A visit to the railway tracks

Following an agreement between the governments of Malaysia and Singapore last year, railway operations at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station ceased from 1 July 2011. KTM's (Keretapi Tanah Melayu) southern terminus will be relocated to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint. Tanjong Pagar Railway Station was also called Keppel Road Railway Station or Singapore Railway Station.

Tanjong Pagar railway station was completed on 3 May 1932 and officially opened by Sir Cecil Clementi. I have lived in Clementi the last 30 years and I wonder if Clementi Road was named after him. The four marble statues at the exterior of the building represents the four pillars of the Malayan and Singapore economy - Agriculture, Commerce, Transport and Industry, with the initials FMSR (Federated Malay States Railways). 

The past month, particularly on weekends I've seen Singaporeans from all walks of life hiking along the Railway tracks. Groups of people were seen along the tracks at Stagmont Ring, near Hillview, Rail Mall and Bukit Timah Station near King Albert Park. Many articles have appeared on the newspaper and blogs, with many calling on the government to conserve the railway line. A group -“We support the Green Corridor”was formed by conservationists and nature experts to promote awareness in this respect. The stretches of lush greenery with it's fauna and flora provides a invaluable recreational space within our concrete jungle. The retention of the structures could serve as a reminder of our historical link with Malaysia.

I have missed the train so to speak but I told myself to at least join the bandwagon to experience the railway tracks and blog about it. What better way to have such an outing than to have canine companions. Two weeks ago I made the long overdue trip to the Bukit Timah Station. It is heart warming to see three generation families among the crowd of shutter bugs, nature lover and others there just out of inquisitiveness.

Three generation family

Bukit Timah Station

The doggies stole the show.

3 Dimensional Printer

This is definitely the most revolutionary product I have ever seen - a 3 Dimensional Printer. Most printers will print things in two dimensions. A 3 dimensional printer will take that into the third dimension and make it into something you can hold in your hand.  It is sure to alter the way you think. The parameters of possibility have just overstepped the mark. 

   

3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing technology where a three dimensional object is created by laying down successive layers of material. It is generally faster, more affordable and easier to use than other additive manufacturing technologies. 3D printers offer product developers the ability to print parts and assemblies made of several materials with different mechanical and physical properties in a single build process. Advanced 3D printing technologies yield models that can serve as product prototypes.

Things you can make with a 3D Printer

Ukulele music

Ever since I came across this Youtube video sometime last year of a cute little Japanese kid playing the Ukulele I have wished that one day soon I'll take up Ukulele lessons. In fact you could say I fell in love with the Ukulele when the song "Somewhere over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo 'ole was a hit some years back. It sounded so nice. I Recently I noticed a photo of my old friend Gerard posing with a Ukulele on Facebook. This was followed by a series of events which triggered in me a greater urgency to follow this through. My friend Carl Homan from Oregon USA was in town early this year. Somehow he popped into Ukulele Movement (UM), a shop which specializes in Ukulele, while touring little India and chatted with one of the partners of the shop Ms Glyn. He is a really friendly and talkative guy. He'll strike up a l-o-n-g conversation with any stranger in the street in an instance. He came to visit me after that and told me about the Ukulele shop. I Googled on the subject of Ukulele in Singapore and found a number of people teaching this musical instrument. I thought I should seek advice from someone who have some experience so I asked Gerard. He recommended UM as their lessons are more structured. I checked UM's and other websites and found out that Ukulele courses were really popular. Most classes are fully booked and there's an average waiting time of about a month or more. Yesterday Gerard forwarded me a newsletter from Ukulele Movement about forthcoming workshops in June. There were Sunday sessions and that's perfect for me because weekdays are almost impossible. This is a 2 hours workshop. Having learned to strum the guitar when I was young I hope it won't be too difficult. I am really excited and looking forward to it.

Check out my Youtube channel music playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAR-LsBt38lxQ-vKjfB7J0KXyE30TmfkF