Monday, July 6th

The caravan seems to be moving again with regards to the sale of our house. Seven or eight people came through for an inspection during the week, several of them for a second look and the agent received three or four firm offers.  One fellow offered $5000 more then the asking price, and had already spoken to his bank so his offer was accepted.

Because this second offer has happened so quickly, there is still a chance that we will get the Longford unit.  Jamie managed to get the developer to agree to keep our offer open but we're not holding our breath.  It's out of our hands and we just have to let matters unfold.

This week's topic for the writing group was Black Pearl and here is my 566-word effort:

One time, in our travels, we found ourselves in the Philippines.  On this particular day, we were travelling to the island of Mindoro and we had been promised that it was famous for its white sand beach and its black pearls.  Locals told us the pearls were found in the Sulu Sea and were better quality than the more famous Tahitian black pearls.  But they would say that, wouldn’t they?

There were regular modern ferries which travelled to the island and the fare was only $8 but our hosts were determined to give us an experience to remember, so we lined up on the beach to embark on a traditional wooden banca.  We removed our shoes and I rolled up my trouser legs as the waves seemed to be getting higher.  It was Typhoon season and being on the open sea in a wooden boat didn’t appeal to me.  However, after a rather wet trip, we arrived safely and took a jeepney ride to the famous beach.

We had been warned about the hawkers who went along the beach looking for tourists to scam.  All the markets and street pedlars in the Philippines, it seems, are controlled by criminal gangs from Mindanao.  Young people are recruited to spend a few months in some market or resort area trying to extract money from tourists looking for a bargain and it wasn’t long before a clean-cut young man accosted us, saying “Would ma’am like to see some beautiful black pearls?”

My wife was unsure, remembering her grandmother’s warning that black pearls were unlucky but he reached into his bag, took out a velvet pouch and revealed a full string of black pearls.  He whipped out a cigarette lighter, ran the flame along the pearls to prove they were real and suggested a price. My wife was smitten and would have accepted but I know what is expected and suggested a lower price. We haggled for a bit and soon agreed on what was fair.  

Buoyed by my success I decided I needed to buy a watch and asked him if he had an Omega Chronograph.  “Yes, sir,” he replied, hurrying away and coming back with a stunning watch and quoted what I thought was a ridiculously low price.  More haggling ensued and agreement was reached.  The watchband needed a link taken from it so the young man crouched down on the sand and took out the appropriate tools from his bag and the job was done.

It was time for lunch so we headed off to find our friends.  We had clearly been identified as ‘soft touches’ so were surrounded by other hawkers as we headed for the restaurant.  They jostled us, pulled at our clothes to attract our attention and generally were a nuisance but eventually we arrived where we were going.  I was keen to show off my new purchase but, when I held up my arm, the watch was gone!  During the short walk from the beach to the restaurant, the watch had disappeared from my wrist.

I know it was a scam, and I can’t work out how they did it, but I hate to admit I have been fooled so I am blaming the incident on the Curse of the Black Pearl.  I know my wife agrees because she has never worn the pearls since, just in case something else goes wrong.