Over the years, we stayed in close touch with cousin
Bernice at all the places which she once called home, from Johor Baru and
Kluang in Johor to Kuala Lumpur, Perth, Melbourne and then London.
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| Waiting for our train at an MRT station in Singapore; [L to R] Bernice, Gillian, me and Melina |
The growing-up years for Bernice and her sister,
Gillian, was an extraordinary lifestyle in the dairy farm located at Ayer
Hitam-Kluang when their father, Uncle Steven, was working with the Government-run
Central Animal Husbandry Station.
In the farm, they shifted at least three times to
various quarters and their final home was a rambling farmhouse set on a hilltop,
surrounded by rolling hills of grassy paddocks that were often dotted with
grazing cows.
The farm, where the number of cows – and later, goats
too – outnumbered people, was a refreshing change for city-slickers like us,
who longed to escape to this green lung that was modelled after an Australian
dairy farm.
Their home in the farm had an open-door policy that
welcomed everyone in the extended family, and it was always a popular weekend
destination.
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| At the farm with Bernice and Gillian; [Back Row] That's me with Aunty Irene |
So, the aroma of fresh cow dung – derived from eating
lush grass – soon became a familiar fragrance when we visited the milking sheds
and calf pens, and whenever the wind changed direction and sent the pong in the
direction of the house!
Developed on the edge of secondary jungles where wild
animals roamed, wild boars would often break through the fence to terrorize the
grazing cows in the paddocks.
To protect the herds that were bred for the supply of
milk, Uncle was assigned a licensed double-barrel gun to shoot and kill wild
animals that intruded into the farm.
Armed with his gun, Uncle would hop into his
four-wheel drive vehicle for a slow drive-about in the farm at night, to check
on the herds left in the paddocks.
Meanwhile, dad also used to have a licensed gun for
hunting while he was based in the districts for work but had given it up after
his retirement.
So, when Uncle invited dad to join him on his night rounds
to check on the herds, it was yet another reason for us to be at the farm.
Even while they were staying at the farm, Uncle and
Aunty did not hesitate to pack the family into the car for a drive down to JB
or Masai for our family gatherings.
Take a closer look at the masthead design for My
Johor Stories [See above!] for a snippet from a note written by my dad to
me, that’s included in this design.
In the center, the last line my dad wrote reads as: “Kluang
gang came down yesterday.”
Dad was fondly referring to Uncle Steven, Aunty Polly and
their two girls as the Kluang gang, an adventurous family who would make
excursions to JB or Masai, sometimes even on the spur of the moment!
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| Bernice and I on holiday in Hong Kong |
Uncle and his family also earned the nickname, Champions
because the scenic drive from the farm to JB was never an obstacle to deter
them from joining us for any special occasion.
When asked how long was their drive? Gillian would bluntly
reply, “Five minutes.”
This was because she would doze off to sleep in the
car and when she woke up on their arrival, it must have felt like just five
minutes ago when she had boarded the car!
During the girls’ school-going years in Kluang, I
remember accompanying Aunty to send or pick them up from school and then going
shopping or having a meal in town.
I also remember the year-end school holidays when
Bernice and Gillian would be in JB to join us for Christmas shopping and of
course, our Christmas party.
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| Enjoying a seafood dinner at Lamma Island, Hong Kong |
When the girls were old enough, they also joined me on
an annual trip to Orchard Road in Singapore to take in the city lights and soak
in the season’s festive cheer.
Since the day she was born, I had the joy of seeing
Bernice as she blossomed into girlhood and was also there when she started her
exciting and eventful career.
After graduating from University, she was ready to
start her career with an internship, and I remember going through my wardrobe
and presenting her with a few pieces of smart office outfits.
From then on, she made her own way up the proverbial
corporate ladder to reach new heights of achievement with every organization
that she worked with.
Suddenly Bernice was a fellow career woman and we
moved into a cousin-peer relationship.
I was thrilled when she invited me on a holiday break
with her to Hong Kong in 2000 and she even took care of arranging my return
flights, JB – KL – Hong Kong.
It was a very interesting experience for me because our
roles were then reversed as she took the lead to organize our trip to meet with
her colleagues who were based there, with a side trip to Macau too.
