
A GRAVEYARD GATHERING
November 1st is a very important date in the Filipino calendar. Yet until very recently I was completely unaware of the occasion. I was an All Saint's Day virgin. The first time I heard about it was when Kuya Teddy invited me to a picnic at the cemetery. (NB. It's 'brother' Teddy now- he doesn't like Tatay ('father') because he thinks it makes him sound too old!) I thought I must have heard him wrong because surely we wouldn't be eating food. In a graveyard. The day after Hal
SONGS AND SEASONS
I'm sat in my local 'coffee shop' (which is in reality just an eatery where I drink coffee) and once again John Legend's "All of me" is booming through the speakers. This song might as well be the Filipino national anthem because it is always playing. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing you can hear this song- out of car windows, on the radio, as a ringtone- my host-Dad even plays it while he's in the shower! Now those of you who have had the misfortune of sharing a h