This year marks the 800th anniversary of this historic charter, and in this book English historian Dan Jones covers the background, all the important events, that led up to the issuance of the Magna Carta in 1215. Continue reading “Magna Carta: The Making and Legacy of the Great Charter by Dan Jones (Book Review)”
Afternoon tea has certainly become an institution in London not just for tourists but for locals alike. It is the perfect way to celebrate a special occasion, Continue reading “Afternoon Tea at Sketch Gallery”
For Christmas this year I made a mini-gingerbread village instead of a huge house or one of London’s iconic buildings as I’ve done in the past. As soon as I started making the templates I realised that it’s a lot more work and time-consuming than I had imagined. Continue reading “Gingerbread Village”
When I was studying in Japan I wrote a monthly newsletter for the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Thanks to the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr Milagros Ibe, for encouraging me to do it. I’ve found the original copy of the newsletter I wrote in December of ’92 and decided to share it. Please scroll down to see the 23 year-old printed copy, and though it’s still readable I decided to type it all for easy reading. 😉
December 1992
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Greetings to you and yours! May your holiday be a deeply meaningful time as you celebrate the wondrous event of God becoming man! I am especially looking forward to celebrating Christmas this year because I’ll be with a Japanese Christian family for the winter vacation homestay program. Can’t wait!
Lately, I’ve been observing the character qualities of the Japanese people. One trait that stands out is faithfulness. For example, I spend time with Japanese friends for discussions and studies together. The group consists of three graduate students. I really enjoy them very much. Kindness, warmth and faithfulness usually characterise the members of this group. Continue reading “Christmas Memories”
This is my diary entry on the 16th of February 2010, three months after my mother passed away. My mom always carried with her a journal or tiny note pads and often jot down her thoughts. In hindsight I realised I’ve copied her habit. 😉 Even when my mom was on her deathbed I have kept a diary and wrote down everything she did; the conversations between family and friends who came to visit; the doctors and nurses who came to check on her, and I practically documented everything that happened every single day. Upon my return to London, rather than verbally talk about my grief I’d often pull out my pen and paper and wrote down my deepest thoughts and emotions. This is one of those entries that’s too personal but I now feel at liberty to share it here. I’ve added some photographs to make it a little bit more interesting. 😉
Waking up feeling chilled and woozy this morning spurred me to be in a trance: being on a tropical island with the warm sun bathing my skin; the wind blowing through my hair; the coconut trees gently swaying against the breeze and the waves singing to a perfect rhyme. Continue reading “El Nido Resorts, Palawan, Philippines”
The Berkeley is one of the chicest places for taking tea in London, and its famed ‘Prêt-à-Portea’ is on the ‘must-try-AfternoonTea-list’ of all my friends at the health club. Continue reading “Prêt-à-Portea Afternoon Tea and Childhood Memories”