The only consolation we had from the past few days was the chance to rummage through their lifetime of possession. I’ve seen this coming for years. My grandfather have told me time and time again exactly which of his collection would go to which grandchild.
He is a mad collector. He collects stamps that date back to the 1930s(pre-war days). Stamps from every country, some I’ve not even heard off. He has got about 7 albums full of it and an array of miscelleanous stamps in clear plastic bags sorted out by country and states.
Then there’s the matchbox collection which I am still looking high and low for. The jars and jars of coins that he has collected over the years. I found an entire box of keychains. At least 200 there.
The most surprising discovery I made was my grand father’s vinyl record collection. Perhaps there are about 200+ of them. 45rpms and 33 and a half rpms. I don’t know what that means, but I’ve been doing a bit of reading on vinyl records seeing that they’re probably worth some money.
My grandmother’s not much of a collector but she does enjoy collecting postcards. Will try to see what I can do with it when I do find it. Hoping to stumble upon some vintage costume jewelry. That’d be so cool.
Dad’s thinking of auctioning off all the “maybe got value” things that my grandparents own on eBay and the profits will be used to maintain my grandparents house in USJ (ie. for bills, repair works etc.). The process of finding and auctioning it will be fun though.
Malayan stamps!! No kidding.
Sarawak pre-war stamps!!
Some UK stamps in the 1970s. In the upper left corner you can see some stamps commemorating Charles and Princess Di’s wedding.
Stamps, stamps and more stamps.
His keychains collection!!
There’s one of a naked girl. Speaking of naked, we stumbled upon some naughty magazines… and ughhh, those girls date back to the 1960s. With the hairstyles to boot. The fashion then was not to bikini wax. Uggh. My brother, cousin brother Kwan Hoong and myself were looking at the price of the mag and it said, “1 pound!”. We wondered for awhile how my grand father managed to get one from the UK before realisation dawned upon us and we went, “AHHHHHH..hahahah..”. Our dear Uncle Terry in UK sure knows how to spoil our grandfather.
Aunty Judy who was studying nursing(and eventually lived there for about 30 years now) gave this locket to my grandmother.
How old school are these? Laser discs from the mid-90s!! Not of value, but quite exciting all the same.
His coins collection! Arranged to countries. Very organised old man, my grandfather.
33 and a half rpms vinyl records. Aunty Judy said that these were the singles then.
There are more. I wonder if they’re still playable.
Really flower power man. Rod Stewart, Santana etc.. Maybe some of my dad’s teenage stuff are in the pile.
NANCY SIT?!!
I’m quite the sentimental fool so I’ve looked through every single photo album in my grandparents’ home and decided to share these with you guys.
My grandmother’s parents’ wedding. Even then they knew how to cut heart shapes. Wow. Circa 1920s/1930s.
My dad at age 4. SO CUTE RIGHT? I don’t know why his head so big though.
Aunty Susie and Dad at age 8 and age 11.
Aunty Judy(Dad’s oldest sister) and Grandma(who was 17 then.)
That’s me. With a Nike shirt. I was more brand concious then compared to myself now. Should be about 2 years old.
A haunting pic of my grandmother.
My father’s 5 year old birthday party. He’s the little boy with a black tie(he was wearing a tie already!!!) and white shirt. Very ‘heng’ those number-shaped birthday cakes back then.
Grandma’s photo to granddad. “Lovingly you/only/always” or something like that.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this but do you know that my grandmother’s grandmother is pure Thai? So yeah, I have mix blood. But sorry lah, I didn’t turn out to be much of an exotic beauty. 🙁 All the chinese blood got summoned into me and I got all the features a typical chinese girl should have: small eyes and flat nose. 🙁
Maybe some Thai Blood came into me and gave me these boobs.(pays homage to boobs). Height, I’m not sure. Are chinese typically tall?
Granddad also fat hiau and sent one back.
Two years before they got married. Heck, she was only 14!! Anyway, I didn’t know grand dad’s a christian before?! Last I know, he was a staunch taoist.
Damn drama right? But very nice.
She got married at the age of 16. Grand dad was 22.
I don’t know why she looked so moody in all her wedding photos. It was not an arranged marriage.
My poser father and his younger sister, Aunt Susie. About 1965.
Grandparents were quite the camwhores.
top l-r: Grandma, Greatgrand-dunnowho, Greatgrandmother, Grandfather
bottom l-r: Aunty Susie(age 1), Aunty Judy(age 7) and Dad(age 4).
A 1964 photo. Dad was only 7 and can’t possibly be interested in photography. Granddad loved photography as well. Now I know where I got my mo liu photo taking gene from. Even my dad likes to take photos of mo liu things. I remember how I used to dig through the stacks of photo in the cupboards as a child and got frustrated when I saw albums and albums of inanimated objects.(read: photos that did not have my cute baby face in it.)
A nice photo of grandmother.
Granddad was in the reserve police during the Japanese occupation era. Great grand mother used to object against their relationship because he always carried a gun. Right.
