Goodbye Hans ; Till we meet again. Keep the flame burning brightly ever

At Il Fiore Bar in May 2015 

I first met Hans Brys through a mutual friend Kim Soon Fang. I had just finished the toughest project of my working life (selling specialised human performance chambers) and was thinking broadly about diversifying into new fast moving consumer goods business (FMCB) using online marketing and sales.

To cut a long story short, I was introduced to Hans as he had a similar type of business model and concept selling his arthritic Belgian products into Asia while I had my probiotic products made in Singapore and targetting to a wider audience worldwide.

Hans came to Singapore in the early 2000s, met and married his Singapore born wife soon after and had been living here for almost 20 years. He had another daughter from his first marriage in Belgium. 

He had seen the ups and downs of life and I was struck by how hardworking and humble he was. Always with a ready smile, and his Yul Brynner (bald) haircut, he stood out amongst the unit holders in the basement of Chevron House  where he and his wife Marilyn persued their food business called "Pasta 101." The hours were long but they were a good match to this very tough industry.  

Those were the good times.

We met up I would say close to 20 times, and always he was there with support, a kind word and an easy smile. He first started his food venture from his mobile  stall in East Coast Park, I recall running over after an 8 km run to partake in a meal of pasta in the evening, and his wife Marilyn and precocious daughter Delphine would be there after nursery class to rollerblade and keep him company. His Mum in law would also be there to mind the stall when he needed a break from the backbreaking work. It was just near the beach at Carpark D as I recall.

The prices were very reasonable, something like $7 for a box of pasta with the secret sauce and topping. A picture of his mobile stall is shown below. Lovely balmy days in the hot and humid weather were not a big deal for this hardworking man and his family. 

After his 6 month stint at East Coast Park came to an end, he bid, tendered and was successful to run his outlet at Chevron House. So he started his Pasta 101 at the Basement of Chevron House at the Foodcourt. Those days lasted about 1 and a half years. When he ran into issues with the management of the building, he decided to help out with another of his countrymen who was a top chef and has many top quality restaurants all over Singapore. It was a great comeback for Hans.  

A dedicated family man, with no airs, hardworking and humble. He gave his all to his family and to his friends. Last year he told me that he came down with a serious cancer of the lungs and which had affected the kidney and even the bone. I was totally shocked at this revelation, because he had seemed like the perfect picture of health. 

I will miss you Hans, 11th July 2020 was your last day. Only 52. Till we meet again, I will keep all the memories of you and remember the constant hint of a  smile on your face.

Carpe Diem.  

  

11th July My East Coast Plan

Day 21 or 11th July of PTSD Challenge 

I accepted 21 days (3 weeks) ago the 25 pushups over 25 days to raise awareness for the neurological disorder called PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Symptoms include the following :

a) Insomnia

b) Mood Swings

c) Anxiety attacks

d) Flashbacks

e) Depression (can lead to suicide if not checked)

So, yesterday, Saturday 11th 2020, I headed down to East Coast Parkway to carry out my 2 pronged East Coast Plan :

a) Do the pushups and post them on Facebook (as per the challenge)

b) Run 10 K

I completed both in a combined time of 1 hour 30 minutes or so and I am glad to do my part to raise the awareness of this very serious affliction where the age groups do not matter.

What is Trauma ?

Its something which causes you to lose your 'mojo'. Your ability to think rationally and logically. It is normally a very stress inducing event such as :

a) Losing one's spouse, sibling, parents or child(ren)

b) Experiencing War and its horrors  

c) Held captive or exploited
d) Loss of a job
e) An accident severe enough to shake one's beliefs
f) Loss of a limb or a body function.

Seek help or if your close ones know you are suffering, they can call the following :

1. SOS Singapore ;               Tel 1800 221 4444
2. Institute of Mental Health : Tel;  6389 2000

I consider myself to be a very blessed man. So it is time to return the blessings and be a force for good to others, in my own limited capacity.

CARPE DIEM. 

My Kindergarten (happiest ) years were in this church.

   

Prinsep Street Prebytarian Church and Kindergarten 

During 1966 and 67, my parents sent me to this Presbytarian Church and Kinderdarten. I have strong recollections of this and I am amazed that with so much urban development of the city, the Church and Kindergarten are still around!

I remember having a lot of joy and fun playing with the kids and I was like the 'prince' of the playground (see below behind the shutter gates). There was a sandpit to the right of the picture below, and I recall wrestling some 3 other kids in the pit and my Dad was watching and gently admonishing me.Sadly, my behaviour was tantamount to some small time bully - which I will put to my young, thoughtless and carefree nature, having been brought up in the streets  (Sophia Road, Adis Road and Mackenzie Road were the neighbourhood which I grew up in) with the neighbourhood boys and had a thoroughly rough and tumble early life full of scrapes, near misses ( I almost got blind in one eye and almost fell off the 2nd floor another time), catching spiders, getting bitten by our dogs, fights, generally being the scrappy slightly plump boy with the thick glasses. 

It was so fun and carefree. Today's children have it totally different but I would NEVER trade my childhood with anybody else in the world !   

