Adversity

Adversity awakens in us capacities that would have been asleep in favorable circumstances.
(Horace)

Conquests

The real conquests, the ones that you do not repent, are those that make against ignorance.
(Napoleon)

Education

If you know You shouldn't avoid to teach to those who do not learned. Education is like the sun to create a new day: Do clear the mind for those who teach and illuminate those who learn.
(Inácio Dantas)

Habits

Human's natures are similar but their habits keep them appart.
(Confucius)

Iron sculptures by Antony Gormley in Crosby Beach.

Nation

A nation is composed by its founders and by the ones who still alive.
(Ernest Renan)

Searching

A man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to find.
(George Moore)

Limits

No animal is more tragic than the man. All the other ones are satisfied with limits of nature, only the man is stubborn to overcome them.
(Erasmus)

Fantasy

Life is an open exposed adventure. Do not protect the children too much. Fortify them inside to they can play well with any kind of toy.
(Emmanuel Mounier)



I let you a set of toys, tools children use to develop them creative power... Everyday should be Children's Day...

Loneliness

Nobody ever could develop the faculties of intelligence if, at least, not interim moments of loneliness in his life.
(Thomas Quincey)

Compassion

The truly compassion makes us truly human and prevents us turned to stone, as the monsters of wickedness of legends.
(Anatole France)


Pena National Palace
(Sintra, Portugal)

Friends

Wherever we are, our friends are our world.
(William James)

Fire

Everyone of us has a fire in the heart for something.
It is our goal in life to find it and keep it lit.
(Mary Lou Retton)

Mother

If it were possible to find the first and true germ of all assigned high and all honest and generous actions that we are proud, we would find it almost always in the heart of our mother.
(Edmondo Amicis)

I dedicate this post to my mother, the one who guided my steps since the beginning, a trully Friend and teacher of all I am today...

Tree of Good and Evil

But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
(Génesis 2:17)

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
(Génesis 3:5)

Freedom

Only is equal to other people who can prove to be and only deserve freedom who knows how to conquer it.
(Charles Baudelaire)

The Ocean Of Love

She stands by the ocean
- hands by her sides,
watching the coming
and going of tides;
watching the gulls as they hover above,
watching a man hold the hand of his love.
Watching the yachts as they head to the shore,
she longs to not be alone any more.
She takes off her socks and she takes off her shoes;
she takes a deep breath and she stares at the moon.
Then, from the corner of her eye, he catches her sight;
she picks up her things and walks into the night.
Yes, it's him that she sees with his hands by his side,
watching the coming and going of tides.
In so many dreams she'd seen that very face,
in all of her dreams, standing in that very place.
She walks over to him, and they stand hand in hand;
For that moment alone in the soft, cold, white sand,
He says, "I knew you'd be here." She says, "I knew you'd come."
Then they stand there in silence and wait for the sun.
Now neither are alone and no more being afraid,
For tonight by the ocean true love may be made.

Some people walk the beach when they want to be alone,
Some search for seashells and others for stones.
Some look for comfort and for a hand to hold,
Like this man and this woman; it's worth more than gold.

So, if at night you walk alone, along the sandy shore,
May a new love take you by the hand and lead you to love's door.
(Karen Gorringe)

Cause - Effect

The man never invent anything simpler or more beautiful than a manifestation of nature. Given the cause, nature has the effect on the way soon as it can be produced.
(Leonardo da Vinci)

The essential bond

The essential bond that unites us is that all inhabit this small planet. All breathe the same air. All we care about the future of our children. And we are all mortal.
(John F. Kennedy)

You Raise Me Up

I invite you to visit a special edition of this post, with audio...





When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary
When troubles come and my heart burdened be
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until you come and sit awhile with me

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up... to more than I can be

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up... to more than I can be

There is no life - no life without its hunger
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly
But when you come and I am filled with wonder
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
And I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up... to more than I can be
You raise me up... to more than I can be

© 2001 Universal Music Norway / Acorn Music, Ireland

Virtue

The dog is a virtue that can not do it man, was animal.
(Victor Hugo)


This is "Sal", a Portuguese Pointer by my friends Chico and Lígia.

