Monthly Archives: November 2011

Corks & Forks Forever!

Corks & Forks: a catchy name for the inaugural international food and wine fair organized to celebrate ANZCHAM’s 30th birthday. ANZCHAM –the Australia & New Zealand Chamber of Commerce – is an organization that cooperates with the Philippine Government to … Continue reading

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Prestige Wines at the Peninsula

Craggy Range Winery is ‘a sometimes contradictory combination of tradition and innovation…art and technology’ ‘My God! I’ve bought a desert!’ David Peabody laughs as he remembers his father’s initial response to the blind purchase of 110 hectares of old riverbed … Continue reading

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Off the Beaten Track and into a Pothole

A large sign at Manila airport offers massages to relieve the stress. It was a timely suggestion after almost an hour in a queue going nowhere at a snail’s pace, followed by a long trek through a barrage of security … Continue reading

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Saving Face

I recently received an email that made me laugh out loud. Entitled 5 Tips to make your house appear cleaner than it is, it was based on the premise that your house is a complete rubbish tip  and you have … Continue reading

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A Tropical Christmas

Is it a little early for Christmas tales? Not in Manila, where the scent of Christmas has been in the air since late September. My guidebook says Filipinos pride themselves on having the longest Christmas in the world, and so … Continue reading

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Body Language

Today I had to give my fifth speech for Toastmasters International, a club for learning to become a better public speaker. I had it all planned and prepared, and then this morning, over a cup of coffee, I opened the … Continue reading

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Manila: City of Contrasts

An oxymoron is something that consists of incongruous, disparate or contradictory elements. For me, the word oxymoron describes Manila perfectly. And the first jarring disparity struck me almost the minute I stepped off the plane at Ninoy Aquino International Airport: … Continue reading

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Jamming at the Fruit Garden

“The rule is: jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today” So says the White Queen to Alice in Lewis Carroll’s ‘Through the Looking Glass’ For those of us who like jam every day, I would like to introduce … Continue reading

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