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.

Monday 18 June 2012

I started this morning off with a nice cup of coffee, sitting out on the patio and looking at how lovely I think my garden is looking. I finished my coffee and with camera in hand went around the garden.  I thought i would make a post I started to take photos,  three of which i have put on the post below. 

Beautiful red velvet double rose...The next one a very tall stemm with tiny little white /yellowy flowers  I have no idea what the name is!    And to my great delight the third one is my first sucsessful lilly!  Imagine two heads and a third on the way.  I am elated as I am not a flower expert.  Each year I try to add something new to my garden. 
As I was taking the photos the phone rang., I attended and became distracted. I had to go to the village to the bank. I thought I would take more photos on my return. I dressed and went drove off to the village.


                  Upon approaching the little square where my bank is.  I was amazed to find figueres dressed up like the farm workers around the area .   It took my by surprise.  As this month of June is festivity month.  Saturday and Sunday the village held marches .  I didnt know it was going to happen. As there is always something happening.  Its 20 years however, that the village hasnt had marches.                      

houses were decorated...just around the square area.
       As I  parked my car and walked to the bank.. i got the fright of my life.. there standing against the little water font was this couple above.  At first sight, I thought they were real.  
I have learned to take my camera whereever I go now.  To my joy, I was able to take photos.  I thought it was just wonderful.
                                                    Donna Maria
                                                            Snr. Padre Manuel.. this lady had decorated her little patio.
                                                 Manuel and Maria dancing..  You can see my little car and the bank at the back..

                                         Flimsily made little bench.. you cant sit on it..as its only for this coming weekend..as its the festive day of St. Pedro.. (st. Peter) here.
                                                     Snr. Jose and Donna Felicidade
                                                     Snr Jeremias e donna Lucinda dancing their hearts out.
                                      Even the little window sills had flower baskets.
                                                  A flower basket.
                                                 Donna Maria's husband  Snr Miguel..he is a little shall we say "upps tipsy"
                                            One of our little chapel's.. its opened now and again. The priests are becoming less and less and have to go miles to serve other parish's. Our main church says mass on Sudnay's.
                                              Here is Dom Sebastian.  He is watching over his group.
  Seems everyone had a merry time.   There is something special about this event.  I found out just as i was about to leave.  The lady responsible for this excellent show, told me that she and her daughter and two other ladies had done all the work..   All the flowers are made out of recycled plastic bottles and cups and orange bags and plastic cartons.   I was amazed.  The silver you see on the trees are from the inside of cartons or something.. it was all so well done.    The lady told me that everyone had a good time and the marches were very good.   I suppose i will go to the municipality to see the photos.

What i would like to mention, is this.  This is what the lady donna Maria said.    We are in a terrible economic crisis as we all now.  Its 20 years since we had the marches.. we are all tired of the austerity measures and thought that it would be a good thing for us all to have some fun. To be able to forget our wow's and our bills.   I said my good bye's after very much agreeing with her, and said that I was sorry I hadnt been there.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with friends.  Arrived home and here is my post.
I love village life for the simplicity of it all.   No rush no fuss.

Wishing you all a happy week.

35 comments:

  1. It looked like a nice festival with a message. I like they used recycled plastics. And that rose did look like velvet. sandie

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  2. Hello Val:
    There is,as you say, something touchingly sweet about the simplicity of village life and the way in which communities come together in times of hardship. This seems a lovely way to put cares behind one, if only for a day or two.

    Where will all the troubles end, we wonder? Protests here too are almost on a daily basis as the government dreams up the next way of raising taxes!!

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  3. Donna Maria has had lots of fun preparing this little festival, and given much pleasure to the people of your village. It does not cost a lot of money to add some happiness to peoples lives, may be just giving some time and thought.
    Lovely red rose Val, and plant number two is a white Verbascum, and you have another new look blog, which I like.

