Letter from Manila - A nupdate!

Lucky you, we went from a sunny 22 yesterday to cloudy 10 but feels like 5 today! no wonder were all sick!

You can tell its a bank holiday weekend as the temperature is going to be about the same right through, apart from Monday when we might get wintery showers FFS!

Sorry guys.

We're looking at a steady 35 for the next week.

To be fair it did rain all day on our last holiday though.

Barbeque, that's what we need. Oh, and summat to cook on it. Seems we managed to lose 5 prime US Angus tenderloin steaks in the move. How?

That'll be flogging someone's other kidney to replace those then. TANIA!!!

I'll just say this, "I am a sticker getting god."

That is all.

Congratulations on the sticker and finding a pie shop!! wonder if they do gravy...

I already have!!!!!!

Well, the minced beef pies are highly recommended and, at two quid a pop, not bank-breakers either!

Steak and mushroom tomorrow.

Just as important, had another air-drop of beer and brandy. As a bonus, two large boxes of tea bags arrived from the UK. They were only posted in December, so pretty quick!

If you're right, then it looks like our lot aren't in the safe and loving home they thought...

Hello everybody!

It’s a funny old world, lawks a mercy.

Been a while, but not because nowt’s happening. This is the Philippines, so there’s always something bleedin’ stressful going on.

Sooo, where to start? Good stuff, or bad first?

Let's have the bad.

Tania has walked out on us just a couple of days after her 18th. Given the fact that she was winding her mother up a treat and smiling whilst she did it, I can't help but feel there was a plan.

We believe she's with an ex-boyfriend who she claimed to hate, but who kept popping up whenever she went to her friend’s house. Nowt to be done, she’s of an age, so let's see what happens when her money runs out!

Still, if it saves me the cost of driving lessons, car and college, it's not all bad!

And the good?

Seems Madam and Jey-Ann (Bottle Opener Two) have had a making up session. And that's fine but she (Jey-Ann, not Cristy) was very, very pregnant. In fact 8 months and 29 days pregnant, so she downloaded the baby the morning after she was here.

Can't help but feel (I say feel, because nobody's actually come out and said anything!) that I'm going to have further involvement in this, which will nicely wipe out any savings Tania leaving may have brought!

Still, it was lovey to see her.

P.S. She's here now, bearing baby. She’s been here for four days and I've already bought a cot…Told you!

So there we go, one out, one, or should that be two, in! It's more fun in the Philippines.

In the meantime, my ex-wife and her father both died in June, which was cheery. Nothing I could do due to quarantine laws, even if I had a certificate of vaccination, which I don’t, because the Philippines has managed to do 5m out of a population of 112m, so it could be a while!

Still, it’s weird being at a funeral on-line. Very strange.

Oh, and we’ve had a pup. One of the first jobs when we moved was to get Whiskey seen to. Unfortunately, she beat us to it and came into season about two days after we moved and before we sorted a local vet out. She downloaded a single pup around three weeks ago, which is bloody enormous. Whiskey, as normal, studiously ignores it. Hand rearing time again! Can’t wait to see what it winds up looking like!

Anyway, loving the new house, so let’s have a tot up who lives here:

Humans (not in order of importance)-

Me

Madam

Tania (gone)

Jey-Ann (arrived)

Jey-Ann’s baby. (Don’t got no name yet. Must be a Philippine thing. Suggested that George would be a cracker)

Ate (the maid)

Girl (maid’s daughter)

Boy (maid’s son)

Robert (Madam’s driver)


Animals (in order of size)-

Barney (very big and very daft. Nobody will break in whilst he's around)

Buster (Barney’s brother, little bit smaller, no brighter)

Lola (my wonderful Distemper and Parvo surviving angel)

Damien (seems one of Tania’s friends dumped him on us weeks ago. No problem, he’s a cracking little dog. Says much about the owner)

Toppy Doo (appears to be a small poodle-ish thing. Dotes on Madam. A replacement for Toppy, Madam’s original Shih Tzu who succumbed to Parvo)

Whiskey (my little Shih Tzu. Ugly as sin. A little love and will fight anything. Never even tested positive for Parvo or Distemper, that’s how hard she is!)

Mandaluyong (Whiskey's son and the only one that survived Parvo out of the litter with Toppy. Named after the major asylum in Mania. We think the virus took one look at his mind and said, “Nothing to be done here,” and got a taxi home)

Layla (the new pup, opened her eyes this week and has learned the art of perambulation. Also gets really jazzed off if Madam’s not around)

And, of course, Lolo, the cat.

Is that it?

Glad to hear from you again - saw some of the story at that place which can not be named. You've been in my thoughts a lot. Certainly never a dull moment which is just a hair from 'it never rains it pours' be well!