Sunday 17 July 2011

That article


Well done to David for spotting this on the Express' website (I didn't know you were an Express reader.)

Not only is the population of Flores actually just below 4,000 as Marisa correctly points out but I am now 48, not 46. This is due to the fact that journalist Richard Webber hacked my phone for this scoop two years ago and I gather it's been languishing in the property editor's basket awaiting a day of nothing better to report ever since.

I expect property prices in the Azores have moved a bit since he wrote the article as well. But I don't care - we didn't buy this house as an investment and I ascribe a value to it of £0.01 (= €0.01 and $0.01.)

There's the inevitable story about the photo of us in the article. The journo asked for a picture of us by the house back in December. Of course, he never visited the Azores in the course of researching the piece and I think he had visions of deck chairs by the pool on Christmas Day. In fact it was feckin parky (British English for "a touch on the cool side") on the day we grabbed a neighbour to take a couple of snaps.

The results produced the usual female response to photos. Here are the ones the readership of the Express didn't get to see:-

1. "You can't send that, my hair looks mental"


2. "Nope. You look a fat bastard"


 3. "Delete that, I look a right spaz."


So it ended up being "I suppose it will have to be that one although I'm not happy about it".


Of course, the star of the show is the house. The picture printed in the Express was one I took about 3 days after we arrived here in May 2006. It seems so long ago now ...

"My back door looks too fat ..."

5 comments:

Marisa said...

ehehehe, yep, you do look retired, when I get there, me and my hubby, we're going to walk everyday to Ponta, Cuada, Alagoeiro... so you're welcome to come along (we do look retired too ;))

Neil King said...

retired or retarded?

I don't know where Alagoeiro is? Maybe I know it under a different name. Anyway, it's way too hot for walking at this time of year!

Marisa said...

I meant retired, eheheh, that's what you announce around here, right? Besides I would never called you retarded.
Alagoeiro is at the end of Fontinha, before you derive to the creek (Ribeira das Casas) or to the cliff (Rocha) and other paths with loooots of different names.
Hot is good, helps sweating!No excuses mrs & mr!

Kathie said...

Ponta? OMG, that's where Grandma was born!!! Marisa, I have a few old family letters from there, addressed to my great-grandmother in California. I'll dig them out and send you the names on them, on the off chance that any of their descendants still live there (although I imagine they all fled to North America in either of the emigrations waves).

"My back door looks too fat..." -- brilliant, Neil & Carol!

Joao Jaime said...

My name is John Vasconcelos and both of my parents were from Flores. I was made aware of this blog by Kathie who is my fourth cousin. I am known by my Flores cousins as "Joao Jaime" My father was Joao Vitorino Vasconcelos from Lomba and my mother was Ana Freitas de Corvelo from Fajazinha and I am probably related to most of the people on the Island. Ola primos!