Community Project

Most of the year, Pera is a quiet village with 100 or so locals going about their business and drinking in the club. Local men don't really put a lot of work into 'best kept villages' over here...in fact Peter and I walked past a dead chicken in a bag outside some old guys house yesterday...now that's rural Portugal for you!

Come August though the village gets busy, with Lisbon(ites) coming for their summer holiday, staying with family or in the 'done up' houses in the village. We have a few from America too, originally from here but living in New Jersey. The village is more vibrant and things get done.

In Pera we have a wall, it's a big wall, it's grey, not very nice and runs the length of the main village road. One of the ladies from Lisbon has been on at the local CAMRA (Parish Council) to do something about this wall. The CAMRA are not interested! After she went to shout at the men in the club drinking, telling them that they are lazy sods for not doing any work on the village, and being told to f-off by the men, she gathered a group of out of towners and the foreigners to paint the wall!

So with donated paint and brushes, about 15 of us got together over a few mornings (before it gets too damn hot) to paint the wall. Not quite sure if it is just bringing attention to something very ugly. But it does look better. Next year we tackle the large wall on top of the swimming pool in the village!

Felt good to do something for the community, even if the locals think we are crazy!

My next community project is a local dog called Lord. But more about him another time.

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Helen and Peter in Portugal

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