Eusébio the real deal and Tourism

Apart from hanging around the utility boxes in Carvoeiro we tried a couple of restaurants there (great Chicken Piri-Piri).

The restaurant stands as a testament to Eusébio

One of the places we ate at (Casa Iberica)  was festooned with photographs of football and on enquiry I found that the theme was around  Eusébio who I remember from my days as a Football mad pre-teen  at the time of the 1966 world cup.

[In fact looking at the 'Stats'  when he was playing for Benefica he averaged more than one goal per appearance - staggering.]

It was unusual at the time to see a Black player amongst a European team at this time - he was a great player with amazing speed and was top goal score inn the World Cup of 1966.

The entrance to the Casa Iberica

Talking to  a local driver it was illuminating to find how his story is part of the national fabric- also  learnt from him how Carvoeiro had changed from a fishing village where the sea would often encroach on the main street to a tourist resort.







It's interesting to think about the price paid for Tourism in many Southern European countries by locals - UK has got by lightly I would say.

Just some of the photo's

Looking into the story around Eusébio it's quite something to see he was the real deal, a hero and role model - given 3 days of national mourning when he died in 2014.

And Now

I'm going off the coppers - £167 50p

Truth and perception?

Well I've still got Carvoeiroboxes I've not shared and Politics needs some light and shade (and colour too)....

On a day that Diane Abbott 'misspoke' (who started with that phrase?) it was good to see that the Tories too were challenged (sadly not on all the bulletins though) .

Sadness Blue and Conservative?

Yellow is the LibDems colour

I tend to find James O'Brien a  more combative front-person on BBC 2's Newsnight  but it was  nice to see Evan Davies last night landing some good points about recent Tory Government  history regarding following an  Ed Miliband (Labour) trajectory rather than there own stated aims - Chris Philp MP of course stuck with avoiding direct answers to questions posed.

What also  is interesting is the battle that's reported to be ongoing within the Tory high command over the manifesto - as it looks at the time of writing (sadly) very  likely a large Conservative  majority (in England) will define the UK for several years and apart from the all consuming Brexit struggles over the next few years the type of Britain we live in could be defined by what finds itself into what's a 'virtual' contact between the government and the electorate.

A Green vote perhaps?

For me if Labour lose a significant number of seats in England at this election  then without reversing the entry-ism of Momentum (how ironic is that as a name?) - this I think would require a further change to the  membership rules

A Leader is important 

If there's not a move to a 21st century party of aspiration the 2017 election will really will have sounded its death knell - expect lots of analysis from Council and Mayoral  elections this week.


If the LibDems had a more convincing leader than the enthusiastic but untried Mr Farron  they could capitalise on the vacuum at the centre of Politics in England (note England not UK - can't help feeling that boat has sailed - thanks Mr Cameron).

The Fund

Leaps and strides £165

All change ..and Barnes

Not long as Chooks but Pizza on the Green for many 

Change is good some say.


It's certainly unavoidable - from Chooks becoming Bob's (in less than two years although it seems to be the same overall management).


And certainly sad to see the end of the Skateboard and Pop Up shops in Bond Street (they're going to make way for the 'Cinema Quarter' in Ealing).

Sad to see the Pop-Up shop where I was in residence gone for good

Barnes 

Last week I had reason to be in Barnes - fairly easy to get there from home but it's South of the river (just) and meant using the bus (one that was new to me and a 'hail and stop').

What I found was a really lovely village type place Art and Cinema along with facilities for the retired but goodness I wonder how people afford it.

FiSH is the abbreviation for this facility

Barnes's Own Arts centre.(was the Sorting Office)

And OSO has a café too

A quirky totem

Camera Fund

Feeling like a reasonable  sum  £162

A Coalition of Chaos - Richmond and Zac,Boris and the Bulldozers

It's conjecture but I wonder if we could have something of a surprise result in the 2017 UK Election - when I see Theresa May being interviewed she does not come over well or at ease with what she presents - I expect things will change when the Manifestos of all the parties are available to be dissected and will act a script for the main party faithfuls .

I expect I'm not alone in recognising the wisdom of the phrase about a lie (say it oftrn etc..)   - there seems to be little doubt that Jeremy Corbyn has said he won't be part of a coalition (as has LibDem leader Tim Farron) but The Tory faithful continue to use the phrase for what is surely an unlikely result of a non Tory win as 'Coalition of Chaos'.

Local shops indicate that the NHS could be under threat?

I've also heard  reports that a new May cabinet could be quite different from the one we have now- it'd be difficult to remove the Brexit negotiators but Boris could be sacrificed and could also  potentially lose his London seat if ant-Brexit constituents decided he was not what they want.

No 10 (at the Garden Centre) 

There's a feeling too (for me) that we're seeing one of those football games where for issues of crowd misbehaviour the game is being played  with only TV camera and a detached distant audience  - I suppose May is a shy woman and does not have political 'friends' unlike Corbyn who oddly does appear to connect (and listen) with some  regular folks, he's not a master of spin but does appear to relish the campaigning and for a 67 year old has a fair amount of energy.



Along with other issues that are being (currently) avoided is that ongoing  'Heathrow expansion' issue - Zac Goldsmith is standing again in Richmond and (I'm guessing)  if he's not changed his Brexit tune unlikely to return to the  HoC - but what about Boris Johnson (who was once committed to lying in front of the bulldozers) - will he have to face this ? (or is it a different sort of lie that Boris is providing?)

The Fund

A new impetus £159