Camperbelles Capers

Vietnam December 2011

2011-12-30T22:09:00.002+08:00

2011 An overview Part 4

2011-12-30T14:50:00.002+08:00

September I was in Brussels in Belgium and Zeeland in The Netherlands and then Amsterdam for work , for a conference and board meeting, where my report that I’d worked on all summer was very well received. Zeeland is on the coast which was very beautiful looking across to Belgium. Very small conservative town . We caused a bit of stir ,the board meeting being multinational , and a rather loud raucous discussion about our work, in the local restaurant 
In October we travelled to Indonesia together as a family. Angelica was in plaster after breaking her led in a freak accident when our front gate collapsed on top of her. Rusted over the years and weakened by 2 recent typhoons it fell when she opened it . The fracture was relatively minor and could have been so much worse, the gate took 4 adults to move it was so heavy. Our experience with the Philippine (private) medical system was wonderful, in and out within 2 hours of arrival with a CD of ex-rays and the opinion of the most senior orthopaedic surgeon in Manila !
We travelled to Indonesia for a conference I was attending in Yogyakarta and stayed at the lovely Phoenix hotel , http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-5451-the-phoenix-hotel-yogyakarta-mgallery-collection/index.shtmll converted from an old colonial house. The food was excellent at the hotel ,if a little expensive compared to local restaurants which were also very good, particularly a French owned place called....One of the highlights was our trip to Borobudur Temple where Angelica had her Lazarus moment ...Marc carried her to the top thru 7 stages (levels) of enlightenment ,to Nirvana (the top) and back down when she stood on her leg and walked for the first time since the break  shame it wasn’t an hour earlier for marc’s back .
Late November I was on the road again but this time without the kids , to South Africa for a workshop, which went well but was pretty exhausting. We did manage a day tour and visited the Cape , some vineyards and drove around the stunning South African coastline. We stayed with our participants in a guest house www. acornlodge.co.za , which we had rented in Rondebosch a very posh (white) suburb of Cape Town and within Cape Town centre at Manela Rhodes Palace www.mandelarhodesplace.co.za, the weekend before they arrived.
Both were very high standard of accommodation and good value for money for a group sharing. We also went to Robbin island something I didn’t manage to do last time I visited which is very moving, especially the tour with the ex inmate, and worth the trip if only for the fantastic view of table mountain. We ate several times at The Waterfront which is a regenerated dock area and one night took our participants sailing on the bay at sunset. I really enjoyed the company of the participants from Uganda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania. It was sometimes challenging organising the logistics to get everyone together but rewarding at the end of the day.
On the way home, I stopped off in North Wales to meet Mum at a family friends 80th birthday, not quite en route , but in global terms was nearer than Manila...then finished back at work in Amsterdam before heading home just in time for my sisters Jacqui visit.
Jacqui was in Manila to lecture at University of the Philippines , a far cry from Cardiff university in terms of facilities with the Archaeology department being located in what appeared to be a broom cupboard under the stairs. Managed to show her the bright lights of Manila, hanging out at M cafe for Thursday night DJs and B side to see some local bands www.facebook.com/pages/B-SIDE/252630244525,
We has hoped to get North to see the mummies but bad weather prevented us, which was a shame as we had the possibility of going with the curator from the national museum. It was the wettest December I have experienced raining almost non stop from the time she arrived to when she left. We did get to Batanes where we got stranded by bad weather. Whilst the trip would have been more enjoyable with better weather Batanes, itself is amazing and has a landscape more reminiscent of Dorset that The Philippines. I would like to return in a dryer period. The flights are expensive but I think getting the 6 seater from Tuguegarao-Basco on Pasada Air and using Cebu to get to Tuguegarao would be a cheaper option particularly for a family trip. WE stayed at rapitan di vasay, a fantastic place very good value for money and centrally located http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1191611-d2052527-Reviews-Rapitan_di_Vasay-Basco_Province_of_Batanes_Cagayan_Valley_Region_Luzon.html . We also stayed at the lovely http://www.fundacionpacita.ph/ Fundacion Pacita which is a Wuthering heights sort of place on a windswept headland. The rooms are all 5 star quality and the organic food very nice. Its ok for one or at most 2 nights but for longer I think you would be bored, unless on retreat or an artist, and for me being in central Basco was more fun. We took ourselves there after our flight was cancelled and managed to get a good low season deal at Php4000, 50% discount.
It was great to spend so much time with my sister probably the longest since we shared a flat in the 90’s , or was it the 80s? It was important to be able to share my life and for her to get to spend time with the kids on home turf rather than on holiday, and get to know them better. Hopefully she will come back for work sooner rather than later.
The year ended on a tragic note for the people of Mindanao with massive flooding and loss of life from Tropical Storm Sedong, current figures estimate over 1500 dead. Iligan was badly affected where I worked with VSO and I knew the area well. Whole communities were swept away in the night but luckily as far as I am aware no one I know lost family . Once again the Philippines inability to prevent people from living in known flood prone areas has led to preventable tragedy. For us as a family we lost my Mums sister Mary after a short illness. She deteriorated from an active golf player and socialite to being bed ridden in hospital in a matter of months, luckily she did not have to endure years of nursing homes . I did manage to see her last xmas and say good bye as it was clear then I probably would never see her again. I wasn’t able to get to the funeral but she knows there will always be a special place for her in my memories ...”aunty Mary had a canary “ and made us all laugh 
Our year drew to a close with a trip to Hanoi to stay with Michael and Leona, Joseph and newest addition Ryan. We has had a traditional roast dinner with turkey and all the trimmings. The kids got on well, the boys did their football things and Leona and I had a real chance to catch up again. ON the way home we will have a stop off in Ho Chi Minh and then home to Manila for the New Year Countdown.
So long 2011 , what a great year, if 2012 is half as much fun it I’ll be more than happy . Wishing you all love , good health and good luck for the New Year

2011 -An overview part 3

2011-12-30T14:42:00.002+08:00

Gianna became a teenager in June.....we went to see Kylie Minogue which was a fantastic show even here with a more limited stage set. The stadium was filled with screaming (mostly gay) fans and I think Kylie was bowled over by the support. Around the same time we went to Cirque Du Soliel, on a typical flooded Manila night, the poor Spanish technicians just looked shell shocked by the amount of rain pouring from the skys and ensuing rising water levels , the show went on, the staff bailed out water and we “sailed home” in 2 ft of water, a memorable night!

July we went to the UK for the annual caravan of visits sleeping in many different beds and living out of suitcases. We started off in near Bristol with jo and went to visit THE tree (planted in 2004 for the kids)which is now rather tall , although it seemed to have lost a few branches in a storm. It was a great to see jo happy with her new fella and the girls all grown up.....watching the teenagers together reminded me they will be gone before too long, they are so big already!

Its seems like yesterday we were all camping at the tree planting ceremony and angelica was a baby............ From there we went onto Cardiff and stayed a week with Jacqui. We had planned camping but in the end the weather didn’t play ball but we still had fun together, boating, swimming, going to local park and Gianna saw the Harry Potter marathon and final film premier at midnight with her cousins. From Wales we moved on to Edinburgh and spent time with Molly and Mario, we visited St Andrews together on a sunny day having fish and chips on the beach . A relaxing and chilled time being fed by Mario and looked after by Molly. 

From Edinburgh we went to Birkenhead , collected Mum and travelled to Aberdaron in North Wales where Michael and the kids joined us, and I stopped working for a week . We rented a lovely apartment part of the Ship Pub www.theshiphotelaberdaron.co.uk.
Anna, Tony and Sion and his girlfriend came to visit and we were able to spend time with Bernie and her girls who have a caravan on a nearby site. The Area is very beautiful with lovely walks and beaches. We went to whistling sands twice once in a torrential downpour and once in heatwave...typical summer weather. We took mum to Morfa Nefyn http://www.tycoch.co.uk/........the last time she had been there was with me and my dad when I was 18 months old. Great place especially on a summer evening with DJs playing outside the pub, presumably not there when my parents first visited, but a welcome addition....It was a lovely family time , probably one of few left with the big girls who will no doubt outgrown trips to wales with parents /grandparents before I can say wellington boots.

Our final stop was London for a couple of days before flying home. The riots struck and closed London down...exciting to see on TV, but darn inconsiderate when I had plans to catch up with friends and couldn’t make it!! It was all very deja vu when passing thru Peckham the day after and seeing the burnt buildings. I was living in Peckham during the riots in the 80’s....living in squats, supporting the miners strike, and women at Greenham. Common...where has time gone to? and how much and how little has changed ....Who would have thought I’d ended up running a radical activist feminist organisation 30 years later – ha ha

2011 An Overview Part 2

2011-12-28T13:38:00.003+08:00

Mum came out to visit in March and celebrated her 75 birthday in Manila. We holidayed in Batangas @ Stilts www.stiltscalataganbeachresort.net and Coral beach club www.coralbeach.ph/ and then in returned to Bataan Montemar beach club www.montemar.com.ph

Stilts ( a location from the film) has a perfect location, nice accommodation but is overpriced for the service and restaurant which serves only basic Filipino fare. Coral beach club has great rooms and is good value with the best food we have had for ages. However the location is not as great beach wise. All the same somewhere we will return to quick getaways. Montemar has undergone some further upgrades since we were last there and their restaurant has improved as have the rooms . The beach is as always spotless and clean. Good value off peak or for large groups sharing rooms. The best are the ones fronting the beach (and of course the most expensive)We enjoyed all 3 locations, even though we were kept up all night by Karaoke by Stilts they did not charge us for that night and were very apologetic.

Marc was off in the UK training for his new job during this time in March /April and returned to Scotland to see family for the first time in 4 years. He also spent time in London catching up on some curries and very expensive pints.
After Easter the kids started at the British school in Manila www.britishschoolmanila.org which has been a very positive experience . The classes are small, the kids and parents very friendly and they both are thriving both academically and emotionally. They follow the UK system and at 16 they choose IB or A levels. The kids obviously gained a huge amount from being exposed to Philippine culture as we have now lived here for almost 5 years (being able to sing the national anthem is a good party trick!) but the curriculum was becoming too limited for Gianna along with weird gender stereotyping and religious indoctrination, whilst Angelica was not learning at all within the huge class sizes. The transition was easy for Angelica but took a little longer for Gianna as she had to leave her old friends behind and start afresh as a teen which is rather more challenging. She’s still keeping up with the old crowd which is good, she hasn’t lost old friends but gained new ones !!!

The move to the British school was made possible by my work opting to pay for the kids education at International school rather than me leaving for another job and final recognition for the stress and hard work of the last 2 years getting WGNRR back on track. I have enjoyed the work much much more this last year as I have gained more confidence on SRHR content and policy issues as oppose to solely focussing on management issues. The team are a great bunch of people and we have fun in our globetrotting around the world. I managed to keep the travel fairly low for the first half of the year, but was back on the road 3 times in the last quarter in elsewhere in Asia, Europe and Africa. The travel remains a challenging issue for the kids especially Angelica and hopefully with new staff members joining in 2012, I can cut down again.

At the same time the kids switched schools Marc began his work at the British Embassy so things all of sudden began to look much more settled in The Philippines . I have a 2 year contract with a possible extension so looks like will be at least 7 years total in The Philippines by by the time we leave !!!! way more time than I could ever have imagined....

I was in Amsterdam in May and popped over to celebrate Michaels birthday. jacqui came down so was a family reunion night out!! The next day I went to Dublin nursing a sore head and caught up with Derval, Graziano and Family and then Marion who has developed a career in TV chat shows alongside a revitalised career in Law!! watched her set off for studios then on TV a few hours later...all very glamorous

2011 - An overview part 1

2011-12-28T13:31:00.004+08:00

2011 has been a whirlwind of activity and globe trotting, with our lives in the Philippines improving in many important ways with the likelihood of a further 2 to 3 years here. Xmas and new year was spent in Thailand with Claire, Jeff and kids a hugely successful trip with new year let in from a balcony in Bangkok watching the city’s fireworks. The start of an amazing year 
January and February 2011 was taken up with the film making which will have its worldwide release at the Berlin film festival in February 2012.

Marc and I are listed on the official festival programme next to Isabel Huppert which feels rather strange as we played along side Filipino superstars and winners of international awards. Both marc and myself have appeared in as extras in Nat Geo programmes, and get invited to do castings for extras from time to time for commercials etc but often we are too busy with our day jobs to pursue. Not exactly Oscar nominated film stars but its a fun way to make a few quid.....an an unlikely mid life career change .

Angelica had her 7th birthday in March at Chillis a restaurant and finally got a puppy for her birthday, a local Askal (street dog). I also finally got my Wheels  and became a Manila driver ..... Having the car has transformed our lives, I drive the kids to school as many days as I can and share in a car pool with other parents, and we have been out of manila on a number of trips...its great to have the freedom to explore more and stop where we please although to be honest the greatest benefit is being able to jump i the car and do the shopping, drop the kids off at “play” dates without walking or taking taxis, especially in the rainy season 

Gianna graduated from Grade school with a formal ceremony, gown and hat as well as the ball!!

| Berlinale | Press | Press Releases | All Press Releases - Berlinale 2012: First Films for the Competition and Berlinale Special

2011-12-21T15:57:00.001+08:00

| Berlinale | Press | Press Releases | All Press Releases - Berlinale 2012: First Films for the Competition and Berlinale Special

More Pictures from Prey

2011-03-09T12:54:00.004+08:00

Article in French press with quote from "Moi"

2011-03-03T13:19:00.001+08:00

http://www.telerama.fr/cinema/dans-la-jungle-avec-les-otages-de-brillante-mendoza,66205.php

For non french speakers u can always google translate

Pictures from the set of Prey Jan 2010

2011-02-09T15:55:00.005+08:00

The most amazing experience ................

2011-02-05T10:30:00.004+08:00

Finally finished the film yesterday and wow what an amazing adventure...I would not have believed anyone 2 months ago telling me I would feature in a movie .....even more surprising is the news that apparently I am a great actress .....as told to me by both the Director Brillante Mendoza (Best Director Cannes 2010) and Isabelle Huppert award winning french actress http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabelle_Huppert . Apparently I did scenes that moved everyone on set including The Director and the very experienced actors - I believe it was all down to the magic of Brilliante. There is no script and you never know whats happening until u shoot. The actors are told to stay in character and then react to the situations you are placed in. There was constant surprises and we seemed to be for ever dodging bullets and explosions. My character had to be scared and emotional ...well that was not hard, believe me as, u never knew when the next squib would explode or you would be dragged off to a new camp in the jungle ....

We saw a tiny tiny section of the film last night at the cast party and it looks amazing - everyone expects it to do well at Cannes this year in May. The film will be very scary I think and definitely x rated - I spent most of the film screaming and being chased through the jungle...but also spent 5 days at sea with my fellow captives. It helped that our abductors were all gorgeous to look at ...as for a long time that's all we could do .

I made a whole new set of wonderful friends . The bond between everyone on set was very very close partially as we had to live together for weeks. At night there was a lot of fun and letting our hair down together, but once back on set we all assumed our roles again .....and our drinking pals from the night before would once again become the hardened terrorists ....

The film itself was french financed and a very big project ....I don't think we are supposed to share too many details or pictures until the film is actually released but in the few photos here, u see Marc and I at the end, after his sad demise via a bullet to the chest ...hence all the blood.

Iam rescued by the solders and fly away at sunset in the helicopter ......theres also a picture of us all eating lunch in the jungle watched by the ever present audience that followed us wherever we went. As many of the cast are very famous here we got used to lots of people screaming at us and signing autographs (people just assumed we were famous hollywoods actors I think :)

I had to work as much as I could whilst filming so a regular sight on set was me at my laptop....I have to thank everyone at work for letting me do this and of course the kids for being so patient and Rishita and Fedra for moving into our house to look after them. They had a ball at weekends when they were brought to the set. The locations for the shoots were so beautiful and Marc and I saw some amazing scenery that we would not have ever visited by ourselves as hidden away in the jungle. One of the most spectacular sights in Subic was 1000s of huge fruit bats ( and I mean huge) flying in the beautiful sunset. When I can I will post more pictures and information

The only shame was that I was made to look so terrible for the movie. Everyday in makeup they would add years to me and cover me in mud, mosquito bites, cuts and brusies .....it didnt help that many of the actresses were so dam good looking, particually the beautiful Mercedes who I was roped to for days.....http://www.facebook.com/mercedes.cabral

Xmas Holiday in Thailand

2011-01-02T11:19:00.008+08:00

For Xmas we went to stay with our friends Alison and Joesph and their 3 lovely girls Jo, Caroline and Sarah. They have a nice condo with pool right in central Bangkok where we stayed for a few nights before travelling by luxury van to Koh Chang, a small island around 5 hours from Bangkok. We stayed a smallish resort called Grand Cabana http://www.grandcabanakohchang.com/and a fab time was had by all.

The kids are close in age so they all got on well and kept each other amused. We went elephant trekking on Christmas day and ended up in the water with them :) and went on a speed boat for a snorkeling trip. We also saw a bit of the island by scooter - it is very beautiful a bit developed and busy in some places but then under developed in others.

There were a lot of empty places - apparently they are down by 50% 0n visitors from last year. Lonely beach was my favorite place and where I would stay if we went again - WE went back to Bangkok for new year and watched an amazing fireworks show from our friends balcony which was taking place directly in front of our building . Off home today :( to WGNRR board meeting and then film making and job hunting.

Time to move on and find a better paid position so that the kids can go to international school. Going back to the UK is of course an option but would be a retrograde step career wise .....have applied for jobs all over the world, Thailand, Washington, Geneva, NY, Jordon and of course the Philippines but all with good financial packages ....so have no idea where we might be this time next year.

