The Pope’s Elephant – Part 1
This story is about the Indian elephant which was sent as a gift by the king of Portugal to the Pope in Rome. Hanno was one of four elephants sent
The April 2019 Night Sky
Welcome to the April night sky. This month is a poor one for seeing the planets, as only one is easily visible in the evening sky – that is a
Violence against women and domestic abuse
When people think of domestic abuse, they often focus on domestic violence. However, domestic abuse includes any attempt by one person in an intimate relationship or marriage to dominate and
The extraordinary lives of Charles Ralph Boxer (1904-2000)
Charles Ralph Boxer led two lives, each in its own way quite remarkable. First, before WW2 in Hong Kong, he was an intelligence officer who was fluent in Japanese; second,
The March 2019 Night Sky
Welcome to the March night sky. This is the month of the spring equinox, when the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading north. Currently at this time of the year,
In the footsteps of Eça de Queirós || Part 2
Considered to be Portugal’s greatest 19th century author, Eça de Queiros spent 15 years in England where he created some of his greatest works. The London Observer newspaper ranked his realist
Integrated rural fire management – a call to action!
Resulting from the rural fires of 2017 and the findings of the subsequent reviews has been the introduction of an integrated and specialised model for the management of rural fires,
Portugal’s literary genius || Part 1
Considered to be Portugal’s greatest 19th century novelist, Eça de Queirós spent 15 years in England where he created some of his greatest works whilst living as Portuguese Consul in
Fado: love it or hate it?
“Thank you, Peter, for changing my mind about Fado. The only Fado I had heard before was of the dirge kind and, like you, I was frustrated because I couldn’t
The history behind the British shipwreck “SS Roumania” that reappeared near Foz do Arelho
SS Roumania, a British steam ship that sank near Foz de Arelho (Caldas da Rainha) after hitting a sandbank over 126 years ago, reappeared from its sandy grave in January.