A Delightful Evening in a Court House

Joy of Songs Choral Concert ~ 2 December 2006
Sarawak Tourism Board Theatre
Organised by IMH Academy

Great title right? It is really the old Kuching Court House from the colonial days of Sarawak. I knew the place had a major renovation sometime ago to turn it into an event centre but I wasn't aware that one of the halls was also converted into a theatre.

Okay, on with the evening at hand. I came early with my missus to find the staffers of IMH Academy, a local music school at the entrance welcoming guests. Their relaxed demeanor somehow assures me of a pleasant evening ahead.

I knew it was a concert of sorts but had no idea what kind since I was invited to just show up at the entrance to collect the tickets. I did however wanted to be delighted with something different and perhaps be enchanted. After what seem like the 'usual' wait, the concert started promptly after a short introduction of the stars of the evening. Pretty good, considering our Malaysian 'culture' of not starting things on time.

Ah, the stars of the evening came from Singapore. They included Evelyn Ang and Fu Shihua, the two lovely ladies with such beautiful voices. They were joined by Danny Wong Ming Guo and Liaw Chuan En, such delightful young chaps. Thorns among the roses I might add.

The music accompaniment was presented by Wynne Lee Yunmei. You will love her, she plays the piano (or was it an organ) with such finesse and poise that would draw music illiterates like me to enjoy the classics at length. By the way, she looks stunning too.

The evening started with the two ladies coming on stage performing "Sound the Trumpet" by H. Purcell. It sounded really good and I quite was impressed with the acoustics of the theatre.

You could say the concert had the air of a recital but somehow it was able to keep the audience delighted and enthralled. The voices were clear and the emotions felt. There must be some truth when people say that one must sing with heartfelt emotions to capture the hearts of the listeners. I can imagine how the singers would sound like when they developed to their full potential. It would be great to be to see another concert with them in the future.

The parts I looked forward to most, were the duets... being a romantic at heart. Well... I wasn't disappointed. Notable ones include "Papageno Duet" and the "Duetto Buffo" which got the audience laughing. The highlight of the evening was when Evelyn sang "Ave Maria", my all time favourite. It was perfectly executed. I would have to demand an encore if it were up to me.

To end the evening on a Christmasy note, the IMH choir gave a brilliant performance of much loved Christmas carols. It was indeed a delightful evening, even the technical glitch causing a blackout didn't dampen the concert and everyone's spirits.

Foggy old Kuching... unusually

Woke up at 0630 (25/11) to attend a wedding, looked out and got these shots. It has been a long while since I last saw morning mist this thick.

Shot a couple more on the way to the wedding. The mist seems to be covering the whole of Kuching. And true to the weather predictions, it was really hot throughout the rest of the day.

Our local councils of today

Having thought about the local municipal councils of yesteryears, you would be hard pressed to come up with positive comments to make. I am sure many of us can remember the times when numerous calls were made for the clearance of waste, drain blockages and road potholes to be sorted out and got nowhere.

Anyway, recently a car accident happened outside the junction to our housing estate. It was caused by a blindspot created by some shrubbery planted by an inconsiderate resident who couldn't be bothered to trim it down. We knew about the problem but never bothered to take any action until the said accident.

As the size of the problem required quite a bit of manpower, we had no choice but to call in the local Padawan council. A letter was hastily written, faxed and sent via post to the council. Guess what, the council actually responded and rectified the problem within days. We couldn't believe it and dismissed it as a fluke.

Then until a few weeks ago, a neighbour approached us since we're the housing estate's nearest busybodies to write the council about another plant related matter. This time it's an overgrown tree blocking out the only street light at our block. I hope the council also make a note of that. Our neighbour was sure it indirectly contributed to a recent breakin at another neighbour's.

So we did the same thing, faxed and wrote a letter asking for assistance. Nothing happened for a quite a while and decided to use an alternative form of communication to get their attention. Checking up on the council's website would be a start and found a centralised online request website provided for by the state government. We resent the request again this time via online form and the crew came in within 24 hours and sorted out the problem. Talk about speed. Looks like they only respond to requests made online.

Now, we're actually quite impressed and must make a point of acknowledging that improvements were ACTUALLY made over the years to serve the local residents better. Kudos to the people who works at Padawan Council. But don't rest on your laurels because now we taking note of your performance. For now, WELL DONE!

Kuching, a city that needs to be explored & noted!

Hi, welcome to my first post on FrenCity Blog. Haha... caught your attention, didn't I? This unique house is located right here in Jalan Stapok, Kuching. That's right, here in Kuching.

I started this blog precisely because of things like this. Kuching is indeed a city constantly in a state of flux. There's so much to capture before change consigns it to history. I simply want to capture the moment.

A little about myself, I am a wannabe "Kenny Sia", our famed Kuchingite blogger who has no less pen one of the most read blogs in the region. I would be immensely satisfied if I can achieve a fraction of his readership size.

My full-time job is teaching cost accounting at a local college and also work as an IT administrator. I hope my humble efforts will get the ball rolling in highlighting the city and its charms. I am open to suggestions and feed backs. Do leave your comments and email me. Cheers!