Goan Voice UK: Newsletter. Issue 2004-06. February 12, 2004

Advertising charges introduced. Whilst most organisers of events have made donations for publicising events, not all have done so. Some have indicated that they do not wish to pay since others have not. Others have said that will not pay unless compelled to do so. I have therefore had to impose a charge of £25. Please read the new rules and conditions at http://goanvoice.org.uk/forthcoming.htm
There will also be a charge of £25 for all personal announcements. Death notifications will continue to be free.
The income generated is being used to improve the newsletter service with a free web-based daily news bulletin being launched in March 2004.

Mr. Diego Frank De Souza of the UK has founded the De Souza Trust which provides scholarships for Goan students of Indian nationality to study in the UK. The scheme is administered by the British Council and the closing date for the current year is 30 May 2004. Details at http://www1.britishcouncil.org/desouza-scholarship-details.jpg

9 Feb. Hounslow, Middlesex, UK. PETER DACOSTA (aged 52, ex-Mombasa). Husband of Maria. Father of Jacqueline and Jason. Brother of John, Florian, Vincent, Edociana Pereira, Philomena D’Souza, Rosalind Menezes and Maria Fernandes. Peter died in Bombay whilst returning to London. Burial will be in Goa. Condolences to adesouza@compuserve.com

9 Feb. Bounds Green, London. MRS FRANCISCA ALFONSO (ex-Nairobi). Wife of the late Tome Jose Alfonso. Mother of Joaquim / Greta. Grandmother of Natalie and Sara. Funeral details from and condolences to gfbalfonso@hotmail.com

9 Feb. London. MARIA ANALIA AURORA D'SOUZA (ex Divar & Nairobi). Wife of the late Hypolito D' Souza. Mother of Maria and Francis. Mother-in-law of Vincy Alfonso and Olinda. Grandmother of Marvin, Adrian, Rudy, Sergio and Elisha.
Funeral on Tues. 17 Feb. @ St Joseph's Church, Roehampton Lane, London SW15 at 10am followed by the burial at Putney Vale Cemetery off A3 at 11.30.
Condolences to francisdesouza1@hotmail.com and marvrock@hotmail.com

7 Feb: Vasco: HELENA FERNANDES E PEREIRA. Wife of late Joao Carlos. Mother of John Florencio/Noey (England), Antoinette/Solon, Bosco/Berta and Edwin/Sybia.

6 Feb. Verna, Goa. JOAO AGNELO PATRICIO VALADARES. Husband of Eunata. Father of Miriam/Brian Duarte, Nirmala/ Mayur Gosalia, Jovina/Winston D'Costa(Canada), Mario/Indira, Maya/Allwyn D'silva, Christina/Levine Torcato(Canada).

5 Feb.? Santa Cruz. Goa. MINGUEL JOAO FERNANDES. Husband of Candida Araujo. Father of Cruz/Esmeralda, Agnelo/Alzira, Roque/Mitzie, Belinda/Peter, Ermelinda/Frankie, Alzira / Kenneth (England).

7 Feb Rediff. The Taj Group has come up with the innovative vacation scheme for singles. The first programme will be launched at the scenic location at the Taj Exotica, Goa. The hotel has planned a range of activities to keep singles fully occupied. These include yoga, meditation programmes, ice breaker activities, pool-side and beach side activities, cocktail making courses and dance classes. This is in addition to the regular candlelit dinner, buggy ride Valentine's day packages for the couples.

8 Feb. Navhind Times. Fight corruption by coming together in groups for there is power in numbers! Corrupt officials are helpless before the united strength of citizens. These messages came from the former police commissioner of Mumbai police, Mr Julio Ribeiro who spoke at a workshop on "Curbing Corruption." Reprinted by Transparency International. See: http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=100226

9 Feb. Agence France Presse. India's aviation minister Rajiv Rudy quietly paid a hotel bill of more than $5,000 for a four day Goa holiday after the Indian Express newspaper ran a front page article saying Rudy had a habit of letting the state-run Airports Authority of India pick up costly expenses. Rudy acknowledged he was on a personal trip to Goa but said he did not pay the bill because the hotel had jacked up its rates and he did not have the money on him. See: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=40700
and http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=40819 Also, BBC news 10 Feb. Headline: India's aviation minister under fire. See:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3477701.stm

11 Feb Financial Express. Thomas Cook (I) Ltd, is exploring the idea of a management contract or a partnership deal for its plans of a hotel foray in Goa. The company has roughly about 650 arrivals per season and 80 arrivals from Germany per week. See:
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=52372

5 Feb. Birmingham Evening Mail. Birmingham's Lord Mayor, John Alden is making his first trip to India. The advice he had from some pupils was to take some wellies and a cushion for when he is driving along India's bumpy roads. He will visit an emergency response centre in Goa jointly funded by the Civil Defence, West Midlands fire and ambulance services.

