Thursday, March 24, 2011

Miss Yeap is on the way to full recovery!


Good News! Miss Yeap is now recuperating and starting physiotherapy treatment in an extended care hospital in Shah Alam.

VENUE: Room 95, Columbia Asia Extended Care Hospital, Lot 2, Jalan Baung, Shah Alam, Selangor

VISITING HOURS: 7am -9pm

NOTE: In order not to tax Miss Yeap’s energy at this time, please go in a group and keep your visit short. Try not to ask Miss Yeap if she can recognize you as it will put a strain on her memory. Simply identify yourself by telling Miss Yeap your name and the class you were in. Above all, be positive!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

ALL ABOUT NISI DOMINUS FRUSTA



NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA ON THE DOORPOST OF THE TOWER OF LONDON CHAPLAIN'S RESIDENCE..

KimMei Ng sent this to us via Facebook and we thought we should share this photo with BBGSians who do not have a Facebook account yet...





Residence of the Tower of London's chaplain. Above the door is the phrase Nisi Dominus Frustra - 'Without God All Is In Vain' which was also my school's (BBGS) motto - KimMei Ng

By courtesy of BBGS OGA Facebook Friend,KimMei Ng




............................................

THE ORIGIN OFNISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA

Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem frustra vigilavit qui custodit.

Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.


By courtesy of BBGS OGA Facebook Friend,Yuslina


Facebook discussion on Nisi Dominus Frustra

Surely, Shirtliff Was a Dynamite!



Miss Shirtliff was surely a DYNAMITE to have a house named after her without being a headmistress. There was also a controversy if her name should be spelt with or without an 'e'


Initially, we had the perception that our Sports Houses were named after our headmistresses. However, in paying a tribute to the amazing pioneers and headmistresses of BBGS, we realised that Miss Shirtliff's name was not found among the list of BBGS headmistresses.

But then, Cooke House was not named after Miss Cooke (surprise! surprise!). And Miss Glasgow did not have a House in her name although she was a BBGS headmistress. Some super seniors have confirmed that Miss Shirtliff was never a BBGS headmistress.


Yuslina Haji Muhamad, a Shirtliff dynamite, did some investigative work and found some useful information at this site:

www.methodist.org.nz


"Five Brethren missionaries left for Malaya in 1898. Four of them were single women: Miss Dron and Miss Shirtliff from Nelson, Miss Davies and Miss Reeve from Palmerston North.


Davies, a nurse, and Reeve, had to return within a few years for health reasons. Elizabeth Dron was only 22 when she left New Zealand. Although not a trained teacher she taught in a very isolated situation in Penang until 1902 when she married British missionary George Wilson and with him helped establish an orphanage and school in Ipoh.


Sarah Shirtliff began a ministry to leprosy patients near Kuala Lumpur. Apart from a few years in India she remained in Malaya till 1947. Four of her sisters, Bessie, Clare, Kath and Julia all became missionaries, serving in Malaya and India. Miss Hankins from Wellington went to Singapore in 1900 but after only a few months died of cholera.









Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Happy Women's Day - A Tribute to BBGS Pioneers and Headmistresses




❤¸.•*""*•.¸ ¸.•*""*•.¸❤¸¸.•*""*•.¸ ¸.•*""*•.¸

hApPy iNterNaTioNaL wOmEn's DaY 2 aLL oUr bEaUtiFuL BBSGians!

.•*""*•.¸ ¸.•*""*•.¸


Nisi Dominus Frustra


To celebrate International Women's Day 2011, BBGSians would like to pay a tribute to these special ladies of different nationalities who made BBGS unique ...


BBGS is a good example of how women of different nationalities throughout the ages blended their uniqueness to establish a school of excellence and nurture generations of girls to "take our place"
in society.

Celebrate Our Uniqueness!
Celebrate Women's Power!

  • Pn. Ainul Zaharah bt Abdul Rahman 1996-1998
  • Pn. Norma bt Hashim 1998

PS: We have contacted the BBGS Museum at SMK Sri Bintang Utara for the photographs of Pn Ainul Zaharah bt Abdul Rahman and Pn Norma bt Hashim. We will upload the photos as soon as we receive them. More to come...please stay tuned!

