England and its environs returned to my mind last week when I was surprised to receive this text message from a vaguely familiar but unidentified sender: "Hi, Butch, greetings from your room (Bronte) at HC. Great progress today in understanding why my work does not work. Otherwise, loads of insecurity and tea!" Instantly I realized where the sender was: "Bronte" was the name of my room at Hawthornden Castle in Lasswade, Scotland, about an hour’s bus ride from Edinburgh.
The present castle (now owned by the American heiress Drue Heinz) goes back to at least the 1600s, and sits on top of a cliff overlooking a sheer drop down to the River Esk; Romans had passed through here before, and early Scots carved a dungeon of sorts into the cliffside. The writing life doesn’t get any better than this – a late autumn evening, with a glass of sherry in hand and a storyline in your head, sitting on the rock wall and looking down at that silver ribbon of river threading the velvet woods.
I had gone there on a writing fellowship for a month in 1994; it was where I had written "Penmanship" and three other stories ("We Global Men," "Voyager," and "Except Felisa," if I remember right) in a burst of white heat I haven’t experienced since. Many other Filipinos had preceded me there – Rofel Brion, Eric Gamalinda, Krip Yuson, Danton Remoto, Ricky de Ungria, Marge Evasco – and many more would follow: Gina Apostol, Ramon Bautista, Tony Enriquez, and Cyan Abad, among others. We had computers, but at that time there was no Internet and no cell phones, not even TV in the castle; we were blissfully on our own.
Every room upstairs was named after a famous writer ("Boswell" was another one) and, in a charming tradition, they inscribe your name on the door once you’ve sent them published proof of what you’d written there. I was still smoking heavily when I stayed in Hawthornden, and must have left Bronte reeking of tobacco for many months. I almost burned the place down – ironically not from my smoking, but because of an angry spark that leapt out of a cord of green wood that I had carelessly tossed into the fireplace (what do we Pinoys know about these things?) on to my bedcover. What a disaster that would have been, not only for me but for all the world’s writers who hadn’t yet been to Hawthornden.
(You need to have had at least one book of fiction or poetry published or completed and a work plan to apply. Write The Administrator, Hawthornden Castle International Retreat for Writers, Lasswade, Midlothian, EH18 1EG, United Kingdom, for details and an application form. Applications close in September for one-month residencies the following year. And, oh – everything’s free in the Castle, but you’ll need to pay your way or find a sponsor for your fare. Also check out http://www.writersunion.ca/list.pdf for other writing fellowships and residencies around the world.)
But who was my mystery textmate? "Sarge Lacuesta – you recommended me, remember?" But of course! I’d recommended Sarge and another of our best young fictionists, Mia Gonzalez (who’s also been accepted and who should be going there soon). "Find your way down to the dungeon and the River Esk," I texted Sarge back. Sarge’s nervous excitement came through: "Will do, as soon as I find my way out of this nasty cough – and this literary insecurity. But everything is beautiful. Edinburgh is this world’s Rivendell!"
Have a good time writing there, Sarge – I know you will.
"In the five-day International Public Speaking Competition 2003, which was held in Dartmouth House, London, from May 12 to 16, there was competitive public speaking for only one day. Four simultaneous heats or elimination rounds were held that morning. In my heat were the delegates from Hungary, Moldova, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, Armenia, Lithuania and Mauritius. Those who remained among the 53 participants from over 30 different countries competed in the other three rounds.
"In line with the assigned general topic for this year, which was ‘Local Value, Global Worth,’ my speech was centered on the enigmatic bayanihan and how bringing this characteristic to life is the key to genuine peace and solidarity in the global neighborhood we all find ourselves in today. I was extremely pleased with the way my speech had turned out, regardless of the fact that it had been prepared in less than a week and that, in practicing my delivery, I had to contend not only with the hotel bathroom that severely restricted my movements and unrealistically amplified my voice but also with my Polish roommate’s suspicious and cautious inquiries about the sanity of one who kept up a stream of constant chatter with the toilet bowl. In addition to that, I had complete trust in the insightful suggestions and useful supplementary information, both of which were generously provided to me by the powerhouse team of Dr. Jose Dalisay and Mr. Krip Yuson in Manila, and Ambassador Cesar Bautista, Mr. Leo Herrera-Lim and Mr. Ed Maranan in London.
"As I mentally prepared for my turn to speak, I was very grateful to find Mr. Herrera-Lim, the first consul and secretary of the Embassy, Mr. Maranan, the information officer of the Embassy, and Mrs. Loline Reed, the chairman of the Overseas Women’s Association and my most gracious host for the days I spent in England after the tournament itself, among the audience. While speaking, I found myself most passionate and sincere, enveloped as I was by the pride and honor that, for me, goes hand in hand with being part of the culture that gave rise to the wonderful and relevant bayanihan. When I had finished, I was satisfied that my personal expectations had been met. I was also flattered that the delegate from Lithuania and her teacher took time out to congratulate me on what they said was an ‘amazing’ speech.
"Then came the endless wait, sadistically situated between the part of the competition that I could control and the part that I could not. I readily admit to entertaining what I felt were rather realistic hopes about proceeding to the next and last round. In this tournament, I knew that competing in the finals was the surest way to bring honor and recognition to the Philippines, something I wanted to do very badly. But it was not to be – my name and our country were not among those that the judges announced.
"Upon realizing this, the disappointment that I felt was bordering on the overwhelming. I was a bit comforted when Mr. Herrera-Lim, Mr. Maranan and Mrs. Reed confessed that they too thought that I had made it. My spirits rose a little more when that same delegate from Lithuania, who had, by the way, been chosen to compete in the finals, was eloquent and downright convincing in insisting to me that I should have gotten through the elimination round as well. It was at this point that the truth finally dawned on me: My lack of official awards was not, in any way, tantamount to failure in my privileged task of representing our country.
"That afternoon, the final round was held. The eight competitors were from the following countries: Australia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia-Moscow, Serbia and Montenegro and South Africa. After the last word of the last speech was uttered, it was clear to me who most deserved the title: Palesa Mohapi from South Africa. Her speech, ‘African Renaissance,’ was so craftily delivered with her hypnotic voice and her subtle yet expressive body movements that you could not help but agree with her on every single point. Later on, she did emerge as both the official Champion and the Audience’s Choice, a rarity in tournaments of this sort. Indeed, in the choice of this year’s winner, there had been no mistake. The second prize was awarded to Patrick Caldwell from Australia, and the Best Non-Native English speaker was Arthur Krebbers from the Netherlands.
"And now I am back home, and this eventful experience is three weeks behind me. Truth be told, I am most optimistic about our future in this competition. With two years of experience behind us now and with the growing pool of excellent public speakers in our country, I am absolutely certain that the prestigious title is within reach. More than winning, however, I have come to understand that this tournament is about accepting and appreciating the diversity of humanity and, at the same time, proudly proclaiming and exhibiting the many unique and special gifts that the Philippines, as a nation, has to offer. I definitely learned so much from the International Public Speaking Competition 2003. And I do promise that the experience that has already benefited me will go a very long way in doing good to the rest of the country."