From the Blue Windows: Recollections of Life in Queenstown, Singapore, in the 1960s and 1970s

Tan Kok Yang

Imagine a Singapore in which flat rental was S$50 a month, a plate of noodles cost as little as 20 cents, and television broadcasts ended at 10pm every night.

From the Blue Windows is a collection of Tan Kok Yang's memories of growing up in Queenstown in the 1960s and 1970s, when the tallest residential building there was fourteen storeys, the Alexandra Canal flooded regularly, and wayang shows were a regular feature on Mei Ling Street. He lived in Princess Estate, an area that was colloquially known as "the Blue Windows" because of its unique blue glass-louvred windows.

Written with nostalgia and a gentle sense of loss, this memoir is a personal tribute to and celebration of Queenstown and a simple but fulfilling way of life that has all but vanished from modern Singapore.

TAN Kok Yang holds a PhD in Housing and Environmental Studies from the University of New England in Australia, and runs his own specialist acoustic consultancy firm in Singapore.

publication year: 2013
176 pages
ISBN: 978-9971-69-650-4  Paperback  US$15.00  S$18.00