Author: Isobel Costa

Ever since I was little, I have enjoyed going to auctions, jumble sales and charity shops to look for treasures and bargains. When I was at university, in Swansea, I

With hours to kill recently in an Algarve city, I walked around the cobblestone streets looking for inspiration for this month’s article. I saw an interesting church and remarkable architecture,

I have online access to The British Newspapers Archive, which lets me read original newspapers dating back to the 1700s. Imagine my surprise when I found a weekly column called

Did you know that Valentine’s Day has been celebrated since the Middle Ages with the most popular belief being that it honours St Valentine, a bishop and martyr who used

Each New Year, positivity reigns as people make resolutions to change or improve their lives. The internet is full of quotes to inspire and encourage us and many are attributed

Nowadays, there are Christmas lights decorating everything, with people in some countries competing for the best displays, but the lights used to be just on the Christmas trees which have

I have once again organised the Sovereign Art Foundation’s (SAF) Student Prize Portugal, a prize for secondary school students which has been running since 2017.    This is a prestigious art

Until recently we had never called an Uber, but needing an urgent ride, with guidance from my son who regularly gets Ubers all over Lisbon, we downloaded the app, created

When my children were still at school and the summer holidays were coming to an end, in the last week that they were off, everyone in the family was allowed