Imaging the dim past --- post war years

It was 1947 when we finally settled in Kulim. Life became normal again. We moved into a free standing, three bedroom, attap roofed, heavily weathered clapboard house set in a coconut grove not far from the town centre. The only source of water supply was a shallow well located in the kitchen area. The tiny room adjacent to the well was a bathroom. The huge clay jar used for storing water was filled several times a day by scooping the water from the well and emptying the content into it.
A bucket type dunny was located some distance outside the house. Moving in and out of the facility was in full view of the neighbors and passersby. We were young and we didn’t know what it was to feel embarrassed. We did not have any choice.
Electricity was the main source of lighting. The only complaint we had about the house was that the walls partitioning the rooms were not sound proof. A broad platform in the first room acted as a bed for the whole family. The second room had an iron bed with a pandanus mat placed over the wooden boards to smooth out the joints. The third bedroom belonged to the owner who was well over seventy years of age and looking very healthy.
A year or two later we had a radio which provided the main entertainment.
The half a dozen houses in the grove were placed haphazardly and the path that ran through the area was actually a winding bicycle track. Every now and then we could hear a thud and that reminded us that a coconut had dropped. Some of the palms were kept specifically for producing toddy, a potent intoxicating drink. It tasted sweet and made a pleasant drink when undiluted.
We remained in this house for approximately eight years. Time sped along silently Meantime dad lived and worked in Badenock Estate and we visited him during the holidays. Our first visit brought the two halves of the family together. That was the first time I was ever introduced to my half brothers, Teddy and Francis, who were then aged about five and three respectively. We got along well.
We joined St Patrick’s School which was under the management of the De La Salle Brothers. I was admitted to standard three at 14 years of age. Gilbert joined standard two. Florence was in the private section which functioned in the afternoon. My school leaving report stated that I did not partake in any sporting activities ( in actual fact the school did not provide any such activities). I was a patrol leader in the scout movement and I was also a prefect. I left the school in 1951. I had spent a total of three and a half years in the primary and three years in the secondary. I left St Pats to join B.M High School to do my Overseas School Certificate which I completed with a 2nd grade in 1952.
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