Green Spot, Red Lion: Once Chinese New Year staples, now history

Into the Snake Year and I'm still in a nostalgic mood. I think it's one of the moments in history when a number of pivotal events seem to be taking place. The familiar things - places, people and products even - will disappear. Often too fast for us to realise. So bear with me as I attempt an off-the-head list of brand names which have become history. Some of them were part of our growing-up years. Here goes: SBC (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) Siera tv Bluespot (Blaupunkt) Rotax pen Budget Terminal Tiger Air MSA Cinemas: Galaxy, Roxy, Jade, Prince, Palace, Alhambra, Odeon, Zenith, Paramount, Mercury, Golden, Yangtze, Rex, Bright among others Framroz soft drink Seletaris Green Spot Red Lion National electrical products (remember the gigantic neon signboard in the then carpark of Capitol cinema?) Nightclubs: Rumours, Spark, Fire, Scandals, Xanadu, Fireplace, Rainbow Lounge, Pink Panther, Barbarella, Boiler Room, Golden Venus, Zouk, Kasbah, all the Europa group nightclubs, Fountain, West Point, Kelong, Lost Horizon, Ladyhill, Marco Polo, among others Magnolia milkbars Balmoral restaurant l Donald Moore gallery Batik Inn Wonderland Troika Room NTUC Welcome Borders Jack Chia MPH Newspapers: Eastern Sun, Singapore Herald, Singapore Monitor, Nanyang Siang Pau, Sin Chew Jit Poh, Streats, among others Temasek Review The Real Singapore Public House Online Offline The Online Citizen The Middle Ground Breakfast Network Fanfare magazine Himalaya store John Little Robinson Silver Spoon coffee house Sam's Hoagies Wendy's Dynasty hotel Ming Court hotel Daichi hotel Glass hotel Morris Minor Lee Wah Bank Chung Khiaw Bank OUB Fitzpatrick's Yaohan Yokoso Think of it. These are no longer with us. Years from now, what would the new list be? Which would disappear?

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Tan Bah Bah is a former senior leader writer with The Straits Times. He was also managing editor of a magazine publishing company