Evidence

A multitude of inferior beings to be human beings prove an infinity of exceeding it.
(John Locke)

Objective

Do not just take the steps will take you one day to your objective... every step you do must to be itself a goal in itself, while it takes you forward.
(Johann Goethe)

Smiles

The sun is to the flowers
like smiles are for humanity.
(Joseph Addison)

Preparation

The best way for us to prepare for the future is to focus all our imagination and enthusiasm in implementing the perfect job today.
(Dale Carnegie)



Photo taken from the stairs of Bom Jesus de Braga.

Portuguese Sea

O salty sea, how much of your salt
Are tears from Portugal!
By crossing you, how many mothers cried,
How many children prayed in vain!

How many brides did not married
For you to be ours, O sea!
Did it worth? All is worth
If the soul is not small.

Who wants to go beyond Bojador
Must go beyond the pain.
God gave danger to the sea and the abyss,
But it was on the sea He mirrored the sky.
(Fernando Pessoa)

Baleal Peninsula on center, entrance to Carvoeiro Cape (Peniche) on left side and Berlengas Islands on deep picture... All this in geographical center of Portugal

Grandmother

A Grandmother is a woman who has no children, so she likes children of the others. Grandmothers have nothing to do, just being there. When they take a walk, go slowly and do not trample the beautiful flowers. They never say 'Hurry up! ". They're usually fat, but still manage to squeeze us the shoes. They know where most people want a slice of cake or a larger slice. Grandmothers wear glasses and sometimes even manage to get their teeth. When they tell us stories, they never jump pieces and they dont mind to tell the same story several times. Grandmothers are the only great people who always have time. Are not as weak as they say, despite dying more times than us.
Everybody should do its best to have a grandmother, especially if do not have a TV.
(text of a 8 years old child)

This post is dedicated to my grandmother Albertina, and I thank all the affection that she gave me throughout my life.

Galo de Barcelos

the unofficial symbol of Portugal. In any curio or tourist shop you will find the symbol represented by a ceramic rooster and in the motif embroidered in towels, aprons, stamped on key chains, paper weights, etc. Because of its lively colors, the Rooster of Barcelos is difficult to miss where ever it appears. The motif seems to embody the love of life displayed by the Portuguese people...

According to a famous legend, at a banquet given by a rich landowner in Barcelos, a valuable piece of silver was stolen and one of guests was accused of the theft. He was tried by the court and was found guilty. In spite of the overwhelming evidence against him, he still protested his innocence. The magistrate granted the man a final chance to prove his case. Seeing a cock in a basket nearby he said, “If I am innocent, the cock will crow.” The cock crowed and the prisoner was allowed to go free.

Reasons of Pride

Not despising beauties found in other countries, Portugal offers truly magnificent sceneries like this one... sites that show the uniqueness of a people with a culture, history and unique traditions... reasons of pride for all Portuguese people...

A Rose

A rose to rise
A rose to fall
A rose to conquer all
Thorns that hurt
Thorns that protect
Thorns to start what cannot be stopped
One rose to say one word
One rose to say many words
Several roses to say nothoing at all

From rise to fall
From hurt to protect
A rose is a rose
That can mean many things
But all depends on you
Your interpretation
Your perspective
Your own heart
With its own rose
Its own thorns

( poem by Nuku Desmond )

[a small tribute to all women]

Child

Nobody can get to the bottom of a child's laughter.
(Victor Hugo)

In this photo, Francisco Viegas
(9 years old).

Illusion

Our greatest illusion is that we believe in what we believe to be.
(Henri Amiel)

Shadows & Lights

Life is a journey of shadows and lights. The important thing is to know vitalise the shadows and use well the lights.
(Henri Bergson)


In a small park of Sheffield,
near my home.

Depth

Distraction of the majority is the depth of a few. Being so deep is not distracted when all the others are.

(Vergílio Ferreira)

Cold

If the flame inside you goes down, the souls next to you will die by cold...
(François Mauriac)

Zeal

Your zeal and my zeal,
Great cloud of witness to take us through;
But Adam and Eve fell into sin.

