Surviving a stormy NE Show

Saturday started very early for me in school. The teachers were gathered in the school hall for our Musical rehearsal. Being the backstage management committee member, we were required to be there throughout the whole show since 7.30 a.m. It was no joke considering that many teachers were also involved in the NE Show happening in the afternoon then.

The rehearsal ended around 12.15 p.m, and some of us went over to Lot 1 Sakae for our lunch. Once again, unable to curb my insatiable hunger for Chawamushi and Donburi, I wolfed down 2 Chawamushis, 1 bowl of Chicken Katsu Don, topped with 2 bottles of Esprit Lime Lemonade. We had such a hearty meal!

Back in school, Mr Yap and I were paired to accompany my own form class for NE Show, and we set off from school around 3.15 p.m. it seemed like a nice cool Saturday afternoon... yet, little did we knew that it was not to be later...

We alighted at Connaught Drive and walked to the floating platform, forming a huge human crowd all the way through Esplanade. A lot of primary schools were invited to grace the event as well. So, you could imagine the crowd we had that day!

It was apparent that the day could be a stormy one since dark clouds were all over the sky in that region. It would be just a matter of time that the gates of heaven would open and pour down on us... The teachers were well aware of this and repeatedly reminded our children to keep their ponchos within reach and not to thrown them away... Alas, children being children, they like to test whether your instructions are credible or not... Some of them threw away their ponchos at the fact that they were lazy to fold them back.

After some time of waiting, the show kicked off with hosts with the likes of Michelle, Mark Lee, and Vernetta Lopez breaking the ice with the crowd. What was some interesting features for this year's NDP would be the change in the sequence of how they allow the whole show to proceed.

We used to start off everything with a display of forces from Army, Navy, Airforce, Singapore Police Force and Civil Defence. This year, everything were arranged to flow like a story. This year's focus is on Terrorism and how capable Singapore would be to handle such emergency situation.

The flop side of it would be the massive amount of bad English used by Mark Lee. We are trying to teach our pupils to converse in proper English, and yet there he was, blabbering Singlish with every single line he spoke..

The stage has a giant 'eye' in the middle which would be the screen for the audience. One highlight for this year's show would be its heavy reliance on IT, henceforth the need for the big screen.

On the sides of that gigantic 'eye' would be window panels which doubled as a screen and a display window for performers to take their place during the show. The whole design would reflect the high rise buildings we have in Singapore, from office buildings to HDB flats.

During the show, there were occasions where it drizzled and stopped repeatedly. When it was nightfall, the scene of the whole platform was simply breathtaking where the torches functioned well to illuminate the area with its vibrant tinges of red and white. It seemed like a massive sea of stars across...

Here and there, I would never forget to play along and just have fun with my own pupils. They are an interesting lot, somewhat different from the previous P3s I had taken... They are growing up, and they come with different problems, emotions and personalities. I find it a joy to really journey with them as they grow up,even for just a year...

Above would be a picture I had taken way before the storm set in and poured down heavily on us. We were caught in the heavy downpour when it was the grand finale of the show - fireworks!!! I could have taken video of the whole firework had it not been for the heavy rain...

It was a crazy time of accounting for everyone from my class and to get everyone safely on the bus. I feared for my dear 5.7s, whether they would be sick, be lost, or be too cold under this shivering chilly storm... Everyone was rushing back to their buses, and the downpour was so great that staircases were like waterfalls with water gushing down. All of us were holding on to the railing as we took each step cautiously.

We walked as fast as we could to the flyover near Esplanade and took shelter there to link up with Mr Yap. I was really glad that throughout this whole 'ordeal' none of my pupils were lost in the mess. Imagine how serious it could have been if I were to have anyone missing along the way?

I have been to a couple of NE shows through the years, but this one is bound to stay in my memory for a long time to come. I am proud to have survived a stormy NE Show with my class... It was quite an eventful Saturday, although it was a tiring one... I pray that none of my pupils would fall sick from yesterday's rain... Please... Stay healthy everyone..