Are you thinking of coming on a late deal golf holiday?
2009 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
Madeleine McCann's parents are to launch a high-intensity new appeal for information tightly focused on the area where she went missing.
Over the next two weeks 10,000 leaflets in Portuguese will be handed out and posted in letterboxes in Praia da Luz, Lagos and Burgau in southern Portugal.
The campaign will also advertise on billboards, three buses and a van.
Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, vanished from a holiday flat in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, on 3 May 2007.
Vital clue
Despite an international publicity campaign and massive police search, she has never been found.
Kate and Gerry McCann's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said the hope was to find the vital clue that could lead to Madeleine, who was nearly four when she went missing, being found.
 |  Experience shows that people almost always confide in someone else  Find Madeleine Fund |
The official Find Madeleine Fund said in a statement: "At the time of Madeleine's disappearance the emphasis was placed more on international appeals, and it has been recognised that the local Portuguese residents of Praia da Luz and the surrounding areas have never been properly asked about information they may have to give.
"Someone in the area could almost certainly have the vital information that could help Madeleine's return to her family, or a combination of people all coming forward with a single piece of information could piece together vital clues which could solve the disappearance.
"Experience also shows that people almost always confide in someone else."
Information can be provided to the McCanns' private investigation team anonymously by telephone, email, text message or free post, and will be treated in confidence.
Team Australia lead driver John Martin talks to foxsports.com.au about the upcoming A1GP race at the new Algarve circuit in Portugal.
Martin will be looking to erase the disappointment of his last start at Kyalami, South Africa when a pit stop problem in the feature race prevented his team from capitalising on a promising position. The large crowd of 5,434 was in festive mood in front of the Sport TV cameras and they were treated to an emphatic 4-0 victory when their local heroes from Olhão cemented their place at the top of the table with a hat-trick from centre-forward Djalmir and a fourth goal from substitute João Paulo. Some twenty British ex-pats are regular fans and the number is growing as the group promotes the club throughout the central and eastern Algarve. The family orientated and friendly club are striving to join the giants of FC Porto, Benfica and Sporting in Liga Sagres. The club’s marketing department have met with the group to create a partnership that hopes to recruit more British and Irish members to savour the unique atmosphere of the José Arcanjo Stadium. Posters in English now appear in cafes, bars and hotels from Faro to Vila Real Santo António whilst the club’s new monthly magazine contains two pages of copy in English. The group also produce a match day programme to keep themselves abreast of team news and details of away trips. Members of the group have already travelled to Benfica and Boavista with their new Portuguese friends. Club President Isidoro Sousa said last week “It is very pleasing, they have been tireless in their support and are much in love with Olhanense. We hope they keep supporting us and bring more Britons to Olhão. I am very optimistic.” When Olhanense, the only 2nd Division club to reach the quarter-finals of the Carlsberg League Cup, were drawn away to Benfica in January, there was tremendous excitement. With 1,800 fans from the Algarve, waving their commemorative scarves, they certainly made an impressive sight in the Stadium of Light. Despite losing the game 4-1, Olhanense were the equal of Benfica during the first half and even had the audacity to take the lead. Following that defeat in Lisbon in January, the team lost ground with three successive league defeats but recent form including outstanding wins away at Boavista 4-1 and the 4-0 win against Portimonense have confirmed Olhanense as promotion favourites. The top two teams are promoted and with eight games to play they are a point ahead of Santa Clara (Azores) and seven points clear of 3rd placed team Leiria. Portimonense remain 13th.Tickets can be purchased at the ground on match days and if you enjoy the experience why not become a member. Allocated seating in the main stand, own refreshment area, priority booking for major games and a match day programme in English. For further information contact: Chris Wright on 916504 903, christopher.wright@hotmail.co.uk or Brian Evans on 913 595 868, brian@moonlightservices.eu
There are lots of events planned in this region of Portugal in 2009, which is great news for property investors...
Whether you want a short break, honeymoon, adventure trip, beach holiday, cultural tour, sporting event or historical visit, the Algarve will offer something for everyone this year with a packed calendar of events.
From May 4th to 9th the Algarve International Film Festival in Portimão will showcase short films from international filmmakers. In 2009 the festival will focus on 'Cinema and Globalisation in the World' and hopes to attract a broad mix of multicultural films. For more details see www.algarvefilmfest.com
For five days in July colour and excitement will fill the streets of Loulé again as the Med Festival takes place. World music originating from Morocco and various southern European countries, such as Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal will fill the air.
Visitors will also enjoy handicraft exhibitions, dance performances and street theatre. For more information go to www.festivalmed.com.pt
A paradise for seafood lovers, the annual Festival do Marisco, is held in August each year in the town of Olhão, just five kilometres from Faro.
