Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Irene Hoe remembers her childhood at Old Dhoby Ghaut. She recalls the two businesses her mother Wu Chuen Chuen ran – Stamford Café and a hairdressing salon. I was surprised by her story of how her mother gave her up for adoption when she was very young so she could have a better life (though she returned home soon), and how she obtained closure over the matter years later.

00:00 Introduction

02:00 19 Dhoby Ghaut

08:22 Rex Bookstore

12:15 Our Hairdressing Salon

19:57 My Mum as a Businesswoman

27:45 Stamford Café

50:20 My Parents & Siblings

55:12 My Adoption

01:04:30 What Girls Did in Those Days

01:09:47 Second-hand Bookstores

01:14:28 Heritage & the Real Singapore

I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, a people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

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