St Andrew's Class of '78 ('O' Levels) gathering at Cricket Club 6 June 2017

L to R 

Andrew Lee, Syed Faisal Alsagoff, Apparoo Surendran,Gurdeep Singh,Pang Seng Meng,Tan Keh Eng Kent, Yours Truly.

     I am very pleased and satisfied to announce that my primary schoolmates have reconnected over the last 5 and now, we are about 160 strong, all linked by social media. It is timely that we reconnect after almost 40 years since leaving secondary 4 when we were just 16 and after the General Cambridge Examination 'O' (ordinary) levels from our alma mater, Saint Andrews School.

     Thanks to the efforts of 2 'brothers in petty crime' , Chew Ping Nan and A. Surendran, we as a cohort have come out and made efforts to come together to share a drink, meal and most satisfyingly relive our memories of a fun-filled childhood and teenagehood, marked by 

a) detention class - for late comers like Gurdeep Singh

b) football at noon - before the start of class

c) chalk throwing fights

d) Caning - for all manner of petty crime from failing tests repeatedly, not handing up 

    homework  

e) our pathetic attempts at CCAs (co-curricular activities) - Scouts, NCC (National Cadet       Corps and NPCC  (National Police Cadet Corps) 

f) visiting each other's homes - my place was a meeting place after school in Primary 5. 

     Studying was the last  things to come to our minds, yes, our 'boys' were a bright and somewhat ouf-of-control bunch. There were alot of 'what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas' moments but that was what made our childhood and teenage years all the more memorable. The 60s and early to mid 70s were marked by political stability in Singapore, most people were from poor backgrounds, there was a scarcity of jobs, the Confrontation etc. All these did not figure at all on our young minds. 

    We thought the world revolved around ourselves and our friends. Now 40 years on, we are in our midlives (some say nearing the end) and while we will have some success, setbacks and jobs lost, businesses closed, families raised, marriages come and gone, parents gone, and health a bit dodgy - when we meet, well we are back to 16 years of age - even for a fleeting few hours.

    We have lost four friends last year, their loss really saddened us, and I can't for the life of me consider that making more money or closing any deal more important or more meaningful than meeting and helping out my 'brus' (South African slang for bro). Most of us who meet are business owners, and we try to help each other out whenever we can. 

     We will meet again late September when we get together at our old schoold grounds, then we would all have hit 55 years of age - a milestone in the 'old days' where people retired and started gardening or doing dogbody work (I learnt that word recently). 

     The flame keeps on burning brightly ever, Saints ! Up and On !!!