July 2015 - Expat In Bacolod

English Football on the TV in the Philippines

English Football on the TV in the Philippines

Published by Stephen Bentley on July 31, 2015

I miss English football on the TV in the Philippines. It is one of the very few things I miss about the UK. I wrote those two sentences way back in July 2015 and it is now July 2017 as I write this. I have some great news for all you fans of English football. Just so as not to confuse you I will place a horizontal line under these fresh ideas on how to watch Premier League football here in the Philippines. So anything under the line is the original article – got it? I did write down below I had no idea if IPTV is legal. It is! I write about it in a recent post here and if you click here on…

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Sugar Beach, Sipalay, Negros Island

Sugar Beach, Sipalay, Negros Island

Published by Stephen Bentley on July 30, 2015

Sugar Beach is near to the town of Sipalay on Negros Island, Western Visayas, Philippines. According to Google there are just six resorts on the beach. Sugar Beach is not on the list of most famous beaches in the Philippines but it should be! Zabrina and myself drove there back in early June 2015. It is about 3 ½ hours actual driving time from Bacolod City. It took us about 5 hours in total as we stopped at Hinigaran on the way to stretch the legs and pop in to Mila’s resto. It is famous for its buko pie, a coconut filling in a light pastry. We had to have one each, plus one of their delicious chicken pies. All washed down with a native…

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The Whining Foreigner In The Philippines

The Whining Foreigner In The Philippines

Published by Stephen Bentley on July 29, 2015

The Philippines often gets included in lists of “ideal places to retire.” Among the attractions are the low cost of living and the balmy tropical climate. The Philippines consists of over 7,000 islands and living inexpensively on the coastline of one of them seems like a dream. For nationals of First World countries who grew […] Source: To the foreigner who wants to retire in the Philippines This is both a well written article and a cautionary tale! Of course there are many things to enjoy here in the Philippines. On the other hand many things are …. well …. different. That should not come as a great surprise. It is not rocket science – it is a different country and culture than back home.…

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Madeleine McCann detectives contact Australia over body find – NY Daily News

Published by Stephen Bentley on July 28, 2015

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are working with police in Australia, where the remains of a girl were found. Source: Madeleine McCann detectives contact Australia over body find – NY Daily News This is an article by the NY Daily News. An unidentified body of a girl has been found in Australia. Note the word unidentified. Now how can any newspaper run a story linking it to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal in 2007? How must the parents of Madeleine feel? I suspect that they are used to this garbage reporting but it must still hurt. Disgusting! My blog is primarily to write about my expat life here. However in light of my past work experience, I must from time to…

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WordPress: All I wanna do is write ……

WordPress: All I wanna do is write ……

Published by Stephen Bentley on July 28, 2015

All I wanna do is write ….. to paraphrase the words of a Sheryl Crow song. WordPress (WP) is the platform I use, along with millions of others, to post my blogs here on this site. I require it to work when I need it to so I can concentrate on my writing. Not too much to ask is it? I have a new friend here in Bacolod. We met for the first time only yesterday and ‘clicked’. He is a fellow ‘Northerner’ and ‘computer savvy’. Most of today and part of yesterday was an experience in frustration at not being able to post on my WordPress blog.. When I clicked ‘+New’ ‘Post’, I was taken to a page that was junk. It was not…

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I Love Bacolod

I Love Bacolod

Published by Stephen Bentley on July 26, 2015

I have now written three articles about traffic/driving problems here in Bacolod and posted in Facebook a number of times about those problems. Hey I ♥ it here ! OK the traffic culture is different from the UK, the rest of Europe and the USA but it is Filipino! But there are so many things to like and indeed love Bacolod for such as the friendly people the food the restaurants the weather the beaches the fun smiling faces the importance of family the importance of faith easy going lifestyle Not forgetting the woman I love is a Filipina (I thought I had better add that to the list). So I would not like anyone to gain the impression that I am some kind of “whining…

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Ceres Bus Liner Drivers On Best Behaviour…..

Ceres Bus Liner Drivers On Best Behaviour…..

Published by Stephen Bentley on July 26, 2015

I recently wrote about driving generally in Bacolod here: and here: I frequently make the drive between Bacolod, where I live, to Canetown, Victorias to visit Zabrina’s family. We passed the spot today where the terrible tragedy happened. There are flowers at the roadside to mark the spot. And more poignantly two sets of burnt rubber on the highway marking the places where the two bus drivers braked violently. One set of tyre marks clearly showed that one driver was emergency braking whilst also swerving. But the point I really wanted to make is that we, Zabrina. her sister and myself, all remarked on how much improvement there was in the general road behaviour of the Ceres Bus Liner company. The road today seemed to…

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The Duchess Not Getting Enough!

Published by Stephen Bentley on July 26, 2015

FUNNY BUT TRUE COP STORIES The Duchess Not Getting Enough! Z Cars was a British TV series in the 1960s set in the fictional town of Newtown. It was a highly popular show which led to other spin off shows and a step to Hollywood stardom for Brian Blessed, Fancy Smith in the series. The real Newtown was in fact Kirkby, Liverpool. It was a vast overspill housing project to rehouse families from a heavily bombed Liverpool as part of the post WW2 housing plan. Kirkby Police Station Two of the main characters in Z Cars were Police Constables Fancy Smith and Jock Weir. They drove a Ford Zephyr police car. It bore no police markings but had a siren fitted and a drop down…

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She Had Blonde Hair And Long Legs and Another Was A Male Prostitute

She Had Blonde Hair And Long Legs and Another Was A Male Prostitute

Published by Stephen Bentley on July 26, 2015

Barristers come in all shapes and sizes. Some even have blonde hair and long legs. For those of you outside of the UK a barrister is a lawyer. The kind of lawyer who wears those grey wigs, funny collars and long black gowns. Lawyers who for many years frequently used Latin in the courts. “romantic notion of the trial lawyer” Many young people have grown up with a romantic notion of the trial lawyer who wins the day in court by virtue of a brilliant cross examination! Thus tearing the witness apart and destroying the case for the prosecution! I blame a diet of TV shows for fostering this notion. US shows such as LA Law and a British series called Kavanagh QC are prime examples…

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DRIVING IN BACOLOD, PHILIPPINES: A FOREIGNER’S PERSPECTIVE

Published by Stephen Bentley on July 22, 2015

DRIVING IN BACOLOD, PHILIPPINES: A FOREIGNER’S PERSPECTIVE Welcome to driving hell! I mean Bacolod ………. Look I am not a newbie or a pussy when it comes to driving — I have been driving since I was 19 years old and believe me that is a long time! You wouldn’t want me to divulge my age I’m sure. Let’s just say I can remember when England won the football World Cup! During my driving years I have driven all kinds of vehicles and machines — cars of all shapes and sizes, 1350 cc motorcycles, large vans and small vans, articulated trucks (semi-trailers), dumper trucks, JCB digger/loaders, excavators and probably a few more that I have forgotten about. I have driven in London, New York, Los Angeles,…

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Month: July 2015