tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post7584028863482626655..comments2024-03-03T20:31:09.646+08:00Comments on Second Shot: Where was this Elephant at Seraya Crescent?Icemoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174805596607457468noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-75026775954465485272012-06-07T17:50:17.674+08:002012-06-07T17:50:17.674+08:00@Icemoon,
Actually if you noticed, the motif abov...@Icemoon,<br /><br />Actually if you noticed, the motif above the gate seems to be the original design for all houses. Using google street view, notice that there are a couple or so houses still have this gate. But interesting, move down to unit #12, notice the house still has the orginal gate with the motif, but this time, it doesn't have the front handle bars as exactly to the '66 photo. And 1 more interesting thing, see the unit opposite the road, it is sitting on a broken granite wall! And steps running down the wall to the road! And the road is still inclining. But there seems to be a slight problem, the angle of the motif gate to the granite wall seems a bit off. So it could also be unit #10/#8, which also could mean the said motif gate is no longer existing.MCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-48232568455394953652012-04-20T10:22:45.768+08:002012-04-20T10:22:45.768+08:00Thanks to oldies like Edward who reminisces how Se...Thanks to oldies like Edward who reminisces how Sembawang Hills Estate was like during the early days. I crossed the road in my <a href="http://2ndshot.blogspot.com/2012/04/porsche-at-sembawang-hills-estate.html" rel="nofollow">latest blog post</a> to check out the Phase 2 houses. They still retain the favour of the original design!Icemoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08174805596607457468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-15899049138171813812012-02-28T18:39:51.562+08:002012-02-28T18:39:51.562+08:00Hi, I remebered watching a performance at TTK Circ...Hi, I remebered watching a performance at TTK Circus in the late 60s. I was staying at Jalan Bukit Merah then and the circus tent was pitched on an empty field opposite Blk 105 (where I stayed). The field is now filled with flats. Back then, the circus helpers were leading the elephants during feeding time plucking leaves from the trees which lined the road.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-14658763744729130232012-02-28T12:10:24.981+08:002012-02-28T12:10:24.981+08:00Thanks FL for sharing. I'd like to believe, li...Thanks FL for sharing. I'd like to believe, like Jumbo, the elephant is still alive too. I wonder what happened to the circus animals?<br /><br />Meaningful cloud ... you staying in Seraya Crescent?! Yes, the photo taken in 1966. If possible maybe you like to chat with the occupant of #24, who may be the original occupant of the house in 1966! You can show them the photo and produce the real second shot. If you are interested, email me and we take this offline. :)Icemoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08174805596607457468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-28929701107316592272012-02-26T21:57:38.907+08:002012-02-26T21:57:38.907+08:00I'm a relatively new resident in seraya cresce...I'm a relatively new resident in seraya crescent. The picture shown indeed looks like seraya crescent. In fact u still can find the low granite retaining walls in units 47 & 49. However, what is puzzling is the clear color photos supposedly taken in 1966..?Meaningful cloudnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-14293127621265643732012-02-04T19:49:52.829+08:002012-02-04T19:49:52.829+08:00Hi, Icemoon,I read with interest about your refere...Hi, Icemoon,I read with interest about your reference to possibly a Tai Thean Kew (TTK) Circus pitched at a site at Sembawang Hill Estate in the sixties. However, I do remember there was a circus (not sure the name)at a vacant field (now Bishan Park) along Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 around 1984 or so. The cirucs site was somewhere opposite the present Blks 235 or 244. I knew about it because I was on official field duties around the that area then. I hope some older residents in AMK still staying there, could be able to confirm it. When our family was staying in a kampong in Tanjong Pagar (formerly S'pore Harbour Board land), there was indeed a TTK Circus right at our kampong doorstep !! That was around 1961 or 1962. We were lucky then because as kids we loved the circus with all the wild animals.FLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03429286415685838183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-80985665593156834662012-02-01T13:30:05.082+08:002012-02-01T13:30:05.082+08:00the average life span of elephant can be up to 70 ...the average life span of elephant can be up to 70 years old<br /><br />i'd like to believe that the elephant is still alive today :Pjumbonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-82620152267058198752012-02-01T13:29:15.344+08:002012-02-01T13:29:15.344+08:00When I went back a second time before CNY, the doo...When I went back a second time before CNY, the door (not the gate) was wide open in #24 but there was a dog. I figure it is better to collect more information in the blog first, before asking the owner, "did you rent out your house in the 1960s to an ang moh family?"<br /><br />As to #59 and #57, we can kind of forget it. #57 is advertised for rent and #59 (with the white wall) is occupied by this young Caucasian man, maybe expat. He would not know the house's history.Icemoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08174805596607457468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-47215057861831284302012-02-01T10:45:56.967+08:002012-02-01T10:45:56.967+08:00I'm the same Anon who posted the first comment...I'm the same Anon who posted the first comment. Just want to add that the mysterious pole in the 1966 photo is probably not the pillar shown in photo 4. <br /><br />The pillar appears to be thicker. It would cover a larger portion of the photo if the photographer was standing behind it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-39052970636588578132012-02-01T10:19:23.921+08:002012-02-01T10:19:23.921+08:00Icemoon, why don’t you dispel all your doubts by a...Icemoon, why don’t you dispel all your doubts by a face-to-face enquiry with the occupants of #59 and #57? The surrounding neighbours could also be of some assistance. This