One of the most important gastronomic events in the Algarve calendar, the Festival do Marisco offers visitors the chance to sample some of the local delicacies. A wide range of seafood is available, ranging from grilled sardines to fried shrimps and of course the traditional cataplana, a much loved Portuguese dish consisting of clams, mussels, bacon, chouriço, garlic, onions and olive oil.
Music and folk dancing accompany the festival, with performers encouraging both locals and visitors to eat, drink and enjoy the superb atmosphere. For details visit www.festivaldomarisco.com
The Algarve Portugal has consistently been popular with both life style property buyers and overseas property investors. It has now a new appeal with investors in the form of a brand new race track at The Autodromo International de Portima 
The FIA World Motor Sport Council has confirmed the calendar for the 2009 FIA GT Championship season, which features a number of revisions to the schedule already announced.One of the eastern Algarve’s most idyllic rural retreats, a mountainous range eight kilometres north of Stª Catarina de Fonte do Bispo (Tavira) which is affectionately known to locals as ‘the cloud factory’ and comprises a cluster of unspoilt villages, is under threat of being invaded by two large-scale energy projects that are causing residents to unite in uproar, and who are promising to go to all lengths at their disposal to ensure the projects do not follow the proposed route.
The quaint villages of Malhada do Judeu, Água de Tábuas and Aporfiosa could all be affected by the two reportedly ‘massive’ projects, which will see the installation of High Tension (HT) cables and pylons as well as a wind turbine farm.News of these projects broke last year and caused immediate unease within the normally tranquil hub, which despite comprising fewer than two dozen properties with full time and part time residents, is home to a variety of nationalities and families, young and old.
Residents this week claimed they were not officially informed of these projects or of a public consultation phase, which they say they found out about “purely by chance just prior to its closure date”, nor were they reportedly told of the subsequent alleged approval of one of two proposed routes for the HT network.
Immediately a protest campaign was launched, resulting in a petition comprising 853 signatures, 165 official forms and an additional petition with 43 signatures opposing the proposed HT lines. These documents were all submitted to Tavira City Hall, the Ministry of the Environment, to the State Secretary for the Environment and the local Parish Council.
To date, this action has reportedly been “completely ignored”, leaving the despairing residents “furious”.
Should the planned projects go ahead they will entail a series of unsightly HT pylons, measuring up to 50 metres in height, as well as the installation of three wind turbines, each measuring 80 metres in height, one of which is believed to be positioned just 200 metres from the high voltage cables.
Health, noise and aesthetics aside, residents fear these proposed plans will not only “devastate property values” in this region, rendering them unsellable in an already shaky market, but they will also deter prospective visitors to the region, as a consequence a plan for 22 properties to be developed there are, from the offset, practically worthless.
Furthermore, given the location’s geographical position, which for most of the winter months is enveloped in mist, it boasts a unique micro-climate that nurses a native flora, an unusual moss, and lichens that are likely to be disturbed by the work and heavy machinery involved.
As a matter of urgency a Residents’ Committee has been formed and according to one of the organisers, they will “stop at nothing to protect homes, livelihoods and investments”.
A letter from the Committee was sent this week to the State Secretary for the Environment, the Minister for the Environment, the Minister of the Economy, the Mayor of Tavira and the President of national energy company REN.
In the document, to which The Portugal News had prior access, the residents said they wanted to “make it clear” that they would “do everything necessary to safeguard our livelihoods, our properties, and the future economic stability of this rare and beautiful corner of Portugal”.
According to the residents, they will be taking their protest to Lisbon, where they will be demanding an audience at the head offices of REN, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of the Economy, “who to date seem determined to ignore our protests and desecrate our environment”.
A large number of campaign posters were printed this week, which the community will be displaying along the proposed route of the High Tension pylons.
But even though they are feeling “snowed under with the threat of massive infrastructures going up around us”, the residents are adamant in stopping at nothing to eliminate this threat.
Toby Jarvis, a British-expat and permanent resident in Aporfiosa with his wife and one-year-old daughter, told The Portugal News this week, “Our dream of an ecologically sustainable, creative tourist development in Aporfiosa is shattered. With the Government’s talk of sustainable investment in the Algarve we are amazed at the complete contradiction in policy. No-one will tell us why our protests have been ignored and no-one is talking about compensation. It will definitely make people think twice about investing in rural areas”.
In previous years, two identical, high-profile cases in the Algarve made national and international headlines with High Tension network proposals for the districts of Monchique and Silves being successfully thwarted thanks to the action of locals. Both routes were altered following pressure from residents, who had the added support of their respective City Halls behind them.