6 Feb. The Guardian. An inquiry team has delivered a withering analysis of institutional racism in the National Health Service. Black patients were more likely to be restrained, secluded and medicated than any other group. They were less likely to get psychological treatment. See:
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/publicservices/story/0,11032,1142331,00.html

7 Feb. The Scotsman. Headline: Beat Goa's constrictors. Excerpts: Around half the state's population still bear Portuguese surnames and are devoutly Catholic. What that translates into for the visitor is a decidedly Mediterranean joie de vivre, with none of the puritanism about enjoying a drink that characterises some Indian states.
At Chapora I watched a balding Bombay gent, baggy grey flannel trousers rolled to his knees, vainly try to persuade two topless German girls to pose with him for a souvenir photo - just the latest in the long history of culture clashes that have given Goa its oddball charm. Full text, 1604 words at: http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=148902004

7 Feb. The Independent. Antonio Carluccio "I've travelled practically all my life. Filming for the BBC, I travelled a lot - to Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Morocco, Egypt and, of course, Italy. And I've been to India many times. We've just come back from three weeks in Goa." For Antonio Carluccio's bio and photo see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/celebritychefs/carluccio.shtml

7 Feb. The Daily Telegraph. Ian Anderson "I had a wonderful holiday with friends and family in Goa for my 50th birthday. We stayed in the Fort Aguada Beach Resort and enjoyed all the trappings of a luxury hotel while staying in individual villas up on a hill above the rest of the hotel.
"Goa was perfect in as much as it afforded the kind of privacy that contemplative people like me need, and yet I want to be near CNN. I'm not a news junkie but I do get a little testy if I don't know what's going on. My wife and I have just come back from Goa again."
Ian Anderson is on tour with his band, Jethro Tull, in Britain from Wednesday until the end of the month. For details, check www.jethrotull.com For Ian Anderson's Bio and photos see: http://www.j-tull.com/musicians/iananderson/

7 Feb. The Straits Times (Singapore). Football. India has signed a partnership agreement with the Premiership's Leicester City. It will assist in the development of young Indian players and coaching techniques. India will also host Singapore in a World Cup qualifier in Goa on Feb 18. Said Alberto Colaco, the federation's honorary secretary: 'The best Indian club and national players will visit Leicester to benefit from the clubs facilities. This is an ideal opportunity for Indian football, especially the training and development of youth players.' Full text at:
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/football/story/0,1870,233877,00.html

8 Feb. Channel NewsAsia (Singapore). Headline: Complaints by tourists of overcharging by taxis dent Goa's image. The charm of visiting Goa has turned sour for many tourists. They complain of being overcharged by the local taxi operators whom they have booked for sightseeing trips in the coastal city. See: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/70108/1/.html

8 Feb. The Scotsman. Book Review: These Foolish Things By Deborah Moggach. Reviewed by Jackie McGlone. One of characters in the book has the inspired idea of setting up a retirement home in India so that families can ship their elderly, indigent relatives to live out their sunset years in the sunshine in a land of cheap labour and polite young people. "We outsource everything else, so why not the elderly?" asks London-based Moggach, pointing to the proliferation of call centres and the relocation of hi-tech industries to India. "Only last week," she says, "there was a news item about people being flown out to India to be given new hips. I think developing countries can look after us very well out there. Travel's so easy, medication is much cheaper and it's hot." Full text at http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=152982004
Also, check out the hilarious account of Deborah Moggach's trip to Goa at:
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0FQP/n4352_v126/20012795/p1/article.jhtml
Related:
10 Feb. Times of India. Packing off Britain's elderly to India is an idea worth considering. It makes sound economic sense for all concerned. See:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/486202.cms

