We present the results of the interviews carried out to our grandparents and to wonderful people at the elderly Home of Lamas.

Q1-How was the weather in winter, when you were our age?

In the old days, the weather used to be very cold: it snowed a lot and there were many storms. People couldn’t even leave their homes. The wind used to blow very strongly and the storms were more frequent. We used to have frost and  ice stones be formed, so the people couldn’t leave the house because the roads were very slippery. When it snowed, the snow was really intense and the people, mainly the children, liked to go to the street to play. Due to the harshness of these winters, diseases, especially flu and fevers, were very common among the elderly and the children.

Q2_How did you spend your  free time in the winter?

In the winter, when we didn’t go to work to the fields, we had fun playing with buttons, jumping  to the rope and playing a game called “a panelinha” which consisted in playing with pans and pretending we were cooking. The boys used to go hunting hares and rabbits and fish in the river. When it rained we stayed at house by the fireplace with our friends and neighbors listening to the stories that the elders had to tell us. The evenings were short and we all used to go to bed very early.

Q-3 What did you use to eat in the winter?

In the winter we used to eat essentially everything that was cultivated and what the land provided. We would eat delicious soups with vegetables, beans and onions, cabbages with eggs, Rancho à Portuguesa dish and codfish.We also eat pork, that we bread  every year and especially the delicious sausages.

There were chickens and rabbits that we raised in the poultry house. Rice and pasta were not part of our everyday diet, only on party days we would eat rice. At the end of the meal,  we used to eat roasted chestnuts and French toast.

Q4- Was the forest important to you and your family income?

The forest was very important for most of people for a variety of reasons. People used to collect  pines, branches and firewood.  In the summer we used to go to the forest to collect pine cones and firewood to keep us warm in the winter. In the autumn  we collected pears, nuts and hazelnut. In the winter we collected wild mushrooms. For some people it was a means of survival. And it was the forest which provided us with oxygen.

5-what activities did you use to do in the forest in spring, summer, autumn and winter?

During the year they left the cattle to graze. In winter and in autumn we collected pine trees to sell, picked chestnuts. In the summer, we cleaned and watched the forests to decrease the risk of wildfire. We used to collect wood for the winter so we could stay warm near the fireplace. 

THE RESPONDANTS:

Respondents from the Elderly Home: Mr. Alfredo Feijão,  Mr. José da Silva Sousa
Mr. Américo Cunha, Mr. Carlos Mota: Ms Maria Luísa, Mr. António Loureiro, Ms Maria Belém Pessoa, Mr. Manuel Labaredas, Mr. Jaime Pimentel and Mr. Mário Fonseca.

STUDENTS' Grandparents
Avó Donzília (Ana Rocha's Grandma); avó Ester (Maria Marques's Grandfather), Avó Maria dos Anjos (Mariana Pinto's Grandmother), Avó Maria do Céu (André Silva's Grandmother), avó Almerinda (Juliana Freire's Grandmother) and Avó Cecília (Raquel Figueiredo's Grandmother)

                                                                                                                                         https://soundcloud.com/maria-silva-223/entrevista-aos-avos-ana-rocha       

                                                                                                                                                  https://soundcloud.com/maria-silva-223/entrevista-aos-avos-andre-silva