Of fleshly fathers to correct us,
Of fleashly mothers to care for us,
But to the great gathering of love is what we need.

Chasten your children and teach them the zeal of life,
For the great cloud of witness is with zeal.
My love is higher than the heavens and,
My works are easily noted by you;
But i will wander into the deserts and the mountains.

Perfected is my love by faith,
And i will to you very soon;
But let your zeal lead you on always.

Poem by Edward Kofi Louis

Cathedral

Man distinguish themselves from men. Nothing is said about the essence of the cathedral if is only talking about the stones. Nothing is said about the essence of man if it is only by the human qualities.
(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)


Lincoln Cathedral (England).

Speculations

All speculations are brown, certainly, but is forever green the golden tree of life.

( Johann Goethe )

Future

If you want to predict your future,
you should study your past.
( Confucius )


My friend Marcelo Viegas, in Lincoln Christmas Market.

Christmas

I wish this Christmas we can reflect a little about the importance of this event...
Even symbolic, I wish this date will be a turning point for something better, for bringing forth our best sentiments...
I wish all of us can do plans for a very constructive and satisfactory life for us and for who surrounds us...
I wish we have true sense of our failures committed so far and made plans to correct them in the future...
I wish we can put aside our selfishness and going to look a little more for our equal as members of the same humanity that shares with us this wonderful world...
I wish all of us feel a real inner peace and our attitudes reflect that noble sentiment ...
These are my best wishes for the future of us all day...

Wishes of a True Christmas to all...
Pedro

Smile

To all who suffer and are lonely, give always a smile of joy. Don't offer to them only your care, but also your heart.
( Madre Teresa de Calcutá )

An excellent suggestion for this Christmas, I would say more, for the whole year that begins... smile, you'll see it doesn't hurt...

Photo registered in Lincoln Christmas Market.

Angel

And the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
( Luke 1:30-31 )

Photo recorded inside Lincoln Cathedral, where some "DaVinci Code" scenes were recorded, a movie based on Dan Brown best-seller.

Modesty

The modesty invented the clothes in order to have more pleasure with the nudity.
( Carlo Dossi in "Note Azzurre" )


This nice lady, dressed in traditional costumes, gave welcome visitors to the large christmas market in the city of Lincoln.

Tears

Ends quickly the pain wich ends in tears, and very long is the period in which the suffering remains in the heart.
( Pietro Aretino )

Autumn Gilt

The late September sunshine
Lime green on the linden leaves
Burns bronze on the slated roof-tops,
Yellow on the farmer's last sheaves.

It flares flame-like on the fire hydrant,
Is ebony on the blackbird's wings,
Blue beryl on the face of the ocean,
Glints gold on the bride's wedding ring.

A sparkling rainbow on the stained-glass window,
It's a silver sheen on the kitchen sink,
The late September sunshine
It's a chameleon, I think.

( Valerie Bloom, in "Let Me Touch the Sky" )

Pride

Our pride raise us up to let us fall down from the higher.
( Marquês de Maricá )


Tower City Council's building in Sheffield.

Friendship

Friendship is a reciprocal predisposition that makes two beings wish happiness to each other.
( Plato )

To my best friend, the one who is always there... with whom I can always count...

Creation

In all of the great creation, it appears that, despite their diversity, all creatures have a particular task to perform.

( Samson-Raphael Hirsh )

Last Room (?)

There are many rooms in my Father's house. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going away to prepare a place for you?

(Jesus Christ in John 14:2)

Halloween

Halloween (Night of Horror) is a traditional and cultural event, which occurs on the night of 31 October in Anglo-Saxon countries, with particular relevance in United States, Canada, Ireland and UK, based on origin the pagan celebrations of the old Celtic people.
To learn more click here.

Danger

Danger disappears when you dare to face him.

( François-René de Chateaubriand )

Cross

Who suffers much for his beloved, his cross is his glory.

( António Vieira )

Pleasure

It is better you reap the pleasure of a rose than you observe its roots to microscope.

