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Casa do Povo in Messines celebrate 88 years

February 7, 2023 3:29 pm

Casa do Povo in Messines celebrated 88 years in December and invited those who worked with them to attend a celebration. Isabel Flores, the current president of RC Silves, represented the club at the event. RC Silves has helped support Casa do Povo with projects for people with learning Difficulties and with food and masks during Covid pandemic. The President of the Casa do Povo de S. B. Messines, José Carlos Araújo, presented Isabel with a gift to thank RC Silves for all their support and to celebrate her presence at the Anniversary Gala.

Classic Car Rally and Christmas Swim

February 7, 2023 3:21 pm

RC Silves worked closely with the Junta de Freguesia de Armação de Pêra and Classic Car Club of Barlavento this year to raise money to feed families in need over Christmas and the new year. The money from the raffle at the classic car rally and donations at the Christmas swim raised double that of previous years and enabled families to be fed for a further month. Thank you to all who bought tickets or donated at the swim.

Classic Car Event in Armação de Pêra

October 29, 2022 2:45 pm

On the 6 November the Classic Car Club of Barlavento will hold its next classic car event which will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the area of the old Mini-Golf, in Armaçao de Pêra. This is a great opportunity to see up close these magnificently maintained vehicles that are part of transport history. Entry is free but this is also a fundraising event with raffles for vouchers offered by Holiday Inn Algarve and Vila Galé Nautico hotels. Christmas is fast approaching and the funds raised will be given to the Junta de Freguesia de Armação de Pêra to support of needy families in the parish. The draw will take place on December 4 at the final classic car event this year. The Rotary Club of Silves is supporting this event as part of its work for the communities in Silves.

If you have never been it is well worth a visit!

Christmas is coming. Time for the Shoebox Appeal

October 29, 2022 2:21 pm

This is the 18th Annual Shoebox Appeal for the elderly of Silves. Christmas is just around the corner and this has been a difficult year for all but the elderly are suffering the most. These gifts at Christmas make a big difference. Members of the RC Silves contribute each year to this appeal and this year will be no exception. We hope that you can help us to provide gifts this Christmas. One Shoebox can make all the difference. See the poster below to see how you can help.

Rotary Pilgrims Arrive in Santiago de Compostela

October 12, 2022 9:40 am

At the start of the pilgrimage the walkers were striding out energetically calling out to each other cheerfully, but as the days passed smiling faces turn to grim determination as we see ever more of the pilgrims succumbing to aches, strains & blisters and eventually shuffling & limping along. By the time we are in sight of the city of Santiago de Compostela we pass a thin line of the walking wounded. It is no coincidence that we counted 12 farmacies along the Caminho into town which leads to the cathedral, all doing a brisk business in knee & leg support bandages, slings, plasters, crutches and prosthetic limbs !

At km 82 we passed a blind man tentatively walking the Caminho, he smiled as we passed calling “Bom Caminho”! His Portuguese helper was describing to him the landscape they encountered as they walked. These two were real pilgrims.

Pilgrim’s Passports

One of our main concerns was getting enough stamps every day into our Pilgrim’s Passport, issued in Valenca. To validade our 6 day walk a minimum of 2 stamps were required each consecutive day in order to receive the all important Pilgrimage Certificate issued & signed by the cathedral. We had heard that failure to obtain the mandatory 2 stamps would mean we would have to go back and start all over again with a fresh passport, but that could just have been a ploy to make us keep going….

Arrival

From afar we caught glimpses of the gothic towers of the ancient cathedral, the third most holy shrine in Christendom. All of us were now filled with anticipation & excitement as we surged into the huge square in front of the cathedral mingling with happy fellow pilgrims all bursting with emotion & spontaneous hugs & smiles for everyone. We could see a cross being raised in front of us by a group of around 100 teenagers jumping up & down in unison as they sang their college anthem.

I read that in the 17th Century pilgrims, on arrival at the cathedral in ecstasy, stripped off their worn & smelly robes in the square and burnt them (a shedding of the old life) and donned clean vestments issued by the church. I briefly thought of reviving this ancient tradition but hesitated as possibly this was not in keeping with Rotary’s mantra!