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| After our Notting Hill street fight: That's Bernice pointing to my (ouch!) facial wound! |
Later, while Bernice was based in the UK, we arranged
an epic European trip where I escorted our mothers from Malaysia to meet with her
in London.
With her help, we planned two separate trips to Paris
and Rome, with my sister Pearly, who also lived in UK, who joined our mothers
and I to make up a foursome.
While we stayed in London with Bernice, I remember
every day when she would sit us down for daily briefings to discuss logistics
and other travel details to ensure that we should find our way about the city
on the next day’s outing.
The romantic-comedy, Notting Hill, which
starred Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, was BIG since 1999 so I asked to visit the
weekend street markets there and Bernice kindly obliged.
It turned out to be an unforgettable outing, not
because we had a close encounter with the charming Hugh Grant but because we
were involved in a street fight that ended with a rude woman trying to
take a swipe at Bernice but she missed.
Instead, one of her claw-like nails grazed my face…
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| Enjoying our English Tea at Windermere, Lake District; [L to R] Aunty Polly, mum, Bernice, Pearly and me. |
It happened so fast that I did not feel any pain, not
until we were on the bus and the cool breeze brushed my face… and Bernice
spotted fresh blood trickling down.
Our eventful holiday continued to Paris and Rome, and then
back to the UK after each destination, and in the next sector of our holiday,
Bernice joined us on a self-drive trip, North to the beautiful Lake District.
In 2002, Bernice was back in JB again to join the
extended family gathered for a grand celebration of our grandmother’s 90th
birthday.
Then when Bernice got married on 30 December 2004, for
some reason, I could not attend her wedding arranged in Melbourne.
 |
| Bernice and Gillian with their parents at grandmother's 90th birthday celebration |
Bernice and Jay’s wedding was held in a gorgeous
setting of a beautiful vineyard on a sunny summer’s day and everything went on
beautifully, but I also heard about their battle with uninvited guests – flies!
The following year Bernice and Jay hosted a wedding
reception for relatives in JB and I was honoured to be one of the two MCs at
this happy event.
After their two sons were born in Australia,
the family relocated to the UK.
One day, Bernice sent a message telling me about
Karen, her friend from Kluang who was also based in the UK, whose grandfather
used to operate a Shanghai Dhoby (laundry) shop in Johor Baru.
I instantly knew who she was talking about and happily
replied, confirming that I was in touch with Karen’s uncle who had taken over
the family business and that this Shanghai Dhoby story would also be featured
in my book!
Soon after my book, My
Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage was launched in July 2017,
I had the pleasure to personally deliver my books to my sister, Pearly, and to Bernice
in the UK.
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| With young Jackson and my book in 2017 |
[We had planned a family trip to Finland and on our
return, we stayed with Bernice’s family.]
Bernice reminded me to bring along more books as she
wished to share them with her friends, especially to present an autographed
copy to Karen.
I remember, one morning, while I was signing my
books for Bernice when Jackson, joined us at the table.
When Jackson looked at my book cover, his eyes
widened when he suddenly recognized me from my brand identity (avatar) printed
on the cover design.
“It’s you!” yelled the excited 10-year old.
“Yes, it’s me,” I calmly replied, trying hard to
keep a straight face.
“You’re an author?” Jackson asked in an incredulous
tone.
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| Bernice and I on Jalan Trus, JB in 2018 |
I replied, “Yes.” And Jackson jumped on me,
clutching my arm so hard and almost broke it (thankfully it was not my signing
arm!) as he gave me a big hug.
With her sons well trained and already quite
independent, Bernice was able to visit JB again with her parents in 2018.
It was my pleasure to take them on a walking tour of
the JB heritage quarter with a visit to the Shanghai Dhoby shop (then still
open) at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and onward to a food trail to savour all her
favourite local street food.
Since her most recent visit to JB for an epic Chinese
New Year reunion in 2020, our special bond with Bernice continues with regular
WhatsApp chats and video chats.
Note: My books, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich
Heritage and My Johor Stories 2:
Interesting Places and Inspirational People are available from MPH
bookstores nationwide and online from www.mphonline.com
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