Selma, There you go again. On one hand, thanking me for the suggestions (though I am inclined to believe the thank you does not come from your heart) and, on the other, you deliver your snide remark that "suggestions are dime-a-dozen. Books are costlier." Anyone who want to solicit donations must first be humble in his/her approach. You can't go to the wider public with an head-in-the-cloud attitude. Such display of uppity behaviour is a big turn-off. You got to choose your words carefully; they must be charitable to those from who you seek donations. I know suggestions come easy, and they cost nothing. But it is important that you accept them gracefully. Chuck them out if you find them useless, but everyone has a right to suggest and comment. If I had not made any suggestions, we would not have known that you and Eddie are in the "talking phase" with the Swindon Library. Good luck to you guys. However, you should have given out this information in the first instance. It is important to make people aware of what you are doing in respect to this initiative. In your reply, you have not answered whether the GOA UK would be ready to gift the books and if the Swindon Goans can raise the money on their own. Have you spoken to these two associations before you and Eddie took it upon yourselves to do the "charity work"? I am just trying to drill out information from you. Goans who patronise tiatrs and other cultural events and bring lot of Konkani CDs and VCDs from Goa can very well afford to spend some money for this cause of donating books to the library. As the German proverb goes, charity sees the need, not the cause. So far we haven't heard from Swindon Goans who may be members of this forum if they are not capable of meeting the need on their own and would like Goans from outside their community and elsewhere around the world to "sponsor" a book for them. Neither have there been any voices from some of UK Goan members. Silence is indeed better part of discretion. If some UK Goans know the old Hindi song, Naach Meri Bulbul, please sing it now '-)
Eugene
