Gracefully to 87th

We flew to JB on 9 November 2017 and spent the next four days in Batu Pahat. We were in BP to celebrate my mother-in-law's 87th birthday. Paul and Jun Shi also took time off to join the occasion from Singapore. This is the second time Jun Shi met the Lim's Matriarch.

Representing the family of the 3rd daughter of the Matriarch.

The 3rd daughter & her spouse.

In awe of the dish!

Together with Paul and Jun Shi, we visited the home village in Sri Gading and had a walk-about at the neighborhood to reminisce the memory lane. My wife just loved to walk along the man-made canal, one of her childhood play sites. The walk finally stopped at the confluence where it meets another canal. These canals were once used to transport smoked rubber sheets by rubber tappers and small holders to the main collector. This was also the favorite spot for local kids to spend their free time - swimming, catching small crabs and fish.

Water in the canal was crystal clear after heavy downpour the previous night.

At the housing road named after Lim Kheng Siang, 

Paul's maternal grandfather who passed away 

on 28 February 2015.

Legacy Day of BCCM KK (E)

BCCM KK (E) celebrated her 55th Anniversary on 5 November 2017. Exactly 55 years ago on 4 November 1962, Pastor Donald E Nelson led the first Sunday English Worship Service of BCCM KK in the KK Basel Church old Chapel at the Signal Hill. I was only eleven then and was still a Sunday School student of the BCCM KK Hakka Congregation. In fact, I was with the Hakka Congregation all along and only switched to the English Congregation in 1979 after graduation or more specifically after my marriage.

This year, unlike in past occasions, the Pastor-in-Charge was creative and chose the term "Legacy Day" to commemorate the occasion.

Taken after the Legacy Sunday Worship Service 

with  Joseph CH Wong, Rev. Chong FY 

and current Pastor,  Rev. Renny Khoo.

The Church published a small magazine which contains key historical events and anecdotes by church members about some of the pioneers. My wife and I were asked to interview one couple, Datuk and Datin KS Fung who were involved in the setting up of BCCM KK (E) during its formative period. Even though in their eighties and with failing memory, they did mange to recollect some of the past events and shared a few thoughts.

Breakfast in our house with Datuk and Datin Fung, 

their 2nd son Yin Kee,  Joseph Wong and wife Catherine

just before the interview on 15 October.

In 1963, BCCM KK English Congregation conducted the baptism for members who attended the first Confirmation Class. Fifty years on, most are now in the late sixties and seventies. The first pastor, Ps. Donald E Nelson had also passed away in January 2016 at age 88.

Anniversary is a milestone and a time to remember the past, to pause to see where we are in the present and to prepare for the future. It is also a time to recognize people past and present who have laboured in advancing God's Kingdom. The Chinese has a saying for such recognition: "前人种树 后人乘凉" which literally means that the old generations plant trees, the future generations enjoy the shade. 

I realized that anniversary is also a time for healing and restoration. People come and people go. People may at one time be in leadership but are no longer at present. No matter how insignificant the individual may be perceived at present, he/she would feel gratified if his/her place in history is recognized and appreciated.

First Baptism Class of BCCM KK English in 1963.
Donald in front row 1st from left. Thomas is next to Donald.

Chatting over coffee with Thomas Wong and Donald Soh, 

two of the members who attended the first Baptism Class 

in 1963.

Kindness in Toronto

I got to know Fan Lan in the church youth fellowship way back in the late 1960's. Her family had been particularly kind to me. Back in 1972 After I finished my A Level in 1972, I was unable to continue tertiary education due to financial difficulty. After she knew my financial difficulty, she convinced her mother to act as financial guarantor to enable me to successfully apply to do a degree course in civil engineering at the Southampton University, UK. Even with the university acceptance, I didn't have the money to fly there and to pay the course fee. In the end, my plan to study there never materialized (Read here). Had I gone there, life would have been totally different. Of course, God had other plan! Later on, Fan Lan went to study in Canada and eventually settle down in Toronto.

Each year when she came back to KK from Toronto for holidays, she would without fail remind me of my promise to visit Canada. It was her persistent reminders that nudged us to finally proceed to plan for our August/September trip to Canada. Once we had confirmed our tour, she immediately offered us to stay in her sister's house in Toronto. She has earlier shifted from her own house to stay in her sister's huge mansion while her own house was under renovation.

Grand spiral staircase.

Breakfast in her residence & Pho Hung (Vietnamese Ngiu Chap) in Balwin Street.

An avid coffee drinker, she took us to the touristy Balwin Street for a stroll and a cup of coffee. She also made sure we can savor more Canadian coffee by packing a few bags of freshly grinded coffee powder for us to bring back to KK.

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Annabelle, granddaughter of Fan Kiok.

Our host took us for a dinner just before we flew back to KK. 

Left: Fan Kiok & Fan Lan.
Right: Dr. Man, Fan Kiok's spouse.

Friends in Missisauga, Toronto

While in Toronto, we managed to link up with Esther Chong and spent half a day with her family. We knew her since she was a little primary school girl way back in 1979 when we were staying in a government rented quarter. That semi-detached house in Taman Foh Sang belonged to her late father. Later on, the parents sent her and her brother to the house for English tuition by my wife. After marrying William from Brunei, the family moved to Canada and settled down in Toronto. 

When we finally met in the afternoon of 3 September 2017, She started by driving us around the neighborhood of Missisauga showing us some of Missisauga's seafront and the iconic buildings.

Lakefront Promenade Park

Like the twin towers in Malaysia, Missisauga too has a unique pair of towers which some refer them as "Marilyn Monroe' Towers". This twisted twin towers are said to resemble Marilyn Monroe's hourglass figure. In terms of design, the larger tower twists 209 degrees from the base to the top. Credit must indeed be given to the structural engineers, Sigmund Soudack & Associates for having successfully completed this peculiar design.

The landmark is visible throughout the
neighborhood.

Our reunion ended with a sumptuous home-cooked meal at the Ng's residence.

Hop-On-Hop-Off City Sightseeing Tour, Toronto

A very convenient way to see and explore some of the favourite attractions in Toronto is to take the hop-on-hop-off bus. We bought the two-day tickets that also entitled us for a free harbour and islands cruise in Lake Ontario (Read here). 

For those sitting at the upper deck, it's best to have an 

umbrella or poncho raincoat in case of rain.

A favourite stop along the bus route is the Casa Loma Castle, a massive residential mansion built in 1911 - 1914 by financier, Sir Henry Pellatt. It has 98 rooms covering 67,500 sq. ft. In the end, barely living there for ten years, he had to vacate it due to financial difficulty. City Hall finally sized it in 1924 for unpaid taxes. It is now a museum and a landmark.

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The bus tour also allowed us to see some of the unconventional building design and architecture.

The Ryerson University Student Learning Centre.

Royal Ontario Museum.

The Aura, tallest building in Canada stands at 

272m with 79 storeys.

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CN Tower & Rogers Centre.

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We managed to capture a photo of the Baseball Arena of Rogers Centre through the glass partition of the souvenir shop. Unfortunately, our hope of watching Blue Jays Team live was dashed because the team was not playing there during the period we were in Toronto.

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Another favourite stop is the St. Lawrence Market. This is also where we stopped for snacks and lunch.

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As we walked along the streets in Toronto, we were occasionally being entertained by interesting characters and scenes.

Cosplay at Fan Expo, Metro Toronto
Convention Centre.

Busker at Yonge Street.