Living in the foothills of the Serra de Estrella in central Portugal is supposed to be an idyllic existence – stunning picture postcard scenery, perfect weather all enhanced by friendly and convivial neighbours. Aging donkeys retiring peacefully by the river, toothless old crones carrying bags of washing on their heads. Just the sound of birds [...]
Language is a tricky thing. The subtle nuances of a native tongue can take more than a lifetime to master and the challenge of mastering a second or even third can be almost insurmountable. Some people have a natural flair for it – they can hear a word and it is immediately available for use [...]
January 26, 2009 – 10:01 pm
…personally if I was a duck and it had pissed down non-stop for over a week I’d be pretty bleedin’ miserable. A light shower on an April afternoon and I’d be fluffing and preening and looking all jolly in a ducky ‘I’m quite waterproof’ way but on a freezing cold afternoon halfway up a mountain [...]
January 10, 2009 – 10:16 am
A general misconception that we are all swanning around in bikinis, surfing and drinking large fruity cocktails down here during the winter months must surely be dispelled. Not only do we have to wear woolly hats and thermal knickers but at times we have to suffer from ridulously pretty frost formations adorning the local flora [...]
December 20, 2008 – 12:20 pm
…things are getting a tad chilly over here. Some mornings all you can hear is a couple of thuds from the brass monkey cage.
One great thing about living here is when it’s really cold you know it’s going to be sunny – I took this photo just as the frost was melting in the garden. [...]
December 14, 2008 – 2:58 pm
A million years ago when I had hair and Ronald Reagan was having a career change we used to sit around an open fire, playing instruments, singing songs. We drank, we smoked, we fell over in the mud. Portugal was a natural place to be – we had no mains electricity or water. No mobile [...]
October 2, 2008 – 8:53 pm
…is still visible if you know where to look for it.
Progress has been marching through western Iberia like a premenstrual Croatian federation wrestler on her way through the chocolate aisle at Asda (Sidcup branch). Tarmac and concrete seem to be enveloping the countryside – new roads bringing prefabricated apartment blocks, supermarkets and petrol stations that [...]
August 20, 2008 – 6:03 pm
…clucked and flapped around the farmyard protesting the inevitable plummet of Heaven toward Earth. Not even this sage like poultry could have predicted the instantaneous appearance of an enormous French hypermarket within the county limits of my local town.
Seemingly overnight this behemoth of consumer heaven has landed its air-conditioned aisles in our midst, thrusting shiny [...]
August 19, 2008 – 5:40 pm
…I received another chain email today professing great kharmic reward for the simple action of forwarding it’s life lessons to others. Maybe the author of this message could explain to me (as I sat amidst the dust and rubble of my new ‘house’ in tears this morning) why my door had been kicked down and [...]
Lesson 1 – Indicators
These should generally be used with hesitancy and caution usually to display a recent action (ie to be used just after making a turn or overtaking another vehicle).
They can also be used to indicate a state of impatience and frustration on motorways – normally associated with large imported German cars driven by [...]
