Rotary Club Estoi Palace International (RCEPI) held its Presidential Handover in Faro on Friday, 29th June with almost 100 guests including representatives from other Algarve Rotary Clubs listened to Manuela Robinson as outgoing President reflect on her year in office. The Club raised 27.000 euros of which the majority was spent on improving the lives of the local community.
Those of us who know and love the television comedy The Vicar of Dibley might have had some reservations about a stage play with the same loved characters. Well, those of you who missed it, missed it! This was something unexpectedly wonderful!
Who would have thought that here in the Algarve we would meet such carefully studied representations of those beloved folk – Thank you The Algarveans Experimental Theatre - the casting was excellent. I felt that I was at home watching an episode on the television!
The Algarve Senior Bikers group was founded in June 2010 as a result of an idea of David Shirley. To celebrate the 8th anniversary one group of riders set out to ride through the eastern Algarve and a second group started in the west. Both groups arrived in the central Algarve at Benafim for a celebratory lunch at Restaurant O Hamburgo on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far.
At Porches Pottery on Tuesday 29th May, the outgoing chairman of the St.Patrick's Society, Jim Brownlow and his wife Deirdre, were presented with a gift of a plant pot and matching pair of lanterns in honour of many years of excellent service to the society.
On Friday 18th of May and Monday 21st of May, the Algarve Senior Bikers put on two special rides for a group of visiting riders from Scotland.
On Friday the ride started in Paderne and after a long tour through the mountains into the lower Alentejo finished with a superb BBQ lunch including a marvellous selection of desserts at the Cooperativa in Montes Novas near to Baranco Velho.
Stops were made along the way at various viewpoints and for refreshments.
The St. Patrick’s Society of the Algarve held its annual general meeting at the Vila Vita Biergarten, Porches on May 17, 2018.
The outgoing chairman Jim Brownlow reported on the Society’s activities for the past year, and was pleased to note that an atmosphere of enjoyment, friendship and interest continues in the Society, resulting in a marked increase in membership.
In 2009 just after its inauguration the Rotary Club of Estoi Palace International (RCEPI) looked for a project that would help the underprivileged in Estoi. Financial collapse was engulfing the world and the number of families registered locally with the Faro Food Bank was rising dramatically. Our then President Agnete Sylvan talked to the Director of the Casa do Povo about how we could help and the monthly food packs distributed from the Community Centre to those registered with the Food Bank were discussed.
At that time each family only received 1 litre of long life milk per month. Our Club decided to increase this to 6 litres per child and 2 litres per adult for each family at an annual cost of approximately 2500 euros. This is funded in the main by the quiz nights organised by RCEPI.
The St. Patrick’s Society of the Algarve held their Spring Walk in the Monte Clerigo area on April 28th, followed by an excellent and convivial lunch in the beach Restaurant O Zé.
Perfect weather, without any of the rain which was forecast, beautiful scenery and wildflowers resulted in a most impressive and enjoyable walk along the cliff tops, rendered even more auspicious by it being on the 85th birthday of the Chairman Jim Brownlow.