9 Feb. Evening Standard. Staff at call centres in India are being bribed by organised crime and industrial spies to help hack into the computer systems of British firms. See: http://www.thisismoney.com/20040209/nm74070.html

9 Feb. The Guardian. Headline: Headline: Why the Patak's empire is in a pickle. Excerpts: Laxmishanker Pathak arrived in Britain from Kenya in the late 1950s with only few pounds in his pocket and started to produce samosas in a 6ft by 5ft kitchen. Today the empire is worth more than £50 million. Now two of his daughters claim they lost their share in the business because of the Indian custom of property being handed down only to male heirs. Full text, 1209 words, at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1144014,00.html See also:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1144687,00.html

9 Feb. The Independent. Obituary: James Style, writer and photographer died Anjuna Beach, Goa 23 January 2004. His most significant literary achievement was probably to be cited in etymological dictionaries as the first person to use the expression "chill-out" as an adjective. He was particularly drawn to India. Here he found a freedom from the pressures of the rat race that perfectly suited his temperament. At the time of his tragic death in a motorcycle accident in Goa, he was looking into buying a plot of land there with a view to opening a café. He was also working on a book about his idiosyncratic path through life. See:
http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/story.jsp?story=489227

9 Feb. Publico (Portugal) carried a special supplement with six articles on Goans acquiring Portuguese nationality. The main article was headlined: Portuguese nationality has become a lucrative business in the ex Portuguese State of India. Excerpts:
Jose Cesário, the Secretary of State saw "posters of five metres by three" in the streets of Goa advertising Portuguese passports. A large number of fraudulent applications have been detected ,,, protests have been received from the United Kingdom … New rules have been drawn up which are only aimed to fight fraud.
The articles is in Portuguese. A “rough” translation has been done at http://www.goanvoice.org.uk/supplement/PortugueseNationality.html#6 The supplement has other links - to the UK House of Commons Parliamentary question, for example.

11 Feb. NorthWest Evening News. (Cumbria). An inquest into the sudden death of 22-year-old Lee Philip Stables, while in Goa two years ago, failed to establish a cause of death. Furness Coroner Ian Smith said at an inquest in Barrow Town Hall on Monday his job had been made harder by a lack of help from the Indian authorities. http://www.nwemail.co.uk/viewarticle.asp?id=71198

11 Feb. Catering News. Valentine in 2004 will be a feast of aphrodisiac herbs and spices at the Mela, Shaftesbury Avenue, London between the 10th February and 10th March. Lovers of seafood have not been forgotten. Start with Piri-Piri Scallops aur Kalamari curls of squid and quinee scallops kept overnight in pickled ginger and goan vinegar marinade, tossed with bell peppers. For full text, 663 words, click here.

12 Feb. The Peninsula (Qatar). Child star from Goa to perform in city. The 11-year old Chico is performing in Doha in a Konkani musical.

12 Feb. The Globe and Mail (Toronto). Dr. Michael Pinto, sentenced to two years in prison last year for defrauding the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of $250,000, has had his licence to practise suspended for 12 months. But he could resume treating patients in half that time if he takes an ethics course and begins repaying the board $5,000 a month as part of a $200,000 restitution order. The 49-year-old physician, who trained in his native India, billed the board instead of OHIP because the board pays more for medical services

Sun. 22 Feb. The Mungul Union (UK). Feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel at White Hart Lane School. Mass at 12.30 pm followed by a social. Band Maz & Co. and disco Fantasy. For tickets contact: Rosy D'Silva 0208 352 9450; Robert Fernandes 0208 524 1762 or Rosalind Rebello 0208 767 8652

Sun 29 Feb. 4pm - The Asian Chaplaincy. Konkani Mass. Our Lady & St Christopher's Catholic Church, 32 High Street, Cranford, Middlesex.

Sun 28 Mar. 4pm - The Asian Chaplaincy. Konkani Mass. Our Lady & St Christopher's Catholic Church, 32 High Street, Cranford, Middlesex.

Sun. 25 Apr. Ex-students Reunion. Nairobi Catholic Parochial and St Teresa's Schools. Bishop Thomas Grant School, Belltrees Grove, Streatham. Mass at 1 pm followed by Social. Band Maz & Co. For tickets call Norma 020 8771 4457 Crescent 020 8952 0435 Tonyjo 01895 259947 Aires 020 8488 0194.