I suppose I ought not to be surprised at any news emanating from Portugal, but I always find something odd in the news.
The latest story is that nearly 800 people are currently tagged and under house arrest for domestic violence. How odd. I would have thought the way to deal with domestic violence was to get the trouble-makers out of the home, not lock them in it.
Quite why there are only 800 people involved I dont know since apparently there are roughly 20 reports of domestic violence a day in this country.
The reason these people are told to stay at home where they are more likely to commit any kind of domestic offence is simply that it is cheaper then keeping them in prison. How that helps the victims no-one says. It is also a strange way to deal with crime, but then I guess everything is related to money these days. I would have thought prison sentences should be related to the seriousness of the crime, or the safety of the public rather than the cost.
In this instance the risk assessment of a wife getting beaten up is given at roughly €25 a day. I hope they feel they are getting a good deal.
Apparently it was the Olhao fish festival last week. No-one told me, and I didn’t see it advertised anywhere, so I didn’t go. Probably the attendance would have been twice as good if more of us had known about it. That’s another problem here, we simply dont know what’s going on. The websites are not helpful, and so much is simply just not listed.
Apparently next week there is a Snacks festival in Portimao, but where and what it’s all about one doesn’t know. There is a website set up but it isn’t much good for the tourists as it is only in Portuguese. You think they’d want the tourists to take part, but obviously not, even though the Algarve is supposedly a famous tourist zone.
There is also a medieval fair in Castro Marim. Hmm, that’s on now. Can I get there in time?
The only snag with that is that CM is a long way away, up the other end of the Algarve. Do I want to drive 100 miles there and then back again in this heat? Probably not, which is a pity. Maybe I’ll just go swimming in the lagoon instead.
john
