When summer has gone

Once upon a time (and such a very long time ago!) when we were children, at the onset of summer, we said goodbye to notebooks, books, teachers and school. Time to go "somewhere" and the direction was always to the sea and with days in the sun, sand, and games. A mountain retreat as an objective was never considered unless, of course, it was Baguio City.

During such times, our destination was an ancestral house in Asturias and it became a reunion of sorts with practically all my first-degree cousins like Phineas Alburo (Under Sec. Dept. of Tourism), Raoul Osmeña Alonso (retired psychiatrist), Adelina Yrastorza Larrazabal (former Governor, Leyte), et. al. Such a carefree life and when summer ended (with matching sun tan) batteries were recharged and the reality of life in the city seemed more tolerable.

Today, I am privileged to work with the M Lhuillier Group of Companies and every year, M Lhuillier Philippines celebrates the joys of summer, calling it The Family Day. This year, it was held at Tambuli Beach Club East, Maribago, Lapulapu City with the theme" One Big Happy Family United with God at Work and at Play".

Since 1985, when I joined this group, I saw M Lhuillier grew by leaps and bounds. By 2006, the Lhuillier Family has indeed grown very very big, murag one barrio! And those present last May 21 were only members of the Cebu clan of this family. There are employees in Negros, Iloilo, Leyte, etc. In fact, there is no province in the Philippines without members of this Family!

And like a barrio, there was the fiesta and what is a fiesta and food. Where food abounds, ahem! your food columnist is never far behind, exercising those muscles of the taste buds.

A buffet lunch was prepared: I saw the Native Salad Bar with the Ensaladang talong, Ensaladang pipino, Green Mango with bagoong, and Lato seaweed salad. Nice but my system has been programmed to ignore lunch and it needed much coaxing to reboot.

Some wines were available and white wine was perfect to quench my thirst on this hot summer day. But again, I imposed a restriction…. no alcohol beverage before 5:00 p.m. (Philippine time, no cheating, please!). I opted for mineral water na lang!

While the performances (dance marathon, guitar team recital, games, raffle draws) were in motion, I cautiously viewed the rest of the dishes (chicken al Maryland, bam-i espesyal, chopsuey guisado, inihaw na tanguigue, lechon manok, broiled squids, lechon baboy) and finally decided on the crispy fried shrimps as appetizers for lunch. Nice!

What is a barrio fiesta without the lechons? However, the roasted pigs were too neatly wrapped in paper and appeared very sterile. No! Lechon, for me, should be freshly lifted from the charcoal embers, the long bamboo pole drawn out, and the crisp reddish skin picked by bare fingers, lightly scorched and swept clean by smacking lips...that is lechon!

More games and more prizes were won while I began to search for the source of the wondrous smoke. My food quest finally ended when viewing the lechon na-ti (roasted calf) and this is a good place to park for lunch. With a small plate (honest, only a platito) of roasted veal with matching sauce, I finally got my system in full motion.

But if there was a vote as to the most popular item in the menu, the winning line would be the booth where the Magnolia ice cream was continuously served.

More games were played and more prizes awarded by Michael Lhuillier (Amparito was in Paris with Michel Lhuillier, accepting the Presidency of the National Chapter of the Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs) while the children continued to swim in the pools and in the sea under the watchful of parents.

Holding a can of refreshing pop cola, I read the ML OPEC Daltan's Programmes for 2006, which includes another tradition: the Christmas Party. That's good planning and this can only happen in an atmosphere of industrial peace and a cordial relationship between employees and the owners.

When you a need a microphone to announce than one child was lost then found, I begin to understand that M Lhuillier Philippines has grown and still continues to grow. And how truly blessed we are to be counted as members of this family.

* * *

E-mail: [email protected]