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Newsletter March 2008 - archive
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by: Carol Carpenter |
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A great start to February with us celebrating the opening of Escondidinho
restaurant at Praia Grande. Every year Rui re-opens on his birthday 3rd
February and with his wife Diane supplies all the food and sangria -
completely free of charge! There is always a choice of Chicken curry,
Chilli, or Hot pot. The restaurant is always full on this day and everyone
has great fun. It was a pity about the weather though, wet and blowing a
gale, in comparison to last year, which was very hot with everyone sitting
outside on the terrace or the beach having lunch. Nevertheless we all had
a great time although, just as we were leaving we saw Rui bringing out
fresh crab, but Roy had already managed to eat two helpings of lunch, plus
birthday cake and I am on a strict diet (for health reasons) so we
declined the offer, so hopefully it will be on the menu next year? |
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I mentioned the Almond blossom in my last letter announcing the arrival of
spring, so I have included a picture of some Almond trees making a
fantastic display. I am not sure whether you all know the tale of the
Almond tree, a tale that dates back to the time of the moors, a tale of a
flower that once took a Nordic princess heart – here it is.
Once upon a time, when the Algarve or Al-Gharb as it was known when it was
still dominated by the Moors, there lived a king who fell in love with a
Nordic princess called Gilda. After conquering her Father’s land the
Moorish king conquered Princess Gilda’s heart and took her hand in
marriage. But during the marriage he noticed his wife was very sad.
Unsettled by his wife’s sadness he called all the physicians in the world
to find the reason for her sadness, yet none of them came with an answer.
One day a Nordic doctor found the answer to the king’s troubles; quite
simply Gilda missed the whiteness of the snow-filled countryside of her
motherland. Hearing this, the king planted thousands of Almond trees
throughout the region so that, when they flowered, they would cover the
Algarve in a sheet of white, reminding the princess of her snow covered
home and thus giving her back her happiness. Ahh!!! That’s one of the
things I miss about the U.K all the different shades of green in summer
and the vibrant colours that the trees bring in the Autumn. |
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Carnaval (always spelt this way over here) started on Saturday 2nd
February at 3pm. The Algarve comes alive at this time of year with every
City, town and village putting on a fantastic display. Every year people
put a lot of time and effort into this event. Last year I choose
Carvoeiro, but this year I decided that it would be Loule, purely because
I didn’t want to repeat last year’s newsletter showing you all the same
floats. According to a lot of people I have since spoken too, I didn’t
miss anything as it consisted of only four floats. I think a discussion
with the Freguesia (parish council) regarding the lack of interest in
Christmas decorations and the Carnival parade would be a good idea. I’ll
have a word with some Portuguese friends and find out the best way to
tackle this.
Loule Carnaval is actually my favourite and is so colourful. It starts
with the Childrens Carnival of Loule, where students from both private and
public schools parade throughout the Jose da Costa Mealha Avenue. Pre and
primary school children show off their outfits, which are made during
school hours, and Loule Council subsidises several schools for the costs
of materials and the snacks provided. The Children’s Carnaval has been
around for a long time in the Loule school community and provides the
Carnaval spirit the council is so proud of. Unfortunately, due to an
important bowls match, we missed this parade, but we did attend the Mardi
Gras on Tuesday. This is the adult’s procession and luckily I managed to
get some photos of children in costume, whilst Roy was busily taking
photos of all the different floats. There was one particular float that he
really enjoyed watching, it was the float where all the women were painted
from head to toe in gold, or silver resembling leotards, it was extremely
well done but they must have been freezing. They paraded around this route
at least three times whilst throwing streamers and sweets to all the
spectators. It is really good fun and comes very close to the Carnival’s
in Brazil although not quite as elaborate.
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Keeping you updated on Carvoeiro I can now confirm that
Tom Singelo has definitely closed. The restaurant next door, called Catz
Pyjamas, had a sign outside saying “Under new management” so I popped in
to have a look, but the owner assured me that he is only renovating but
Tom Singelo had closed. O Patio is being completely gutted but after
speaking with the owner is still under the same management. There is a new
Florist shop, which is called Catinho da Graca situated up the hill just
passed the Post Office, looks impressive, I missed St Valentines displays
but managed to take photos of some really lovely bouquets and
arrangements. This shop belongs to the owner of the Lingerie shop, which
is next door.
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JotoLita Restaurant caught fire due to a credit-card
machine over-heating- it’s in a sorry state and all the family including
the children were clearing up the mess on Friday when I passed by.
Aladdins boutique has been refurbished and they have extended into the
shop next door which belonged to them anyway and sold mainly shoes and
handbags. They have made good use of the space but unfortunately I was not
allowed to take photos- the assistant preferring me to come back when the
owners were around. The pavements leading up to Mungo’s bar are fenced
off, probably re- laying the calcadas like last year. I can’t see much
change in anything else, everything is much the same, I have not tried the
Cattleman Restaurant yet but I have heard from friends that it is very
good, The Cattleman’s Mixed Platter, a mixed steak variation served with
an assortment of side orders, according to friends is extremely good.
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We had a great Valentines Day and Night this year. During
the day we had bowls match and we were told to wear something red for the
match. Everyone turned up wearing hearts, flowers, Red under-wear and
hats. Of-course being Valentines day we had to play with our other halfs,
which as you know is not the best idea, as most of us argued, but it was
good fun. After the match Connie who runs the club put on a really
fantastic buffet and there were prizes for the winners. We won the bobby
prize for the lowest score, but who cares anyway.
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In the evening we were invited to a Masked Ball, which was
held at Silves old Cine Theatre. Friends of ours who belong to an Amateur
Dramatic Society have clubbed together and bought the Old Theatre.
Restoring it will take a lot of time and money but eventually they hope to
return it to its former glory. The bar has already opened and you can
become a member for a small fee. All proceeds from Valentines Night will
be ploughed back into restoring this Theatre. It was a really good evening
with a superb buffet. Masks were compulsory and if you arrived without one
you could buy one at the door. There was a prize for the best masks and I
have included photos of the winners.
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In Carvoeiro apparently the restaurants were quite full. I spoke to Mark
and Jan from Ma–Jar’s and they had a Valentine quiz night, restaurant Ele
e Ela were full and one of my favourite’s L’Orange on the road to
Sesmaries was also full. The Anteak Bar in Carvoeiro held a Valentines
Night for Singles, Divorced and the Dysfunctional ??!! |
The Irish Society held a “Putting for Fun Event” at Balaia Golf Village in
Albufeira. It was very successful and everyone enjoyed the day. After the
putting a superb buffet lunch was provided by the club. The next event
will be The St. Patrick’s Night Celebration on Saturday 15th March. This
is held at Vila Petra Hotel in Albufeira, there are still a few tickets
left, priced at 47.50 for a superb buffet and a free bar from 1900 until
2am. Entertainment will be provided by local favourites Klonakilty
together with Marc Damon and the Kiss FM Disco and the local Irish Dance
Team. Anyone who is interested should ring Marie Heley on 00351 –
282352530. It’s a really brilliant evening so hope to see you there.
We have just returned from a visit to Madeira an absolutely stunning
island and will tell you about that with some photos in the next
newsletter.
Ciao
Carol |
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