Butterflies
A BORBOLETA (or The Butterfly in English) used to be the name of our family-run restaurant in the Algarve. My mother’s long-standing admiration of these delicate and beautiful creatures gave
Balderdash –Posh ‘n’ Spice
ACCORDING TO the highly regarded Paris glossy, Le Point, the French don’t wash very much. In fact, nine out of 10 citizens admitted to not making regular use of soap.
Wishing upon a star
2006! IF you are reading this, you must have survived the latest spring into yet another new year. It seems like only yesterday that we heralded the new millennium, the
Out of Africa
I READ an interview with the German Foreign Minister recently and, among other things, he revealed that Zorro was his childhood idol – that struck a cord with me. Not
Creatures great and small
THERE IS an old African fable handed down through the generations that illustrates the continent’s sense of inevitable hopelessness. On the bank of a great river, a scorpion asks a
Cool for cats
CERTAIN ELEMENTS of my growing legions of fans have suggested to me in recent weeks that I should join a dating service rather than pour out my heart on these
Closure
IN THERAPY terms, closure means the process of drawing a line under a situation or an event. It is the opposite of unfinished business, where the wound remains open, where
The beauty and the beast
WHEN THE slant-eyed, cunningly disguised rabbit stumbled across the scorpion, lethargically dozing in the midday sun, he did not expect to survive, never mind see his future mapped out in
Trading places
THE HOLIDAYS from hell are over and paradise has been restored. I am sitting on my balcony counting the stars and listening to the sea. The early September air is
Holidays from hell
AUGUST IS drawing to a close, an annual event that produces sighs of relief from anyone who lives and works in a certain part of Portugal, which sees its population