Care & Share Thank You Show “关怀与分享运动”答谢晚会

I was invited to the Care and Share "Thank You" event last night. 4 ministers graced the occasion.

Guest-of-Honour
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies

Special Guests
Mr Heng Swee Kiat, Minister for Finance

Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office

Mr Tan Chuan Jin, Minister for Social and Family Development

Several celebrities performed at this event attended by 4,000 beneficiaries, donors and volunteers. We were not informed who would be the performers.

So I was elated to see Hong Kong popular Cantopop singer Frances Yip. She performed her famous track - Shanghai Bund (1980), to the delighted screams and cheers of her fans. She looks so good at age 69. Wow.


The other celebrities were Dick Lee and Joi Chua.

In December 2013, the Care and Share Movement was started to mark the 50th anniversary of Singapore's independence in 2015.

Over a period of more than two years, with the Government matching dollar-for-dollar to donations received, a total of S$1.3 billion were distributed to more than 240 charities for the benefit of many.

28th April 2016
The Max Pavilion @ Singapore Expo

2016年4月28日（星期四），晚上7时正，假新加坡博览中心（The Max Pavilion）举行“关怀与分享运动”答谢晚会。大会主宾为副总理兼经济及社会政策统筹部长尚达曼先生。其他3位出席活动的部长是财政部长王瑞杰先生，新加坡总理公署部长陈振声先生和社会及家庭发展部长陈川仁先生。

配合2015年我国庆祝独立50周年，公益金在2013年连同本地约240个志愿福利团体发动大规模的“关怀与分享运动”。运动获得政府以一元对一元的方式捐款支持，在这期间筹得1,300,000,000元。

昨晚我应邀和4000位受益人，捐赠者和志愿者参加答谢活动晚会。有数位实力派歌手参与演出。

我们没有被告知谁是表演者。叶丽仪的到来让大家都有些兴奋。叶丽仪演唱百听不厌的经典老歌 -上海滩（1980年）, 赢得群众如雷般的掌声。哇! 69岁的她, 还是那么漂亮!

演唱者还有新加坡流行音乐女歌手蔡淳佳, 本地资深音乐人李迪文。

Remembering Singapore's Founding Prime Minister Mr.Lee Kuan Yew 纪念建国总理李光耀逝世一周年

Singapore President Dr.Tony Tan and the First Lady placing flowers at the

Lee Kuan Yew's tribute site at Istana Park,

My husband and I were invited to join Singapore President Dr.Tony Tan and the First Lady to pay tribute to our late founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who died on March 23 last year, aged 91.

The event "Remembering Singapore's Founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew" was held at Istana Park on 23-03-2016.

我们夫妇受邀与新加坡总统陈庆炎博士和第一夫人在总统府公园纪念建国总理李光耀逝世一周年。

Bouquets and cards were left at the Istana Park to commemorate the first anniversary of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's death.

Present at the event were grassroots volunteers, representatives from various associations and organisations.

人民协会在总统府正对面的公园（Istana Park）设追思处，并展出李光耀生前在多个场合拍摄的珍贵历史照片。

President Dr.Tony Tan and Chief Executive Director of People's Association Ang Hak Seng
 chatting with my husband.

The remembrance site at Istana Park will be opened to the public from 19 March until 27 March 2016.

在总统府公园设立的"李光耀纪念专区"将从2016年3月19日到3月27日公开开放, 让公众前往缅怀。

Happy Deepavali 2015 屠妖节快乐

Celebrate the triumph of Goodness over evil. 

May this bright day bless you with health, wealth and prosperity. 

Happy Deepavali.

祝大家有个愉快的假期！屠妖节快乐！

Mediacorp Subaru Challenge 2015 比耐力赢轿车比赛

Mediacorp Subaru Challenge 2015 kicked off on 31st October at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza. It has been moved indoors (the first time in 14 years) because of the unpredictable haze conditions.

400 participants - 320 from Singapore and 80 from Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam - are competing for the top prize of a Subaru XV 1.6 I-S (worth up to S$115,000 including COE) with S$5,000 worth of free fuel from Shell.

Regional contestants will also be eligible for extra cash prizes such as S$1,000 for Country Winner and S$5,000 for the last standing regional contestant.

