26-Jul-2023
We were sad to note the recent passing of Ho Swee Neng, Kuching's oldest tinsmith. He was 88, and had retired only recently.
We met him back in 2019, when I was reflecting on change, and we had just bought our own little symbol of his craft.
May he rest in peace.
Sadly, he didn't quite make it to Sarawak's 60th birthday, which was celebrated on Saturday 22.
The Cat, still in his Gawai outfit, has now acquired a flagpole...
And everyone needs a birthday balloon
Come the glorious day, all the river ferries were decked out with flags and 60th birthday discs, as you can see from the photo at the top.
We're a bit crowd-phobic, and having seen streams of people heading for the parade, we decided to head home... But not before holding our own birthday celebration, with dumplings:
The Yee Siang Dumpling House on Carpenter Street
Nice...
Further along Carpenter, this is No. 92
We did make a token effort to see the fireworks in the evening, but by the time we'd had coffee at the Bing on Jalan Padungan, we decided we were all tuckered out, and went home to bed...
All up, then, we were complete celebratory lightweights... But the festive atmosphere lingers on, and there are lots more events in the works.
It's nice to see Sarawak proud, although it's also worth paying heed to some of the dissenting voices...