Places in Singapore

This huge bungalow at 13 Wilkie Terrace has been sold to a developer and when June is over this bungalow will be gone. However, for the next three weeks there will be art activities by artists and musicians who will interact with the public to bid farewell to this beautiful house. The art project, called Displacement is the brainchild of Mr Yen Phang who is a member of the family that has occupied this house for three generations.

Because of the initiative of this young man,my friend and I had the chance to step into the past for a while and when we left, it was with the sad knowledge that what will follow in the wake of its demise will be something that leaves you with an insipid after taste. I cannot see how any future development can match the artistry and craftsmanship of the builders of this house.

 Thick textured glass windows that were tinted green and these windows ventilate the house well and let in light that will make a photographer and artist  want to stay here for a long time.

 The super-high ceilings means that the doors are elegantly long. The hardiness and quality of the wood of the doors and wood panels upstairs are remarkable.

 I have never seen collapsible window grills till now. How pretty and yet practical.

 The light, the light, I just love the light that comes into the house and the floor tiles - you will never see them again.

 An artist's statement blending in with the simple lines of the window. Enough is said.

 Wooden doors that could have found homes elsewhere.

 If I were a kid I would have a great time climbing in and out of windows such as these and if I were a teenager, perhaps these windows will facilitate a forbidden rendezvou at Cathay cinema nearby.

 A glimpse of the future and the fate of houses like these in the area.

Gates that have a style that defies age.

Stairs that could tell stories of countless footsteps recorded in their memories, if they could talk.

The spiral staircase appears to have moulted.

The wood can exist for another hundred years, if only they were allowed to. I hope they would not eventually end up as firewood.

Concrete is hard and unkind to those who are not careful as they walk up and down these steps. People learned to be mindful in those days.

And here's one of my favourite subjects - chairs.

So it's been a long while since you last visited me.

We never miss our Cantonese soap operas.

Let's get dressed up to the nines and go party tonight.

When the weather is hot, it will always be airy and nice here. Let's have some tea.

People in the old days, gather around to engage in after-dinner talk enjoying the coolness of the evening on high ground within the compound of their home. Nowdays, not many of us have the luxury of such private space. Anyway times have changed and it is no longer cool to hangout at home with the invention of an activity called clubbing.

Things that caught my eye because of my interest in Chinese Calligraphy and all things old.

 Wandering around the house.

 The fan will stop rotating when the time comes. The world will still rotate on its own axis and around the sun but we are at the mercy of those who are careless with the riches of the earth.

 The future is written on the wall. It's how you interpret what you see that determines how our next generation will live.

 

 Making the effort to pay a visit to the bungalow at 13 Wilkie Terrace also gave us the opportunity to explore the surroundings at Mt Sophia and Mt Emily. We were delighted to see a few remaining bungalows and old-style buildings in the area.

 

 

We did not see many people appreciating these houses and buildings. We surmised that they have all gone to look at the showflat of a condominium project that is coming up right next to 13 Wilkie Terrace.