....and the beat goes on.

It was just before the mid-sixties that the British Invasion came on.

Nope, not a military invasion, occupation or colonisation, but a world-wide musical phenomena in which the pop charts were DOMINATED by Bristish pop groups or singers!

Boy, was I glad to be around during that era, right from my pre-teen to teenage years.

The Beatles led the way, with many many other British pop artistes and bands leaving behind a torrent of memorable hits like "You'll Never Walk  Alone" (Gerry & The Pacemakers), "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" (Manfred Mann), "I Can't Get No... Satisfaction" (Rolling Stones), "Blowin' In The Wind" (Bob Dylan), "There's A Kind Of Hush" (Herman's Hermits),

"Glad It's All Over" (Dave Clark 5).... The list would go on and on until the late 60's. That was the British Invasion of the Pop Charts.

In the US, Elvis was lying low having done not too well in his movies, Nat King Cole died, but Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davies Jr (the Rat Pack) still hanged around with absolutely soothing vocals. Unfortunately to me, it looked like they were tailoring themselves just for dinner concerts in the Casinos of Las Vegas.

Sonny & Cher, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Little Stevie Wonder and great bands like Chicago, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Led Zeppelin, The Band, Grateful Dead, Blood Sweat & Tears, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, The Canned Heat then emerged on the scene ....and the music scene became more balanced.

I had a great time, I had learned how to play the guitar and even write a few songs of my own. My chums from my neighbourhood also took a liking for musical instruments and singing.

Soon we were doing jam and "very small" gig sessions in the "Mah-Hua Kung Hui" in Malay Street every Friday night - a service center of a chinese political party overseeing the interests of malaysian chinese. Of course, we told them that one of our interests is in music, and a good set of instruments will keep us off bad company or gangsterism. Our wish was granted, and at that time our favourite songs to play were those by the Bee Gees.

By August 1969, three non-stop days of peace and music came alive at Woodstock in Yasgur's 600-acre farm... Hippies were, already "everywhere", lobbyists and practioneers of peace, love and freedom of speech. The hippie culture spread like bushfire even in the quaint old neighbourhood I lived in. Half a million of them were at Woodstock '69. I may not be a hippie, but how I wish then, and even till this day, if only I have been there to experience it. Yes Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Santana             

 ..........Richie Havens, Melanie, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez were among scores of other great musicians who opened up with great acts. Woodstock changed the musical landscape completely!

Flowers in the hair, peace chants, psychedelic clothings, glue sniffing and marijuana (grass or pot) smoking was the banal culture. Drug addiction soon caught many acquaintances of mine swallowing designer pills like MX, or "chasing the dragon" - sniffing coke,  heroin etc. It became worse with LSD and morphine addictions. Needless to say some of my neighbourhood friends and schoolmates sadly died from this escapist hippie activity.

This "flower power" influence came from the movies in a small way, and a big way from the hippies who "migrated" to Penang with hordes of them staying in budget hotels or loafing around Chulia Street, Penang Road and the beaches of Batu Ferringhi. They just wanted to be near the place of action, Vietnam that is, and spread a little love or protest the war...

(Penang was a former British Colony and it's the next best "cool" & "groovy" place after Thailand - and the nearest safe & accessible place for them to let their hair "all hang down"!)

Man, it was bad. The Vietnam war was bad.

This self-inflicted damage by drug addiction accrued from the anger and frustrations of this war that America had no business to be in.

The dead, the half-dead, and the trauma of the civilians and soldiers led to many a Vietnam war protests, and many of this feelings were conveyed through the music of Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Arthur Brown ("War!...What Is It Good For?....Absolutely Nothing!), Joan Baez and many many others.

The hippies also taught us the art of "tie & dye" to be psychedelic and groovy. It was an absolute experience for me. The music and the culture of the flower children is indescribable and it shaped the way of things to come.

Many hippies in later life became great people in business and industry, but some laggards are still there living in the past... like this couple...or maybe they only became "hip" in later part of their lives.

Yep, hope you enjoyed this little story - especially if you didn't had that chance to experience it the way, and at the time I did.

Peace and Luv To Ya, brothers and sisters!

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

....and those were the days, my friend.

"Get Out!.....and stand outside, by the door!"

That was the voice of gorgeous Ms. Georgina Wong, our Primary 3 English Teacher in 1963.

So there I went and there I stood, a first time punishment for me in school. There has to be a first time for everything, I said to myself - but I was so afraid, and so worried that my whole world would simply "be gone" should any of my classmates break this news to mum later.

But soon I was enjoying the view outside the class. The tall bamboo trees, green field, and a heritage building which is today the State Museum. My classmates are surely missing this wonderful view, and what a nice breeze! ...and it's blowing away all my worries.

