My first 16 years - 6 Adis Road.

 

Our Family House (1959-1976) 

This was the first home which I grew up in the 1960s and 70s. My fondest memories of my infant, toddler, kid and teenage life were centered first around my family house, school, sunday school and later I spent a lot of time at the Singapore Swimming Club and then the outside world.

We (my brother and I) caught spiders at the plants by the side of the house, we climbed the rambutan tree on the right of the picture, the huge garden was a mess, there was no front gate, fence nor was there any clear demarcation lines from the front to the back of the house.

Our house was  a bungalow built in the early 20th century. It sat on something like 40,000 ft of land and nowadays, a developer could build up a small condominium plot with the land area.

On the ground floor, there were 2 rooms, one was uninhabited (West facing), the east facing was converted to a bedroom for my Gong Gong P.C. Wen who came and stayed with us for about some 5 - 6 years in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The central 'ballroom' was a huge room without columns and my father kept all his law files there. I recall there was a line telephone which gave an electric shock everytime we picked up the phone and placed it to our ears. A painful memory from 55 years back !

Climbing up the staircase, we entered the main living room at the centre of the house. There was a huge verandah (with chicks or blinds as we call them), and during thunderstorms, we could shut the wooden shutter doors and retreat into the main living room. It was huge, and behind the living room was the dining room and the kitchen was at the back.

Our bedrooms were on the left side of the house, my brother and I shared one room which had a small loft made out of wood. Some years later, my father installed an air conditioner to this room. I recall using this room for over 10 years.

The master bedroom was divided into 2, my father slept on the large bed and my mother on the smaller bed at the back of the room. There was an adjoining toilet which all 4 of us shared.

To the right side of the house on the second floor, my Por Por (maternal grandmother) lived with us for close to 12 years. She went and lived with my Mum's youngest brother David in her remaining years. She passed on at around 85 years of age.

I fondly recall my Por Por could speak a smattering of Malay, and she and the maids (we called them Kak Kak or big sister) would get on each other's nerves from time to time. She was a fierce lady but melted with us 'Sum Mun Zai' Kia or gangster kids.

I learnt my Cantonese mostly from my Por Por.

The collective memories I have, are still pretty vibrant. I have gone to the exact address of my growing up years, and can barely make out how that plot of land used to create the happiest and most carefree memories of my life.