As for the film making Marc and I have been recruited to make a film with an awarding winning Filipino director Brilliante Mendoza and french actress. We play hostages and will spend 3 weeks filing at various locations around Luzon. The film will be entered in the major film festivals next year - so who knows possibly a trip down the red carpet :) Watch this space

CSA football team (Liverpool under 7s)

2010-11-27T13:58:00.002+08:00

Both girls played football today - of course one at 7.ooam and the other at 1pm. Angelica's kit is actually a full Liverpool kit with the CSA logo on the front ? :)

lake island rizal

2010-09-30T23:24:00.001+08:00

Marcs 40th Party

2010-09-26T12:35:00.003+08:00

August bank holiday fun at San Fernando, la Union

2010-09-06T21:21:00.004+08:00

went to La Union for the August bank holiday and although weather been wet we managed to have sunshine on each day along wth usual tropical storms. stayed at nice little resort www.sunsetbayphilippines.com - nice quiet beach - good family room with 1double and bunk beds , sat TV and hot water for P1600 per night, also had small infinity pool and excellant food. Owned by 2 Uk ex pats from hong Kong, spider the one who had been running it dies a few days before we arrived so rather wierd that we got there in middle of rememberence ceremony for him. Food was excellant especially the pizzas and fish and chips - even had malt vinegar- engish brekfasts also good with HP and heinz ketchup !! Flashy new resort nearby called Poro point www.thunderbirdresorts.com/info/philippines/en/resorts.poropoint very nicely located on headland - bit pricey but ok for rainy day reductions - glof cousre and fantastic pool - didint see rooms but also good for happy hour cocktails.....6 hours from Manila :)

July 2010

2010-08-10T06:19:00.006+08:00

Sugar Beach Negros April 2010

2010-04-19T20:39:00.005+08:00

- 1 hour flight plus 5 hours on bus Sugar Beach is worth the travel - we stayed a Takakuta Lodge http://www.takatuka-lodge.com/ hired our boat from http://www.sulusunset.com/ as they have cheapest boats and ate at Bermuda Beach resort which had the most amazing food!

angelica birthday party and volcano trip

2010-04-01T14:09:00.004+08:00

The cheerdance extravaganza 2010

2010-02-13T09:40:00.005+08:00

once again the girls have been part of the field demonstrations at CSA. Gianna got into the squad and has been practicing night and day. Angelica was enlisted with all her classmates as a Mexican girl.They both looked lovely In their costumes. Angelica's two front teeth that have been wobbly since October finally both fell out yesterday so she has a lovely toothless smile

the girls have been enjoying their dancing and college days - the summer term is always much lighter school work wise and they have lots of extra curricular activities

I can hadley hard believe they only have only 6 weeks and its the end of another school year.

They both have lots of friend now and Gianna more independent off to the Mall with her friends and lots of sleepovers and parties, which means its getting a fight to spend anytime with her at weekends her her social life is such a whirl, shes just growing so quickley

I took videos pf the dancing which s here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGcbe_7t-l4 We are all looking forward to Molly and Marios arrival next week and anothe trip to Taal lake next weekend :)

January

2010-01-24T18:54:00.005+08:00

Just back from Bangkok - crazy busy - imprisoned in a hotel for a work shop and conference - our 3 day meeting was very successful but emotionally and physically draining ........we had over 50 people from 20 different countries from central and south asia and the pacific

My only escape took me to the night market where I got a chinese dress for angelica ..... also bought one for gianna 10 years ago when she was almost 2 and we went to thailand together- will try and find it

had good weekend with kids once home the photos from our sunday lunch outing for japanese...

2009 in review – what a year !!!!!

2010-01-10T10:10:00.005+08:00

I ended up with very mixed feelings about 2009 it had great highs and some pretty big challenges some of which will need to be resolved in 2010 – but we made it thru with lots of new adventures and many new things learnt.

The first quarter of the year was stressful in not knowing whether or not I would get a job and the last few months of the year wondering whether I wanted to keep it. But more on that later.

The move to the new house in central Makati made a huge difference to our lives with the girls being able to walk to school and live in the same village as their friends – Angelica has a new best friend Diana who is the same age as her and lives next door. Gianna has a couple of classmates that live locally and often goes to and from school with them. Marc was able to cut his commuting and walk to work in 15 minutes giving him an extra 2 hours in bed each day. Me? I had to start commuting back to Quezon City on the train each day which takes around an hour but as I can be flexible on my hours (in theory) I can try and avoid the worst of the traffic. Its great as we can walk to the mall, cinemas, restaurants and bars which are literally on our door step.

We travelled north for Easter to Pagudpud and Blue lagoon at Easter and Erica came in April and we had a wonderful trip to Club Paradise in Palawen – Club Paradise, truly amazing place and swam with turtles (photos in earlier blogs) – Erica then headed back to UK and then relocated to New York which seems so far away.

In May Gianna went by herself to UK with BA which was a huge success. (she did her own blog entry and posted lots of pics in earlier entries) She loved the solo flying and spent time with family in Edinburgh, London and the Wirral. The tricky bit was getting her ferried between stops but everyone helped out and moved her around the country. In July she did her first billboard shoot and has been on a large poster in central Makati since November. Every girl should have the chance for a makeover and be on a billboard once in their life 

Angelica started big school in June and joined CSA the same school Gianna attends. She has a couple of close friends including Venice who is the daughter of a former runner up miss world and belongs to a showbiz dynasty. We went to Venice’s birthday party which was bigger than most weddings I have attended complete with stage set, TV personality compare and heart throb pop star uncle in attendance. The prizes for games included bikes !!! The contrast between rich and poor never ceases to amaze me here – It probably would be fair to say that Angelica was not a model student at first being told off for bringing her friends Barbie watch home, calling her class mates losers and stealing her teachers perfume!!! But she seems to have settled down and is apparently very popular and now doing very well. Personally I would feel much better once she can read but they start later here (like some parts of Europe) and they are not expected to read until they are 6.

As they grow the girls I can see the girls different personalities, they will both look quite different and have different perspectives in life – Angelica is very sporty loves being outside and running around, gets taller everyday and is fearless. Gianna is more of a social bunny, hates exercise, and prefers social networking (on the PC) to physical activity and much more cautious in her approach to life. She still misses home and her friends which at time is really hard for both of us. I am already so aware that we are fast approaching crunch time regarding her schooling. She says she wants to stay and graduate from grade school next year at CSA but then she will have to either be in an international school or return to UK from 2011. She is of course already a tweenie growing fast – sometimes when I look at her its scary to realise that in 6 years she will be planning her own life and moving onto university or work …….time goes too quickly.

One of the perks of the job is that I have been back to the UK myself several times over the last year and able to catch up with my mum brother and sister and see friends albeit for fairly short stopovers. In September I was able to go to Bestival (on the Isle of Wight) with Jacqui and Jo, Chris Lawrence and the rest of the gang. I brought made to measure space girl outfits from the Philippines and we looked great!!! During the same trip I also went to Berlin for a conference – I had not been back for quite some time probably at least 8 or 9 years and it was great that I was able to catch up with Helmut and Patrick one night in the Tiergarten. The conference included a bus tour of Berlin and I found it fascinating to see how things have changed since the wall came down having lived there in 1981…... so long ago!!!! It’s a beautiful city and extremely green, something I had forgotten over the years

In late September the people of Manila faced the havoc that Typhoon Ondoy. We are fairly well insulated against storms etc where we live . In fact apart from raining incredibly hard all day we did not directly witness any real flooding. We had a few leaks in the house more irritating than disruptive and my only major hassle was having bored kids on my hands. We even went over to Greenbelt (local Mall) and out for dinner on Saturday night blissfully ignorant to the loss of life and hardship elsewhere. We knew that travel beyond a few 100 meters was impossible but for us that meant escaping at least for a short time covered head to toe with waterproofs.

The surprising thing about the storm was that no one was expecting anything out of the usual – we have around 20 typhoons a year so a tropical depression, as it was until Saturday, barely merits a mention in the news. We were weather watching as we had hoped to get to the beach overnight on the next island (Mindoro) with Pete and Marie –Lyn (friends from the UK) – a tropical depression was kids stuff so we actually thought right up until Friday night we were going. On Saturday morning I went on line and realised we were suddenly in a Signal 1 typhoon warning and that we were going nowhere. So many others must have been caught out in the same way. The rain was apocalyptic – we had a whole months rain in less than 24 hours and believe me it usually rains a lot in September - over one metre…… It affected both rich and poor another unusual factor about Ondoy, although of course a month later it’s the poor communities that were still wallowing in mud and shit with little prospect of things improving for some time. Surprisingly many in the new condo units were badly affected with flooding of underground car parks wrecking cars and buildings’ electric systems – its an amazing sight to see cars just swept away…the questions have begun about how it could have been so bad? The 3 dams reached their limits and water was released, a factor many blame for the sudden flooding late Saturday afternoon. It appears that water should have been gradually released earlier to prevent the huge overflows but once the water built up there was no choice but to release the dams burst.

Many believe that the real death toll will never be known, our gardener claims that he saw over 100 bodies himself that had been swept down river to his Barangay – official figures of only 249 dead would seem vastly underestimated. The problem as always in Manila is that so many people are not registered, so simply put no one knows how many people there are to begin with. Families have to pay to register a birth and for the poor this means that most children are never registered and when they lost in disasters such as Onday they are therefore never officially missed.

The kids ended up having extra Saturday school because of the time missed due to the 5 Typhoons we suffered in Manila including Ondoy and Swine Flu which closed the school for 2 weeks at the start of the school year . I now realise why they don’t have official school breaks between Jun and October as each year the kids miss a couple of weeks due to bad weather.

After a lull in visitors in 2008 we had a steady stream in the later part of 2009 with my mum coming for a month again in October. This year we went off to Bolinao for a week. It was touch and go with the weather whether we would make it as yet another Typhoon threatened but in the end we had beautiful sunshine every day we were away. Mum went along to the opening of the Mango tree house school, a school for street kids near the Patayas dump in Quezon City. Some of the pictures feature earlier in the blog.(photos posted earlier)

In November I was lucky enough to get to go to Cape Town which is a fantastic place. I had never realised the place was so beautiful with a stunning coast line. Also very outdoorsy and sporty. The work event I went there for went very well and was a high point in a frustrating 9 months at WGNRR. We had gathered members from all over Africa some of whom had not left their own countries before – it was a great learning experience for me as well as hopefully for them too, hearing about the challenges of reproductive health in places such as Congo and Sierra Leone and sharing strategies and approaches to try and improve women’s lives .

In December Marc's cousin Angela and husband came and joined us for Xmas at Erik’s house at Puerta Galera, we have stayed there a couple of times before. Rishita and Fedra joined and brought along Jessica and her friends. It was one long exhausting party ……with outing in jeepneys and boats lots of food and living like royalty for a week. New year we stayed in Manila and had a fairly quite new year at home if you can ever call Manila quiet at New Year when threes a hundred thousand fireworks going off …..Our neighbour opposite from Blackpool has a sack full of huge rockets and fire crackers so we took the sofas out and sat outside enjoying the show. Over the holidays we saw Avatar in 3D at the IMAX which I though was great – and climbed the nearest volcano as well as lunched at Antonio’s reportedly the best resto in the Philippines and jolly nice it was too….and now back to work

The job itself is far far more demanding than any other I have ever had and I also had to face the problems of lawsuits from staff, being badly flooded during Ondoy and having to cancel a major event in Beijing when visas for my staff and most participants were refused. However the major problems all stem from the move from Amsterdam to Manila in 2008 which resulted in an entirely new staff team and a lack of systems and procedures to support the organisation day to day running. It will take another 12 months to unpick all the bad stuff that was allowed to happen in the early months after the transfer and capacity build the organization both in terms of skills and content.

My main reservations relate to my quality of life which seems to have taken a nose dive as I am constantly working, or worrying about work or travelling. Consequently the kids feel they don’t get enough time with me ….even when I am at home. I need to seriously address both the work life balance and the financial rewards for the job in the early months of 2010 or look for new opportunities. The aim to make the break from the UK was to get away from the stress of CEO of a charity and I seem to have recreated it here in the Philippines where I get much less money. Although the job is hard, it remains potentially very exciting and is at times incredibly rewarding. I have learnt so much about Reproductive Rights, a whole new area for me and have undoubtedly increased by skills and therefore the types of jobs I can apply for when I do move on. I am glad I have had the chance to try my hand at something so different, not many people get that chance in their late 40s.

We have the election next year. Which will challenge any person out side the Philippines view of how good democracy works. For us in the Philippines we just hope for just someone who doesn’t already have a lengthy track record of crime and corruption. Erap, who you may recall, was found guilty of massive fraud and embezzlement whilst president and pardoned by the current president , is of course running for re-election . Gloria, she queen of corruption and election fraud and current president ,will run for senator hoping to get back in the presidents seat in 3 years no doubt.…. Nonoy, son of Cory Aquino, does seem to have the lead at the moment and although closely aligned with the catholic church at least supports publically the Reproductive Health bill here which would allow for the first time formal sex education, and is possibly the most progressive candidate at least with any chance of success

Of course the whole sorry affair will take place in a environment where votes will be bought. The very poor have no time to try and work out which bad politician to vote for, they may as well take the bribes and buy some rice as oppose expecting anyone to make a radical change to their lives. The election violence has already started with the massacre of 57 in Maguindanao, in Mindanao with the leader of a powerful political clan in the dock. The people killed were friends and supporters, many women lawyers, of the opposition family. It just seems incredible that it would occur to anyone that the best way to rid yourself of the opposition is to kill them and their supporters on mass whilst they were on the way to register their cadency against you, and that you can get away with it . Of course the killing is not limited to Mindanao and in fact candidates have been killed in other locations too. Last time I stopped counting at almost 200 deaths. Politics is a dangerous game in the Philippines .

I plan to bring both girls home in May – partly to get them out of the country during the elections but also because they need to keep their relationships with family and friends back home.

So its now the first weekend in the new year and we are off to spend Gianna’s earnings from her billboard , Madame has decided she wants a phone and Guess jeans for starters . Gianna is back in the cheer dance team this year and Angelica has started football so we are in for a sporty few months – They say summer has started early and will last till early June! Meanwhile Europe seems to be having the worst winter for years with thick snow and freezing temperatures. Lucky us ……30 degrees again today. So new years resolutions ???
1. Work more at home and see more of kids
2. Get a car so I can do more with kids at weekends. I am so sick of taxis
3. Loose the weight that crept on at the year end (how does it do that every year?
4. Relearn Spanish (sort of have to as hosting an event in Guatemala in September)


Bolinao 09

2009-11-09T21:10:00.002+08:00

Gianna on the billboards and Angelica at Halloween

2009-10-30T21:35:00.002+08:00

Gianna Photoshoot

2009-07-30T17:02:00.003+08:00

Gianna In Edinburgh, scotland

2009-06-27T12:18:00.000+08:00

2009-06-27T12:07:00.003+08:00

Gianna about her holiday going to England, Wales, Scotland and Amsterdam

2009-06-16T08:07:00.013+08:00

When it was the day I was going away, I woke up and felt absolutely scared! But I could not stop now. The whole day I was getting ready and at lunch I went to see my Dad for the last time before I went away. I was very sad about it but I had to be strong! After that I went to the airport and we went to the Cathay pacific airline office. Then I said Good bye to Mom and Erica (but before I had said bye to angelica.) After that it was very quick getting there to the gate then at around 6:30pm I went on the plane. I went to the desk for BA and for 3 hours i did nothing! Then I met this lady on the plane and she was from Trinidad and Tobago but looked Indian and was surprised that I knew were she was from. Once I got off the plane i went to meet my Gran and Grandad ,we took a plane to Edinburgh then I stayed there for 10 days. While I was there I went to museums, climbed Arther's seat and had fun. I went to Carlise to be picked up by my Grandma then I went with Grandma to her house. while I was there I went to Howorth for the day and i really enjoyed it. I stayed with Grandma for 10 days. For my birthday I went to the official Liverpool football shop and got a Liverpool football t-shirt from my moms side of the family. I am really happy about that present, Before, I went to Amsterdam for a surprise to see my mom . I went to Anne franks house and I felt really affected, Then Bryony came to pick me up to go to Cardiff. It was Enda's birthday so that was one of the reasons I went to Cardiff.(Enda got a ipod Touch for his birthday) then I went to London and then!! It was Mayas birthday!! Before Maya's birthday I went to see my friends Holly, Zoe and Eve that really was the best part of the holiday. Finally on Tuesday the 2nd I went to the airport with Erica and they had a lovely skyflyers lounge it was amazing!! And I got to watch the last episode i would be able to see in Britain for a long time......Eastenders!!!!!! When i got to Hong Kong I did the same thing again like what I did in Hong Kong going there, instead it was for 6 hours!!!! but when I arrived in manila it was 12 midnight and that was the end of that....

By Gianna Molly Mulville Zanetta

P.S My birthday is on Thursday!!!!! I will be 11

Giannas Holiday Pics from her Camera (and Angelicas first day at school)

2009-06-15T20:04:00.002+08:00

The wind of change...

2009-05-26T03:48:00.006+08:00

So much has happened in the last 2 months there has been no time to blog ! We moved house about a month after my last post, in mid April. After much searching we opted for a lovely big bungalow in San Lorenzo in Makati . Its right at the top end of our budget but as the location is so perfect we decided to go for it. Marc can walk to work and the kids to school. I can walk to the MRT and get to work min 40 mins for 25 peso. So we decided to not get a car and go for the better house as would improve our quality if life so much more.

Think sort of Kensington / Chelsea type of neighbourhood with fancy big shops nearby - so convenient to have Prada at the end of the road darling!!! Its another gated village but green and has park and tennis courts although not as good as Philam and no pool ( lots of house have their own pools but not us)

Its a 3 bed house all en suite with dressing rooms/areas in each - Of course slightly over the top for a 5 year old to have an en suite .....We also have a guest room/den which has its own toilet shower and french doors onto the garden - we have put Sky in there so people who come to stay will have their own space ....(come on guys). There is a huge thru living/dining area that also leads onto the garden which was one of the selling points aside from the location. I think I said before that its very hard to find a garden in the Philippines and this is the perfect size, not too big to handle (meaning paying gardener for lots of days) ,but still big enough to play in and have barbies.

