Busy times in Portugal and we will be posting again soon, and photos we promise

andromeda of plymouth
Susan and Andrew Wilson
Sat 22 Nov 2014 12:26

Nippy times in and around....... and as you will see a bit later than written....well it has got very busy here......

 

Now our current round of visitors have departed – though it was great hosting them – it’s time to return to some sort of routine down here in the sunny, rainy, cool and very windy Algarve. The wind has been gusting 30 knots across the area, the seas are all over the place and it’s generally very autumnal. Alice and Isaac first, then Patrice, had the best weeks so far in terms of sunshine and temperature. Now there is definitely a nip in the air – time to put the t-shirts on againJ

 

The line dancing continues on Thursdays, the music group has meet twice with great success including enthusiastic hotel guests joining in and requesting songs, the Portuguese lessons are good fun, though with visitors we haven’t done has much homework as we should. This week’s homework is ordering a range of food an drink and having a dialogue in a cafe. Very practical sessions, with Suzanne, our tutor, having a good sense of fun and patience with us. Bridge is in a bit of a limbo as several couples have returned to the UK, but it will re-start we’re sure.

 

Andrew has started practising on the guitar even more and Susan is sorting out the song lyrics and being handed the microphone to lead us through a few songs – it’s a strange, strange world we’ve found ourselves in. The music group boasts two ukuleles, a trombone, a sax, a clarinet, two acoustic guitars, a base guitar and a mandolin – all played at varying times during the evening sessions, with a song list approaching 50 – lots and lots of practice required, especially on the jazz numbers for us! And we have four vocalists, excluding hotel guests volunteering, so wonderful range of style and voices. Add in the hotel guests and the barman is a happy man as the sessions usually last four hours or so. Great atmosphere and great fun and we continue to learn from, and play with, real talent.

 

Andrew has also been invited to join an exclusive morning walking group – but he’s on probation due to his posts on the LagsoNavigators Forum. This is separate from the formal web site for historical and obscure people reasons, but is a forum to share ideas, post comments about anything and also report on issues the marina may like to take a view on. Andrew’s posts on the EU (of which he is favour) do not reflect the views of a number of the forum members, and his humour even less so for some, so he has to be very diplomatic when talking to some of them. The forum members are supposed to be anonymous, but the Moderators know and things slip out. Consequently some members of the walking group are less than enthusiastic about Andrew’s views – ah, such is life. We do like to be a little controversial to shake things up. There’s far too much narrow thinking around......sorry, we’re not on the forum now.

 

We have also attended the fortnightly “pub quiz” at which we did well on the first, and came last on the second – perhaps a trend developing? We were out of touch on the music and “who are these people” picture rounds, managed a few of the advert questions and some of the general knowledge. Still it helps keep the brain cells circulating. Met a few new folks as well and we enjoy listening to their stories, plans and goals. One couple have been visiting the marina and keeping their yacht here for 14 years, and another for 8 years – you can see where the “Port Velcro” name comes from!

 

More as and when..........

 

Andrew and Susan

Andromeda of Plymouth

Lagos

Portual