In Retrospect

All 10 of our Rotary pilgrims agree that our journey has been a moving experience. We all have spent our professional lives working in diverse parts of the world and perhaps taken the very simplest things of life for granted. This novel experience is one which will be with us for the rest of our lives.

On our journey we were accompanied virtually by the school kids from the various Silves Sul Schools giving us constant encouragement and cheering their school mascots which each of us carried. Their daily messages of FORCA helped us on our way to reach our goal. All 10 of us are now proud possessors of a certificate in Latin as genuine pilgrims having trodden the Portuguese Way from Valenca to Santiago de Compostela.

Walking through History

September 29, 2022 9:11 am

Valenca in Northern Portugal, on the Rio Minho, was a truly wonderful place to start our Silves Rotary Club fund-raising pilgrimage, the purpose of which is to fund a sensory room & garden for autistic kids and others with learning difficulties.

We set off from the ramparts of the magnificent Starfort, the origins of which dates back to the 13th Century, it is the site of many important battles through the ages.

As we trudge along the well worn pilgrims way towards Santiago de Compostela we can feel a sense of history all around us. Pilgrims have been walking this very same route since the 12th Century – all drawn like magnets towards the holy site. As we walk inevitably we are overtaken my many youthful travellers who smile at us and we exchange “Bom Caminho” as they swiftly disappear before us.

We have now finished day 2 of our 6 day journey and are at present resting at the Convento de Vilavella founded in 1554 in Redondela, Galicia. Our stay at this historic convento was sprung on us as a surprise by our leader Phillipe – a brilliant piece of planning, so totally removed from the run of the mill hostels available to pilgrims like ourselves.

We are pleased to say that all 10 of our members are holding up well under the challenges of the terrain, not one complaint so far of any aches & pains. The first aid backpack, which we pilgrims take turns in carrying, has remained unopened – so far – AND we’ve been blessed with ideal walking conditions through shady woodlands. Perhaps the mascots given to us by the schoolkids are indeed lucky charms!

Although our leader has just told us that the closer we get to Santiago de Compostela there is an 80% chance of rain….

During the Caminho’s heyday in the 12th & 13thC, pilgrims would continue westwards to the shores of Finisterre (the end of the earth) to collect scallop shells as physical proof, and a souvenir, of having completed their pilgrimage, the lines on the shells reminding them of the rays of the setting sun and the different caminhos all leading to Santiago de Compostela.

Todays modern pilgrims can collect their shells along the route which can come in very useful if, like us, you have forgotten to bring a spoon for your yoghurt or a cup to scoop up water.

You cannot help but notice that you see no returning pilgrims – they are all going in one direction only. Just a thought, when they reach Finisterre do they drop off the end of the earth – in ecstasy.

Mascots all present and correct

September 23, 2022 10:00 am

On Monday the Team walking the Camino visited the schools and classes that are supporting them on the walk. Each team member has a mascot presented to them to carry on their journey. Team members will post pictures, videos and stories to the children on the mascot’s adventures. The teachers will weave the mascot’s journey into lessons for the week of the walk. The walk is a fund raiser as well as an educational activity all funds raised on our GoFundMe.com page “Help Pilgrims Change Kids Lives” will go to resource a sensory room and garden for the school in Armacao de Pera.

Pascal, Petra and Philippe receive their mascots at Armacao de Pera school with the Diretor Carlos Silva and teachers and children of E9, 10 and 11

Pam received her Mascot named Pandora from the children of P5 and their teacher Silva with Diretor Carlos Silva.

Jim received his mascot from the children of Tunes with their teacher George and Diretor Carlos Silva.

Alan received his mascot from the children and teachers of Alcantarilha School and Diretor Carlos Silva. Their adventure starts on Saturday 24. Wish them luck. Help us make a difference.

Rotary Pilgrims on the Brink

September 22, 2022 6:18 pm

Rotary Silves are on count-down in their preparations for the long 120 km march from the Portuguese border to Santiago de Compostela. All ten participants are off on regular training walks to tone up muscles which have been neglected over the covid-19 years.

