February 21, 2011

SEDAYA in the old days

To all my friends and students from SEDAYA days!!


Remember how the students had to queue up for their food at meal times?

Food was freshly cooked from supplies sent from Sibu (Sarawak Cold Storage) and the school Students' Food Committee would be controlling the quantity and quality. They were really excellent!
However I remember how easy it was also for the cooks to open up tins of sardines and other types of tinned food at meal times. Often I marvelled at the opened tin cans at the back of the kitchen.


It was nice to know that many girls who had small appetite would pass their surplus food to their fellow boys students who were sitting at the next table.
And most important of all it warms my heart to have met a few good cooks who would pass extra fried ikan bilis to the boarding students who had very little appetite because they were homesick and still not used to Boarding School Food!!


Work party....this made MEN of our boys.....and how often they have come back to me and say that work parties were really good training ground for them.

One YB said that the parang holding has helped him develop a good golf swing!!

And I am sure he is not the only one thinking of that!!


Till today I still love having some vegetables growing in a pot or a box although I have never become a really good farmer or gardener myself.....

\(These photos are from my black and white collection taken in the 1970's)

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sarawakiana,

Very nostalgic seeing old photos. Remember work party very well and it was common in govt schools throughout Swak then. Don't know if that is still practise.

sintaicharles said...

I had always made myself scarce for the weekly(or monthly, I can't be sure) work parties of my class back in my early days at SMK Lutong.I had remained scot-free for many weeks until Mr. Billy Abit decided to take stern action on duty-dodgers like me. I remember receiving a stroke of cane from him. It was painful but edifying.

sintaicharles said...

My Form teacher could never stand the sight of me cutting grass. He would end up taking the scythe(sometimes Parang) from me and doing the cutting. I am still poor in cutting grass to this day. I always leave the job to my father.

Bamboo Flooring said...

The days are yet fresh when we look at the old photos.It reminds us of sweet memories.

Ensurai said...

Anonymous - Work parties are no longer practised in most schools. That's really a pity....and latest news from some teachers...even the school gardeners are no long working as hard. Grass cutting is outsourced to private contractors!! Is this a modern development or a new way of "funds transferring " of good tax payers' money?

Ensurai said...

Ah Charles!!

So Mr. Billy Abit caned you!! I thought he was against caning......

Ensurai said...

Charles
Your form teacher should have taught you to cut grass....the scythe is now almost non existent but it is good to use as a form of exercise. If only I could find one now.

Ensurai said...

Bamboo Flooring...yes it is good to look at old photos...one of my hobbies...

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

where is SEDAYA?

You mean Kanowit school?

Ensurai said...

Your Dad taught in Kanowit Government Secondary School which was named Sekolah Datuk Abdul Rahman Yaakub in 1968!! Named after the chief minister!!

Anonymous said...

Hi, do any one of you students or teachers from Sedaya School remember a Mr Jan-Robert Tanner who taught there as a British volunteer for 2 years from 1976 to 1977? His sister is coming over from England in October and would like to visit the school and meet up with some people who still remembers him. Please email me at irenetansg@hotmail.com if you have any info. TQ

Ensurai said...

Irene
Thanks for writing. I will email you some phone nos you can use...and meanwhile may be some one will pick up the info from my blog.

I left the school in 1975 Dec so missed him..but several of my friends stayed for many more years.

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot! Looking forward to receive those phone nos. It would be wonderful to meet up with those students or co-teachers who still remember him. He has fond memories of the school.

Unknown said...

Hello ,

As an ex student of sedaya from 1963 to 1968 i do appreciate very much the record on grsss cutting as i remembered that normally it was the borders who had to carry this task.
it would be nice if i can be in contact with my former classmates or schoolmates

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