My neighbour does the car boot sales. There has been a sale once a month at Fatacil in Lagoa for years. It goes off quite nicely, but then it is run by the people who trade. There have been no problems to my knowledge ever since it started. But now the government is getting into the act to organise it.
Everyone is issued with a form. That is always the first move for a government department. They want to make sure there is surveillance. Why? You answer that one.
They want your name, address, telephone number, email address, fiscal number, car number, whether you are married, what you sell, and all the usual rubbish.
They are going to charge for use of the ground. No problem, but why not just send someone round with a ticket machine? As they dont do that they are either extremely stupid, or the whole point of the exercise is the collection not of money but of information.
On the other hand, let’s eavesdrop on a conversation at the little office.
A trader turns up with a partially filled in form. “I dont have my fiscal number with me.”
“Okay, no problem, leave that box blank.”
“I dont have email.”
“Okay, no problem, leave that box blank.”
“What do I put down for the car number? Suppose a different friend brings me?”
“Oh, well, just leave that box blank.”
“Can I book one of the covered booths?”
“Yes.”
“Which one can I have, and how do I know which one it is as there aren’t any numbers on the booths?”
“We cant give you a number now as we dont know what the numbers are.”
“So how do I know what I’ve booked.”
“Umm, we wont know until next week.”
“So how will you tell me?”
“You can come back and see us next week.”
“What day?”
“I dont know.”
“Where do I come? Back to this office?”
“I dont know. This office is not used very much.”
“So where do I come back?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Do I pay you now?”
“No, we cant accept any money.”
“So how do I pay?”
“You can send us a cheque.”
“But which address do I send it to, there is no address on the form.”
“We dont know.”
“When will you know?”
“We dont know.”
If I listen any longer I will get the giggles. Are these folks real, or are they cartoon characters out of The Beano? How does anyone do business in Portugal?
And no prizes for guessing that the answer to the last two questions is: Dont Know!
Welcome to Portugal.
john
We are contemplating coming to Portugal to live. What is life like there now that Portugal is being bailed out or is it too early to say? Will be there in June to Sept this year. Would like to chat a bit. Your articles are hilarious and sometimes rather scary and make us wonder if we are sane to come and live there. We are contemplating the Estoril are and have been to Portugal four or five times. I am in fact Portuguese and speak it rather haltingly. My wife is an artist and has an exhibition in Pricipe Real in July. Best wishes and keep the articles rolling, John.
By: adrienne silva on March 18, 2011
at 4:47 am
Let me think about my answer. I will try and do a sensible article on life in Portugal. Actually, I will do half a dozen, all from different points of view. Give me a week or two to get my views into a useful format.
john
By: johnuniqueproperty on March 18, 2011
at 8:19 am
I agree 100%
By: toasty redhead on May 14, 2011
at 8:07 am
I agree 100%
By: matt laclear seo on August 2, 2011
at 5:31 am