More of Doris’s random snaps: Historic Paris Match editions; statues which might be from Lord of the Rings; non-drying blue paint; Christmas must-haves.
Paris Match
Both Sid and Doris’s schools took Paris Match magazine in an attempt to interest sixth-formers in being able to read colloquial French. Possibly a modern-day equivalent would be Hello! magazine although in fact Paris Match is still running. Anyway, for quite unexplained reasons, the Quinta das Lágrimas library contained bound copies of Paris Match during the 50s and 60s. So here is the edition on Doris’s birthday, which included the breakthrough on the Mont Blanc tunnel and a sad little article about an actress’s thalidomide baby, a drug which had been withdrawn in the UK in the previous year.
And here is Sid’s birthday edition, from a time when the magazine didn’t have a contents page but did contain articles and adverts about cars, including the Ford Taurus and the 2CV Vespa.
Characters from Lord of the Rings?
Some little statues from the Coimbra museum that are much older than they look, and really captivating.
Non-Waterproof Blue Paint
Our friends Mark and Carolyn used to have a house in Portchester which they decided to paint with blue limewash [fact to be corrected later probably]. Limewash goes darker when it is wet and lighter when it is dry, it looks hugely picturesque and turned out to be a bit of a challenge to put on (understatement). So in one of these “we saw this and thought of you” moments, we saw a lot of blue paint in Obidos which seems to go runny in the rain, to the delight of some of the younger tourists. The picture shows a few metres of wall but the fun is nonstop across many buildings.
Holiday Funwear
No comment, although it is vaguely surprising that they felt that the tinsel added anything.
I was suddenly reminded me of the Christmas song by the Ouse Valley Singles Club, although her costume was much prettier.