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OLD-TIMERS RE-VISITING THE “REBELLIOUS” ERA BY ARMAND RODRIGUES There was a time when retirees languished because of scant offerings for them by the motherhouse, the Goan Overseas Association (Toronto). The deficiency spawned two seniors’ clubs in the West-end of Toronto and two in the East, to cater to their social needs.   However, the situation changed for the better when Greta Dias was appointed Director of Retirees at the G.O.A.(T). She came in with a vision of inclusivity and has held court for eleven continuous years.   She has been conjuring up a variety of social offerings for the retirees, making them theirs for the taking. With a dimple in her cheek and a mischievous glint in her eye, Greta challenged the retirees to re-visit the nostalgic 50s & 60s and re-live the Bohemian non-conformist days of flower-power and hippiedom, at an event on September 15, 2019, held at the Kalyaan Centre in Mississauga. People responded with alacrity. It is l...

According to friends, the first Kenya Nite in London was a huge success. Thanks to a special friend who sent me the photos below.  Any names?

House of Parliament London-UK. By Roy Pacheco I was working at this giant Green Giant frozen foods store in Osterly-Egham just south of Heathrow Airport in London, when my boss called me to inquire about the progress of the work at this cold room. I told him I was almost done and was hoping to be at my next call in about half hour. My boss replied that he would like me to hustle over in to the Houses of Parliament. He had just received a call from the Parliament about the air conditioning not working in the smoking room. "Just drive to the steel gates just south of the River Thames and the Police will greet you and just follow their directions," the boss said. On my way there,  I thinking back to my days in Nairobi when I  was there to complete the air conditioning at Parliament buildings in Nairobi. That was in 1964. Then latter on,in 1967, I worked  in the Parliament buildings in Kampala-Uganda,  doing maintenance and repairs to the Carrier ce...

OLD-TIMERS RE-VISITING THE “REBELLIOUS” ERA BY ARMAND RODRIGUES There was a time when retirees languished because of scant offerings for them by the motherhouse, the Goan Overseas Association (Toronto). The deficiency spawned two seniors’ clubs in the West-end of Toronto and two in the East, to cater to their social needs.   However, the situation changed for the better when Greta Dias was appointed Director of Retirees at the G.O.A.(T). She came in with a vision of inclusivity and has held court for eleven continuous years.   She has been conjuring up a variety of social offerings for the retirees, making them theirs for the taking. With a dimple in her cheek and a mischievous glint in her eye, Greta challenged the retirees to re-visit the nostalgic 50s & 60s and re-live the Bohemian non-conformist days of flower-power and hippiedom, at an event on September 15, 2019, held at the Kalyaan Centre in Mississauga. People responded with alacrity. It is likely th...

300,000 hits on my blog, all because of you! HEADLINESOFMYLIFE.TODAY PEOPLE used ask me forever why I had not written a book and I used to shy away from answering the questions because I really did not have an answer. I had often thought about it but never really paid much attention … not many, months after My Blog was born in around 2009. I had seen one or two or three blogs but had not paid much attention to them. The two years following my wife Rufina’s passing in 2007 were a big challenge. While my public persona was one of quiet confidence and a kind of normality which gave the impression that I had come to terms with this great loss. Inwardly, there were one or two personal issues that I need to get to grips with pretty quickly. My local GP, also a pretty good friend, too one look at me one day and said: Skip you are depressed. My reaction was that he must be joking. Anyway, he shunted me off to see a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Before I went to see the ...

“Kongotcars” Whoop It Up In Canada By Armand Rodrigues There was a time when Goan village socials were all the rage in Toronto.   Over the years various factors have come into play in the dwindling interest in this ritual. One of the few villages that has kept the home fires burning is the village of Calangute.   John Lobo was the first President at its inception in 1992, with a term in office running for two years. Successive committees have played a pivotal role in ensuring continuity. Antonio Mascarenhas stands out as being at the helm for a total of ten years out of the twenty-eight that the association has been in existence. Fast-forward to September 8 th , 2019 and a celebration at the Europa Convention Centre on the outskirts of Toronto. Three hundred and sixty villagers and guests crammed the hall. Steeped in the religion of their forefathers holy mass preceded the revelry and was celebrated by the well-known Fr. Martin Pereira.   Invocations were...

From Cynthia and Mike Fernandes' family albums

A true love story, a broken heart My parents were inseparable. They had the same hobby - travel. That was their game. In the earlier years, they each travelled on business trips alone, and more recently, my mum was more an executive assistant to my dad on his marketing trips abroad. As a young girl growing up I watched my mum from the corner of my eye with her designer shoes and handbags, her perfectly groomed nails, and her constant array of new outfits. Hoping I would secretly turn out like her. What I didn’t realise at the time was that I was learning to be like her. Mum worked for Kenya Airways and, as a result, I was in the privileged position of being able to travel the world from the day I was born. Through these experiences, my mother gifted me her passion for travel and I eagerly embraced it with both hands. In the early days when dad was starting up the family business, Mum would regularly whisk me away to London, Bombay, Australia the US – just the two o...

Memories: Antoinette and Me By Cynthia Fernandes It is with a sense of profound sadness and grief that we share this recollection of a beloved, dearest friend ... Antoinette De Souza . Our 50-year friendship with Antoinette and her beloved husband Lewis certainly withstood the test of time. In Nairobi, from the early 70s to 1992, when we emigrated to Canada, we met almost every evening, spending hours together just chilling, joking and laughing. Our guests got their ‘cue’ that they had to go home when Mike stood up, and started drawing the curtains, which, invariably, was never before 11 pm. But the truth is, we never ran out of conversation. We travelled to all the Game Parks and Lodges together, enjoyed several fishing trips and picnics, and our incredible journey and remarkable and unique friendship only blossomed and flourished. We were inseparable – shared a common, irreparable bond;  we understood ...

Even   as   Ronald   only   co mes   to   this   realization   by   journeyin g   to   the   homeland,   the   sojourn   does   not   make   him   feel   any   more  or  less   Goan;   if   anything,   it   makes  him   more   attuned   to   the   multiculturalism   of   Damibia,   his   birth-country,   and   its  racial   segregation   and   class   stratification.   Of   a   community   organization   call ed   the   Goan   Institute,   Ronald   explains   that   he   supported   the   dropping   of   the   word   “Goan”  from   its   title,   post-independence,   so   as   to   move   away   from   the   pu...