Updates on the Dutch Garden

What a difference a few months make! With the help of an unusually warm summer in Holland, this garden went from barren to a jungle within 3 months. From this:

To this:

To this:

My little aromatic herbs corner brings that Paul & Garfunkel song to mind: parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Bit there's also some mint! Before and after:

Portuguese cabbage (penca) - from this:

To this:

 Quite rewarding this allotment thing!

 I've learned quite a few lessons and next year will put them to work!

Gardening - or how to break your back and enjoy it

A little more work done today.

Planted the lawn seeds. Didn't read the instructions on the box... so it was done a bit differently, but fingers crossed, some grass will grow.
The berry bushes are sprouting!

Strawberry pots! Planted a week ago, they are looking very handsome. The pots are fixed to this metal shelf unit by means of clamp ties through the bottom holes of the pots around the metal wires of the shelves. They are well secured!

First plant bed to be filled with earth. The garden is a bit low and get damp very easily if it rains. So we're adding more earth to the beds to lift them up a bit. It's hard work, carrying those carts full of earth. Go Dustin! 7 carts, if my memory serves me right, plus one full of wood chips for the entrance of the garden.

The greenhouse is home to a few sprouting buds of kale, paprika, cucumber, lettuce and parsley. Soon to go in the ground!

These beautiful crocuses were in full bloom last week, and gone today. Sign that spring is full steam ahead! Next year they will sprout through the grass. If the grass planting works, that is. Wish me luck!

Gardening is starting to pick up!

The crocuses are blooming!

Did a bit of planting today, some dahlias and another flower bush I forget the name.

The rosemary bush is small but pretty an healthy.
The allotment is coming to life all over.

Can you see the windmill?

More soon!

Gardening is good exercise!

Those two little square flowerbeds in the background is what I worked on today. Bit of digging and moving the earth around, preparing it for the veggies. Found a couple of dhalia roots in there from the previous gardener, moved them to the foreground bed, in the back right corner. It would be cool if they survived, grew and bloomed again.

Still to do, is the last larger veg bed in the front of the greenhouse. Will tackle that next.

And the little rosemary plant that went in the gound a week ago, is looking fine! The same cannot be said of the wellies.

More next Sunday! If it doesn't rain.

Gosh, I haven't written in ages!

It was my new year's resolution couple of year back, and I blew it. Darn. Gonna have to do something about it. In the interim, here's my garden. It's an allotment in a comunity garden. Looking forward to eating my own beans and paprikas!

Perceptions: Is Portugal Poor?

The other day a Dutchman told me he had been to Albufeira for a holiday and that, although Albufeira looked fine, the surrounding area looked very poor. It was shocking for me to hear that. I know Albufeira, one of my best friends lives there. As a Portuguese national, that's not my perception at all. 

Is this the nice bit? (The Albufeira beach, in the Algarve, south of Portugal)

And this the not so nice bit? (Odeleite, village in the interior of the Algarve)

That got me thinking about the general perception foreigners have of Portugal, given the widespread information conveyed by the likes of The Financial Times, that classifies it as a part PIIGS, the derogatory term used in finances for the economies of Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. 

What is the idea that, e.g., North Americans have of Portugal? Just a notch above Albania? Or a notch below Greece, Italy or Spain, everyone's holiday destinies of choice? Even though they are also part of PIIGS...
(I would like to hear what your perception is! Please, comment!)

Then I got thinking about this concept of poorness, and about the image (or lack thereof) Portugal projects. How can you determine a level of destitution or affluence, and convert it to perception? 

Comparison is a good tool as any.

Portugal is (steadily) recovering from a very debilitating financial crisis, has low salaries, high unemployment and immigration rates. Those are all factors that indicate poorness to the western world. However, you have to consider this in the context of Europe - more specifically, in the European Union - where you can find countries like Sweden, the UK or Germany.

