Letter from Espargal: 11 of 2013

Good Friday morning! The weatherman who promised us a thoroughly damp and dull weekend would seem to be keeping his word. Beyond the trees around the house the world has dissolved into the mist. The weather is at least in keeping with the religious mood of the day. There’s a small cheer-up fire in the stove, which helps to dry the washing hanging from a rack overhead.


The dogs, who normally agitate for their morning walk, are content to stay on their mats and cushions. (Note 1: our dogs are “who” dogs rather than “which” dogs; Note 2: we once brought home half a dozen usable cushions from a sofa dumped beside refuse bins, on which the dogs now lie. Barbara subsequently re-covered them and frequently washes the covers. In fact, she frequently washes just about anything that isn’t glued down.)

MY BEANS
The week has had its ups and downs. At least we got one thing settled after months of faffing around. It concerned medical treatment by the state. Time was when EU countries treated one another’s citizens medically without fussing about payment. Then a while back, rules changed and expats were required to perform a range of bureaucratic gymnastics in order to qualify for (semi-)free treatment.

BORAGE
Early in the year Jones got a letter from the Portuguese authorities saying that she was required to produce a form from the UK state pension provider. A first visit to the social security offices in Loule – dozy lady with a bad cold - led us on a wild goose chase.


A second visit – bald, better informed man - proved more helpful, although not much. We phoned the pension people in the UK who eventually sent Barbara the required form and on Thursday we took it in to social security, along with all the relevant documents we could think of.


On the advice of neighbours, we went to the department in Faro, the regional capital, rather than Loule. Faro has instituted an impressive “one-stop citizens’ shop” on the top floor of its renovated market, where all bureaucracy can be dealt with at a range of desks.

After a 30-minute wait, our number came up and a young man took a look at our file. One document caught his attention. “You already qualify for state medical treatment,” he informed Barbara, holding it up for her to see. “None of this new stuff is necessary.” So we came home again, muttering to ourselves.

JONESY SKY
I should add that we have not made use of state facilities, which are invariably crowded and under great pressure. We have limited medical insurance and visit a private GP who has sent us to private medical institutions for any tests or treatment. But on the “you never know” basis we thought it wise to secure the right to state treatment as well.


We came home via the Algarve Forum shopping centre on the outskirts of the city so that I could talk to Vodafone, our mobile phone service. While on my recent travels I ran into difficulties linking to “roaming” services, both in Germany and South Africa. And, alarmingly, I found my sim-card failing to accept my PIN after coming out of “airplane mode”. Vodafone have inserted a new sim-card (with the same number), which – they and I hope - will resolve the problem.

We enjoyed one evening with Celso and his two children at the Hamburgo. He is shortly to leave them behind when he goes to France to join Brigitte, who has found a house there but not yet a job. Elene, sixteenish, wants to remain in Portugal. Young Joey will stay here until the end of the school term. We are sad for them all, victims of the “crise”.

ROCK OF SUFFERING
During one of our damp pee and pooh outings in the park, while descending a shallow bank, I lost my footing on slippery ground and crashed painfully on to the rocks at the base. It took me several minutes to decide which parts of me were broken (none as it turned out), which bruised (several) and which merely grazed (my right arm), all while trying to dissuade the dogs from licking me to death.

JONES CLUTCHING WEEDS
Even so, in the sympathy stakes my horse was a non-runner. My wife continues to heal slowly and painfully from the canine attack that she suffered on March 8. It will take a few weeks yet.

Happy Easter!