( Oscar Wilde )

Immortality

Life is the childhood of immortality.

( Johann Wolfgang von Goethe )

Image captured in Millhouse Park, one of the several green spaces in Sheffield.

Dew

To be perfect love should be like a rotifer: die in a sunbeam, to reborn in a drop of dew.

(Paolo Mantegazza)

The last one from a series of six that I have selected from a visit to the Botanical Gardens in Sheffield.

Events

Events are waves that threaten the spirit, but also support it.

(Hugo Hofmannsthal in "The Book of Friends")

Consequences

In nature there are no rewards or punishments. There are consequences.

( Ingersoll )

Judgements

The reason why some people find it so difficult to be happy is because they are always judging the past better than it was, the present worse than it is and the future better than it will be.

( Marcel Pagnol )

Stupidity

The most dangerous kind of stupidity is a sharp intelligence.

( Hugo Hofmannsthal in "The Book of Friends" )

Attitude

The meaning of the things is not the stuff itself... it is our attitude with regard to them.

( Antoine de Saint Exupery )

Cactus photographed in the Botanical Gardens in Sheffield.

Eclipse

There are people who shine in the second row but they are eclipsed in the first one.

( Voltaire )

Tests with the lamp in my living room.

Sleep

Like a well lived day offers a good sleep, a well lived life provides a good death.

( Leonardo da Vinci )

Religions

The religions as well as the lights, they need darkness to shine.
( Arthur Schopenhauer )

Truths

The truths are fruits that should only be harvested when well mature.

( Voltaire )

Field

Life is for us what we conceive of it. For the rustic field where it is everything, this field is an empire. For the Caesar whose empire it is still low, that empire is a field. The poor have an empire; to have a great field. Indeed, we have more than our own sensations; them, therefore, not on what they see, we have to explain the reality of our lives.
(Fernando Pessoa in "Livro do Desassossego")

Opinions

There are opinions that come and die like the leaves of trees, others, however, have a duration of marble and the world.
( Marquis of Maricá )

Roche Abbey, ruins of the monument located near Maltby in the county of South Yorkshire.

Against the Stream

To reach the source you must swim against the stream.

(Stanislaw Lec)

Source

You dig inside yourself. It is there that you'll find the source of good, and this can spout continuously if you dig forever.
( Marcus Aurelius )

Source existing in Sheffield city center.

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is the homage which vice pays to virtue.
( Francois de La Rochefoucauld )

Photo registered in the coastal region, near the tourist Vale de Lobo.

Pollen

A good bee doesn't lay down on wilted flowers.

( popular proverb )

Image recorded in Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

Happiness

If you want to be happy, keep the tree of your happiness away of the pride's fungus, the envy's worm and fear's caterpillar.
( Paolo Mantegazza )

Landscape from the county of South Yorkshire, England.

History

History is an imitator of the time, repository of facts, witness of the past, example of the present, warning of the future.
(Miguel de Cervantes in "Don Quixote")

Ruins of Roche Abbey, a historic moment located near Maltby, in South Yorkshire.

Career

Career is a horse that comes to the door of eternity without knight.
( Karl Kraus )

Worlds

The imagination often leads us to worlds that we never were, but without it we will not go to any place.
( Carl Sagan )

Source of beads, in the main plaza of Sheffield City Council.

Nature

When men do not look at the nature, always feel able to improve it.
( John Ruskin )

Image registered in the garden of the Palace of the Source of Pipa, in Loulé (Algarve).

Over Guadiana

Guadiana is an international river of the Iberian Peninsula, which rises to an altitude of about 1700m in the lagoons of Ruidera, in the Spanish province of Ciudad Real, reborn in Ojos del Guadiana and flows in the Atlantic Ocean (more precisely in the Gulf of Cadiz) , Between the Portuguese town of Vila Real de Santo Antonio and the Spanish town of Ayamonte, with 829km lenght.

Aereal photo registered in August.

Angel of the North

A modern sculpture designed by Antony Gormley, located in Gateshead, in the north of England. With 20 meters high and 54 meters wide total of wings, is the largest sculpture in Britain and it is believed to be the largest angelic sculpture in the world. It is one of the most viewed pieces of art across the globe, with more than 33 million visitors annually.