 

Courtyard of Prinsep Street Presbytarian Church and Kindergarten - still the same look 50 odd years on ! 

The kindergarten was where I had my push racing car, and I recall fondly having wrestling matches with the other boys, having the racing car being pushed by the young Caucasian kids sitting in there for the longest time and feeling like this would go on forever. A little prince or thug who 'controlled' the playground ! 

But then again, what did I know ? I was only 4 or 5 years old and life was just one big party. No stress,In the morning only play, fights, catching spiders, flying kites, eating lunch and  going out and doing the same in the afternoon till our parents came home.

The mid to late 60s were really such carefree and happy days.  I truly enjoyed them. 

3rd July 13th Day into the PTSD Challenge

The going is getting tough and I am looking at ways and means to make the videos creative and attractive. The challenge was thrown up to me by Peter Tan, a friend from way back when we were in our teens from the Saint Andrew's Secondary school. Peter is now a successful resteraunteer based in Perth. 

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is a neurological disorder affecting anybody at all ages, and a very stressful situation is normally the trigger for it. War veterans would have a higher chance of getting affected, but people who have had a traumatic experience in their lives, that would apply to practically anybody in society, can potentially succumb to it. 

All of us would have faced a traumatic experience in our lives, most of us would be able to shake it off and put it down to a life experience but there are some who cannot easily put the past behind. Examples of trauma (this is definitely NOT exhaustive) are :

a) Loss of a parent or parents

b) Loss of a child or loved one

c) Loss of a partner or pet

d) Job retrenchment or retirement

e) Extreme humiliation or imprisonment.

f)  War

g) Accident causing impairment of limbs or senses 

The list goes on and on... 

Back to the challenge. I accepted it over 1 week ago, and I need to do 25 pushups over 25 days and post them on social media. And so I did and I am still doing so. My perseverance and commitment to a noble cause is plain to see. I do not back out so easily.   

This one is me doing at the timber decking outside my house.

The cause is a real and noble one. My 25 pushups are nothing compared to the anguish of the afflicted which is essentially a mental disorder.

It can be cured and there are 2 Government institutions which have trained professionals dedicated to help the afflicted. They are :

1. Samaritans of Singapore  (SOS) ; Tel : 1800 221 4444

2. Institute of Mental Health ;              Tel : 6389 2000 

Aston Villa 0 Wolves 1

Saturday's match felt more like a training session for Wolves as they calmly strolled to an away 

1 - 0 win against their Midlands rivals Aston Villa. 

The goal itself was a gem with Jonny Otto winning the ball and smartly turned from defence, and passed it to Adama Traore. Traore then passed it to Raul Jiminez, who held it for a while, and then relayed it back to Jonny, who by this time was deep in the Villa penalty box.  He lost his balance, and while on the floor, slipped the ball over to the lurking Leander Dendonker who controlled it calmly, before picking the bottom right hand corner of the Villa keeper's net.

1 - 0 !

3 wins out of 3 since the restart, and with 3 clean sheets. OK, they were not wins against the top 6, but in the Premier League, every team can and do cause upsets.

Next Sunday's match against Arsenal, I will put my money on Wolves again, just by their tremendous workrate, their flowing skill and solidarity amongst all team members.  

Wolves 1 Bournemouth 0

Another match, another win after the Lockdown. The rest has done Wolves a World of Good. 

 

West Ham 0 Wolves 2 ; Wolves off to a bang after Restart of the EPL after over 3 months break.

This was the first game in almost 100 days for the Wolves and they are well rested, showing great pace, skill, delivery and mental resilience. With the London stadium eerily empty, the game was played in a surreal atmosphere much like a training session at Compton Park.

Adama Traore showed the world once again how skillful, strong and speedy he is by taking the ball on the right flank and dribbling past 2 defenders before unleashing an inch perfect cross to Raul Jiminez. Raul, for his part, leapt like a salmon high into the sky and headed strongly into the left hand corner of the net leaving Hammers goalkeeper Louis Fabiansky flailing in its wake.

The second goal was also crafted by the genius of Traore, who I reckon now is in a league of his own. No one can touch his pace, or skill, strength or stamina. It is notable that he came on as a substitute and made an impact almost within minutes upon coming on. 

Traore started the move, dribbling past a couple of midfielders, passed on the ball to Matt Doherty (my favorite player in Wolves) and he crossed over a sea of players in the box. Pedro Neto (another substitute who came in for Leander Dendoncker) timed his volley without even controlling the ball, and slammed it into the roof of the net - a screamer which even the commentators labelled it as a candidate for the goal of the season.

Truly, this team has the makings of champions very soon. Wolves are the last 8 of the Europa league and are in the running for the top 4, which is the Champions League.

Truly Nuno had a dream, and he is the master general leading this fine top class football team.

I am so appreciative for the opportunity to watch sublime football from one of the oldest underachieving clubs in English football (founded in 1877 - one of the original 12 teams in English league). Its is really an exciting time to be a fan and follow their exploits at home and in Europe.