Unemployment rates in a few EU countries

This week, the INE (national statistics institute) has revealed a decrease of 2 percent points in unemployment

Once you put that into perspective, the concept of poorness takes a very different turn. If you compare Portugal to Denmark, it is indeed poor... er. Is it poor, though? Not by a long shot, not for a few decades. Plus, things are getting back to normal and the country is recuperating.
Also, things may be changing in the way we perceive ourselves as well. Recently, a survey made by AirBnB had surprising results:
Porto voted preferred European destination for Americans (in AirBnB)
I think we are shedding that lack of self-confidence and inferiority complex we suffered from for so long and finally learning to appreciate our land a little, see it for the beautiful place that it is, and learning to sell this amazing product we have. Portugal is not poor, it is a privileged, rich country in Europe. It has its problems, many challenges to overcome, that's true. Which country doesn't? But the landscape is gorgeous, the climate temperate, the history old, the culture diverse, the atmosphere dynamic, the gastronomy delicious, the people industrious, creative, inventive and friendly.
There is something for everyone.
Do you want to ride a balloon across the plains of the Alentejo, walk/cycle through 2000 years old Roman bridges, visit the castles, or simply lay on a virgin beach? This is the place for you.

Do you prefer the nightlife, shopping, see modern architecture or just park your boat and have lunch by the river? This is the place for you.

Do you want to move here? Inform yourself properly, learn the language, bring innovative ideas and a will to work hard, like you would anywhere else. This could be an option for you.

Vila Nova de Gaia                                                                           Amadora

Sure, there is still some of this. We're working on it. So is the UK. And even the graffiti is better in Portugal.

Amadora                                                                              Bath, UK

There is nothing poor or derelict about Portugal. It's an European country with lots to offer in every respect. So, don't be fooled by the bards of economic tragedy and strife. They are talking about money, not about real life. Definitely not about the real Portugal.

Mr. Silva (fictitious name) here may not have a million in the bank, or better still, under his mattress. But he's not poor, he's happy and he'll gladly pop open a bottle of wine and share a good chunk of his best smoked ham with you. Having a simple life is one thing; being poor is quite another.

The Berlin Extravaganza 3

For the previous chapters, see The Berlin Extravaganza 1 and The Berlin Extravaganza 2

In we went, arm in arm with Nile. Backstage was clinical white. There was a sign saying Medical Rooms pointing to where we were going. When I read it out loud, Nile said "I know!", acknowledging the irony. Some coincidences are just too freaky some times. 

And then it's all a bit of a blur, the order of events being unclear to me now. The band were getting ready to hit the road on the way to Frankfurt, so everyone was rushing to get out of the door. There were other people claiming Nile's attention, it was a bit frantic and I was star struck. There was such a feel of hastiness and hurry, that I unconsciously got sucked into it myself. I don't know how long I was backstage, I don't remember what I talked to Nile about, though I don't think I said much of any consequence. I was in a sort of cool daze. But this much I remember: a calm, collected, kind man right in the middle of mayhem. While I was letting myself be taken into the flow, he remained quietly standing, letting it all flush by. That's what Nile is like, I suppose.

Oh, but it was wonderful! And I do remember some of it!

My husband and I noticed Nile was tired, and it was my better half who said "Do you need sometime for yourself?" Nile gladly took it, saying "Yes, I need a couple of minutes".

I took the opportunity to run off to Kim and Folami's dressing room, to find the two nicest, patient, loveliest ladies ever. I was being a totally silly fan and they put up with me with a laugh!

Back to Nile's dressing room, I caught Jerry and had a photo taken. Literally caught him, grabbing his coat and everything!

Nile & me in his dressing room, me with Kim & Folami, and me grabbing Jerry's coat for a photo

I'm holding my copy of Le Freak upside down, which Nile kindly signed (oh prized possession!). That pretty much sums up the whole experience for me. Metaphorically speaking, that is. In a Diana Ross upside down sort of way. 

 

Nile & Me

This whole backstage experience was a first for me, and one I will certainly never forget as long as I live. It is, however, the third time I came across someone who had a part in writing the music that moves me, the first being Dave Grohl back in 1998 and the second John Taylor in September last year. But those are another two blogs - at least.

What is it that makes us want so much to be around the people we admire, to surpass obstacles in order to get there, only to find ourselves facing that person and be at a complete loss for words? Where do all the things you want to say go? 

I missed the show almost entirely in Berlin, but come September, Chic will be playing in Amsterdam, at the Paradiso, and when the doors open, I will be the first one in. Or second. Definitely in the first ten! A whole bunch of us from Nile's blog will be meeting and I can hardly wait for it. 

Thank you, Nile, for being the gentleman you are, and thank you all members of Chic, you are a class act! See you in the Summer!