Dear readers, will you remember Old Places?
There was a time when everything was so much different from the current pace of life and living lifestyle today, whether it was your childhood days, teenage days or schooling days, so much things have changed over the years, technology, fashion, wealth, environment, tastes and the list probably goes on and on.
Will you look back and reminisce the Good Old Days? The Old Playgrounds that you used to play at when you were a kid? The friendly shops and stalls nearby your neighbourhood? How many of these Old Places are still around today in modern cosmopolitan Singapore? Looking back a documentary production, known as Old Places, by Royston Tan, Eva Tang and Victric Thng, shown on Okto Channel a year ago. This beautiful documentary definitely strikes a deep deep chord inside me, brought me back many memories to my childhood days, when I was growing up. This documentary also motivated and got me started to documenting, photographing and sharing my own personal Old Places photojournalistic journey, using the Old Places locations as a guide and the journey so far is enriching and humbling, as we marched forward into the future, we must not forget our roots, traditions, cultures and Old Places!
The passion and desire by the people behind Old Places, the heart and soul, Royston, Eva and Victric, to document and capture them down before they are gone forever from Singapore’s landscape and into books, let’s all stand up and put our hands together and give them a big warm round of applause!
On 7th May 2011, it was their official launch of their Old Places DVD at Takashimaya Kinokuniya bookstore and they were there to meet their supporters, share their thoughts and experiences and autographed Old Places DVD too! Being an avid supporter of their works and a strong supporter and advocator to preserve Old Places, I was there to buy a copy, got their autographs and shake their hands, congratulating them on an awesome job well done!
We all can make a difference here, to spread, share and tell our current generation to preserve our unique culture, heritage, history and Old Places, if not, our future generation will probably be looking at it from their laptops, tablets, books or photos and unable to see, feel and experience it for themselves. As much as growth and expansion is imminent and it is a human’s trait to improve for a better life and living, we do not need to take away our Old Places and make way for them.
Together, we can all play a part and keep our Old Places alive!
Likewise, I cannot agree more on how important it is for us to have memories – be it in still or video – of the old places in Singapore. As much as I agree on how essential it is for our country to continue to develop (don’t get me wrong, im in awe of modern architecture and skyscrapers too), but I personally think it is also crucial to keep the balance by preserving some of the places that had once, played such a significant role in the creation of our country and its culture. Been trying to preserve those memories for myself by documenting my journey on my blog too and it’s always inspiring to see a fellow Singaporean doing likewise because frankly, many people i know prefer spending their time to shop! LOL.
By the way, i love your series on Old Places, especially the playgrounds (i just visited some of them today) and abandoned railway tracks. Managed to visit the Bukit Timah station a couple weeks’ back but haven’t got the chance to walk along the rails. Thanks for being a source of inspiration!