November 26, 2016

Hornbill Support Groups

Sarawak is called the Land of the Hornbills. But how many support groups are there to help conserve these magnificient birds?



Jimmy (right) the hornbill with his new mate Juliet.


Piasau Nature Reserve (PNR) in Miri The existence of many totally protected wildlife species like the Oriental Pied Hornbill is said to be one of the agents of change for the conversion of the former Piasau Camp into a nature reserve. 2016





Hornbill Conservation Project


The Oriental Pied Hornbill that has re-established itself in Singapore.
The National Biodiversity Centre, in partnership with Wildlife Reserves Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and researchers Marc Cremades and Ng Soon Chye, implemented the Hornbill Conservation Project to aid in the breeding and recovery of the Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) which had previously went extinct in Singapore but has since started to re-establish itself in places like Pulau Ubin and Changi.[5][6]
Hornbills require tree cavities to nest in. However, tree cavities of sufficient size to accommodate the female hornbill and her young are not common in Singapore. The implementation of artificial nest boxes at Pulau Ubin and Changi have been successful and video cameras are even installed within the nest boxes to provide a better understanding of the behavioural and feeding patterns of these birds.


November 25, 2016

Sibu Tales : Timber Wealth and Handbags

Today handbags can be bought every where and even online.

But in the 60's, many Foochow women in Sibu bought their precious handbags from Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. Any relative going to Singapore would be asked to buy home a few handbags. One school teacher went to Singapore for a holiday.

As she was the mother in law of a rich man, she had quite a bit of money to spend. She bought a dozen, mostly for herself and one for a daughter in law. Of course her own daughter had probably many handbags in different colours which matched her shoes.


Although it would have been nice if this teacher had given her own mother in law a hand bag, she did not. And according to the village gossip, her mother in law was happy carrying a very old handbag given to her by her own daughter about a decade or two before.
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Like this old mother in law, most Foochow women were very frugal. They would never buy a handbag if the old one was still good. Not torn yet.

However the old lady had preferred a simple purse. In fact her cash was kept in a hidden pocket underneath  her Chinese blouse. For the simple things she needed to bring, she had either a rattan basket or a cloth bag, like another old ladies in those days.

November 22, 2016

Great Grand Father's Old Hen and Ngia Soup

Ngia is Chinese mugwort, a popular herb used by the Foochows.

Ngia is planted by the Foochows in their back garden because it is a cooling and useful herb. It is also considered a vegetable.

Normally when a Foochow grandfather is tired from over work, the whole family would get to get ngia cooked with an old hen.



Artemisia argyi Soft Extract


My aunt used to tell me how my small feet great grandmother would get the adopted grand daughter to pluck some ngia from the garden, clean the leaves and start the fire.

Soon great grandmother would get her to slaughter an old hen , chopped it up and boiled together with the ngia soup.

The first bowl of soup would be presented to great grandfather, after the soup had been boiling for about three hours on the slow wood fire stove.

Today it is a fragrant herbal soup, usually prepared by a loving wife or mother for the whole family to enjoy.

November 15, 2016

Sibu Tales : Post Funeral Lunch

The post-funeral meal is as important as ever, though now more often held in a hotel or restaurant than at home. The only difference of a funeral meal and a wedding meal is that funeral meals have tofu dishes, probably because tofu is white. Therefore a post-funeral meal is also called a 'tofu meal' where tens of extended family members gather to honour the dead.

Chinese regard dying of old age without disease as a happy thing. In the funeral meal of such a dead, bowls are sometimes used as a gift to the attendees, and it's believed that a bowl from a funeral meal of such a "dying of old age" will bring good luck and make people who use it live longer. Sometimes you may find that the mood of such a funeral meal is livelier and more festive than that of a wedding.

Sibu : Bicycles

My father bought me one in 1962 when I passed my Common School Entrance Examination. Thus I could cycle to school on my own and join hundreds of other students on the road with my two wheels so proudly
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In those days  all of us would ride with an umbrella placed carefully  from the handle bar diagonally like in the photo above. We needed to pay for bicycle licence to the Urban District Council . It was one dollar per year. We were often checked by the police to see if we had good brakes and good lights at night.

When it rained we opened our umbrellas and cycled with only one hand on the handlebar...it was dangerous but we all did it!!

If you notice the bicycle has a special dynamo for the bicycle lamp. The harder we pedalled the brighter will the the bicycle lamp.

An amusing way of boys trying to get girl friends was by riding alongside with the girls. We were not allowed to ride three abreast or even two abreast. But the brave boys would try to ride next to the girls they liked. Soon the whole town would know who was interested in who!! I know at least one pair who got married and they had a wonderful marriage. He retired not long ago..he was from my class. Well done to him!!

My most memorable event with my bicycle was the trip my classmates and I made one Saturday. We cycled 21 miles to visit the new government school. That day I also had a terrible burn on my right shin because I did not know that a motor bike exhaust pipe could be burning hot...I have that scar on my leg permanently. But I was brave enough to cycle all the way back home with a palm sized skin melting away!! The pain was so unbearable I almost crushed my molars!!

Today the new bicycles are very different from the one shown in the photo...

Soh Mien on First Day of Lunar New Year

 Today 10.2.2024 is the first day of the New Lunar Year of the Dragon. Yes I have cooked the chicken and made the soh mien. Happy New Year!!...