I met Annie Lobo only once when her husband Seby insisted we visit them when in Goa. That must have been more than 18 years ago.
Spent a whole day (almost) with them and got a chance to know Annie within what time there was. She was everything that Cecil's mum says she was and everything Seby said she was when I knew him in Qatar. I am not saying this in the usual style of finding something good to say about someone after they have passed away. I say this, meaning every word genuinely and truly. Annie was the typical Bardez housewife and more. She was charming, unaffected and salt of the earth Goan. Perhaps that came from being a business-person where one has pretty much to cut out the BS and concentrate on the real and the down-to-earth. I got to know Seby well when he was a frequent visitor to my place in Qatar. Seby loved his evening drink (so did I) and I loved the company. Later on we were joined by Annie's brother Tom and Seby's brother-in-law the late Joaquim. All of them as nice a group of folks as you could get. In those days I was fortunate to be one of the rare breed of Indian nationals holding a liquor permit (permits were issued by the British Embassy) and my home was a watering hole for many Qatar Goans. Aldona people are the best. Loving, courteous, kind and sociable. I love nothing better than to be in the company of Aldoncars and Saligaocars too, who share those traits. Goodbye and rest well Annie. Roland. On Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 10:34 AM, Cecil Pinto<cecilpi...@gmail.com> wrote: > Below is an e-mail sent by Lira Pinto, Aldona, to her sister Arecia > Paul in Toronto. An edited (by me - her son Cecil) version of this > mail appeared in the Herald newspaper dated 27th June, thanks to the > good offices of our fellow Aldonkar Vidyadhar Ghadgil.