Westoby Terence

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Cordialement

Saturday, Sunday, Monday

3 photos of our garden. On Saturday we had 2 lakes but after a night of tropical rain on Sunday we had just a lake and no garden.

Sunday was dry(ish) except for flooding on the roads so by Monday we were back to 2 lakes.

As you can see, the house is elevated over the garden so the house stayed dry.

Visitors are recommended to the dry season

Fish and Lights

Some meetings are in the church buildings; others are where the people are. One such is on the beach where several families live in home-made houses.

These are fishermen and their families. Some fish on the river which is one side of the single road that gives access. Others, those who own a boat, fish in the sea which is the other side of the road.

Because we meet after 6pm it is always dark. So we sit in a circle on the sand under an LED light. Later the men will go out in the boats to fish.

So on the way home we stop at the next "village" where Evangeline is friends with one of the families. We park and follow the lady to the seashore. The night is very still which is good for fishing not least for safety reasons. The boats are those small thin ones with outriggers.

As photos go, it is not smartphone friendly. Just starlight, candles and torches. So the flash photos is the best I got.

However, for buying fish it is ideal. The boats have just returned and the men are still throwing the catch from the nets onto the sand. We fill a bucket with small fish called "lady of the farm" in Filipino and return to the house to weigh them and pay for them. They will have to be gutted when we get home.

The next night we returned from the church building at Reserva village. As we pass through a town on the main road, their Christmas lights are worth a look. The big tree is last years winner made large for this year's display. The smaller trees round the edge are contenders for next year.

All the trees are made from local materials, often recycled. The winner is already selected but we liked one best that wasn't even placed.

There is a video playing and stalls selling food, nativity scenes and lots of people. Most large towns have one but this was the one on our route.

Today, lunchtime and some of the ladies of the farm are in the frying pan. They should taste good!

Tea for two

Tea and scones with cream and jam served by Harrods. So where are we?

Kuala Lumpur of course.

But is this supper, or breakfast, or afternoon tea; or maybe midnight snack?! For us, it is 2:30am and our flight is at 4:15.

But it is breakfast time here and this is as suitable as it gets.

Shopping French style

Keep up the good work

Google have a way of encouraging you. 

I contributed a couple of photos on Google Maps. They appear to be popular!

If you look carefully, you can see Evangeline in the British Embassy.

The fire image is Bastille day at the Eiffel Tower. Clare has some photos of this too. However it is hard to find on the map site because there are hundreds of different photos of the structure. The meal at Martos is different - and was rather exceptional!

Whether I will "keep up the good work" or not depends on how I feel, but the positive feedback, I have to say, does help!

Apple smashing in May

It was Sunday the 7th. I was passing the little commercial centre in Massy where on my way out I had seen someone setting up speakers in the light rain. And now it was after 11am and it appears I had missed the "fun".

There was plenty of evident 'though. Broken apples on the ground (if you look carefully you should see them in the photo, click to enlarge it). It appears some perfectly good apples had be crushed underfoot at the appointed time.

It is election day; but that can't be the reason as it is illegal to promote the candidates in the last 2 days. So this had to be some other occasion. 

A celebration of harvest? of spring?
Nothing on the internet has given me the slightest clue; except perhaps the one place where it said "anything can happen in May"!

I have missed out on the "pleasure" of stamping on apples. And the reason why, I may never know!

Old Grill

This Saturday I could see an odd-looking vehicle the other side of the square from where I live. The side flap was down at first and it in the distance it looked like it said "life savers" which in French is much like "tastes of the grill"; which is what it really said. With France still on its emergency status, and with elections 2 days away, I think the error was understandable.

I wondered if the old style of the van was a disguise.

And what is the thing on the top of the van? From my flat, it looked rather like an early form of Google camera. Close up, it turned out to be a grill vent, not life-saving spy technology.

By the time I got out and walked round it, the side flap was open for lunch. There was no mistaking its purpose now! The flag outside, and tag inside the windscreen says it is from Portugal. It's a long way from home.

Just round the corner there are stalls and market places all about the garden. Very arty but all being set up as I passed. 

It is still a state of emergency according to the government.

According to the people of France, it is business as usual.

iPhone

Terry

Start here

In Spain, it's usual to get a little something with your drink. The hotel has gone overboard on presentation for this unrequested starter. The bottle of wine is in case my glass runs dry. 

Terry Westoby
terrywestoby@gmail.com

Food

Ok, I took a bite of this before I thought to photograph it. But it is not quite what I expect from my regular Spanish hotel.

I actually said "wow!" when it arrived. Elsa, the owner, chef, waitress, cleaner, bar tender, receptionist, accountant, looked pleased. She made the effort and got the result!

And it tasted good to.

The main part is salmon. The purply round part I am less sure about although I could see some carrot, and that red vegetable that I have had only here and for which I have no name; which were clearly part of it. It was part of the good taste.

The observant among you will notice that the size of the wine glass has not changed.

Terry Westoby

Please to pay taxes

Some of you will know that the residents of a poor town in the Philippines were given eviction notices recently. The terms were 15 days notice and to remove "any improvements they had made on the land". This included the church build there (picture).

Now for most people, not the church, this meant being homeless; men, women, children and babies, young and old. With nowhere to go, it was devastating. As a result, the people were in fighting mood, with one octogenarian vowing to die rather than leave; and she meant it.

The town leader got involved and the history soon started to become clear. There had been 2 hearings where the land had been claimed by an "out of towner". Both failed. But then a third hearing, that no one knew about, had succeeded. The local counsellor was approached and an investigation begun.