PS: Please note the hearts comprise the colours of our Houses. The women of BBGS certainly add colours to our world.


Thursday, March 3, 2011

MEI-LING ROUTLEY REFLECTS ON THE LONDON REUNION

This article is used by kind permission of BBGS OGAEU Branch



At the end of each year, as I heave a sigh of relief that our family has survived another 365 days without too many upheavals, my thoughts turn to the year ahead. In thinking about New Year resolutions, the level of my ambition has gone down as the number of white hairs on my head has gone up.



Joie de vivre
A list of 20 ostensibly achievable resolutions when I was 22 was reduced to 10 when I was 33. This has whittled down to just the one now I am 44. However it is a significant one, designed to stop boredom in its tracks and to add some joie de vivre
in a world that is increasingly competitive, complicated and unpredictable. In 2011 my one resolution was to do something or to eat somewhere or to meet someone really interesting every week.



The advantage of living in London is that you are never at a loss for things to do, places to eat or people to meet. However, I did not imagine that this would take the form of a BBGS reunion.



Instantly recognisable
How I came to be invited to the first BBGS reunion in Europe was itself very interesting. I attend All Souls Church in Langham Place, and in January I was asked to give my testimony. Immediately after the service a member of the congregation came up to me and said, ‘are you by any chance from BBGS?’


There was no need for a particular type of walk, a wink of the eye or a funny handshake. The beauty, if I may say so, of being a BBGS girl is that you are almost instantly recognisable by another BBGSian. Boey Moo Ling introduced herself and informed me that there was a BBGS reunion taking place in February. I contacted Doreen Craig who organised the event to say I would be attending and asked if I should wear my old school badge!




Mrs Abraham’s tongue twisters
On 27 February, 12 of us gathered in Central London where Doreen had hired a private room in a Moroccan restaurant. The dim lighting was perfect as we did not have to be under too much scrutiny (I was not the youngest there). Everyone was very chatty and found someone else to talk to. Bits of other people’s conversations drifted around - the ais kacang
machine, toasted sambal sandwiches, Mrs Abraham and her tongue twisters. Declaring who your headmistresses would have given an indication of your age but no one cared because we were far too engrossed in talking about our present lives and what brought us to London and to Europe.



Singing the School Song
The moment of reckoning came when we were asked to sing the school song. Not only to sing it, but to have it recorded and uploaded onto Facebook. I cannot imagine what my children will say when they find out. I left BBGS in 1983, but am very proud to say that I remembered the tune to the song. Since the lunch I have even managed to sing the first verse in my head without having to refer to the words.



Nisi Dominus Frustra
In singing the school song again after such a long gap, I hope any BBGSian would agree with me that the words, once embedded in our memories if not our hearts, have made us who we are – loyal women, who are able to call on God for help, able to shoulder burdens and who delight in simple things. If I have gone this far in life, it is not due to my own efforts but the efforts of the school in instilling in me a sense of duty and responsibility in all that I undertake, and in underpinning that duty with the understanding that everything is sustained by God. As the year goes by whether we have one or 100 resolutions, the school motto still holds true: Nisi Dominus Frustra - Without God All is in Vain.







BBGS REUNION @ SYDNEY ON 17 SEPT 2011 KEEP THE DATE FREE!





DATE
17 September 2011 (SAT)

TIME
6.00 pm

VENUE
Botoli Restaurant
66a Burwood Road, Burwood

THEME
Get into the spirit of the party and come dressed in your sports HOUSE colour

RESERVATION
Bebe Sim (0402-046-574)
bebe_sim@yahoo.com
OR
Janet Chong (0421-126-485)
jchongwl@yahoo.com.au


Tuesday, March 1, 2011

CONGRATS ON A SUCCESSFUL BBGS REUNION @ LONDON




Igniting the BBGS Flame in London
Interviews by SY Phang via Skype, Email and Facebook

Twelve BBGSians created history in the heart of London by participating in the first inter-class school reunion in the quaint Souk Bazaar on 26 February 2011.

