Category Archives: Features

Shoebox Appeal For Orphaned Children

Vale Da Telha resident Leni Eves is helping provide “Christmas Presents In A Shoebox” for orphaned children in Lagos and wonders if any of the good people of Vale da Telha, Aljezur, Arrifana, Espartal, Monte Clerigo, Paisagem Oceano and Vales is willing to participate in this very worthy cause.

The idea is that the 25 orphaned or abandoned children and young people at Lar de Jovens Nossa Senhora de Carmo, where these youngsters are currently being housed, should wake up to a shoebox of presents on Christmas Day.

Leni is liaising with Lois Herrington who lives near Lagos and who will be taking the shoeboxes to the children’s home on December 23^rd.

Leni says: “Our families are given so much at Christmas, so we are hoping that some of the many warm-hearted people up here would consider making a gift for one of these children?

“All you need is an empty shoebox, covered with attractive wrapping paper. Then, depending on the age and gender of the child, fill it with small, inexpensive items as a Christmas surprise for them.

“There aren’t any restrictions on items like bubble bath or perfume etc. Some ideas could be to include dolls, sweets, toiletries, pens, notebooks, puzzles, balls, cosmetics, scarves, gloves, balloons, marbles etc. etc.

“I also think some people might find it tricky to find a spare shoebox. I have a couple of spare ones at my house if that would help.

“You can e-mail me at phileni2004@yahoo.com

Leni continued: “I know that Lois is taking the boxes to the children’s home on 23rd December and I should be able to deliver some boxes down to her on the morning of the 23rd if anyone would like me to take theirs.

“However, it is better that people contact Lois directly about which child to buy for, as she knows who hasn’t yet got their name down for a present.

“She has provided their names and ages below so if you would like to contribute, please let Lois know which child you are making a box for as soon as possible.”

Here is the message from Lois who should be contacted at:

herringtonlois@gmail.com

Please choose from the following:

GIRLS:

Tatiana 15

Patricia Luz 17

Patricia Silva 15

Marisa 18

Ana Filipa 16

Adriana Rafaela16

Adriana Vanessa 15

Solange 21

BOYS:

Joao Carlos 16

Joao Paulo 14

Joao Marques 13

Miguel Marques 14

Hugo 13

Tito 17

Please let me know which child you would like to pack the shoe box for. I would imagine that the Marques boys are brothers so it might be a good idea not to choose one of them as i would like them to be done by the same person.

Thank you so much. I plan to take the boxes in on 23rd. Maybe we could arrange to meet somewhere halfway between Luz and Vale de Telha for you to give me your box – Lois Herrington.

Poppy Appeal

This year’s Poppy Appeal has been launched.

Poppy boxes are situated in Taska do Karisma Vale da Telha, and the ACT charity shop in Aljezur.

Barking Dogs

BARKING MAD?

They say a dog’s bark can be worse than its bite…and a lot of people here on Vale da Telha may testify to that.

In fact a lot of barking dogs are making a lot of our members barking mad.

The peace and tranquility of their homes and their life in the sun are too often disturbed by the ceaseless barking of neighbouring dogs.

Two of our members have asked if we can do anything as the constant barking of dogs in an adjoining property is turning their life into a misery. They say they are woken at night and even during the day their poolside relaxation is wrecked by the interminable noise from those pesky pooches!

John Bergstrom-Potter, our President, plans to raise the issue at his regular meeting next week with the Camara, asking what can be done to stop these animals from disturbing the peace.

So if you have a similar problem with dogs and want us to raise it on your behalf can you e-mail us at info@amovate.com with all the relevant information so John can draw up a dossier to present to the Camara President.

We would require your name, Amovate membership number, address and the nature of your complaint, letting us know how the dogs are a nuisance and where they are located—even the owner’s name if you know it.

We would appreciate it if you could contact us by Tuesday evening at the latest, so John can then compile his dossier, listing all the problems faced by our members in this particular matter.

Thank you.
Amovate Committee.

Why You Should Join Amovate

Amovate is seeking more new members—and this is why…

Vale da Telha will see some changes in the coming months and years.

There will be a new Government policy set in motion for this part of the National Park which will have repercussions for all of us.

Since the previous Prime Minister José Sócrates and Environment Minister Francisco Nunes Correia visted Vale da Telha six years ago—and invited Amovate officials to meet them over a lunch with various dignitaries from the Camara and other public bodies—we have kept open a dialogue with the authorities to make sure we were fully informed and kept in the loop over these plans.

Also, we are currently fighting to have high-speed fibre optic broadband delivered to Vale da Telha after the Park Authorities refused to allow the relay towers to be installed, despite the Government’s pledge to have the service rolled out to every home.

This meant the company providing the service to the Algarve simply by-passed Vale da Telha at the bottom of the hill and continued down towards Lagos, leaving all of us up here on with what one MEO employee described this week as “the worst broadband service on the Algarve”.

We wrote to the President of Portugal and the Prime Minister of Portugal some months ago voicing our outrage that the Park authorities overruled the Prime Minister’s office, and had replies from both saying they would pursue the matter.

Now, within the last week they have followed up those letters by again writing to Amovate to say the Prime Minister and the President’s offices had passed on the letters to the appropriate departments and told them to investigate.

