In this, Sally talks about her return to the UK for Christmas 2003 after having started a new life in Portugal. 

It was very strange to be back in the UK.  I flew on 19 December.  At check-in at Lisbon airport, I was furious to be charged excess baggage by BA especially when the flight was half full.  Interestingly enough, the return flight with self same baggage incurred no excess baggage charge on another half full flight.  Other friends, who flew the following day to London to connect with a flight to Canada, were also hammered for ski kit.  An outraged missive to BA on why Lisbon charged when Heathrow doesn’t, resulted in no apology.  I have always preferred to travel with TAP who surprisingly did not charge any excess baggage to anyone over Christmas!  Warn friends over the double standards of BA!

When I arrived at Heathrow, having left Lisbon in deep mist (they like to call it fog), I had forgotten how grey the winter skies are – quite a shock.  I did find the UK incredibly expensive.  I know it was only 18 months or so since I had left, but I certainly thought things had increased in price.  Also you notice the commercialism much more with all the adverts on TV, radio and hoardings.  You also realise what a wide difference between earning levels there are between the UK and Europe. As an example, I was in Carphone Warehouse picking up a new chip for my phone when I ear wigged a conversation at the side of me.  A young lad was with his parents and enquiring about the latest state-of-the-art mobile.  The cost of this phone was approximately £350!  When you convert that over to euros, it is roughly the monthly salary of a policeman here – fireman earn slightly less.  I took the bus from Bath to Bradford-on-Avon and nearly fainted at the single fare – £2.40!  The journey is about 20 minutes.  For that fare you can travel twice (return) from Cascais to Lisbon on the railway (a forty minute journey)!

The biggest shock to the system was the price of coffee!  Definitely spoilt over here.  A small black coffee is about 50 cents out of the city and in small coffee bars; the highest price would be about 90 cents in a posh area of Lisbon (70 UK pence is roughly equal to 1 euro).

Strangely enough I actually found just before I left the UK that I was feeling homesick for Portugal – I wonder what that means!  Driving a car was great fun but again I found I had to work really hard at remembering which side of the road to drive on, and I admit to going the wrong way round a junction – luckily nothing was coming!  I also had to concentrate and remember that sunshine and frost sometimes mean ice!  Funny how fast you forget these things.

Flew home to Portugal on 3 January and left grey skies for stunning blue skies and burning hot sun!  Coming back along the motorway was quite surreal, as so many flowers had bloomed over the Christmas period.

Pompey (the kitten) was so thrilled I was home that he slept with his head on my face and his body curled between my head and shoulder for a whole week!

Although it is winter here in Portugal, it is quite different to the UK because there is so much in flower.  Because of the rain we have lots of different shades of green, Madonna lilies are all out, the cherry blossom is just starting, magnolias are in full bloom along with camellias.  Mimosa is also out.  It does make a difference.  The weather has been far better than last winter.  We have had some days where we have had torrential rain but then it stops and you get a bit of blue sky and sometimes, magnificent rainbows.  Some days have been quite warm but again, it can get quite cold at night and I have had my gas log fire (salamandra) on a few times which is rather nice as you have this glow in the corner. 

I have now received my official Numero do Contribuinte – my tax card which means that I now have to sort out all my receipts to hand in by the end of this month.  I can claim medical, dental, any purchases to do with work, petrol and restaurant bills (this I was told was to help the tax authorities make sure the restaurants in question actually declare revenue!)  For those of you who know my hatred and frustrations with sums – keep your fingers crossed.  I have no doubt that things will be thrown and tears shed when I do this later this week.

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

Mac is not responsible for finding these signs, he saw them on the internet and thought they may be amusing for readers of the Globetrotters e-newsletter.  Please, no complaints about being patronising, this is just for fun. 

Spotted in a toilet of a London office: TOILET OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW

In a Laundromat: AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT

In a London department store: BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS

In an office: WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY, PLEASE BRING IT BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN

In an office: AFTER TEA BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAINING BOARD

Outside a second hand shop: WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING – BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC. WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?

… and the best one…Notice in health food shop window: CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS

Spotted in a safari park: ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR

Seen during a conference: FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN'T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE ON THE 1ST FLOOR

Notice in a field: THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES

Message on a leaflet: IF YOU CANNOT READ, THIS LEAFLET WILL TELL YOU HOW TO GET LESSONS

 … and finally…

On a repair shop door: WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR – THE BELL DOESN'T WORK)

Which countries are represented by these flags?  For the answers, see at the end of the e-news.

London meeting 3^rd April 2004 by Padmassana

John Douglas was our first speaker this afternoon, who showed us Norway’s Arctic Highway which begins life further south as the E6. John's photos took us through the roads history which began in the 1930’s, through the years of WW2 when the Germans used slave labour from Yugoslavia to push the road into previously impenetrable regions. In those days the road was not much more than a track, a far cry from today’s paved road. The reason for the improvement to the road in the last thirty years or so being Norway’s North sea oil, not only paving the road but driving tunnels through mountains and under fjords and the sea. John explained that this was partly done for political reasons, to encourage the population to stay in the north and keep the area populated during the Cold War. John also showed us the Norway we expect to see, reindeer, glaciers, snow capped peaks and the Sami people in their colourful traditional costumes that sadly only come out nowadays on ceremonial occasions. John finished this interesting talk with a photo taken near Hammerfest, the midnight sun giving rise to a magnificent orange sky.

Our second speaker was Karen Neale, an artist’s journey through world heritage cities and sights. This highly innovative talk was not illustrated by the usual slide show, but rather by Karen’s own sketches, which she made as she travelled. Her 5-month journey was funded by a grant from the Churchill Trust Travelling Fellowship. During her trip she made over 100 sketches, which brought the places to life for the audience and for those of us who have visited some of the places rekindled many memories. Karen left a rainy London for a rainy Paris in April 2001, but the sun finally shone for her as she drew Avignon’s Papal Palace. She travelled into Italy, via Milan, Venice and Rome and into Greece, then into Turkey, Karen’s sketches of Istanbul’s domes and minarets and the Grand Bazaar bringing this eastern city to life. Karen’s enthusiasm bubbled throughout her talk, particularly her sketches in Iran, from the history of Persepolis, the beautiful drawing of Imam Square and the most evocative of all the mud walled city of Bam, which was destroyed in December 2003 by an earthquake. Many Globies who have been there will no doubt be asking for prints of that drawing. Karen headed east into Uzbekistan to the fabled cities of Khiva and Samarkand, where she drew the mosques. A dodgy Uzbek airlines flight took her to India, where she had difficulty drawing in the cities as she became an attraction herself, surrounded by people watching her, but she still managed to bring us colourful pictures of Jaipur and the temples at Ranakpur. Karen’s was a very different presentation and I am sure it is going to be remembered as one of the highlights of Globetrotters in 2004.

Next month

On Saturday 8th May, Liam D’Arcy Brown talks about China's Historic and Symbolic Borders an 11,000 mile journey to the country's extreme four corners and after the break, John Malathronas will give a slide show and talk about Brazil – Life, Blood and Soul.

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk