The Humanitarian In Me

This blog is a little special for me. I went to ASDA today because I ran out of my EVIAN MINERAL WATER and to have my dinner there. I had a very sumptuous dinner Tuna and Sweetcorn with Potato Jacket but out of my hunger I forgot to take pictures. Stupid me again hahahahaha. At dinner time, I had bottled water for my drink. While eating something caught my attention in the bottle water. It says something like this "50p of this Bottled Water will help to build pump in Africa." I know that water is so precious in Africa, that I was deeply affected but what I read. Since I am really going to buy bottled water I think I can do my little share on this. So after my dinner instead of getting my usual Evian Waters I opted to buy Thirsty Planet Pure Still Water. And it taste good...Hehehehehehe...

A SPECIAL GIFT

Monday, September 24, 2007. Start of a new week for me. As usual Carl picked me up at around 830am. I opened the boot (trunk) and put my bag in it like I always do. I noticed something in the boot but didnt care to ask Carl. Before we proceeded to office in Nutts Lane we dropped by at Hammonds Harrow Brook Office to have Carl's carphone fixed. We stayed at Harrow Brook's for almost 20mins. I saw someone interesting but didnt have the courage to take picture..hehehehe next time I saw her I will...

After our brief stay in Harrow Brooks we proceeded to the office. As we were walking down Carl told me If i saw something in the boot and I agreed then he told me the SURPRISE of the day. It was a gift from SAMUEL JOHN REYNOLDS-BREEZE aka SAM --I really dont get it why parents would punish their children by giving them so many names why not make it their nick names instead of having their children to write it for all eternity...hahahahahaha--. I didnt recognize because it was so different when I saw it yesterday (Sunday after the SKYDOME Sam started painting it). I was really touched. The box looked good. Nice work for a 4-year old kid. Thanks Matey!

SKYDOME AND ASDA ON A SUPER SUNDAY

Last Sunday, September 23, 2007 Again, my foster family invited me to see a new place TAMWORTH. Carl called me 9AM in the morning and asked me if i want to join. I didnt hesistate to come because my back is already aching from sleeping. You see there are two things I usually do on a weekends -- sleep and more sleep..hahahaahahaha. The thought of doing something and seeing a new place is a very welcome change. Its a 20mins drive from the B & B to TAMWORTH. I hope i got the spelling correctly. This is the farthest that I went to in UK...hehehehe.

We first stopped to SKY DOME. After missing the place for 3x times because Carl kept driving,hehehehehe, we reached the place. SKY DOME is a famous recreation area in TAMWORTH. SKY DOME is a CAVERNOUS place. It has a SKIING loop if thats what they all it. It is also a very busy place. When we got there there were A LOT of people already enjoy skiing. It was the COLDEST place i'd ever been to thanks to my fleece I survived it. hehehe. We only stayed in the SKIING AREA for 2 mins...hahahahahahahaha

Aside from SKYDOME being a COOK place, what I loved about the place is that I saw again my favorite store...STARBUCKS! wow! THIS IS MY LUCKY MONTH.hehehehehe..Helen told me that it was the FIRST she had a STARBUCKS! wow! I had Chocolate Hazelnut Cappucino and Helen had Chocolate Cappucino and 1 slice of Chocolate cake. I had a bad stomach afterwards..TOO EARLY for CHOCOLATE..We stayed in SKYDOME for almost TWO HOURS..Carl and Helen are planning to celebrate SAM'S 5th birthday in December here at SKYDOME.

After the SKYDOME we went to my FAVORITE supermarket ASDA...I forgot to take pictures of ASDA..stupid me...hehehehehe. We bought CHICKEN for our dinner. After shopping at ASDA we went home. It was almost 2pm and we hadn't have our DINNER..All of us were really starving. Carl roasted the chicken, roasted potatoes and boiled some carrots and pars-- Whats that again Carl the white vegetable? It was a very good dinner. THANKS again FOSTER FAMILY for a well-spent SUNDAY.

