Travel
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Blue Eyes and the Secret – A Novella
Coming soon on Kindle Blue Eyes and the Secret. A novella – Venture into the heart of the Algarve with Blue Eyes, a Balinese-spirited feral cat, as she uncovers ancient secrets and fights to protect her home on Monte Agudo. In a land where olive groves meet modern orange farms and water is scarce, Blue Eyes speaks with plant devas and heeds the whispers of the earth. When a devastating threat emerges in the form of disappearing trees, poisoned lands, and a foretold prophecy of end times, Blue Eyes must embark on a transformative journey. Guided by the wisdom of Ceres of Old and aided by a motley crew of animal…
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Reflections: Visiting Birmingham
Jim and I travelled in May and June (for nearly seven weeks) to the UK, Greece and Ireland. We are now back in Portugal. This latest post is some reflections on Birmingham, UK, our first stop. I may share more from my journal about Bloomsbury and then Ireland in other posts. The last time we lived in the UK was 15 years ago. We have not visited for the last five. On Tuesday, 7 May, we landed in Birmingham and stayed a few nights in this modern changing City. I was born and grew up in South Brum, so I know it well. Some of my memories could be clearer,…
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Mobility plan – consultation document
I am working my way through the 98 page Mobility Plan for Tavira. I have already sent in a response before the deadline of 21st March. But now because the deadline was extended after the protest outside the Camara I plan to rework my response into something much more coherent and considered. Jim and I translated the document with the help of DeepL and Google. The image charts are not translated but fairly easily understood in terms of objectives. Here is the link to the English translation of the mobility plan for Tavira. Clicking the link will open the PDF file. It is a large file 6MB even after reducing,…
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Are the community gardens in Tavira under threat? – Voicing your concerns
I was contacted by the association ACTIVE ECOTOPIA to translate documents and help spread the message about a possible threat to the Community Gardens in Tavira. Jim and I were part of the protest a few years ago to save the historic Agricultural Centre in Tavira where the Community Gardens are now flourishing.I have translated the document from Portuguese into English with the help of DeepL and added some native English sense. Coming from a large city in England we know what traffic congestion really means and why it is important to maintain as much green space and promote public transport and not cater just to cars by creating new…
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Solar and Cuba
Electricity has occupied my thoughts in the last week. Solar electricity and charging stations to be more accurate. To help the planet, we invested in an electric car, mainly because we are more or less 100% solar at home. Last week, we took off through the dry, red Alentejo countryside to Evora – a Roman town celebrate my birthday. We had done some homework about charging stations. Still, we fell at the first hurdle, not least because the instructions for charging were only in Portuguese and why not? It is Portugal, after all. We quickly translated the instructions. The other obstacle to accessing solar juice was the need for a…
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We headed towards Nepenthe.
Leaving San Francisco, we stopped off in Berkeley, or to be precise, we went onto the University campus. I half hoped to see Barbra Streisand or at least a few students demonstrating, calling out lies, declaring a strike, or asking for signatures for a petition. I love that part in the film ‘The Way We Were,’ when a young student played by Babs makes a speech on the Campus. So much passion and belief. It was Fresher’s week, so no one was carrying banners. Do they even do that at Berkeley now? From looking at the Society stalls, there was not much about campaigns to make the world a better…
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California 2019 – Maybe our last long trip?
In 2017, Jim and I started talking about a trip to California. My ageing hippy consciousness kept telling me to go and visit the places I grew up in films and books. I also now have a couple of dear American friends, one of whom lived in California and helped with ideas for the trip. I don’t know why I didn’t write much as the journey progressed. Somewhat saturated, I guess it has taken time to reflect on the colours and stories. We visited friends along the way, a couple I only know from Facebook and a kind ex-Jehovah’s Witness who invited us into their home in Tucson. The visit…
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Cambodia – Steung Meanchey – from garbage dump to education
Janet Tartaglia left the Algarve in 2014 for Steung Meanchey in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Portugal Resident wrote about her plans back then, noting she was on a mission to extend unconditional love to the kids in the community of this former garbage dump. It takes courage to work in Community Development and especially with families. In February 2017 when visiting Cambodia, I met Janet in Steung Meanchey, and she shared some hurdles, but mostly the progress the community has undergone in the last few years. Families have homes, children have education, people have more food, and now a modern secondary school has been built and opened. When she talks…
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Cambodia: the circus and plastic – Eco-tourism
I have fallen in love with Cambodia. We have been here for just over two weeks, and I feel rejuvenated in a way that I find difficult to understand or articulate. I am trying to work out why Cambodia has enlivened my spirit. The intense oranges and greens of the landscape and the solid temples, mixed with a touch of French colonial culture, have captured my heart. Old art, drawings, and paintings sit on Cafe walls as a silent testament to an age before the Khmer Rouge. It feels like being dropped into a warm, soapy bath that smells of jasmine, but it is not like that at all. Our…
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Sri-Lanka – Edward Lear Prize for poetry – winning poems
With kind permission of the Edward Lear Prize for poetry, here are the 2017 winning poems. Winning Poem by Ashwin Dias The Funny People of Sri Lanka There was a young woman from Galle Who’s name no one could recall Whomever she metHer name they’d forget The pretty young woman from Galle There was an old man from Hikka Who would only eat chicken tikka When served curd and treacleHis eyes had a twinkle This funny old man from Hikka There was a young scoundrel from Jaffna Went out with a pirate bandanna“Ahoy me hearties!”He’d say at the parties By the wonderful beach; Casurina There was a fine fellow from…
