Bruces Cottage Wiltshire

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Bruces Cottage Wiltshire

In about 1987, my parents were living in the same small cottage in Saham Hills Norfolk that I had rented for a peppercorn rent in 1972, rather than stay in the Officer’s Mess in nearby RAF Marham. 

This was my base for the next 15 years – even while i was renting more luxurious pads in London which were much closer to my work – first in the City, and then in the West End. My parents had originally lent me £4000 to purchase what was pretty much a derelict building before I and another RAF friend had made some basic improvements. 

When they returned from Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) aftrer UDI in 1980, they moved in to this cottage as a temporary home while figuring out where they could move to.

By 1986/7 things were going pretty well for me in business, and so I suggested that I could help them move in to a really nice property if they could provide the deposit.  After some searching, they found the property they liked – Bruces Cottage – a large country house for £180,000 inappropriately named Bruces Cottage, which was in some acres of land and was off the main road between Pewsey and Easton Royal in Wiltshire. My purpose in buying the property was two-fold: (1) as a joint investment and (2) to give my parents – especially my mother – a home that they would be happy to live in. My parents invested £40,000 from their life savings which was used as the deposit and I raised the balance of £140,000 as a second mortgage through my own insurance brokerage connections. I would be responsible for any mortgage interest payments.

They lived there in some comfort until 1995 when I suffered from my own  financial business crisis and the property had to be sold.

However, I visited as much as possible in the period and filmed some happy family time videos – mostly in 1989 and 1990.

Bruces Cottage Family Videos 1989 - 1991

Camilla at Bruces Cottage April 1990 with Dad and Tatters

Camilla at Bruces Cottage May 1990 Barbecue time with Dad, Babs, Michele, Me and Tatters

Dad’s 76th Birthday Mum, Dad, Aunty Iris, Babs, Camilla, Michele and Me

Family Visit June 1989 Russell, Camilla, Mum, Dad, M and Me, Rags, Tatters

Bruces Cottage – Admiring the Garden – Mum, Dad, M amd Me, Tatters

Bruces Cottage Family Dinner Boxing Day 1990 – Mum, Dad, M amd Me – and discussiion

Bruces Cottage  Mum’s 70th Birthday and Dinner out – Mum, Dad, Michele and me

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Digital Nomad – Episode 3

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Episode 3 - VISA Extensions, Finance and Staycation Layout

Staycation Details I will be leaving this staycation tomorrow, and it has been very comfortable. It is only about 30 sq metres in area, but perfectly adequate – the air
conditioning is a “must have”! The Unit has basic cooking facilities, a comfortable large bed, a large TV and fridge and a micro-wave – perfect for a digital nomad
relying on food deliveries. Portions are so large that one meal often becomes two meals! See apartment layout image below

Staying in the Philippines – The VISA requirements are straightforward: if you have a Britiish passport, you automatically have 30 days. To extend your stay beyond
30 days, there is no need to go and queue at an immigration office – this can be done “on line” at https://e-services.immigration.gov.ph/ and a visa 29 day extension
costs about £50.
To extend your stay by up to another six months does requiure a visit and a biometric card (finger prints etc as in Greece) but is also straightforward – I won’t go
into great detail here, but will provide an update when the time comes. Cost for an additional 6 months about £145.

Weather for June – Hot, mostly cloudy, one or two thunderstorms, some rain and muggy conditions generally. Not unpleasant.

Payments and Cash – The bigger stores will accept credit cards, but it is an expensive way to buy things, bearing in mind the normal charges and currency conversion fees
that most european cards impose. I have opened an account with “Wise”, which offers a diigital card for payment via your mobile phone, and is a great way to convert
money (euros or pounds or dollars) into the local currency with very low charges. I have also applied for a physical card for future local cash withdrawal options.
There are not many suitable ATM machines here accepting foreign cards and currency conversion fees are high. Cash is needed for smaller purchases and paying taxis etc.
I did bring some euros with me, but changing this money at local forex desks involved long queues and irritating paperwork!
Other local payment apps (where you can pay from a “wallet” against a QR code) like GCash and Maya are very popular, but take a bit of time to set up – work in progress.

