Francis Yip

I spent my Valentine's evening in the company of a younger woman, listening to an older one sing love songs.

Francis Yip. A name I always associate with the song, Shanghai Beach 上海灘 from The Bund, a Hong Kong drama from the 80's. I used to hate that song. That first verse ..
Lo..ng punnn (dum dum dum)
Lo..ng lauuu (dum dum dum)
That used to irritate the hell out of me. Maybe it was because my dad never let me watch any HK dramas and forced me to study in the kitchen while the rest of the family had their eyes glued to the TV.

But when I saw her concert advertisement on TV on New Year's eve last year, they showcased her powerful voice, singing songs in English. The ticket prices were reasonable and I was keen but I had no one to go with. I did think of bringing Eddy but I know that he would probably not be interested, even though she is closer to his age group!! And besides, I didn't know if he had the day off.

Then one day, when I was talking to Jean, I mentioned that I saw the ad. To my surprise, she said that she was a fan and always have been. That was it. We bought tickets, got a discount from the nice lady at the Sistic counter in Atria and we went for the concert.

When I was waiting for Jean at the Singapore Indoor Stadium that evening, I was amused at the age group that was present. We were definitely much younger than the average crowd which was good. You know what they say .. If you want to look young, hang with the old! Haha :o)

She came, she sang. And she WOWED! She has a very powerful voice for someone who's 62 and she has a figure that I would die to have! She had to sing Shanghai Beach of course, but I was singing along with the rest of the crowd. We enjoyed the evening and left with fond memories. And I no longer hate that song.

Thanks Jean, for spending Valentine's with me ..
Thanks to Ray, for letting me have your wife for the evening ..

And thank you, Francis ... for making me a fan!