We're only 20 mins from the airport now and staggering distance home from the nightlife in Makati what more can a girl want! Car and driver? (only joking) Its yaking sime time getting used to seeing so many ex-pats after being a rarity in Quezon City where we lived b4. We have a belgium guy next door and Brit opposite......I still get a healthy dose of reality every day when I go to work which is back in poor Barangay in QC..nice office in big house but usual chaotic neighbourhood......

The move was a nightmare and I do not want to do it again for at least another 2 years - we had accumulated so much stuff and the bureaucracy of changing/cancelling utilities was mind bogglingly complicated. It took 2 tortuous trips in a van down EDSA to move our stuff. I just don't know how we accumulated so much. Even so our furniture looks a bit lost in the house as there is so much space. I will have to start scavenging around ex-pats as they leave, for cast-offs in next month or so....

The week after we moved in Erica arrived and it started raining even though it was supposed to be summer - Erica seemed to have attracted biblical downpours wherever she has been on her world trip so far ...luckily the weather did clear and we had a great weekend at the old favorite Mayamaya and we then went off for girlie weekend to Paradise Island (truly!) In Palawan and swam with turtles saw the most amazing fish.http://www.clubparadisepalawan.com/ - Thanks erica for the treat I LOVED IT!!

Erica and Gianna got on so well - Gianna played tour guide around Manila until she left for the UK. Of course lovely to have a good old friend to stay and hard to say goodbye. Till next time

Gianna flew to UK by herself and loved it not bad at 10 years old.......I think she has been a little homesick from time to time but overall seems to have enjoyed it - Her grand tour has taken in Scotland/Birkenhead/Cardiff /Amsterdam and London!

I have now started the new job proper although for 6 weeks I was juggling both the VSO Job and WGNRR which was exhausting. Almost as soon as I accepted the job it became clear I needed to get up to speed as quickly apossible. I have already been to Amsterdam twice in 2 months and will need to go again at least twice more this year - I am enjoying it so far but still a little nervous of the unknown! I have my first full board meeting this weekend here in Manila. Apparently my predecessor left her first meeting in tears - I mean they can't be that bad can they?

I am very excited by the new challenge and the opportunity to gain expertise in a completely new field - Reproductive and sexual health rights. Put simply we campaign alongside our members (2000) and partners to get governments and UN to adopt a rights and social justice approach to population. The theory being that population control does not work and is flawed in its approach, evidence shows that population drops when women have better access to health and basic rights such as education/security and food, not just because contraception is available. We of course also campaign for access to contraception and abortion but that alone will not work. Our work falls under the Millennium Development Goals, another new area to develop expertise for me ! I am hoping this will make my next career move much easier as I will have gained a specialism within Development alongside my management experience, the lack of which made job hunting more difficult this year. I may even sign up for a masters at UP next year = My new Chair is the head of Woman's studies at University of the Philippines and it would help no end to have a masters under my belt to compliment my new field. This is all of course getting a little ahead of myself have to wait and see how the first 6 months go first :)

We went away at Easter to Pagudpud in Northern Luzon, flying to Loaog - I liked Pagudpug which is a beautiful long white beach right at the to of Luzon island - the accommodation is disappointing as all concrete and no nipa style huts.We stayed at http://juncarolbeachresort.com/ which was ok for P2000 and had a TV a requisite for Marc who had to get up at 2 am to watch football!

2 days we travelled over to Blue lagoon (which is really blue), by trike which I really enjoyed but was hell for Marc crouched inside

We ate lunch a fab resort http://www.tjhawaii.com/kvr/about.asp which is where we would stay if we went again - the food was excellent - they had their own garden for herbs and veggies. There is surfing there later in the year

On the way back we stopped in Vigan which I really liked - we took a ride in the horse drawn cart which was great and ended up at a surprisingly nice zoo owned by the local (ex-film star) ex senatorhttp://www.chavitsingson.net/baluarte/ . That night we got the overnight bus back to Manila 12 hours which was not too bad except as usual did not have enough warm clothes - Mental Note: next time take pillow, woolly hat and blanket like everyone else!

Finally (its happening to me!) ........90's dance anthem for those of u unfamilar with the summer of love or madchester :)

2009-03-12T09:47:00.004+08:00

Yes another entry starts with the title from a song in the last millennium - one of my fave dance tracks actually
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Ydwvwyeqo one for the funeral procession I reckon :) Maybe could do a lap of honor around the M25 before having a party in muddy (cold) field :)

Anyways no I have not embarked on a new romance (or planing anyones funeral) very happy with the love I currently have BUT I HAVE GOT A JOB here in the Philippines. Timing wise could not have been more perfect as I really was beginning to despair. Job hunting here proved much harder than I anticipated particularly to get anything with a semi decent salary. The job is with the Woman's Global Network for Reproductive Rights http://www.wgnrr.org/
I got the call whilst at the top of cititower with friends which led to a bottle of champers overlooking the manila skyscrapers quite appropriate for a much awaited celebration!!

My role is co-ordinator and I have an office here in Manila and one in Amsterdam to co-ordinate. They are a campaigning organisation which is a new departure for me but having spent 25 years working in advice/information/help services issues relating to woman's health and contraception are very familiar. Its a major area in development at the moment as linked to the Millennium Development Goals - basically we can't improve the health of the poor if we do not start by improving woman and their children's health and to do that we need to address inequalities, lack of education , access medical care etc etc.

So all exciting stuff. I'm under no illusion it looks like a tough job - the team did not get on with the last co-ordinator and she left - there's a lot of mistrust so I'm not expecting a smooth ride. But what they don't know is how much I needed this job so I won't b easy to unseat and want it to make it work!!

The package is good not quite ADB standards but fantastic for here . We will be self sufficient and able to move house and finally buy a car. At the moment we are trying to decide whether we upgrade in Philam, where we live now, as we love it here, or whether we move nearer Marcs work and Gianna's school. The properties I have looked at so far are in Makati are all horrible and not as nice as we have now but twice as expensive - seems like we will have to pay a fortune to get something as nice and I don't want to over commit ourselves at least not till the dust settles on the new jobs . Our house current contract is however up at end of April so we don't want to get tied in here another year.

I am still so excited about the new job and new life I am sill waking up at night. The VSO adventure was always a temporary situation and we never knew what would happen at the end. This feels very different, that we are making a commitment to stay here and pursue careers - which may eventually lead back to UK but then again may not. I have said before that the last 2 years were frustrating as felt a little like camping or being on a long holiday in our own house - we can now put down some roots and take a longer view.

Yesterday was Angelica's birthday - 5 years since she was born and the house burnt down. She had a great day with her nanny went to the pool and her favorite playplace and had a birthday tea . The real action is on Saturday at Burger King where her class mates will join her in a BK frenzy. Its very tricky the whole birthday party thing here because the kids will usually turn up with siblings, parents and nannies in tow making a huge amount of people to feed for just 12 kids. However I just don' t have the mental capacity to arrange anything myself at the moment and will close my eyes when I sign on the dotted line. For my money I do get everything a party host, give aways, party bags, balloons decorations, banners we literally just have to turn up and at least I like BK whoppers. They give out free massages at BK here so I can distress at the same time as have the birthday party - now that's pretty unique

Angelica has now finished school and graduated (from one nursery class to another) in another round of pomp and ceremony wholly inappropriate for a 5 year old but there we go! The more challenging issue is that she is now off school for 3 months - Gianna finishes in 10 days but I have decided to pack her off to Europe for a month to keep her occupied. We have holiday plans in April so hopefully I can find suitable activities for the few weeks in between for her.

Life in the Philippines continues to amuse and amaze in equal measure - they are currently trying to reopen a nuclear power station positioned on an earthquake fault???? How cleaver is that? The local TV network shot footage of the assignation of 4 car by 14 police - their story was the robbers shot back whilst the footage showed the cops just walking up and firing in car where they sat! The usual bribery scandals going straight back to the palace although the administration is slowly realising that the new American administration is taking a very different view on the Philippines, and that the human rights abuses and corruption here means there ain't no special relationship any more

The horror stories of the impact of the recession play out daily on the TV but u would never realise there was a world recession walking around Manila . Buildings are still going up at dizzying speeds and the malls are full to the brim. There is talk of overseas workers loosing their jobs and Marc is seeing a sort of slow down on the recruitment side but at the same time many banks and outsourcing companies are actually coming here. The rate of sterling continues to be very depressing for those of us with savings in pounds - if I had bought my car this time last year I would have got one worth 25% more than the one I can afford today ouch! I get my end of service grant in May and it will be worth 30% less than what it was when I first arrived thats a lots of pesos when talking of over 2K pounds.

VSO is having to make big cuts in budgets as 75% of its income comes from UK government yet it funds its activities overseas - so costs here have increased by 25% just because of exchange rate. There is an emergency meeting at the office today to work out how to make 25% savings on an already stripped down budget.

New Years Eve 100 islands and Bolinao

2009-01-06T18:06:00.007+08:00

We returned from Nasugbu to Manila undecided whether to stay in the city or leave for New Year. In the end we decided, last minute, to leave for 100 islands on NYE. It was the wrong decision timing wise, but I will get to that in a moment. We caught the bus from Cubao (Victory Liner) to Almininos, which was a really quick easy journey as the roads were empty (3.5 hrs usually 5). At Alaminos we took a trike into Lucap, the jumping off point for 100 islands - on the way we passed a great many stalls, with piles of what looked like homemade fireworks- someone had helpfully hung up a cardboard sign saying no smoking, but knowing how Filipinos like to flout written rules ,it did not inspire confidence and the kids were kept in the trike, which probably was not that much safer. Marc decided to buy some fireworks to help let in the New Year. So there we were, in our little trike, with several large rockets sticking out the back, just the same as every other bike or trike we passed - thank god nobody ran into one another or it would have been like Beirut.

We arrived in Lucap, fireworks intact, which is basically a dump of a place and I would NOT recommend it to anyone....We realised too late that most people seem to merely pass thru on their way to the islands ... consequently it is NOT the place to be for New Years Eve.

The main attraction of our night was as ever the karaoke, but even then but the only singer was Gianna, in a deserted bar that shut at 9pm. We had decided we would eat at the recommended sea restaurant at 8 - which closed at 7.45.......so retired hungry and grumpy to our hotel room to eat our left over sandwiches. I suppose things did hot up at midnight when there were lots of fireworks and motorbikes dragging bin lids, but as I could see at least one person with their gun in their back pocket, we stuck to the hotel lobby to watch the ensuing mayhem....what was a deserted town now resembled a war zone.

All I could hope was that this was not an omen for 2009.....stuck in a war torn backwater with old sandwiches and no pubs for the next 12 months!!!!!

Luckily we did have a bottle of wine and another of fizzy to drown our sorrows - needless to say getting a million texts from people all over the world having fun was most irritating, so I switched off my phone, sorry guys!

The next day was better (could it be worse?) and we went off around 100 islands which is the picture with Gianna in the foreground. It was ok ...... but theres better places and it certainly does not warrant a night in Lucap hell....... The highlight for Gianna was the Pinoy Big Brother house which apparently u can rent and for Angelica playing with Mary on the beach (see pics)

Happily we set off for Bolinao late afternoon and caught a packed bus that got in just b4 sunset. Eventually we managed to find a great beach place to stay, but it was mere perseverance that we kept going and did settle for another bar less/restaurant less hut, the previous nights ordeal was still fresh in my memory and I was not going to settle for anything less than beach and cold beer on tap.....

Its one long road from Bolinano down to lighthouse near the resort Treasures of Bolinao http://www.treasuresofbolinao.com/which is actually 17 km from the town...once it was dark it was near impossible to know where we going to end up or where to stop... best to get there in the day next time

The place we stayed was called and was a fabulous find http://villacarolinabeachresort.webs.com/roomsandamenities.htm- lively, right on great beach and cheap with a rather kitch pool with Rialto (Venice) bridge over it. see the site!!!...it had 3 karaokes was incredibly loud but had cold beer and was just what the doctor ordered. It is owned by a Belgian ex-seaman and his Filipina wife. They had a 10 year old daughter who Gianna got on with really well so the place was pretty much perfect ....Well for 2 nights, after which I think the karaoke would wear a little thin. The place next door looked great http://www.puntarivieraresort.com/ but we tried to eat there and the food and service was appalling

Anyways I LOVED Bolinao my new favorite place on Luzon and definitely the best overland trip close to Manila (5.5 hours). The sand is lovely,theres a huge beach, big waves, cheap places to stay and mostly self catering . The best place to stay if one wants to splash out is Puerta del sol...http://www.puertodelsol.com.ph/main.html absolute dream of a place P3800 per night, real 5 star resort. Only P200 for a day pass so can even stay in small nipa hut or camp and crash all day by the pool..

Finding Bolinao made the Lucap trauma worth it.....hopefully we will be back before too long.

January has been tough. Applying for a few things, but mostly getting fed up at lack of opportunities to try for...Have applied and been accepted for UN Volunteers which actually pay a very good wage for here and allowance for family etc. If I got a posting here would be a good side step, but bit of a long shot that the right vacancy will come up within the right time frame. Once in with the UN should be possible to switch to paid consultants work or at least that would be the plan.

Waiting on a couple of applications at the moment, one with a Dutch organisation one with the Canadians and I can extend with VSO of course, but the uncertainty is killing me. I suspect, unsettling Gianna too, a she would still prefer to back to UK.

Marc seems to be settling better into his job although its tough getting up at 5.10 everyday and its a culture shock working in a wholly Filipino company. If we knew I had something here we could make decisions about moving house nearer to work or school and/or get a car..

If nothing happens here by May I will have to start applying for jobs at home and then hope for interviews in June/July...Hope to get back to UK in May/June or at least send Gianna by herself.

We spent a week in E.Samar making my first film which was great - a real highlight of my time here. We filmed lots of local communities around Matarinao Bay which provided a fascinating insight into life on the coast. People have very simple houses made of local materials, mostly on stilts in the mangroves, living off fishing and farming or trying to... The film was about some of the alternative livelihood projects in seaweeds, crab ranching and coco rope. I have to say, everytime anyone said crab ranching I sort of expected to see someone lasso a crab wearing a stetson....the picture would just not disappear from my head

Angelica came too and loved it - out on the boats and visiting the communities. She would find herself a friend to play with and she'd be happy...she even ended up in the school one day. The hardest thing was to keep her out of the film and this was not entirely possible

The cats are growing up quick, rather too quick - Molly has been disappearing this week with her "boyfriends" as Angelica politely calls them -Skanky old toms more like... Poor old Ran Ran, her brother ,has been beside himself not only because he keeps looking for her , but when she comes back she does not want to know him - Little do they both know they are off to the vets tomorrow for their ops! The last thing we need are more kittens, which is what will surely follow very soon if action is not taken now.

Better get back to the applications :)

Xmas and New Year 2008

2008-12-30T18:18:00.004+08:00

Well can’t believe Xmas is here again – Its come around so quickly – still not used to this Xmas in the summer lark. There are of course lots of lights, Christmas carols everywhere trains/buses/shops and has been since early September. House sand tower blocks are covered in lights and everyone wants a Xmas tip…..but somehow still miss the wrapping up warm, fires, hot toddies – probably romanticising about it now as sure would be cold and miserable if actually there.

Talking of cold the girls are “shivering”as the temp as finally dipped down to around 24/25 and it feels positively cool. Up in Baguio which is higher up it apparently got down to 9 degrees and everyone is talking about it.

Mum is now back home and I think the trip was a success. It worked out more costly than expected as the pound took a dive half way thru her time her to below P70 to the pound. Good job we have dollars here to live on at the moment as the pounds we would otherwise have to bring over would be worth 25% less than when we arrived! Otherwise the financial crisis has not hot here yet. The buildings are still going up at an incredible rate and the malls are full and busy.

On the news we see reports of retailers closing so it seems the reach crunch at home is yet to hit home ...although the rate relief is of course very welcome when I actually find out what it is as have lost internet passwords I no have idea what is happening.

Marc has stared his new job as Business Development Manager for the executive search department at a recruitment Agency. It’s a very exciting job, lots of responsibility with his own team. Hes been rather stressed as thrown in at the deep end doing strategic planning and budgets for next year. But he seems to be enjoying the perks playing with his very posh new mobile phone and laptop. The hours are very long and will remain so until we either sort out a car or move house. Neither of which we can plan until we know what sort of job or income I am going to get.

Up until Marc getting the job I had sorta thought we could move elsewhere in Asia or even the Pacific but now Marc has found something he seems to enjoy at least so far, and would look good on a CV anywhere in the world – I will concentrate my efforts here in the Philippines. His salary is not enough for us to live on (yet) but pays the rent and the school fees so goes a long way to supporting our outgoings.

I have applied for a few things without any success – I’m also chasing some consultancy work with both local and overseas companies ……Hey maybe Marc cab get me a job thru his work? I’m looking at an official end date at Easter although I can extend – we could survive for another 6-8 months on my VSO allowance and savings with Marcs money but I am now getting fed up of making the sacrifices and the uncertainty.

I WANT my car and some decent furniture if we are staying – feels we have been living in temporary circumstance's for too long and I’d like to make a proper home if we are staying. The house we have is great but everything in it was purchased with the short term in mind – it would be a relief to feel we have made some long term decisions.

The run up to Xmas was hectic with lots of social engagements with friends and work mates. I was also away for 3 trips immediately b4 Xmas implementing some of my KM initiative's out in the provinces. Angelica performed a great Xmas number with her classmates which I’ll upload via You Tube.