Just as I got carried away by the scenery and cool winds, I was suddenly stunned by the sudden appearance of the headmaster Mr. Chin Nyoon Nyean. He beckoned my teacher to where I was standing and asked what business I have along the corridors.

She explained.

"Show me your song book," HM cooly asked, and sticking out my tongue, I quickly went to my desk to collect it for his checking.

Die-lah!....

"This is the song he was copying on to the song book. He was doing this when he should be paying attention in class", gorgeous quickly justified her action on me.

"...and what have you got to say, little boy?" the HM asked.

I stuttered and stammered, "I, I, I..... am sorry, Sir!"

"Good, do you know the meaning of this song?"

"Yes Sir! It...it..is, is...about Not Responsible"

"....and do you know what it means?"

"Yes, Sir... I have not been responsible"

"Good, ....and who sang this song?"

"He..,He....Helen Shar..piro."

"Good. ....and now you shall sing this song at our year end Speech, Concert & Prize Giving Day. You have nice hand-writing, you learn for your age many difficult english words from the songs you have copied, and you look intelligent enough not to be standing at the corridor when class is in progress. I hope you are a good singer too, but if you aren't, you still have a lot of time to practise....in your shower at home, at your own time. Understand?"

"Yes, Sir!"....and I went back to class. Ms. Georgina Wong was a bit pissed by HM overturning her disciplinary action on me, but I developed a great respect for both of them; and I thought HM was a far-sighted person, very out-of-the-box in his handling of my case.

In the months to come, I still continued with my song book, copying latest songs, decorating the book with "original" artwork and fancy handwritings.

The english movies Dad brought me to each weekend also helped, and soon I was way ahead of my classmates in the english subject. By the year end exams, I was tops! 

Best grade among all pupils in Primary 3, and I was awarded 2 book prizes. By then, I had "matured" and I selected hard cover novels of Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist, and Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Cool!.... mum & dad's gonna be very happy!

Then I realised that on Speech, Concert & Prize Giving Day, I still have to sing "Not Responsible" ....when HM reminded me as I was browsing for the book prize, "Congratulations little boy!..and don't forget your promise, huh!"

"May I change it to another song?"

"Not a song by Elvis the Pelvis, please." He could read my mind.

It was immediately a done deal when I suggested some thing more appropriate in an oldie-folksie "Papa, He Loves Mama"

....Had the Beatles

been on the scene earlier, I would have been belting out loud, "I Wanna Hold Your Haaaaand" to Ms. Georgina Wong, a gorgeous teacher who should be in her seventies now. I hope she is still around, and gorgeous for her age.

Thanks georgeous,

you had a big hand in my learning of english as a subject.

....and now for some real shooting.

As I blog about the happiness and joy of living in a heritage city, I can't help but laugh about the fights I get into -like kite-fighting, fish-fighting, tops-fighting, fighting for marbles, sibling-fights, real fights with "chums", ...and the shootings we do, -like shooting marbles, shooting tops, and shooting pigeons, crows and windows with our sling-shots.

Those were just but the tip of the ice-berg, more will be shared with you later, for the meantime I had been pondering about cameras.

Today, I have 2 "nobody-wants-it" half-a-century old cameras on display at home. It gets more and more sentimental and nostalgic with me and each day passes by.

...and if you have been wondering why I was away from my blog, it's because of my tinkering and study of a brand new EOS 550D dSLR for the past 3 days. And comparing the features and functions between the old and new, mankind has indeed vastly improved by leaps and bounds, I think beyond measure.

If anyone has been incarcerated for the past 30 years and released today, he wouldn't know how the ATM works, computers and hand-phones will be a complete mystery, the internet which we now take for granted will be his number one Wonder of the World. Everything will be so puzzling to him.

Everything today is so much different from those top-spinning, fish-fighting, kite-flying, marbles playing or sling-shooting days of the 50's, 60's, and 70's kids indulge in. But I can tell you that the good ol' days are still the good ol' days.

Older folks just need to learn new stuff, use it, or even make use of the technology readily available cheaply today like this bearded learned one....

It is indeed sorry for many older folks who shunned today's technical amenities and capabilities. Many still live in the past, ....like Popeye's mum? kekeke....

I just don't forget the past, I make full use of past experiences and move on.

It's so easy. See in 3 days, I can take marvellous manual shots, at least to me, ....and I'm fully satisfied and all worked up to go further.

....and here I am, a doting grand-pop showing and encouraging my grand-child to "quickly" get started with Facebook and Twitter.

Kinda ebullient you may say, but baby Scarlett seems to like the "mouse"....and that is a pretty good sign.

and now, other games for shooters!

I never gave up spinning tops. Even after having my tops confisticated by dad, I went with my chums to other rendezvous in Malay Street or Victoria Street. But the toil to get there by foot in has put a toll on us. There has to be another more acceptable game closer to home, and I soon found it.... at age eleven.

