A Night of Nostalgia for
the
Class of 74/76!
Thirty years have gone by since
we last wrecked havoc in the hallowed halls of our beloved ACS; in
fact, now many of our children are doing the same. On the 18th of
May, over 200 members of the class of 74/76 gathered for a night of
reminiscence and nostalgia with old friends and teachers from those
precious ACS days.
 Most of us remember with fondness the tuck shop, and the times we
spent there digging into a steaming bowl of 30 cent mee pok,
discussing between mouthfuls the latest exciting happening in class.
Thus it was to gasps of pleasant surprise that we walked in to see
the Barker Road tuck shop recreated in the Fullerton ballroom that
night, laden with a feast of traditional recess dishes like fish
ball noodles, laksa and even tau suan. Some things never change, and
some guests certainly did convincing impressions of impatient
students waiting for the teacher to adjourn class so they could run
out and join the stall queues! Others managed to re-enact that
common classroom chaos when the teacher steps outside for even a
minute, flitting from table to table to chat and laugh with friends
as if they hadn’t seen them in years, a metaphor that actually has
some truth after three decades.
 The Master of Ceremonies was our classmate
Leslie Quahe, who
exchanged his job of pastor for that of keeping us in stitches for
most of the night. He regaled us with hilarious tales of our school
days, taking great pleasure in the role reversal he now held over
the teachers, at one point admonishing Mrs. Pauline Chiang for not
paying full and undivided attention to him. “I’ve been waiting for
this moment my whole life”, he jovially remarked. Indeed, the
reunion was a chance for all of us to express our gratitude (and
apologies for all the grey hairs we caused) to our teachers. We now
see them for what they are, not just the stern disciplinarians who
piled us with work, but patient guardians and tireless motivators.
To all the teachers who suffered the class of 74/76 in all our years
at ACS, thank you for your sacrifices.
Many of us went home that night feeling thirty years younger (only
to have our illusions shattered by the mirror in the bathroom). But
to have felt once again the warm camaraderie and spirit of fellow
ACSians, and revelled once again in our unique shared experience,
made this night a truly special one. |
That's me, your classmate, remember?
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| Finally
Together Again ... after 48 Years! |
|
 After
48 long years the ACS Pre-U Class of 57/58 finally got together
for their first reunion on 19 May at the Raffles Room of The
Tanglin Club. It was long overdue, but the occasion was worth
waiting for as over 30 class mates (some coming all the way from
Canada, New Zealand and the US) turned up for this truly
memorable evening.
Each cohort was given a
nametag with their name and old class photo on it when they
arrived. As many of us have changed over the years, the nametags
certainly helped us to identify each other. Soft, sentimental
music from the fifties performed live by a musician on the
keyboard set the mood for the entire evening as we mingled and
reminisced old times and were treated to a scrumptious meal
served with fine vintage wine.
At the end of the evening
everyone was presented with the group photo that was taken
earlier. Mounted on a specially designed folder that had the ACS
badge and the words ACS PRE-U CLASS OF 57/58 REUNION gold
embossed on it, the photograph was certainly a souvenir well
treasured. As we bade farewell to each other everyone agreed
that we should have these gatherings more often.
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