The fascination with water mills, both tidal or river based abounds in literature. With the mill in the background, Victorian master painters record magical summer times. Mills tell us much about societies and their ability to harness natural forces. Although occasionally difficult to find now, as most are in ruins, many can still be identified all over Europe,…
Casa 5 Artes, a not-for-profit, arts organisation in Tavira, hosted the artist, Natalie d’Arbeloff in January through to March as part of their artist in residence programme. She took the opportunity to capture some of the everyday life of Tavira. Café life, the Roman Bridge, street entertainers, were all studied and transferred onto paper. During the final…
The UK Poet Laureate, Carol Anne Duffy, has invited some of the better known poets, to reflect on ageing. Speaking in the Guardian on Saturday, she says, “Our Society. I believe, is turning gradually away from its obsession with “yoof” and “slebs”. “We are beginning to realise that we face, at the very least, an…
There is a peculiar bond that begins to emerge when women meet regularly to read together. It also becomes a rallying cry when you sit in a cafe and over hear someone say “we are reading such and such in our book club”. It is as though you could be linked in some way, as…
Many people move to the Algarve to live healthier lives. Many Portuguese have enjoyed the benefits of growing their own for centuries. It is not however always easy to find organic produce or shops that sell health foods. For example where can you get goats milk in Tavira? Is there such a thing as a LET’s…
Its been raining for over a month and enough is enough. Nevertheless the rain has enhanced nature and the birds love it! Notice Mr yellow feet? Just by the ampitheatre, the flowers are blooming. To top it all there was a cormorant on the river.
On Sunday 7th February a group of about twenty people visited the reconstructed windmill in Cachopo. Jim and I were among the twenty, mostly foreigners who joined the adventure. We left the Tavira bus station at 9:30am, in a coach organised by Tavira Camara and the Tavira Museum. The architect and social historian, Marta Santos…
Cadburys – Kraft takes it and covers it in? 1968, Cadbury’s, green grassy banks, packed lunches and school friends. 19 January 2010, husband, greenhouse, twitter and tapas lunch. Memories and reality collided in the pit of my stomach today, as it was announced that Cadbury’s had accepted the takeover deal from Kraft. Shareholders have till…
I am going to work my way through some of these picks. I have also put Stephen Fry’s sequel to Moab is my Washpot on my list for 2010. The new book will follow on from when he was given a place at University, so says his blog. BOOKS BY BOYD TONKIN As recession bites deep into the…
Over the years, I have often been glad to see the end of difficult years and the start of a new year. This last year, however, has been so good in so many ways, I feel as though a few more days would not go amiss. I spent three hours this morning potting up tomatoes, peppers, cauliflowers,…