Rede Local de Permacultura / Local Permaculture Network

Saturday April 10th
10am – 3pm

Figueiro Dos Vinhos

Plant Sales; English Books: Elderflower Cordial; pies; house clearance;
Lunchtime catering; Tea; Bric –a- Brac; table tennis; clothing; cakes; crafts; etc …

Take the N237 into Figueiro off the IC8, go past Aldeia de Anna de Avis, slow down at the sign for Lampada and round a right hand bend you will see a yellow house & a slip road for Quinta da Telhada – follow down the hill over the bridge and we are up the track on your left signposted Casa da Telhada.

e-mail: karen_whitehead@hotmail.com

Call: 236551407 Karen or Chris for more details … or to book a space – Free Pitch – donations welcome. Please e-mail or call to book a pitch.

Saturday April 10th
10am – 3pm

Figueiro Dos Vinhos

Plant Sales; English Books: Elderflower Cordial; pies; house clearance;
Lunchtime catering; Tea; Bric –a- Brac; table tennis; clothing; cakes; crafts; etc …

Take the N237 into Figueiro off the IC8, go past Aldeia de Anna de Avis, slow down at the sign for Lampada and round a right hand bend you will see a yellow house & a slip road for Quinta da Telhada – follow down the hill over the bridge and we are up the track on your left signposted Casa da Telhada.

e-mail: karen_whitehead@hotmail.com

Call: 236551407 Karen or Chris for more details … or to book a space – Free Pitch – donations welcome. Please e-mail or call to book a pitch.

By Billy Murray

What I was

Some years ago I had a good career in IT, which I gave up on the grounds that doing a soulless job wasn’t making me happy despite the good pay.  In the context of a prevailing materialist culture this was an unusual step, perhaps radical, maybe even subversive.  Whatever, I had begun to see that most of us weren’t getting a good deal in life.  Our lives were being structured around the needs of the gargantuan machine known as ‘the economy’, which drained our energy and in return gave us toys and narcotics to keep us amused, distracted and pacified.  When I saw the film ‘The Matrix’ I recognised the metaphor.

Around this time I was hearing a lot of doom-laden talk about the future of the world – peak oil, climate change, species extinctions, superbugs, the unsustainable economic system, conspiracy theories galore – and I was given to listening to it.  As a result I became very cynical, a bit paranoid and angry about my fellow man.

When Mim and I had our conversation about washing machines and community (see above) I was more than ready to leave my comfortable, but fairly pointless, life in London and look for something more fulfilling.  I found it difficult to articulate why I wanted to live in community.  The best description I could come up with was “I want to live with people I love.”  This didn’t really address any of the practical issues of community living, but it was enough of a driver to start me enquiring about them.

But for me the project of seeking community became heavily tinged with notions of how to survive the maelstrom that would follow the impending collapse of civilisation.  It was all a bit dark.  My attitude was one of running away from a world I hated.  The only positive aspect was the thought that some of us could construct some sort of cultural safety net for mankind – islands of knowledge and experience that would be useful in ensuring we weren’t thrown right back to the stone age.  I felt pretty superior.  Part of me couldn’t wait for the collapse to happen, so I could live out my heroic fantasy.

What I am now – Big Changes

When I met Pete and Cynthia I was immediately struck that their vision was far more optimistic than any other I had come across.  I was introduced to the idea that humankind’s development was not finished yet: evolution is still ongoing, and an evolutionary leap is required to solve the problems we’ve created from our current perspective.  When Pete said they wanted to create a beacon to attract people who are ready to awaken to who they really are and create a new world, I wanted to be part of that.

So instead of running away, I now feel that I am running towards something.  There is a positive intention here to make a different life.  I realise that while I hate what I call “the big con” (the way we’re all being cynically exploited and told that it’s making us happy), what is more important is what I love: the freedom to live a life of integrity. A very important aspect of this is personal responsibility – it’s up to me how I live my life: I make choices, and I accept the consequences.  Living here is exciting and challenging as I’m taking on the ‘Inner Matrix’ of illusion about the nature of my being.

I also love the practical side of this life: building fences and gates; making steps; random bits of carpentry and plumbing; doing things with my hands; getting the chance to create truly useful things that make our lives work well, rather than spending my time writing computer programmes for projects that weren’t important in the first place.

thebillyexperiment@yahoo.com

As friends on Facebook have already found out, I managed to mistake my left thumb for a piece of pine while chopping firewood a couple of weeks ago. Quite a silly mistake really (and not one I should have made after about 20 years of wood-chopping experience) but these things happen when the brain is idling out of gear. Still don’t know yet how I managed to do it, but somehow I managed to split it longitudinally in two. Right through the nail, the bone, and out the other side.

A quick trip to Arganil medical centre (and with huge thanks to Rick & Sarah) and 10 stitches later, I looked like something out of a Tom & Jerry cartoon.

Waiting to be stitched up at Arganil. The sign behind me says “não espere!” — “don’t wait!”

The stitches came out last Wednesday and the dressings this Monday, two weeks to the day I did it. It’s healing very well, but has somewhat curtailed my abilities to get on with stuff. Frustrating, but Helen and Oonagh have been stars. Thanks also are due to the staff at Coja medical centre for the redressing that was required 3 times a week.

Lesson? Do not wield axes while brain is out of gear. Don’t think I’ll be forgetting that one in a hurry …

Discovered by Helen while digging up the middle terrace to prepare vegetable beds for planting. A Marbled Newt (Triturus marmoratus). These mainly terrestrial members of the Salamander family apparently navigate by the stars to find their way back to their breeding pools. Here it must be right at the southernmost extent of its range.

O percurso é entre Viseu e POMBAL.

Este é o percurso quase final, e será actualizado à medida das confirmações!

Em breve teremos também um mapa e toda a informação sobre como chegar até as quintas, transportes publicos, etc. (na subpagina PERCURSO!)

Chegada- partida/ Localidade/ Quinta

21-21 mar / VISEU/ Viseu

21-22 mar / Tibaldinho/ Q. Vale verde

22-23 mar /Mangualde/ Por confirmar

23-24 mar / Torre Tavares/ Biótopo Shanti

24-26 mar / Melo/ Ruinas Circulares

26-27 mar / Manteigas/ Parque campismo do P. Natural S. Estrela

27-29 mar / Loriga / Q. Nemus

29-31 mar / Chão de Sobral / Associação C. Sobral

31 mar-1 abr / Fraga da Pena / P. Vida Desperta

1 – 3 abr / Colmeal / The Hive

3 – 4 abr / Pessegueiro / J. Freguesia Pessegueiro

4 – 5 abr / Alvaro / Por confirmar

5 – 6 abr / Pedrogão Pequeno / Q. Lynda Dolan

6 – 7 abr / Foz do Alge / Por confirmar

7 – 9 abr / Alvaiazere / Fojo

9 – 11 abr / Pombal / Q. Fonte nova

AVISO: Decidiu-se terminar a caminhada em Pombal em vez de Coimbra no dia 11 de Abril!

O novo portão:

Os trabalhos por agora andam à volta da reconstrução de uma das casas de cima.
Primeiro fomos buscar barro á serra.
Depois á que fazer uma peneira e peneirar os vários quilos de barro:

Deste aspecto, antes de ser peneirado:

Passa a este depois de ser peneirado:

Depois junta-se à areia, à cal hidraulica e à agua:

E voilá!Temos a argamassa!Agora só falta passar nas paredes todas!Uff!

Vida de cão é boa!!