IT'S SATURDAY, I MUST BE IN...EAST GRINSTEAD

Life isn't fair sometimes. The good FilCom of East Grinstead (southern UK, local forest is home of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories) just had their Barrio Fiesta washed out by cold wind and hard rain, which was really sad because: a) it was their first time to stage an event like this; and b) they had originally scheduled it for the weekend prior - you know, the weekend when even the Scottish Highlands were basking in gorgeous sunshine. So unfair.

Fortunately, Pinoys are a famously resilient bunch. So foul weather be damned, there'd be a Barrio Fiesta! Sort of!

I mean, at the minimum all you need are:

Some Distinguished Personalities to Open the Event

*ahem* *ahem*


An "Inspirational Message"

The LLDD-Hyphen-L said that I stumbled on some of my lines and said "I would like to thanks everyone..." In my defense, it was freezing cold out and I was in a thin barong, so I might not have been in full control of my jaw anymore.

Food

Hail to the Chefs!! Even in foul weather they managed to set out a great spread, including pansit that was somehow perfectly cooked and mixed - in the pouring rain!! I mean, I can't even make decent timpla cup noodles from the office water cooler. All hail Pinoy chefs!

A Santacruzan

The rain was falling sideways at this point, yet the kids and their proud parents gamely pushed on with the parade. Never underestimate the power of picture-picture in your finest Filipiniana.

Still, the non-stop rain put a real damper on things. Kids couldn't go on the rides, people couldn't visit stalls, no one could eat Chippy without them getting soggy (yuck). Nevertheless, I feel really proud of the East Grinstead FilCom for accomplishing as much as they did under the most miserable of conditions. They displayed national pride, fierce resolve, and the true spirit of the season.

No, LLDD-Hyphen-L, not that one. I said true spirit.