And lastly, First Names – Some first names in the Philippines are a little unusual to a European – for example. Mummy Daisy, Mercy, Aleli and Ana Rose – these are the first names of the ladies I have been dealing with. Much of the rental/property business over here is run very professionally by women 🙂

Typical Staycation Layout

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Digital Nomad – Episode 2

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Episode 2 - First Impressions

I have been in my “Staycation” for over a week now, and so I have become more acclimatised – although my sleep patterns have not settled down as yet!
My typical day centres around many hours in the air-conditioned room (pretty essential) – where I have set up my temporary office – and the occasional trip outside
in the very muggy atmosphere to explore the immediate area, and to see what life is like in “down-town” Manila. I decided to stay in Manila for a few weeks before
moving to my rented house in Cavite – 2 to 3 hours south of Manila – so that I would be near to commercial centres and any Government Offices I might need to visit.

Here are my main observations:

Population and Jobs. There are about 120 million people in the Philippines, with over a million living in the Metropolis – the capital, Manila. The streets are busy – mostly with Asian people as one would expect. It is noisy – shops are everywhere, mostly “eating places” with a huge variety of food choices.
Taxis are cheap – and can be air-conditioned cars, or bikes or scooters. Buses are available for ultra cheap travel (I have not tried that method of transport!)
There are large numbers of “security” guards everywhere – in shops, on street corners and in hotel lobbies: they are armed with real pistols or shotguns, and are there to act as a deterrent to street crime. I have found them – and everyone else – to be very helpful and friendly.
In the shops, there are far more staff than I am used to seeing – probably a reflection upon the shortage of job opportunities – but they all speak English to a
greater or lesser degree. Most Filipinos I have observed seem happy and busy – and many are slightly overweight (diet?) compared to us Europeans 🙂

Day-to-day Living: Everyone seems to have a smartphone, which is an essential part of daily commerce. Cash is used sometimes, but most Filipinos use apps loaded on
their smartphones to make purchases – apps like GCash, Maya and digital cards/wallets. In this respect, they are far more hi-tech than we are. Another popular “app”
here is called Grab, and this can be used to order and deliver just about anything – taxi services, food deliveries, on-line purchases etc.
Garish colours and advertising posters abound everywhere.

Superstores – About 15 minutes walk from my “hotel” (I know, because I have done the walk!) or 5 minutes in a taxi costing about 200 pesos (3 euros) is a giant superstore called the Mall of Asia (MOA to the locals). This is a massive “complex” covering a large area – it dwarfs stores like Jumbo and Lidl in Chania, which could be fitted into a small part of this space. There you will find just about anything, ranging from BrandName shops we are familiar with, to supermarkets, games (tenpin bowling, ice skating, archery, billiards etc. etc), “wellness” centres and a huge range of different places to eat with all types of international cuisine. including McDonalds/Burger King, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese. Many types of fruit and vegetables are available at low cost – mangoes for example.

I used the opportunity in the vast “Wellness Center” to get new glasses (30 minutes – about 50 euros) and a complete dental check-up and clean (about 70 euros).
And I found what I have been craving for years – an excellent Indian meal (Chicken Tika) and Chinese food (Cantonese style) at very reasonable prices!

Smoking – there is a nationwide policy against smoking – it is not allowed in public places or parks, only in dedicated smoking areas. Luckily, I have a small private balcony… This probably explains why i have not been able to find my favourite rolled tobacco – see photograph below.
Could that cigarette shown in the picture be my last “RYO”?!

