Patron saint of lovers and lost things, St. Anthony presides over days of celebrations.

There’s fado – the wonderful songs of melancholy and longing peculiar to the Portuguese capital - there are nights of street parties, with sardines and sausages hissing on grills at every corner; there are dance competitions, parades and a mass wedding in the cathedral.

But this is more than a story of sardines and sangria - we learn about life under the dictatorship of Dr. Salazar and the effect that the curiously named Carnation Revolution had on one man. 45 years ago Tony's father was one of the ‘Returnados’.

After the fall of the Portuguese fascists, he was forced to leave his home and business in colonial Mozambique and found himself equally unwelcome in his native Lisbon. He made a new life in England and it's only on his death that his son discovers a clue to the secret that Paulo thought he had taken with him to the grave.

Written by Douglas Livingstone

Series using a specially recorded soundtrack of major festivals to create new stories - this drama using 2018's joyous summer festival of St. Anthony in Lisbon.

Tony ..... Carl Prekopp
Sharmila ..... Carlyss Peer
Joan ..... Elizabeth Rider
Paulo ..... David Westhead
Receptionist/Afonso ..... Andre Flynn
American Tourist ..... Julie Fitzpatrick
Azra ..... Cleo Sylvestre
Fernando ..... Malcolm Sinclair

Director: Jane Morgan

A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2018. Show less