I SAY, IT'S SATURDAY... I MUST BE IN BIRMINGHAM

Bless you, Filcoms and your Barrio Fiestas. Because of you, I got my first glimpse of the English countryside on my way to my first out-of-London consular mission, in beautiful Birmingham!

And to the Embassy -- oh, you guys! -- you didn't have to set my consular missions in the order of The Smiths' "Panic"! How did you know that's what I always wanted! You guys.

Because of an early morning start and cold, drizzly weather, there weren't that many people and not much for the embassy to do when the event kicked-off. To their credit, the emcees gamely pushed on, audience or no. By the afternoon, however, things really picked up, helped in no small part by clever and creative performances by the Filcom. Two of the crowd favorites: a rap group called Makata (I think), and a dance troupe that mixed pop with the sarong dance. In the words of the emcee after the dancers' superb number, ang tataray!

Mismo.

At the end of the first day, we headed straight to our motel in a neighborhood that reminded me a lot of the Sta. Rosa, Laguna area (especially that part when you're driving home from Tagaytay towards SLEX and pass through some hills and subdivisions before reaching the intersection with the strip malls). The whole place seemed pretty quiet, but the only two restaurants nearby - both of them TGIF types - plus our motel diner were all packed. The huge bowling alley nearby also seemed to be doing well.

What would Morrisey make of it all?

The following morning, a Santacruzan was staged on the fair grounds. As the parade moved around, the emcee kept on proudly yelling "This is the longest Santacruzan...in the history of England!!!" And, indeed, this Santacruzan did seem to have everything we'd have back home, down to the Reyna Elena escorts who look like they just came back from a Saturday afternoon in Megamall.

And trailing the procession was a whole other set of beauties. Say what you want, but they marched on with little to protect them from the cold and rain other than their gowns and a smile. (actually, one did have an umbrella...made of flowers.)

Anyway, a good time was had by all, and I thoroughly enjoyed my first out-of-town sortie. To Leeds, Carlisle, Dublin et al, the bar has been set. You can't stage just any Santacruzan now; you have to deal with that whole History of England thing, too.