Tag: Portugal

Thursday Doors – 1 October 2026

Doors 372 – Doors of Madeira (part III) – September 2025

Well I’m back from the best holiday in Greece, and feeling fully refreshed. I missed last week’s Thursday Doors because I was just enjoying myself too much and not having a lot of time for blogging and other Interweb activities. There is something very nice about September holidays in Europe, The weather is still good but the crowds are reduced, and everything feels just that little bit sleepier.  Our Madeira trip last year was also in September, and that too was excellent.

This week’s door selection continues on from last week with some more art on doors from the same area in the centre of Funchal. I hope you enjoy them:

Flaming doors, Travessa Joao Caetano, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Flaming doors, Travessa Joao Caetano, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Mermaid on a swing door, Travessa Joao Caetano, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Mermaid on a swing door, Travessa Joao Caetano, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Surveillance stencil on a pair of doors, Rua Dos Barreiros, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Surveillance stencil on a pair of doors, Rua Dos Barreiros, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Large portrait piece doors, Rua Dos Barreiros, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Large portrait piece doors, Rua Dos Barreiros, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Naked lady door, Rua Dos Barreiros, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Naked lady door, Rua Dos Barreiros, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Turtle painting door, Rua De Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Turtle painting door, Rua De Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Door with a Mondrian-style pattern, Rua De Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025
Door with a Mondrian-style pattern, Rua De Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025

More from Madeira next time. Until then have a wonderful rest of week.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post and his Sunday recap.

Thursday Doors – 17 September 2026

Doors 371 – Doors of Madeira (part II) – September 2025

For the second week running I am trying to get ahead of the game with Thursday Doors (I wrote this last week in a small pocket of time early one morning), because I am so busy at work before heading off for some September sun for a few days. I have to say that the need for sun is somewhat diminished, having had such a sunny and hot late spring and summer here in the UK this year, but the need for a break has never been so welcome. In fact, by the time you read this I will already be relaxing by a pool overlooking the Aegean Sea.

I have also had to interview for my own job (writing this in the past, although it hasn’t happened yet). I have been pooled with 16 colleagues for 10 posts. Most are good friends and we can’t all make the cut. This is unbelievably stressful, but I know too that it happens, and know I will have given it my best. It feels pretty awful that 37 years of continuous employment and loyalty will have boiled down to how I performed in a 1 hour interview last Monday. This is due to a restructure (cuts) in our Directorate, the culmination of decisions made some 8 years ago by the then Secretary of State, Liz Truss… remember her? Her legacy of destruction is long and deep. I mention this sorry tale simply because it is contributing to the stresses I am under at the moment, making it difficult to find time to do all the things I want, or like to do.

That’s quite enough of that I’m sure. On to happier things. This is the second post from our family holiday in Madeira last September and contains painted doors from a celebrated street in ther heart of Funchal, the capital of Madeira. I hope you enjoy this selection which left me like a dog with two tails while walking along this street.

Door with portrait and instrument, Travessa das Torres, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with portrait and instrument, Travessa das Torres, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with portrait, Travessa das Torres, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with portrait, Travessa das Torres, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Panelled door with fish eyes painted in each panel, Travessa das Torres, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Panelled door with fish eyes painted in each panel, Travessa das Torres, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a bar scene, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a bar scene, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a stunning bakery scene, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a stunning bakery scene, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Colourful painted door, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Colourful painted door, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a painted character, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a painted character (le petit Prince?), Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a painted cliff scene, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a painted cliff scene, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025

So that’s it for another week. I am not sure I will be posting while I am on holiday, it just depends on how organised I am before going away. There weill be more from Madeira, that’s for sure. Have a lovely weekend.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post and his Sunday recap.

Thursday Doors – 10 September 2026

Doors 370 – Doors of Madeira (part I) – September 2025

I have a busy week or two coming up and then go on a holiday, so I thought I’d get ahead of myself a little and prepare this post last Sunday to aleviate some of the pressure.

This next series of doors were taken during a family holiday almost exactly a year ago in Madeira. My wife and I chose to go there, because of the pleasant September climate, but more to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and return to Madeira where we spent our honeymoon. Although so much has happened in our lives between visits, Madeira itself had changed very little in the intervening years, which in a way was quite comforting.

These doors are in chronological order and don’t follow any deliberate themes, but as you’ll see some combined two of my interests – doors and street art, in a way that is so satisfying. I hadn’t planned for this serendipity, although others in my family suspected it was contrived.

I hope you enjoy these doors as much as I did:

Doors in a large frame, Rua de Sao Filipe, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Doors in a large frame, Rua de Sao Filipe, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Iron gates, Rua Das Rosas, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Iron gates, Rua Das Rosas, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with flower-decorated panels, Travessa de Joao Ribeiro, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with flower-decorated panels, Travessa de Joao Ribeiro, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Sea scene door, Travessa de Joao Ribeiro, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Sea scene door, Travessa de Joao Ribeiro, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a mural of a fisherman under the moon, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a mural of a fisherman under the moon, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a Mondrial-style painting with cartoon cats and dogs, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a Mondrial-style painting with cartoon cats and dogs, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Abstract door, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Abstract door, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a photograph of a man holding up a scabbard fish (local speciality), Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025
Door with a photograph of a man holding up a scabbard fish (local speciality), Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025

Just a little taster of some doors from Madeira, and a sense of what is to come from this charming and beautiful Atlantic island. Naturally I felt like I had hit the jackpot when we strolled into this area in the capital which is well known for its painted doors… who knew? More to come next time.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post and his Sunday recap.