After contacting Tavira City Hall, Mayor Macário Correia said in response to the issue “as nothing is as yet definite I do not want to comment on the matter”.
Another source from Tavira City Hall told The Portugal News that a letter in the name of Mr. Jarvis has been received in April 2008, though could not confirm whether or not the document in question was the petition.
Not too often over the past two years has Fernando Alonso had much cause to smile. Clinching the second of his back-to-back Formula One world titles with Renault towards the end of 2006 must now appear like a distant memory to the Spaniard.
The following year brought a much-heralded move to McLaren, but it was filled with bitterness, acrimony and rancour, culminating in an unsurprising exit and a hasty retreat back to Renault.
There is a saying that you should never go back, and certainly for arguably the first eight months of last year, that was the case for Alonso as he struggled to wring a performance out of the car.
But the 27-year-old, despite the obvious problems he encountered at McLaren, is a fighter, and in tandem with a considerable amount of hard work from the team, he again savoured the sweet taste of victory champagne.
Successive wins in Singapore and Japan enabled Alonso to finish the season as the highest points scorer over the final six grands prix, outshining title protagonists Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa.
Alonso was again a happy man and he signed a new two-year contract with Renault, ending the speculation linking him with the now-defunct Honda team.
The return to form naturally rekindled his enthusiasm, which was apparent at the unveiling of this season's car in the Algarve in January when he was like a child with a new toy.
The sweeping regulation changes have offered Alonso hope he can again fight for a third world title.
''I am confident I can fight for the title this year,'' remarked a determined Alonso.
''There is only one target this season - we need the championship, and if we don't win it, it will be a disappointing season.
''But (team principal) Flavio (Briatore) and I, the whole team is really optimistic, with everybody focused on this.
''The results we have from the wind tunnel, engine dyno, everything is more optimistic than we expected, better than we predicted.
''It means everybody is quite motivated, but you need a few factors to be champion at the end of a year.
''Hopefully, I think for the first race we will be able to fight for the podium at least.''
It was a grim-looking Alonso that stood on a stage at the team's Paris base last January after unveiling the 2008 car, and it was clearly with good reason.
Alonso must have known then the year ahead would be a struggle, yet he was hardly at liberty at that time to bemoan the car's bad points that became apparent as the first few races unfolded.
So his grounds for optimism on this occasion, even if all drivers talk a good game in the run-up to a new campaign, must have firm foundations.
''I'm much more happy this year, much more optimistic, because I think the rule changes are a big opportunity for all the teams,'' said Alonso.
''Last year even with standard electronics, no traction control and other things, we knew the cars that fought for the title in 2007 would be good enough to fight for the championship in 2008.
''They had an advantage that they carried over the years, but this year it is not like that any more.
''Everybody has had to start from zero, so we know if we do a good job then we can be up with them.
''That is what we hope for, and that is our aim.''
Alonso knows it would certainly ease the pressure on himself and the team who, like the other manufacturers, are fighting for the results to guarantee their survival in F1 in light of the global economic crisis.
Alonso feels a successful season would also bring an end to the constant speculation about him joining Ferrari.
Despite the new contract, it has already led to some circulating the rumour he will move to the Maranello marque in 2011.
With that smile that is now back on his face these days, he added: ''I have been answering this question for four or five years.
''Hopefully this year I can be more relaxed about it, and if we are winning races and fighting for the title, we'll forget Ferrari.
''That is another of my aims, because I'm really concentrated on 2009, and as I've said, I'm more motivated and prepared than ever.
''So when you talk about 2010, 2011 or 2012, it really is a difficult question to answer because I'm not looking that far away.''
HELLO everyone. Last week I was on holiday in Portugal, in the Algarve, a place I’ve not been for many years.
It was a most enjoyable week of golf and gluttony, the highlight of which was one of the most memorable dishes I’ve had in many moons and I’d like to tell you all about it and offer my domesticated version.
The dish I ate was Brazilian in origin and combined two of the classic recipes from the South American country.
Picanha is essentially a long skewer, onto which is pushed several large, well-seasoned steaks from the sirloin or top rump.
The skewer is placed in front of a grill and rotated until the outer layers of the meat are cooked.
Then, the skewer is brought to the table and sliced theatrically by a waiter and the customer uses little tongs to remove the juicy outer layers, much like you see in kebab shops.
The meat then gets taken back to the kitchen to be cooked again and this proceeds until the steaks are finished, or, as in our case, when you simply can’t eat any more. Boy, was I pogged!
To accompany this delicious meat we were served a sort of feijoada, which is the name given to a group of dishes served as a feast in Brazil.
