19 and 24 makes 1956

The year 1956. June 16th.

It was 2 days after her birthday. She had just turned 19.

He was a young officer in the Malayan army. His parents and siblings had relocated from Ipoh, the capital of the state of Perak; to Kuala Lumpur not too long ago. The location his parents and siblings moved to in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaya, was next door to her house, where her parents, siblings and she lived….

So, now you know the story…and they lived happily ever after… The End.

Just kidding. There’s more… I just have not thought it up yet. No, this is not fiction. You may ask, how do I know about this story if I was not there… more precisely, not born…yet. Like the most famous book of all time, the Bible, these stories were told to us from multiple (…instead of “many”. Very American.) one, two generations ago.

From their union in Holy Matrimony on that memorable day onwards have come two generations of Atkinsons. They tried convincing us they got us from P.J. Store (of the 1960s, along Jalan Gasing [1]) when there were big discounts on kids.😃 We weren’t fooled that easy. We knew P.J. Store is where they got the toys from for us for Christmas. It was one of those early 1960s Christmases where my late sister, Jennifer; came up with a plan at that time (she was about 4 yrs old; and I, 3).

One evening, she knew that our dad and mum were going out for the evening. She knew that all our Christmas presents were in our parents’ bedroom (is that where Santa Claus emerges from every year?). She also knew the room door would be locked.

When dad and mum went out, her plan, “Operation Early Christmas” (No, she didn’t name this sneaky scheme. I just came up with it to add more drama to this little story😉😁😂) took off. She knew our parents would lock their bedroom door. So, she led me to their bedroom through our bedroom, to the toilet and magically to their open adjoining bathroom door. It was paradise as all the Christmas presents were there. She led me to tear open all the colourful wrappings off the presents. Picture this: she was the ringleader and I being the younger of the two; had to follow what she said. Needless to say, paradise soon came to an end when our parents got home and were really cross (that’s the English way of saying “angry”). I can’t remember what happened next… (selective memory?) It was a long time ago😁

Fast forward…and we are in 2026. We…some of us of their children and grandchildren who could make it, gathered on June 14th for mum’s 89th birthday. Besides it being Father’s Day as well; it was a gathering to wish them – the couple,

Dad & Mum,
that made this all happen (us), a
HAPPY 70th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY.

They are still rocking it!

Today, dad is not in the greatest of health. He is in hospital, frail and dependent on the people around him to look after his needs. And they are. He had a good video-call with mum – both happy to see each other. They are blessed.