At avalon Ark zoo Ortigas http://www.avilonzoo.ph/index.php?q=arkavilon
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Friday, December 30, 2011
2011 An overview Part 4
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
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
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
2011 An Overview Part 2
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 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!!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
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