Feijoada comprises many elements, but chiefly includes a casserole of black beans, a few smoked sausages, deep-fried bananas, rice, some fried potatoes, a fruity pepper salsa and manioc flour, lightly-toasted and mixed with smoky bacon.
Oh and a chargrilled pineapple.
I know what you’re thinking. I did too. Way too many flavours! But here’s the thing – it works. It works SO well. I was utterly entranced.
The smokiness of the sausages and beans, the fruit of the salsa and crunchy-coated banana and the rich, juicy beef. Oh, it was an epiphany.
I can still taste it now and I’m desperate to get going on my own version.
Some of the ingredients may be hard to find, but there’s fun to be had in trying to find suitable replacements.
I can pretty much guarantee we’ll not be able to find linguiça sausages round these parts, but we should thank the Poles, of whom there are many in the Huddersfield area, for their kielbasa and kabanos, both of which would be fine substitutes here. Manioc flour is also not easy to find – try health food or African stores, but it’s the least important of the additions.
Picanha with Feijoada
THE beans you can make in advance, as with the salsa.
Serves 4
The Beef:@ 4 x 8-10oz. rump steaks from a good butcher, well-seasoned just before cooking
The Beans:@ 800g black beans, soaked overnight in fresh water 500g chorizo sausage, finely diced 2 bayleaves 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced A pinch of cumin 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 orange
The Salsa:@ 1 onion, finely chopped 1 green pepper, seeded and finely chopped 1 red pepper, seeded and finely chopped The juice and rind of a lime 6 fresh, ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped, juices reserved A little fresh coriander, chopped S&P
Toasted Manioc:@ Cassava flour (also known as tapioca flour or manioc flour) A few rashers smoked streaky bacon, cut into strips
The sausages:@ Smoked pork sausages (ideally, linguica, but Kabanos or Kielbasa will do)
The bananas:@ 4 bananas A pinch of flour 1 egg, beaten Fine breadcrumbs Oil for deep-frying
Also:@ 1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into thick slices (optional) A few cooked new potatoes and/or plain boiled rice.
First, the beans. Put the drained soaked beans in a suitable pot and cover with water about twice the depth of the beans themselves. Bring to the boil and simmer gently. Quarter the orange, remove the pips and add to the beans. While the beans are cooking, in a little oil fry the onion and garlic until translucent, then add the chorizo, the bayleaves and cumin. When the chorizo is golden, add this to the simmering beans and cook gently until the beans are beginning to fall apart. When the beans are ready, remove the bayleaves and orange pieces and take out a couple of ladlefuls of beans. Whizz them in a blender, then return to the pan. You’re after a nice creamy bean casserole here, so you’ll have to judge the consistency.
For the manioc, quickly fry the bacon in a pan until golden and crispy, then add a few tablespoons of cassava flour and toast this gently until it reaches a nice pale brown colour. Reserve.
To make the salsa, combine all the ingredients, adding the tomato juices, season to taste and keep refrigerated until needed.
For the bananas, heat a pan with enough oil to deep-fry the bananas. Peel the fruit and roll in a little flour, then dip in the egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Repeat the egg and breadcrumbs stage. Deep fry the bananas until golden and crunchy and keep warm.
Cook the steaks briskly on a chargrill pan, a barbecue or even under the grill. Grill or roast the sausages.
If you’re serving pineapple, chargrill or grill it at the same time as the steaks. Finally, cook the rice or sauté the potatoes, and serve everything at once. Tradition says you should drink beer, but I find a nice zappy red like an Argentine Shiraz is perfect.
The Algarve is already renowned for its golf courses, beaches, water sports, culture and good food and wine. With the new venue, the region is expected to welcome a further one million tourists a year.
In November it hosted the Portuguese round of the Superbike World Championships and Formula 1 testing took place in December. Other major international events are scheduled and there is talk of it trying to lure an F1 race in the future.
As well as the circuit, the complex includes a karting track, technology park, 5-star hotel and sports facilities. At around €195m it is the biggest single investment ever in the Algarve and as well as the creation of over 1,000 new jobs, tourist levels are expected to substantially increase as visitors flock to see the sporting contests, all of which should have a positive impact on the local and national economy.
A member of Alderley Edge-based The Emerson Group, Jones Homes Portugal has two residential and leisure developments just 10 minutes drive away from the Autódromo. Both look set to benefit as Fly to Let investors seek to take advantage of higher expected occupancy rates for rental properties in this area.
The opening last year of a brand new clubhouse with fully equipped gym and luxury health spa has enhanced Boavista Golf & Health Spa Resort’s claim to be one of the Algarve’s top golf and holiday destinations.