Weekend At Ansley, UK , September 9 2007

This is a very long overdue blog..hehehe.. Yes, correct it happened last September 9, 2007 a Sunday. Carl and his family invited me again to come and see the festivities at a place called Ansley were Carl grew up. Ansley is like San Pablo, Laguna in terms of distance to Quezon City but we only drove their for less than 20mins. No traffic at all. Ahh traffic is a different story.

Anyways, Carl's Mom Christine invited us to see their newly renovated church. She said that there will be some marching band, MORRIS WOMEN DANCERS and some stuffs for kids like games etc. Carl, Helen, Sam and Harrison picked me up at around 9am and by 930am we were at the place. We arrived early to Ansley. The mass was not yet over when we got there. We waited outside the chapel until the mass was over. After that we were called for some tea. While were inside the chapel the MARCHING BAND started playing. I think they are called the marching band because they are MARCHING. hahahahaha.I thought they played only four notes all in all..hahahaha Check out the pictures of the marching band and tell me what you think..heheheheheh

After the Marching Band left to march around town we wer called again to have the dinner. They prepared a COLD BUFFET. It was god but COLD..hahahaha. After that good meal the Priest spoke a little bit how the event came to be blah blah blah...hehehehehe..We proceeded to a nearby house, I forgot what they call it but this is where the Priest lives. Their for the first time I saw an APPLE TREE, a GREEN APPLE TREE.

The place was also the venue for KIDS GAMES. At first I thought Its gonna be another boring games for KIDZ but I was surprised I enjoyed watching the KIDZ playing. The most that I enjoyed was the game The SUN is SHINING where somebody has to say something about color and exchange places. Example The SUN is SHINING all who are wearing RED SHIRTS. Then those who wear red shirts need to exchange places. And there was this one command that I truly enjoyed...The SUN is SHINING all with BLUE EYES...and they all MOVED AROUND...I was like WTF! All of them HAVE BLUE EYES..hahahahahaha. Then I remembered I was in UK..Oh well...I realy enjoyed this part of the day..

Finally the highlight of the affair has finally arrived MORRIS WOMENS DANCERS. According to WIKEPIDA A morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, tobacco pipes, and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers.


I thought this is really exciting MORRIS WOMENS DANCERS. This was the highlights of the whole affair. My expectations were really high on this one..Hehehe...But ....Just check out the photos and judge for yourself.....They actually danced and moved and hit each other no not each other's body but the sticks. Its like ARNIS.

It was a very long day for us. After the festivities in the church we went to Carl's ancestral house and spend a couple of hours. Afterwards we proceeded to Helen's parents John and Elaine - I hope I got that right. Like Helen, her parents were so accommodating. They just got back from a weekend vacation. I took pictures of John and Ellain but unfortunately it was blurry. I need to take their pictures.

After a very long day, we headed back to Carl's and Helen's house and ordered from Cantonese Takeaway for our dinner/lunch. Now Im confused..hehehehehe. I learned that Helen doesn't like shrimp but I persuaded her somehow to try it...heheheheh...It was a very long day but very memorable. All the memories came rushing back to me as I write this blog as if it only happens days ago but it's been almost a month. Thanks again Helen and Carl, my foster family here in UK...CHEERS MATES!

PS.

Thanks Helen for reading my blog and correcting your parents name. Sorry for that blunder.

6Degrees, Fleece and Starbucks!

This morning was the coldest since I'd been here..less than 6degrees..whoaaaaaa. I thought of not leaving my bed because it was so freakin' cold...Anyway, I managed to take a bath and by 830pm Carl was waiting for me..I had a little chat with Allan. Allan is the one taking care of the house now because Ross is on vacation. An evidence that today was very cold -- Carl was wearing his fleece..ITS UNFAIR...hahahahahaha.

At dinner Carl, I thought Carl and I will just have one of those dinners at the canteen, but I was wrong. We went to Nuneaton to buy my Fleece. I never expected it. Carl, thanks again mate for taking care of me. At Nuneaton we ate at a Fish and Chips restaurant and it was good. The first Fish and Chips that I've eaten was....NEVER MIND.. hehehehe... I was surprised again Carl paid for my dinner...Thanks again Mate. After our lunch we headed to my favorite coffee place STARBUCKS! Yes..Its been a month now since I had my last starbucks frapuccino...No this time I paid for it..Too much of Carl doing the payments...

