WELCOME TO Val's Alentejo -I write about my region of Alentejo. My art ,painting, my cottages, Family life, my animals -Travels And my love for Roses- and rural country life.

Tuesday 29 May 2012

Village library

On Friday, I went with Barbara to our municipality to organise a stall for our upcoming annual village festival next month.
While she was organising the paper work, I wondered off into the library section in the same building.
It is really a very nice place to spend an hour or two. Reading some nice books, choosing what you might like to take home. I take some art books now and again. There is a large selection of dvd's..cd's ,national geo. daily newspapers, lounge to sit with ear phones and listen to classical music. There is always something going on.
At the side of the library section is the childrens space. During the holidays, after school care is available. Childrens theatre, and art classes. There are daily story readings. Mother's can drop their children off for the day, the week or the whole holiday. Its a great safe place for the village children to be and mum's know they are safe.
This lovely pink butterfly cought my eye and I decided to make a blog about my library visit.

This little child must have been so happy drawing this butterfly. How sweet it is , took me back to the days of my children .. A time of innocence.


Drawings on the wall , A lovely hand painted mural painted by the teachers and helpers, its a bright and sunny large area .


















the middle, i have put a photo of one of the ladies at her stall in the market. We visited on our way out. It's an excellent exhibit. You can see how much detail has been put into the work.













Carpernters yard,The Ferrier yard, baker oven ,the pig yard with a bbq. Children playing in the yard ,skipping all the figueres made out of cork. The white mule and cart, we dont see them any more, very sad. Windmill's of the area..now left in ruin.. Snr. Feliciano Carvalho was born in Alvito, now he lives in Lisbon. He has really depicted through this little miniature exhibit how life was when he was a boy.

The old "nora" a "nora" is probably one of the oldest methods of bringing water up from the well, many of the properties around here still have them, some in use and some not. You can see the tiny little buckets, all of these made by hand and with so much love and effort. The Shepherd with his sheep and his dog for company and to keep the foxes at bay and his little hut to sleep in at night. We still have our shepherds, but they now have cars or their trucks and go home at night.. shepherds now own their own land and do enjoy their work.













Dina is the head of our tourist department and a very lovely person. Speaking Portuguese, French, English, Spanish , she greets the tourists that come to visit our lovely village of Alvito. Here you can see the newspapers and the Computer area with the books on the right..
Alvito is a very lovely village . Its where the main Municipality buildings and the finance offices etc., our main post office. Alvito is a quiet charming town ..on approaching the beautiful Alvito pousada castle greets you.

Hope you enjoyed my little visit..

Happy tuesday to you all

23 comments:

  1. Dear Val - how lovely it is that Snr. Feliciano Carvalho has captured his youth in this lovely model of your village, showing how life was. Is the model there permanently or is it just there for a visit?
    So many of the libraries are being closed in England much to peoples dismay. Mainly I believe because people now use ebooks, and get so much information from the internet and of course finance. I think that libraries play an important within communities.
    I know you will not mind me mentioning, but your yellow jasmine is honeysuckle.

    ReplyDelete
  2. hello Val,
    I love libraries, they always seem like a harmonic place to me. And the one you visited seems like a lovely place, I loved the statues of girls playing with the rope :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Val:
    What a wonderful resource your local library appears to be. We used to have something similar here, run by the British Council, but which has now closed on account, we assume, of cut backs.

    As for the exhibition, of which you show pictures, this seems to us to be pure delight for both adults and children alike. So much to fascinate and enjoy whilst the little cork figures are, we think, utterly charming.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I saw your apartment. That library in the village is an awesome place for the children and it is good to know that it is a safe place too. sandie

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Valerie

    Thanks for the beautiful tour of your village, Alvito. One can see the pride of the residents in the library and stalls you feature. The pink butterfly has so much energy and enthusiasm. The child put their heart in this one.

    Thanks for defining the word "nora"
    I have learned

    Helen xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you dear Helen,
    We are very lucky to have such a 21st century library and cultural centre. We dont have to pay anything. Its for our use. and the children have a great time.
    Now and again I use the computers, have a coffee while in Alvito.. Its 5 min from my place.
    "Nora" in Portuguese means "daughter in Law" I have no idea where the name comes from, also i do not know the name in english. They are now preserved on some of the farms.. i would love to have had one.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you Sandie , glad you liked the post.
    have a pleasant day.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for such kind comments Jane and Lance.
    What a shame that the library closed.
    Ours is run totally from funds from the financial department.. of rate payers. Its a good system.
    Also its all free.
    Its a lovely little exhabition.. and the children's area is great as well as ours.

    ReplyDelete
  9. glad you liked the post Gorkçe.. it is a very lovely library. always something going on.

    ReplyDelete
  10. ); ); big smiles on my face Rosemary. You are getting to know me. Do I think I am the garden lady "Yes" !! I havent got a clue. Always appreciated.
    The exhibits usually run for a month or so. then somebody else moves in or another exhibit. the last one was neolithic findings in our area, very very interesting. I dont always go. Our municipality uses the funds from the rates to keep the library and our arts centre open. Even though Alvito is small we have some excellent events.
    It is such a loss to the community that the libraries in Uk are closing.! Most of the locals here wouldnt know what an e book is. !
    off to see my Honeysuckle.. and rosie!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a lovely post! I love libraries too. Your Portuguese ones such a wonderful community facility. The children's pictures are wonderful.
    Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love all the little cork figures and the scenes of old fashioned rural life. Best of all I like the painting of the pink butterfly with a lovely big smile on its face. I think whovever painted that must be a very nice and very happy child.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Such a lovely place, I love the pink butterfly with the smiley face, and the model of the shepherd with his crook and his shepherd hut, thank you for sharing Val.
    Thea x

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you Thea,
    How lovely to be a child and see the world as they do.
    The butterfly cought my eye..

    ReplyDelete
  15. I agree Rowan, It was that smiley butterfly that cought my eye..the little child must have been so happy that day.
    Its great when we can see where our money goes.
    the library is a lovely building and place to visit and take the children and some time for ourselves

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you Sarah, You are so right. the portuguese people have a wonderful sense of community and family. the childen are included in everything.. A very happy place to live.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Val.....thanks for your little tour of your sweet area today....you are truly blessed to live in such a friendly beautiful spot.

    Jo

    ReplyDelete
  18. Val,
    I used to love the library when I was a kid. At one time, there was library trailer that came and parked near the homes where I lived, and I would browse for a long time just looking at all the wonderful books. I loved the butterfly picture. It was cheerful. I want to thank you for all your lovely comments. I especially like yours because you always have a little story to tell with your comment. They brighten my day.
    ~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thank you Sheri,
    glad that you enjoyed this last post. Our libraries here all lovely, and very much used.
    I enjoy passing by your blog, always something interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks Jo. pleased you like the area I am living in..it is lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Val.. I love your community and the journey you took us on. I felt like I was walking beside you. I spend lots of time in our local library and in the local charity shops. In fact, today will be spent collecting item from around our house for a donation. :)

    Many thanks for your lovely comment Val...best wishes for a lovely day.

    Jeanne xx

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thank you Jeanne, glad that you liked the post.
    Libraries are indispensable..
    Always lots going on here.
    Have a good day at the charity shops. Wish i was going too.
    I am sure you will be busy packing.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Libraries are such restful places. Yours looks lovely. I think any child would love to be there.

    ReplyDelete

comments will be published after approval