This image was recorded with my old camera, a compact (HP Photosmart E327).

Nostalgia

Time doesn't stop! Only nostalgia is making things stop in time.
(Mario Quintana)


Straw Bar in Porches.

Peacefull Place

When a tree is cut, reborn elsewhere. When I die I want to go to that place, where the trees live in peace.
( Tom Jobim )

Picture registered in Clumber Park, in the county of Nottinghamshire.

Beauty

The beautyfull things doesn't die: they become another beauty.
( Balley Ardrich )

One of the many species that can be found in the Botanical Gardens in Sheffield.

Perception

Only in quiet waters things are reflected without distortion. Only a peaceful mind haves an adequate perception of the world.
(Hans Margolius)

Almargem river, in the Algarve coast.

Celestial Readings

Both people and the nations need to rid himself of his prejudices. Speak directly with the Divine: not read the book, read your soul, and then a small chapel will be as large as the very celestial vault.
( Ralph Waldo Emerson )

Food

You're a slave, while you envy the abundant food of the others. It is better you eat your own bread, and then you'll be free.
( William Langland )

Risk

Do risk! All life is a risk. The man who goes further is generally one who is willing to do and dare. The safety boat never goes far beyond the margin.
(Dale Carnegie)

Boats moored in the marina of Portimão.

Harmony

The whole nature is a divine harmony, wonderful symphony that invites all creatures to monitor its development and progress.
( Tsai Chih Chung )

Image recorded in the Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

Camouflage

The truth is the best camouflage.
No one believes in it.
(Max Frisch)

Butterfly photographed in a Hill of Algarve.

Dignity

The personal dignity and the honour can not be protected by the others. They should be ensured by the individual in particular.
(Mahatma Gandhi)

Experience

Experience is when we renounce to our youth faults and replace them by the faults of age.
( Ambrose Bierce )

Pots of mud along the road at the entrance of the Algarve town of Porches.

Trust

One of the joys of friendship is knowing whom to trust.
(Alessandro Manzoni)

My colleague and friend Florence Holmes, in our workplace.

Estremadura's Windmill

If we seek for a symbol of Estremadura, probably what we find most often is the typical windmill that is in hight lands of whole this portuguese region.

This was photographed in Pinhôa, town close to my homeland.

Fragrances

The fragrance always remains in the hands of who offers flowers.
( Hadia Bejar )

Image recorded in Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

Light

The glory, as the light, is more useful to whom feel its effects, than to whom are coated it.
( Plutarch )

Candles lit and quiet music are two good ingredients to create an ambient of peace and tranquility in our house. A therapy that I use sometimes, after a day of work.

Woman

Somewhere on this globe, every ten seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She must be found and stopped.
( Sam Levenson )


Photo of my friend Ana Clemente.

Miracles

Miracles happen to those who believe in them.
( Bernard Berenson )

Trade of religious articles in Fátima (Portugal).

Cotton on the Ocean

The clouds always change position, but they are always clouds in the sky. So we must be every day, mutants, however, loyal to what we think and dream, remember, everything is cutting in the air, the less the thoughts.

( Paulo Baleki )

Aereal register over the Atlantic.

Glory

The more later is the glory, the more lasting it is, because delicious fruits ripens slowly.
( Arthur Schopenhauer )

Berries focused on the Sheffield Botanical Gardens .

Lusitania

Arms and the Heroes,
who from Lisbon’s shore,
Thro’ seas where sail
was never spread before,
Beyond where Ceylon
lifts her spicy breast,
And waves her woods
above the wat’ry waste
(Luís de Camões)

Fort of Lagos city.

Zenith

There are more mysteries between Heaven and Earth than dreams our vain philosophy.
(William Shakespeare)

Sunset registered in my street.

Ambition

The ambition is the manure of the glory.
(Pietro Aretino)

Macro registered in the Botanical Garden of Sheffield.

Sciurus vulgaris

Squirrels like this are very common in green spaces in England.

