UK: Crowds throng the Oral History Exhibition !! >From Selma Carvalho, Project Manager: Past Lives: The Exhibition, presented by the Oral Histories of British Goans Project (Goan Association UK), funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, UK, was mounted for a one-day showing at the Cranford College Hall, during the Goan Festival on July 28, 2013. Crowds thronged the exhibition on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. Many of those who paid a visit had already seen it at its previous venue, the Nehru Centre but wanted to see it again. This was a touching tribute to the exhibition and the love Goans have for their heritage. The preservation of our heritage in oral, visual and written form is imperative. The time for a permanent Goan Diaspora Museum is nigh.
As we dismounted the exhibition for the last time, I felt a certain pang in my heart. The people who had come to see it, had marvellous stories to tell of their own past lives in East Africa. For one brief moment, they were reliving those lives. Kenyan- Goan nationalist Fitz de Souza (photo at the link) gave us an impromptu glimpse into his own life. Included in the exhibition was a Fitz de Souza family picture dating back to 1898. My sincere thanks to all the families who donated pictures to the project. Photos at http://bit.ly/151ABus ........................................................................ UK Goan Festival 2013 saw a crowd of 15,000+ 28 Jul: Niz Goenkar. The annual Goan Festival organised by the Goa Association UK was very successful and saw a huge crowd. According to the President of the Association, Mr Ravi Vaz, the crowd had reached to more than 15,000, a record breaking crowd compared to the 2012 event which had seen about 9,500. The event started with a concelebrated Mass at 11:00 AM with the main celebrant being Bishop his Lordship Allwyn Barretto, a Goan . Among the dignitaries the local MP of Goan origin Mr. Keith Vaz was also present throughout the day . Goa's ace band Forefront performed on the stage . The festival was sponsored by Air India, Tilda Rice and Sony. There was also Free Career Guidance for the Youth and Free Diabetes testing by Silver Star Charity. Stalls sold Goan Sausages, Sorpotel, Tisreo, Kharem, Isvonn, molho, croquettes etc. Eight full buses from Swindon arrived at the festival . Note: Video Coverage of the Festival and Opinion of the people video will be available in the next day or two . Full text + comments. http://bit.ly/17Owb86