I took Gianna to Tondo, a tip where people live as rubbish pickers just to remind her that there is another side to Manila. She was a real trooper after getting over the retching caused by the smell of the dump which people live in. There were 300 manic kids inside all having their first Xmas party - there was nearly a Santa stampede. It was hot smelly and fun at the same time just shocking to see how people live. People at home have no idea how lucky they are to have the welfare state and no matter how grotty accomodation, is will be better than a cardboard house on a dumpsite.

On the way home we went via the new school being built from old donated container trucks. Truly inspired but still needing funds for completion. Education is probably the only way out of the dump for most of the kids you see in the photos.

What a contrast to the way we live ..

We went off to a house near Mayamaya Resort, Nasugbu over Xmas with friends Leona, Michael and Ashley. Jerome and his Girlfriend Lynette came and joined us so was a quite a party on Xmas day. Mel, kids and friends also joined us at the house and we joined them at the resort – so we didn’t feel too lonely. Xmas was a huge success for the girls – they were happy with their (Ebay) Nintendos and and Angelica with her pink barbie car that spent more time in the pool than dry land but seems to have survived.

The Jury is still out as far as New year is concerned I could happily hang out in Manila till we go back to work on the 5th January but Marc, who of course travels much less than me would like another trip to the provinces maybe 100 islands national park to the north of Manila. So watch this space…I rather fancy seeing the Manila mayhem that is New Year but once we’re in the middle of it we may of course think differently. Seems like I have been constantly travelling since we got back in the summer, sometimes really not knowing what island I was on, but then I won’t complain as there could be worse options such as tied to a desk in Manila…..or London!

So what for 2009 ? Usual January diet and a week in Samar making a film on fishing sanctuaries and alternative Livelihood projects. A trip to Davao and lots of job applications….things slowed down over Xmas so hoping new opportunities will present themselves in the NY. I will apply for UN volunteers which get paid a very good wage for here and see if any short term placements in case nothing else comes up. Erica is doing her grand tour so hope to see her and some other visitors this way ...they were a bit thin on the ground in the second half of 2008. (hint hint you know who u are!)

I miss all my friends and family at this time of year and of course I hope we will make it home for a trip if we don’t move back in 2009. Maybe in May this year to avoid last years stresses but then again I’m desperate to get to a festival so may need to reconsider . Feeling rather old these days so need to spend more time with degenerates my own age so I don’t feel l'm the oldest raver in town!!…. One thing I have learnt is that you cannot replace 10/20/30 +year friendships, how lucky one is to have them in the first place and how important it is to stay in touch...

So to u all (newer friends included of course) - love you lots - a really big hug and got have a great 2009 -we'll meet somewhere sometime during the year I hope..

Anyway have to go – need to decide whether we are leaving or staying in Manila tomorrow…..

Happy New Year xxxxx

Turtle weekend Bataan

2008-12-01T00:19:00.004+08:00

Mums visit 2008

2008-11-23T22:38:00.004+08:00

Mum arrived the first week in November shortly after Marc’s departure for the Bahamas. We hired a car to pick her up from the airport as we planned to take her to fireworks that evening at Nomads sports bar.

She ended up arriving 2 hours late as Qatar had changed the time of her flight without telling her. She had a terrible time in Doha with a longish stopover. She had been promised assistance which seemed to be lacking…won’t be rushing to fly with them again.

The girls and I made it over to Nomads which turned out to be a fun night. Bonfire complete with Guy Fawkes effigy much to Angelicas consternation. She was gravely concerned for the person on top of the bonfire. All the usual suspects were there and was a very jolly night. Gianna had a friend from CSA (her school) there as well as the kids from BSM (he British school) so she was well happy!

The next morning I got up at some unearthly hour to take part in a fundraising run at the fort. In the event I did the beauty walk with our good friend Sarah – however in the photos I did try to look like I had completed the 15km…. The following week I spent 3 days endurance trip to Samar which included getting up at 3.30am for the early flight to Tacloban then a 6 hour trip in van over terrible roads to Borongan. (Ate at rather good restaurant near the seafront but can’t remember name must add it later.)

Then back 3 hours over the same terrible roads to Giuaan. We stayed at Tanhay again which has great food and newly refurbished rooms. The Regional Director of VSO Asia was in town and I was accompanying the CD and PM on a short tour of the Samar projects and to carry out an Exit workshop for partners….needless to say by the time we were back in manila on Friday I was pretty whacked. I usually enjoy it when all the volunteers get together but from time to time there are the ones that moan so much and so needy for attention you do wonder how on earth they ever got thru the selection process.

Can’t complain too much as the day after I got back to Manila we flew to Boracay for the weekend which was rather nice. It’s the most developed beach in the Philippines’ and so different to anywhere else. It’s rather a shame that they get so many visitors who don’t go elsewhere in the Philippines as you would get a completely different impression of the place if that’s all you saw. It’s also very pricey compared to elsewhere. However I loved the buzz of the place and the huge choice of places to eat and drink – this makes a change from the usual one or two places on offer with limited food and drink options. The beach was lovely particularly so at station one where it is pristine and white white white. The sea is beautifully clean although there are very few fish compared to elsewhere. All in all I think it makes a great holiday for couples or singles especially if u can afford one of the fancy hotels near station 1. I think there are much better options (and cheaper) for family holidays …. I think Mum enjoyed it although she was a bit uncertain about the boats and tricycle rides on route…Its so easy to forget that scrambling in and out of boats and tricycles is not the normal for most people coming from Europe!

Last week work wise involved a trip to Cebu for work. I woke up and really had a hard time remembering which island I was on and what I was getting up for (a plane, a boat, a taxi) . Mum has been spending her time in Manila pottering around the Mall in the day daytime with Ate and Angelica and been to the pool too.

Friday was a big night out at the St Andrews Ball with Richard and Sarah our new friends from UK, well Uganda was their last posting. Took mum to Tony and Guy to get her hair done before off to R&S's house to get changed and a pre ball glass of wine. The night was fun even if the food was a bit naff – Mum was happy as every table got a bottle of scotch – I was happy as we could order as much wine as we wanted! And the pudding was good. The polo club was decked out with swords and shields and there were pipers and kilts galore. We even tried our hand at a Scottish reel or two.

Saturday was yet another day of endurance with an early start for Giannas sports day (after a late night at the ball) It was very Filipino – loud and chaotic but fun. It was a welcome relief at the end of the day to end up at Mayamaya with just the sound of the sea to go to sleep to. Yesterday was time to catch up on some rest lazing by the pool and in the spa before the trip back to Manila – under 2.5 hrs on a Sunday was almost a miracle but meant all the relaxation did not dissipate during 5 hours of traffic on way home.

Things not so cool at work – more for other staff as oppose to me- they have been told they will close March 2010 instead of October and there will be some redundancies in March 2009. VSO has been hit by the drop in pound badly and is expecting no inflation again next year from DFID. It was sort of inevitable when looking for savings that a programme already winding down would be a target for the cuts. Interestingly the news was delivered with a request for more KM work but not sure how/who is supposed to do this.

Meanwhile I have been applying for jobs…nothing much come up in Philippines but did apply for programme manager jobs in Cambodia and Samoa. I don’t expect to get far and not even sure I want them if offered but will cross that bridge if I come to it. I’m really trying to get a feel for how my CV looks to organizations.

I also trotted along to a KM event at the ADB in my ongoing quest to make friends and get a job there. Met some UK consultants doing basically the stuff I am introducing here with NGOS and LGUs…They of course probably getting my monthly salary per hour. Anyways took the opportunity to introduce myself and pick up some packaging tips which is basically what consultancy is all about.

The Global meltdown has started to hit here with some of the ex-pats working in engineering being laid off after Xmas. Michael (and Leona) are affected but plan to stay out here for while and try and ride the storm – going back to UK just soooo much more expensive – and they are already set up for their baby to be born here in February. Leona works at the Embassy and will get paid maternity leave so seems the best option.

Marc meanwhile has an interview this week for a head of sales job at a recruitment company. On the face of it seems to be a great opportunity although it will be a local salary and therefore won’t be enough for us to live on by itself. It will be great experience and will be good on marcs CV and more importantly will hopefully be something he can enjoy…anyways probably getting ahead of myself as not formally offered yet….

Marc's Birthday - Can its really be Autumn already..

2008-10-25T11:12:00.005+08:00

Time is now passing so quickly it is frightening...Marcs birthday was here before we knew it. We have a "surprise" party at Mayamaya - although by the time it came around he knew all about it ..... We went over night with a group of friends. Melanie did us proud with a lovely dinner and decorations woven from local materials - the weather was kind to us so we swam and sunbathed- last year it poured!

I had to dash away with Angelica the next morning early with Angelica as she had a photo shoot! It was a socks advert and we came away with 10 pairs of sicks and 160 quid. The socks not so useful in this climate the money definitely is!

I felt so guilty dragging Angelica away from the pool I took her straight to the barbie shop on the way home and let her blow 20 quid in a barbie frenzy...she was so happy. That was her first shoot her second was for an online catalogue. This time it was on location at a theme park which was much more fun. The studio shoot was much harder work. Angelica was the star partially because she is a little imp and always climbing up things. the photographer just followed her around on a rampage clicking away! We all got free passes for the park later - I must be getting old as I find the rides too scary....the weirdest one was the snow world! You payed 100p to go inside a big freezer with snow and ice slides in!! They handed out big coats to wear but we didn't last longer than 5 minutes inside. Angelica was quite impressed - I suppose she hasn't really seen snow before...

I was really quite ill after I got back from UK firstly with a bad cough which turned into asthma and then an ear infection! I think I just got too run down with the trip and then conference immediately afterwards...lessons to be learnt for next year if we are still away. Consequenlty took it fairly easy in the early part of October.

Work has been busy post conference turning the content into videos and other easily shared formats. I've also been making some short fundraising videos about our work in mindanao.Take a look at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXOaMPW7u-c and see the effects of the recent fighting on kids in Mindanao...if anyone would like a copy of our book Rise Mindanao drop me a line and will send back to UK with Mum who gets here in a couple of weeks time. It works about about 12 quid and every penny goes towards funding our PEACE work in Mindanao. I suppose postage would be around £3.00.

I have been busy working on CV and job hunting, well we both have. The nearer the time comes to leave the more unattractive returning to the UK seems. On the other hand I see lots of jobs I could apply for in the UK and not so many overseas. I have this week been through the whole applying for schools process for Gianna. The options arn't fabulous and although I have tried to make a case for being given special consideration...(off saving the world etc etc) we may be offered whatevers left for kids at home. Now we juts wait and see what happens in March.

Today we are off to a Halloween party for the kids hence the photos...we are way next week to www.pandan.com and then back to the fab house we had in March for my birthday where we will hook up with other friends.

I am looking forward to spending time as a family before Marc takes off to the Bahamas for 3 weeks to see his family. Its a long time since we had anything other than 3 days away and even longer since it was just us as we have tended to travel with visitors. The only challenge will be the 3am start for the ferry port to catch the only boat that will connect with the only jeepney that will get us to the island before nightfall..... travel Filipno style - I will never complain about London to Cornwall ever again....

The latest entertainment on the Filipino political front is the senior police officer caught carrying 100,000 euros out of Russia on his pay back from an Interpol conference. There was about 6 of them with their wives on a jolly . The money they were caught with at customs (it was above what u are allowed to carry out of the country) was what was left over, apparently they had P9.2 million in their "travel" fund. The lot thickens because although the Philippine National Police Force claim if was a contingency/expense fund...no-one can produce any evidence of this coming from any bank account. Therefore the suspicion of the investigating committee at the Senate is that the money has come from mafia type criminals that run an illegal gambling game called Jueteng. Its unlikely that anything will come out of the investigation - at the moment they can't even get the senior police to turn up...

Anyways off now for trick or treating and pumpkin chasing...............

Back home (there'll be singing about us...)

2008-09-05T21:53:00.009+08:00

I think thats the title of the 1970 world cup -funny what songs u remember and what u forget! I can still sing the chorus! Anyways the blog title has nothing to do with footie, I mean back home in Manila, as oppose to back home in UK. All rather confusing really.

The jet lag was tough - straight back to work but kids up at 4am every morning then wanting to sleep all day....Luckily Gianna had exams so she had to leave at 6am but was home by 11 so could sleep. Meanwhile I had to prepare for a conference in Cebu. First ever event for VSOP where they got all the volunteers and partners together part of my KM strategy. Was away for a week and was damm busy - only just getting over it now. I think it was a success and delivered most of the objectives. It ended with an away day at a resort for the vols and staff. Nalusuan Resort - photos in previous blog- tiny island you can walk around in 4 minutes. It is the only privately owned marine sanctuary in the Philippines and it was wonderful - the reef that is- there was a very long pier. the kids counted over 100 blue starfish from one end to the other. http://nalusuan.mencaresorts.com/

The houses on stills were sweet and the water crystal clear. I thought the food limited and drinks a bit pricey. The main thing that put me off was the hordes of days trippers that came for lunch each day shattering any illusion of privacy. If u could hide away in your room for the 3 hours in the middle of the day it would be fine. Considering its proximity to Cebu about 1 hour transfer from airport its fabulous- go on a week day and avoid the rush!

We then went onto Camotes islands - whitest beaches we've visited outside Boracay and Palawan. Very under developed. We took an island tour P1800 and went all over San Francisco and its neighbour Poro connected by a bridge. The caves were great fun. http://www.camotesresorts.com.ph/home.htm. We stayed at Santiago Bay Garden resort = fantastic beach with marine sanctuary and lots of starfish. Great for kids. good value too - food and drink cheap - just very limited- I mean no fresh fish at all on menu yet a huddle of fishing boats on the beach. Sometimes things don't make sense but you learn to live with it.

The boat trip out on pump boats (2 hrs) was as entertaining as ever! On the way out the boat started smoking - the boatmen dived under the boat and freed peanut shells of all things from the water filter. Hummm someone snacking on duty?

On the way back it was like riding the ark! We got on early to get seats away from the engine (and smoke!) and the sides so we stayed dry! We were then entertained by the zoo that was brought on - goats, chickens, chicks, cockerels - the goats were particularly unhappy ....

It was one of those rare family weekends when its just us exploring and it was just what we needed. I also needed just to be back at home and an ordinary week of early nights to get over the hectic August. I was only along weekend but felt much longer and the weather was great- having now been through 2 Augusts I realise that even though rainy season u rarely get more than 10 days bad weather in one go and then as soon as it passes we then get 10 days of great weather so always possible to get to the beach!

Of course whilst we were in Cebu the fighting broke out in Mindanao. The government has been involved in " Peace" negotiations for almost 10 years on the establishment of a Moro ancestral domain. It was announced that an agreement had finally been reached and all parties headed off to Malaysia, who had brokered the deal, to sign a Memorandum of agreement (MOA). Then all hell broke loose - apparently no-one had shared with the senate what was in the deal not even the provinces where they would loose land to the new boundaries - The courts stepped in and declared the MOA invalid as it required constitutional change. The armed faction of the Moros started taking villages by force or at least couple of renegade commanders, venting their frustration at the futility of the 10 years negotiation.

Then things got very inflammatory with senators calling for all out war and for Christians to arm themselves - in other words a complete and utter mess. With civilians caught between a incompetent government and angry and humiliated armed separatists. Our volunteers were initially pulled out but are now back working but confined to "safe " areas - Many people have been displaced by the fighting so there is much work to do sorting out relief supplies as well as trying to advocate for some sort of dialogue although this seems unlikely now. The elections are in 2010 and this government or at least the president is unlikely to attempt anything that will affect her popularity. There is a huge difference between what is on TV and in the press and what is happening on the ground, meaning that its hard to see how any real discussion can take place, when most of the populace so totally uninformed. This is a great link from a well know peace advocate that trys to explain what is actually happening and why...

http://blogs.gmanews.tv/jun-mercado/archives/2008/09.html

http://blogs.gmanews.tv/jun-mercado/archives/19-Bangsamoro-Juridical-Entity.html.

Marc's job has come to an (amicable) end. There wasn't sufficient work for him to be kept on although the experience was very good. With only 6 months left of my placement we are having to make some decisions about the future fairly soon. One major issue is to sort out our immigration status as we can't stay and work without this settled. We re currently looking at retirement visas believe it or not - you only have to be over 35. I'm seriously looking at job ads and other possibilities like consultancy. Marc is of course also looking for new possibilities although he's unlikely to get something via a advert its more likely to be through word of mouth so we are out networking when ever we can.

The kitties are growing fast. They fell from the roof into our yard about 3 months ago. We are all allergic to them except Angelica which is rather problematic. The plan is that they live outside- today is their first day out the front, as they finished their shots yesterday. It remains to be seen how self sufficient Molly and Run Run become at the moment as they prefer tuna and pilchards to eat, unless they work out how to open a tin, they would not survive long by themselves. Good job they have an attentive nanny Angelica.....

Gianna got her first quarter exam results and did very well with an overall score of 81. This even though she missed 3 weeks of school. All the studying whilst away oviously paid off. I would not do visit U,K again during the school term again though as too stressful, to keep up with school work and too short a time to see people. I think we would some how try and come for longer in May next year when the kids were off. Unless of cousre Gianna swicthes to international school in which case she will have 5 months off next summer - God help us!

Bank Holiday Weekend (August '08)

2008-08-28T09:59:00.004+08:00

The UK Tour 2008 and life back "home" in Manila...

2008-08-27T17:56:00.012+08:00

Long time / no write.....what a marathon August has been.

We left for the UK via HK at the end of July. Hong Kong was fun we met up with Pete and Tomoko, and for the very first time met the lovely Mica. We stayed at their place on Lantau. It was 8 years since Gianna and I had last been to HK and probably 5 years since I had seen Pete. As with all good friendships it seemed like yesterday we were getting drunk in the Swan in Peckham ....reassuring that nothing really changes, I admit we're probably both more sensible these days although hopefully not too much. Pete and Tomoko have a lovely house, Pete and Mica are in the pool in the photo above. The modern house with views of the sea from the upper terrace is walking distance from the beach where we wandered for a great lunch..... HK was so clean and organised compared to Manila but accomodation is soooooo expensive its makes London seem cheap. Now I realise why we have friends that live in Manila and commute weekly to HK.

