nostalgic

N is for “não faz mal”

404322_287595227969825_100001580503329_842365_806400363_nIt seems ages since I was in Portugal, though in fact it was only in July.  In the words of a little Portuguese phrase, “não faz mal”- it doesn’t really matter.  Não faz mal is a bit like de nada in Spanish, but said with a Portuguese shrug of the shoulders, meaning “It’s ok!”

Portugal will still be there waiting for me, but I can’t help feeling a bit regretful.  Autumn is a lovely time to be there.  My walking group will be back in action after the Summer heat.  So many things I miss.

Liquid gold skies on our rooftop

Like the liquid gold skies on our rooftop

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My mind drifts back over times and places I’ve shared with you, and maybe some I haven’t.  Like my favourite island Armona.

A pretty beach house on Armona
And another!
And another!
The caraval “Bom Sucesso” which sails from Olhao
The beautiful brickwork in the town gate, Faro
Displays in the Maritime museum
The tidal mill at Quinta de Marim
Columbus Bar- a cool place to chill in F aro

Não faz mal!  It really doesn’t matter. Click on a photo to see the gallery.  I’m nostalgic today but who knows what tomorrow might bring?

Evening falls on Fabrica

Fabrica as the evening falls

Grateful thanks to Julie Dawn Fox for inspiring my Personal A-Z series, and to Frizz, who always welcomes people to his world.  The links will take you there.

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Nostalgic

Funny how often two challenges collide, or rub shoulders.  I had barely posted Urban Design on Friday when the Weekly Photo Challenge loomed into view :  Nostalgic.  Old films and Nat King Cole.  But that very morning I’d been reliving nostalgia at the top of Christ Church tower.

IMG_7114I’d been on a mission to purchase a few “surprises” for my husband’s birthday next week.  The sky was blue.  My camera was in hand.  What better time to climb the tower for the promised “bird’s eye view” of Hartlepool?  I reached the top and was just starting to take some shots when I heard the door open behind me.  Darn, I thought.  It wasn’t a large space and I greedily wanted it all to myself.

The lady smiled at me, and of course, I smiled back, and as I never can resist doing, slipped into conversation.  She had been born and raised in the town, but had later married an American and now lived in the States.  Over the years she had visited mum and dad in Hartlepool, but now both were dead, and after settling their affairs she was saying a final farewell to the town.  She had climbed the tower because at last she could, knee surgery having given her back that ability.

Looking at the town below us, we traded memories.  Do you remember Lynn Street?  The Indoor Market with it’s treasure trove of stalls?  Corned beef slices, fresh from the tray?  The sweet shop with chunky “rhubard and custards”?  The docks were over there- do you remember the chain links and gangways?  Hasn’t the town changed?

On and on we went, reminiscing, exchanging snippets of our lives.  We parted, finally, and I made my way back down to the ground, full of nostalgia for what had been, but a little proud of the survivor that Hartlepool still is.   I can’t show you the past, but I can show you the now.

It was dark inside but I still could capture the sun
A first peek!
View from Christ Church tower over Hartlepool
Remember Blacketts, and Binns? Long gone.
The story of the church
A new, and modern, stained glass panel.

I don’t want to repeat the photos you can see on Urban Design, but I did want to share the experience.  I wish the lady the very best for the future.  I so enjoyed our memories.  This is my entry for Weekly Photo Challenge : Nostalgic.