Wednesday, August 30, 2006

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August Sunshine
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Angol Beach - 8 am (yes, I was awake!)

Sailing in the afternoon sun



We have been so lucky over the last few days - the weather at the moment is more like March than August. No complaints here though! We've had the BBQ out several times, been sailing, played beach tennis, fixed up the garden and generally pretended it was summer. Hope it lasts a while longer.

On Wednesday we said goodbye to Jeff and Liza, who have headed back to Manila. We all went for a slap-up meal at Smoke, which left us completely stuffed! Last night was Rumba's (and Paul's) birthday party, so we got pretty sozzled at that. I'll post some pictures soon.

Thursday, August 24, 2006


After a beautiful day, sunset this evening was breathtaking.

Monday, August 21, 2006




Another late night jamming session at Red Pirates. Lana on guitar and Rolly on drums. Various people in the background shaking rainsticks and making noise!
Rain never stops play!

Saturday, August 19, 2006

The BoraCats
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Here at Red Pirates we share our bar, our food and sometimes even our bed with these three characters:
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Tinker - the princess. No one can do utter scorn and contempt like Tink. And they say cats have limited facial expressions! She also shares my addiction to crisps, and goes bonkers when she hears me open a bag.

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Tuba - a sweet and gentle soul, he likes nothing better than to stretch on the bed all day and sleep. A cat after my own heart! Unlike his bolshy brother, he doesn't like to fight, and prefers instead to watch TV.

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Tango - the alpha male. He's loud and demanding, and can't resist a fight - even if it's not his business! Despite this, he has a loveable nature and isn't at all spiteful - he likes nothing better than a good belly rub.

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Monday, August 14, 2006


Oh the boredom. I could really use a vacation. Last night I was sitting in the bar, on my own, reading a book (which was only marginally better than watching paint dry), and trying not to pay attention to the two young Koreans who had chosen Red Pirates Pub as their 'make-out' venue for the evening. Aw bless, they were quite cute really, but the squelching noises of their face sucking session started to get on my nerves afetr a while. It was all I could do not to shout at them to 'GET A ROOM!' Four hours? Enough is enough!
The only other thing of interest was seeing a huge spider stomping across the bar. No big deal, you might think, but this thing was so massive that it had killed a large cockroach, tucked it under it's arm (leg?) and was cheerily strolling home to enjoy it's dinner. It reminded me somewhat of a fat bloke coming home from the pub with his package of cod and chips under his arm.
Oh dear, see what the boredom is doing to me?

Sunday, August 13, 2006


"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be" Douglas Adams
From this...

To this .

How i wish it would stop raining....


Friday, August 11, 2006



I miss summer!
So I'm going to cheer myself up with some nice shots of the island instead. Right now the beach doesn't deserve to have it's picture taken! So much sand was washed away by the recent storms (a couple of meters at least) that now the high tide reaches all the way up to the tree-line, and sections of the pathway have been washed away entirely, as has most of our garden. It's the worst raining season in years, and I'm sick of it. Still, Joey finally got around to fixing the roof today (after much cajoling and an argument) so that's something....

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

First - Paella

Then - Tequila




More than a week late (Boracay time!) we decided to celebrate the second anniversary of Red Pirates Pub. Binggoy came through once again with a delicious paella, and we all stuffed ourselves silly. The weather, surprisingly, was appalling - but the tequila was flowing and much hilarity ensued. Cleaning up the puke afterwards (not mine - I don't drink tequila) was not the highlight of my evening though...

Comedy Buns!
Honestly, we couldn't not buy one of these rude looking hot-dog rolls from the all-night bakery behind the mall. We'd just stumbled out of Rumbas - that explains our childish and drunken sense of humour!

Sunday, August 06, 2006

The Source of my Morning Misery!
Ants Ate My Earplugs!


On the dressing table next to my bed, I keep a pair of earplugs. I need these because I live next door to a small chapel, and the noise which comes out of that place first thing in the morning has to be heard to be believed.

Bear in mind that this chapel is roughly the size of a shoebox, and seats about 6 people (alright, it seats more than that, but that's usually the amount of people who actually show up for the service). Bear in mind that you could easily hear a mouse fart on the other side of the room. The 'church ladies' (this is a sort of unofficial club who derive great pleasure from sweeping the building, arranging the linens and fannying about with the fake flowers) insist on broadcasting their endless 'hail Marys' and tuneless hymns through a sound system, blasted out at top volume, and disturbing all the decent folk in the neighbourhood who are trying to recover from Saturday night's debauchery. Earplugs are essential, as it is completely impossible to sleep through this cocophony of noise.

Every week I wake up to what sounds like a family of rabid cats being strangled in a bathful of soapy water, together with the insane clanging of the chapel bell. This is not, as you might imagine, a nice melodious sounding bell. Oh no. It gives off a sound not unlike that of a large tin cooking pot being struck with a stick. At 7am.

At Christmas we get a special treat. For the 10 or so days leading up to the event they start this crap at 3am. Every day. And it goes on till at least 6am! One morning I could stand it no longer, and fell out of bed (looking like the Kraken) to go and bawl at the priest. "Doesn't is say in the bible that one should love thy neighbour? Where does it mention waking thy neighbour at that unholy hour of the morning?" He just gazed at me what that blank expression the clergy are so good at pulling when questioned about anything.

I'm not going to start at rant about the sanctimonious nature of certain religious folk, and how utterly inconsiderate they can be... oh hey, I already did! Suffice to say that they evidently believe that by behaving in this way they are scoring more 'Brownie points' with god, and will be rewarded accordingly on their judgement day.

So this morning, as per usual, I reached for my trusty earplugs only to discover that they had been invaded by sugar ants and were now full of little holes. Is there nothing these bloody ants won't eat??? It's bad enough that my books are full of termite tunnels (to say nothing of my floor), my roof leaks, my clothes are developing a strange musty smell (due to the raining season damp) there's gecko poo on top of the telly and last night I found a large hermit crab in my bathroom. Now my earplugs have been eaten too.

Welcome to Boracay....

Saturday, August 05, 2006




It's back again... Our once-lovely garden is now a total mess.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

What a sunset! After days of rain, we finally had a respite today.


Nothing much has happened recently, apart from Joey's escapade with the bees. While practising his Tarzan-style antics up a tree at the end of the beach, he managed to annoy a swarm of bees, which launched an attack and stung him several times. No real harm done though, and he can laugh about it. At least he didn't sit on one as I did last year. You'd think it would be safe to sit on the bed without looking first, wouldn't you? Not in Boracay - expect the unexpected!