Remembering My Good O Days! Part 2

Background: In the 70s, the Singapore Polytechnic Welfare Services Club was a hive of activities. We stayed back after lectures for meetings, sketch practices for old folks home, song practices for children, bamboo dance practices for lepers' Home, study sessions for the diploma, sports sessions for fun, discussions, more discussions, more singing...etc, till late at night.

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We were in our late teens with a common goal to serve the under-privileged. Also, at that age, romance easily fills the air.

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Then it came a time, when it became difficult to gather big groups together, as some were already pairing off somewhere and not joining the main group. A rather anti-social act, but they were in love and oblivious about anything outside their little world. :) This was particularly difficult during work camps, training camps and campus group activities, where group efforts were essential. So the Central Committee (CC) decided to make an announcement, that male and female volunteers were discouraged from 'pairing off' during Club activities. A rather draconian rule, but at the time somehow the guilty obliged and attempted to comply.

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So there on, all Club activities were planned in such a way that there were precautions to prevent girl-boy pairing off into the romantic sunsets. Similar announcements were made in the 'Welscope', the Club newsletter. Soon, everyone was talking about it.

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Mind you, we were still innocent teens and you probably won't bat an eyelid over the lame things we did, which were nowhere near the hotstuff we see today. During those ultra-conservative days in Singapore, it was still taboo for a guy even to hold a girl's hand, unless you are serious about being a couple together. So, those who were straying away in pairs were merely mesmerised, in love, indifferent and together. Sorry no juicy stories to tell even if I want to! :)
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Eventually, everyone was overly conscious about who is interested in who and who is going out with who secretly...etc. It became one of the Club's favourite gossips and hence dominant thoughts. The CC started off doing a good job, but realised that more and more members were 'pairing off' despite all the measures taken. More suprisingly and quite hilariously, all too soon, some in the CC found themselves pairing off within, or finding their boy friend/girlfriend within the Club. Now, no one was safe from Cupid's arrows. And of course, the problems which the Club had mobilising the whole group, became worse.

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The next year, a new CC came in and dropped the whole idea of enforcing anything. They just turned away from the problem, and guess what? The problem disappeared!

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