Located near Lagos, a choice of detached villas and golf village properties start at €365,000 and, under a new freehold quarter share scheme, a 13-week per year rotating occupancy can be purchased from just €112,000.
Jones Homes’ other major development on the Western Algarve, Oásis Parque, is located between Alvor and Portimão. With a country club atmosphere, Oásis Parque has a huge outdoor pool, kiddies’ pool and playground, heated indoor pool, Jacuzzi, tennis courts and on-site restaurant. A range of detached villas and apartments start at €205,000.
WALES boss John Toshack will take one last opportunity to give teenage stars Aaron Ramsey and Jack Collison the chance to cement their roles in his World Cup plans. Toshack named a 27-man squad today for the friendly against Poland on February 11 in Portugal – the match being played on the Algarve in Vila Real St Antonio, where Wales will be aiding the Poles’ warm-weather training ahead of their own World Cup matches next month.
Arsenal starlet Ramsey – on his full international debut – and West Ham youngster Collison played as a central midfield partnership for their country when Wales won in Denmark last November.
Toshack desperately wanted to see the pair have as much Premier League experience as possible since then, and his wish has been granted.
Ramsey has figured in nine Arsenal games since then, while Collison has won a place in Gianfranco Zola’s senior side and has played in the last 10 Hammers games.
For Toshack, this is the final game before the make-or-break home matches in World Cup qualifying group four when Wales play Finland and Germany in Cardiff on March 28 and April 1 respectively.
Those games will virtually decide whether Wales have any chance of qualifying for South Africa 2010.
But it has not all been plain sailing for Toshack as he has monitored the club progress of his youngsters, and in particular Spurs pair Chris Gunter and Gareth Bale.
Both Cardiff-born players have had their problems at White Hart Lane as the north Londoners have battled to get away from the Premier League relegation zone.
New boss Harry Redknapp has suggested Gunter would benefit from a spell on loan, while Bale has been in and out of the Spurs team and was even – it is believed – offered to Liverpool in the initial bid for Robbie Keane.
Manchester City’s young striker Ched Evans has been out of the picture there and the subject of a bid from Celtic, while goalkeeper Boaz Myhill has lost his first-team place at Hull.
But it is the improvement in Ramsey and Collison that will boost Toshack.
The duo have already been hailed as the answer to Wales’ playmaking problems, having struck up a good central midfield understanding as part of Brian Flynn’s successful under-21 side.
And Toshack is keen to give them as much time on the pitch together as possible before deciding whether to risk the young pairing against the Finns and Germans.
Toshack has been boosted for that game by the return to full fitness and the outstanding club form of defender James Collins, who finally returned to the West Ham team in October after a knee injury.
Collins has helped West Ham to an eight-match unbeaten run and won plenty of praise for his partnership with Matthew Upson.
Wales, though, have announced a big squad to cover for the expected withdrawals, and have already lost Peterborough defender Craig Morgan.
A scan today revealed a broken toe that will keep him out for several weeks, while Robert Earnshaw – back in goalscoring form at Nottingham Forest – is certain to withdraw with a hamstring problem.
An Football Association of Wales spokesman said: “John Toshack wants people to know they are involved and on standby.
“This is an important game for us because it is the only run-out the lads will have before the two World Cup games, having last seen each other in November.”
Veteran Carl Robinson, just returned to pre-season training with Toronto, has been left out along with Coventry’s Freddy Eastwood, while young striker Craig Davies – now with Brighton – is back for the first time in more than a year.
Also recalled is midfielder Andrew Crofts now he is back in action after a long spell on the sidelines. He has moved from Gillingham to Peterborough.
Stockport goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams is the only uncapped player named for his first call-up, having been promoted from the under-21s squad who did so well last year in the UEFA championships before losing out against England in a play-off to reach the finals.
The former Crewe keeper, 21, takes the place of Derby’s Lewis Price, who has had little senior activity this season and has been out on loan with MK Dons for a spell.
Flynn has named an 18-man under-21 squad for the friendly against Northern Ireland in Ballymena on February 10, including Llanelli teenage winger Jordan Follows.
The 18-year-old has made a big impact in the Welsh Premier League this season and has had a trial at Blackburn, with several Championship clubs also interested.
It is a new-look under-21 squad, with six uncapped players named in the build-up to their new UEFA championship campaign. The draw will be made in Denmark on Wednesday.
The new faces include Everton’s Nathan Craig and Bournemouth’s Joe Partington.
