⌛ New member introduction.

Good morning/afternoon/evening depending on when you read this. I have been an avid reader of the Forum for well over a year now and greatly enjoyed the banter, cut and thrust, and sometimes acidic comments that seem to flow between members. A lot of questions asked and a lot of helpful answers given make this a very informative medium in a community of so many ex-pats from a variety of different countries. So I felt it was time for me to join; all the more relevant as I intend to re-locate to Dumaguete later this year, after a house hunting trip which hopefully I'll do at the end of this month. Why Dumaguete ?? Well, I looked at a number of options; I don't like Manila, Cebu is expanding far too rapidly for me, Bohol and Leyte are nice to visit, as is C de O, but not sure about living there, but Dumaguete and the surrounding areas ticked all the right boxes. It's all about personal preferences. Still fairly rural, without the frenetic pace of life of the larger cities, Dumaguete has all that I need. Relatively easy access to other islands, relaxing and uncluttered resorts, and the university is a bonus as, amongst many things, I am a writer and would want to do some research every now and then. I will most likely look in the Bacong and Valencia districts for somewhere to live. Oh! I'm well aware that in the Phils the politicians are crooked, the judicial system is loaded and the police are more bent than a hair pin, but that will just help to remind of Britain...........

So something about me. I'm 62 ( or 53 plus tax ), live near to Colchester which is about one hour east of London, happily divorced, apparently have a wicked sense of humour, raised two children on my own and lived a lot of my life in other countries. Raised in a UK orphanage (Dr. Barnardo's for any Brits reading this) I then spent 26 years in the British military, then had ten years with the Diplomatic Service before deciding to branch out on my own and live life to the full. I owned a number of traditional English pubs but left the licensed trade when the government started to interfere too much. I live in Hoek van Holland for 2 years where I supervised 46 Filipinos who worked for the Stena ferry line, lived in Germany for 5 years, in fact my son was born in Iserlohn, and spent a year in Rhoodys neck of the woods, in Sonthofen and Fussen. Please excuse the spelling but my keyboard won't give me an umlaut.!!! Life has taken me to most of the capital cities of the world but it's the lengthy time that I spent in the Far East that has always drawn me back, and the Philippines has been the biggest draw. It has long been my intention to settle there, and as my son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren are shortly to emigrate to Perth, this has just sped the whole process up and brought it all forward.

Life has been a colourful journey up to now and the journey is far from over. However, having been shot at in the Middle east, shivered in the Falklands, sweated in the Borneo jungle, trapped by a hurricane in Florida, caught up in a drugs shoot out in Brazil, stranded in snow-bound Goose Bay and bitten by a rabid dog in Belize, it's time to take life at a more leisurely pace. Hence, Dumaguete beckons.

Apart from my collar size and inside leg measurement you now have at least a black and white picture of me; I'll colour the picture in little by little hopefully over large quantities of beer and laughter. Well, I am an ex-publican after all !!!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to join this Forum, and I hope that I can make a useful contribution in the fullness of time.

Roger

 

WOW ....

that's what I call an Intro... You came around a lot, I am sure we all gonna benefit from your experience...

Mate I also have the Umlaut Problem, when I write german stuff...
Do you get a tax-return on your age ???

Great to have you here

cheers

Rhoody

 

All that experience is not enough to prepare you to the most dangerous encounter you are bound to experience in Duma, if you're not careful. The "Kiss of the Spider Woman" and there's a lot of that around in the PI . They wrap their tiny little legs around you and suck you life away. You have no choice but to cry for Mercy...:D

Welcome:p

 

welcome on board broadside....