2007 Annual Loh Sang Dinner

As we all know, the Loh Sang dinners have become an annual tradition. Members of the Selangor Philharmonic Society get together, wield their chopsticks with (not-grim-at-all) intent, and proceed to fluff up the Yee Sang for luck.

This year, the Loh Sang party was held at the Maju Palace, with the usual suspects in attendance. Chairman Alain (sounds a bit commie, wot?) spent a large part of the evening entertaining the members with somewhat x-rated jokes. The pre-dinner peanuts, the fish, the veg and even the desserts were not spared...

One of our more enduring (and endearing) members, Pan Swee Chin, got up from her table to dash over to ours, where she proceeded to regale the room with her experience at the recent Il Divo concert. With much miming, high-pitched enthusiasm and energetic re-enactment of her actions, she proceeded to put forth a performance well worth the price of dinner.

I'll have to say this for the Phil... we are never boring :)

Sometime between courses, Ivy and her sister got up to line-dance, and the ever-faithful karaoke machine was cranked up. Beautiful songs were sung, along with bawdy ones. Swee Chin and Callie entertained us with an impromptu salsa...the wine flowed freely, courtesy of Brian and Edna, and the mood was definitely boisterous and festive.

Pictures were taken, but this writer can't attach them to this post at this time because her computer's bluetooth is out of commission. Any other attendees want to submit pictures of that night, please feel free :)

The party, I was told, ended around half past eleven. As with all things Phil-related, it ended with a big musical bang. Right now, we're looking forward to the next DVD night, and I'll let Wen Li inform us when that will be, and what's on the viewing menu.

*edit: I have managed to make a liar of myself. Thanks to Flickr, I have managed to upload the pictures of the dinner. Whee!! :D

Fried Fish...Fantastic!! ;)


Alain offers me head....Fish. Head.


Swee Chin describes her quest for a complete set of Il Divo autographs...
Callista looks on in amusement.


The karaoke machine is fired up...


Callie and Swee Chin salsa to the song from the karaoke machine...
Alain's amused. What can I say? It was an amusing night :)

This is Zal, signing off :)

2007 Beckons!

The 2006-07 Committee decided that meetings at someone's abode were oft too laden with temptations (Read: kitchen, fridge, food) and so decided to lock themselves up in The Ascott on the weekend of January 5th-6th with nothing but pens, paper, and, er, food.

The photo below is of us on the evening of Saturday Jan 5th, all tired out braving the Saturday KL traffic and hordes of parents and students attending the nearby education fair.

See what's in the middle of the table? :-D (By the way, those were great cookies, Pat; and Cris - awesome muffins!)

2007-08 will be bustling with activity! We'll be reviving the Theatre Education Programme, or 'TEP', an initiative to provide education in the performance arts in line with the Society's vision. The TEP was successfully run in 2005 with a Workshop for Choral Groups facilitated by British choral conductor Peter Broadbent, and in with drama workshops by Michael Xavier Voon and Colin Kirton in 2004.

Also, we'll be starting to organise monthly DVD Nites (tentatively set at the first Monday of every month) - these will be informal get-togethers where members will meet up over snacks and a DVD or two of musical productions.

And then, of course, there's this blog! :) Members of the Committee will regularly post updates on Society happenings, and Phil members (and, well, everyone else on cyberspace) are welcome to post their comments (just click on the "comments" link at the bottom of each blog post). The official website of The Phil will also be revamped for the upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations, with new features and interactivity added in. Comments from members are always welcome - you know where to find us:

* Post a comment on this blog!

* Email us! (selangor.phil@gmail.com)

* Post a message on the members' pssnews egroup!

* If you prefer to speak to someone in person, there's always our phone numbers/email addresses if you have them!

More on what's in store for 2007-08 will be posted soon... keep your browsers bookmarked on this blog.

The photo below is of us on the morning of Sunday Jan 6th, all refreshed and ready to take on more of Pat's home-made cookies, only to find that Nigel had polished off most of it over late-night TV shows while the rest of us were asleep. Ah well.

SongFest 2005 - Let us have your feedback!

Hi all! Please feel free to post your views on SongFest 2005 - the good, the bad and the ugly, and how we could improve on the competition.

Should we convert it into a karaoke competition outright?
Should we maintain groups? (YES!!!)

etc. etc.

Let us know so we can improve!