As I hung my November calendar above on the wall, put it on Facebook and put it in my window for all Chester’s fans to see I wondered where the year had gone!
TBK at Robinsons Mall in October
Here in the Philippines people have been celebrating Christmas since SeptemBER ( the first of the BER Months) with Christmas trees everywhere , Christmas music on the radio and in the Malls. I have already completed my Christmas preparations for 2023 by booking an Air BNB on a quiet beach away from it all in the south of Palawan.
For the first time ever I am not sending cards, presents or having a Christmas meal. Instead I invested 100,000 peso ( 1,500 GBP) in two students. Chalsee ( brother of Kit and cousin of Jhoanna) started this year in Manila where he is training to be a Marine. He sent me a picture of his uniform the other week which I paid for and which bought a tear to my eye.
I remember when I first met him and he was 16 , very shy, spent all his time playing Mobile Legends and lived with his family in Barutaan. Now he confidently messages me and tells me what he is up to, sends me photos, and is enjoying his new life in Manila. Who could want a better Christmas present than that? TJ asked if I would sponsor her for 6 more months so she could do an internship in Manila where she visited the Senate house ( she is studying Politics at PSU) and the Presidential Palace and saw the President speak. Again a fabulous opportunity for her. In December she made her first trip to Baguio.
Chalsee is 5 from the left and TJ is one from the right
Chester’s Calendar has been great fun ( you can read
all about it here by clicking the link here https://thebritishkabayan.blogspot.com/2023/09/tbk-tells-chesters-2023-calendar-is.html) taking us all over Palawan to take the shots to
showcase Palawan’s beauty. However, I have decided not to have a calendar for
2024 – after producing calendars for my friends for several years.
This year's online recipe book contained 72 recipes, 6 uploaded each month
Likewise with the Recipe book- the online recipe book
we released month by month has been very successful ( 600 views) and the
November edition will appear on 15.11.23. This month we have Carrot and Ginger
soup and Sweet Chilli Chicken as our starters. The winter warmer main courses
(for those of you in colder climates than Bahrain and the Philippines) are
Chicken casserole and Sausage casserole and for dessert we have Lemon Tart and
Boston Banoffee Pie. That just leaves the December edition and our 3rd
recipe book is complete. I have decided to give recipes a break in 2024!
Of course we will still be cooking at home for my houseboys, visiting friends and our monthly M & M get togethers- in October we celebrated the birthday of our Australian neighbour, Chris, and I made Lechon Kawali and Lechon sauce to go with the pizzas, pasta and delightful desserts contributed by the other neighbours. This time we were joined by Phillipina Lee who rents an apartment here and visits from time to time with her partner. I discovered they are opening a hotel in Puerto. I also got lots of useful tips on SSRV renewal, health insurance etc from my other neighbours.
Chris at his birthday lunch- photo by Benni
Each week I plan my menu and include a mix of new
dishes I have never tried ( today I made a Steak and Bean Nicoise salad from the BBC
Good Food site https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/steak-bean-nicoise) as well as
old favourites from my recipe scrapbooks I put together in Bahrain. Today we
had Salmon with capers for lunch with Joven and I made a Potato and Leek
frittata for tomorrow's lunch. Next week we are having old
favourites ( I think I first found the recipe at University in 1980!) like
Spaghetti Bolognaise and Spaghetti Carbonara. Last week I made a Chilli con
Carne and this week I will make a Lancashire Hotpot and Beef Goulash.
Spaghetti Bolognaise for Fry, Noel and I
Every Thursday and Sunday Frythy and Noel come for 2
hours to clean the house and wash up and once a week I make them their
favourite dishes. Last weekend we had a Roast Chicken with Gravy, Carrots, Broccoli, Peas and Roast Potatoes. Next weekend its Chermoula Lamb with Chick
pea couscous. As you can see we are still cooking our way around the world.
Occasionally we order food from Poochies kitchen ( Chicken Pie, Fish and Chips, Mango Sticky Rice etc) or go to Roma for Pizza or Rustic café for a cooked English
breakfast.
Chester paddling at Sabang
Two to three times a week Chester and I go to the beach or for a
walk at Baywalk – he loves to swim and run on the sand and now my infection has
healed up I hope I can do this more often. I am certainly looking forward to my
three days by the sea over Christmas at Surya beach.
Still on my bucket list - The Balabac Islands
Sadly I did not achieve all I hoped this year like
getting my drone or visiting the islands around Palawan ( Coron, Cuyo and the
Balabac Islands) and I still have not practiced my diving skills after
successfully completing my PADI open water diving course in Oman while waiting
to move to the Philippines. Neither did I get a credit card ( in spite of
constantly chasing Union Bank and my agent to get the necessary documentation). However, with help from Mike I finally managed to set up my Wise account so I can transfer my savings from the UK to Palawan and buy food and pay my rent! After two complaints to Lloyds Bank in the UK and several emails to Union Bank in Palawan I am still unable to find the elusive POP codes necessary to transfer
my pension and savings directly from Lloyds Bank in the UK to the Philippines.
Bangers and Mash, with a Pinoy twist
My regular followers will note that the Vlog did not
have any new material for a while apart from the TBK cooks vlogs to go with the Recipe book
on the 1st of each month ( In November we have Bangers and Mash- see above) . This was because the company whose software I was using to edit the vlogs ( Wondershare Filmora) upgraded to a
new version which had to be paid for using a credit card. Luis and Chester sent
me alternative links but none worked. Eventually Luis found a way to allow the download to go ahead and I caught up on my vlog editing with Vlogs from Duli, Dragon Boat racing etc . In 2024 I will buy a drone for some great ariel shots of
Palawan. I also want to finish my “A – Z of the best beaches in Palawan” Blog –
at the last count we had visited 18 beaches, so just 8 to go!
Chester goes to Nacpan, one of 18 beaches we visited this year
I hope that gives you a brief overview of how I spend
my retirement. People ask if I miss my work and the answer is a big no. Too
much internal politics and chasing people to complete their work etc. I do, of
course, miss my friends there in Bahrain and already Mike has come to stay here
and Corleen wants to stay next year. People ask if I will return to the UK and my answer is NEVER. I sold my house there in 2004 and moved to the Middle East in 2010 and have never
returned . I still have plenty to see here in Palawan and enjoy just being able
to throw my stuff in the car and driving off to the seaside- and I have
discovered lots of dog friendly places to stay like Surya beach, Victoria
Beach house at Alimanguan and Daluyon Beach and Mountain resort at Sabang.
My beautiful Chicken lunch at Sabang
The fact that the year has flown by is evidence of how
much I enjoy my new life, and in April 2024 I will celebrate having been here
for 2 years. My thanks to Joven, Noel and Frythy for looking after me so well
and I look forward to seeing more of you here next year and showing you around
Paradise.
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment