By Nicholas Yong
Reporter
nicy@sph.com.sg

 

IT SEEMS that the chance to win tickets to NDP rehearsals is sending The Straits Times' readers' minds every which way and that.

The NDP Photo Caption contest, which is now into its fourth week, is getting a more than enthusiastic response.

A photo runs every Tuesday, with instructions to complete the phrase, "I'm proud to call Singapore home because..." in no more than 25 words, in a way that best describes the photo.

While we have received some outstanding efforts, some readers evidently took the instruction to "come up with the most creative and quirky caption" to heart.

Or depending how you look at it, they failed to read the earlier part of the phrase more carefully.

The first photo, of some elderly men watching a game of checkers, produced this stellar effort: "because crude and gross looking old men have the intellectual capacity to play chess".

Another was highly optimistic about the curative effects of checkers: "because she has a natural cure for Parkistan's (she meant Parkinson’s) Disease: she turns our seniors into Mr Busy, keeping their minds running and limbs active".

One gentleman evidently believes that the nation possesses weapons of mass destruction: "because we can plan our strategy for nuclear disarmament in the OPEN, so long as members of our FORCE 09 are all EARS, EYES and FEET".

Meanwhile, the second photo, of some children on a playground, saw an entry with shades of George Orwell’s 1984: "because no one is left out of our government's thoughts, not even the children".

Another had an impeccable flow of reasoning: "because we can see our children from the house — HDB — safe".

But it was the third photo, of some anglers fishing by a river, that threw up the most memorable entries.

Most were enamoured of the fishing analogy, with one proclaiming: "because it's where I was taught to fish". Another evidently had the Republic's famed cleanliness in mind: "because Singapore waters are so clean that fishes caught are safe to eat, no worries".

Others seem to have looked at the photo in question and seen something else altogether.

One wrote: "because it's warm, nice and there's no need for winter clothes". Another said that his love for the country stemmed from the fact that "Singaporeans are such a cohesive and entangled lot".

But my personal favourite is this: "I'm proud to call Singapore home because I am proud to be Singaporean".

Can't argue with that, all right.

If you ask me why I'm proud to call Singapore home, my answer is this: because Singaporeans will write just about anything to get closer to NDP.

There are other reasons of course, but that should make for a "creative and quirky caption".

Do keep those entries coming, readers. We look forward to reading each and every one of them.

Read more about this year's NDP preparations and competitions.