Skip to main content

X'mas is where Koh Soo Ling is

There are 19 days until Christmas and New Sunday Times contributor Dr Koh Soo Ling is feeling Christmassy!

She knows that successful gatherings need good planning and preparation for her first Christmas in Ireland started early.

In addition to the traditional decorations and tree, she will be introducing Malaysian cuisine on the Christmas table.

I asked her to describe her Irish Christmas "fever" and this is her reply via email.

See below for a new poem from the pen of Soo Ling: Wintry Charm. 

If you are meeting Soo Ling for the first time, read about her here.

"My freezer (Mat Sallehs have this very serious business about having an extra freezer in the shed) is stocked up with Christmas game and frozen food, my windows and two fireplaces are decorated and I'm
expecting two Malaysians to come over and stay during the Christmas season. 

"So I will dish out turkey, cranberry sauce as well as ketupat (bought earlier from Malaysia, so just throw into boiling water), satay sauce (Brahim's) and satay (now this is authentic) except that it has
to be grilled in an oven. 

"I have three in one teh tarik too.

"We will print out carol sheets, Audrey will play the keyboard and we will sit by the fire crooning. Chocolates like Quality Street sweets are very cheap and I've stocked up a few tins to fill up the stockings.

"I like the Christmas celebration here, it is very very warm and even the streets are lighted up.

"As for church, we have quite a number of activities too. One of them is packing toys into shoe boxes for children in Africa and poor countries. 

"Then we also have Christmas hampers (we contribute the goodies) that we leave at the door steps of the needy during Christmas day but we remain anonymous. Just ring the doorbell, leave the hamper
and run."


What an attractive Christmas window display!

A fireplace with X'mas decorations.

The snow on the trees is really pretty.
Meet Michael Howard, Soo Ling's other half.

Soo Ling is looking forward to her first Irish Christmas.

Soo Ling has created a warm and festive atmosphere in her Irish home.

Wintry Charm


When the snow falls
On the icy ground
And the wind calls
A curious sound
It’s a mystery
That every snowflake is unique
And everything flies in a flurry
As we shuffle our feet.

When the snow falls
And the robin goes and hides
Behind the walls
That are frozen and white.
The branches are bare
The leaves brittle and light
In the cold thin air
Through the long dark night.

When the snow falls
Wrapped in warm coats and mittens
We hurriedly open the doors
With our wooden tobaggans
We scoop up some snow
Partially hidden we lie
No weapons, no arrows or bows
Ready to pelt snow balls at passers-by.




Labels:
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Comments

Samuel C said…
Hahahaa thats my mom! LOL
7 December 2010 at 18:20
Unknown said…
r u going there?
16 December 2010 at 21:34
FAEZAH ISMAIL said…
No, I am not but I would love to. Maybe one day!
16 December 2010 at 23:20
Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Why Shamsul Amri dislikes Facebook

Professor Shamsul Amri Baharuddin People who do not use Facebook fall into three broad categories. The first group is completely indifferent to it, the second finds it mildly irritating and the third dislikes it intensely. Malaysia's prominent sociologist Professor Shamsul Amri Baharuddin is of the last type. I made the mistake of asking Shamsul, who is director of the Institute of Ethnic Studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, if he was on Facebook, the social network which was hatched up in the dormitories of Harvard six years ago. "I have a face and I keep thousands of books. Why do I need Facebook?" How do you react to that reply? I didn't. I meekly invited him to elaborate on his reasons. "Facebook will take away my soul and I won't allow that to happen because I am a believer," says Shamsul fiercely, who launched into a tirade of accusations against Facebook. Ninety per cent of the things you read on Facebook are either p...
7 comments
Read more

A spot of rural tranquillity in Ipoh

Your nerves are frayed and you need a dose of pleasingly rustic ambience without having to leave the city. There is such a spot for you, if you are in Ipoh. All you need to do is head for a block of flats called Kinta Heights in Pekan Lama, Ipoh, Perak, which is next to the Kinta River, one of the main branches of the Perak River. Unbelievable, as it may seem, there are several nasi kandar outlets and sundry shops in the vicinity, set in the greenery, with a view and a walking path. I suggest that you have lunch at Ramli Nasi Kandar and after that, take a very short walk to the river bank for your rural retreat. You might be motivated to spend 10 minutes or more in total silence and tranquillity. This is the place I go to again and again. Ramli Nasi Kandar is next to the sundry shop A short bridge to the river bank  You will feel irritated by people putting litter on the ground but I refuse to allow that to distract me. There is a 'Do not litter' notice her...
Post a Comment
Read more

Giving New Year resolutions another chance

In the spirit of New Year resolutions doing the rounds, I have a story to share. My friend Rabiaa Dani gave up making resolutions a long time ago. She found it hard to keep her promises made at the start of each year. The issue had given her a lot of grief over the years. Frustration ensued when her New Year resolutions went out of the window, often culminating with her beating herself up. The first few days were good but she would falter after the first week. She felt bad about her lack of willpower and would feel depressed and unworthy of respect or value. So she decided that she would no longer make them. However, unknown to her, she would review this decision at the end of 2017. What happened? Rabiaa and her husband attended a talk by Ustaz Dato' Badli Shah bin Alauddin at Komplex Darul Baraqah in Manjoi, Ipoh, Perak on December 28, 2017. The Ustaz from Pahang is one Rabiaa's favourite preachers and she hardly misses his religious talks on television. This was the first...
Post a Comment
Read more