Right to reply
I write to comment on Mr G Meadowcroft’s letter to you, published under the headline “ISG: right to reply” of May 6, 2005.
I am the sole sócio-gerente of M.Harris, Lda. In March of this year, my firm was awarded 46,228.65 euros plus interest in the Cascais Civil Court against the International Service Group Ltd (ISG), a company registered in Liechtenstein.
To correct an impression that might have been left by Mr Meadowcroft’s letter, I wish to say that my company, M.Harris Lda was awarded the full amount of our claim: 46,228.65 euros. That is to say that we recovered the whole of the principle amount owed to us.
We had asked for interest to be awarded on the principle sum from the date in 1991 that ISG had held our money, but the court allowed us interest only from the date of registering our claim, i.e. two years.
This alone accounts for the difference to which Mr. Meadowcroft refers between our claim of money and the actual award.
We have, on appeal, asked the court of 2nd instance to increase the interest award.
Ms. Ingrid Scholts, witness for ISG at the hearing, stated that ISG Liechtenstein no longer existed and that she now worked for a company called Yes To Consulting S.A. (YTC).
Mr. Meadowcroft is ISG Liechtenstein’s accountant and ISG Lda’s director. He confirms in his letter to you that ISG Liechtenstein is still active.
I am pleased to read in his letter that ISG Liechtenstein, a company in the financial services industry, is still in operation. It would be a serious matter indeed, had we been taking legal action against a straw man.
Michael Harris
Sócio-gerente M.Harris, Lda
Portuguese bureaucracy
I had to laugh at an article in last week’s The Resident, saying that the new PM is going to deal with Portuguese bureaucracy. He has as much chance as I have of flying to the moon, certainly if our visit to the Albufeira office to renew (note renew) our Residência is an example.
This was our third visit, which should have been just a simple computer update, but no, the whole process has to start again. There was no greeting, no smile and certainly no English. Perish the thought, after all, the office only dealt with foreigners!
The first problem, the lady wanted a new form filled in because I had filled the first form in, but the bank statement was my wife’s. It took some time to convince the lady that if the form said we were married, then the surname would be the same! Then our passports and so on had to be re-copied because the photocopies we supplied might not be genuine ones! Everything was in pen and then stamped with monotony.
Then we were asked for 4,20 euros, at which time the computer was switched on! The final insult was that we have to go back in two months for the actual card, which is nothing more than any club (e.g. cricket club) would produce in two minutes.
Get rid of bureaucracy Senhor PM, bah humbug. No wonder so few people bother with Residências.
J. Watson
São Marcos da Serra
What’s astray at APAA?
Two weeks ago, I visited the Associação de Protecção Animal do Algarve (APAA) and offered to give a loving and free running home to two dogs. One of the dogs, Lima, I was informed, had been there for 14 months and, as it had been diagnosed with epilepsy, “could not be sent abroad or find a home locally”.
When I phoned a week later to make arrangements to collect Lima and Lionel, I was brusquely told by APAA’s chief executive that “both the dogs have been ear marked to go to Germany”. Why abroad? Is the stress of a long journey in any animal’s best interests?
I’ve supported APAA’s fund-raising in the past and, in fact, one of my dogs won the ‘dog in best condition’ category at Scruffs two years ago. However, my fund raising energies in future will be channelled towards other animal welfare organisations, especially Lagos Animal Protection Society (LAPS), where I have witnessed the exceptional love and care an elderly and practically blind lady bestows to the animals at her animal sanctuary near Odiáxere.
Incidentally, at the end of my phone call to APAA last week, when I suggested that Germany, in particular, would surely not welcome a sick animal, I was rudely told, “don’t try and teach me my job”! Is that not the basic problem with APAA? I have always believed that caring for abandoned or sick animals was primarily a vocation, most certainly not just a job!
Grant Weir
São Brás de Alportel
Auditorium disappoints
As an ex-dancer, dance teacher and choreographer, I am always delighted to see any dance performance in the Algarve. So I went with good expectations to the Vale do Lobo Auditorium to see Companhia de Dança do Algarve perform alongside the Orquestra do Algarve, only to find, on arrival, that the auditorium had seating only at one level and that the orchestra was in front of the stage, thus in part masking the stage. So, sadly, when the dancers performed, they could only be seen above the knees, which was a disappointment.
The conductor, through no fault of his own, covered any dancer centre stage and two dancers, whose choreography required them to be sitting down at times, only had heads visible.
