It was student chefs and waiters who were the stars at a Rotary Gala Dinner at the Conrad hotel last week. The students from Escola Dra Laura Ayres in Quarteira and Escola EB 2/3 Dr Antonio de Sousa Agostinho in Almancil were this year's finalists of the Annual Rotary Cookery Competition.

The 2014/15 competition organised as before by Alan Winn of the Rotary Club of Silves and Peter Hinze of the Almancil International Rotary Club began in November last year with four Algarve schools entering between them a total of 14 teams.

On 22nd May, the first ever Special Olympics competition for equitation in the Algarve was held at Pinetrees Riding Centre in Almancil. Special Olympics representative Pedro Serra complimented the organisers and participants for its fantastic planning and competition in the true spirit of the Special Olympics.

Christina Vandermeulen was the headline attraction at Amovate’s Country and Western Hoedown held at the Pétanque Club in the Churasqueira Mendes last Saturday, May 23rd.
Christina was walking tall after raising $2,000 for needy children and their families with her epic trek from Cape St Vincent to Fatima.

Four fit and determined friends from the UK set off from Stansted to Santander on the north coast of Spain for a challenging 8-day journey to the Algarve, in aid of charity.

In September 2014 Almancil International Rotary Club (AIRC) member Uschi Kuhn organised an Ice Bucket Challenge at the Conrad hotel to raise awareness and funds for sufferers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, perhaps better known as motor neurone disease (MND), a progressive disease that attacks the motor neurones, or nerves, in the brain and spinal cord. This means messages gradually stop reaching muscles which leads to weakness and wasting.

The Rotary Club of Estoi Palace held the first of its two annual quiz nights at A FlorestaRestaurant on the 8th of May. Quizmaster for the night was Shirley Dunne and it was a closely fought battle between the 10 teams taking part with only 1.5 point separating 1st and 2nd.

A true World War 2 veteran was the special guest at the Royal British Legion Dinner celebrating the 70th anniversary of VE Day last weekend.

Ninety-three years old George Bailey brought the memory of the conflict to life as he spoke a few words in memory of all the comrades he served with in the fighting across Europe.

The Algarve Branch of the Royal British Legion (Portugal) held their first-ever west coast luncheon last week in Aljezur.
Members (some of them newly-recruited former service personnel) and guests enjoyed the afternoon on the terrace of the Pont'a Pe Restaurant in Aljezur, overlooking the Rio de Aljezur.