Contador traveled to USA on Sunday for training camp in Santa Rosa
“I’m not going crazy over logging hours on the bike”
Alberto Contador traveled to the USA on Sunday for ten days work with his teammates at Astana’s training camp in Santa Rosa, California. At camp, Contador will prepare for his first race of the 2009 season, the Volta al Algarve, February 18-22. He is eager to race, but notes that this year his preparation is somewhat behind the schedule of last year, and that it’s still too soon to be fully in shape for competition. “I’m looking forward to camp, because this year I started training a little later, and at first, at Tenerife, I almost couldn’t take advantage of it because of surgery. Now I hope we have good weather in California and can get in a sizeable chunk of work.”
How do you rate your current form?
I’ve been doing very dedicated training for weeks and I’m starting to feel good, but up till now I’ve only done base work. I haven’t been doing climbs, I haven’t done intervals, and I’m not going crazy over logging hours on the bike. Maybe at training camp I’ll start to work on intensity, but I don’t want to overdo it, because this will be a very long year.
Are you eager to pin on that first bib number?
Absolutely, because I love to race and that’s what motivates me to train. I’m going to debut in the Algarve, but it’s not a race I’m familiar with and I won’t be riding to win. It will be the first contact with competition.
Have you made any changes to your bike, or will it be the same as in 2008?
We’re working with Trek to introduce some new features, and we also want to set up the time trial bike to coordinate with the data we got in the wind tunnel.
Will you train against the clock in California?
I think that the wind tunnel team are going to training camp in order to define the exact position I’ll adopt in the races, therefore I want to take that opportunity on some day, because that training is also very important.
Are you familiar with Santa Rosa?
I’ve talked to Levi Leipheimer, who lives there, and it’s his usual training ground. I think we’ll have spring-like temperatures, but I’m not familiar with the venue, because it’s different from the recent ones.
Do you know yet who’ll be on your team for the Algarve?
No, that’ll be decided at camp, depending on how each guy’s doing.
By the way, some fans wonder why there aren’t any classics on your calendar this year.
Well, there’s still a chance to fit in a one-day race, specifically La Flèche Wallonne or Liége-Bastogne-Liége, but I haven’t wanted to put them on my calendar because everything depends on how the Vuelta al País Vasco ends, since that stage of the season is usually a bit long to hold my first peak of form. I like those races, but I’m going to play it by ear.
The announcement that Ryanair are to begin two new twice weekly flights to Faro airport has been welcome news for anyone living on the Algarve. This brings to eleven the number of Ryanair flights from different destinations. It looks like the promise by Ryanair spokesman Stephen Mc Namara last October that Ryanair will ‘continue to grow’ is holding true and it reflects a basic confidence in the Algarve as a viable tourist destination even in these days of economic crisis. Commenting on this announcement, the busy spokesman said “Ryanair continues to offer great new routes so that passengers can beat the recession by flying at Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares and no fuel surcharges to exciting destinations all over Europe. Ryanair will continue to grow as other airlines pull routes and reduce capacity. With passengers becoming increasingly price sensitive Ryanair will continue to expand so that even more passengers can take advantage of Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares and no fuel surcharges´.
Bernie Ecclestone is showing interest in getting the Portuguese Grand Prix back in the Formula One calendar, now that the country has a new, state-of-the-art circuit in Algarve. For 13 years, between 1984 and 1996 the Portuguese Grand Prix was a very popular venue for teams and drivers, with the Estoril circuit holding the race and becoming a favourite test track during the winter season. But the facilities were never properly upgraded and, in the end, Ecclestone pulled the plug on the deal, cancelling the 1997 Grand Prix and replacing it with the European Grand Prix in Jerez de la Frontera, in Spain, where Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve famously clashed in the World Championship decider.
The Hope Fund’s annual charity golf tournament this year smashed all its previous achievements and raised an inspiring €15,000, which will be put towards helping stray and abandoned animals across the Algarve.“The course was wonderful and the weather was perfect golf weather” said the event’s main organizer, Doug Clarke.
A lavish evening meal at the Tivoli Lagos Hotel followed the day’s activities, and featured a prize draw and an auction to raise more revenue for the Hope Fund.
The auction alone, which boasted a star-prize of a champagne boat trip courtesy of Blacktower Finance, raised €7,000.
Michele Jones, a long-term resident who founded the Hope Fund in 2000, told The Portugal News the staggering amount would “cover a whole year’s treatments” for stray and abandoned animals. This includes veterinary treatments, neutering, treating ‘hit and run’ cases, and organizing neutering campaigns.
Doug and Michele initiated charity golf tournaments for the cause in 2004, and have since raised an estimated €50,000.
After three months of intense organizing the day was more successful than anyone could ever have hoped for.
“I can’t believe we raised so much money. I thought that, given the economic circumstances at present, we would not raise as much as previous years, but we have done our best to date”, said Michele.