Someone should have told him that smoking kills.
My grandma was 23 years old in this photo. Imagine, I will be THAT age when I graduate from my dentistry course. Without two children. Gosh,I’d better not have any children at that age!
Found too many cute photos of myself. Here’s one of me. I had a phase at about age 2 during when I hated the camera so much. It was the damn flash.
See what I mean? Mum was pregnant with Mervyn, by the way. That was about late 1988.
Hated it so much.
This was taken maybe 5 years ago?
Aunty Susie and Aunty Judy clowning around.
Cousin Shevie enjoying her meal at age 3. She was SO cute. She finishes PMR on Tuesday. Lucky, lucky.
My grandfather had always loved gardening.
I HAD TO PUT THIS UP. A very horrid photo of my dad. I’m sure our kids will look at our photos and say, “UGH MUM WHY UR HAIR SO STRAIGHT/UGH DAD WTF YOUR HAIR SO SPIKY FOR?” .. so that’s why I’m not rebonding my hair just yet.
Dad and I on our birthday. He was 32 and I was 2.
Grandma and me. I was 3 years old!
Grandma’s family. She’s the little girl on the left. I think she was 5 years old. Aunty Peggy is the one who is being carried by my great grand mother. The other little girl is Aunty Dolly who is their older sister.
Grandfather and dad. Circa 1964.
Grandmother and granddad. Taken in 1964 as well.
This photo is too funny. My grand dad is the one with his head resting on his palm. Tsk, tsk. Look until like that. HAHA. He’s a good man, my grand mother was there as well so it’s not like he went alone. lol. Oh gosh. What an ugly stripper though. It was during the late 1950s. My dad insists that it is Rose Chan.(famous striptease artist back in the 1960s) I don’t think so though. Maybe it is a man.
Avril Oct 21, 05 Delete
yikes. I was almost convinced that u were..becos there are many assuntarians linked on ur site. =)
Jayelle Oct 21, 05 Delete
avril: 😉 maybe if you look through you’ll find one? nah, not from Assunta.:) SMK SUbang Utama was my alma mater:D
Avril Oct 20, 05 Delete
The last pic is hilarious. I wonder if I can ever find one like this. Were you Assuntarian, by the way? Hit me back at my site, thanks.=)
Jayelle Oct 15, 05 Delete
lilian: ahaha, i know. she is a famous stripper and all mah. yeah, i love these photos so so much. makes me look forward to sharing MY memories with my grandkids.
lilian Oct 14, 05 Delete
Wow, you have so much treasured memories of your grandparents! That last pic – I don’t know it is Rose Chan or not but she was dem femes dueing the colonial times. I got piak (slap) when I mentioned her name last time. ‘Cos I ask my dad if she is a relative of ours! LOL! My surname is Chan too.
Jayelle Oct 14, 05 Delete
gab: thanks..:) 0ne of the nicest encouragement i’ve gotten so far.
asyraf lee: hurry before it’s too late.
Asyraf Lee Oct 14, 05 Delete
Now I feel like doing a photoshoot about my gramps ^^
gab Oct 13, 05 Delete
hey lurve ur pics gurl.. one of the best post i have seen in a blog
Jayelle Oct 12, 05 Delete
kit: yeah..i’d like to think of them that way as well.
vivien: thanks, i am. 😉 he was… i want to be an avid collector as well.
vivien Oct 12, 05 Delete
hey jolene…hope u are feeling much more better now. ur grandpa is one hell of a man…just look at his stamps collection! CONFIRM I kalah oredi…lol…btw, i liked the pictures…it’s just so classic.
Kit Oct 12, 05 Delete
Everyone one day have to part.A truly destine lovely romantic couple as i see it .
u take care and all the best to u and ur family
Jayelle Oct 11, 05 Delete
gina; Hey there..thanks for the consolation. we’re pulling through..:)
baz: that coming from you means that this post is really something. hahaha you can still do that.. 🙂 though these days we call acts like these camwhoring.:) times are a changing my boy. but it’d be nice to do something like that if you want to:) your dad is sad.:( hahaha.but damn funny though.
moyzie: they will, in due time. 🙂 they did? thank you..:)
thanks..you take care too.
moyzie Oct 11, 05 Delete
hugx*
hope the turbulent emotions get settled soon.
your last few posts got me into a blubbering mess infront of my pc.
take care you.
Baz Oct 10, 05 Delete
ok this is one post that i really enjoyed reading, but maybe it’s the nostalgic dude inside.
i like the signed love photos dei. why don’t we do that anymore?? btw my dad used to sign sean connery pics to himself.
gina Oct 10, 05 Delete
Hi, Jolene.
Cool pictures! 🙂
I’m sorry about your grandmother, though. It must be really tough for you and your family.. My condolences to you all…
Take care of yourself and all the best in everything you do.
