Some
fascinating comparisons between British expatriates born in the first week of the
Aquarius sign of the zodiac are personified by Charles Every who
turned 102 on January 20, and twin sisters, Mariota and Catriona
Anderson, who are celebrating their 20th birthday today, Friday 26.
Although
their homes are within a few kilometres of each other in the Lagoa
area, Charles and the Anderson sisters have never met.
Despite
the generation gap, and leaving aside all the usual horoscope
baloney, they do indeed have much in common.
For
starters, they have distinguished family backgrounds. The second son
of the 11th Baronet Every. Much of Charles' early life was spent in
the historic mansion of Egginton Hall in Derbyshire, Egland.
The
Anderson sisters are direct descendants of the greatest Scottish
bard, Robert Burns, and their original home was a castle near St
Andrews in the kingdom of Fife in eastern Scotland.
Neither
Charles nor the twins show any signs of pretentious aristocracy and
they have certainly downsized in terms of accommodation.
Charles
was educated at Harrow, one of England's foremost public schools,
founded in 1572 by a Royal Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth 1. He
disliked the school because “the people there were all too posh”.
The
Anderson girls attended the Algarve International School in Porches,
before studying for international baccalaureate diplomas back in
Scotland.
A
the age of 20, Charles was studying for a degree in architecture at
London University. The Andersons are at present studying at King's
College, London, for degrees in international relations.
Charles
became familiar with international matters in his twenties during the
Second World War. He served with the British armed forces in India
and Burma. After the war he spent more than two decades pursuing a
successful career as a town planner in South Africa.
On
deciding to move to Europe in his early fifties, Charles ended up
buying a house on the outskirts of Carvoeiro and moved into it
permanently in 1969. He has lived here ever since.
The
Anderson twins were just four months old when their parents, Fiona
and John, brought them to settle in the Algarve in 1998.
In
Charles' generation the young faced a deeply uncertain future
because the world then was steeped in social and economical
turbulence as well as international conflict. And so it is for
Mariota and Cariona's generation today.
It's
a very different world now, of course, with very different
challenges. Life was generally much better in the old days, according
to Charles.
The
Anderson twins acknowledge that modern technology has both bettered
some everyday problems and worsened others, but say that as students
they must remain optimistic.
People
generally are living longer nowadays. Population statistics have
soared. The total population of the world when Charles was a lad was
less than two billion. It's now about 7.6 billion. If the Anderson
twins make it to Charles' present age, the world will be inhabited
by an estimated 11.8 billion.
Females
have long had a higher life expectancy than males, though the gap is
narrowing. In Britain, when Charles was born, the average life
expectancy for a man was 60 years. Today the average life expectancy
in Western Europe is79 for a man and 84 for a woman.
As
for Brexit or no Brexit, Britain for Charles is a thing of the
distant past.. He intends to spend the rest of his days in Portugal
and in the place he loves most of all the aquatic garden in his
Carvoeiro home.
While specialising in international relations, either or both of the Anderson twins may wish to pursue careers abroad, but their beloved “home” will always be the Algarve.
While specialising in international relations, either or both of the Anderson twins may wish to pursue careers abroad, but their beloved “home” will always be the Algarve.
Mariota and Catriona
Recent photo of Charles by Lisa
