A Tin of Cadburys Milk Tray Chocolates (CsH)

Mrs G.P. Darke was my Girl Guide Captain when I was in Crescent Girls' School. She came to visit me and the family at our kampung house - partly to ask my father's permission for me to attend a Thinking Day service, in honour of Lord Baden-Powell's birthday on the 22nd of February at St Andrew's Cathedral.
She brought us this 'buah tangan' (literally, fruit of the hand) of a tin of Cadburys Milk Tray Chocolates!!
Can you imagine my joy! A whole tin of chocolates! In those days (1958/1959?), we couldn't begin to imagine the luxury of touching a piece of Cadburys chocolate, much less consuming even a tiny morsel. Kacang putih and kacang rebus (types of roasted and boiled peas/nuts) wrapped in newspaper cones- yes! But chocolates? Never ever. It was so special for me that I kept this tin all these years to store my little treasures.
So we both attended the service at St. Andrew's Cathedral. I was nervous to be in this huge and formidable structure but Mrs Darke was good company and she made sure I followed the routine.
I was so grateful to my broadminded Abah for allowing me (and Mrs Darke) to undertake what could be regarded in those days, and now, as a chancey thing to do. Then and today, such trusts can be misplaced and abused. There's always the old English proverb of 'beware the Greek bearing gifts' and our own equivalent of the 'udang di sebalik batu'. It is sad that one has to be suspicious of kindnesses and gifts pressed upon one but in our part of the world and even here in England for a foreigner like me, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Attempts to evangelize young and especially educated Muslims have been around since my school days and maybe even further back since the imperialism of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. Today however, the process has become more corporatised, more perfidious and persuasive.
Although my Sixth Form History teacher Miss Then attempted to seduce me into her faith with her books and her smiles - it cut no ice with me. Thank goodness I was an unrepentant teenage hedonist then!
But any teenager at that time of life would have a lot of questions to ask of the present and the future, of having and concealing so many fears and uncertainties as to what life is all about. I wrote a letter to Mrs. Darke about some of my questions. It's no disparagement to my wonderful parents, but sometimes it is easier to talk with non-family members. Mrs. Darke replied and she was very down-to-earth, understanding and non-judgemental. As to my query about religion she simply wrote (non-verbatim), "Go and read and learn more about your faith. A religion is more than just rituals. Give Islam a chance."
Years and years later, a student of mine posed a similar question to me about his Hindu faith. I gave him Mrs. Darke's advice. "Read, and give your religion a chance".
I am glad that I did not consult Miss Then about my queries. I would be like the fly entering the spider's web! I am also pleased that this student of mine decided to talk to this eccentric and strict teacher and not to his very sweet Primary School teacher who had invited him and his classmates to her house for drinks and cakes and an introduction to Jesus and the Good News. Mrs Darke is fourth from the left in the Front Row and chubby sapling AsH is third to her right - on the edge as usual.

All humans are dead except those who have knowledge .... and all those who have knowledge are asleep except those who do good deeds .... and those who do good deeds are deceived except those who are sincere .... and those who are sincere are always in a state of worry.
Imam Shafi, Muslim jurist (767 - 820 AD)



Appendix:
To Jooli,
I wished I had joined USM earlier - just for the chance to know you and torment you!!

Chante, Chante Pour Moi

Sing, Sing For Me






It is self-indulgent and sometimes futile to ruminate too much on the past. But when you have been a teacher for over 20 years it is difficult not to recall the thousands of lives you have touched. I have been a Che'gu (Mr or Miss Teacher) for 7 years and a Miss Hamid for 2 years and a very short spell as Mrs. B in Singapore. I put on my Che'gu's hat again in Brunei for 6 1/2 years training teachers at Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Teachers' Training College. My last stint was at USM Penang when I became Puan Maznoor teaching Spoken English/Pronunciation and Critical Reading and Writing.
The latter was a subject after my own heart and I knew I gave my students a hard time. I believe that young minds can be pushed to the limit - it is just a matter of how. Above all, I felt very privileged that I was given the opportunity to stretch their minds and though they found it frustrating at times, they met the challenge and I am very proud of them.
When I left in 1993, they gave me a parting gift of a little booklet - a token of their appreciation - which contained the illustrations I have posted here. I was very, very touched and I have kept this booklet with me despite the many house-moves we have made.
I wonder what they are doing now. I hope the authorities have recognised and rewarded their capacity for serious thinking and dogged enthusiasm for hard work.





And here's a little illlustration from me for old times' sake.
Once again thank you.

The Aces in the Pack

" CRY, 'HAVOC' AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR."
from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar




THE HENCHMEN OF THE IRAQ WAR 2003

Jack Straw is a survivor. He has served under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as a member of the Cabinet. When the Chilcot Inquiry on 21 January asked him about the 45 minutes claim in the Iraqi weapons dossier Straw replied, "It was an error that has haunted us ever since ... intelligence alone was never the basis for my judgement about the nature of the threat Iraq posed."
Jack Straw is also credited with making statements of strong disapproval about Muslim women from his constituency who wear the veil. He caused quite a brouhaha even before President Sarkozy got on to the game. He's quite a trail blazer, our Jack.