I took the girls to HK Disney on the day of our midnight flight. Much smaller than Florida or LA without the very big rides (They did have space mountain) which makes it perfect for smaller kids as u can easily get around everything in a day. However I suspect older ones would find it a little bit boring if they have been to the States....Most the the entertainers seemed to be Filipino apparently they recruited many entertainers from The Pines when they opened, including most of the members of the Manila Ballet company which has never recovered. Gianna had her photo taken with a huge number of disney charatcters and got their "autographs" I wondered whether they had to practice a specific signature for their character .............but not for too long.

The flight home was great, in fact BA was wonderful both ways - Great food - lovely wine and good films - watched Cold Mountain on the way there , never seen it b4 - thought it was great. Mum met us at the airport which was a lovely surprise and much needed as trying to get two kids and 4 suitcases across London was more challenging than I anticipated. I'm still wondering what was the role of the guard on the platform at barons court? - clearly not safety, as she waved her smart baton to tell the train to shut the doors whilst i had 2 bags and one kid on train, and 2 bags and one kid off train???????????

It was great to see Catia, Michael and the girls - we arrived into London on a gloriously hot day- if only London was like that 52 weeks a year! Although jet lagged it was so exciting to see Chris and Lawrence that night - you forget how much you miss people until u see them again, Friday meant a catchup with school friends for Gianna (see Eve above) and work friends for me. We met in the NFT on the Southbank - some of my favourite nights out in London in recent years were on the Southbank. It was just like the old days lots of wine and gossip. Having worked in the area for over 10 years theres quite a few nights to recall. Gianna was so happy to see her friends - Thanks Diana for getting everyone together - I realise I miss my circle of Mums more than I realise - Yummy Mummys rock!

Saturday was special as had a lunch with Erica, Derval and Helen before heading back to Michael's to meet Chas, Ruth and Haggis and of course the bro and Catia. The usual high jinks prevailed although our 7 am flight to Edinburgh the next day and serious jet lag sent me to bed before the more resilient members of the family.

We spent 4 days in Edinburgh with Molly and Mario and caught up with Maddalena and the girls . There was also the opportunity to catch up with Marc's cousins, aunties and uncles and the newest edition to the the family baby Archie who is extremely cute. Spent quality time with Maddalena and the kids as well as Molly and Mario. Plus of course the requisite trip to M&S for some underwear sale bargains. Filipinos do not have bums or boobs therefore no underwear fits me here. In fact that was one of the things that I noticed when I got to the UK - Big boobs and lots of cleavage everywhere and as for the bums .... for once mine felt almost average! However I do like being "Tall" here - back in UK I was munchkin Mulville again!

From Scotland we got the train down to Liverpool to see Mum friends and family on the Wirral. Mum had organised a barbie and lots of people came over to say hi . It was a lovely evening although my biggest regret was not seeing more of Bernie on the trip and missing seeing Jayne. We ahve to plan girls trip somewhere someday soonish. It was only an overnight stopover and we left for the Big Chill festival in Hereford the next day. The time was just too short.

Big Chill was fun and the weather was mostly warm (well that's what I was told)-Seemed a wee bit chilly to me on the Friday and as exhaustion was already kicking in I took to my sleeping bag for the afternoon.

Overall the BC worked a treat in that I got lots of time with all the friends that went including JoButters and Co, Jo/Brad and kids from Oz and Anna and family from Wales and of course a top time with my sis/bro and family. Jacqui excelled herself at dressing up (as did Bryony) a different outfit everyday I think the purple wig should became a regular feature.

Talking of wigs Michael and Maya got into appropriate attire for the Buzzcocks - he sporting a green spikey wig pogoing about- Ever fallen in love took me straight back to my first ever concert at Liverpool Empire in 1978. It was slightly disconcerting that Pete Shelly now looked like someones (grand)dad with a paunch, trackie bottoms and a shapeless shirt....The kids said the band shouted too much...echos of my mothers complaints, as I played love bites at top volume in my bedroom (on the record player with 50p on top to stop it jumping) ....personally I've always thought them quite tuneful!

The highlight was however Lennard Cohen - best night! Anna and I watched him together - . Norman Jay was cool as ever and of course the sun came out on Sunday afternoon for him! Mum who had looked after Angelica with her ever faithful assistance, Wendy, had managed a daily trip out without loosing her, or getting too stressed, which seemed nothing short of a miracle. Who knows maybe she'll be able to do the Chill next time! (Angelica not mother!) Whilst Gianna was sensible enough to go from 2 years old, Angelica is just so anarchic (at least with me) she could cause a major emergency all by herself- A lack of fear of anything or anyone!

The final leg of the Tour took in Cardiff where it seemed colder inside that outside and rained a lot. None of that mattered as there was lots of time with my sis and her kids and our course Mum. Managed to squeeze in an Indian and fish and chips, two must dos of the visit! Mum took the kids to Cardiff castle which was a huge success, even with Angelica who only wanted to see the "princess" inside. Saying goodbye was hard, although we'll be seeing mum again here this side of Xmas.

We arrived back in London for a final farewell dinner in Camberwell for old times sake - Phil was reassuringly the same - although I'd heard rumours he was more boring these days! We started at the Hermits for Old times sake - although only a few familiar faces and over four quid for a glass of wine ensured it was a short visit!...and then moved onto the Greek where Michael and Catia had had their wedding reception many years ago. Familar faces, familar venue and reassuringly familar behavior - fantastic!

The last day came too quickly and just in case we had forgotten what a "real"English barbecue was like it poured with rain for our farewell event at Chas and Ruth with the gang. (cheers guys love u lots and lots) We sat under a tarpaulin in the garden with coats on - not to be beaten! After an emotional goodbye and promises of visitors soon (better keep to it !)we set off for the long haul home.....

It was interesting to see just how Pinoy Angelica has become - All her references are now Filipino - In Scotland she pointed at the mountains shouting "Volcano". A walk in the woods - called a Jungle, she refused to drink water out the tap or put paper down the loo, kept asking for rice, refusing to eat potatoes or go to sleep b4 it was dark as it was too early! A problem in Scotland when it didn't get dark until 10.30 at night...She has spent a third of her life here now and it shows.

So how did we feel about going home? very mixed. I loved the how orderly it all was - Yes London seemed like a village compared to Manila! I liked the fact that people just say it the way it is and I understood their meaning, and people understood me! I hated the weather apart from the sunshine of course and it was worryingly expensive - We would need work (well paid work) to survive back there. The food was great and of course most of all just being with family and friends was the most satisfying in a lovely comfortable sort of way . At the same time everyone seemed so busy with their jobs/looking after kids and they don't exactly get together every weekend either. Life is much easier here than in the UK it seemed much less stressful! well at least for us.

It may sound selfish, but I hate the idea of going back to juggling the work/childcare/housework with a very limited social life worrying about money.....We may have to worry about money here but its a lot less we have to find to have a better quality of life. If I could live here and get home twice a year it would be perfect or live in UK with a stupendous salary so I could have the same standard of life I have here - In reality how much would that be? In excess of 100K I'd say. Oh and to get off to a hot beach once a month better add in another 10K.

And the kids? Gianna, who didn't want to go to the UK just before we left because she was missing too much fun at school, is now desperate to get back there and be with her friends in London -meanwhile Angelica just wanted to get back "home" to the Pines towards the end and Marc? - Well he refuses to contemplate a life back in the UK at all. I was happy to be back in Manila for a rest, and to see everyone here! Although the next 2 weeks were equally challenging with a week long conference to prepare and attend as soon as got back. At least it was a comfortable 28 degrees again....

All of this is of course academic because ultimately we can only live where we can earn an income ....the perfect scenario of course is unlikely to present itself, some compromises will need to be made - watch this space!

Dashing Diva Birthday Party - Gianna 10

2008-07-08T06:19:00.003+08:00

Heres some birthday pics. The beauty bar dashing Diva package hands,nails, toes and nail art for P450 = 8 happy little divas

Port Barton Palawan

2008-06-22T19:37:00.008+08:00

Can it already be the 1st of July? I uploaded these photos a week ago and still haven't edited the text. Things at work are very busy (but very good) lots of my Knowledge management tools are coming to fruition which provides a nice sense of achievement after a slow start. Can't believe I am well into my second year here already and feeling so at home.

Having said that we will be in 3 weeks and I can't wait to see everyone. Only myself and the kids are now going. We got stung by the Oasis collapse and although I'm hopeful we will get the money back on the credit card its 2K pounds+ for all 4 of us to go to UK Also Marc now has a job with a friend of ours setting up a solid waste management company, whilst its not permanent, its good wages whilst it lasts and gets Marc in the job market again. Its hard here as local wages are so low - its difficult to compete within local labour. Marc's boss has suggested a new possible project from August for 3 months at a slightly lower salary - I'm just hopeful that the longer he stays the greater the chance of something more permanent coming up or an alternative comes up elsewhere.

The photos posted are from our summer holiday to Palawan with Jo, Gaz Stephi and kids from UK. It was a great trip. The actual road trip there was at times both terrifying and exhilarating
catch all the action here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMLt4uqdl3I

Port Bartin is a lovely place - very rural and therefore interesting, as you can get the beach holiday whilst getting a feel for rural life. Port Barton only consists of a couple of roads, a handful of resorts and bars along the beachfront and a few small shops. As the road is so bad they are very dependent on boats to get supplies in and if the weather is bad they are completely cut off. The house we stayed at was great owned by Mal Brewer an Aussie. It's the house with boat in foreground marked port Barton. The cost was about 250 quid for the week but for that we had another house thrown in at Nao Nao for overnights or picnics. The picture of the girls playing with machete in the sand was taken at Nao Nao, as were the action man coconut tree climbing shots. The house at PB had its own bar complete with pool table , table tennis and badminton for the lawn. We hired the local staff so had someone to cook clean and shop for us each day. The great thing about self catering in the Philippines is you don't actually have to do any "self-catering"at all! We ate well - lots of fish - fresh lobsters - and lots of barbeque's on the beach.

The house was large and could easily have slept a couple more than the 9 of us.

The main attraction is however the fabulous beaches off shore in the many small islands off Port Barton - I saw my first turtle and the kids loved the snorkeling once they got the hang of it, especially the clown fish (Nemo!) it really was the best so far here in the Philippines with giant clams, huge extensive coral reefs and abundant fish. We went out in the boats 3 of the 7 days we were there - a boat was around 16 quid for the day for 4 people - with a beach barbecue cooked by the fishermen for lunch. Back at Port Barton the favorite hang out was Judy's Place which did great food. Marc had met Jim ( and Aussie) and Judy on his previous trip to PB with Boyd last September http://camperbellescapers.blogspot.com/2007/10/action-action-action.html. The girls took themselves off for pancakes everyday and Judy quickly became their favorite person in town.

After the holiday there was time for a few girls nights out in Manila taking in the bars and revelry in Makati and Malate. Jo and the girls enjoyed the shopping and pampering sessions in the local malls. Gianna enjoyed the girls being around but of course there were the usual squabbles especially as 3 usually leaves someone out....

Since they left Gianna and Angelica have both restarted school and seem to be settling in really well. When we went to Gianna's school they had erected banners with pictures of the cheerdance competition. Guess who was featured - yes Gianna - her celebrity status assured for another year!

She had a great birthday party at the beauty bar where her and 7 friends had their nails painted with nail art followed by pizza. It was a good mix with a couple of the girls from the British school and the rest from Gianna's school they all seemed to get on well. Its so different, this year, compared to last, when we were completely lost and out of our depth, not knowing the school system. Suddenly its all so easy and familiar and Gianna has lots of friends. She is even talking about staying on at CSA next year. She has started guitar lessons no doubt with aspirations to become the next Avril Lavine.

We've had out first Typhoon in Manila. We slept thru most of it as it hit early Sunday morning. Marc and his mate Michael had been out watching the European football, well at least till the typhoon cut the power. They had to pay triple fare to get home as there was quite bad flooding. Apart from the power gone for a few hours we weren't really affected but other parts of the country were really badly affected the number of dead was 540 as of Friday evening included at least 291 were reported injured while 277 remained missing.

The typhoon affected almost 3 million people 4000 villages. At least 65k houses were destroyed and 167K damaged. The estimated cost of damage to infrastructure and agriculture amounted to P7 billion. The fact is that as most people live in wooden structures they don't stand a chance against the wind and high seas that come with the Typhoon. Most the the fatalities drowned either at sea or in their houses washed away by the floods.

The worst incident was of course the sunken ship. The figures don't include the 500+ still missing from the ferry that sank. Typically the incident illustrates the poor safety records in the Philippines and complete disregard to basic good practice. For starters the manifest doesn't match the number of people on the boat, the boat set sail even though a typhoon warning was in place and it appears that although a distress signal was sent 2pm in the afternoon the ship was not reached for almost 24 hours even though it was close to shore as all rescue vessel were in Manila. Very few people got into life boats even though land was within sight of the boat and survivers report that the crew were more interested in saving themselves - most children and older passengers did not even have life vests on when the boat turned. Most alarming was the discovery that the ship was carrying highly toxic pesticides not included on the manifest at the time it sank. This was only disclosed after the divers hadalready begun operations to retrieve the bodies leading to the divers having to be hospitalised to check they had not became contaminated. Apparently the pesticide was being sent to the Del Monte factory although I heard reported its use was supposed to be banned several years ago. No more canned pineapples then! We have never actually been on one of the large ferries and incidents like this reinforce the view, that carbon footprint or not we're better off in the skies. This is the 4th major ferry disaster for this company in the last 20 years.

We've also had a kidnapping which in the soap opera we call "Living in the Philippines". It started off as a journalist and her crew being kidnapped by "Muslim extremists linked with Al Quiada" and ended up as basic extortion with the Mayor's son being charged with Kidnap - He who had negotiated the release of the hostages for millions of pesos. Seems the Journo wanted an exclusive with the Leader of the Muslim Group and everyone decided to get a piece of the action. A major flaw in stopping kidnapping is that ransoms are routinely paid for kidnap victims. So whilst most victims are freed unharmed kidnap is generally accepted as a easy way to raise funds for whatever cause you are seeking to support, including a better lifestyle for yourself. Having said that I certainly would not want to the hostage if the payment policy changed!

Kareoke Kapers, river cruise, makati meal and volcanic donkey derby!

2008-05-29T22:23:00.005+08:00

JO arrived late Monday night and already have had an adventurous time! Tuesday we took he karaoke virgins to red box which was heaps of fun - Jo and I definitely think its the way to go. lock yourself in a padded room play the music of your choice as loud as u like. There's glitter balls pool tables and flashing lights in the rooms so u can have your very own private club night without worrying that the rest of he clubbers are young enough to be your grandchildren ...

Wednesday we went off to greenbelt for meal after a day sightseeing and Pasig ferry cruise whilst yesterday Jo Gaz an the kids went up the Taal Volcano - Jo and Jessica said was probably one of the best ever days out. They were very lucky as they had blue skys over lake Taal. They went up on horses - As u can see in the picture Gary's horse was so small his feet almost touched the floor - after the pic was take the guide jumped on the back and they galloped to the top. Gary said he'd never been in a donkey derby on a volcano before!

Baler Aurora - Surfing fun

2008-05-14T21:49:00.004+08:00

Baler - the capital of Aurora province

After our trip to Lanuza and the bus ride from hell I decided we were primed for the 7 hour journey over the (Sierra Madre Mountains) to Baler which is were they filmed the surf scene in Apocalypse now.

We set off for the 5.30 am bus at Cubao and managed to get the last few seats squeezed between surf boards plastic chairs and a folding table. There was a mixed crowd on the bus some local and foreign tourists as well as people returning home to the provinces for the May bank holiday weekend. The bus station had recently moved (leading to much confusion prior to departure) but took a detour to its old location to pick up extra passengers. Given there were no seats left this seemed rather ambitious until we realised the plastic chairs were to be put in the aisle ( I did wonder at this point were the folding table was going to be placed but it stayed stored for some unknown future use). The initial part of the journey was uneventful with stops every few hours then we began the climb up in the mountains - the scenery was fantastic and the roads challenging - Not for the faint hearted- the bus got hotter and hotter - a novel experience here where most of the time the aircon is set to freezing and people are forced to wear woolly hats and coats just to survive long trips without experiencing hypothermia!

Then the bus broke down! In the middle of nowhere . I knew something was up when the driver started to walk away and then hid being a small roadside shack- the major obstacle was actually getting any information as to what might happen next - we soon realised that the smart people had just started hopping on any form of local transport to get off the mountain- so we followed. The latter part of the journey was completed on the local bus which was great fun - piled high with rice and other provisions - the open windows actually made it easier to see the view and the breeze was refreshing after the stinky hot äircon"bus -

We arrived in Baler late afternoon almost 12 hours since we left the house - and loved the place. Our friend Paul Watts, another volunteer has a house right on the beach. He and his wife were away the first night so we had the place to ourselves. Theres a handful of guest houses- Bays'Inn being about the best which is next to Paul's place - they had a great food somewhat of a novelty in small places like Baler. I discovered eggplant salad yum yum! (barbecued aubergine mixed with onions,tomatoes, chilli's and vinegar P75). They have aircon rooms for around P850 - Baler was about the cheapest place we have been to so far! Facilities seemed fairly basic but OK - For most people the attraction is the waves.

There are surf instructors and it cost P450 for an hours lesson - they were pretty good as most people seemed to get up on the boards fairly quickly.

