One cold, misty January morning, Ben and I boarded a local Benguet bus from the Philippines’ summer capital, Baguio City bound for Banaue further north in the vast Cordillera Mountain range. There was no way of knowing then, of course, that I was setting out from Baguio a mere mortal but would return a week … Continue reading From Mere Mortal to Living Goddess
Memoir Blog # 24 Ninoy Aquino – The Boy Wonder of Tarlac
Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was born on 27 November 1932, thirty-eight years to the day before the Bolivian artist Benjamin Mendoza tried to assassinate the Pope at Manila International Airport. But it was not Pope Paul VI who was destined to die while disembarking from his plane in the Philippines. On 21 August 1983, Ninoy would perish, … Continue reading Memoir Blog # 24 Ninoy Aquino – The Boy Wonder of Tarlac
A Date with the Pope
My second visit to Bilibid Prison was under very different circumstances. In fact the day following my second visit one of the Manila papers referred to it under a typical tabloid headline: “Balloons and Bibingka for Benjamin’s Birthday.” My friendship with the Bolivian surreal artist, Benjamin Mendoza, began in 1969. By that time I considered … Continue reading A Date with the Pope
Memoir Blog #20 Early Days in Manila
I arrived in Manila in late June 1968. My initial impression was of a sprawling, bustling and filthy city, its downtown roads continually jammed with impatient, honking traffic. Dilapidated, overloaded buses belching diesel fumes, vied for space with garishly painted and ingeniously adapted World War II jeeps, known as jeepneys. A motley assortment of decrepid … Continue reading Memoir Blog #20 Early Days in Manila
Memoir Blog # 18 Nothing Can Go Wrong – Part 2
As Murray had so rightly calculated, Khan called me the very next morning. “What happened to you yesterday, Miss Kennedy?” he asked casually. “I’m so sorry,” I replied. Despite my fears, I was trying my best to sound contrite. “I really did have to get back to the newspaper urgently. I did warn you I … Continue reading Memoir Blog # 18 Nothing Can Go Wrong – Part 2
Nothing Can Go Wrong – Part 2
My hand reached furtively for the door handle. However, even before I had time to turn it, the taxi stopped abruptly and I was unceremoniously dumped out into the street. Was this an opportunity? Could I now make a dash for it while Khan was paying the driver? But, the Indian had attached a vice-like … Continue reading Nothing Can Go Wrong – Part 2
In Search of the Maharishi (Part 1)
As soon as I arrived in Hong Kong, in June 1968, I called an old boyfriend of mine, a Scotsman, Ian Black, who had been working as chief news correspondent on the South China Morning Post for the past three years. “Och, Caroline, it’s good to hear you! You’ve arrived then!” Ian sounded genuinely … Continue reading In Search of the Maharishi (Part 1)
Memoir Blog # 12 A Hard Days Night
“Come on, little one, pack your bags, we’re off!” Joe stood over the bed, gently shaking me awake. “Off? Where to?” I grunted, turning over to see what the heavy lump was at the end of the bed. It was Joe’s battered old suitcase, already packed, and waiting to be locked. “The Caribbean!” he replied … Continue reading Memoir Blog # 12 A Hard Days Night
Andy, Edie and Baby Jane
By the end of 1964 I had met some of New York’s most prized artists, Larry Rivers, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Salvador Dali and Jasper Johns. But the artist I really wanted to meet was Andy Warhol. To me Warhol, though naturally shy on a personal level, epitomized everything that was brash, cocky and arrogant … Continue reading Andy, Edie and Baby Jane
Memoir Blog # 10 – Published At Last
In December I had the rare opportunity to interview the French sex goddess, Brigitte Bardot. Excitement had been mounting in New York for some time following the announcement that, for the first time, the beautiful French film star would visit the city. Bardot was already a huge star around the world by then, thanks to … Continue reading Memoir Blog # 10 – Published At Last
Caroline Kennedy: My Travels 