Hi there.

My first post here, many thanks to the mods for approving my joining.

Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Alan from Manchester, UK, age 67 and retired, having spent my time in the Computer Industry, Financial Services and finally Local Government. I first "met" my own "FilipinaRose", Elsa, online on "Date in Asia" in the summer of 2011 while I was doing my first trip to South East Asia. We have a place in Koronadal on the southern island of Mindanao (about an hour north of Gensan) where I am currently posting from. I split my time between the Phils (4 months) and the UK (the rest of the year) - my pension is deemed inadequate by the UK Government to support Elsa for her to get UK residency and I have a number of health conditions that mean I need to be in the UK for part of the year, so life is a compromise!

I've never felt British, as my parents were Polish refugees so I have a different perspective on "Blighty" compared to most Brits but I'm a committed and proud Northerner and Mancunian. I've long been interested in Asian culture and now that I live part of the year here in the Phils, I've grown to love much about the country and its people. I adore being here on Mindanao and through Elsa, I've got to know her batch mates who are a wonderful bunch, as are our neighbours. The Filipino value placed on family and community is something I really admire, a real shame we lost that in the so-called "developed West".

I love photography and computing big time (I build my own PCs in the UK), love music, films, UK TV, drama. I adore nature and the beautiful natural scenery of the Philippines, sorry I'm not into the fancy Westernised resorts, nor the walled expat communities. I much prefer it real and natural and being among locals!

I must admit Tagalog is a struggle for me - it doesn't have any links to the Germanic, Latin and Slavic language families that I'm familiar with - never mind Ilonggo which is the local language here, but I'm sure I'll get there eventually!

Looking forward to "getting to know" the regulars on here, joining in with the chat and adding my pennyworth when appropriate.

Best wishes

Alan