is completely different and was superb.

Pancake with a drizzle of honey and a dollop of peanut butter

My hubby thought it was too much for the 3 of us. We were very full and couldn't eat much for lunch. Next time, I shall use use only half the portion.

Update: Luckily I went ahead making these pancakes, I just read that British pancakes are supposed to have watery batter. Information from Wikipedia

A look at History - A lesson relearnt

In celebration of National Day , several museums are having open house to their premises for Singaporeans and PRs. I'll take this chance to visit the museum if I have not been there for a long time. Last weekend, I've decided to visit the historic site, the Old Ford factory.

The Old Ford factory

The factory is the site of the historic surrender of the British to the Japanese on 15 February 1942 in World War II. It was here that the meeting between Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival and General Tomoyuki Yamashita was held and the signing of unconditional surrender document of the British forces to the Japanese Army in the Ford Board Room. This surrender was also widely seen as a turning point for anti-colonialism in Southeast Asia.

The Ford factory was Ford Motor Work's first Southeast Asia motor car assembly plant. After Japanese invaded Singapore, it was converted to be the Japanese military headquarters and service depot for Japanese military vehicle.It is also the place where the Japanese tortured the Prisoners of War.

In 1997, the back of the factory was demolished to make way for condominium while the front is gazetted a national monument. Now know as the Memories at Old Ford Factory.

The trip
We went there by bus. It was quite a  trip from Toa Payoh. But luckily, it's a short distance from the bus stop.
As we brought a pram for the sleeping gal, we were directed to walk up the slope to the factory. I wondered whether this the very path Lt. General Arthur Percival and his officers took on the day of surrender. I wondered what were they thinking when they took the path.

Old Ford factory corridor 

 The Exhibition
The exhibition starts by introducing how Singapore was being surrendered to the Japanese.

Entrance

A picture speaks a thousand words

Lt. Gen. Arthur Percival

Lt. Gen Yamashita

The highlight is the Board room where surrender negotiation took place. It is the very room when the important history took place. The NHB tried to restored everything the same as the very day. The chairs were the original. The table was a replica.

The Board room where the surrender took place

Singapore's dark period as Syonan-To. A lot of recounts from eye witnesses and survivors , including Elizabeth Choy (She was being tortured for helping the POW),  during the dark years. A number of newspaper cuttings and comics featuring the dark years. I didn't take a lot of pictures as many simply brought tears to my eyes.

The helpless baby that made me cry

Death railway

The show must go on and so must me! POW

Accounts of how the Force 136 strikes back when Singaporeans eventually found that to end the sufferings, they have to do it themselves.

Lim Bo Seng's dairy

Radio those days

We learnt about the rocketing inflation, black market, banana notes and the worries of people whether or not to change all their notes to the banana notes

cheque book

Lottery tickets and banana money. Note the one cent note doesn't even have serial numbers 

more banana money

Rocketing Inflation. That time $0.50 is already a lot of money

War crime trials. Traitors punishment.

When vaccines and medications are rare. Poeple gets innovative using remedies that were not heard before. Sanitary is also a problem.

Guess what's this?

It's for containing the 'night soil'

Vaccines were rare those days. All were for military use. Citizens have to resort to traditional cures and home remedies

How they survive shortage of materials

Eye ailments were cured by Lallang!

End of war

Random shots

For translation and explanation, view  http://www.s1942.org.sg/s1942/moff/exhibition1.htm

Syonan Garden where you find food crops that are widely grown during the Japanese occupation

Railway signal post used as a direction board

The major events

The happening

Peace in Chinese

Conclusion after viewing.
Most of the stories I have heard from my mom and view from TV. The brutality and cruelty of war. The heroic display by the locals and heroes such as Lim Bo Seng. Peace is not something to be taken for granted and should be bear in mind.

I've learnt how people in those days cope with difficulties. 

It's a pity that we couldn't find padi and sugar cane in Syonan Garden. I read somewhere you can see various stages of padi growth. I'm not sure what happen to them. Probably I should have went for a guided tour. 

Also, the talking map is not 'talking' anymore. Down for maintainance?

Learning through history, I learnt to be more appreciative of life, self reliant, be creative (to overcome problems) and most of all, be happy.