As a declared fan of the Netflix series “The Crown” and a great admirer of Queen Elizabeth II, I could not wait for the 3rd series to begin and have already watched a few episodes. On one of them, the Queen’s character (brilliantly played by Olivia Colman in her mature years) says something that deeply impressed me, and it has dwelt on my mind ever since. The Queen’s outburst In the scene she is talking to a lifelong …
Category: Personal
In my teen days it would be unthinkable to stay at home on weekends unless I was forced to – until I reached a certain age my grandparents would be very strict with my outings so I would stay home on Saturday afternoons sullenly watching TV, while my friends went to the café or to the movies together. Later on, when I gained some freedom, there would always be some interesting program waiting for me, and no rain or storm …
Today, like so many times before, I pass by our wedding place, that wonderful, old manor house that stands in the midst of the Sintra mountain, surrounded by the dark green of centennial trees. Again, I see the whitewashed walls and the imposing gates and at the bottom the small chapel where we were married. We were among the last couples to be married there, remember, as soon afterwards the Church decided all marriages had to be celebrated in the …
We all have a very special place in our hearts; it may be the house where the whole family used to get together for those seemingly endless holidays of long ago; it may be the beach where we started going in our childhood and where we still meet the same friends and acquaintances, summer after summer, spending hours talking of our respective lives during the rest of the year; or it may be the hotel where we have spent the …
In his last record, released in 1980, John Lennon included a song whose title I find most inspiring: “Starting over“. The song is about how a long-time couple should start over in their relationship and do things they used to do in their early days, as if they were falling in love again with each other. He sings that “life flies so quickly” and also that “it’s time to spread our wings and fly”. It’s a beautiful song …
I’m on my way to work and although it’s only four kilometres I get a lot of traffic. I face the day in a bright mood so I put on some nice music and look at life on the streets. Today the latest song on my playlist is by a Portuguese band called Capitão Fausto. The title is “Boa memória” (“good memory” in English) and the singer tells us about how he doesn’t really have to remember things for …
Just the other day I was thinking about 1979 and how it was a year of major changes in my life, when I realized it was forty years ago. I simply couldn’t believe it! A decisive year First of all, it was a year of learning. I learned about love but also about disappointment and grief. New people came into my life that were very important for quite some years: I gained a new love, who would mean …
There are moments in life when painful decisions have to be made and you have to learn to accept them and move on. An example is when, due to circumstances in your life, you have to part with a house or apartment you’re attached to. My first house I experienced this very early in my life when we had to leave our beloved house in Mozambique. We knew we’d be leaving the country anyway, but due to the feeling …
I’m driving – not exactly driving home for Christmas, as in the beautiful song by Chris Rea, but on one of the many errands I have to do during this busy season. As usual at this time of the year I put on Christmas songs, the inevitable Last Christmas by Wham and Chris Rea’s as well – and I sing along. The weather is fine – one of those sunny crisp cold (but not too much) winter days that make …
Long ago Christmases were a magical time. Our eyes opened in wonder with the lights and gifts around the Christmas tree; we sat on the floor around Granny as she made the Nativity crib and we helped her by giving her figure after piece until the last one, the shining star that she put on the stable’s roof. Then she would tell us, year after year, how Jesus was born and how he was visited by three kings with gifts, …