A Rotary club is not usually where you would expect to find romance but for four members of Almancil International Rotary Club (AIRC) this is precisely what happened. Claire Rusbridge, a widow, joined the club in the summer of 2015 hoping to make some new friends.
In September 2015 she went with a few members to Cork in Ireland for a Rotary Convention. It just so happened that Alexander (Sandy), also widowed was also at the convention and spotted Claire. The attraction for both was instant and soon afterwards Sandy joined Claire in Portugal and transferred to become a member of AIRC. It didn’t take him long to propose and they were recently married at Os Agostas in Santa Barbara de Nexe.

The 15th Annual General Meeting of the St. Patrick's Society of the Algarve was held in the Lagoa Hotel on Thursday May 18th. 35 members attended the meeting and the dinner following.
After a lively discussion regarding the future of the Society, the following members were elected as officers for the year 2017 / 2018:
Chairman : Jim Brownlow.
Secretary : Teresa Ferreira.
Treasurer : Neil Rodgers.

After the last two events being postponed due to bad weather conditions the ride around the Odalouca Barragem turned out to be the best day of the year so far for the motorcyclists of the ASB.

There was a good turnout with so many bikes that the ride was split into two groups, with a 10 minute interval between the two leaving from the start in Silves.

Wednesday 3rd May was the 106th Anniversary of the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) and Almancil International Rotary Club (AIRC) was delighted to receive three senior GNR members at the Rotary dinner at the Conrad Hotel.
Coronel Joachim Crasto, Comandante GNR Algarve, Coronel Silva Gomes, Military Attaché in Paris and Major Paulo Santos, Comandante GNR Loulè had come specifically to hear the report presented by GNR Officer Frederico (Freddie) Fragoso following his recent visit to spend time with Gwent Police in Wales.

A presentation last Sunday morning at the Lagos Bombeiros station marked the official handing of a shiny new ambulance, purchased with funds raised from the community by afpop’s western Algarve Area Events Organiser, Pat Allen.  

Spurred on by the considerable effort of the foreign community, Lagos Council dipped into its reserves and donated a second ambulance costing €60,000 (see picture below).

It was a step back in time for some members of Almancil International Rotary Club (AIRC) when they were invited to attend a school prize-giving ceremony at Escola EB 2/3 Dr Antonio de Sousa Agostinho in Almancil.

All the pupils were presented with certificates whilst parents, friends and, of course, the Rotary members were treated to several performances by the school’s recorder band, young choristers and David Bejerea a very talented young man on keyboards. The entertainment ended with an accomplished accordion recital performed by 12 year old Inês Faria. The performances were followed by a very special Presentation.

A Centennial Celebration Concert was organised by the Rotary Club of Estoi Palace International to celebrate 100 years of the Rotary Foundation. “We should not live for ourselves alone, but for the joy in doing good for others.”

This is the motto of the Rotary Foundation. Formed 100 years ago with a donation of 26 US dollars. Since then Foundation has donated over 3 billion dollars worldwide to improve the lives of the underprivileged. The Algarve has benefitted from its generosity as the Foundation helped Rotary Club Estoi Palace purchase a refrigerated truck for the Faro Food Bank and a fully equipped new ambulance for the Sao Bras Bombeiros.

Members and friends of the Algarve Archaeological Association (AAA) recently enjoyed a very successful Spring lunch at the São Domingos Restaurant in Guia. A long-standing member, Glenis Vowles, was presented with flowers as she was thanked for her years of work for the AAA.