Dear Eddie Once upon a time when Fort Jesus in Mombasa, Kenya was a garrison under the jurisdication of the governance of Goa there will have been Portuguese troops and their Goan dames with off spring settled in Mombasa. Until the garrison was overrun by Omani troops who massacared all the white Portuguese sparing the rest, hence probably the first settlement of Goans was in Mombasa. I am sorry I do not have any dates for this as it will be a period before "The Book" A Railway Runs Through.
If you agree, dates are very important, especially on historical and official documents relating from birth to death of our species hence birthdays, anniversaries are celebrated in a civilised society. There has been so much noise in the library I have yet to start reading "The Book" but with all the comments I feel I have already read it. The World Cup is just round the corner in a country that is the seventh richest in the world and has its ties, language and culture from Portugal, part of which is shared by our Goa. Goa is still blessed as ladies can walk in 2014 to church with their gold necklaces and bangles I doubt that this can be done in Rio or most other countries today. Now to explain the material importance of dates in just very few examples. The date when the World Cup starts this year is important The date when the Olympics started was important The date when you were born is important The date when you married is important The date of your retirement is important The date of your flight is important The date on your cheque is important The date when your salary is paid each month is important None of these can have any TYPO errors as you have informed the world wide audience on goanet as Public Relations Officer of this project - this is a Historical document of our people in East Africa, not a fictional story book. We are all human and mistakes can occur. Our world is made up of numbers, letters, colours and chinese bead counters, shapes and symbols, the essential instruments for life. Melvyn Fernandes Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom 1 June 2014