I telephoned the Vale do Lobo Auditorium and they advised that had I complained at the time, I could have had my money returned. I assured them that it was not about money, but respect for the dancers and for the audience. I asked why raised seating had not been arranged, which would have solved the problem. I was told that no one else had mentioned this and that I was the only person to complain. If there were others in the audience who also felt disappointment that the dancers, after so much work and commitment, were only partly visible, maybe they should let their feelings be known.
Mavis Crabtree
Santa Bárbara de Nêxe
Teenagers speak up
1 – How much teenagers contribute
The other day at my school, I heard a teacher ask a student why he hadn’t done his homework. The student replied casually that it wasn’t his fault that the maid had forgotten to put it in his bag!
This comment shocked me to my core; I couldn’t believe that a student had said that. But then I wondered: are all students of my generation like this? This question prompted me to create a questionnaire.
I questioned 50 youngsters of 13 to 18 years of age and was amazed to find that teenagers’ contribution at home is seriously minimal.
Thirty-six out of 50 teenagers said they never made their beds; 21 said they are not given household chores and, when I asked “do you wash up after meals”, 29 people replied “of course not, we have a dishwasher”. Similarly, 46 said they had a maid, of which 31 of them had a maid who came to the house three times a week or more. As well as that, 21 teenagers said their mothers did not work, i.e. they were full-time mothers. Only one out of the 50 people said they cooked on a regular basis for the family, 14 said they set the table every day and only 17 said they helped clear up after dinner.
It seems like the title of this letter should not be “How much teenagers contribute”, but “how little teenagers contribute”. Is there something wrong with the younger generation? Are parents not being strict enough? Are the children rebelling? Or is it just the way that modern society works? Whatever the answer, it is definitely something that should change…
Jessica Woolfson
Lisbon
2 – Online consumerism
Online shopping is quick and easy. Whoever has access to a computer, whether at home or at work, has a door open to an endless world of shopping. Thousands of items are available at the tips of your fingers.
However, the easiness of this brings many disadvantages, one of which being consumerism. The fact that people have all sorts of goods available with a single click makes them a much easier target to well-built advertisements and powerful companies. This way, people who buy through the internet tend to purchase items they don’t need or will ever use and, inevitably, are going to end up piled in some corner of the house.
People worldwide shop through the World Wide Web, making the best of all the opportunities it offers. Nevertheless, the possibility to buy whatever you want in the comfort of your own home tends to make people less able to control how much they spend. Since most purchases are paid for with a credit card, people have no real idea of how much they have spent. This tendency is increased by the companies’ thirst for money, which influence particularly the youngest through pop-up ads, showing interesting, cool, “cheap” and great-looking goods.
So, if this easy, yet out-of-control way of shopping brings disadvantages, shouldn’t we search for a more personal and controllable way of purchasing the items that we really need?
Catarina António, Cláudia Cunha,
Márcia Diniz and Tanya Gonçalves, 11º I
Escola Secundária Poeta António Aleixo – Portimão
The Resident is a keeper!
In 2004, I married a Portuguese gentleman and we visit his family at least three times a year. We have now decided to move to Lisbon early next year. Since I discovered your paper, I always read and keep it to bring home to England. I have found some very interesting topics and some very useful information for people who have moved to Portugal, especially about Portuguese law.
It is comforting to know I can contact someone by looking it up in your paper and, more importantly, to have a paper that is written in English. This way I will be able to keep up with the news not only about England but also Portugal, as I can only speak very basic Portuguese at the moment.
Once we have moved to Portugal, I would like to continue receiving your paper as it will help me to meet other English people, so making my settling in a little easier. I look forward now to receiving your paper.
Pauline Pereira
England
Dear Skip,
For a seemingly intelligent writer for The Resident, you have written most unintelligently about the gridiron star Pat Tillman of the Arizona Cardinals in the WFL! (‘No more heroes anymore’, The Resident issue of May 20, 2005).
To follow your logic, all those serving in the US army or, for that matter, Britain’s army are naive, wasteful and incredibly stupid. The fact that both countries need defence forces to protect their citizens seems to escape you and that the military offers well paying and attractive careers. Many men and even women like soldiering – your great Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was one of these.
You may not approve of the war in Afghanistan, but for Pat Tillman I’m sure he felt he was a patriot who put his country first, much like those who fought against you Brits and won during the American Revolutionary wars.
If you think nations should rely on conscript armies for such wars like Afghanistan, go tell Tony Blair. He’ll probably throw you right out of his office.
William G Hammond
Ferragudo