As you can see, Amovate is constantly active on your behalf and that of the community.

Five years ago we launched a campaign to have electricity supplier EDP improve the service to Vale da Telha residents in the face of constant power outages—and soon saw an investment here by the company that greatly improved the service. But we will continue to press for a further improvement to eradicate the problem.

Remember, too, that we restored the lakeside walk, making it possible to complete the full circuit by bridging that notorious gap along the path.

We supplied wheelchairs and other equipment to Portimao Hospital’s orthopaedic unit, a laptop for a rehabilitation centre that had helped two of our residents, a pain-relieving ripple bed for another charity and many other donations to various charitable causes.

Amovate played a key role with Dr David Quinton in launching the drive for two state-of-the-art defibrillators to be placed with the Bombeiros and in the Hotel Vale da Telha for the use of residents, with dozens of volunteers being trained in CPR at Amovate Old School House HQ.

And, of course, we made headline news here in Portugal and in the UK by working with UK Fire Service charities to have €50,000 worth of fire fighting and rescue equipment shipped out to Aljezur Bombeiros at no cost to them.

Our “Amovate in the community” programme was launched to place various functions with local restaurants and bars to support them through the recession, and has been warmly received and backed by the community.

The Old School House is a hive of activity through the week with various classes and our tennis section is going from strength-to-strength, becoming self-sufficient to the point where a fair sum of money has been spent refurbishing the courts, the nets and the net posts.

As you may be aware Amovate have been making significant strides in the local area, from forging stronger links with the Camara to strengthening our relationships with local businesses and businessmen, some of whom joined the Committee.This has been due to them all realising that we need to keep our membership growing so we have an even louder voice in the community, which makes it more possible for us to get things done.

It is in the interests of us all to increase the levels of our membership numbers and retain that strength-through-numbers ethos that has raised our profile in the area.

To that effect we would like to ask all members and former members to please renew their €15 annual subscriptions and help us to continue making a difference to our Community.

And if you have never been a member, then please think about joining us and playing your part in making Vale da Telha and the surrounding areas an even better place to live.

You can do this by:

………clicking on the Membership form below, to download your form. Alternatively, if you are unable to print the form, you can collect one from the Amovate office. This can be handed in to the Amovate office with your €15.00 and your Membership Card will be ready for collection in a couple of days.

Alternatively, if you are an existing Member wishing to renew, simply drop in your old card and your €15.00 at the office, and your new Membership Card will be processed in a few days.

Thank you for your support.

MEMBERSHIP FORM

Nature Tourism in the Algarve 2014 launched in Aljezur

From The Algarve Daily News at http://www.algarvedailynews.com/

Photographs from the Facebook collection of Antonio Carvalho.

The first biennial event for ‘Nature Tourism in the Algarve’ was held in Aljezur on 26, 27 and 28 September, organized by the Associação Vicentina, Associação In Loco and Terras do Baixo Guadiana, co-funded by ProDer and the Associação Vicentina.

Two policy makers headed south to open the event: the Minister for Regional Development, Poiares Maduro and the Secretary of State for Planning and Nature Conservation, Miguel de Castro Neto.

According to the organisers, BTN 2014 (Bienal de Turismo de Natureza ’14) was running a number of seminars and presentations by national and international speakers, a wide range of environmental education activities and celebrated World Tourism Day on September 27 with two walks, one organized by Rota Vicentina and the other by Almargem on part of the Via Algarviana.

Over 100 exhibitors, mostly from the Algarve and relating to nature tourism and associated products, filled the Multipurpose Space in Aljezur.

Opening speeches included, “For many years the Algarve has concentrated its promotional efforts on sun and sea tourism products, causing a concentration of business along a small coastal strip which is reducing year after year. In the ’80s and ‘90s the economy was still smiling at this type of tourism.

“Today with a profound change in the tourism economic model where online and low cost dictate the rules, and competition from other destinations multiply, one realises that seasonality and the lack of alternative tourism products may create short-term problems and accentuate socioeconomic problems in the region.

“It is also in the ‘80s and ‘90s that we saw the depopulation of nearly 70% of the territory of the Algarve, as well as the decline of traditional industries, fishing, salt, agriculture and canning.

“The strong institutional presence at the Biennial of Nature Tourism ‘14 could bring new life and a new interest in rediscovering the low density areas of the Algarve, a territory now visibly in decline, but with specific assets that can be streamlined and translated into economic activity.

“New uses for land and sea give rise to tourism companies, ranging from hiking to bird watching, biking, surfing and diving. The fishermen’s paths are now transformed into hiking trails. The villages and old farms have been made into lodgings of great charm. The salt flats are recovered and we invent new uses for even the traditional products. Cork is made into bags and umbrellas, and beeswax now is used for surfboards.”

The organisers of the Biennial of Nature Tourism ’14 want to bring “a new vision for these areas that is positive and is focused on the opportunities available. Many of the 100 exhibitors at BTN ’14 are examples of this vision, which in Europe has a tourism market of more than 20 million potential customers.

“These are customers who choose the off-season to take holidays and are looking for regions where nature and the authenticity of the destination are key purchase factors.”