None more so than that “Dad’s Army” type pilgrim, the 82 year old David Butler-Cole. Compared to some of the younger brethren, he has had no major bodily disaster – though he does complain of Creaky Knee Syndrome. This problem is probably as much mental as physical. To boost his confidence he has recently purchased a pair of Norwegian walking poles on the internet, purporting to come from Germany. When David opened the package he found a dreaded “Made In PRC” label. Shouldn’t they have kept to chopsticks? Will the poles collapse under a gruelling day’s walk? Watch this space, and you will find out!

David, along with the whole Rotary Silves team, have committed themselves to this pilgrimage in order to gain support from the public in their quest to raise funds to equip a much needed sensory room to help autistic children and their teachers at the Silves Sul school in Armação de Pera. Each Rotarian will be carrying the personal mascot on the walk given them by a class from the school. The kids will be able to follow the progress of the mascot through daily contact with the team.

Will you help us? You can sponsor David personally or all ten Rotary Pilgrims in aid of this good cause. All money raised will go directly to this project. Please donate now whatever you can at internet site GoFundMe.com via Rotary page “Help Pilgrims Change Kids Lives.”

The walk starts on Sept. 23^rd and the survivors will hopefully totter into Santiago by Sept. 30. If no one makes it, you can ask for your money back!

Camino walk aids hip replacement recovery

September 22, 2022 6:05 pm

Sue Butler Cole and Alan Winn are two of the Silves Rotary Club members taking part in the Change Kids Lives Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in a weeks’ time.

Both have had hip replacement operations earlier this year. At the end of January, Alan had a planned operation in preparation for the walk to come. Sue had one, a few weeks later after a fall that left her with a broken hip.

The desire to be part of the fundraising to enable Agrupamento Silves Sul School in Armaçao de Pêra to create a sensory room and garden area for Autistic and Downs Syndrome children as young as 3 was their inspiration to move past the painful recovery and be fit enough to take part.

Although Alan is carrying a tendon injury in his left leg he is still determined to complete his stages of the walk. He will share the 120km journey with his wife of almost 50 years Pam.

Sue is sharing her journey with octogenarian husband David who is also determined to make a difference and help those children have a better and more fulfilled life.

We hope that the walk by Silves Rotary Club members and friends will meet its fundraising target and you can help by make a donation. A donation of 5€ makes a difference when hundreds are inspired to give. The walkers themselves are funding the accommodation on route so that 100% of the money we receive will go to the project.

You can donate now at GoFundMe.com via our page “Help Pilgrims Change Kids Lives”

For more information email MOC.rotarysilves@gmail.com

Or Tel. 912584999

Help us make a difference!

Pilgrim survives major car accident.

September 22, 2022 5:56 pm

You may have thought pilgrims went out with the Middle Ages – wandering around supported by their staffs with an unwashed aroma emanating from their soiled robes. Not so. The modern day pilgrim is an athlete striding out purposely, nose to a satnav, covering as many kilometres as possible to achieve their physical or spiritual goal.

The pilgrims of Silves Rotary Club are made of such stuff. Ready to climb mountains, swim rivers, in their quest to cover the 120 kilometres from the Portuguese border to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Ten pilgrims we are now, honed by route marches through inhospitable Algarvean terrain in burning temperatures. In the peak of fitness? Well, sort of – we are human after all – and with an average age of seventy, subject to bit of wear and tear.

Take, for example, Jim Kennedy, brimming with energy, always striding ahead of the rest on training walks. You could count on Jim. This pilgrimage would be a doddle for him. But fate dealt a cruel blow in the form of a horrendous accident in July on a UK motorway. His car was struck by a lorry at 60 mph. He was spun from the slow lane into the lorry´s wheels and across four lanes before coming to a stop in the fast lane. It was a miracle that he lives to tell the tale. He suffered no major injury; muscle damage has left him in pain and with difficulty in walking.

Surely Jim would pull out of the pilgrimage? No! Jim says his close escape has focussed him on how lucky he was. He is glad to help fund the project to equip a much needed sensory room and garden at Agrupamento Silves Sul school in Armação de Pera to help children with learning difficulties adjust to school life.

Will you sponsor Jim and our other pilgrims? The money we raise for this project will change the lives of children and those helping them.