Alastair Campbell is a media man often described as Blair's bagman who held the post of Director of Communication and Strategy (Spin Meister to you and I) during Blair's premiership. In his testimony to the Chilcot Inquiry on 12 January he said, " Do I support it, yes. I think Britain, far from beating ourselves up on this, should be really proud of the role we played."
There speaks Blair's rotweiler-cum-Genghis Khan!


THE MESSIAH OF THE IRAQ WAR 2003. AKA George W. Bush's Deputy Dawg

Amongst other things, a sun-tanned Tony Blair told the Chilcot Inquiry on 29 January that :
1. He is "sorry" the war was divisive, but UK's security is better without Saddam. He feels responsible but does not regret removing Saddam.
In other words, the killing of between 100,000 to one million Iraqi civilians, the deaths of 174 British soldiers (June 2008) and 3,858 US military deaths (November 2007) are worth the execution of Saddam.
2. Iran is to blame for undermining post-war Iraq. At present Iran is a pain and a threat to UK, USA and Israel. Wait for future fireworks.
3. He believes "the world is safer as a result" of the Iraq War.

However Blair's performance at the Chilcot Inquiry is best encapsulated in Martin Rowson's cartoon in The Guardian of 1 February.

Now that St. Tony has made the world safer, it has enabled him to prosper and to augment his coffers. Since leaving No. 10, his earnings as a public speaker have topped £12 million. If there are any institutions or NGOs in Malaysia who want a second helping of this 'statesman's' words of wisdom, Blair can be contacted at the blue chip Washington Speakers Bureau for a princely sum of £157,000 for a 90-minute speech.

But, as a true-blue, two-toned ex-High Anglican and Catholic, I am sure money is not the only root of his priorities. He must have been quite chuffed to be given the Congressional Medal of Honour by George W. Bush on 13 January 2009. And Bush did not forget to reward his buddy from down-under, the ex-Premier of Australia, John Howard with the same gong.

Some men die in shrapnel,
Some go down in flames.
Most men perish inch by inch,
Playing little games.
(John O' Keeffe 1999)

My Rummage Case Part 4. ANYTHING GOES

'Anything Goes' by Cole Porter was written in 1934. It's bizarre to see that what was written then is still applicable today. You get such lines like -
"Good authors too
Who once knew better words,
Now only use four letter words writing prose,
Anything goes".

In my recently discovered Rummage Case I found these scribbles - dated 30 December 1988 - which I had made in my notebook regarding the movie 'Blue Thunder' which was shown on BBCI. I scrupulously wrote down the colourful 'prose' I encountered in this Hollywood movie. The short review given in the programme reads "This makes for a dullish story, but spectacular air scenes." I had noted down these examples. So here goes.
1. kiss your arse goodbye
2. scared the shit out of me
3. you arsehole
4. get your arse out of here
5. get off your backside
6. no shit
7. what's all this shit
8. they're after your arse
9. Holy Shit
10. Hold your nose. We're in deep shit
11. They chewed my arse off, just like that.

Twenty years later this 'flashy' vocabulary and worse than this, has become common parlance amongst our youngsters. I do not expect them to use Shakespeare's language but there is a threshold to imitating Hollywood/western jargon which borders on squalid, unimaginative and lazy thinking.
When we were children (here she goes again!) the utterance of a word like 'babi' (pig) will be corrected by rubbing a split chili on the lips.

By coincidence, I had just looked into Kata Kama's blog dated Friday 29 January where she posted an interesting article about "No-panties promotion" for Valentine's Day. It smells of American High School Girls' mindless frolics.
I am quite certain the 'liberals' in our society will just shrug this off. Also the watchful eyes of the West, the guardians of our women's freedom would look on approvingly.
"In olden days a glimpse of stocking
Was looked upon as something shocking.
But now, God knows
Anything goes."

Read this
(Thank you Putri, for 'lending' me your posting)

I suppose Kata Kama and I would be branded as dinosaurs. But if this is what young, 'liberated' Malaysian women want they can keep it. However, they need to recognise that this is pretty toxic culture that they're adopting.

I would rather be berated as a GOW (Grumpy Old Woman) than feted as a WOW (Whore Of the West). And that refers to both genders.