Well some weeks later, just a few days ago from this writing, we heard the result. An official from the capital Manila came down. The claim would be contested and it would the the government that contests it. The judge who ordered the evictions was removed from office. The claimant, in view of this has dropped the claim. 

It was good to see the government standing up so strongly for those who were so poor. It is one of the good, but untold stories of the current president, so strongly maligned for being controversial, who has vowed to remove corruption from the country. The country's recent history has rulers who have shown no such concern.

And now the people will be issued with deeds to the properties they "own". It's like buying it free. And there will be, of course, with the official ownership, the appropriate property tax.

I think this time we may find people who are pleased to pay the tax!

by

Terry

Bank Logic

The bank called me the other day. They were not complaining but it appears I had made life a little difficult for them.

I use the bank to make transfers and there is a small charge for this. Up to X Euro it is €4 and from X+1 Euro it is €6. Because I could not remember what the rates were, last month I had sent X+5 Euro to cover the transfer costs.

Now let's see it from the bank's angle.

1. I sent X+5 Euro. 
   
2. If they charge me €4 then they send on X+1 Euro.
   
3. But X+1 Euro is a €6 charge.
   
4. So if they charge me €6 they send on X-1 Euro.
   
5. But X-1 Euro is a €4 charge.
   
6. See 2.

It appears I gave their computer a headache.

The bank solved the problem in a very acceptable way. They manually intervened and clicked the "free transfer" option. It appeared odd at the time because I had noticed they did not charge me and I didn't know why. Now I do, but somehow I don't think it will work twice.

Next time I will send them X+4; although I don't think it is all my fault. I just wanted to be sure to cover the costs. So now I have made a note in several places of the charges.

The other part of the problem is their charging strategy; and some convoluted logic....

Fwd: Brandy? No thanks, not tonight

Brandy? No thanks. 

I decided that tonight a brandy would make it a late night. So I retired to the snug area to finish the chapter of my book, the dregs of the sangria, and my coffee; when shortly after my host appeared with 3 bottles to chose from. 

Somehow "no" had been translated into "only 3". 

Just a little one then. I selected the bottle that was already open. Clearly my host was not satisfied with the selection and opened the boxed version. 

This was made for the coronation of the King, he explained in words and gestures. It is a king's brandy. How did I get it then? I asked. But he just laughed and poured a measure into a second glass. 

It was certainly good and knocked spots off the ordinary one I had selected to be polite. So I settled down and finished my chapter, the sangria, the coffee and at last the brandy. And now it's late. 

Let's hope the brandy promotes a good nights sleep!

--

Cordialement
Terence Westoby

Fixed   +33(0)1 64 48 33 72
Mobile +33(0)6 75 91 87 71
email     terrywestoby@gmail.com

Snow

Not that snow is so exceptional in January, but this is Spain.

And it is true that there is very little on the ground. This picture is about as "thick" as it gets! I did see some small boys collecting as much as they could find. They appeared to be constructing a miniature snowman. 

Unusually the snowfall is midday. It was dry this morning, and later in the day it rained; although I noticed that the rain did have a slight "floaty" appearance as it drifted down. But that could have been the wind. 

This morning there is still a little evidence of this exceptional weather event; mostly on distant hills. And it's cold. Something the Spanish keep remarking on continually. That and "why do you wear only shirtsleeves?"  

Because I feel warm enough despite the snow. 

Ps. As I drive to Malaga the car registered temperatures in double figures. Spain is not used to the cold. "Is it as bad as this in England?" They asked, clearly expecting the answer "no". After all, it couldn't possibly be this cold anywhere else. 

They tell me this is "cold!"

The photo was sideways. Sorry. I found out how to change it! 

On-line

Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The queue for checking in is 2 rows of loads of people stretching into the public side of the airport. Not that non-flyers can enter so I have said good bye already. 

Then I noticed the on-line checkin queue. 1 person. That's much better I thought, and having delayed my bedtime to check in I joined the short queue. 

Do you have the printed boarding pass? I was asked. No, the printer isn't working but I have a copy on my phone. 

That was acceptable. 

And now as you can see I am at departure ahead of a plane-full of other people. 

And there is WiFi that works (unlike the bus one that sort of worked). So from here are the blogs as I relax and wait. 

2 hours to boarding, 3 hours to take-off. 

14:10
A new arrival, our transport.

Once in Paris, the queues were short for a change. Even so the luggage took over half an hour to arrive. Even the train lacked passengers. Here I am, the only one on this coach. 

A quiet trip home is not to be sniffed at!

Heading Back

A way stop on the 4 hour bus ride to Manila. A chance to move the legs and a little relief.

We have a bus front seat, a "senior" concession and we both qualify!

The bus has WiFi so this is a pass time activity made slower by the bumpy road and the Internet speed. It may yet fail. 

2 bus depot photos. 

The beach Restaurant

Friday. Our last full day together so we visited a favourite restaurant. It is set in a bamboo room overlooking the resort and beach beyond.

Since the food takes 20 mins to cook, we ordered and then went for a stroll along the beach. The was hardly anyone around so this boat owner asked is 3 times if we wanted a boat trip. Another time perhaps. 

The sand is soft and very hot, it's near midday, and if it gets under your feet in your sandals you soon kick it out! Evangeline explains that our local beach used to be the same but ever since the volcano 25 years ago it has had a rough texture.

I recall that is just as hot though!