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  4. Hello Rosemary,
    I thought that you would be able to name the flower.
    It was a friend from England that brought it in her suitcase wrapped in paper and planted them.. i have 2. I thought they had died..but they just came up again this year.. i love them. Thanks for giving me the name. I have written it down.
    I agree, dont need much money to have a good time. I was pleased that the village folk had a great time. So nice to know our village is still alive.
    val

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  5. Dear Jane and Lance,
    I can imagine that Hungary in its way, is very much like Portugal. They joined the union after we did, but things are really bad. It is good to know that there is still spirit in the village people. Some of them are suffering badly.
    As for taxes. I dont know when they will stop rising, as it is for so much. Here too we have protests.
    Where will it all end up!
    thank you for your kind comments. we all need some happiness in our day to day life.
    Hope you had some news re your membership!
    val

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  6. Hi Sandie,
    Thanks for leaving your comments, always nice to see you. Yes, the rose looks like velvet.. its such a beautiful bush.
    The recycled flowers and decorations were incredibly ingenious ideas..

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  7. You were so lucky to have gone into town, Val! Although your flowers are gorgeous (I love those white ones...find out what they are!!!)...:)JP

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  8. Hello Valerie

    The rose is stunning. What a nice surprise to find a planned festival in your village. I hope the feast day of St. Pedro (St. Peter) my father's name is a joyful one for all.
    Wishing you a great week

    Helen xx

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  9. Hello Helen,
    I too love this rose.. Its like soft velvet.
    It was a surprise to see all the dressed up dummies.. ):As i live outside the village, I am not always up to date with whats on. But this weekend I will go and see the festivities.
    thank you for passing by Helen , always nice to see you. val

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  10. Hi JP.. thanks for passing by. your comments are appreciated.. I love the two white flowers.
    I think they are lilly family... but I will try find out their correct name.. and let you know.

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  11. Oh Val, Be still my heart with that velvet red rose! So beautiful. Your village is always having fun things going on. This little festival is wonderful, and all the dress-up people are delightful. I especially liked the sweet couple. I'm so glad I got to see some of this glorious day.
    ~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

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  12. Oh Val.....thanks for sharin' your village doins'.

    xo

    Jo

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  13. Such a beautiful place, Val... are you sure it's all real and that it's not the set for a movie? Wow! Everything looks so clean and beautiful!

    I love your flowers. I love lilies, too. I have lots in my garden, though, at the moment, I am surrounded by roses in all shades of pink!

    I love all the dummies (I don't know what else to call them!) The characters created by those ladies: they look so realistic! There's even a priest, just in case!

    The town looks really pretty, and it's nice to see your car: HELLO VAL'S CAR!

    I love your posts, Val. We need to build an awareness of life in countries like Portugal: people in UK don't have a clue! I think you are a very lucky lady, indeed!

    Buona giornata!

    ANNA
    xxx

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  14. Dear Anna,
    like Italy, Portugal has its village customs. In England they have the Morris dancers..
    I am sure like Portugal, Italy has a lot of english living there. Some like us.. love and relish in the great country traditions and festivities.. Its very Latin.
    I love it all. Fresh salads and fruit of the season outside with the sun shining.. swimming and laughing. tending my roses. This is why many English do like the latin ways.. but however alas some just dont understand it. Yes.. the priest was there to bless the people ):
    I was in the village this morning, and the dummies are there until next monday.. Its sardinhada esta fim de semana outra vez.. yummi..
    thanks Anna. I know that you can feel the way I am living. A simple country life ..healthy and happy.
    hugs .. val x x x x

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  15. Thanks Sheri,
    These traditions are very latin traditions.. europe is always full of festivities. Its the old world.
    France too have them in their villages.
    Its fun.
    everyone joins in.. good wine and good cheer.

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  16. Well Jo.. glad you liked our "village doins"

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  17. Dear Val,
    A lovely post! I very much like the dancing couples and all made from recyclable material. A lot of effort and hard work has gone into making them.
    I love that red rose!
    June

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  18. Thank you June for your comments.. nice to see you.
    I was amazed to see that all the flowers were made from recycled materials. The clothes of course belonged to the people who made the dummies..
    fun.

