succulently juicy, a bit sour but still crunchy
these cherries had their own stories to tellwe both love cherries and whenever we had cherries, we would remember a certain place and time in our lives
the year: 1990? ( before I proceed, I have this dejavu feeling, as if what I am about to write has already been written before , but hey I am writing it again anyway, for the memories are still fresh, as fresh as the sign of flowers sprung up at the begnning of Spring, or the slight cool breeze beginning of Fall, it's as if I could see Mr Patel selling the KitKat to me, or hearing the meat guy, asking me, "Skin on or off?
I could see myself wearing layers and layers of clothing with long black winter coat during Winter or the swimming lessons that I had with my friends at Barking swimming pool in Summer, or rather the long and enjoyable hours of bowling games and pools.Not forgetting the walk in Covent Garden and the shoppings , all the way from Marble Arch, Bond Street and Oxford Street. rows and rows of shops and departmental stores like, Marks and Spencer, Selfridges, Woolworth, Bally, Next, Miss Selfridge,for you to shop or rather window shop .
And ,and ... the concerts too!From White Snake to Michael Jackson ,to David Sanborn and Bryan Adam plus the Westend shows too, from Cats to Miss Saigon.
the road: it wasn't Windsor Road, that was the name of the street of my first house,there was a launderette and a video store right at the end of the road and at the front of Windsor Road, there's a B&B Cash and Carry ( where we bought our curry powder ( Hot or Mild) ,rice, milk, etc, a newsagent where we bought our copies of Evening Standard or the tabloids such as "News of the World' or 'the Sun' ( with its famous page 3) or the Daily Mirror, with a bus stop for the 169 or 179 buses right in front of it. These buses would take us to Barking where we had to switch to another bus which would take us to our place of study. One thing I remember about buses was how polite and considerate the drivers were , and how courteous the passengers were too, giving up their seats for the needy or the elderly.
A few metres away, along Ilford Lane, you will find a Chinese takeaway place where we used to buy " King prawn fried rice', a few shops away, there's this Kohi Noor Tandoori with its brilliant meat beriani and as you walk further up, you will come across Sainsbury's where I always bought my petit fromage frais yogurt or the Muller yogurt,
Speaking of Sainsbury's, I remember one time , fasting month like now, we went groceries shopping and we came across the fruit section, grapes to be exact, and I was thinking of buying some but normally I would taste them first to see if they were sweet or otherwise. So i tried one, and another , and another and the grape tasted sooo goood, until suddenly my friend said to me
"Zue, aren't you fasting today?"
Yes, I definitely was! But I had completely forgotten about !!!
:-)
and because the people at Sainsbury's were all so nice and friendly too.
A few metres away from Sainsbury's you will enter the Ilford town centre where you could find Barclays bank, Natwest Bank, Lloyds, Bodgers, Topshop, Next, Argos, WHSmith ( where I bought my Garfield books )and many many more shops
Have I ever mentioned that along Ilford Lane, there was a meat shop selling halal meat and chicken? It's quite near our house too so it was easy for us to get our supply of halal meat there. furthermore, this area was filled with Pakistani and that was very convenient to us too.
how about Bedford Road? Robin? No, that was our second house.
Harvey Road? English landlord with a nice backyard and kitchen. nope
Kingston Road?no..
I remember now Richmond Road, that's where we ate these red cherries. the tree was right at the backyard of our friends' house . Eating these cherries yesterday somehow brought back the old memories of yesteryears.
Winter Spring Summer or Fall,
all you have to do is call
and I'll be there
yes I will
you got a friend......
terima kasih kerana sudi tinggal jejak kat blog Kak Jun dan kak Jun suka baca pasal ceri merah penuh kenangan itu. Mesti seronok menghabiskan zaman remaja di London...kan? Tapi dalam masa yang sama, hati lara dek berpisah dengan keluarga...kan? Hem, macam manalah Zur yang kecik molek ni dulu survive kat negara orang...? Nagis tak masa Aidilfitri? :-))
ReplyDeleteHi Zue, Ahaa! Now I da tau you studied, lived in England. Your style and eloquence somehow has that typical 'ye ole country air' about it....
ReplyDeleteLike Wimbledon or Ascot in Summer, ha ha. Or Incik Huge Grant talking to whats her name at Nottinghill.
Actually I was guessing you studied in US, as how the style you write.
Not many has your kind of eloquence and style as well perfect Oxford English.
And yes, all the places you mentioned brought back memories to me.
Covent gardens, Marble Arch, as well Oxford Circus, Piccadilly circus, Regent's park, Serpentine Lake and people's corner.
How I miss the English style of fish & chips eating from a newspaper, most likely 'News of the World' with all its scandals and gossip.