Heart of Madeira

Wooded mountains, Madeira, September 2025

.

Rising high above

lush, wooded levada paths

ancient lava peaks

.

by Scooj

Ents

Tilo (Ocotea foetens), Fanal, Madeira, September 2025
Tilo (Ocotea foetens), Fanal, Madeira, September 2025

.

From Atlantic mists

twisted characters emerge

an ancient forest

.

by Scooj

Luxury

.

Madeira villa

so beautifully designed

and stunning sea views

.

by Scooj

Thursday doors – 27 March 2023

Doors 218 – Bristol street art and graffiti doors

I am running a workshop in London today, so I prepared this post last night. All the doors in this post have previously been posted in my graffiti/street art category, but this is the first time for Thursday Doors. The doors were first posted in June 2022. Enjoy:

Irony, North Street, Bristol, June 2022
Irony, North Street, Bristol, June 2022

Painted by Irony during Upfest, Europe’s largest street art festival.

Taboo, North Street, Bristol, June 2022
Taboo, North Street, Bristol, June 2022

Poor Mickey.

Zake, The Full Moon, Bristol, June 2022
Zake, The Full Moon, Bristol, June 2022

Goin, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Goin, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Felix Braun (FLX), Nelson Street, Bristol, June 2022
Felix Braun (FLX), Nelson Street, Bristol, June 2022

Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

Utility box door in Porto

Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

Another utility box door in Porto

Vhils, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Vhils, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

So much street art to enjoy in Porto.

So there we have it for another week. May I wish you all a happy weekend.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.

by Scooj

Door logo, Thursday doors

Thursday doors – 15 December 2022

Doors 203 – My favourite doors of 2022 – a review

It is customary on the last Thursday before the Christmas break to present a selection of favourite doors from the last year. This is my selection, and I had some real beauties to choose from this year. I hope you enjoy them this second time round. I look forward to seeing other Thursday door selections too.

Green Hut door, Alpe d'Huez, France, February 2022
Green Hut door, Alpe d’Huez, France, February 2022
Green arched door, Filton, Bristol, March 2022
Green arched door, Filton, Bristol, March 2022
Red door, lilac walls and a temple, Montpelier, Bristol, April 2022
Red door, lilac walls and a temple, Montpelier, Bristol, April 2022
Ghost door at Phillimore Chambers, Westminster, London, May 2022
Ghost door at Phillimore Chambers, Westminster, London, May 2022
An extraordinary door and carved wooden surround and awning, Westminster, London, May 2022
An extraordinary door and carved wooden surround and awning, Westminster, London, May 2022
Three doors, including a tradesman's entrance, Westminster, London, May 2022
Three doors, including a tradesman’s entrance, Westminster, London, May 2022
Porto Tram with side doors, line 18, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Porto Tram with side doors, line 18, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Possibly my favourite door of the trip, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Possibly my favourite door of the trip, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Lighthouse with red door, Foz do Douro, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Lighthouse with red door, Foz do Douro, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Church, doors and tiles, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Church, doors and tiles, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Arched green door, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Arched green door, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Old black door and steps, Bristol, October 2022
Old black door and steps, Bristol, October 2022
Pair of doors, Montpelier, Bristol, April 2022
Pair of doors, Montpelier, Bristol, April 2022

So that’s it for the year. 2022 has been a very difficult year for so many reasons. I guess it is fitting that the final pair of doors in blue and yellow represent the colours of a country that I hadn’t given much consideration before dictator Putin’s “special operation” and invasion this year. I dedicate this gallery of doors to the people of Ukraine, keeping them very much in my thoughts this Christmas.

May I take the opportunity to wish you all a very happy holiday season, and Christmas. See you all on the other side.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.

 

by Scooj

 

4857. Porto (15)

Fedor and Costah, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Fedor and Costah, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

One of the key differences between street art in Bristol and street art in Porto is the walls to paint on. In Bristol, most of the walls are brick, rendered, shutters, containers or hoarding. In Porto, sun-bleached stone walls and breeze block walls are favoured by artists, although commissions tend to be on rendered walls, much like at home.

Fedor, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Fedor, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

This is a lovely piece by Fedor (a street artist and graffiti writer from Porto), fringed with some Costah paste ups to its left. The wise old dog is beautifully painted and the mastery of working with a spray can, can be seen in the dog’s nose, with three shades (like a stencil) providing texture and depth. A lovely and slightly weathered piece.

4856. Porto (14)

Berri Blue, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Berri Blue, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

I love this. If you are going to create street art in Porto, what better medium to use than tiles? Looking back through my photographs of Porto street art, my only regret is that I didn’t find more of these installations by Berri Blue than I did.

Berri Blue, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Berri Blue, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

Berri Blue is a Polish/Irish artist working in Porto who believes that interpretation of her work is up to the viewer. Well I fully approve of that, but interpretation of her work could end up down a rather macabre blind alley, so I will take a more superficial viewpoint and thoroughly enjoy the artwork and presentation, including the selection of location. The people of Porto are blessed to have pieces like this one in their city.