Sunday, August 07, 2005

A sentimental journey


Collected the two tickets of 剑雪浮生 and gave them to father. To him, 剑雪浮生 is not just about 任剑辉,白雪仙和唐涤生, it is also about 陈宝珠, a character that could never be forgotten if you live through the 1960s, and there are much more...

陈宝珠 left the public scene since 1972 but made a return for her master 任剑辉 in 1999. Now, she is bringing 剑雪浮生 to Singapore in September.

For the generation like my father, 陈宝珠 carries another meaning of fond sentimental value of the past, something that can be associated with. When I passed him the tickets, I could smell the spark in his eyes, and the excitement in his old heart.

Time and again people asking me why do I like London. The reason is actually quite simple. The vibrant of the city may be part of the reason. The good mixed of science, technology and art may also be part of the reason.

When digging deep into my heart and soul, I would say that the main reason is deep memory. London is a place that I can connect and associate with. It has a big heart that contains the new and the old, the gentle and the odd. Wherever I step on the street of London, I can find the familiar architecture, I can find my old sentiment, I can recall the fond memories that my wife and I commonly shared.

People may condemn the NHS system, especially those that are not so exposed and only rely on a single source of information. The fact is, my son was born in London, premature with a body length of a pen, and lifted up by me with just two fingers. He survived through the medical care. He discharged from hospital on his perceived birthday that supposed to be. I have no complaint.

People may condemn the transport system, again for those that are not so exposed and only rely on a single source of information. Imagine the network built on the 100-year infrastructure, imagine the 60 over languages co-exist in the same underground that you and I have hopped in. You see what is cosmopolitan. There are many X-factors that we are lacking. Don't always think that we are number one. In many areas we are lagging far far behind. We can be more humble than we are.

Back here, I am actually in a lost city. My old house became a piece of flat land and now is a busy road. My childhood memory is rolling across by cars after cars, days after days. We embrace the modern architecture of the new national library. But it did not grow me. The old library built with red bricks that sat in a quiet corner of the busy Stamford road did! I can't associate the city with my personal past. My heart is quite hollow. We can't build our future by forgetting the past. Can we??

I think I have done a good job by giving the two tickets to my father. For that moment, I brought happiness to him. Happiness is actually so simple!

With 剑雪浮生, with 陈宝珠, I hope he and his accompany can find themselves not in a lost world again. At least for that short three hours.

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