Life in Góis March 2010
Life in Góis February 2010
Life in Góis January 2010
Life in Góis Dec 2009
Life in Góis Nov 2009
Life in Góis October 2009
Life in Góis Sept 2009
Life in Góis August 2009
Life in Góis July 2009
Life in Góis June 2009
Life in Góis May 2009
Life in Góis April 2009
Life in Góis March 2009
Life in Góis February 2009
Life in Góis January 2009
Life in Góis Dec 2008
Life in Góis Nov 2008
Life in Góis October 2008
Life in Góis Sept 2008
Life in Góis August 2008
Life in Góis July 2008
Life in Góis June 2008
Life in Góis May 2008

29th March
Yesterday we had an unusual event taking place in our village, to raise money to help develop the Casa do Convivio. The event, apparently not an old tradition, but something dreamed up by the men of the village, involved setting an ox to wander freely over a grid of over 2000 squares, marked out on the village football ground. Each square had been allotted by raffle, and in whichever square the ox ‘relieved’ itself, the person with that raffle ticket won the ox! The proceedings started with a barbecue at the Casa do Convivio, before everyone de-camped to the football ground. A surprisingly large number of people turned out to watch – I must admit I did not last to the final sticky moment, as my sympathies were with the ox. Luckily we did not hold the winning ticket, as I don’t know what we would have done with a young ox, but being vegetarian I would certainly not have been eating it! Amazingly, over 2000€ were raised by the sale of tickets and refreshments, which will all go to the very good cause of developing facilities to benefit the elderly members of the community.

24th March
The sun continues to shine without interruption, although a couple of weeks ago we experienced a strange warm wind blowing from southern Spain. This had an impact that rain, snow, hail and frost could not achieve – it brought our weekly market to a standstill. Many stall-holders did not even attempt to pitch their stalls, while others pitched at odd angles to try and get protection from this intruding wind. The effect was quite unsettling, but happily it was short-lived and everything was soon back to normal.
We are just coming to the end of the acacia blossom, and have entered the days of the pine-dust – everything, and I mean everything, being covered with a swirling sheen of yellowy-green pollen. For those who are asthmatic or suffer from tree-pollen allergies this can be an unpleasant time, although it does not last long. For the rest of us it is a marker of the season, as yellow footprints appear on the wooden stairs and my veranda collects pollen drifts. I also love the fact that I can now walk into the woods and fill my baskets with opened pine-cones that make the best kindling for next winter’s fires.

16th March
The weather over the past week has been absolutely gorgeous, with the temperature climbing well into the mid-20’s. We have already spotted the first swallows arriving, and the trees are now bursting into leaf along the river bank, with a wonderful fresh greenness. Yesterday, the girls and I were so taken with the sunshine that we decided to be the first (as far as we know) to brave the waters of the Ceira. Throwing caution off with their clothes, the girls took running jumps into the river – I inched my way in a little more gradually. Yes, it was extremely cold, but SO invigorating! Drying off in the sun left our skin glowing, as we glowed inside with a sense of our own daring. No doubt any passing Portuguese observers would have thought we were quite mad, but it takes more than that to deter us British!

7th March
Our office in Góis has now been open for over 2 weeks, and we have had a good number of people come through our door, with many more stopping to view the properties for sale displayed in the windows. Situated in the central square we are impossible to miss, and it has been a pleasure to re-open the old pharmacy and breathe some life back into this historical part of the town. It feels like a good time of year to be launching our business, as spring is in the air, and the first visitors start to arrive. The river Ceira, just down the road from our office, is running full and high, and today there are many hopefuls out fishing for trout, with quite a bit of success from what we could see.