Happy Birthday, Les

Hi everyone,

This is Dawn. I help out with this site, and occasionally contribute as a writer/editor.

On any ordinary day, you will find nothing but Singapore sports on Red Sports. But since today isn’t an ordinary day, I hope you don't mind if we go a little off-topic.

Because you see, today is Leslie's birthday.

Les, or Uncle Les as some of you call him, was born 30-something years ago on this day. I better not say exactly which year so that I don't get into too much trouble 🙂 Anyway, to celebrate the occasion, I thought I’d write a post to help everyone get to know him better.

So I'm going to tell you a story.

It's a true story that happened almost 10 years ago. Leslie was playing in a soccer match with some friends one afternoon. He and another friend went in hard for the ball, and he ended up getting thrown backwards, crashing his head on the ground.

When he sat up, he couldn't remember.

The technical name for this is transient global amnesia. Leslie's long-term memory was fine – he could remember his name, his relatives, where he lived – but his short-term memory wiped out every 5 minutes.

Needless to say, everyone panicked. He was rushed to Singapore General Hospital Accident & Emergency. The doctors and nurses evaluated him, and his family gathered around anxiously. Every few minutes, he would forget why he was in the hospital, and they explained to him again:

"You're in the hospital because you had an accident while playing soccer."

And there, surrounded by doctors, nurses and worried loved ones, his reply was the same, every single time.

"Did we win?"

Leslie loves sports. He understands what it means to win and to lose, he loves being out on the field jumping and running, and he loves to watch other people doing it, and telling their stories.

And that's why he set up Red Sports.

So if you like this site, why not drop him a greeting in the comments section. I think it would make his day. 🙂

Les plays goalie at the National Stadium after the REDaction! internship workshop. (Photo © Ng Cheng Cong)

Les missing the shot. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei)

Les lamenting the fact that he is no longer 25. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei)