Planner Covered in Cobertor de Papa Wool

Days Wrapped in Natural Wool

Long before the era of electric heaters, heated floors and the globalisation of synthetic fibres, shepherds and their families wrapped themselves in layers of natural wool - thickly woven and compact - to withstand the biting cold of the highlands of Guarda (Beira Alta, Portugal).

This was known as the Cobertor de Papa.

Now, this traditional, handcrafted, heavy, thick, waterproof, warm, long-haired blanket is also the cover of our diary - and it feels good to have all the days snugly wrapped in wool, smelling a bit like the wind, a bit like the countryside, a bit like a night by the fireplace.

We have Céu Reis to thank. She created the association and her workshop after the last factory in the region - where she worked for 28 years - closed down. Her brother and friends came to work with her and her mother, Rosa Baía, who never stopped - at 91, her career as a blanket weaver spans eight decades, since she was just an 11-year-old child.

It's a good plan for today, isn't it?

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