"Legends Fort Canning has been my Oasis"

Here's a wistful letter from Diana Ng. I think her sentiments echo what many of us feel about the Club and how many of us are beginning to realize what is happening and how it affects us individually:

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Dear Fellow Members of the City Oasis

There are obviously bigger, more complex issues at hand which are best handled by the knowledgeable, competent and more importantly, committed…members like Joe, Ken and Jerry. I am so thankful for having them here. Being inexperienced in matters such as these…okay, I’ll throw in “gullible” too…I may have just accepted my “fate”…yes, just like that. After all, a club membership to me is a passport to relaxation; it should never become a source of unhappiness and stress.

I had come to the meeting last Monday with the thought “no usage of club, no fees – a sacrifice liveable with for a few months in return for new and renovated facilities which hopefully bring in more revenue for the owner”. Lots of revenue and a great bottomline for the owner is good…he has the guts to invest and he should be rewarded. Being handsomely rewarded, he would be even more motivated to make the club ever better and we members would be even more supportive of his future ventures. Over time, the identity of the club will be grounded in a history of having “arrived at where we are today together, undergoing major changes while weathering the 2008 economic uncertainties to emerge a most unique club, a club in a class of its own”.

So when it was announced that for S$105.93 per month (all prices quoted here are inclusive of GST), members can join True Fitness, I was smiling away. No, I do not mind at all exploring a new fitness club temporarily. Temporarily only because Legends Fort Canning has been and I desperately want it to continue remain my first love. Never mind that group exercise classes are almost “mission impossible” here. Never mind that I will have to incur car parking charges at whichever True Fitness outlets I choose to sign on because obviously, none of the outlets will be providing free membership parking to us. Now, since the monthly subscriptions I am paying is S$133.75, I will even enjoy some “savings”, perhaps S$25 after deducting car park charges. It came across to me as a token compensation for the inconvenience I did not ask for. I was feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Businesses should be conducted with a heart and here is an example. I have joined the correct club.

It only dawned upon me later, as it did on many of the other Golfing members, that I am in fact holding a Golfing membership. This means that during the “suspension period”, a monthly subscription of S$85.60 will apply. Now, the mathematics is not so right after all. The overall monthly impact on me will be a total of S$191.53 monthly (S$85.60 to Legends and S$105.93 to True Fitness) plus parking charges at the premises where True Fitness is located plus the inconvenience I have to put up with.

Further, in addition to the requirement that the first two months’ subscriptions to True Fitness must be paid upfront, I will also have to commit myself to them for 6 months. Naturally, I asked if there would be any trial period before I sign up. The answer is a resolute no. End of discussion.

Alone, the above is not a major issue. It is in fact inconsequential if the bigger complex issues are resolved satisfactorily. After all, we members have put up with leaking roofs, leaking windows, internet access downtime when it rained, a car parking system that did not work when there was downpour and lightning, and once, stench from a burst pipe in the car park. Many of us must have just shook our heads and regarded these as the temperaments of a grand old dame. I, for once, had proudly explained this to someone at the carpark lift lobby who was frowning in disgust at the unsightly watermarks and towels laid around to absorb water that had leaked through.

Legends Fort Canning has been my Oasis. I escape to it when I need to make peace with a rumbling tummy which I then try to flatten in the gym. I escape to it just to suspend myself like a hammock at a corner of the pool, looking up at the skies and trees and the colonial structure. I thus enter another world, albeit temporarily. And when I leave the club, I leave knowing I am rejuvenated and strong again to tackle what life throws my way.

Yours sincerely,

Diana Ng
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There's only one way keep the Oasis. Speak your mind. Hope to see you all on Wednesday.