Letter from Manila - Santol - of course!

Dead right.

I'm one of those very, very fortunate ones who (so far) in 64 years has never really been poorly. Gives you a false sense of invincibility, I suppose you'd call it.

So when something like this does happen that lays you low, if only for a few days, you think that the second you feel a bit more like, you are back to fighting strength. Then, as you say, the body goes, "Stupid boy," and brings you down a notch.

Probably just as well sometimes.

I'm just so grateful that generally, I'm pretty much okay, health-wise, despite the lack of care I take. I know that so many aren't. Any doctor I talk to is horrified when I'm honest, so I tend to be conservative with the truth. For their sake!

Beer is now being administered, I can open my own again!

Anyway, the cat's gone again. Turns out that the owners didn't want him, so we were selected (having history) by those that know us, as a substitute family. This morning they changed their minds and went to their Barangay chairman, demanding that the cat they didn't want is returned. So he's gone back, still not having seen a vet, which he needs to and would have done today.

He'd settled in beautifully as well, and Madam had fallen in love.

Good luck Salem...

Just don't gt me started on this bit of f'wittery living here, it's a rant all of its own!

Cats a great, really good for lowering blood pressure and stress levels.

Glad that you have got back to health George....With advancing age(!) we can still do lots of "stuff"....it just takes a longer time to recover!

In his excellent Garage Forecourt thread, grizz mentions the lack of common sense emerging in the "New whateveritscalled"

This week Metro Manila moved (again) from Enhanced Community Quarantine to General Community Quarantine, just to see what happens this time after the massive spike in cases last time.

Our glorious mayor (the first one to ban alcohol sales in the Metropolis) was giving an explanation of what could now be allowed under the relaxed regime. Amongst others...

"[All restaurants are] allowed to operate beyond the curfew hours of the city, provided that it shall cater only to those authorized persons outside of residence," he added.

So, according to this, I can't go out because of curfew, but a restaurant can serve me only if I'm out after curfew. How does that work? Who is authorised and how do I become so? Are the restaurants going to sit there empty all night due to a lack of authorised customers?

The same common sense that hugely reduces my risk of infection by requiring that I sit inside a bar with lots of other people, instead of outside, and must order some food before being allowed to order a beer? Then forced to drink from a glass which lord knows how many have had their lips round, rather than an untouched bottle.

And in foot news; right one about 95% of the way to original size, can even just feel my metatarsals, left a little bit more to go, but another couple of days should see us there.

Gonna soon have to find another excuse to keep the massages going!

In other news, today we celebrate the shooting of Ninoy Acquino, assassinated at Manila airport on his return from the USA for a heart operation. So it's a day off and, in true holiday fashion, is drizzling and miserable. I've opened a cold one and am now sitting with the Brothers Dimm upside down, fast asleep at me feet. Seems like a plan?

blackpopracing , your approach seems to be working.

Problem not cleared up. As soon as I stop the antibiotics, it kicks off again. Had another doc on Thursday, who's written me a letter for blood test and, hopefully, diagnoses. Sick of taking pills! Just need to find the time off work to get it done.

In the meantime, after all the gloom, doom and despondency that Distemper wrought and wiped out many,  I thought you'd like to be brought up to date on our current fleet.

Let's go in ascending order...

1) Is this actually a dog?


Meet Vito. Came post distemper, but arrived with bloody Parvo. Cured.

You can brush him now and he'll look like above in 20 minutes!

2) His brother


Toppy Doo. Allegedly some sort of poodle. I don't know. Post distemper, no Parvo. Can someone explain?

Ditto with the brushing.

3) First of the Shihz



Mandaluyong (after the local psychiatric hospital), Whiskey's son. He can lick his own eyebrows. Makes him pretty popular. Ignored Distemper, no symptoms. We think it was because his nervous system was more deranged than anything the virus could do, so it gave up.

4) Little Whiskey, mouser extraordinaire.



She's so ugly, I always have to have a word with the vet. "Yes, she may be, but you'll treat her like she was gold." Literally shrugs off everything life throws at her. Distemper negative, attitude positive.

Another rescue. She's my avatar, 'cos she's lovely.

5) Next up, my best girl. Lola.



Starving and left to die in the sun. What more can I say?

Moving on to the Brothers Dimm...

6) A long and slightly manic looking (so what's new?) Buster...



He just likes to rip things into little shreds. Chewing the wheel on my office chair as I write. We're hoping he grows out of it.

P.S One leg is mine, the other Tania's. Don't need too much imagination to work out which is which,

7) Barney. Large body, small brain.



Possibly the dimmest dog I've ever had, but great fun for all that and a super temperament. Him and Buster were rescued when their mother was killed by the car in front of Madam. Could it have been a conspiracy?

All injections and stuff up to date.

Not a dog, but last and very much not least...

8) Lolita...





Jey-Ann found her, Tania named her. Her brother had just been run over, sleeping under a car wheel.

Me? For the sake of decency, call her Lita. "Hel-lo Lita!"

Settling in nicely, still being wormed and hopefully a keeper. She already swipes the dogs noses and loves cuddles from anyone.

Let's hope this little lot are here for a while.

It ain't for the want of trying! 

Great set of dogs there. And a cat always make everything better.

As long as the dogs remember the cat is boss

Hard to believe that Little Whiskey is the same dog as the one in your avatar.

^ this