And the lady's, yes 'luv, thank you 'luv'.
Mentioning this now brings memories of the fantastic scent of that fish & chips.
I stayed at Malaysia Hall 3 months too, made many friends and as usual had my own gang of 4, and getting into mischief.
One now a retired MAS captain....devilishly handsome, other one studying in Sandhurst Military school....has a loud 21 decible voice too....
And funny enough, all Malays too.
Somehow I grew up with Malays, dated more Malay women than others, and in UK, Malay friends, and now in my pondok, Malay ladies like yourself.
Not to mention my sebelum Merdeka, University of Pasar Malam bahasa improving faster than my friend can hide his wife's modesty, ha ha ha.
Zue, thanks for the memories.....I enjoyed reading your past.....now saya yang tau.
Have a nice day and keep a song in your heart. Lee.
ps, I posted about my UK days last year.
Zue, I lupa....pity our paths never crossed, as fate, time and distance played it's part....but it sure would be great having a dinner date with a lady like you.
ReplyDeleteHave always appreciated elegance and style.....makes my otak work o/time, ha ha.
And I certainly will not wear my watch....
And I'm sure the moon will rise an hour early too.
Happy cooking....have chinchaloke for buka puasa? Ha ha, Lee.
Salam Kak Jun, as much as you enjoyed reading them, I enjoyed writing about them for those times were the dearest!Missing my family like crazy, nangis sampai nak banjir, pagi2 raya, guna British Telecom phone card ten pound called Malaysia, masa tu mana ada handphone. but raya kat sana pun meriah, ketupat, rendang semua ada, nanti bila rajin Zue load gambar2 raya di sana pulak.
ReplyDeletelove having you around here, sama2 kita menyambut bulan Ramadhan ini semoga puasa dan amalan kita diberkati.
Salam sayang dari Alor Staq
Hello Lee, as always, it's apleasure having you dropped by, the sun will shine and the sky will be blue, as it is already nine thirty am:-)I did mentioned about my study place in my e-mail ( perhaps you have missed my reply). Yup, UK, those wonderful, memorable blissful experiences and moments can all be fouund back there at Ilford Lane, Sloane Square, St. Christopher's Place, Covent Garden,Malaysia Hall, and so many other beautiful places.
ReplyDeletethose fish and chips at Ilford lane,just close to the chinese take away, how could I have missed that, was one of the best, ( if not the best that I had ever taste ) 'MAriana fish and chip' ,
by the way that whats her name was Julia Roberts in Nottinghill. I love Hugh Grant movies, with his charming Bitish accent and wits.
I used to work at Malaysia Hall for a while, wait a minute! what year was it? I got a home decor book from a complete stranger when I was working there, he, this Chinese guy was checking out and he had this Laura Ashley book and somehow and I didn't know how, he gave that book to me, signed with a simple note, To Zue, " All the Best". and I still have that book with me.hmmmmm.........
your friends, that particular devilish handsome retired MAS captain must surely be one heartbreaker no?
I too had a few Chinese friends during my Uni days, and I did receive one teddy bear from one Chinese guy from Manchester, perhaps just a friendly gesture but he did call me all the way from there when I went back for a holiday in Malaysia, but that was that.I had my fair share of interesting friends and friendships back then
yes, the ever so heart warming ' thank you luv, alright luv' from the people there was so melodious with a genuine smile on their faces, the ones I really missed most, the ones that I seldom find here which was a pity.
Thank you again for dropping by and for sharing the journey of my past with me. We all should always look foward, to the future but looking back at the past sometimes, reminiscing and embracing those moments was just as good remembrance and reminders of how good and how bad we had gone thru our lives, things and people that made us who we are.
and Lee, you are too kind and generous with all those lovely comments, what came out here is what I feel, perhsps it's the influence of the novels that I read.
Have a nice weekend , then again, everyday is a weekend to you and me, for we have no cards to punch every morning, no Monday morning blues .
take care and stay cool
p/s : stay away from beans for fearing of scaring or upsetting yet another 'mannequin'hehe........:-)
it's me again Lee, and yes, it's a pity. Didn't use to have many dates cos I think I am a one man woman ,maybe just a little harmless teasing and flirting once in a while just for the fun of it :-), almost had a date with one big American guy but I made a run not for it but the opposite direction before things got messy, didn't think I ever dated a Chinese guy before.
ReplyDeletedon't know about elegance and style cos I am just a simple person
and sorry...no cencalok for me, not even budu even if I come from the state which produces budu:-)but sambal belacan yes, itu pun baru belajar makan dia.
gonna start my baking project, soon my house will be filled with cookies aroma, if you happen to smell something nice, that could be coming from Jalan Stadium, Alor Star.........:-)
Ciao!