My "I SPY" Page

1. Last weekend we visited Dorothy and Anne, our two good friends in Birstall. We have been to Birstall many many times and finally I managed to capture a photograph of this unique shop - selling Friends In Soggy Homes.
After dinner, which is the mid-day meal for plain ordinary English folks (the toffs call it lunch) I saw this bin in this 'shed' set up specially for smokers. Smokers are more or less pariah-ised in this country. They cannot smoke in restaurants, shops, offices, toilets - almost anywhere - as they may 'pollute' the air. If they want to do so, they have to step outside. I sometimes feel sorry for those office workers when I see them huddling outside a building to have a quick puff.
We also have a 'no-smoking' policy in our house. When my nephew Shah came to visit us from Dundee, he had to have his ciggie in the backyard. Because it was raining, he could only light up in the outside toilet. He soon discovered he had to share this smoking zone with Fido, our neighbour's cat and who was also the love of my life. Later the both of them came into the house. Fido came to sit on my lap and he stank of nicotine. I almost strangled my brother's only son. (I must add that Fido's master smoked 'pot', and so sometimes Fido came in to our house stoned and cross-eyed - and smelling sweetly of grass.)
Here's the bin posing next to three ex-smokers - Dorothy, Anne and spouse.


2. About a week ago, Britain was on high security alert especially after the Christmas bomber scare in the US. Well, we went to Market Harborough and discovered they had an urgent local 'security' problem.


3. And here are the victims of the recent Chill in Leicester.


Leicester's Anti-Vandals Snow Patrol are still searching for them.

Perhaps they have melted away with this notice - - which was found floating in the pond at Victoria Park

Methinks I'm beginning to miss the folks back home and our loopy cats. Good-Night.

My Rummage Case - Part 3. OUR DAVID

In this whole wide world David makes the best cuppa tea and Yorkshire pudding. Here he is with his best friend Oscar.
Sadly Oscar died over a year ago and we know David misses his pooch very much. Every morning Oscar would get his bowl of tea from David - we also have the same privilege - a cup of tea in bed - whenever we stayed over at his flat in London. And here is a picture of David and Oscar taking a walk in the park - specially drawn by his mate Iain.
David was our best friend and neighbour when we were all living at Oxford Avenue. He was a brilliant gardener and in summer and autumn he would deck my kitchen with potatoes, runner beans, cabbage and onions from his allotment. I would reciprocate by cooking him all sorts of exotic Malaysian food like spicy roast chicken and vegetable or chicken curry. His top favourite was my vegetarian samosa. In summer when our front door was usually wide open I can expect to see him standing there, sniffing the air, putting on his sad face and yelling "Maznoor, I'm hungry!" We used to nickname him 'the bottomless pit'. Oh, those were such happy days.

David is always ready to lend a helping hand to anyone in the Avenue - almost like the Avenue's general factotum and good samaritan. Eva, our neighbour, who was born in the Avenue in 1912 simply adored him. He never failed to weed and tidy up Eva's garden every spring. David who is about 8-9 years younger than us was brought up to be an old-fashioned English gentleman. If he saw Eva or myself or any of the ladies from Oxford Avenue with a bag of shopping, he will take if off our hands and deliver it to our front door. There was a time when we were waiting for our taxi to take us to the bus station where we would get the coach to Heathrow. The taxi was late - we were in a near panic. So David picked up both our suitcases and carried it to the taxi which was about half a block away.

It was a sad day for us when David and Oscar moved to London in 2001 because of his job. Before he left he gave us his grandmother's sideboard which is now happily ensconced in our house in KL.
We tried to persuade David to visit us in KL but after eight years as a steward with British Airways, he had had enough of flying. We try to visit him whenever we're back here but 2009 has not been a good year for travelling to London. But we must admit we always baulk at going to the Capital - too noisy and overcrowded.
Of course it is de rigeur for me to provide 'meals on wheels' for big, hungry and appreciative David. I know - it's just cupboard love.
This is a picture of us catching up with David at the park because he wasn't at his flat. Little Oscar was desperate for his walk!

When this cold spell is over, we hope to catch up with dear old David for loads and loads of cuppas of tea. But he will never see this posting because he hates computers. Silly Boy!
I think I'll put him back into my Rummage Case.

Biblical Messages

In their War on Terror the authorities have pinpointed the source of the Jihadists-Extremists-Islamists to the madrassas/training camps in Pakistan, Yemen and even in Britain.

There is however this - "US arms manufacturer has agreed to remove coded biblical messages stamped into gun sights used by British, US and New Zealand troops in Afghanistan".
"The markings, which blend into the serial number and other product information stamped into the metal, include JN8:12, an apparent reference to John 8:12. The verse reads: "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Check out this
I don't know what the fuss and chest-beating is for. These biblical references have been on Western weapons for decades. And besides, throughout the many wars waged by Judaeo-Christian aggressors on infidels or on their own kind, Christianity has been employed for support and succour in the war effort. They provide embedded chaplains who were given Officer rankings and they even bless the weapons of destruction. During the Vietnam War, for instance, the Catholic Cardinal Spellman went to Vietnam - amongst other things - to 'bless' the tanks.

Hence the age-old call:


Like Superman they shall go onward and upward :



As for.....

These bad guys can go to hell: they shall "walk in darkness" unlike those who make use of the weapons supplied by the 'devoutly Christian South African' arms manufacturer. Note : they are 'devout', Muslims are 'extremist'.
The Mylai Massacre in Vietnam