The Englishman’s Room With A View
Jeanette on Apr 25th 2008
We are pleased to welcome Mr. Tony Brownlow as a guest writer here on the Sagunto Star. In the following essay, he shares with us what makes the Philippines, and Sagunto in particular, so special to him. He and his wife, Helen Bongog Brownlow, have a home on the foothills of Palina, overlooking Sagunto and the surrounding areas.
THE PHILIPPINE ENIGMA BY AN ENGLISHMAN
by Tony Brownlow
As a boy thumbing through a book of knowledge, I happened upon a photograph which portrayed a carabao being worked in the rice field. The farmer behind was clean and tidy, wearing a wide brimmed white sombrero. What I could not understand of this photography from a tropical clime was that the man was clearly white and this image stayed with me.
Some twelve years later, I had been a soldier in the Korean War, and by a twist of fate, instead of a troopship return to England, I was a passenger in an R.A.F. two-engined Valetta to take me from Japan to Singapore. This meant refueling three times. The first or was it the second stop over, we landed in some obvious tropical country. It was in the dark of the night, lightning was flashing in the night sky – this was end of May, 1953. It felt humid as though we had landed in the middle of jungle. “Where are we?” I asked. “The Philippines!” replied someone. Amazingly, the enigma remained because we took off and I never saw the country at all.
The Philippines remained a mystery for some 40 odd years. Then fate played a trick. My wife for 38 years died. I remarried and yes, she is a Filipina. We made our journey to the land of my imagination but we went no further than Dubai because I collapsed in the plane and received help before a quick return to England. To cut a long story short, it wasn’t serious but I did require a pace-maker. Now, travel is no problem. We duly arrived in my fated Philippines. We live in Sagunto, having built a house on the lowest possible point of the mountain range which comes down from Baguio City.
The enigma has completely disappeared. Our view is unrivaled as we look over the landscape below. From our marble balcony, we can actually glimpse the South China Sea. To the south, miles of beautiful flat lands reach the horizon. To the right – northwards, we see the bridge which spans the estuary that only fills with water when the rainy season arrives.
This is a beautiful land of green. Fruit trees of every kind are to be seen and eaten – fruits that I never knew existed. We buy fresh vegetables daily from our mountain neighbors whom we have learned to love. Their fortitude with heavy loads carried on the head as they traverse the very steep mountain paths always amazes me. Mango must be the finest fruit in the world and it grows in abundance. Coinciding with our residence in Sagunto, one of the twenty eight barrios (Spanish term for a district of a town) of the municipality Sison, it has been blessed with a new lady mayor who has the qualities that benefit the people all around us – closing those spurious girly bars; regulating late night noise and caring for the old people. A large community centre for the retired and the senior citizens that would grace London City was built. A tourist spot called “Antong” has been set up in the lower mountain range where waterfalls and country walks can be enjoyed.
What can one say of the summer capital of the Philippines, Baguio City? It never ceases to amaze me with its miles of Pine tree park lands. The Americans certainly knew a place worth beautifying. Yet, for me, it is the amazing building of family houses that are built on mountain perpendicular rocky sides. Building that could never be deemed possible in England. What ingenuity! What strength of character in the Filipino man and woman!
My wife, Helen, and I would like to express our profoundest appreciation to the beautiful Mayor, Kimi S. Cojuangco, for dispatching the town’s online envoy to usher us to some scenic beauties that made our short vacation a momentous event.
By the way, as a musician, the Philippine National Anthem rides high along with the French Anthem.
Credits:
Photo courtesy of OPGlasser.
Article was solicited by Sison’s online envoy, LAnudon.
Filed in Guest Writer, People | 2 responses so far
emz Apr 26th 2008 at 08:10 am 1
We are indeed so lucky to have a new talented contributor! His picturesque descriptions are just fascinating. Just what you’d hear from anyone who’ve fallen in love with a beautiful country like ours, and a lovely barrio as Sagunto. And gosh, they have settled in that best spot uphill witnessing nature’s freshness every day. That’s the perfect way to spend our latter age…and of course, remember our youth picking guava fruits, hopping from branch to branch in those rows of seesaw-ing trees. Are you planning to make a resort around there? Great to read vignettes in vivid detail like this. Please keep writing Mr. Brownlow. Thanks for joining us!
janet Apr 27th 2008 at 03:44 pm 2
Hi Tony,
I remember when we visited you and Helen in March and you told us the story about your first visit to the PI. I never thought I’d be reading it here. Anyway, I enjoyed meeting you and Helen. I hope to see both of you again one day when I visit. The pictures from the sunset on your balcony are some of the best ones that I took in Sagunto.
Janet