sharing a bed with Mr. T

 

we went to Salamanca market on a rainy Saturday!

 

little white boat

 

a song I heard when I was a child. I am singing it in Mandarin and playing a baritone ukulele in the clawhammer style. The illustrations are made with gouache paints on an accordion booklet which I have made.

So this song was originally in Korean. The songwriter is Yinke Rong. He wrote it in 1924. It was originally titled Half Moon. In September 1924, Rong's brother-in-law passed away. His sister often looked at the half moon that appeared in the sky during the day, missing her husband. Rong wrote this song to show his sister's grief and loneliness. On the other hand, Korea was under Japanese occupation, and this song was also to show the grief due to the loss of his motherland. 

Here are the lyrics I translated into English: 

In the blue sky in the milk way 

There is a little white boat 

On the boat there is an Osmanthus tree 

And a white rabbit playing 

No oars to be seen 

Nor a sail in sight 

The boat drifts along Into the Western sky 

Crossing over the milky way 

Drifting towards the ocean of clouds 

Passing through those iridescent clouds 

Where to go from here? 

In a place far away Shines a golden light 

The morning star is a lighthouse 

Shines so bright.

magic face cream

 You can watch the video i made with these drawings here:

the cat came to visit

 I made a video using some paintings I made in 2021, and an improvised tune on my ukulele.

blue moon heart

Extra Duty

 Inspired by a real life event. 

Going with The Flow

Based on and inspired by a cleaner at my workplace. I love her dedication and attention to details.I use the term "Go with the flow" to show how she dances with the lines of the slats she cleans. It is a moving spectacle everyday. She doesn't speak English but speaks Mandarin in an accent I find difficult to understand. She also seems to have a lisp which makes it harder for me to understand what she is saying. But I did thank her one morning as she wiped the glass of my library door. It made her smile very widely. And it made my day.

There's Someone Outside My Door

I got inspired to write this song after reading a short story about an old lady who kept hearing voices outside her flat, often to find out that there was no one there. This started to happen after the death of her husband. One day, however, there WAS someone outside her door....

There's Someone Outside My Door by Sia Joo Hiang, 2015 

There' someone outside my door 

There's someone outside my door 

Always at night, since my baby's gone. 

I can hear his heavy footfalls 

I can hear his heavy footfalls 

There's someone outside my door. 

My neighbours, they like to whisper 

My neighbours like to whisper 

They say: There's no one outside her door. 

The police boy gave me a look 

The police boy gave me a look 

It said: It must be DEMENTIA. 

My children, they all think that I am mad 

My children all think that I am mad 

They say: It's time to call the doctor! 

I may be old, but I am not mad. 

All my teeth have fallen out, but I am not mad. 

I am telling you, there's someone outside my door! 

There's someone outside my door 

There's someone outside my door 

Right now, outside my door! 

I played concert ukulele and sang, and made the illustrations using ink with brush, and pen.

nothing

 

m a m a

Ah Dee's Guts

 New, super short comics I did this morning. This is a continuation of my interest to document the people I meet in my neighbourhood. I started doing the series with acrylic paints and today I wanted to introduce "Ah Dee" to you with these comics. He is a butcher at the nearby wet market who loves singing Karaoke when taking breaks. He blasts the music from his lorry I think.....

bird sits on my shoulder

Inspired by an Indian neighbour who takes his pet parrot everywhere he goes. I saw them reading the newspapers today. Also, I noticed, for the first time, that the bird was chained. I imagined that, not only can the bird talk, he also has a sweet tooth, and especially loves Gulab Jamun, an Indian sweet so sweet it can make your nose bleed.