Category Archives: Local Culture

Counting My Blessings

Posted on 19 January 2014 by sheg4184

Welcome 2014, and with it, the inevitable string of resolutions, diets, and dramatic changes. My own resolutions included the inevitable weight loss, more time to read and write, and, most importantly, to remember to count my blessings. This morning I … Continue reading →

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Yasmin Newman: author, chef and cultural attaché

Posted on 12 December 2013 by sheg4184

As a food writer and a foreigner in the Philippines, I have really tried to get to know the local cuisine. Quite different from any other South East Asian or pacific island cuisine I have come across, I knew very … Continue reading →

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In the Spirit of Christmas

Posted on 3 December 2013 by sheg4184

Welsh poet Dylan Thomas wrote ‘it always snowed at Christmas.’ Maybe this was the case in northern Europe, but not in the Antipodes, where the seasons are upside down, and Christmas arrives in the height of summer.  In Australia there … Continue reading →

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Exploring Filipino Cheese

Posted on 2 November 2013 by sheg4184

The true origins of cheese-making are lost in the mists of time, but it is well known that cheese has been a popular and nutritious dairy product throughout Europe and the Middle East for centuries. Dating back thousands of years, … Continue reading →

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Kids Galore!

Posted on 25 October 2013 by sheg4184

It was almost a year in the making, and despite a lot of last minute juggling, last weekend we finally pulled off a bit of a coup. Eighteen boys, between three and sixteen, headed south to Graco’s Farm, accompanied by … Continue reading →

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City of Angels

Posted on 26 August 2013 by sheg4184

The Royal Palace is one of the sights to see in Bangkok. Home to the Kings of Siam for almost two hundred and fifty years, this  sixty acre compound – one square mile – contains the Royal residence, throne rooms … Continue reading →

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For Dignity and Humanity

Posted on 2 July 2013 by sheg4184

‘Midwifery services are [vital] to a healthy and safe pregnancy and childbirth. Worldwide, approximately 287 000 women die every year due to pregnancy and childbirth related complications. Most of these largely preventable deaths occur in low-income countries and in poor … Continue reading →

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Memories of Manila (1)

Posted on 19 May 2013 by sheg4184

Jennifer Gordon-Russell, a.k.a. Jenny Wallum, first arrived in the Philippines in the early 80s with her economist husband Peter Wallum and younger daughter. These were the years of martial law and the Marcos’s sovereignty; the days when traffic was light … Continue reading →

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Home Help: a challenge and a joy

Posted on 30 April 2013 by sheg4184

As an Australian, the concept of household staff is a foreign one, and I constantly find myself bewildered by the presence in my life of a full-time driver and a part-time maid or ‘helper’ and all the unwritten rules and … Continue reading →

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Driving: More Fun in the Philippines!

Posted on 10 March 2013 by sheg4184

Recently we have started teaching our older son to drive. In Manila. I haven’t actively dissuaded him from learning to drive, but nor have I actively encouraged him. There are so few safe places to get him used to driving a … Continue reading →

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