Memories of Food Vendors and Games in the 1950s

 In those days, there were few toys available in shops, and nothing much to appeal to the youths in my community which was largely made up of working class families. The affluent could afford toys such as Meccano engineering sets. Board games such as the Western and Chinese chess, and draughts were easily available and affordable. However, these games did not appeal to the more adventurous teenagers. They were more interested in toys that could be used as 'weapons' to play among themselves or to shoot at birds. One such popular toy was the catapult. The game of Chapteh was normally played by younger kids. The skills require were not complex and also there were no 'trophies' to be won. It was purely a sporting contest among participants. The only piece of equipment needed was the ' chapteh' (somewhat similar to a shuttle cock) The challenge was for each contestant to keep the ' chapteh' aloft with his feet. The players would keep count on the number of ...

  One  season that drew keen interest each year as it came along was the kite season . This was during the October to December months which coincided with the North-East monsoon when the stronger wind conditions were ideal for flying the paper kites. This season had a larger following than the others, as it drew participation not only  among the youths but also some adults. There were essentially two categories of kite flyers, There were those who flew mainly ornamental kites for the sheer pleasure of watching them aloft at great heights. Some of these ornamental kites were very decorative with a variety of patterns and attachments such as long trailing tails. There were also names for some patterns, such as "chap sotong"  (pattern resembling cuttle fish based on the Malay word  " sotong"  for cuttle fish). Or   "chap dumb dumb"  (resembling the pattern on draught boards, as the Malay name for the game of draughts is " dumb") The ornamemtal ...

 For many youths, the afternoone were predominantly devoted to recreational pursuits. There were traditional sports like athletics, and games such as soccer, badminton, hockey, table tennis and basketball. These were usually organised and conducted in schools which had the necessary facilities and equipment.  Away from the school environment, there were the "seasonal games" Different periods of the year were designated for games such as kite flying, top spinning contests, marble competitions. There were even seasons for spider fighting and fish fighting .  Participatns stuck very closely to the game of the season. Although there were no exact dates to mark the start and end of each season, there seemed to to be communal agreements on such issues! Somehow, everyone knew what season was on, and if it was the marble season, that was the only game played. Likewise  if was the season for kite flying, there would  be focus on this particular activity and nothing els...

  [Editor:Although the photo shows a hawker centre that was built in the sixties in the vicinity of Farrer of Park, the  food stalls previously lining the street near this football field was a big attraction to the area as well.] I used to live in the vicinity of Farrer Park. It was a huge park which had been in fact a horse-racing track before this activity was relocated to Bukit Timah Turf Club (which is now Turf City and soon to be the location of new HDB flats) There were numerous soccer pitches in the Park, and every afternoon there were matches to watch,  attracting sizeable crowds. It was the place to be at with soccer matches to watch and where food and refreshments were easily available. It was a time when soccer was purely a recreational activity, and the participants were indulging in it for the sheer joy of the game. The size of the crowd of spectators at each pitch was indicative of where the best action would be.  Apart from enjoying the game, spectator...

  The Soya Sauce Hawker I recall another hawker specialising in soy products such as sauces and soya bean paste and fermented soya beans. He had a comprehensive range of sauces from light to dark and sweet to savoury, varying in quality, quantity and price. He also carried a number of fermented soya bean items. These were probably sourced in bulk from factories here, and possibly in Malaya, and re-packaged into quantities more suited for home consumption. His weekly visit was much anticipated. Apart from replenishing the normal soy stock in homes, housewives would seek him out for his special selection of soya items which housewives believed to be far superior to those produced by factories. He had personally created these speciality items and they were touted to be far superior in taste and flavour. I was quite fascinated in the the way he dispensed the sauces.  He had a pump to siphon varying amounts of the sauces into bottles handed to him by the housewives, or provided by ...

  You are looking at a delivery service in the 1950s! Around midnight, a cyclist would patrol the street,  ringing his bicycle bell to announce the availability of his popular pork, chicken and fish porridge. It was indeed a pleasant sound for the hungry and habitual supper crowd.There was apparently a large enough clientele waiting to fill up their stomachs before they could get down to sleep.  People who resided in the upper floors of buildings usually had wicker baskets tied to strings to lower them to the vendor's helper. The orders, together with the cash amounts due would be placed in the baskets. It was convenient and safe, and it was a unique service! I had never seen the stall itself as it must have been stationed away from my residence. Usually the used cutleries were returned the day after, simply by leaving them outside the house for the helper to retrieve them. With most of the population living in high rise apartment blocks today, I wonder what his tasks wou...