On Tuesday January 7th the 27 members of the Algarve Senior Bikers enjoyed a somewhat cool ride on a cloudy day to enjoy lunch at Restaurante O Gralha at Vale Fuzeiras, near SB Messines.

On the way from the start near Boliqueime they visited the the lovely chapel at Senora da Rocha on the rocky headland over looking Armação de Pera,  before heading north via the Barragem near Silves to the lunch venue. A short stop was made for a coffee and a warm in Porches.

Starting with a ride on the 3rd organised by Erroll Buckton and Paul Burgess.  This took the form of a circular route starting from Paderne to the pretty village of Querença for a coffee in the square overlooking the church.
The return trip was made on a route to the north of Alte, through typical Algarve scenery for lunch near Paderne.  

The Saint Andrew’s Society of the Algarve once again held a highly successful Saint Andrew’s Ball at the Penina Hotel. This year the Ball coincided with Saint Andrew’s Day on 30 November, so it was great to have a full house of 130 participants. 

Our piper Malcolm MacGillivray was of course on hand to greet guests and lead the parade into the ball after the champagne reception.

Rotary Club Estoi Palace International held its annual autumn quiz night on Friday, October 18th at A Floresta Restaurant in Almancil. More than €1500 were raised to support the club’s ongoing milk project at the Casa do Povo in Estoi in partnership with the Faro Food Bank.
Quiz master for the evening was our President Shirley Dunne. Competition was fierce among the twelve quiz teams attempting to answer a wide range of trivia questions. By evening’s end, only half a point separated the first and second place teams.

The recently formed Shanty Choir has extended its repertoire and as a result has also changed its name.  Choir leader Koos Terphoven has so impressed the management of Associação Âncora that the choir has been invited to participate in a special community event on Saturday, 12 October. 
Koos is a qualified psychologist, musician and conductor with a passion for sea shanties.  When he and his wife Rineke moved from the Netherlands to Portugal, she undertook to help him to set up and run a Shanty Choir.  Rehearsals are every Thursday at 4.30 pm at the Community Centre (Âncora) in Santa Luzia, Tavira). 

A small West Coast community association has arranged to have their local Bombeiros in Aljezur presented with the gift of a staggering €50,000 worth of fire fighting and rescue equipment.
The fire and rescue equipment arrived at Aljezur Bombeiros HQ on Wednesday August 21st 2013. The staff at the fire station could hardly wait to open the crates—it was like Christmas, with Amovate President Peter Johnson, Secretary Ian Bedford and Public Relations Officer Matt D’Arcy in the roles of Santa Claus!

We would like to give you a little update about the Foundation of the Jewish Community of South Portugal (FJCSP) and its work. As you might know the Foundation is still very young. So far the Foundation realized some of its goals, like organizing/sponsoring events, bringing a Sefer Torah to the Algarve, and trying to rebuild some Jewish infrastructure.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of manpower and assistance, the Foundation has decided to put the practical work on hold. And so, for now there will be no more organizing of communal events and high holidays.

With its partners at Rotary International, members of the Rotary Club Estoi Palace International have just made a huge difference to hungry families across the Algarve.

The fundraising and donating of a brand new refrigerated truck to the Banco Alimentar Contra Fome (Food Bank) in Faro will enable more food to be collected and distributed to the Algarve's thousands of families living below the poverty line.