An Alentejano Afternoon

Long story, but ended up in the "Senior University" all afternoon. The first class, on Portuguese literature, was simply brilliant - Prof Fernando took us through, first, a short story by Soeiro Pereira Gomes, and then, José Saramago's Nobel acceptance speech - in the course of which, Fernando got quite emotional. There were about 20 older folk there, enthusiastically debating ideas, but total silence while this volunteer teacher read these texts out loud in the most beautifully elegant Portuguese. A lesson in how to inspire...

And then I come home to these scenes, reminiscent of both extracts that he read to us: Zé Custódio and his tractor, and Dona Cândida chopping up cabbage for her bean and cabbage soup, in the golden light of an Alentejano afternoon.