The annual memorial wasn't candlelit this year as for the first time, it was held indoors -- in the auditorium at the Singapore Management University. Back in the 80s when the memorial began, it was held in a field where the SMU campus now stands. While it is nice to go back to the old grounds, something was lost by holding it indoors. The organisers made good use of being in an auditorium, so there were song and dance performances. However, the downside was that it became like entertainment. You showed up, you took a seat and you sat back to watch. The fact that there was no silent march -- it was not possible inside an auditorium anyway -- also made this the most passive memorial ever. I hope this doesn't reflect on the fight against Aids and its discrimination.
Also, as it was indoors, we didn't use candles. It wasn't the first time that we had to substitute light-sticks for candles. We did this two years ago when the memorial was held at the Botanic Gardens because they had a no naked flame policy -- although they let us have one memorial candle on stage. I can see Paddy's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_Chew) disgusted reaction -- he'd protest about how unglam a plastic light stick is. Even if we got a pink one for him.
We went for dinner after the memorial and I stuck our light sticks into a glass to take a picture. The wine is libation for Paddy. And for the others. Cheers and love.
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