Competitors get a 5-minute break once every six hours at 7 pm, 1 am, 7 am and
1 pm throughout the competition.

Mdm Peng   Mdm Peng (in her 50s) is competing for the first time in the challenge. She was still going strong at the 26th hour when I took this picture. I wish her all the best.

I met Mdm Peng's son and his girlfriend who came to give their support on the second day.  Glad to see Elizabeth Chua (6-time participant) and Analiza Mokhtar (9-time participant), who was the 2014 runner-up, taking up the challenge again. These ladies are super tough. :)

The winner of Mediacorp Subaru Challenge 2014 is G Jaishanker who outlasted 399 contestants with a record time of 82 hours and 16 minutes. 

Will the record be broken again this year?

At the 26th hour on the second day, about 40% of the competitors remained.

Wish all the competitors good luck, may the best man or woman win.

Happy Vesak Day!

I visit Fo Guang Shan (Singapore) monastery for the first time today with my family for the Vesak Day celebrations.

The extremely hot weather did not deter thousands of devotees from joining long queues for prayer offerings. Our elders went for the "bathing Buddha" ritual.

While I waited for them, I jostled with the crowds for some photos of the beautiful floral displays. :)

Have a blessed Vesak Day!

Happy New Year 2015!

Happy New Year!

My wishes for you, 

great start for Jan, 

Love for Feb, 

Peace for March, 

No worries for April, 

Fun for May, 

Joy for June to Nov, 

Happiness for Dec. 

 Have a Lucky and Wonderful 2015!

Christmas Celebration 2014 @ Kovan Market

Received an invite to Workers' Party Paya Lebar Division's Christmas Celebration party.

They held 3 separate Christmas celebrations at Hainan Market, Minton and Kovan market on a Sunday.

We could only attend the celebration at Kovan Market as we had to attend to my Dad who was hospitalised and also helped out in an AGM at our clan.

Glad to meet the friendly volunteers who had worked tirelessly to put together fun and entertaining programmes for the residents.

My extended family are grateful to Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament Mr Chen Show Mao and his grassroot leaders for their concern, donations and visit during our recent bereavement.

Time passes so quickly, my family are ending our 100-day mourning of my mother-in-law this Christmas Eve.

Photo Credit: Adrian Sim

Whimsical Log Cake Decorating Competition 2012 - Ruby Tuesday

Winner Jessie Hoo and Chef Alex Yen

27 participants took part in a log cake decorating contest at Marina Square Shopping Mall on 23 December 2012. I noticed several senior citizens, young children and young teens participating in the contest.

All participants were given a time limit of 60 minutes to decorate a log cake. Decorating cream (white) weighing 1kg was provided with spatula. The contestants had to supply their own decoration and piping materials, eg candies, lollipops, paper, adhesive, styrofoam and other support materials.

Mother and son team

Contestants are judged for their Creativity, Presentation, Originality and Decorative Details. The panel of judges included Pastry Chef Alex Yen who won the Food and Hotel Silver Medal for plated dessert in 1992.

First Prize : Winter Dream

Champion Jessie Hoo won a Samsung Galaxy S3 worth $998, $300 worth of shopping vouchers and a O’Coffee Club Log cake. Congratulations!

Second Prize : Christmas Dream 

Angry Bird Log Cake by a young teen

Have a Rocking Christmas!

Singapore Lions Crowned Champions of AFF Suzuki Cup

Singapore Lions, the Kings of Asean football

Singapore Lions beat Thailand 3-2 on aggregate for their record 4th Asean crown on Saturday. Singapore leaders PM Lee Hsien Loong and DPM Teo Chee Hean were among the first to send their congratulations to the Singapore national football team for their win at the AFF Suzuki Cup.


The Lions returned to a hero's welcome at Singapore Changi Airport this afternoon. More than 600 fans greeted the champions. The players, officials and family members were then taken on a victory parade via an open-top bus which travelled through Orchard Road before heading to Jalan Besar Stadium for a victory reception.


More than a thousand screaming supporters welcomed the Lions at their den at the Jalan Besar Stadium. While the celebrations was prohressing, many more supporters arrived from all over Singapore to congratulate our newly crowned champions.


