CHRISTMAS IS COMING!
So, get ready to party…!
The Marquee at the Vale da Telha Hotel is again the location for what promises to be a fantastic Christmas celebration with live entertainment and a fabulous hot & cold Christmas buffet.
Put the date and time in your diaries: Sunday December 22nd, beginning at 7.30pm.
And we can also announce here—further details will be released once we have all the relevant information—that Amovate is to purchase from Britain a state-of-the-art defibrillator to benefit the community up here on Vale da Telha and the surrounding areas.
It will have a permanent home at the Hotel Vale da Telha, which is a central point and is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A group of volunteers will receive special training to use the defibrillator from Amovate member and retired surgeon Dr David Quinton.
Also, of course, several members of the Bombeiros also live on Vale da Telha which means there should always be a trained operator to use the defibrillator whenever an emergency arises that requires its use.
We also plan to make our 2014 Charity target a drive for a second defibrillator to be presented to the Bombeiros who currently have just the one to share amongst their four ambulances,
So, the Christmas Party will represent the launch of our Defibrillator Fund, and a tombola will be held during the evening to kick start the fund-raising.
Paulo, of O Paulo Restaurant at Arrifana has already donated a meal for two people as one of the prizes and if anyone else would like to donate prizes for the tombola, we would be very grateful.
The Christmas Party is once again organised by Amovate, and our new Entertainment Committee—Steve Baker, Rick Hursthouse and Brian (Rockindad) Jutsum—and we have called upon the amazing culinary skills of Hans, with help from Melanie and two or three others, to get the Christmas week off to a flying start.
Anyone who remembers the fantastic buffet provided by Hans at the Bavarian night in the Fonte do Vales a few years back will appreciate the excellence of his cuisine.
The meal will be three courses:
STARTER: Melon & ham, cheese, tomatoes, olives, prawns, cocktail sauce.
MAIN COURSE: This will comprise a hot main course served from the buffet including turkey and stuffing, hot pork, savoury rice, coleslaw, salad, potatoes in mayonnaise, hot pasta bake and French sticks.
DESSERT: Assorted desserts, plus nibbles of crisps, chocolates, nuts and much, much more.
And throughout the evening the entertainment will be provided by the beautiful and very talented singer, Ilze who wowed the members of the Walking Club when she appeared at one of their functions in the Marquee earlier in the summer.
More on Ilze later…
The tickets for all of this will be priced at just €15 apiece and, as we are limiting the numbers, it is important to reserve your ticket as quickly as possible, should you wish to attend.
You can buy them from any Committee Member, whose names you will find by clicking on “Committee 2013-14” in the top strapline on the website’s home page. This does not include the members of the new Fiscal Council who, by law, are an independent body and are NOT members of the Amovate Committee.
You can also reserve your tickets by e-mailing us at:
The bar will again be operated by Bruno (who owns the hotel) and his staff and will follow the formula from the Gala Ball in September, a cash bar located in the tent to the right of the entrance, with the same prices as at the Ball.
We have asked Bruno if he could provide Diet coke in cans rather than the “full-fat” version in three-litre bottles as happened last time, so we are hoping that can be sorted.
The Marquee will be decorated to a Christmas theme and Steve Baker will be arranging an interlude of carol singing, backed up with Christmas images on the big screen, to emphasise that Christmas flavour.
And perhaps he and Melanie will also supervise a singing of “The Twelve Days Of Christmas” as they did to everyone’s amusement and enjoyment at their previous Christmas parties, involving groups on the various tables representing each one of the 12 days, so everyone gets involved.
Anyway, to cut to the chase, the evening starts at 7.30pm, with the buffet meal being served from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.
Our chanteuse, Ilze van Zanten, born in Holland but who grew up, as she says, by the Algarvian shores, will provide the entertainment for the hour before the meal then again afterwards when we hope everyone will enjoy themselves by getting up to dance.
There will be a break around 10.30pm so people can just sit and chat, and relax in each other’s company before Ilze returns—and dancing resumes!
Ilze began working as a professional singer in 1999 and has performed in major resorts all over the Algarve, such as The Four Seasons, Tivoli Hotels, Vila Vita, Vila Lara, Martinhal, Holiday Inn and many more.
She explains: “Whether I am at a summer Festival, a party or a wedding I always reach the public by singing a great variety of well known songs suitable for all age groups and “musical tastes” from Classical to Pop, Rock and country.
“I sing mainly in English and Portuguese but I also do some Spanish, Italian and French tunes.”
Her huge and varied repertoire includes the songs of such performers as Abba, Robbie Williams, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, Queen, Liza Minnelli, Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline, Queen, Frankie Valli &The Four Seasons, Crystal Gayle, Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Gloria Gaynor, John Lennon, Tina Turner, Dean Martin, Status Quo, Tammy Wynette, Adele, Andrea Bocelli, The Righteous Brothers, Elton John, Astrud Gilberto, the Gipsy Kings, Edith Piaf, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland and many others.
As we said we booked Ilze on the strength of rave reviews from our own Walking Club.
So, with the combined skills of our chef, our entertainer and our Entertainment Committee…it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
And as Bing Crosby sang:
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
“And soon the bells will start,
“And the thing that will make them ring,
“Is the Carol that you sing,
“Right within your heart”.
So, come and join us. Book your ticket now!