The Beach at Baler has brown sand but is long and picturesque framed by the Sierra Madre with its white cloud topped peaks. The waves were great and its a real surf spot! The surfers are out all day but the beach is at its busiest first thing in the morning. Its the real thing with some pretty impressive moves happening on waves. The kids were out on the boogie board and Marc on Paul's surf board all day - There's even a night scene - with a couple of disco / karaoke bars and even an acoustic venue. The market was awash with wonderful vegetables - very different to Lanuza where we found it difficult to get enough for a simple meal.

Paul and his wife were back for the Saturday night when we all went to the acoustic bar to drink beer and watch surf videos. Its such a small place we kept running into the people who had been on our bus all weekend - By Saturday night we felt like locals and knew the other people in the bar.

On our last day we met the Governor of Aurora who bought us lunch. She was very hospitable and working to promote Baler as a tourist spot.

The journey back was slightly quicker - we took the adventurous route back - yes even more challenging than on way - the last bus to manila leaves early on Sunday morning so Paul and Marivic suggested we take a van to Cabanatuan later in the day and hook up with a Manila bus there - The road - winding madly up and down the mountains- was very beautiful. As we came down the other side the sun was setting on the valley below - very memorable. Certainly i hope we can return to Baler. They have now started weekly flights but if u had a decent car and driver u could make it in 7 hours making it possible for long weekends - A fun place to visit - especially for the surf competition in February!

Mindanao

2008-04-12T17:42:00.008+08:00

I have now been to Mindanao on a number of occasions and I wonder what all the fuss is about! The foreign office still advises against travel there. It is the largest of the islands in the Philippines and whilst there are some areas one would not travel in much of the island is Ok for tourists and is very beautiful with very friendly people. There are occasional skirmishes between the MILF (Muslim Independent Liberation Front) and government troops but much of this takes places on the islands off Mindanao. Whilst the troubles are blamed on religious differences as is so often the case economics and politics create the real conflicts. A government led migration of Christians from elsewhere in the Philippines in the 70's has resulted in land disputes and competition for scarce resources. In Northern Mindanao one is more likely to run into New Peoples army ( communists) than the MILF. They are very active in resisting mining which is being promoted there. The peace talks between MILF and the government seem to be proceeding at a snails pace - leading some quarters to question their commitment - meanwhile the Malaysian observers leave in September causing some anxiety in the potential trouble spots.

The VSO office is in Iligan - small by Manila standards but relatively big for Mindanao. No mall yet but some fairly decent places to eat and a couple of nightspots.

I was in Iligan at the end of March for the week of Peace. The bowling Photo is one of the events I attended - "Bowling for Peace" Not quite sure how that works in practice but it was a lot of fun. The Bowling alley was very basic - no automated systems for picking the pins up! Lads sat either side of the lanes and picked them up after each persons go. A perilous task if either they got the participants throws wrong or the participants forgot they were on the lanes and threw whilst they were bending down to retrieve the pins!

The VSO partners play an active role in supporting the Peace process whether its youth work, emotional recovery, supporting Ulamas to promote messages of Peace, reducing clan feuds (Ridos) or playing bowls...

Whilst I was there we visited the hydroelectric falls which was impressive. The water flows from lake Marawi down to Iligan via a series of hydro systems. We have a number of VSO volunteers that have been placed in Marawi but security is an issue there so not a place for tourists. After our visit to the falls we went to a series of natural pools on the outskirts of Iligan. There water also flows down from Marawi at quite a force and locals have built a number pf swimming pools, naturally cleaned by the flowing water....We went on a Sunday and the place was packed with families swimming and drinking. Iligan is mainly Christian so there was a lot of rum and San Miguel beer, not something you would find in Marawi or elsewhere in Muslim Mindanao.

I was back in Mindano in mid April, with the family, but this time in Lanuza a surfing spot. It was a 7 hour journey from Butuaan airport to Lanuza but worth the trip. It is a lovely small town - one of the cleanest I have been to in the whole Philippines and certainly one of the friendliest. They have real waves and an annual surf competition. The sand is brown from volcanic activity but overall it is a pretty place. We stayed with a VSO Volunteer Matt Young who was leaving at the end of his 2 year posting. He'd spent 2 years living in a beach resort and had learned to surf - up at 5am every day on his board. Not a bad way to spend 2 years. We paid P500 for a huge family room and whilst there was no restaurant or bar there was a communal kitchen- highly recommended for a cheap stay.

Having said that living in Lanuza has it challenges - the variety of food on sale was very limited - no milk (even UHT) - there was one restaurant/bar and being so small everyone very quickly knows your business. It was a novel experience for the kids to realise we had to go to the market and see what was there before we could plan a meal as fresh meat was rare and vegetables limited. Its one hour on a bike to he nearest town with Internet cafes, pharmacies etc ......

The journey there involved some of the worst roads I have experienced and passing a vision of hell on the way. North Mindanao is pl aged by huge commercial mining companies cutting huge tracts into the side of the mountains. Everywhere there is the red of the soil displaced via soil erosion caused by the mining. We travelled along the road after dark and the huge mining trucks ominously went endlessly up and down in long columns. Aside from the mining area the road from Butuann passes through some stunning scenery. Lake Mahinit is the most desolate part of he Philippines we have passed though.

I have now travelled the road from Iligan via Cagayan de Oro and Butuann all the way to Lanuza. If the road is ever improved it should be promoted as a wonderful road trip with beautiful coastline flanked by imposing mountains and lakes. In fact you could travel on all the way down to Davao.

Lanuza was one of those lovely family breaks - no TV or other distractions to get in the way - just hanging out together. The kids made lots of friends with the local kids. They offered Angelica all manner of baby animals - In the picture she has a chick but she also was offered kittens and puppies! On a wet afternoon I went back to the room to find it had been turned into a cinema - Gianna was showing films on the laptop and the local kids had come along to watch....

I should mention the Bamboo surf shop next to the resort we stayed. An Australian married to a Filipina has set up a small factory and makes handcrafted surfboards. They only make about 90 per year and many go to Japan. Each one is unique with hand woven bamboo covering - The Photo doe not really do them justice.

Birthday bash 2008

2008-04-02T20:03:00.011+08:00

Another year older! Spent my birthday weekend at a house I found on the Internet. Owned by the lovely Erik and business partner Michel - it is a fantabulous place. They bought land in 1980s, dug the plot out of the side of a mountain and seem to have been building ever since. The style is sort of Gaudi meets Bali meets Amsterdam red light district....Erik is a real character and was until recently a chef in Iraq - French by way of nationality and divides his time between various Asia countries and France. There were 9 of us including the children and their nanny - Leona and Michael who live here in Manila although from London, Mark on holidays from the Bahamas, Fiona our friend, from UK and Marc and myself. We had a ball. The house worked out very cheap when shared between us especially when compared with resort prices - not exactly self catering as we had our own housekeeper who looked after us....On the Saturday night we had a great fish feast bought from the local market but the rest if the food we brought with us from Manila. Easy to do with porters loading and unloading the boats!

We played loud music ,took silly pictures and talked a lot of rubbish! The birthday girl was the first in bed - (fell asleep putting Angelica down!) It had been a long hard day of celebrations - Gianna partied on my behalf till midnight!

On Sunday we transferred over to Sabang/Laguna beach. The boys were keen to see some "action" with several "important footy matches that night. In hindsight we should have simply stayed at house and hired a jeepney over to Sabang(20 mins). Even though we stayed at cheap resort we ended up spending more there for one night than the previous two at the house. All the same we had a good night playing pool - a good meal and our visitors got to see the more (trashy) noisy side of Puerto Galera life.

We set off the next day for the 7am boat back home only to find it had left at 6.45! Very Filipino! When we finally fot to Batangas pier on Luzon we hired a van to take us back to Manila as the local buses were hanging around for another hour and the day was already slipping away - something that very esaily happens here - The only one free was the most "beat up "one there although the driver turned out to be great and got us back safely in less than 3 hours. At first I was a little suspicious as the driver and his wife were whispering to each other and sitting so close I did wonder what they were plotting - In hindsight this clearly was paranoia caused by very little sleep and too much partying! It turned out they were just sweethearts although a little older than your usual canoodling couples- probably his mistress as oppose to his wife...

I was rushing to get back as one of 4 programme managers at work was leaving - She won't be replaced and leaves a sense of the beginning of the end for the Programme Office even though still 2 years to go before VSO exits. The budget for this year has finally been agreed by London and my work has not been hugely affected by the cuts we have sustained. If anything I have an opportunity to work more broadly with the remaining programme managers as they struggle with the their workloads delivering both programme and exit objectives. I'm very much still enjoying all the new opportunities to acquire new skills - the latest being film making and producing short videos of all volunteers as they exit - My editing skills are getting better but it will be sometime before we see a major Hollywood production I'm afraid - At least I'll be able to do something with the pile of mini DV tapes when I get home!

Marc has been offered a trial (3 month) job with a friend who is researching into establishing a company dealing with waste. Marc is to research the competitors to test the business case. Its a huge opportunity and he is working hard to make an impression. It has been a challenge at first to get stuck in after 12 months not working but things seem to be moving now and he is becoming our own recycling/waste management guru.

Our guests have been doing their own thing - Fiona went off to Boracay and did a diving course. Mark is currently off seeing the Whale sharks and volcano near Legaspi and then will return briefly to Manila before heading to Boracay himself.

Last weekend we did the "Manila thing ". Thursday we were at the Penguin Bar in Malate watching reggae bands, Saturday clubbing at Embassy at the Fort and then Sunday the ex-pat sports club Nomads for the Manila 10s Rugby tournament. Great way to spend Sunday not least because the kids can play in the pool while the adults drink beer and watch sports! The trick ( it took us a year to work out) is to take our Ate (nanny) to look after the kids for guilt free enjoyment!

I'm anxiously watching the world recession - is it offical yet? Unfortunately my fixed rate runs out in 6 weeks time and have to remortgage to get better deal than base rate! Apparently Mr Bown says he will cut rates next week which will be good for me although house prices dropped which of course is bad! Will feel better once this is all settled!

Gianna got her end of year results and has done well - considering how difficult the start the year was for all of us....she has passed all her subjets with flying colours and will go into grade 5 in June. Both kids are now off school and driving me mad! They have about 10 weeks before school starts again and I HAVE to get some summer schools started . Ate's sister has started work with us to help out now Marc is working and she has moved in. Marc and the kids and I are off to north Mindanao at weekend - to a surfing spot called lanuza- I am going for work so Marc and kids coming too - was booked ages ago and Marks boss cool with the few days off.

Its now over a year since we arrived. We really do love Manila - We could not have predicted how well thing have gone how many good friends we have made, how much we would love the country and most of all how much we love the people. WE still of course miss all our friends at home but increasingly do not miss the UK itself. If the next 12 months are half as good as our first 12 months it will be very hard to leave the Philippines full stop!

Here comes the summer! (in Philippines that is)

2008-03-20T17:32:00.007+08:00

Its been a busy month! Angelica's 4th birthday party was great fun. We had a magician who entertained children and adults alike. He was also useful for helping to explain the rules of the English party games to some of the local girls (pic) from the park Angelica plays with as they don't speak such good English. Mario did us proud as usual with a fantastic lasagna for the adults whilst Marc made bolognese for the kids - traditional; party food here is spaghetti and hot dogs! Angelica got more toys than she knew what t do with but the magician was the biggest hit. He made birds appear (very unPC) which she absolutely loved! She also "graduated" from pre nursery to nursery with all the pomp and ceremony of a high school graduation!

I have been to Calicoan island in Samar. Wonderful place - Pacific coast and very different from elsewhere in the Philippines. It was great to see waves again. Stayed at Surfcamp a lovely resort there. (Pic)Went for workshop so only 1 night - a little pricey at P6000 for a family trip. They hope to reopen an old US military airport down there which will make whole area more accessible. Samar has been experiencing terrible weather and there have been landslides and flooding. We were lucky and had a small window of dryer weather. There summer is July August so definitely a possible location for visitors who arrive in the Manila rains. Finished off a Leyte Park hotel on way back where I took my lovely San Miguel pic.

Meanwhile molly Mario and Marc had a few days in Hong Kong. Marc had to leave to renew his visa. Mario and Marc then went off to the rice terraces (pic) they did it over 3 nights and managed to also get to Bontoc.I must get there with a future guest as too far (and probably too boring) for the kids! Its overnight buses in each direction.

We all went off to Mayamaya beach resort overnight last weekend and recharged the batteries. (Pic)Summer seems to have arrived suddenly with the temperatures shooting up to 32 degrees. The kids have broken up from school for 2.5 months so the next challenge is to keep them occupied. I thought 6 weeks in the UK was bad enough.

Gianna has made here commercial debut with a TV ad for Jolibee.She managed to earn more in 6 hours than I do with 3 weeks! They have very strict child labour laws here (although u might not know it from kids on streets selling stuff) I had to go to the employment of labour to have all the rules explained including that she must get at least a third of the money and it has to be put in bank account with her name!

Work is busy - been learning how to edit and make films for my new KM tools! Frustrating at first but easy once you know how! Also introduced the new In country training programme which aims to integrate a learning approach from day one as volunteers arrive. Also new itinerary for our Manila tour which includes a boat trip down the Pasig river. Great way to see a different side of Manila away from the pollution. Theres the slums and kids fishing for rubbish as well as wealthy riverside dwellings. Masses of old industrial land - who knows one day if they clean up the river could be worth a fortune - look at Liverpool and Glasgow in UK! The ferries are clean and airconned and the waiting stations modern and new. At P45 for a 50 min trip from Guadalupe to Intramuros its another great day out!

As usual some great night out - after party of maroon five ( wasn't sure who they were but party was Ok)- BIG plans afoot for the main event next weekend - Will keep u posted

Gianna's triumphant Day and Gloria sinks deeper into trouble!!!

2008-02-16T10:13:00.009+08:00

Since Christmas Gianna has been practicing at weekends and after school for the cheerdance display at school. She was then voted by her classmates to represent them in the Mr and Mrs Contest. I have to say that at times I nearly pulled her out as she was so exhausted dancing everyday and attending school on Saturday resulting in much grumpiness at home, however yesterday her hard hard work all paid off.

The Mr and Mrs contest was really a beauty pagent. They had to wear different outfits and talk about quailities of a "good Augustinian". When we arrived and saw the lavish outfits the other kids were wearing I didn't expect Gianna to stand a chance. I mean, these kids had make-up artists, hairdressers and choreographers to help them. It was all taken extremely seriously. Back stage was rammed with people of indeterminate gender tottering around on high heels camping it up whilst pumping and preeming the small divas. There were squeals and screams as candidates names were called out......all very entertaining.

I had given in and bought gianna a new dress which I though was a bit posh - when we got back stage I realised the other kids were in bloody ball gowns....

I was shocked but pleased when she got into the final 10 . They then had to answer questions on how they would save the world - just like Miss world!! "I'd like to help small children, save extinct animals " . Gianna of course had her confident smile throughout, beamed straight at the judges and never faltered when given the chance of speaking into the microphone. All the same given the competition we were amazed she won Ms Photogenic grade 4 and came second in the title of Mrs Grade 4. Just because she had the simplest dress and the least makeup. There was a crown and two lots of flowers and 2 sashes....and tears....... not Gianna who was busy lapping up the cameras of course but the guy who won Mr Grade 4....very filipino

Then we went onto the Cheerdance performance which I have to say was just incredible. There are around 600 kids in each year and grade 4,5,6,7 took part in the performance - yes thats right all 2500 kids

Each year/grade had a cheerdance team of about 40 kids and then the rest of the year took part in cordinated line dancing and hand movements. They all had fantastic costumes and props. The theme was the 4 elements and Gianna's year were fire...complete with fire eaters, olypmpic flame ( they seem quite fond of this as came out at the sports fest too) and a chinese dragon. There were human pyramids and gymnastics and great music . All the kids sat in neat rows until their time came and then for grand finale all performed the school song. Icould see the similarity to the You tube videos of the inmates dancing in neat rows at the prison in Cebu.... I have put videos on You tube its hard to work out which is Gianna (shes one of the smallest and on far right )but anyways you get the idea of what they did...In the background u can see the 500+ other kids from her year doing the backing movements. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RJQ4kU4dX4 There are about 6 videos so look under camperbelle

Now Gloria on the other hand (the president) had a bad day yesterday- death threats and a demonstration against her . Whilst the Brits get on the streets at a drop of a hat it is not common for Filipinos to demonstrate . Finally however there does seem to be some momentum building against the amount of corruption in government.

Recently we've been treated to daily senate hearings questioning the latest whistle blower on alledged millions of peso commissons to be paid to politicians in a national broadband project. The claim is that projects are routinely overpriced by as much as 20% to pay politicans for securing deals. This poor guy was first sent out the country by the government so he couldn't testify then when he came back under his own steam he was "kidnapped" at the airport and driven around for hours whilst being made to sign various statements. Upon release he was so scared he took refuge in a convent and only energed to attend the senate hearings and tell his story, literally ringed by hand holding nuns. Very dramatic if a little OTT. This does seem a more coherant attack on the palace (government) not least as the bishops are calling for the corruption to be stopped. Once the catholic church wades in then things may begin to happen, they have such influence here. Its hard to see that the palace could ever mount a credible investigation although Gloria has called for one, or take appropriate action , as the her husband is constantly linked with the whole affair.

Meanwhile life goes on - work is good although budgets still uncertain. The weather is dryer and cooler especially at night. I've lots of travel in next month or so trialing some KM tools I have developed. Recently visited some lovely conference places with work including one on Lake Laguna which faced a fabulous sunset over the lake everynight. Hopefully Marc and the kids can tag along with my up coming trips as kids break up at Easter for 2.5 months. Anyway must sign off kids swimming party to attend and I have to get to gym as still working on the Xmas pounds :)

Corregidor capers

2008-02-10T22:36:00.004+08:00

today we went to corregidor!

