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looking for Fil group in Cambridge

Discussion in 'Introduce Yourself' started by Dione, Sep 25, 2016.

  1. Dione
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    Dione New Member

    hello guys , just wondering if there is a filipino group or events in Cambridge
  2. Ciaran mc manus
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    Ciaran mc manus Member

    Any Filipino community in Cambridge
  3. Dione
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    Dione New Member

    Yeah, just wondering if there's any group
  4. CampelloChris
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    CampelloChris Well-Known Member

    This is a little old, but maybe worth your investigation


    Filipinos in Cambridge

    Monday 23 January 2006 00.05 GMT
    Estimated population 3,000-5,000
    First arrived 1999

    Centre Cherry Hinton, also Cambridge and surrounding villages

    Technically speaking, Cambridge could be the most diverse place in Britain. It is a small city whose famous university attracts large numbers of people from around the world. And yet it remains very English, scarcely marked by its exotic but transient population - except at noon on Sundays. Then, in the suburb of Cherry Hinton, the St Philip Howard Catholic church throngs like downtown Manila.
    Each year, the Philippines trains a surplus of professionals, especially nurses, to take work overseas. Traditionally, these jobs have been in the US or Middle East, but when the NHS suddenly found itself feeling flush, Britain was added to the list. As a result, small Filipino communities now cluster around hospitals all over the country. The Cambridge group is probably the largest in Britain, thanks to the enthusiastic recruiting of Addenbrooke's hospital, a vast complex in the south of the city that now employs 513 Filipino nurses. A further 3,000 or so work elsewhere in the county.

    It is Philippine Independence Day, and the church and the lawn outside are packed for a special Sunday celebration. The hospital's Filipino choir will be singing hymns in Tagalog during the service, and a group of Filipino men will be invested as Knights of St Columba. Afterwards there is to be a bring-and-buy sale of Filipino food, followed by bingo. The day before was the Cambridge Filipino basketball tournament, and plans are already under way for the Filipino Community in Cambridge's Christmas party and for the Miss Little Philippines Cambridge beauty pageant. It would be fair to say that this is a very active community.

    Few are more active that Honey Catherine who has begun dancing before mass. "I like dancing," she explains. Honey's mother, Maria, is a nurse at Addenbrooke's. She left a job in Singapore to come here and is glad she did. "I like the weather," she says. "In the Philippines it's hot and sticky, and she's a very cold-blooded baby. It's better pay-wise, too, and the people here are very good, unlike in Singapore ... Don't ask," she adds, seeing that I am about to.

    After the service, Noel Cruz dashes past. He is a junior charge nurse at the hospital's transplant unit and today's master of ceremonies. "The government of the UK gave us a golden opportunity," he says,"equal job placement, equal job opportunity, and treating us like an ambassador of goodwill. In America, they see you as a contract worker. They would not give you an opportunity." And then he is whisked away again.

    Outside, while their parents prepare the food, excited children of all ages are swirling about the grass. If today's gathering is a fair sample - featuring dozens of pregnant women, about four hundredweight of babies and not a single pensioner - the average age of a Cambridge Filipino must be about eight. England T-shirts, of various kinds, are popular with all ages.

    By now, the feast has begun. There is a whole roast pig, pieces of which are being rapidly sliced, weighed and sold. There are noodles and spring rolls, black puddings and white ones. At one of the tables, Esther Bravo is selling ginataang halo-halo (translation: "milk with mix-mix"), a classic Filipino dish of tapioca, banana, plantain, sweet potato and coconut that hovers ambiguously between a main course and a pudding. Is it traditional for the occasion? "Not really," says Bravo. "Back home we don't usually celebrate Independence Day."

    Gradually, from within the hubbub, a chanted countdown coalesces. Noel Cruz is leading it from the pulpit. "Three ... Two ... One!" "Game ka na ba?" shouts Cruz. "Game Na!" the room replies in unison. The words ("Are you ready to play the game?" "We're ready to play the game!") come from a famous Philippine gameshow. Think "Nice to see you! To see you, nice!"

    Quickly, Cruz explains the rules and begins calling numbers, in English, with epithets. "Twenty-five! It's Christmas time!" "Age of puberty! It's 15!" "Sixty-nine! Paborito ng mag-asawa!" The grown-ups giggle lewdly at this last one. One of them finally agrees to translate. "Sixty-nine! A favourite of couples."

    Involuntary shrieks of tension greet each new call. When the winner approaches to have his card checked, Cruz can barely keep a grip on the situation. But something is wrong. The scrutineers hand his card to Cruz. "No," he announces, elated, "it's a false bingo alarm!" Pandemonium. "Game ka na ba?" "Game na!".

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