2008 A NEW ERA

2008, I wish, brings new life to all my dear friends and my family where ever they may be. Sweet memories of 2007 are always treasured in all blogs. Keep on staying with me now and in the years to come!!!!!!!!!!


Birthdays are always part of Veteran's Cafe, Happy Birthday to Jane on her ____ ?????? young year and hope get younger as most ladies claim!!!!!!!!. With her is Paul, Dollah, Jane, VP, & OKK Jenny.

I had the opportunity of visiting my nephew & friends in KL on my 57th birthday at Vijay's apartment on the eve.........

Then, back in Labuan to join my dear friends in Veteran's, below, with Edmund & Jane. Thank you to the Good Guy in the skies above for giving me another term!!!!!!!

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A very pleasant surprise was meeting up with OLD friends from Aberdeen, Ian Scott with daughters, Amanda & Coleen. I do miss you and the hugs were sweet.

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Veteran's Cafe's POOL TEAM. Thank you for the fantastic performance in 2007 and staying unbeaten in the 2008 matches too. Have started inter-pub friendly pool games, here, with Orelio and Sharon at Murphy's Bar

A special thanks to all Veteran's Team

*Edmund*Finian*Dollah*Alex*Paul*Sharon*Perry*Jethro*Johnny*Sly*Dilbagh*Max*

& future player**Jane**

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Hai Jeth! welcome back

Well folks thats all for now, keep in touch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EXCITEMENT AT VETERAN'S CAFE

As age catches up, do we get wiser!!!!!!!! We celebrated birthdays' of two regulars :-

Paul celebrated his birthday on the 7th November 2007 with some close friends, Alex, Paul and Yet, photo below;

With, L to R, Jane, Edmund, Paul & Esther.

Dollah celebrated his young birthday, giving thanks to the good Guy above before getting into his offering;

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REMEMBRANCE DAY AT THE LABUAN WAR MEMORIAL 11 NOVEMBER 2007

Veteran's Cafe was represented by, L to R, Vincent Pereira (Ex-RMAF), Perry Williams (Ex Canadian Armed Forces & Mr. Saiful (Capt retired RMAF) at the wreath laying ceremony.

Ex- Royal Air Force personnel Brian Roche, on the right, who served in Labuan in the sixties, honoured us with his presence at the Remembrance Day ceremony. He later complimented Veteran's Cafe with a visit with his son Matt, on the left and and his wife Mary. Thanks and hope to see you again next year.

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In between the functions, I had a proud welcome visit from:

My son Christopher and "friend" Pinky!!!!!!!!!! Good to see them.........

Andrew & Chris, friends who saw me through some hard times before, on the left is Ben from Murphy's Bar.

On a recent visit to Papar to visit the Chia family, found a new drinking partner, Lily. Hope she visits us in Labuan soon.

To all my fellow drinkers around the world, X'mas is round the corner, have fun, we at Veteran's Cafe miss you all &......................... CHEERS, MERRY X'MAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR

VETERAN'S CAFE REVIEWS

The last two months, saw a welcoming return of some good friends from the past. "Puppy Olivia" made a surprise comeback after working for some time in Vietnam. Wish her the best & hope she has a good time as I had when I worked there for four years. Below, a cute Puppy with the Boss.

Another long standing good friend & supporter of Veteran's Cafe is Edmund Allard, who was my early batch of clients from year 2000 when I first started this pub.


Veteran's cafe also welcomed return of some friends from Sabah and Kuala Lumpur. Photograph below, left to right, Buntal Misbun(Sandakan), Crazy Hans(K.L.), VP, Alex(Papar), Reena & Paul.

These also brought back memories of my good friends in Louisiana, USA who visited me last year. The only sad point being, their father, Joey Fontenot passed away in Labuan. Below shows L to R, Ally, Ashley mother Janet and Angela. They have visited Labuan twice, fell in love with the friendly people of Malaysia & will be back to Labuan again. We in Veteran's miss you and look forward to your coming back to this beautiful island.

Ally below, is also my adopted daughter, something I am sure the late Joey is happy about.

======HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH======

October 15th, also saw my daughter, Sarah Ann celebrating her 21st birthday, shedding some sweet tears in between the cutting of the cake and thanking friends who celebrated the function with her.

Teddy, the saxaphonist from KK came in for the night. to play along with Dilbagh and David. A special thanks to the musicians for thir support. Thank you guys especially Teddy.

Sarah had the home made cake she wanted, thanks to MUM

Sarah with proud Dad & good friend Finian

Supporting acts from Mark & Viknesh

Jane, Dad & Sarah

I wish my daughter the best and to all my friends, a big thank you.

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To all friends who visit the blog, thank you and keep in touch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VETERAN'S CAFE INVOLVEMENT

Friday 3rd August 2007

Dilbagh on the right performing with David belting out the oldies recalling a few Malay love songs. We do appreciate Dilbagh's performance costume Anyway, both of you are doing me and our regulars a good variation. Thanks.

Joining the jam sessions was Misbun and our own Reena. Misbun is an accomplished guitarist singing both Malay and English songs. He is kindly helping Reena achieve her ambition to someday be a singer. Misbun has given up his singing career and is now a "CHEF"!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also in attendance was a Guest Artist from Kota Kinabalu who needed some persuasion to perform, and perform he did in between some sobs. He is in love and love songs affect him. He goes by his popular name of "SKY". Thanks, my man, hope you make it every Friday.

Saturday 4th August 2007


Veteran's Cafe was approached / volunteered to support the Labuan Amateur Cricket Assoc. Sixes organised over two weekend.



Veteran's Cafe helped man the food and drinks stall and helped raise some funds for LACA. Manning the stall, Jane (typical china woman, must have TOPI) and myself, serving LACA Secretary Kuhen and EC Trust player Vincent Ferns. Jane helped out for the morning and early afternoon, later taken over by Reena and Paul. Thanks to you all for helping make this sporting event successful.

I had the privilege of playing in the LACA Sixes for the EC Trust Team. We, by some good fortune, and good all round performance by Peter and his son won the Plate in the losers pool. Well done guys, hope we play again soon.

Sunday 5th August 2007

I took a trip to Papar to service my twenty year old Honda Accord at my friend Alex's workshop and ended up staying at his home as a guest. This trip was one to remember for me, as Alex and family not only made me so comfortable and at home, they also organised a BBQ where family members got involved. Alex and Family thank you for a beautiful outing. Here is proof!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well friends, I sign off for now, miss all of you and keep visiting this site. Bye for now.

Hi Folks,



It's sure been a long time since Veteran's Cafe news has been updated. Apologies to all, my good friend and author, the late Frankie Demang left so suddenly that left me a bit lost. I thank Frankie for all his support and commitment and may his good soul rest in peace. We still miss you.



For the latest, Dilbagh and David, as seen above, have taken over leading the Friday Jam sessions at Veteran's Cafe. The retired musicians are making a comeback and their polished performances are sweet music for my regulars. Please feel free to come by and pay us a visit.

Things We Do

Hi all,

For those who have not been to VC, we have a lot of activities set up for our patrons. We celebrate birthdays, promotions, farewells, tributes and any occasion that deems fit.

The photos below show what we did and it is our way of showing thank yous to our patrons and special guests.

Morris & Dotty

From Left: Me, Reena,Dotty (front), Morris, Sara, Sara's friends & Mr. Purun Singh)

Morris & Dotty were in Labuan on 23 February 2007. They came all the way from Perth, Australia.They new Mr. Purun Singh since they were kids and it was a great occasion for them to catch up on the good old days.

Mr. & Ms. Fong.

From Left: Nicky (from MNI), Jordan Fong, Jordan's Dad, Jordan's Mom, Esther Goh, Flora and Esteelo.

Jordan's parents came to Labuan and they came to VC on the same night as Morris & Dotty. They just came back from dinner at Labuan's Crab Restaurant.We hope his parent will be back in Labuan soon.