What a great day out! I had expected a rather dry tour of 2nd world war memorbilia. Instead we were treated to a fasinating insight into a different perspective of the war. I hadn't ever really thought about the war in Asia, I mean everyone knows that the bombing of pearl harbour led to the dropping of the "bomb" but I had no idea what had else had happned in the region. The tour was very informative and provided a context to the carpet bombing of Manila which is largely responsible for the mess it appears today. However the real treat was the wildlife. I saw more birds on Corregidor than anywhere else in the Philippines and a real treat was to see 2 pairs of the rare Philippines Eagle. We discovered you can camp there overnight - a tent for 4 people with bedding is P500. The camp site is next to the beach and as you can easily walk the length of the island this is a great overnight trip only an hour from Manila bay on the boat.

This trip is definitely a must for any visit to Manila. !!!

Back to school!

2008-01-25T09:33:00.000+08:00

We are back in our routine after our exciting Xmas and New Year. Manila seems so quiet after the chaos that is Xmas here. The malls seem almost empty by comparison which is a welcome relief. Gianna did well in her last lot of tests and we are well on the way to the end of the school year - Only 7 more weeks before we get 2.5 months off. Will be great to stop the early mornings but will need to find entertainment for the kids. Hopefully they can come with me when I travel with work.

Gianna is now in the Cheerleading team and whilst I was initially pleased she had found a "sport" she liked, my enthusiasm has wained as I realise she has to go in each Saturday to practice. They are in some sort of competition on the 2nd February - presumably if they loose that's it, but if they win.....................Could it mean it carries on?

She has also been chosen to represent her class in Mr and Mrs? I'm afraid I don't quite get what the aim of the exercise is apart from a thinly disguised beauty/talent show - apparently it helps them understand simplicity and honesty but I haven't worked out how yet. Her partner is Irish and called Casey - apparently hes a bit of a joker so God knows what the two of them will cook up for their talent slot! Its all taken very seriously with 3 costume changes - official portraits etc etc. The culmination take place the day after valentines which by all accounts is a huge day here and a school holiday. Shes also learning to sew buttons and hems. I think I have mentioned before their home economics classes where they learn all sorts of useful stuff, cooking and cleaning etc!

We have also (or maybe its only me!) been enjoying the social studies classes learning all about Philippines history and heroes. I now know who the people are on the back of the P1000 note and all about where the people of the Philippines orginally migrated from. It does puzzle me why they don't teach world geography or history as so many Filipinos end up going overseas. Its no surprise that people keep asking is London in America? or what language do we speak in the UK? Many Filipinos believe that there is Asia and America - somehow Europe doesn't register.

We've had quite a few visitors passing through. Being in Manila we get lots of volunteers and other friends dropping in for the odd night as they head out to the islands. Marc has been glued to the Australian open and I've been out and about with the girls from the BWA as well as the other foreign volunteers here in Manila. Mostly though, I have been in the gym trying to work off the Xmas pounds. Retro jam is my favourite activity at the moment - a riot of "uber camp" dancing to old disco classics. The class is run by 3 dancers all as "camp as Xmas trees". The classes are mostly attended by woman and being Filipinas they can all dance brilliantly leaving me flailing my arms around and having trouble with the grinding thrusting hip moves. Heaps of fun though - best time I've had outside of a festival club tent for ages!!

Theres not the best atmospheres at work at the moment. They are trying to agree the budgets for next year and a lack of inflationary costs from DIFD has left VSO with a shortfall worldwide, meaning that many planned activities for next year will not happen. One member of our staff is leaving and she may not be replaced. Staff moral is generally low and for some it feels like the beginning of the end (planned for 1010). Whilst this means some of my KM activities won't go ahead I am happy to diversify my role if required. Volunteer costs are guaranteed so we are not affected directly by the cuts which impact more on Programme Office budgets. I have to say its rather a relief not being the one struggling with budgets and staff losses after 12 years of it in the old job. Its easy just coming in doing my job and going home again. My work is going well and I am busy till the end of March, beyond that much will depend on which planned activities can go ahead. We all go off to the lake retreat next week to replan our activities based on the new budget. I'm hoping I will get the summer conference to look after and much of the first part of the year will be establishing my new web site which will be running by end of April.

Its great being here in the sunshine and seeing all the wet and cold in Europe. Cant say I miss the weather at all. It's cooler at night and we don't use the aircons at all now except when drying my hair and putting makeup on when going out! (stops it sliding off my face before I leave the house)

We went to the LaMesa Dam Ecopark http://guides.clickthecity.com/metro/?p=1018 last week on Sunday for a picnic which is only 20 mins away by cab! U can hire bikes/boats/fish and swim in the pool. Also found 2 other forest retreat type places where they have family accommodation overnight. Theres a place on taal lake (volcano) where u can hire a speedboat and go wake boarding which I also want to try- hence the frustration of the cheerdancing eating up our weekends. However once the kids break up for 2 months I hoping we can explore some more and have long weekends in the country and on the beach.

Saturday was Chris's 50th in the UK and wished I had been there to celebrate with him and the gang. Instead had our own little celebration here and carried around a "Happy Birthday Chris" sign all night which I took pictures of with various people we came across in our travels around Malate. Great Fun! Tried Bed www.bed.com.ph , a Gay club full of hunky men stripped to the waist as well as some old favorites Havanas (salsa) and Penguin (rock bands). I just love roaming around the city talking with people and making friends. Sometimes its more entertaining watching whats going on outside the bars rather than inside.

This Sunday was a kids birthday party in Angelica's class held at MacDonald's - mountains of burgers and the kids came home with better presents than we gave the child! Will have to decide what we will do for Angelica's birthday coming up soon. Sunday afternoon we just all lazed around, went over the road to the market and bought a couple of new releases for the kids to watch 50p each. Actually saw 2 films myself last week Sweeney Todd at the cinema - very good and very gory and This is England which I saw on a friends balcony under the stars last Wednesday. Great way to see a film - cold beer- warm night.

Christmas Challenge 2007

2008-01-05T16:03:00.001+08:00

Jacqui my sis left today after a 3 week stay. It was not quite the the holiday planned due to a series of different ailments accompanied by several doses of bad luck resulting in our island hopping adventure becoming an endurance test for them. A big disappointment was not getting a lot of time out with my sis due to childrens ailments. We did have some fun times and experienced a number of "memorable moments" which i suspect will stay with them for some time to come. They haven't been put off completely as she has suggested trying to find a way to get back here with work! They loved the people and the country but the heat and travel did get to them..........

Here's my suggested top 10 in date order (photos above click on them to see better )

1. Going out in Manila - All lit up so beautifully it almost looked pretty. We had a crazy Manila taxi ride out to see a live band at 70's Bistro one night and hung out on Tomas Morato another. Wish we had done more in Manila as there is so much to do. We had heaps of fireworks courtesy of our local Malls which the kids loved. We had 2 displays every Friday and Saturday during December as the two local Malls competed!

2. Pauls Wedding. We all went to Subic for our friends wedding where each of the kids had a role. Enda looked fabulous in his Barong (Formal Filipino wear) whilst the girls were flower girls. I loved the wildlife outside the house we stayed with lots of birds and monkeys and our trip through virgin rain forest ( only 3% now left in the Philippines) with jungle survival tips. The bus journeys both ways were crazy, with the usual nail biting whilst waiting to see whether we actually got on a bus or not. Jacqui, Robert and Marc climbed Mount Pinatubo an active volcano, and swam in the volcanic lake! The ride there and back in the 4X4 jeeps looked great fun and they apparently were joined by some rebels who hitched a lift part way down on the way back. The trek was a long day (0ne of many) but something I hope to get the opportunity to do b4 I leave.

3. Xmas day .Xmas day itself was great fun - hot and overcast but no rain. We ate outside and played with Gianna's new Karaoke machine. We got so enthusiastic we even tried to go to Red Box ( a KTV place) that night but it was fully booked! We had roast chicken and pork with all the trimmings. Wonderful! The kids got loads of stuff. Seems everyone we had met, even once, gave them presents. Manila was quite literally mad over Xmas - traffic was horrendous and there seemed to be even more people than usual everywhere. Next year we will leave for the whole period! As it turns out Xmas is not over yet. It apparently goes on till end of January, then mall was still playing Rudolf today! We, however, followed British tradition and took our tree down before 12th night - don't want to tempt fate! '

4. Horse Riding. We eventually flew to Dumaguete on our second attempt on Boxing day. Our 7am flight was cancelled and we had to go back home from the airport and eventually flew out about 3pm that afternoon. Antulang beach resort, an hour away from the airport, was beautifully laid out with magnificent views http://www.antulang.com/ . The kids loved the infinity pool and the snorkeling. Great photo! My highlight was my sis and I riding over to the next bay, western style - great fun! However the service was appalling in the usual inefficient Filipino way - They try hard but just don't know how. Getting a tea bag and hot water at the same time was nigh on impossible so u can imagine how difficult a meal for 8 became! The Coastline certainly has tempted me to revisit Negros although personally I think Dumaguete is a bit of a dump and would pass straight thru without stopping!

5. Tour of Siquijor Our next stop was Siquijor - which reminded me very much of Camiguin although has more white beaches (minus the volcano of course). Its a very beautiful island and like camiguin easy to get around in one day. We had a great trip around the island in our own jeepney. We went up to the highest point and passed lots of small Barangays where there we received the usual chorus of hello from the children as we drove past! The photo of Angelica climbing the steps is going up to the viewing tower at the centre of the island. Wherever there is a high climb Filipinos put stations of the cross as u can see here. We visited waterfalls and had lunch at a local beach were our kids took over the Karaoke machine, Enda did a rather fabulous version of smoke on the water! Coral Cay resort was lovely http://www.coralcayresort.com/ and David a great host. The food was the best we've had at a beach resort, the beach itself was soft white sand although the sea was disappointing and not suitable for swimming as it was very shallow, although u can go swim at the next resort a few kilometres away. Apparently the sea is better later on in the year. They have a nice pool which the kids loved.

5. Petrol stations. Seeing Jacqui and family squeezed into a tricycle for the first time was entertaining as they set off for their first solo trip in Siquijor but not quite as amusing at seeing them set off on their first motorbike trip. The locals were tickled pink that they looked so nervous, they probably learn how to ride almost as soon as they can walk! The petrol stations are hard to distinguish on the island. Petrol is sold from little wooden road side stalls. In the photo above one "petrol station" had added the usual warning signs about turning off mobiles etc...all seems a little OTT when the petrol comes in litre COKE BOTTLES.

6.New Year .There was a good buffet and a huge fireworks display for New Year. Not a raucous party but there is something wonderful about letting in New year on a beach in a hot climate! This year was apparently a much safer year in the Philippines as only 400+ people got hurt by fireworks! I loved the idea that policemen had their guns taped over to stop them firing on New Years year to reduce the number of fatalities from stray bullets. I'm not sure how masking tape actually stops u firing a gun............

7. Relaxing Just sitting by the pool and relaxing and having a massage and foot spa at the resort was great. Jacqui found these sessions provided a great opportunity to gather information about life in the Philippines and the hardships faced by the very poor. Turned out the woman who did the pedicures had been trafficked to Libya and practically imprisoned for 3 years.

8. Cocktails at sunset at Coral Cay! Fabulous. The sun dips down behind Apo Island directly opposite the beach bar. Great Rum and Coke Cocktails with dash of Kalamansi.

9. The journey to Bohol! Cockerels always feature heavily in any trip in the Philippines - They are on boats, buses, motorbikes just about everywhere. Most are fighting cocks and lovingly cared for by their owners, until thrown into the ring to fight till death. There were several cocks on the terrifying boat trip from Dumaguete to Bohol - very noisy at first but they soon quietened down when they were drenched with water along with the rest of us. Jacqui ever resourceful produced her umbrella to keep off the spray whilst she read her book much to others amusement. We arrived at a flooded washed out Bohol to find that all Jacqui's luggage was soaked thru and had zero chance of drying out as it was so humid! The day had started with her getting the tummy bug that was doing the rounds and throwing up on the previous boat out of Siquihor. Not a good day!

10. Final drink together. Jacqui and I did manage to get out by ourselves for a couple of drinks the next night when it had finally stopped raining. We watched the regular guys at the Spiked Coconut who sang us Beatles songs! J&R managed to do the island tour in spite of the torrential rain and got some of the most interesting pictures of the Chocolate Hills I have seen - in the mist!

Tips for travelling in the Philippines (with kids)

A number of interesting lessons were learned from the jacqui and familie's experience which are useful for anyone visiting the Philippines.

1. Actually Manila is not a bad place to stop a while and get over jet lag - Jacqui regretted not having more time there. There are lots to do and in our case the kids were happy playing in the pool opposite our house and trips to the Mall. The nightlife is great and having our nanny means that it is possible to get out in the evening without the kids, not always possible once u leave Manila. there are lots of day or overnight trips so a good option for those on a budhet. Yes its polluted. Yes its noisy but it can be great fun!

2. One the other hand Manila at Xmas can be a nightmare!Its very pretty and very christmassy but its practically impossible to get in and out of the city, the malls are horribly busy and transport is a nightmare as all ferries and flights get fully booked. Given that all the decorations stay up till January this might be a better month to visit!

3. It costs between 40 and 50 pounds per day for a family of 4 to leave Manila ( ie not staying at our house) it is hard to economise in resorts as u are often confined to eating and drinking only their food. The remoter the resort the harder this is. This amount would cover accommodation and all food and drink and is cheap but obviously adds up over time. Its hard to get much cheaper rooms as it gets difficult to fit everyone in comfortably. Single travellers or couples without kids would find it easier to economise.

4. Buses aren't that bad! (especially if going North for us as we live in north Manila) on the way back from Subic we got dropped off outside our house practically. By the time u do the airport drive 1 - 1.5 hours, the check in etc etc it might just be better to go for overnight buses where possible. The kids were ok (mostly) happy playing with gameboys and each other etc.

5. Always always check flight details especially if u lost the phone with the contact number u gave them! Especially Cebu pacific which seems to regularly change flights.

6. Factor in additional time for travelling as things will go wrong - This is the Philippines- Also children are not that great at lots of different settings or at least kids not used to travelling like my two. If only travelling for a couple of weeks might be best to just choose one island to explore rather than adding in all the possibilities for complications that come with island hopping.

7. It can rain at any time of year in the Philippines - after 10 months I realise that we have had sunny and wet weather for each month we have been here. Don't expect wall to wall sunshine at any time it can suddenly pour as it did after New Year. Seems weather patterns are changing all over the world. It will be hot all the time and if swimming in sea it does not make much difference ..............

8. Mosquitoes are everywhere-people need to get used to the daily ritual of repellent when u get up and reapplied several times during the day and evening. You will get bitten so anti histamines cream and tablets are a must if u don't want to get driven mad. One slip up and they get u - as I found on New Years Eve. Travelling with a mosquito net is not a bad idea especially for kids that are prone to bites.

9. Sun screen and hats have to be another daily ritual

10. Ear plugs for kids that spend a lot of time in the pool. Saves many sleepless nights

11. So far I have not seen a pretty Filipino city (maybe Vigan but not been there yet) its best to pass straight thru especially with children as there is little to offer. Even if u find a park the equipment is likley to be a deathtrap, where u would not let your kids play. Stick to beaches and u can't go wrong - its what the Philippines does best!

12. Hong Kong is a great stop over and stay if u can! My sis had full day there with kids on way back but wished they had more time. They went up the peak, Stanley market and saw the light show in the harbour. Theres always that place with the pink castle to visit if nothing else appeals!

13. Whatever happens there will always be a friendly face to help u out. Even in the most chellenging of situations u will find Filipinos laughing and joking and if at all possible singing - What a place!I love it!

explosion update

2007-12-07T12:00:00.000+08:00

Just in case u were wondering about the blast - The "official" conclusion is that it was a gas explosion whilst the owners of the Mall maintain that their experts confirm that a gas explosion, from methane in the sewage system, could not have caused the amount of damage. They still argue it was some sort of bomb. As usual one is left not knowing who to believe. Obviously the mall owners don't want to be found liable but there are lots of more conspiracy theories around too! For now the antics of those involved in the coup are keeping us entertained along with a new set of conspiracy theories. The Philippines has been found the 10th most corrupt place in the world - Doubt that will come as a surprise to anyone!

Never a Dull Moment!

2007-12-05T20:59:00.000+08:00

The last month has been exhausting. Prior to our “holiday” in Bohol – life felt fairly chilled and less stressful than London but Mums fall and hospitalisation made me realise just how exhausting Manila can be. Trekking backwards and forward to hospital in one part of Manila, school in yet another part and work and home far from both locations, was enormously challenging. Not having a car meant lots of taxi rides and traffic jams. Up until then our life was fairly organised as we tend to use the train to get to everywhere we need to be, within our set routines.

Having said that, Mum received wonderful care at the Chinese General Hospital in Manila, resulting in the wound mending very well after her return to the UK. She flew home business class with an accompanying nurse, probably her one and only time, and although she has taken some time to get over the ordeal she will hopefully be fighting fit for Xmas.

Her last week in the Philippines was more enjoyable, although the reality was she could not walk for long periods and easily tired, so was very much restricted in what she could do. We did get to Sonyas Garden (see pictures in earlier post) which was a huge hit with the visitors and our regular haunt Mayamaya where we had a beach front villa with fantastic views. Tagaytay itself was a disappointment for them, as it was misty on the day we were at viewing spots. However not quite as bad as when we took our last visitors Pete and Marie Line, when visibility was practically nil!

We also managed to get to Intramuros and take a horse drawn carriage around the old fort walls, have coffee and cakes at the Shandri La, a posh hotel in Makati and dinner at the Greenbelt Mall, which looked very pretty with all the Xmas lights. The kids really enjoyed “Grandmas” stay and I think Mum will remember for some time her welcome from Angelica running to the front gates screaming “shes here shes here – Grandma Grandma!”

We are busy preparing for our next visitors in 2 weeks time and hope we can follow a more traditional holiday schedule and this time avoid the local hospitals.