may seem somewhat intrusive, but there is the added opportunity to promote Second Shot and GMY to them! Many of the original residents would have sold out and moved onto other areas. My memory of Phase 1 (where Seraya Crescent is situated) is not good mainly because I hardly had much to do with that part of the estate (which is across Upper Thomson Road from Phase 2) during the mid 60s.Edwardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-24492404452724982072012-01-31T22:10:19.526+08:002012-01-31T22:10:19.526+08:00I think Icemoon has got it right. As for that gate...I think Icemoon has got it right. As for that gate; very very unlikely that it is the same gate after nearly 40 years. I have been staying in the same house for about 25 years and I have changed my gate twice.Lam Chun Seehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01762020157703342970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-69253147170272492252012-01-31T20:09:08.736+08:002012-01-31T20:09:08.736+08:00If I assume the house owner with the granite wall ...If I assume the house owner with the granite wall has demolished his wall to make it level with the street today, he would have to demolished his house/rebuilt to make it level with the street too. <br /><br />If you ask the question whether his semi-d neighbour did likewise to rebuild the house. If he did then you have a pair of new semi-ds at the same level with the street. This way it will be difficult to find the former 1966 houses.<br /><br />The strongest clue is the sloping road; this does not change.peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-61539891414140042102012-01-31T20:02:45.854+08:002012-01-31T20:02:45.854+08:001966 pic has a granite retaining wall, which means...1966 pic has a granite retaining wall, which means to say that the house was built on a higher ground than street level. The granite wall also indicates that one owner of the semi-d house has concrete steps as his "main gate" whereas his neighbour who owns the other half of the house has a main gate with a short driveway. Your modern day pic - the last one in particular has a side road whereas the owner with the driveway shares a common fence with his other neighbour to his right.<br /><br />Also the elephant seemed to be walking uphill. You probably have to find the street in that area which has a slope. Sloping roads are seldom raised unless there is a history of flooding.<br /><br />Chances are the house could have been demolished.peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-62477021560339053802012-01-31T19:59:09.912+08:002012-01-31T19:59:09.912+08:00Icemoon, I don’t think Upper Thomson Road was a 6...Icemoon, I don’t think Upper Thomson Road was a 6-lane dual carriageway with a central divider island during the 60s. There were no pedestrian crossings as well. I notice from Google maps that there are trees on the central divider island. All these were absent during the late 50s to the 60’s. I vaguely recall that Upper Thomson Road was quite narrow, 2 lanes each way. The road was probably widened after the mid 70s. The traffic along Upper Thomason Road would have been much lighter in the 60s as the surrounding area was less populated. During this period Ang Moh Kio was not yet built; the region behind Jalan Lanjut in Phase 2 was entirely rural.<br />Yes, the estate has undergone dramatic changes since my departure. Up to the mid 70s there were no two-storey houses there. All the homes were either 3 bedroom terraced or semi-detached bungalows. Not all houses have a parking space within the property. Jalan Lanjut, for example, is fairly steep and most of the houses are raised above ground level. Residents have to park along the street. Today all the houses in Phase 2 have been rebuilt. Now you see 2 and 3 storey houses in every street. The entire Phase 2 has been transformed from a typical working class estate to an exclusive upper class estate. This was a big surprise to me when I took a tour of Phase 2 via Google map. I could not recognise most of the streets there. And this was my home town for 2 decades.<br />Over the years I’ve looked at Robin’s photo several times and became more and more convinced that the street could well be Seraya Crescent. From your investigative experience I gather that you are also convinced that it is Seraya Crescent. That makes the two of us! Nice article and good photos too.Edwardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-50843920798811955942012-01-31T19:35:25.522+08:002012-01-31T19:35:25.522+08:00Hi. Unfortunately I do not have Robin's email ...Hi. Unfortunately I do not have Robin's email so I cannot refer to it. But he did refer to it as Seraya Crescent. As for whether or not this is the same place, I guess only people who have stayed there before can confirm. Perhaps I should alert my readers to come here and give their views.Lam Chun Seehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01762020157703342970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-31596987065312668072012-01-31T17:39:28.417+08:002012-01-31T17:39:28.417+08:00Good observation by Anon. What gave the game away ...Good observation by Anon. What gave the game away was the gate motif and pillar. It is possible gates were similar in the 60s, but I thought it is such a coincidence you have this pair of gate and pillar at Seraya Crescent! Furthermore the inclination of the road pretty much restrict the houses to one side of a sloping road. Maybe Robin can tell us where was the photo taken, lolIcemoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08174805596607457468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-82685237674614637332012-01-31T00:03:39.667+08:002012-01-31T00:03:39.667+08:00good observation from anonymous...
could it due to...good observation from anonymous...<br />could it due to similar gates owned by the neighbours in the 60s?<br /><br />anyway good effort by the author!jumbonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729881438055696073.post-49513438833077211932012-01-30T10:18:04.000+08:002012-01-30T10:18:04.000+08:00I notice that in the 1966 photo, the gate has a ho...I notice that in the 1966 photo, the gate has a horizontal bar dividing it into upper and low halves. The gate shown in photo 4 (the photo where you have the red arrow) does not have the horizontal bar. <br /><br />Also, it has side rails whereas the one in the 1966 photo does not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com