28th May 2006, saw the inauguration of the first 'Goan Chaplaincy' in the U.K. The Goan Chaplaincy is the successor to the 'Asian Chaplaincy'. Now the Goans in and around London have their very own Goan Priest to tend to their spiritual needs.
The Mass started one hour late due to a mix up; the Bishop waited patiently at the Church, some two miles down the road, although the mass was scheduled at the School Hall. All's well that ends well. The Choir comprised, mainly, the Goans from Swindon, with perhaps one or two others from elsewhere. The accompaniment was typically, what one would hear at a progressive Catholic Mass in Goa. The ghumto made its presence felt! The Readings and Gospel were read in Konkani, in keeping with the occasion. Rev. Fr. Oliver Antao was pleased with the reception and the 'Christening' of the occasion. I met Ciril De Qadros, ( Who posts here, occasionally) a formidable giant of a man, one would be afraid to meet him in a dark narrow alley! Ciril and his family are stalwarts and give unstinting support to the Chaplaincy. The band, Rainbow's End, a quintet from Swindon played pretty well and had a typical Goa flavour to it. We were running late and the Mister Goa + Miss Goa show took up a lot of dancing time! Fr. Antao apologized for this and hoped that we would be understanding! There was a big contingent of Goans from Swindon. I spoke to some of the youngsters, who came from Goa some years ago and work for TS TECH a Honda subsidiary. Honda is one of the more successful Motorcar manufacturers here in the U.K., so the Goans working for Honda should feel secure in their jobs. These youngsters are looking for brides, no doubt - so next time your see an advert in the Goanet Matrimonial, it might read young lad, working hard for Honda, seeks brave Goa girl to venture to Swindon....please email Greg Fernandes ( Navelim). I wrongly, had the impression that there were many Goans in Swindon, who originally came from Taliegao. I met two lads from Agassaim and one from Navelim, did not meet any one who hailed from Taliegao. It was Fr. Oliver's intention to get the people together; in this he succeeded to an extent. All the helpers did their best and were thanked profusely by the Goan Chaplain. I have many thoughts of what was wrong and what went okay, at the occasion. I shall reserve this piece and proffer my advice directly to those concerned! The caterers, Mrs. Britto and Bernie's Kitchen, did their good deed and fed the crowd to starters and a pretty good main meal of Sorpotel, Xacuti, vegetable curry and pulao rice with pickle and a piece of Bebinca as well!. Frank Sequeira, did his usual and provided Kingfisher beer to the bar. Frank and his wife have over the years helped the Chaplaincy to a good extent. If one wants to meet Swindon Goans, please take a trip there, on a Sunday or wait until the GOA open day when they are sure to be out in droves! -- DIE DULCI FREURE, DEV BOREM KORUM. Gabe Menezes. London, England _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
