Cigar Night II
By: PP Vince VillafuerteI missed the first Cigar
Fellowship last month. I had looked
forward to it but changed my mind after
seeing the traffic moving from Makati to
Quezon City. I was told that Churchills
Cigar Bar was located at the Edsa Plaza
hotel. I didn't think it was worth
sitting in traffic for one hour in
exchange for a cigar and a glass of wine.
However, the feedback from those who
attended were so favorable that I felt I
missed something. So I decided I would
not miss the next one.
The moment I opened the car door, my
eyeglass fogged due to the aircon blowing
on it the whole trip from Makati. As a
result I couldn't make out the face of
the person welcoming me from the other
side of the glass panel of Churchills.
While I could not make out the face the
profile was a giveaway. One of the
earliest to arrive, director Jun Ymson
took on the task of being the official
greeter. The other early birds were
director Cary de Venecia, MN
(member-nominees) Rico Tan and J.P.
Reyes, PPs Coch and Tony Laurel, PNS Mon
Mayuga and President Dennis V. President
Dennis, true to Rotary's motto
"Punctuality is Beauty" has not
yet been late for any Rotary function
since his term started. The girls of
Churchills said that Dennis was already
there even when they were still dressing
up.
"As a matter of fact, even when
there's no Rotary function, Mr. Valdes
always arrives early here." added
Churchill girl Grace.
While waiting for our wine and cigars, JP
Reyes offered Dennis and myself a drink
from his private stock of single - malt
whisky, which we accepted and thoroughly
enjoyed. JP will no doubt be a good
Rotarian. Better induct him fast.
Soon PP Arsenic Laurel arrived, rather
peeved because he wanted to be on time
but his driver made a wrong turn. Could
it have been force of habit?
After a while, we were joined by Tony
Yap, Dong 2, PP Bobby Chang, AM Desi
Laperal and his friend - soon-to-be MN
Detlef Skrobane .
I was expecting Luther to make his
appearance in the evening - he being the
host or organizer of the Cigar club. It
would have been a nice touch if somebody
came forward to talk about the cigar and
the wine. A little educational spiel. But
there was no Luther - not early, not
later. Somebody commented that Luther may
have been in England for a fitting of his
suit.
The P500.00 entry fee included three
glasses of port wine, one cigar and seven
hand-holding opportunities with Churchill
girls Rosselle and Grace. Not everyone
smoked although PPs Tony Laurel and Bobby
Chang surprised us when they both lighted
up.( With or without prompting from
Rosselle and Grace - I don't know). The
non-smokers were Arsenic, Coch, Desi and
Detlef. To replace the cigar in the P500
package, they were given extra three
glasses of wine. I noticed later that
they had all turned glassy eyed.
So much for minor vices.
Last to arrive, but still managing to
enjoy a cigar and some wine, were Tom
Pohang and MN Michael Chan.
At 8:00 pm, Coch called my attention to
the arrival of Mr. Bean. As I prepared to
watch him, Coch confessed that the man
was not really Mr Bean but rather the
owner of the bar.
Well, I guess if you own the place, you
can look like anyone you damn well
please!
But why Mr Bean?
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