ACCA Kids and Castelo de Sonhos are once again appealing for assistance to ensure that children who often “do without” will, this year, have all they need to return to school. As well as the backpacks every child needs black exercise books, pens, pencils, rubbers, sharpeners, A4 files, set squares, scissors etc.

Monday. I receive a birthday card that reads “You are one year closer to being a Crazy Cat Lady”.  Hmmm. Too late. What was I supposed to do with retirement? I played Candy Crush for a year, then I helped in a charity shop. I’ve found, though, that nothing beats shifting sacks of cat poo. You can keep your watercolours and golf.

Saturday.  We’re just about to lock up and leave the ADAPO* cat refuge for the day, when Célia gets a dreaded phone call from the bombeiros: another litter of newborn kittens has been rescued from a subterranean rubbish bin.

Tuesday. A cat stuck in cladding and a runaway dog. I should be out gallivanting, or at least celebrating the development of antibodies after my second vaccination. Instead, I’m standing around outside a supermarket in 30+C heat.

A charity that holds glitzy annual events in London and Monaco has confirmed plans to expand its fundraising efforts with an exclusive event on the Algarve this summer. Caudwell Children raises hundreds of thousands every year at star-studded events to support disabled children – and the charity has announced that it will launch a plush event hosted by Peter Andre at the Casa do Lago, Quinta Do Lago on the Algarve on Saturday 21st August. 

“Travel” along the Algarve Coastal Route from Vila Real to Cape St Vincent 'Virtually'- 160 kilometers.
Christine Beckwith and Lisa Jones (two of the StreetLife Team) came up with the idea of a virtual swim of the English Channel last year. 

Q:   What connects a Table-Top sale with ” The Mice” of All Saints Anglican Church?
A :   A heart for the Community of The Algarve

Sunday. I read about discussion in Greece on a proposal for the compulsory sterilisation of stray cats and dogs.  There are similarities in Portugal: concerns about animal welfare and a burgeoning stray population. However, there is some cultural resistance to neutering.