“We had a fabulous day at the reunion. Wow! Everyone got on very well…as if we had known each other for years. It was good meeting BBGSians from different years,” enthused Doreen Craig in a skype interview with BBGS OGA.

“We had such a super time yesterday that we started discussing plans for another reunion next year...woohooo!” added Doreen.

She has no regrets initiating the reunion although it required a lot of patience and resourcefulness. Initially, she had only one assistant in the person of Jin Kar Ong who was equally elated over the outcome.

Jin Kar commented: “Everyone enjoyed it enough to want to do it again next year. So that was a good sign.

“There were challenges trying to organise it from outside London as Doreen stays Glasgow while I am based in Bristol. We were both unfamiliar with London. Fortunately, Alice Lian who lives in London came to our rescue and did most of the running around.”



Souk Bazaar, 27 Litchfield Street WC2H 9NJ, London, United Kingdom.



A beautifully designed Welcome Card – a labour of love for our alma mater.



Evidently, six BBGSians could not wait to savour these lovely cupcakes.



Class, age and race matter not during BBGS reunions. (L-R): Amy Yew-Derrien (from Paris), Melanie Yap Mei Ling, Boey Moo Ling, Alice Lian, Melissa Siew-Grainger (Nottingham), Lee Pek Tho,Doreen Craig (Glasgow), Wong Suit Mui, Sangeeta Hare, Ong Jin Kar (Bristol), Mei Ling Routley and Melissa Lai.



As the restaurant saw to all their needs, especially where food and drinks were concerned, the girls were free to catch up with former schoolmates and got to make new friends. According to Doreen, it was a cosy restaurant and they felt very at home sitting on soft sofa cushions in a very relaxed atmosphere.

Jin Kar gave us a glimpse into the conversation that took place: “We exchanged news about what we are doing now and discussed the challenges of being parents. Among us, we have children ranging from newborns to teenagers.

“We spent time reminiscing our BBGS days and tried to find out what is happening among our teachers, especially Miss Cooke. Then, there were scary stories of our primary school being haunted by the spirits of Japanese soldiers.”

They also brainstormed what they should include in the BBGS OGAEU Facebook and did a head count to see if all the houses were represented. Alas, Prouse House was not there. Next year, perhaps?




BBGSian Mei-Ling Routley was the envy of the group as she brought her school magazine as well as her metal school badge and house badge. Subsequent badges in the later years were made of iron-on cloth materials.





L-R: Doreen Craig who initiated plans for the reunion, Amy Yew-Derrien who came all the way from Paris to attend the reunion and Jin Kar Ong who played a vital role in making the event a success.



Sangeeta (left) catching up with Mei-Ling Routley


Wong Suit Mui, who studied nursing in the UK, has been working in London for the past three decades.



Boey Moo Ling getting to know another Mei Ling — a young and enthusiastic Melanie Yap Mei Ling who sent an email after the event to ask her new-found schoolmates to stay in touch.

Friends from the Class of 1989 were happy to see each other again. L-R: Alice Lian, Melissa Siew and Lee Pek Tho.


All good things must end—on a very nostalgic note in this case. The BBGS School Song was sang in perfect harmony, video taped by a waiter who caught the tune and hummed along with our gals...

To listen to our BBGS sisters singing the school song in London, please click on:







A note from Doreen Craig: “We managed to raise £75 from the generosity of the girls as their contributions towards the Elena Cooke Education Fund. As agreed, I will be coming back to KL end June and will meet up with you to hand you our donation on behalf of BBGS OGAEU. Looking forward to meeting you. Once again, keep up your good work and thank you so much for your 'long distance' support! NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA”.
BBGS OGA wishes to congratulate the BBGS OGAEU for organising a successful reunion and thank them for their kind donation towards the Elena Cooke Education Fund. The OGA will hold all donations in trust until ROS approves our constitution amendments which will enable us to set up a separate bank account for the proposed Elena Cooke Education Fund.