Chapter 4 The Cantoese Opera

When Fabian and other siblings were few years old,entertainments were very few.Film shows were black and white and non speaking type.Anyway they were too young to understand them.The Cantonese opera were more appealing them.

Their grandmother was a big fan of the operas,so was their mother.Whenever the grandmother attended any show either one or two siblings will tagged along especially their sister.Their grandmother will usually attended with an old friend.Those days they will always booked the very front seats.

When it was full house as normally does,they will seat on their granny's lap.Otherwise they were free to sit anywhere,for there will be ample seats vacant around.

While their mother will always seated far away which were very much cheaper.Whenever no tickets were available she and her friends will stand outside the wooden fencing to watch the show.Many a times Fabian and Francis followed her,as small boy they squeaked into the crowd and seat in between the fence wooden bars.

The opera usually ends at 11.oo o'clock or so ,by then Francis will be sleeping in their mother's arm,despite the big noises made by the cymbals,drums and gongs.

Being too young to attend school,the two brothers stayed at home while the sister attended school at Convent school.So what do they normally do?

Well,they played opera recalling the fighting scenes of operas.Fabian will always played the crooked general while brother Francis the hero.They used two pieces of coconut leaves banded on to their heads with a length of cloth.Opera Generals usually had tow peacock feathers on their head gears.

"Chang,chang,chang,Chang!"sang out loud by Francis heralding the hero arrival dancing in a cicle witha stick as spear."Tong,tong,Chang " next came the enemy .He circled round Francis ready to fight.Francis pulling one of the leave to hios mouth biting uit sdang."Aaiyayya,You dirty crook,I am going to finish you today".

"Ha! Ha!"retorted Fabian,"fihght then we know who will die".So the fought and Francis 's spear touched Fabian but Fabian refused to die.

"hey,I have killed you,you must fall down".

"No,no I can die"replied Fabian.

"Youi area cheat,I don't want to play with you",cried Francis.

Hey,Francuis we fight again'

"no,not with you,you cheated: cried Francis,that ended their play for that day.Yeah those were the days.

"Ton,Tong,Chang",imitating the gongs and cymbals of the opera they saw the night before.