Purple Blossom and Modern Art

Apologies. It's been some time since my last blog. If I'd have written this a few weeks back I could have sited among my many excuses such trivialities as "People visiting from England", "Children's Birthdays" and of course the most serious "Automotive Fatality", however, that all happened at least a week ago now and to be perfectly honest, the sun has been shining and my Clive Barker book, "Galilee", is just starting to get to the good part. I'm not a particularly fast reader, so it's nice to have had time for such leisurely pursuits. Anyway, the weather today has taken a slight dip (he said hopefully) and the morning was awash with mist and light rain. (Not drizzle. We don't get that here.) Ah well, at least I won't have to water the garden this evening. So anyway, it's afternoon now and the rain has gone and what we are left with is a warm but overcast day. Maybe as the afternoon wears on the light cool breeze will shift the blanket of white cloud and the sun will shine through, but alas, that is not what the BBC weather forecast is suggesting. So anyway, despite the weather, I am feeling inspired to write today.

It's pleasant enough out here in my garden. I can hear the gentleman from across the road chatting away to his wife as he "snip snip snips" at his hedges with a pair of well worn shears. He always has beautifully trimmed hedges which, like our own at this time of year are resplendent with delicate tiny purple flowers. Please don't ask me what kind of plants they are, because I don't know. My knowledge of horticulture stops dead at the names of the vegetables I cook and one very old joke that would be better suited to a beer fueled night out than to grace these humble pages. There aren't many plants in my small garden of mainly mature shrubs and a miniature pink rose of some description, but they are all out in full bloom right now. And so, it remains my last excuse for not blogging that it is simply too deliciously tempting to sit out in warm sun and relax. I am very much looking forward to my wife and children finishing work and school for the summer holidays, so that they too can begin to enjoy the glorious weather.

Talking of gardens, I noticed a while back, while on my way down to the promenade that the trees that line the road into Monte Estoril are currently in flower with an abundance of purple blossom. The avenue of trees stretches on for at least a few hundred yards, with the trees on both sides overhanging the road and pavements forming an enchanting cover under which to walk. And "enchanting" is I feel, exactly the right word. A few minutes later and I had reached the promenade and discovered that the entire length from Cascais to Estoril has been transformed into the Arte do Mar gallery, a multitude of modern sculptures and large monochrome photographs, each piece with it's own plaque (handily in both Portuguese and English) detailing the artist's name, the piece's title and a short explanation of it's (possible) meaning. Of course my young son's favourite piece is the giant "Perna de Pau" ice-lolly, which constructed from rusty iron (for the chocolate part) and red and white painted polystyrene (for the ice-cream part) sticks out of the prom at an angle, as if dropped by a giant's offspring on their day trip to the beach. My favourite is, I think, the giant fishing net hung along the prom wall, constructed entirely from used plastic shopping bags. The meaning here is, I think, twofold, hinting at both the environmental damage that shopping bags cause, but also the consumerism associated with the fishing industry. Next time I am walking along the seafront I will stop and read it. I did take photographs of many of the artworks, but alas, half way through my walk the sun had disappeared behind some imposing clouds and so many of them didn't turn out too well. Next time I go down I will endeavour to take some more photographs, but for the time being, this little taster will have to suffice.