George & Irina from Moscow Russia

From Left: George Lachivsky & Irina Shevyakova

We had the privilege of meeting 2 new friends from Moscow, Russia on 28 February 2007.The funny thing was that they never heard of a drink called 'White Russian' although they are Russians themselves. Anyway, George was raises in Vladivostok & Irina was raised in Belarus before they work in Moscow.They love the seafood, warm weather and the good company of Labuan people.They were in Labuan to attend their Board Meeting in EC Trust (L) Bhd.

Sunrise Watching

From Front: Jet, me, Reena & Paul's legs.
The other thing we did was watching Sunrise on 3 April 2007.It was a sight anyone should see.It is such a unique experience and it is better watching Sunset.I don't think we can do this often nowadays because it is tough to stay awake after closing the Cafe.Anyway, we did it and I thank those guys who joined me.

Labuan Cricket.

You can see me on the leftmost, Ibanguy (in light blue cap) and Jet, (his hands on the balls).

I tried my best to exercise whenever I can.So by joining the Labuan cricket Association, it gives me the chance to sweat out and play my favorite game. We are in a local league right now and won every match except one so far.Hopefully we will make it to the final.At least, I get a refund for my membership fee.

Acoustic Jam Sessions

Dear friends,

I am sure some of you are aware that we have the Acoustic Jam Session on Friday or Saturday.

The concept is very much the same as these guys are doing in the video below.

Just click play on the panel and you will now what I mean.

So, we seek guitarists who enjoyed live music to play for fun at Veteran's Cafe.

Acoustic Version of Muse's 'Time is Running Out'.



Acoustic Version of Evanescence's 'My Immortal'.

ISMAIL BIN JAAFAR

(Jay is bedridden after the accident)

Ismail Bin Jaafar @ Jay

We wish to share a news with you.

Jay,my old buddy, is paralysed after an accident in Kota Kinabalu since 2 February 2007.He works with AirAsia KK.

His family is in Penang.He is now in Sabah Medical Centre Room 318. He is alone in SMC now.

The thing is that he wants to go home to be with his children in Penang.The problem now is that the management of AirAsia in KK is not able to arrange flights for him to Penang.Penang is 3 hours flight from Kota Kinabalu.

However, the good news is that the AirAsia Management was prompted to take drastic action and Jay was flown home by Malaysia Airlines on Tuesday 20 March @ 3:45pm. Reena and I were in KK to sent him off. The good news made me so happy.

I thank all those who have helped to send him home.You know who you are.

Jay, if you read this, we love you and take good care of yourself. Live life to the fullest, bro.

(I came from Labuan to Kota Kinabalu to visit Jay at the hospital)

Year of the Pig 2007

We at VC Labuan wishes our Chinese friends and customers, Happy Chinese New Year. This is the year of the Fire Pig. The Fire element means Dynamism, passion, energy, aggression & leadership.

We hereby list the Top Things to do for you all to think and reflect.

Top 10 List for Year of the Fire Pig

The year of the Fire Pig starts on February 18, 2007. The pig is twelfth and final animal in the Chinese zodiac. There are also five elements in Chinese Astrology that cycle through twelve year cycles. These elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. This new year will be the year of the Fire Pig.

10. Pay off all your debts before the year ends.

9. Do not lend anyone money on the day of Chinese New Year (February 18, 2007). Avoid starting the year with money flowing out from you.If you have done so, ask for it back before the 15th day of the new year i.e. 4th March.

8. Avoid making speculative investments since the year of the Fire Pig will be overall rather prosperous; however, there will be periods of uncertainty. Means don't buy 4D Magnum, TOTO, Turf Lotto etc lah

7. There will be considerable conflicts around the world, so plan vacations to avoid traditional flash points like Sudan, Iraq, and Afghanistan.Don't go on vacation and if you have to, avoid conflict ridden tourist areas.

6. Focus on diversifying your financial portfolio to offset financial uncertainty. Try to rebalance your portfolio twice a year to further lessen risk.If you hold stocks, sell risky stocks and buy stable stocks.

5. Do not wash your hair on Chinese New Year because you may be washing some good luck away.If you have done so, go bald.Of Course for women, this is not applicable, we think.