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  19. What a wonderful surprise. I am glad you had to go in and got to see it. I love your flowers too!

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  20. The figures are all so sweet next to the houses and in the square. A festival can have no purpose other than to make people happy. I always appreciate your visits to my blog but don't see a place to follow yours.

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  21. Thank you Denise,
    I do get your comments and always try to reply to all my blogging friends.. The comments go automatically to my gmail account.
    Happy days. Val

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  22. Hello Val
    first of all I must talk about the lovely red velvet rose, it really is stunning, the village festival looks so much fun, its amazing what can be achieved without spending a fortune, somehow is makes it all the more special !
    Thea x

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  23. Thanks for your comments Thea. I appreciate them.
    It was incredible how the ladies had made everything out of recycling materials..
    Your garden is looking lovely. Finn has worked very hard on the pond.
    val

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  24. Hello Val. First, thank you for your kind comments about Jake's graduation. You are always so sweet, Val, and I love hearing from you. When I first looked at the rose, I thought it must be made of velvet and then I read it's name. What beauty. Your little village is just so precious. I just love the lifestyle. Donna Maria is quite handsome with her long blonde braids and what a job your little lady of the village did putting it all together. What fun! Hope you had a wonderful weekend..Judy

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  25. Thank you Judy for your comments . I do appreciate them.
    The rose bush with the deep red velvet rose only gives one or two blooms.. its a beautiful bush
    At the moment all my bushes ..red,white,pinks, yellow are all in bloom.
    wishing you a good day
    val

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  26. like the thought of it all Val.
    I like the way these wonderful people think.
    Doing that little extra.
    Creating some good fun for everybody is the best thing to do at times like these. People need to feel a part of a community more than ever. As well as they need to smile...

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  27. Dear Val,
    these are lovely :)
    I loved them a lot!

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  28. Hello dear Demie,
    You have hit it on the nail.. thats what we need.. some simple fanfara.. costs nothing. and the folks can forget about this crisis..
    sending hugs
    val x

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  29. Thank you for your comments Gorkçe. pleased you liked the post

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  30. Such a pretty festival! The figures are handcrafted and needed a lot of imagination. I like that material was recycled. It proves that beauty doesn't need a lot of money! I am sorry that the economic situation is so bad. We hear it on the radio every day. Once again it's the ordinary people have to pay for the greed of others. The red rose looks like velvet which is wonderful! My new cam ist a Canon PowerShot SX230HS and I am quite pleased with it. Easy handling and I even bought a memory card today with which I can take 4000 pictures before it is full. I hope you are enjoying a long summer evening, Christa

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  31. Hi Val: I just wanted to thank you for your sweet comments on my post of the first day of summer. I know there is French lavender, English lavender and Spanish lavender. I think mine might be English lavender as I think the Spanish is short bloom with two little 'wings' on the end and I think French is very similar to English only very long and skinny. I'm not really sure of any of them, Val, and I'm really not a expert on any. Happy Thursday..Judy

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  32. You have such lovely festivals in your area. I loved that gorgeous velvet rose. I've never seen one like that.
    I've been on the sick list and have missed commenting for a while. On the mend now.

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  33. Thanks Christa,
    You are so correct.. others suffer because of greed of others.
    Some people here have to take food hand outs from caritas charities. Its so so sad.
    The rose bush is so lovely.. glad that you liked it.
    Have a wonderful tuesday. val.

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  34. Hope that you are better Betty. Sorry to hear you were a little under.
    sending you some sunshine.
    thanks for your comments
    val

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  35. Thanks for your comments Judy, always look forward to seeing your lovely posts..
    The rose is a double rose its just like silk.. I cant keep up with the dead heading, i have so many.
    Yes, we have a wonderful lifestyle here.
    life is simple.
    val

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