Marbles!!.... yep, marbles.

Marble shooting is sometimes considered a harmless game... for sissies if you will. But once you get the wind of it, man you can surely get addicted.

We get to line up 10 to 20 marbles, 5 players with each putting out and equal share for a match. Then we go "one, two, som!" to decide who shoots first. Once settled, we take position and our turns 15 feet away and ...shoot! Each has a turn, but too bad if you're the last few shooters and those before you has already taken your marbles, and you're left with nothing to shoot...hehehe!

Each of us have what we called the "ling-gu" (a rolling buffalo). This is the King, the best roller with the best roundness, and it is the most most reliable shooter in your arsenal.

You never play marbles until you lose your "ling-gu" - that will be a total disgrace in the sport. We keep "ling-gus" separately and carefully, the other marbles are just the "infantry" for match shoot-outs.

You should see how we fine sandpaper a carefully  "chosen one" (the "lingu" marble) to give it the concentricity, to give best feel and to perform the best twirl in a shoot-out.

Of course, the game normally ends with some arguments, or worst cases - a week-long infection of grumpiness, or even instant fights! ....yea, fights (yet again)! and who says this is a sissy's game? This marble shooting stuff is a prelude to big fights! This is more so, if you have sore or bad losers in the game. Never mind the born losers. They don't complain.

The perception of kids then is to own as many marbles as possible by shooting wins. The more you have, the more "steady" ("cool", in today's lingo) you are. Sometimes "show-offs" will walk "clink-clinking" around the neighbourhood with bulging pocketful of marbles. That activity makes them look awesome! 

But we needed another activity that is not so cumbersome, ....so yet again we quickly found another sport that is very close to marble shooting. Sling-shots!...yea, sling-shots

...and those "infantry" marbles came in real handy! Our marbles became our slings' "bullets".

Sling-shooting is quite a game, and suddenly we're not looked upon as sissies any more. We have become more "macho", more "terror", more "mischievous", and of course now we look more like "phuay liu-wahs" - walking around like predators searching for their targets!

What target?... at first they were pigeons., and it was miserable watching 'em stunned or dead on the floor,  and fellow pigeons mourn their passing. Pigeons were easily found in Pitt Street and their owners always shooed us away. So, targets are not so many.


But crows.... crows don't have masters and they are scavengers. We were doing a public and the Penang City Council a big favour by shooting them down with our home-made sling-shots.

"There!.......there're six of them!"

Thik-Looku was so excited.... "THERE!!!" 

We took aims and upon the last count to three...and slinged it!!!!

"wHAM!" ..............x 6!

....well, one out of six ain't bad. This game is really something.

Meaningful results until of course, we break a few windows, and then run for our lives!!!...lest we want to be slugged!

....and what else to spin?

Tops!  ...of course.

That's one of the top games for kids in our neighbourhood.

But alas, some guys just don't grow up and they still keep their tops spinning at adulthood....and they alway "hurt" our tops!....

The tops we spun were not like those flat topped Kelantanese "gasing"....

 

Ours are hardword, rounded at the top half and conal at the bottom half with a nail....yes an iron nail extended from the conal base tip.

The purpose of the nail is to whip your opponents' tops "botak", ...crack 'em into halves if you will; or at least if you can, as much damage as possible to your opponents' tops in a "Top Fight" - it's a tough task for every kid wants to have his top's wood quality harder than the next guy!

We would wind a 2.5 feet rope starting from the base of the top at the initial protrusion of the nail tightly and from shoulder position release the top in various styles to get a good lasting spin....

....on the floor, or pull it back after half release to spin it on your palm...... .....ADA GAYA.

......or when it's your turn to "whip" your opponent's idle or spinning top on the floor in a TOP fight; you can with good skills acquired after several of your own broken tops experiences; you can..... make deep dents of your opponents' tops or even break them in halves.

You're already a "champion" when you can do that. In my short "top-spinning career", I only managed to do that once, and oh wow!...what a feeling!

Lil' sister Siewpoh also wanted to play tops, and Dad bought her, her very own fashionista top for the girls - a flat top like this one..

...and it was broken in no time, ....and her heart also broke at the same time.

"Sob, sob, sob, wah! wah! wah!"..... it was NON-S....Top!!!

The very next day, our tops disappeared - Well, by now you should know who's capable of that kind of that magic trick. Cheekiat and I are only quite capable of the Houdini trick - getting out of "Sure-Die" situations.

Yup, it was dad. Nobody else.

He has made a new one-sided rule in favour of the girls.. "No more tops.... no tops, no heart-stops" - what a spoil sport.

I had to find some "other interesting games", and I did found one, and I'll tell ya...