4. Avoid housecleaning on Chinese New Year lest you mistaken rid yourself of some good luck in the process.If you have done so, take action to bring luck back.Get a fish tank or something.

3. Reconnect with your inner self. Since the Fire element balances out the Water element, Fire symbolizes rejuvenation and birth. Start that process first by focusing on yourself. For those who believe in God, visit your religious establishment.

2. Remember to give children “hong bao's” or money in little red envelopes. It is good to invest in the next generation. This does not contradict lending money because you are giving money to children not lending to an adult. This is a must for Married couples to do.

1. Have a child! The year of the Fire Pig also known as the “Golden Pig” is a fantastic year to have children. Children will be particularly blessed and lead a comfortable and luxurious life. You all know Pigs will gave birth to half a dozen piglets, right? So men should start you engine and women should be prepared for the ride.

Have a Happy Chinese New Year!

Guitar Jamming Videos

Dear friends,

We have a Jamming Session on weekends for 2007. It is a time when we all can sing songs you cannot find in your Karaoke lounge.Every singer will be accompanied by our resident guitarists, Ray and Ibanguy.

For those who missed what happen during the guitar jam session, you can see the videos here.

or type this link : http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=Ibanguy

or try this link if the above does not work:
Yahoo Video Link


Till then, Jam on.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CLAUDIUS VINCENT PEREIRA

VC Labuan wishes Happy Birthday to Claudius Vincent Pereira on his birthday dated 14th January 2007.

We have not receive any permission to release his age so you got to ask him yourself.

Anyone who can GUESS his time of birth will be treated with a drink for the next 7 days.

Vince, we appreciate what you have done to all your friends and wish you many happy returns.

Happy Birthday, Vincent.

RAHMAT BIN MOHAMAD (PC 310)

VC Labuan was honoured to have the presence of Pak Rahmat Bin Mohamad (PC 310) on 13 January 2007.

Pakcik was born in Johor and he worked with the Singapore Police Force (from 1937 - 1960) when Singapore was part of Malaya. He served with the Singapore Police Force until he retired in 1960. He moved and reside in Labuan after his retirement. He was the personal driver to Datuk Harris Salleh in the 70s.

His wife and only son passed on and he is now being taken care by his grand daughter at Kampung Gersik Baru, Labuan. His only source of income is a monthly pension from the Singapore Government of RM150 per month.Thats about only Sing Dollar 65 !! He does not enjoy the privilege of medical benefits from the government health services too.

The authorities were not keen to help Pakcik for one reason or another.Some of the reasons were that he is not a Malaysian citizen and we know that is not true because he resides in Labuan, Sabah before Sabah joined Malaya to form Malaysia.He was born in Johor and worked with Singapore which then was part of Malaya.

Pakcik was known as the only surviving World War 2 Veteran (1942-1945) and the authorities know this as a fact but they do not care enough for this living war veteran.The authorities are only interested in his 5 War Medals to be displayed at the local Muzium.These war medals were given to Pakcik by the British Government back in the 70s.

VC Labuan has taken effort to inform the public and authorities in Labuan and anywhere in the world to help Pakcik in any way they can.This effort can be seen in VC Labuan dedicating a corner of the Cafe for Pakcik.

Please call Don Claudius for your suggestions 00616 836 3864 or leave a message at vclabuan@yahoo.com.

We thank Lt. Col. Haezly and Mr. Edmund Allard for attending this historical occasion. Here are some of the photos of the evening.

Above: A great picture of Don Claudius and Pakcik Rahmat.

Above: The flag gave to Pakcik from VC Labuan.

Above: Lt. Col. Haezly giving a hamper to Pakcik.

Above: Mr. Edmund Allard (from Baker Hughes, Labuan) giving a hamper to Pakcik.

Above: Ms. Jane & Reena presenting Pakcik a hamper on behalf of VC Labuan.

Above: Pak Rahmat stands proud with his British Medals at his corner at VC Labuan.

Last but not least, Pakcik thinks that no one remembers him but VC Labuan prove to him that he has a corner in VC Labuan and we will always remember him even if the country he served before seems to ignore him.

Pakcik, we salute you !!