Cheers,
Gina
Jayelle Oct 10, 05 Delete
qiki: thanks..:) photography is fun. even back then.
morticya: sigh.. will have to find time to slowly go through each and everyone of it.
me: we’ll definitely keep some of them. but we are not kidding anybody by actually having the space to keep all of it. we’ll see how things go.
narrowband: it’d bve nice to pass down all ur now dvds and comp games to your grandkids. they’d be so happy to see such “antiques’. haha..:)
meldee: i think you’re as lucky:) you’ve taken enough photos to bore your grandchildren. lol.. “something else” huh. makes these type sound like creatures.
liz: i’m glad they lived a colourful life.:) ..i suppose i’ll have to do alot of reading on stamps and do such research on it to get the best price.:)
so do appreciate your grandparents more because like me, you could just lose them in a blink of an eye. No indication whatsoever.;(
It’s okay to spill your fears. 🙂
elles: u had to do it as well huh? =) i know they do. thanks..:) the next thing i want to do is wash all the nice photos and put it into a huge ass photo album. 🙂
elles Oct 10, 05 Delete
hey jo. :)i think this post is so nostalgic. reminds me of my own grandparents and the time we went through their stuff to see which should be thrown and which should be kept. 🙂 these are lovely photos..and it’s obvious that your grandparents loved each other then and still do now, no matter where they are. 🙂 cheer up girl. *hugs*
Liz Oct 09, 05 Delete
My condolences to your loss. But I see your grandparents lived a colourful life.
You can also sell your stamps on certain stamps collectors site, I’m sure they’ll fetch much more than e-bay cos collectors lurk there. There’s stamp-collecting associations in Malaysia as well(Numerous “Kelab Stem” in schools might be able to contact them, not sure though). It’s best to ask a dealer to evaluate the price. I would wanna buy them(I collect stamps, the most prized oneis my Princess Diana first-day cover), if only I had the money!
Reading your entries about your grandparents death touched me. I cried as well, mainly thinking about my own grandparents. They’re aren’t dead yet, thank goodness, but grandma has had hypertension for 4 years already. I fear one day they’ll leave me. I’m very close to them, especially grandma because I learnt a bot of cooking from her. Sometimes I am afraid that they’ll pass away, yet this is inevitable. Hope you don’t mind me spilling my fears out here too much…
meldee Oct 09, 05 Delete
this post made me smile 🙂 it’s nice to look back and see that they had happy, full life with love and kids at…17. eep. i could have a two year-old O_O
your grandparents had a very sweet courtship; everything looks so wonderful! i hope i’m as lucky 🙂
haha eh rose chan damn heng ok. we read this article about her in class and saw some old pictures of her. she was somthing else!
narrowband Oct 09, 05 Delete
agree@c.ho
i think i’ve to learn to be that neat myself. everything’s so organised.
“Without two children. Gosh,I’d better not have any children at that age!” – LOL, how different it was back then :p
Nice compilation. Glad that you’re feeling better.
me Oct 09, 05 Delete
sorry to hear bout yur grandparents. But u are def. crazy to sell the stuff yur grand dad collected.. i say keep them.
morticya^33 Oct 09, 05 Delete
the vinyls should honestly be working! ;p have fun, current price for latest vinyls are aout 38 to 40 bucks(rm), but since they’re classic, i reckon they should cost more.
Qiki Oct 09, 05 Delete
gLad u’re feeling better^^
Dere’s so much photos and collections Lolx didnt know ur photo taking skills come from your grandad ..tat pic is nice the flowers*
Jayelle Oct 09, 05 Delete
kenneth: that’s right. i’m just worried what format can my grandkids view all these photos that i’ve taken in. too lazy to wash them all..no money as well. 🙁 …but i really love looking at my grandparents photos…
c.ho: they’ve lived quite a life. 🙂 that’s a consolation.. hehe i’ll read up on that vinyl records thing all right.
vid: ahh… i’ll get back to u about that coz dad wants to auction them off and see how much they fetch. he also wants to wait for my aunty judy to bring the record plaayer back from UK to see if they are still in good condition.
ViD Oct 09, 05 Delete
my household here in aus listens to vinyl records. We have a record player in the apartment. Can i buy some of them from u? seriously.
c.ho Oct 08, 05 Delete
oh.. oh.. NANCY SIT??!!! Whoaa!! she was quite the looker back in the day huh??
hey!! you better do a search on google to check out how much the stuff are worth. then at least you can get it for er.. the correct price?
c.ho Oct 08, 05 Delete
hmm.. looking at the photos.. i think your grandparents have accomplished quite a bit in their lives.
i have to say.. your granddad must’ve been one interesting person. All those collections! and you’re right.. so neat!
gee, looking at those photos.. it’s all so.. nostalgic.
Kenneth Oct 08, 05 Delete
Yeah, the last photo was funny.
Memories. That’s the greatest treasure anybody can pass on. I have always preferred photographs to videos.
Photographs capture the moment. and then it leaves very much up to the viewer’s perspective. Most of the time, it can be beautiful.