Santipolo

I am a British man who has had connections with the Philippines since 2014 to my great pleasure. My husband is Filipino and I adore his family and friends. I do not yet, to my shame, speak the language, any version of it and, there are a few! My visits there have been few and sadly, because of Covid, not recent. I have not had the chance to fully comprehend the country though, most experiences have been rewarding. Only a few times have I thought that the country is, dare I say it? A little bit racist? Don’t get me wrong, we are all a little bit racist, indeed, we’re programmed to notice any difference. My negatives have been with the overcharging which goes on as soon as a white face is seen. Prices can more than double purely because of ethnicity. It is annoying because the assumption being, all white people are rich. (We’re not). Anyway, that is an aside. I’ve been watching some Youtube videos from foreigners (American) who have settled there. They seem to quic...

With very little influence from me I was separated from the majority of my family in 1985-86. My Dad cheated on my mum, it got very complicated and I was convenient because I existed and was available. This is shortening a complex time in my life but that’s the basis of it. People took sides, I was stuck in the middle. Didn’t want to stay in touch with my Dad, we never really got on, wanted to support my mum but, mum wanted me to keep contact and it was my agreeing to that which made me the enemy to her side of the family. I should have stuck to my feelings and refuse but instead I did a few very uncomfortable visits to him and his, and I apologies for this but it’s how I always felt, his bitch. My feelings about him were no better. Any chance I had of reconciliation was blown by said ‘bitch’. We invited family to our wedding in 1986 and they said they would come as long as ‘she’ wasn’t there. This was not a problem for me as I didn’...

I grew up ‘conditioned’ to be heterosexual. It wasn’t enforced, I didn’t get put into a chair and made to accept heterosexuality on pain of death, that wasn’t how it was, it never is but, today it is still happening to kids in most homes and so few realise it. Let me get you started on the road to discovery of what not to do with your children. If your son or daughter of any age is spending time with someone of the same sex or, has them as a contact on their phone … do not presume they are just friends but, keep your thoughts to yourself because it is their business. If they are spending time with someone of the opposite sex or have them as a contact, you may think they’re perhaps, you know, nudge nudge, wink wink, potentially dating but, again, keep your opinions to yourself, it’s not your business. Do not say: “When you grow up and have kids of your own” You don’t know that, it might not be their future to do that for a...