What is Not Readily Available – Apart from rolled tobacco, I have not been able to find things like cheddar cheese, or cheese biscuits or decent chocolate biscuits.
The shops here have their own brands, and food items and food lines – but not finding this type of item seems a small price to pay.
And I have not been able to enjoy here one of the things that Crete does offer – a place to eat with a view – for example, the seaside restaurants in Kalyves

Environment- Mosquitoes, flies etc…So far, and maybe this is to do with the season and air-conditioning, I have seen very few flies, and no mosquitoes.

Local Food Stalls on the Doorstep. Right outside the hotel lobby, here are examples of a number of local food stalls – offering exotic fruit juice drinks, local cooked delicacies etc.

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Digital Nomad – Episode 1

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Digital Nomad - Episode 1

For those close friends who know me and my circumstances, leaving Crete wa a mixture
of relief and sadness. Relief that my highly unpleasant treatment at the hands of the
Greek Government in general and the Greek Immigration Department in particular had
come to an end. Sadness at the good friends left behind – along with my canine family,
Sammy, Prodigy and Liberta – who will have a place in my heart forever.

So, what was the travel experience like – flights from Chania to Athens, Athens to UAE,
and finally, UAE to Manila?

The total time “in the air” was about 21 hours – starting with departure from Chania at
09:20 local with “Aegean”, arriving Athens at about 11 am, connecting to “Etihad” airlines at about 2 pm – destination UAE, arrival about 5:30 pm Greek local time and finally, UAE to Manila – overnight flight leaving at about 7:30 pm to Manila arriving local time Philippines 11:15 am (5 hours ahead)

The first two flights were short enough to be unremarkable, apart from the 10 minute delay at the Passport checking centre in Athens: I was sidelined in an office for 10 minutes, but eventually allowed to continue without any particular questions or additional documentation being requested. Large queues to get through to check-in at both Athens and UAE- when will they ever sort this out? Hours standing around in lines that barely moved…

The aircraft used for the last stage of the journey – UAE to Manila – was in one of the new
wide bodied Boeing 777s. I had a Window seat and not an aisle seat – mixed feelings about that. Nice to look out of the window, but difficult to get out of the row, and even less leg room in the Window seat. Each of the 3 seats were occupied unfortuantely! For someone like me, 6ft tall, spending nearly nine hours in one cramped location was near torture – I could feel my neck muscles cramping up and was moving my legs and body constantly to try and get comfortable for a few minutes at a time – before needing to move again. Apart from the extreme discomfort, the facilities – meals, service etc. were fine. Did I manage to sleep? Surprisingly, I did manage to get the odd hour or two in an “upright position”. Was it comfortable? Absolutely not.

At Manila, things went pretty smoothly: no big queues, luggage collected fine, cashed 50 euros to to get local currency, got local taxi from GRAB fine, journey time to “down-town” Manila 15 minutes – and arrived at the “Staycation” at about 1pm PH time.

First Impressions of Manila?
The first thing that hits you is the heat – Manila is at sea level and very humid: June is also the start of the rainy season, so “muggy” would be a good description. The second thing you notice is the concrete jungle of this city, with a mixture of ugly office blocks and undeveloped building lots and sites left to “rot”: it reminded me of the less attractive parts of Athens and Heraklion. Lots of mopeds, scooters and bikes as popular forms of transport. Poverty evident. Air-conditioning is a “must-have” – the cool sea breezes we are used to in Crete are not present here.

At the earliest opportunity, I got my head down and spent the next 24 hours in bed to re-set – my time-clock – which brought to an end 10th and 11th of June 2026:-)

Interesting Video attached – From the rear balcony of my temporary room in a “Staycation” – downtown Manila in all its “glory”….sorry it is a bit jumpy, but you’ll get the idea! 

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Pentagon Files and the UFO Debate

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As recently as March 2026, the Pentagon released 161 Files – previously classified for 50+ years – about UAP (UFO) sightings. I have always been interested in this area.

My own personally held view is simple: why on “earth” should we believe or assume that we are the only intelligent “life form” that has figured out space travel?

