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Newsletter January 2007 - archive
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by: Karen Telling |
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Well, after months of nagging I finally gave in, and towards the end of
November we left on our first holiday in 3 years, with all the animals
entrusted to Jan’s capable hands at her kennels/cattery in Vale d’el Rei,
we set off for Faro. We landed at Gatwick and had to make our way to
Heathrow for an overnight stay, before continuing our journey the next
morning. Although I should know better, I was still surprised at the
marked difference between the Algarve and the UK, even though it was quite
late at night when we arrived, the airport and the roads were still much
busier than those we had left behind – and it was much colder too! We had
a very relaxing holiday but it was still good to arrive back at Faro a few
weeks later, pick up the animals - whose reactions ranged from delighted
to see us, to complete indifference – and get back to normal!
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| When we left the weather was still quite showery and
overcast, in fact the autumn rainfall was 180% of the average, and the
wettest since 1931, but by the time we returned in mid December it was to
warm, sunny days and colder evenings – at last real log burner weather!
The good weather continued until the end of the month, with only one
morning of cloud and rain just after Christmas, and although the weather
is often good at this time of year, it is fairly unusual to have such a
long spell of beautiful, sunny days. As the number of visitors arriving to
spend Christmas and New Year in Carvoeiro gradually increased, there were
plenty of people on the beaches and sitting outside the various bars and
restaurants in the village. In the week before Christmas it was almost as
difficult to get a parking space in Estrada do Farol as it is in the
summer, and with some restaurants closed, those that were still open were
very busy. |
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As I explained last month, the build-up to Christmas is
much less frantic here, and it almost seems to ‘creep up’ on you – well on
me anyway! The new Modelo supermarket, a smaller version of Continente at
Algarve Shopping in Guia, opened on 13 December in Lagoa/Estômbar, next to
Slide and Splash water park, and when we visited it on 22 December there
were plenty of parking spaces, no fights over the last bag of sprouts, and
no huge queues at the checkout – in fact it was just like any other day. I
could just imagine what all the branches of Marks and Spencer, Tesco etc
were like in the UK on the same day! Next to the new Modelo is a small
branch of Worten, giving us yet more choice of shops nearby, much as I
appreciate the wider variety of goods and (hopefully) more competitive
prices we now have – I think there are now enough supermarkets in the
local area, I wonder if the planners will agree?
On Christmas Eve, we had lunch at Galé beach, which was very busy with
people sunbathing, fishing and surfing in the brilliant sunshine. Along
with most of the rest of Europe this is the more important day for the
Portuguese, and businesses start to close from around midday as families
prepare for midnight mass, followed by the traditional meal of bacalhau
and the opening of presents. In the evening, Carvoeiro was fairly quiet,
with many bars and restaurants closed, but we met up with friends for a
Christmas drink in Jailhouse. We were lucky enough to have Christmas lunch
cooked for us by my brother-in-law and his girlfriend, and afterwards, we
sat out on the terrace to open our presents in the sun! There is no Boxing
Day here, so the 26th is a normal day – and if Christmas Day or New Year’s
Day happens to fall on a weekend there is no ‘day off in lieu’ either –
one of the few times in the year that Portugal has fewer bank holidays
than the UK. The following week was fairly busy as we caught up with
friends and family, my brother and his girlfriend arrived quite late on
the 30th, just in time for a late dinner at Maximes. On New Year’s Eve,
ten of us went to Cheers where Kurt and Monika provided a lovely buffet,
and just before midnight they switched on the television to show ‘Dinner
for One’. It’s bizarre, and I have no idea why, but this short, English
language, black and white comedy sketch is a New Year tradition in
Germany, and every year it is shown several times during the evening, yet
it is virtually unknown in the UK! It was written in the 1920’s, but the
version shown was filmed in the 60s starring Freddie Frinton and May
Warden playing the parts of Miss Sophie and her butler James. There was a
mixture of British and German guests in the bar, and everyone enjoyed
watching it; most of the Germans could recite the sketch word for word,
but for most of the Brits it was the first time they had seen it – an
interesting culture swap! At midnight we went outside with our party
poppers and glasses of champagne, and we could hear fireworks, if not see
them. We stayed in Cheers until about 1.30, then walked up to Jailhouse to
meet up with some friends there, finally staggering home about 4 am – the
only problem was that we were hosting a bbq on New Years Day, so there
wasn’t much chance of a lie-in to recover!
On a less happy note, earlier in the year there was a change in the law
concerning the leasing of houses and apartments, and business premises.
One aspect which wasn’t widely reported at the time, but may have a
significant impact on many businesses, is the change to the ‘trespasse’
system, something that doesn’t really have an equivalent in the UK. The
main difference between a trespasse and a normal lease is that when buying
a trespasse, it lasts indefinitely, giving the tenant the right to sell
the trespasse on at any time, and re-coup the initial investment paid to
the freeholder. After paying for the trespasse, which can be a very
substantial amount in the tens of thousands of euros depending on the size
and location of the property, the tenant then pays a very low monthly
rent, which only increases with the cost of inflation each year, whilst
the freeholder is still responsible for the maintenance of the building.
According to the government, the low monthly rentals mean that the
freeholders have insufficient income or interest in maintaining their
properties, leading to run-down buildings with peeling paint etc. Now, a
trespasse will only be valid for 5 years, then the freeholder can
re-negotiate the monthly rent, with unlimited increases, or even sell the
trespasse to someone else without giving the existing tenant first refusal
so the changes that have been made will make all existing trespasse leases
virtually worthless. Yet another piece of legislation that seems to have
been rushed through with little thought or discussion, which could have a
huge impact on local businesses and tourism, perhaps the lessons of the
offshore property legislation haven’t been learnt after all!
The last twelve months have flown by and I hope there have been some
interesting or useful pieces of information in the newsletters, but for
various reasons, this will be my last one for now. Thank you to everyone
who as shown an interest, and for all the messages and e-mails over the
past year and ‘bom ano novo a todos’.
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