I arrived in Manila on a very warm evening after a 14 hour flight and got an Uber through the buzzing streets to my apartment. It reminded me of my time travelling in SE Asia years ago and I had a twinge of nostalgia - all the people and stalls and motorbikes and crazy little tricycles (which are like side cars on motorbikes but way more decorative). I take sharp inhales as I watched people walk confidently through the speeding cars and bikes and marvelled at how everything works smoothly in this seemingly chaotic city, just like in a hive of bees.
My host Bea met me at my apartment the first morning, in a fancy area called Bonifacio Global City which is also where the Maxus office is. A cityscape of skyscrapers, wide roads and walkable green spaces, a real oasis amongst a very busy city of almost 13m people. I have everything I could wish for right on my doorstep – gyms, supermarkets and a deliciously wide selection of places to eat. I had a mango shake every day! Bea was immediately sweet and attentive. It was a novelty walking out into the hot, humid street where I only had to cross the road to get to work.
Maxus Philippines is an office of around thirty people which is such a contrast to our London office of two floors and three hundred and fifty faces. There are moments where I feel like I’m amongst siblings rather than co-workers, with the way everyone laughs and plays and works very hard side by side, at times late into the night. I learnt that media behaviour is very much shaped by the geography of the country (there are over seven thousand islands) and mobile data is expensive and not reliant, as we found a couple of times trying to take taxis being directed by Waze. It hit home how lucky we are in London with our mobiles glued to our hips.
In the evenings I was able to take short walks to bright and shiny shopping areas where everyone was out amongst the lights and Christmas decorations and lovely warm weather. I noticed how many children and families there were, and I learned that the median age in the Philippines is 21! What a young country and it shows in the energy. Bea made sure I was staying near a beautiful yoga studio with views over a glistening city scape which I was really happy about.
Bea did a great job entertaining me, taking me on day trips which some of the team joined in on. There was an inner city walking tour in the old centre where there is a vibrant artsy market and also China Town where we had some yum dumplings. We took a drive to Tagaytay City where there are spectacular views and the most delicious food of the trip – tamarind flavoured veg stew and beef soup.
Maxus Philippines have such a close relationship with their radio partners that we ended up on two different radio talk shows one evening, at drive time with over half a million listeners! Definitely a first for me. They hosts were really funny and light hearted, and spoke about the unique and awesome initiative by Maxus to send people round the globe.
I definitely came at a good time as there was a new office floor to move into and celebrate, and also the Group M Christmas party. The new office celebration kicked off with an acoustic band and ton of food. There was a DJ set up amongst the desks and everyone was very well behaved until darkness fell when they went for the decks and were lining up some banging party tunes. And the Group M Christmas party was such fun, groups from the various agencies rehearsed dance sequences and had a dance off. I’ve never seen so much energy and elation at a Christmas party, needless to say I danced into the night, at one point ending up on the stage holding a sign saying ‘BOOZE’. I made some good friends that night, a few Maxus and Movent people ended up watching the sunrise over the city whilst we were being made a breakfast of egg fried rise and cheese toasties.
Thank you Maxus PH for a great time, I love the work you are doing and I’m definitely going to talk about it here. I think we can learn a thing or two from you all.
Gin may be riding high as the spirit of choice but around the world it's not as simple as ordering a G&T - everywhere does it differently!
In Spain, the biggest market for gin per head of population, order a G&T and you'll get it in a 'copa de balon' - a huge balloon style glass to keep it cool for longer. It will come with anything from cinnamon sticks to rosemary to grapes.
In Germany it's all about the basil smash, serving gin with muddled basil and lemon, mixed with syrup over ice.
For Italy, they've been developing the negroni. A typical G&T will now come with bitter marmalade, orange bitters and fresh orange, and has proved so popular it's being adopted in Colombia and Mexico too.
In Greece the focus for G&Ts has been on the glass and the garnish. It's not too unusual to see your bartender set dried thyme on fire, fill your glass with the smoke and pour in the gin and tonic.
All sound delicious, but I think there's a lot to be said for a plain old gin and tonic made with the best quality ingredients, in a village pub of a Friday night!
It would seem that Isabel Murant is not only showcasing womenswear for H&M, but she's also doing it for the boys. Chunky knitwear, leather and rock star styling all feature in her limited edition collection for H&M. I may not be queuing up for the leather trousers, but have got my eye on some of the jumpers!