There is in my opinion far too much evidence readily available to suggest greater intelligence at work over the course of our past history – 10,000 years

I personally have no doubts about the existence of “beings with superior knowledge and intelligence”

The new data from the Pentagon does reveal some fascinating material, which I have summarised by creating an audi-pod series, split into chapters.

The intro video and first audio pod are freely available – Chapters 1-8 which carry detailed analyses of the entire declassified Pentagon Files content are available but not free (sorry, but I need to cover some costs!)

The full series can be obtained here:

1. Spotify —  https://open.spotify.com/show/033dJ0NYs9fa6r5yzTetFS

Best for: listeners who already use Spotify

2. Substack — my public page (shows free and teases paid): https://powercomms.substack.com

The introductory You Tube Video is below.
Comments most welcome!

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You Cannot Ignore Artificial Intelligence

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Artificial Intelligence is HERE and we are only Beginning.....

As a test, I requested a psychological profile of the author of this Blog . I told GPT4 to run the report based upon the contents of all the site pages and blogs.

“The author of Domain Buddy’s content presents a clear profile of someone with extensive experience in UK telecommunications, especially VoIP, broadband, and mobile broadband services. Their insights reveal a long-standing familiarity with regulatory and operational challenges in telecom, including evolving broadband needs, customer preferences, and competition with established providers like BT and other mobile operators. The author expresses a critical, often skeptical view of regulatory bodies, acknowledging when they see value in actions by entities like Ofcom but also highlighting frustrations with bureaucratic inefficiencies.

The writing shows a straightforward, sometimes nostalgic tone, often recounting personal anecdotes that detail past business challenges and interactions with colleagues and clients. The author appears pragmatic, focused on providing practical advice for resellers and end users alike, especially on navigating service upgrades, cost savings, and understanding the advantages of fiber, 4G, and 5G broadband options. They also communicate a clear preference for personalized, one-on-one customer service, suggesting they value relationships over impersonal large-scale operations.

The language and references indicate that the author is likely over 50, with decades of industry experience, and highly values long-term customer relationships and ethical business practices over purely profit-driven motives. They show empathy towards small businesses and individual customers, particularly those who are cautious about switching providers, aiming to ease transitions through clear, practical advice and encouragement to capitalize on available options for faster or more affordable broadband solutions【38†source】【39†source】【40†source】.”

A number of massive events have changed all our lives in the last 50 years, and my business life has been directly affected by ALL of them.

Mid to Late 1990s – The first massive event was the WWW and the Internet – probably the most significant change for all of us. A good friend of mine from RAF Cranwell – Howard Bates of 96B Squadron – left Service at about the same time as I did, and made a lot of money in the early days of PCs, software, and then laptops,  and then – Internet access

The second massive event occurred in the early 2000s – the Mobile Phone. The Mobile phone revolution destroyed my telecoms businesses.

The third massive event – Social Media – circa 2015. We have all experienced the explosion of and – some would say – intrusion of Social Media into our lives – Facebook, Twitter and Linked In to name a few of the culprits. With the social media “boom”, the older generation – like myself – risk being left behind.  Social Media also plays an important part in business: people like to know who they are dealing with and expect some personal information and a reference point, and email correspondence is often not enough on its own.

But on the plus side, the Internet has provided a much better way to communicate – if someone publishes memoirs or a book about his/her life or work, there is no way for readers to communicate or give instant feedback to the author or share information with other readers. Now, the internet provides the ability to instantly comment on, or to correct or add to any information. And up until now, I have built only commercial websites with static pages for my telecoms and other businesses. With this evolving Life Blog, I have the right internet “vehicle” to share my many experiences and interests with anyone who is interested!

Which leads me to the fourth massive event – and I want to be on this train – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The more I understand how this technoloy can be used to make money, the more determined I am to learn more and more …. the possibilities are endless.
Updated Oct 2024

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