Singapore has won the regional AFF Suzuki Cup (formerly known as the 'Tiger Cup') three times in 1998, 2005 and 2007. The Lions are crowned the champions of South-east Asia for a record fourth time. For departing national coach Radojko Avramovic, it is the perfect send-off on his final game with Singapore.

Skipper Shahril Ishak is named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and received a US$10,000 cheque for his efforts throughout the tournament.

 Congratulations to our Lions! Roar! Roar! Roar!

Venerable Master Hsing Yun Held Refuge-taking & Five Precepts Ceremony cum Prayer for the Public @Singapore

As an avid reader of Venerable Master Hsing Yun's books, I was pretty excited that he was coming to Singapore. Venerable Master Hsing Yun is a Chinese Buddhist monk, author, philanthropist, and founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order, which has branches throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.

I am a Christian but I enjoy reading his books which show what it means to lead a good life, and offer practical advice, based on the Buddhist teachings, as to how this can be accomplished .

My husband went around 'begging' for tickets to the event. Most of the 10,000 tickets were given out. A friend finally passed us two tickets. The Refuge-taking and Five Precepts Ceremony cum Prayer for the Public was held at Singapore Indoor Stadium on 18 November 2012.

台湾佛光山开山宗长星云大师，11月18日在新加坡室内体育馆主持“三皈五戒暨为社会大众祈愿祝祷”法会, 弘扬佛法。入场免费。

Before the start of the ceremony, there were several spectacular performances by devotees from Singapore and Taiwan.

我在场观看, 法会好庄严, 宏观, 祥和气氛呀！

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan was the Guest of Honour at this ceremony.

国家发展部长许文远是座上宾。

There were about 10000 or more people at the stadium, 2000 of them were there to take the 3 refuges and 5 precepts.

室内体育馆座无虚席，到场公众约1万人，还包括来自本地各个佛教团体的代表。

85 year-old Master Hsing Yun is still very alert. He asked all devotees to recite after him “我是佛" and encouraged them to recite it daily so that they will be mindful of their actions.


星云大师在法会上说︰「所谓皈依佛，就是自己承担自己是佛，跟自己说『我是佛』，承认自己是佛，天地为之变色，世间因为承担而改变。」大师也强调，所谓皈依三宝，不需要吃素、受戒和出家，只要信奉佛教，不要改变即可。人们常求长寿、发财、家庭平安，但只要受「五戒」，就能不求自得。

Among the topics he considers are controlling the body and speech, overcoming greed, ending anger, having patience under insult, managing wealth, getting along with others, what it means to practice Buddhism, and the blessings and joys of that practice.

星云大师分享: 皈依佛有了阳光，皈依法有了法水，皈依僧有了福田，三归有了精神信仰。五戒，不杀生仍不杀人，不偷窃即不拿别人的，不邪淫别搞婚外情，不妄语其善意慌言不算破戒，不喝酒即不喝醉不吸毒。总之五戒就是教你不犯法。三归恶道除名，五戒可生极乐。三归五戒，你自由他自在，造就和睦家庭，和谐世界!

大师妙语如珠, 所说的例子非常贴近日常生活，很实际。 对大师幽默的讲故事，大道理 ，有深刻的印象。

Happy 21st Birthday!!

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed 

by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. 

So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. 

Catch the trade winds in your sails.  

Explore. Dream. Discover.

好神奇，今天是你降临到这个绚丽多彩的美好人间的21周年纪念日哦！

祝你 : 健健康康，开开心心的，珍惜把握好现在，努力勇敢的去做喜欢的事情。

要多感恩，多付出，认真一点，简单一点，就会收获无尽的快乐和幸福。

St Patrick's Day in Singapore - RT

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

A unique event with a mix of expatriate and local communities

EastCoastLife goes green on Ruby Tuesday. hehe.....

St Patrick's Day celebration started on Sunday afternoon in Singapore. The Irish Business Association held its 4th parade along the Singapore River. It was raining heavily but it did not dampen the spirits of those who turned out in full force to attend the celebrations.

These youths were having a party!

bagpipes performance from students of St Joseph Institution

Youngsters' fun day out

Little drummer boy

I went there to see the popular Star Wars contingent but did not catch them. :(

St Patrick's Day Parade
Sunday 15th March 2009


Ruby Tuesday

First Commenter - Mei Teng