Francis THEO: January 2014

Saturday, 25 January 2014

Bedok Reservoir

From a former sand quarry to a beautiful reservoir park, Bedok Reservoir Park enjoys popularity with joggers and water sports enthusiasts. Schools and organisations hold their regular runs here, challenging themselves round the 4.3km track. Dragon boats and canoes dot the waters and fishing hobbyists try their luck on our fishing deck.

In spite of all these exhilarating activities, the reservoir park also invites you to explore its peaceful areas. You can find perfect spots to relax and enjoy the scenery around you. The Floating Decksituated near the Activity Mall event site is one of such spots. With the terraced viewing gallery as its complement, one can appreciate the tranquility our reservoir has to offer. More than 14,000 wetland plants are added along the reservoir as part of the Active, Beautiful, and Clean (ABC) Waters Programme.

During your leisure, bring patience, sharp eyes and ears with you, as Bedok Reservoir Park is also a great sanctuary for bird watching. You will be handsomely rewarded with sights of swallows playing on waters and flashes of cobalt blue Kingfishers diving for its lunch. If you are fortunate enough, you might catch that Little Heron wading along the banks of the reservoir.

Sketched with Pilot Namiki Falcon M & B nibs and Noodler's , Calli Inks.

Sketched with Lamy Safari F & B nibs and Noodler's Ink

Sketched with Hero pens and Holbein Watercolour

Friday, 24 January 2014

Black Ink Sketch Jan 2014

St Andrew Cathedral, Singapore

Designed by George Drumgoole Coleman, the original Saint Andrew's Church was built from 1835 to 1836. The second Church of Saint Andrew was designed by John Turnbull Thomson and built in circa 1842. Rumours of unhappy spirits and damage caused by two lightning strikes in 1845 and 1849 resulted in its closure in 1852 and subsequent demolition in 1855.
Colonel Ronald MacPherson, the Executive Engineer and Superintendent of convicts, designed the new church. To cut costs, Indian convict labour was used, as it was for many buildings of the day. Daniel Wilson, bishop of Calcutta, laid the foundation stone on 4 March 1856, and the first service was held on 1 October 1861. George Cotton, who succeeded Daniel Wilson, had the honour of consecrating the cathedral on 25 January 1862. In 1869, it was transferred from the jurisdiction of Calcutta to the Diocese of Labuan and Sarawak and, in 1870, Archdeacon John Alleyne Beckles consecrated it as the Cathedral Church of the United Diocese.
Saint Andrew's Cathedral is owned by the Synod of the Diocese of Singapore, and is a centre for Singapore's Anglican Mission. In 1856, Saint Andrew's Mission launched the first Anglican evangelical outreach in Singapore. The first Anglican bishop, The Right Reverend J. Ferguson-Davie was appointed in 1909.
In 1942, shortly before the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, the cathedral served as an emergency hospital.
An archaeological excavation was held on its grounds in 2004 by the National University of Singapore.

Saint Andrew Cathedral was gazetted as a national monument on 6 July 1973.

The National Museum, Singapore

The National Museum of Singapore is the nation's oldest museum established in 1887 when Singapore was part of the Straits Settlements. Reopened in December 2006 after three years of extensive restoration, the museum – a National Monument – now presents permanent exhibitions on Singapore history and popular culture, alongside changing exhibitions on world history and popular culture. It is Singapore’s largest and most modern museum, using state-of-the-art multimedia technology to bring history to life.

Visitors to the permanent galleries will come up close and personal with national treasures, such as the mystery-shrouded Singapore Stone and 14th century gold ornaments unearthed from nearby Fort Canning Hill. They will also learn more about Singapore’ s multi-racial and multi-religious society, and how popular culture has evolved over time.

Alongside the permanent galleries, the special exhibition galleries provide Singaporeans and visitors with the opportunity to learn more about world heritage and cultures here in Singapore, through major touring and special exhibitions presented in partnership with museums worldwide.

Sunday, 12 January 2014

The Hakka Ancestral Temple

The Hakka Ancestral Temple side entrance.

Sketched with Hero Pens, Pentel Ink Brush and Calli mixed inks.

The Hakka Columbarium

Sketched with Hero pens, Petel Ink Brush and Call mixed ink.

This morning I went to The Hakka Ancestral Temple in Old Holland Road to pay respect to my late Grand Parents and Parents.
These are the 2 sketches of the Temple & Columbarium.

Hakka Ancestral Temple and Columbarium.
The history of Fung Yun Thai Association (丰永大公会) dated back to the 19th century, when the early Hakka immigrants from the three counties of China (Fung Shoon 丰顺, Yun Teng 永定 and Tai Po 大埔), arrived at Singapore.
In 1888, for the price of 300 silver dollars plus an annual tax of 50 cents, the Hakkas purchased parcels of land off Holland Road from the Straits Settlements government for their ancestral temple (Sanyi Ci 三邑祠) and cemetery (Fung Yun Thai Cemetery 丰永大坟山, also known as Yu Shan Teng 毓山亭), with Fun Yun Thai Kongsi (丰永大公司) established to manage the properties.
The kongsi was re-registered as an association in 1906 in order to run the temple, cemetery and small surrounding clusters of Hakka villages effectively. In the fifties, the ancestral temple also functioned as Nam Tong School (南同小学) to provide elementary education for the Hakka children who lost their opportunities to study during the Japanese Occupation.
This lasted until 1977, when the entire cemetery hill was acquired by the Singapore government. Nam Tong School was discontinued, while the Hakka villagers were resettled elsewhere. A compensation of $1 million and a small 6.38 hectares of land, including the site of the temple, was reserved for Fung Yun Thai Association. Exhumation was then carried out four years later. In 1991, a columbarium was constructed within the designated area to house the exhumed ashes.