morning staff vs afternoon staff games





when i was teaching at balestier hill secondary, we had friendly games between the morning and afternoon sessions teachers. we competed in soccer, volleyball, badminton and table tennis. the overall losing session would have to treat the winning session to a steamboat dinner at middle road. in the 60s and 70s, there were more man teachers than woman teachers. very few ladies joined us in this competition.

we enjoyed both the company of our colleagues and the food very much. ours was an integrated school, comprising english and chinese streams.

we did so many things together. we went on hikes at bukit timah nature reserve and macritchie. we organised fishing expeditions and kelong stays. i remember a trip we made to mersing (see picture). we enjoyed the feasting more than the fishing. we also had gin rummy and mah-jong sessions at our colleagues' homes after school. we had a lot of time to pursue our own leisure activities. those days are gone and things are no longer the same.

a number of these friends have also gone, some in the prime of their life. lost three colleagues to cancer and two to cardiac failure.