Of course being the Philippines we continue to be entertained by the ongoing “ soap opera “ of life here. In the last week we have had 3 Typhoons with flooding and loss of life, an earthquake and an attempted military coup!

The typhoons brought miserable wet weather to Manila and the usual confusion regarding cancelling/ uncancelling of classes and people in shelters in unaffected areas and floods in unevacuated areas! The north was badly affected by floods and landslides. Apparently we were caught in an unusual pincer movement between two of the storms, resulting in one of the typhoons doubling back on itself back into land, which is apparently very rare.

The earthquake was quite impressive as I was on 12th floor of a hotel at the time. The building swayed and I felt quite sick for the rest of the afternoon! It was the strangest feeling.. The strength was exaggerated as we were high up and whilst it was scale 6 at centre, there was no damage within Manila where it was much weaker.

Two days later we heard during lunch that Trillianes (recently elected senator, in jail pending trail regarding his role in a military coup last year) had walked out of his latest court hearing. He hadn’t fled or fought his way out, he had simply left the building and had been allowed to do so or joined by those guarding him. They headed straight to one of the poshest hotels in Manila (of course) where they called for the overthrow of the government. As we were sitting around having lunch, in the hotel where we were attending a workshop, I realised there were TV cameras and security personnel milling around us. Suddenly Estrada, the aged movie star and ex-president, (just pardoned by the current president after being found guilty of embezzling billions of pesos) got up from the next table. He and his gang were obviously gathering ready to go down to join the rebellion if it got going! We were right in the middle of the “action”.

So what did we do? Go back to our workshop of course. Along with the rest of Manila people just got on with their lives and waited to see what happened next. As it was raining it didn’t seem that the the masses would go out on the streets - Filipinos hate getting wet!

The end came fairly swiftly with true soap opera overkill! The military drove an armoured personnel carrier into the Peninsular hotel whilst firing tear gas. Meanwhile the whole thing was filmed live and broadcast by the local TV network that was INSIDE the hotel, the bishop prayed, and the public worried about whether the Xmas tree at the Penisular would get knocked over or not and everyone was irritated by the curfew at 11pm! We went out with the other volunteers for dinner and unless one had seen the news you would not be aware there had been an attempted coup…….

So whats the fallout? – Trillianes and his supporters are back in prison, the Hotel has reopened, the President is in Spain on her way to the UK with a huge entourage of supporters, on an all expenses paid trip, presumably celebrating another failed attempt to get rid of her government. The Military, police and press are arguing about whether the attempted coup should have been broadcast live or not, and the general public are just getting on with life and preparing for Xmas. They started in September and the whole country is slowly working themselves up into a tinsel adorned, jingle belled, Xmas frenzy!

Fairies- Photo Shoot at Pic a Boo SM North,The Block

2007-12-02T13:47:00.001+08:00

Sonyas Garden in Tagaytay

2007-12-02T13:09:00.000+08:00

Mothers latest adventure - crossing Manila floods

2007-11-15T17:38:00.000+08:00

sportsfest and injuries

2007-11-12T07:26:00.000+08:00

Whilst we had a great time in Bohol our fun ended rather abruptly on the Friday night about 10.30pm when Mum fell on some steps. She was initially treated in the local Hospital in Taglibaran and then in the Chinese Hospital in Manila. Her leg required 12 stitches and was complicated by an infection that required intravenous antibiotics. The insurance have covered the delay of her flight and she is now back at the house in QC. We now hope she will be well enough to do some of the trips planned for last week ,although modified for her restricted mobility, so at least she returns home with some positive memories from Manila and the surrounding area. For now she is just glad to get away from the hospital diet of fried fish and rice three times a day!

On Saturday was Giannas sports fest which was great fun. All the classes had a colour theme which parents and supporters had to follow too. This is not the whole school just year four! We had much pomp and ceremony including the oath of sportsmanship and lighting of the Olympic torch ( presumably on its way to Beijing???)

Mothers Philippines Adventures - Bohol

2007-10-31T17:33:00.002+08:00

Photos from holiday in Bohol

Explosion

2007-10-22T09:11:00.000+08:00

There was an explosion in one the Malls in Makati on Friday lunchtime killing 9 people. At this stage its a wide open field as to whether it was a dreadful accident or a deliberate act. What seems to be emerging in the press, is that if it was deliberate, far from being the work of a radical Muslim or Communist group - the groups that have been linked to similar acts in the past - they are pointing the fingera little nearer to home, either the military or the Palace- some commentators say the president has the most to gain from the tragedy, as it takes the heat away from the latest bribery scandals. After a weekend of debate over what sort of explosives where used - Monday has brought the revelation, that in fact no explosives have yet been identified and the blast came from a store room in the basement, where all manor of chemicals and an oil tank were stored. It may well be that this is eventually found to be caused by the prevailing poor attitude to basic health and safety - We will see - For now we don't feel any less secure as we have no indication this is anything other than an isolated event - lets hope that is the case. Try this link for a view from one of the Philippine Broadsheets http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=95909 and watch this space :)

Diwali Dhoom and Catwalk Capers

2007-10-19T09:37:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday we decided to go along to a Diwali celebration being held by the Indian Womans Association. It was a fabulous night - they had a fashion show of saris along with Bollywood and traditional dancing, with all the kids joining in. The great thing was the atmosphere and of course the food - the primary reason we went along. Quite a few of Gianna's school mates were there - there is a large Indian Community in Manila and many go to Gianna's school. Gianna enjoyed the fireworks but Angelica just covered her ears!

Angelica and I had out hands hennaed......You can see Angelica on the stage in one photo (in the distance) in the arms of the winner of Indian Idol! She was less than impressed by the attention. Poor Angelica is so fed up of everyone telling her how beautiful she is ( she's fair) she just scowls and puts her tongue out! Most other people we know went along to the Hoedown being held by the Americans - That cost too much for us and although they had a free bar I heard it ran out of beer and wine by 8pm - I would have been well unhappy if we'd forked out 30 quid for a ticket!

Sunday I took the new volunteers around Manila for their street skills. Its amazing how different the places seem now. We followed the same route we took when we were newly arrived. I just remembered being overwhelmed by the number of people, the noise and the traffic..... what a difference 7 months makes...I felt quite at home showing the others about. I've added some touristy shots of Manila for a change to the traffic scenes.

Monday I had off in lieu and went to a charity fashion show.....(life is such a social whirl)....that was great fun too. It was held in one of the hotel ballrooms and in true catwalk style the champers came out at 10.30 - followed by a yummy lunch. There were lots of people I knew there I hadn't realsied just how many I have got to know in the time here. Great way to spend a day off work eating drinking and being (very) merry.

Talking of work - things are going well and I am still really enjoying it. Spent the last 6 months planing a new meeting and learning cycle with the team and integrating it into their M&E systems. Next for review is the basic training which I currently working on, with a new course planned for January. I am designing my workshops with the partners and volunteers for early next year- the aim is to get the 40 partners to institutionalise learning systems as part of our capacity building for VSO pull out in 2010. Then there's the new communication strategy for partners and volunteers and finally development of the knowledge legacy for the handover . So enough, I think, to keep me out of too much trouble.....!

There is a much more relaxed approach to kids and work here and people regularly bring their kids into work. Gianna pops by on the way home from school and does her homework in my office. Marc and Gianna often drop by to say hello or I can go and pick Angelica up from nursery and walk her home as she is only 5 mins away. I like working with the team - its a very social atmosphere which revolves around food. Filipinos eat at least 5 times a day and the mid morning and afternoon snacks are important focal points in the day. Everything stops for Merienda...Its hard to avoid actually eating ( i would be huge if I did) but they have gotten used to my strange ways and I will join them but avoid the spaghetti, donuts, noodles, buns served as snacks before lunch and dinner! Lunch is a good time to catch up on the gossip as everyone sits down together for our cooked lunch where most of the chat (Chismis) is in taglish....Marc and I are still persevering with our tagalog each week - and some of it seems to be sinking in....some :)

I am busy preparing for Mums arrival - we sort of stopped with the house when we weren't sure whether we would move. Mothers arrival is providing a catalyst, to get the few extras, we had planned to make the place more homely. I'm looking forward to the break in Bohol because although it must seem like we are always away, apart from the long weekends, its all been linked with work/workshops. The 6 days in Bohol will be the longest complete break from work since I arrived, although working at beach resorts is of course not such a hardship and I mustn't complain. It will do Gianna good to have a week off school and the early mornings and recharge all our batteries........

And finally, the latest installement from your political correspondant! Last week the senators that support the President went over for breakfast and were given bags ( not envelopes) containing between P200,000 & P500,000 (2000 and 5000 pounds), about an average annual salary! One whistle blower went public and now more and more are owing up in the press each day, to taking the bags .It has been suggested, the money is a reward for the senators support for a sham impeachment - which has given her protection from a real impeachment attempt for another year. It appears that no-one can/will say where the money came from or why the senators were given it....It makes cash for honors seem relatively tame ................!

Food "glorious" food

2007-10-18T09:55:00.000+08:00

Some weird and wonderful foodie things from Manila -

The Ice cream thing is called Halo Halo and means mix mix . Basically its ice cream with lots of other things like sweetcorn, vegetables, beans, jelly, cream caramel, ice ....... in fact it seems that anything can go in a Halo Halo - personally I find it rather perturbing to find a sweetcorn or a haricot bean in my ice cream ! The rather bright orange things with legs are day old chicks fried! You can see the stall vendors laughing at the look on my face! They do a lot of strange things with eggs! they boil them, bury then in salted ground and colour then purple ( Very popular food colourant here - purple cakes are very common!) .

They also eat egg embryos - Balut is a popular Filipino street snack and is essentially a duck egg with a fetus inside, typically between seventeen to twenty days in gestation. It is so popular that it is equivalent to what the hot dog is in the states. There are balut vendors who push around carts full of fetal treats and bark their wares in a sing-song chant of “baluuuut, baluuuut!” Balut is also a popular aphrodisiac for men so beware the man with the embryo in his mouth ...........................

The table of vegetables are in fact "medicines" - Filipinos embrace alternative medicine - a lot of the time because they can't afford a real doctor, although there is also a deep respect for faith healers etc.. This table of goodies that claims to fix all known ills including cancer, hepatitis, fertility ..... is outside the big church in Quiapo in downtown Manila. So if praying for a cure does not work u can hedge your bets and buy some herbs to do the job instead. Even educated people tolerate the quack doctors. On an office outing, where one of staff stepped on a sea urchin, the healer was brought in to blow on her toes and announce she had been bitten by a snake!For P125 he claimed to cure her and save her life - until she had to go to a real hospital of course 2 days later for proper medicine to treat infection from sea urchins.....

Theres a huge market in wonder diet therapies and all manner of things claiming to make skin white - a national beauty obsession - along with vitamins and of course formula milk - A lot of money spent on crap cures and inappropriate nutrition by very poor people - having said that Balut is probably quite good for u although I'm not sure of the nutritional value of a day old chick!

Action Action Action

2007-10-01T09:06:00.000+08:00

September has been a mad busy month - It started off with a volunteer conference at the Gardens of Malasag Eco Tourist resort in Mindanao for me - http://www.philtourism.gov.ph/ecom_desc.html The aim was to facilitate learning between the volunteers around the issues of conflict management , although the "open space learning" ie time at the bar and swimming pool seemed equally valuable (strange but true).

The highlight for me was the field trip on the Wednesday to another eco park - Mapawa Nature Park, where we undertook abseiling, Zip lining, canyoning and horse back riding. The riding , western style, was great! We trekked up to a hill overlooking the park where they farm 700 head of cattle- fantastic views. (Thats me action Girl in the photos)

In terms of the field trip, as Knowledge management adviser, I suggested, that the skills acqired were in fact relevent to conflict resolution - As in - get out of the conflict zone asap by whatever means necessary - The only 'real opportunity to practice my new found conflict resolution skills was on the taxi driver, on our way home after the "disco"in Cagayan De Oro. Following the huge row about why he wouldn't put the meter on (AGAIN) and the clear lack of resolution on the issue- I suspect I need to try a little harder before I'm sent anywhere as a UN peace negotiator! Note taxi drivers in Cagayan D óro are the worst in the whole Philippines - FACT!

During the workshop we were introduced to "Ridos"which are clan feuds that happen fairly regularly in Muslim Mindanao. One of the NGOs that we work with tries to prevent the clans killing one another. Islamic law has more prominence in these areas and disputes are often settled by payment of blood money. The NGO trys to avoid the spiral of violence that arises once "tit for tat' killings start - an eye for an eye approach to justice. For my colleagues in Mindanao, Ridos can regularly disrupt their work and they have to withdraw until the matter is settled. The rule of law is very different in Muslim Mindanao and has little reference to Filipino law - Its a world away from Cosmopolitan Manila. Its also true that outside Muslim Mindanao, the rest of the region is like anywhere else in the Philippines - there are some fantastic tourist spots that have until recently struggled to survive, being tainted by the "Mindanao Reputation". Camiguin is still my favourite island, yet it is in Mindanao and gets far fewer visitors than it deserves - visit now before everyone discovers it! The Peace Accord between the government and rebels is on the verge of being signed, no doubt helped by the prospect of 190 million dollars of US aid promised for the region, when completed. Hopefully this will lead to a boost in tourist activities generating much needed income for Mindanoans.

We've been to another cheese and wine frenzy this month - the 25th anniversary of the Manila Cheese Club. It was back to the Polo club for the event, where there were cheese mountains and wonderful wine! We ended up hanging out with a group of ambassadors - not sure of the collective noun for such an arrangement. The Brazilian Ambassador, who has now been posted to Pakistan, invited us over to his private residence the following week for his leaving do! Rather conveniently taking place on Marc's Birthday.

The day after the cheese club was very hard! I had to catch a 7.20 flight to Cebu for a workshop and a 9am presentation. I arrived back the next day as Marc left for Palawan - we probably crossed one another somewhere in the air! Marc accompanied a friend looking into buying property there. Palawan is often touted as the most beautiful island and has several large marine parks. Like many places it is still very underdeveloped in tourist terms. They met government officials and people who have invested in the area. They spent a lot of time riding around on the motor bike, on local boats , exploring beaches - a real road trip adventure by the sound of it.

We've had our second lot of visitors - Pete and Marie-Line from London. We took them to Nasugbu (Mayamaya Spa Resort) for the weekend- then Marc took them to Bohol for 3 days. Myself and the kids are heading down there at the end of the month with my Mum. The photo is of Marc and the little Tarsier Monkey - the smallest monkey in the world and indigenous to Bohol. They had great weather even though pouring with rain in Manila - with different weather seasons in different parts of the country, in theory it should always be possible to escape the rain somewhere in the Philippines.

Meanwhile in Manila we've been gripped by the political shenanigans of the country's politicians (again). The ex-president, Estrada, a former movie star, was found guilty of of illegally amassing about P4 billion pesos (US$81 million) in bribes and proceeds from illegal gambling. The court allowed Estrada to return to his Rizal rest house, instead of being hauled off to prison and he was then offered a presidential pardon - which he refused! Clearly its a soap opera that will run and run. This week the Philippine elections chief, who has been accused of offering bribes to a Cabinet official and a businessman, to push a Chinese broadband contract through, was forced to step down. No doubt he'll bounce back somehow b4 too long - Now Marco's family have filed to recover money they hid with their cronies, allegedly stolen from the country's coffers when they were in power! The cronies of course want to keep it and the Marcos family seem unperturbed at publicly trying to recover the money even though they can't explain how they got the money in the first place - If someone made a film - it would be called too far fetched!

And now its raining again! The monsoon rains have moved in and I'm feeling very cold and have evens switched off the AC in the office. Can't believe it but 24 degrees feels quite chilly! I have my long sleeved jumper and trousers on. I knew i'd acclimatised once I could wear my jeans out in 30 degrees and not melt....

The Tree Massacre

2007-09-09T20:14:00.000+08:00

The tree massacre has begun - It's a beautiful tree but I don't want to live under it anymore! It makes living in our current house feel like living in a cave, as it covers the whole house and court yard. Not to mention the mozzies that are attracted to the pockets of fallen leaves on the nearby roofs.....I would be feeling guilty if I had suggested cutting it down - which I didn't! As the house slowly emerges from under its huge canopy, I can see new potential for plants, pots, and sunbeds. We are considering staying on here at the end of the contract next month! ! The money we will save on a move can go towards a little garden area. I won't miss the mango's dropping on the roof at night which was rather perturbing although great for a mango shake in the morning!

The landlady has been told by the Barangay (roughly equivalent to a ward in UK) Captain ( sort of mini mayor)to cut it down as dropping leaves on all the other properties and causing mosquito's etc. The tree has apparently been annoying the bloke next door, who's president of the tennis club, and therefore has a lot of influence around here.

Barangay Captains wade in on all sorts of disputes including domestic violence, child abuse and general anti social behaviour. They have their own guards to back them up. Power can and does get abused in some places and captains get shot, along with any other level of politician - but hey they would stop those never ending fence arguments in the UK if introduced! Marc was told off by our Captain for sitting wrongly on one of the Park benches! He was only copying a neighbour sitting the same way - anyway now we know what the Captain looks like. Not a lot happens without the Barangay Captains say so, therefore a lot of VSO work involves keeping good relationships with Çaptains in the Barangays were we work.

The tree surgeon or rather giant (A huge man particularly by Philipino standards) turned up at the door to tell us we needed to get the red dwarf out of the tree before he could cut it down. He told us he would be leaving some food to coax it out of the tree. Apparently we're lucky it wasn't a black dwarf? I assume the bad dwarf has now left, as the giant is now up there fighting with the tree, trying to cut it down with what appears to be a penknife or at most a very small machete. Given he'd already been at it for 3 days when the pictures were taken, he'll be living in the tree for some time to come! So goodbye red dwarf- hello giant and sunshine!!!!!!