Doug and Michele would like to take this opportunity to thank all of their many sponsors, participants, and those who donated prizes.
They would particularly like to thank Palmares for the use of their course.
For more information, contact Michele at the Hope Fund on: 919 457 263, or e-mail: happyhounds@mail.telepac.pt.
The Hope Fund is not a refuge and does not take in animals.
England have concluded what manager Martin Johnson described as a "very productive" pre-RBS 6 Nations training camp in Portugal.The squad returned home on Friday following a final session at their Vilamoura base on the Algarve.
Johnson said: "The five days have been very productive. The conditions were good and the players and coaches have enjoyed some quality training, preparation and analysis time together."
England kick off their Six Nations campaign against Italy at Twickenham on Saturday week.
Wasps prop Tim Payne sat out training on Friday because of sore abdominal muscles, but is expected to resume preparations on Monday.
Bath flanker Michael Lipman, meanwhile, will return to his club this weekend after being assessed by England's medical staff during the last few days.
Lipman went off midway through the first-half of Bath's Heineken Cup draw with Toulouse last Sunday after taking a heavy blow to the side of his head.
With Lipman now out of the reckoning, England have opted to call up experienced Wasps back row Joe Worsley as Tom Rees' replacement.
Three other players - London Irish pair Delon Armitage and Nick Kennedy, together with Sale Sharks back Mathew Tait - were released early from the camp to play for their clubs in Guinness Premiership games tomorrow.
The squad will reconvene at its Surrey training headquarters on Sunday evening, with Johnson due to name his team for the Italy opener next Tuesday.
Alentejo:The Algarve is also seeing high numbers of British homeowners willing to take a hit on their asking price if they are bringing their euro profits home.
Caroline and Neil Irish, below, are releasing funds by selling their Algarve holiday home
' One British owner has reduced the price of his five- bedroom villa on Gramacho Golf Resort, near Lagos on the Algarve, from €715,000 ( £674,528) to €550,000 (£518,876),' says James Harrison, sales director of golf resort developer Pestana.
' He bought the house eight years ago for €200,000, so he'll still make a good profit and there is now a lot of interest in the property.
' These aren't distressed sales, but some owners are closer to the edge financially than they wanted to be. People need to decide what's best for them in this uncertain market and that often means dropping the price substantially,' Harrison adds.
Caroline Irish, 46, a housewife, and husband Neil, 45, the manager of healthcare company, are willing to a 20 per cent discount on their bedroom flat in Vale da Pinta in Carvoeiro, which is on the for €383,000 ( £361,320 at the exchange rate).
' We are prepared to take a price drop of the way the euro is going because prices of new apartments lower now than we paid two years says Caroline, who lives in Sandbanks in Dorset.
' We bought the flat new, gave it a fresh interior and have spent wonderful holidays there.
' We were hoping to downsize in the UK and spend more time in Portugal, but our UK penthouse, which is on the market for £795,000, hasn't sold, so we are selling the Portuguese property to release funds,' she says, adding that the adverse effect of the exchange rate is that repayments on their Portuguese mortgage have soared.
Holidaymakers who frequent the resort of Santa Eulalia near Albufeira on the Portuguese Algarve are in for a shock they return in the summer.Gravelly- voiced singer Bonnie 57, and her property developer husband Robert Sullivan, have knocked down their five-bedroom villa overlooking the to make way for a cutting glass-fronted house.
' We're building on four-and-a-half that meander down to a cove. The land alone is worth 2million,' says Bonnie, who is for hits such as Lost France and Total Eclipse Of Heart.
' The house will cover 10,000sq ft - than our previous home - we've had a water feature to run through the dropping down to a tropical pool landscaped with exotic and trees.
'Robert and I will have the whole of the top storey, below will be three guest suites with balconies and there will be underground parking for everyone.'
Bonnie and Robert, reportedly worth £44million, have an impressive property portfolio that includes three houses and an apartment by the marina in Swansea in Bonnie's native Wales, and 360 acres of land in Berkshire with stabling for 60 horses.
The couple also have a fabulous 1850s house near to Catherine Zeta-Jones's parents in Mumbles, Swansea Bay.
OLHÃO, Portugal: In the early 1990s, João Navalho, a microbiologist fresh out of graduate school, came to the salt marshes in the Algarve region with a handful of young partners to grow and harvest microalgae. Their dream was to market the algae's beta carotene as natural orange dye for the fast-growing organic food market. The business foundered; the 37 acres of marshes, known as salinas, became a garbage dump for residents in this pocket of southwestern Portugal who did not know what else to do with their outmoded kitchen appliances. After years of frustrated effort, the partners suddenly changed course.