By the way the fleece's cost is no joke. I paid or should I say "Sir Piet" paid 40pounds...hehehehe... Thanks Sir for AMEX card. It makes my life easy here. The cost of starbucks is the same as in the Philippines.

These are some of photos I've taken from Nuneaton. These pictures were taken last September 11 when we first went to Nuneaton. Today I forgot to take pictures of the place because I felt so cold...hahahahhaha.. What an excuse?!

PS.
Thanks to The Devil Wears Prada book that I started reading. I got the correct spelling of fleece not fleesce.

SUPER BUSY 4th SATURDAY IN HINCKLEY, UK

Today, like the past 3 Saturdays, I woke up late. Did my saturday routines - stretch a little, grab my breakfast and stay in the room for a couple of hours then take a shower. My first agenda every Saturday is to bring my dirty clothes at the Launderette. The name of the Launderette - I am having a hard time pronouncing L-AUN-DE-RETTE- is SOAPSUDS owned and being run by Andrea. Its not cheap here to let somebody do your laundy..its 11pounds just for washing and drying. 50pence per clothes for ironing. I paid 11pounds everytime I bring my clothes. Today I paid higher 13.50pounds because I asked her to iron my clothes..wow! HUGE amount of money just for LAUNDRY..OH WELL...

My usual next stop after the Launderette is to go to the TOWN CENTER. Today, I had my haircut. I scouted first for the cheapest hair cut. Wow! I was really astounded having a hair cut hear is no joke. Its also very expensive. The price range is from 8pounds to 50pounds thats almost P800 to P5000 hahahahaha.So I went to the cheapest salon, SHORTYS. My hairdresser was LIZA. She was really nice and I must say she did the kind of haircut that I want...

This is my before my after picture...hehehehe

After the haircut I went to the town center. I went again to my favorite store - Argos and scanned again their brochure as if i have never seen them...hahaha.. Argos is a cool place to really kill some time. Then I went to a healthy store and bumped to an employee of Hammonds. I dont know her name but I will know it by Monday.

Friday with the Reynolds-Breeze

Friday, August 7, 2007. Carl invited me to have lunch with his family. Lunch is equivalent to dinner in Manila. You have lunch just like you have dinner. They call their lunch as dinner. Whats that again? Lunch = Dinner, Dinner = Lunch. Did you get it? hahahahhaha..good!
It was a very wonderful experience spending my Friday evening with Carl, Helen, Sam and Harry. They are a wonderful family. They are very generous and accommodating. They made me feel at home. Its only the second time I visited their lovely home.

When Carl and I arrived at their home Carl's parent were already waiting for him. They are Christine and Allan. Like Carl and his family, Carl's parent were also very nice to me. They stayed there for awhile had some tea. They arrived that day from a very long vacation.

After that short visit from Christy and Allan - I hope i got their names right heheheh - we proceeded to Morrison another favorite supermarket of mine. Why? Because they accept AMEX card there..hehehehehe. We went there to get something for our lunch and some drinks. And I found something so familiar....

When we got home after Morrision, Helen and the kids were alredy there. After some little chats Sam and I went for a little BLACK BERRY PICKING. There were so many BLACK BERRIES at the backyard of the Reynolds' Home.

We had a great fun that evening. We ate pizza and had some wine and beers. It was an unforgettable night for me knowing that I had new friends that I will bring back home in the Philippines. Thanks! Again Carl and Helen.

PS. My camera phone did not do justice to Helen's picture. She is way beautiful than her picture above. Carl is really a lucky guy..hehehe..Carl you have to give me your 4-leaf clover leaf...hehehehehe.

My Bed and Breakfast

This is where I am staying here in UK. I went back again to ASDA to buy food for lunch and dinner.

Town of Hinckley, Leicestershire UK

Yesterday was my 2nd Saturday here in UK. I wandered around Hinckley's Town Center and I took a couple of pictures. I also went back to the Thai Restaurant were I had my most enjoyable dinner so far here in Hinckley. Enjoy the pictures! Im only using my phone's camera to take these pictures so bear with me.