This one made a pose for my objective in the Botanical Garden of Sheffield.

In the Clouds

The so often cloak of clouds covering the country of Her Majesty contrasts with the beautiful sunshine I saw in Portugal. This picture was registered in the return trip I did in the beginning of August to my country.

Algarve Chimney

If we want to find a symbol of the Algarve, probably one that we see most is the traditional Algarve chimney, which is in practically all towns in the region. This was photographed in typical village of Salir.

Geometries V

Steps of a staircase in the centre of Sheffield.

Quarteira Beach

Stem sunshades on Quarteira beach.

Cascade

Cascade in the square of Sheffield City Council.

Bottles

Bottles and sports standards in a restaurant of the centre of Loulé.

Peak District

Landscape of Peak District (the natural park that embraces the metropolitan area of Sheffield).
This place is on the way from Manchester to Sheffield.

Cliff

Near the Almargem river, in the Algarve region.

Conditional Freedom

We seem so free but we are so linked...
( Robert Browning )

Birds silluets, suggesting a conditional individual freedom by the freedom of the group.

Statue existing on a street in the centre of Manchester, near the Portuguese consulate.

Window

One of the windows of Palácio da Fonte da Pipa, in Loulé.

Francisco

From all the nature gifts to the human race, what is the sweetest to the man than the children?
(Ernest Hemingway)

Curious look that Francisco had made an instant to the lens of my camera.

"Candles"

"Candles" placed near the entrance of Batalha Monastery.

Querença

It were more than 30 degrees when "I shoot" on the tower of the Church of Querença, one of the most typical towns inside Algarve.

Horse and Rider

Sculpture by David Wynne erected in the centre of Sheffield, near the City Hall.

Horizons III

Green Hill in the Peak District, in the middle of the way from Sheffield to Manchester.

Arachnoid

An enormous spider walked on this source of fresh water, somewhere in the middle of Algarve.

Lost

Women lost in the cloisters of Batalha monastery, almost reaching the time of closing the monument to the tourists visits.

Menhirs

Small menhirs "planted" on a sidewalk of Sheffield who seem more alien eggs from a Ridley Scott movie.

Fruit-dish

Coloured, empty and dusty.
:)

Chair

Chair in the living room of a friend from Algarve. The one who haves the dusty fruit-dish :)

A Quarter to One

It were the time this clock tower marked, in a rare sunny day in Sheffield.

Thinker

Examines your thoughts, and if you see it pure, pure will also be your heart.
(Confucius)

In what would be thinking my friend Marcelo Viegas at the moment, recorded inside Batalha Monastery?

Cubes

This pattern of cubes arranged in different directions is the result of a focus to the windows of a curious building of Sheffield.

Morning Sunflower

Time is something that not comeback, so plant your garden and decorate your soul instead you waiting for someone to send you flowers.
( William Shakespear )


Sunflowers on a cold morning in the garden of my house.

Pond

Pond near Palácio da Fonte da Pipa, in Loulé (Algarve).

Silver Structure

Windows of a building in Sheffield, with the weak light of the sun, shortly after 6:30 am.

Honour

Tribute to British soldiers killed in the Second World War. Statue in the centre of Sheffield.

End of the Day

Moment of tranquility, largely ignored by the people who are so busy in their metier and forget to take a break from time to time to admire this kind of beauty that mother nature gives us.

Thorns

Nobody is more slave than whom considere himself free but is no free at all.
( Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe )

Curiously this security barrier, like a coloured concentration camp in the centre of Sheffield.

Wood Ducks

On Sundays, during the summertime, there are a large street market in Sheffield city centre where we can find the most peculiar products.
These wood ducks were for sale and it seemed to me an interesting image to be registered.

Cartoons

Curious looks about the work of the cartoonist with hands of genius. Moment registered in a walking around marina of Vilamoura.

Paths

One third of Sheffield is located within Peak District. It's the only British city that has territory within a national park.
With 150 forests and 50 public parks, Sheffield is the most wooded city in UK and one of the most green cities of Europe. This picture was taken in Norfolk Heritage Park, not far from my house.