Greetings Shipmates, Fellow Infidel Mongerers and Admirers of the
Philippines, It’s Duke Lafferdy, a.k.a. “Your Liberty Buddy” here. Those
of you who follow me online and those of you whom I have had the
privilege to personally accompany in Angeles City, Philippines know that
I have always been a Huge Fan of “Harry the Horse” and his monthly
newsletter at:
www.harrythehorse.com
as well as a frequent visitor to his stable at the “Blue Boar Inn” and
the “La Casa Pensionne” in Angeles City. Jimmy D (that’s Harry’s real
name) has decided to stand down from his monthly newsletter and has
anointed a successor “Justin”. Jimmy D has always been like a Godfather
and a mentor to me and I look forward to visiting him at the Blue Boar
and to hopefully read a post or two from him in the future. I am also
looking forward to Justin’s new, updated and cutting edge version of the
HTH concept. Here’s wishing both Harry the Horse (Jimmy D) and Justin
well in their future endeavors. I’ll post a link here to the most recent
HTH newsletter and an excerpt below. I know that you all will enjoy
their publications as I do.
http://www.harrythehorse.asia/?p=10935
Dear loyal readers, when I started this month’s column I
did not know it would be my last one written completely by me. I did
realize that physically it was becoming very difficult for me. The
stroke and age combined to tell me it was time to head for the pasture
but, fortunately, not the glue factory. I met an Expat living here who
shared my love for the column and wanted to continue it’s tradition.
Being much younger and more aware of current media practices he had
terrific ideas and wanted to make it a full time business. His name is
Justin and he came along at the right time. I asked him to write a few
words to introduce himself and let the readers know what to expert from
the NEW Harry The Horse. Heeeeeeeerrrrrrsss Justin!
Good evening
Harry, Justin here. I know you’re preparing to publish your
June column – which will mark the end of your very long (14+ year run)
of writing these monthly newsletters on Harry The Horse (HTH).
Including this one you have written 182 newsletters overall, in case
you were curious. I wanted to send something brief over to you to
inform your readers of the upcoming changes, introduce myself a little,
and to also thank you for allowing me to continue to build upon what you
have established here. First of all, I think it is important to talk
about the new HTH
website that is being developed. Due to the “old school” nature of the
current website, I am certain that readers are going to be slightly
shocked at the changes that will be made to the aesthetics. The new
website will not only look different, but it will function different as
well. Harry The Horse is getting a bit of a facelift, from online
newsletter to online magazine. I want to assure everyone that the
upgrades being made are not only to help manage the information on the
site, but to expand the site so that both the current reader base and
future visitors will be able to benefit from it. The new HTH will be
computer, tablet, and mobile friendly so people can access it however
they choose.
All of your years of content will be tagged properly allowing readers
to quickly search for anything you have previously written about. These
changes were the main topics I picked up on when I talked to a few
people about getting involved. When I spoke to people, literally
everyone (and I mean everyone) has heard about “Harry The Horse.” Harry
The Horse Version 2.0 will aim to be “new and improved” and with the
help of search engine optimization it will grow so that it becomes an
online resource for everyone. Readers will also be given the chance to
opt-in to getting news and information sent directly to their emails if
they choose.
As it stands now, Angeles and Subic aren’t very Google friendly (as
is most of the Philippines for that matter). Expats who are looking for
anything and everything Angeles City and Subic will find the new website
quite useful, both from an article and local information standpoint.
For example, if someone were looking for a mechanic, dentist, or
furniture shop that many of us prefer to visit in the area, or even
anyone you have mentioned in the past – soon they will be able to spot
that information and navigate there with ease. I often hear people say
“hey, where do I go for this or do you know someone who can do that?”
When the information is up and ready it will help even us local guys who
have lived here for years find new things we might not have known about
before. Beyond that, I hope to expand into new cities one day if I
have the chance. Areas like Puerto Galera, Dumaguete, or Cebu. Places a
lot of us end up visiting or residing during our time in the
Philippines. That said, if the time comes when I can branch out both
Angeles City and Subic will remain the focus points of the site in
continuing on your tradition.
Aside from the myriad of changes forthcoming, you will have your own
section on the new website as well. I hope you will continue to come
back and contribute as long as you are willing or physically able to.
Your name is synonymous with the site and I’m sure your inbox will fill
up once people realize that you are retiring from the day-to-day side of
things and taking a break from writing. You won’t have any more
deadlines to meet and you can write at your own leisure from now on,
which I know you prefer. (Believe me Justin Mrs. Horse does too)
Moving forward, I am doing everything I can to launch the new site by
July 1st; however, if the functionality of the new site and all of
your old content has not been completed to certain standards by that
time I will write the July newsletter here on your current Harry The
Horse site and launch the new site by no later than August 1st. That
transition might also give me a chance to allow people to see what the
new site will look like before it actually goes live. Time will tell on
this. I want it to be absolutely perfect so I won’t hesitate to wait one
month to unveil it if need be. I have yet to decide if I will be
writing weekly or monthly newsletters – although I’m leaning more
towards weekly so that there is continuity and plenty of fresh content
for people to peruse.
A little bit about me: I’m originally from Arizona but I have been
living in the Angeles area for 6-years now and I have been involved in
various projects here and there. I’ve spent a decent amount of time
locally between Walking Street, Perimeter, Clark, and National Highway
in Barretto. I’ve also had a chance to see a lot of the country outside
of Pampanga and Zambales. You’ve had my picture on your site twice
already over the last few years, both for the ABC pool party a couple
years back and the going away party for Barry Haynes – and I suspect the
picture you took of me this morning will go up because you wanted your
audience to know who I am. I’ve listed the new HTH email below so
people can reach out to me if they wish.
Lastly, I wanted to personally thank you for allowing me the
opportunity to get involved here. The countless hours of information
gathering, fact-finding, and plain old typing – the overall effort
throughout the years you put into your column have helped a lot of
people around the world, and I know a lot of people including myself who
really appreciate the work you have done. Enjoy your time off and I
will see you around the stable! -Justin, rememberthehorse@gmail.com.
Wow, a great intro. Thanks Justin. I think the
transformation will be exciting. I have asked Justin to keep the
current advertisers for a three month transition period at current
rates. He will meet personally with each key person to discuss his new
terms. I will collect personally from you in June to thank you for your
support. I
am glad that I can still have an in-put and be able to stay in touch.
My personal Email address remains the same. I hope I will still see
visitors stopping by the stable. Now back to my June column and the Horse will continue bigger and better under the leadership of Justin.