"We looked around and said, we're stupid!" Navalho recalled. "We have a lot of land here. What we should do with the salinas is produce salt!"
They asked the longtime locals for someone who might remember how to harvest salt the old way: by hand, as it was done here before industrialization made it cheap and plentiful, and small salt works fell into desuetude.
Like everything else in this undertaking, the answer was staring them in the face. Living on the edge of the marshes was Maximino António Guerreiro, a sunburned retired salt worker with a grizzled beard and missing teeth, who started harvesting here with his father more than four decades ago.
In 1997, the salt project began. Guerreiro cleaned out and rebuilt the long-abandoned patchwork of rectangular, clay-lined salt beds. With young workers from Eastern Europe, he opened sluices from the sea and set up a system of dams to control the water flow. He shared the secrets of salt: how to measure evaporation levels and determine the correct salt density and water temperature, when to add water and when to rake and skim.
"I had to quit school when I was 14 to help my father make salt every day, and then the work disappeared," said Guerreiro, 56. "Now we're back — making the most beautiful white salt in the world."
The financing was difficult, Navalho said. "When we told the banks we wanted to make salt, they said that everyone had gone out of the business," he said. "So we promised if we didn't pay back they could take our necks."
Two years later, Necton, the salt company Navalho created here, produced its first salt crop. Now it is one of the region's new salt pioneers, struggling to revive what was once a flourishing trade in this part of Portugal. They are trying to convince consumers of the health and taste benefits of handmade, non-industrial salt and to compete in an increasingly sophisticated global salt market.
"Life begins in the ocean," Navalho said. "What we are selling is ocean saltwater without the water. Call it sea dust."
To many people, salt is salt. But to those for whom it is a gourmet condiment, few varieties compare to the crème de la crème of salt known as fleur de sel, harvested by gently skimming the white, lacy film from the surface of salty beds when weather conditions in summer allow.
Necton produces both traditional hand-harvested salt as well as a gourmet version, known here as flor de sal.
The history of Portugal and salt is long and romantic. The first known document related to Portuguese salt works dates from the 10th century, when a countess donated salt marshes to a monastery that she founded. A century later, the Algarve region was shipping salt across Europe; in the 15th and 16th centuries, salt helped make Portugal a global power. In one of his best-known works, the 20th century poet Fernando Pessoa, wrote, "Oh salty sea, so much of your salt is tears of Portugal."
But Navalho confesses that his team learned many of its techniques from Guérande, the Brittany-based cooperative that restored traditional salt-making to France in the 1970s and whose brand dominates the hand-harvested salt business. France produces about 80 percent of Europe's hand-harvested salt and fleur de sel.
Unlike French salt, which has a grayish hue, the Portuguese is a pure, shiny white. In France, rain churns up charcoal-gray mud from the bottom of the salt pans and leaves behind a grey residue, while Portuguese summers tend to be sunny and dry.
These days, European designer salt must compete with exotic salts from around the world, including Himalayan pink salt harvested at altitudes over 10,000 feet, a South Korean salt that is roasted in bamboo, and Hawaiian red Alaea, which gets its color from red clay.
There have also been reports of counterfeit hand-harvested salt. Nico Boer, the German co-manager of the Marisol salt works in nearby Tavira, said one Portuguese salt producer sold more than a dozen tons of industrial salt to the French several years ago, passing it off as hand-harvested.
"It's a tough business," he said.
The operations at Marisol and Necton are set on protected national land. At Necton, salt mountains sit in the open air, protected by black tarps. Women wearing hairnets and rubber gloves sift through the shiny salt as it flows along an assembly line, picking out bits of insects' wings, brine shrimp and wood chips.
But Necton has bigger plans. Navalho has begun to cultivate an exotic salad vegetable called salicorne, which is in fact a small weed with fleshy, tart, dark-green branches. He hopes to build a bird sanctuary for the flamingos, egrets, plovers and other wild birds here. He is trying to draw summer visitors for tours of both the salts works and the little algae-growing he still does.
And Navalho, who was born in Mozambique, wants to expand operations to the eastern coast of Africa, to restore some of the abandoned salt fields built by the Portuguese 300 years ago.
First, however, he has to persuade customers to think about salt differently.
"People might like to drive a Ferrari, but they can't afford it," he said. "But they can afford the best salt in the world. I want people to stop asking, 'How much does it cost?' and start asking, 'Where can I buy it?' "
SIDDAL bowler Graham Hickey has been given the perfect tonic for a troublesome knee problem - the offer of a free trip to Portugal in March to launch crown green bowls on the Algarve.
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