Filipino hospitality at its best

Last Sat was a drama where all ended well.

We were invited to dinner at Amencio & Rose's new place in Moorookyle but when we got there, no one was home and A was not contactable on mobile and landline. It was all very strange, and we wondered if we'd got the date wrong.

Eventually, A was able to reach us and the gathering took place as planned.

We especially give thanks that Beth and J got on so well with Kate and Clark.

Kate and Beth were classmates at Sr Rita Douglas Kinder 3 years ago, but we lost touch when the girls went to different schools. Amencio helped us when we moved into our current house, so hubby tried to return the favour when it was their turn - but was preempted as they decided to move during the week.

Beth is a creature pretty much driven by her moods. She gets overwhelmed by the new - new situations, new people - and has even hidden in her room when we have visitors. So it was wonderful to see how quickly she was able to relax and be part of what was going on at Amencio's: watching Monsters and Aliens in 3D, playing Wii tennis and hide and seek...

The four kids got on so well that at the end of the night, J didn't want to go home. She even let Rose carry her, and said she wanted to sleep over!

As for the adults, we had a fantastic time enjoying slow food, carrying on where we had left off in our friendship, and trying out Amencio's new MagicSing karaoke system - competing to see which team (guys vs girls) scored higher. As Rose jested, it's not fair that the guys get 100 most of the time...just because they have louder voices!

Many thanks to Amencio and Rose for their hospitality and friendship, and Kate and Clark for making our children feel like their new best friends.