Portugal and England have been in relationship with one another over centuries. Most of the historic tales of their unity or strife, involves trade, land grabs, and royal marriages to increase power. I’ve yet to read a story about ordinary Portuguese and English women who creatively imagined and critically analysed together. Either for the sheer fun of collaboration or the necessity of feeding hungry mouths.

A feminist all my life and influenced by the rural community women who raised and inspired me, I’m keen to find out about the history of the Portuguese women. What were they doing while their sea faring men were colonising the world? And what are they about now in the 21st century as the winds of change blow and geo politics and western hedgemony are in transition?

In addition to reading, I’m mainly observing, exploring and asking as many questions as I can as I interact with Portuguese women in varied situations. My desire to be a pilgrim in Portugal came about as a sacred call, and has led me on a mysterious, magical and unexpected path. In the process of rooting in Portugal, I’ve set myself the task of creating a website which will showcase my travels and discoveries of the Portugal I sense now in her own sort of renaissance.

We exchange information about fonts, colour palettes, imagery, symbolism and graphics so that Sofia can formulate a logo which immediately represents me. I tell her that it must feel Portuguese. So we work with the azulejos as a branding idea to incorporate my original artwork. As a frisson of energy builds between our exchanges and a second face to face meeting takes place, we are building a divine feminine rapport. The sort of thread that women have always built together, and which has failed to be honoured in the way that masculine enterprise is applauded. Domination has always been the prize and creation the Cinderella under the patriarchy. My sense is that in order to imagine a better world for our grandchildren, that it’s the fine weaving of the women which will see an enriched civilisation take form. In our small and focused way, what myself and Sofia create for this website, is a stone in the foundations for a bigger edifice we build across cultures, nations and demographics to celebrate the expansive force of women everywhere and the infinite potential they hold within themselves. We two with our style, flair and fineness are lighting a small fire of our unique Portuguese and English roots, which will be the light to guide other women across the bridge into a future - co- created by the divine feminine force. Come along for the ride.