Community Development
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It’s Here: Blue Eyes and the Stones
Today’s the day. Blue Eyes and the Stones is officially out in the world. If you’ve been following along, you’ll already know what this novel is about: a stubborn, much-loved cat who shared my hill for fifteen years. But it is also about how she interacted with the world, and what she noticed as trees began to disappear from the hill and the water in the wells dried up. She makes a journey to Ceres of Old, down by the sea near Tavira, learns about a prophecy, and sets off to find help for her hill and beyond. Thank you to everyone who has followed this story from the first…
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A Sunday Market with a Vision: The Barrocais Protected Landscape
There’s something wonderful about an ordinary Sunday market turning into the setting for something much bigger. That’s exactly what happened this morning in Santa Catarina, where the monthly market played host to the public presentation of the proposed Barrocais Protected Landscape. Under a white marquee, with market stalls carrying on around us, I ran into old friends Rob and Rosie Peddle, there representing MGAP (the Mediterranean Garden Association Algarve), one of the partners supporting the initiative. It’s always a pleasure bumping into them. They have done so much with their association and now they turn out to be part of something very worthwhile. Alongside them were representatives from Tavira Câmara…
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Blue Eyes and the Stones Coming 6 October 2026
Exciting News! My latest book, Blue Eyes and the Stones, will be available on 6 October. I walked alongside this grumpy cat for 15 years. We loved and annoyed each other, and for nine of those years, I wrote stories from her point of view. In the book, Blue Eyes is a Balinese-spirited cat leading a double life: the cat who visits Lucy’s door for food, and also Bastet, who listens to the plant devas and remembers the old legends her mother told her. It’s set on a hill near Tavira, Monte Agudo in fact, where olive groves meet thirsty new orange farms and water is running out. Blue Eyes…
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Following the Trust Frequency: Andrew Cameron Bailey and Connie Baxter Marlow Visit Tavira
During their June 2026 journey through Portugal, authors, filmmakers, futurists, and consciousness pioneers Andrew Cameron Bailey and Connie Baxter Marlow visited Tavira, bringing with them a philosophy that centres trust as the foundation of a new paradigm for humanity. I interviewed them at my home, on Monte Agudo, near Tavira, in the eastern Algarve. The couple shared their experiences of Portugal, the philosophy behind their acclaimed book The Trust Frequency, and Andrew’s forthcoming work, HoloSapiens: Conscious Evolution in Action. Andrew is a tall, grounded guy who exudes enthusiasm about life and adventure. Connie has warm, deep, watchful eyes and is clearly a guiding force. She was born in Maine, USA,…
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Sister Lucy Kurien: From Tragedy to Transformation
In June 2026, Sister Lucy Kurien, founder of the Maher Ashram in India, travelled to Tavira, Portugal, to attend a Gender Reconciliation retreat titled The Body of Joy. The 4-day retreat organised by Will Keepin and Cynthia Brix attracted attendees from Africa, the USA, Portugal and Canada. Living close by, I joined the retreat and spent some time with Sister Lucy. She is a warm-hearted, bubbly, inspiring woman with kind eyes. Her hugs are firm, feel genuine, and are restorative. As we talked, she reflected on more than three decades of resilient service and on the continuing challenge of supporting women and children affected by violence, abuse and abandonment. “My…
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Why attend a travel writing retreat?
Retreats do several things very well. First, they give us permission to be slow. Instead of stealing an hour between jobs and appointments, we are allotted tidy blocks of time to try, sometimes fail, and try again. That’s when the odd, stubborn, creative sentences arrive. The ones we couldn’t have written if we were rushed. Second, being in a place that asks us to look, really look, sharpens our senses. We notice the small shop windows with jars of salted lemons and crocheted blue booties, the fishermen mending their nets in conversation with their sons, the women donning aprons and straw hats as they hang out washing in the bright…
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Easter 2026 São Brás – Torch Flower Festival
The Resurrection Procession in the eastern Algarve town of São Brás de Alportel is a deeply felt, singular expression of local faith and community connection. Yesterday, Sunday 5th April 2026, we visited the vivid, communal, and welcoming celebration of renewal that invites everyone to share in São Brás’s traditions. The procession route usually winds from the Igreja Matriz through the historic centre, pausing at small chapels and squares. Each Easter Sunday the town transforms, residents carpet the streets with intricate mats of purple, white, orange flowers and greenery. Locals don their best clothes, and men from associations, the council and community groups lift flower torches high as a procession moves…
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Free Trade NGO leader visits & shares experience with Portuguese food producers
In Loco, a development agency based in São Brás de Alportel, Portugal and other local partners hosted an in-person session with Mathew John, a leading international practitioner in product development and marketing on Monday, 23 March 2026. He popped up to my place and we chatted about honey, beeswax and lip balm. He was on his way to a conference in Andorra. “I’m pondering small business resilience in places like Portugal, where I would like to learn from SMEs. Do they show fewer insolvencies, stronger investment confidence, are they able to focus on innovation despite volatility? How do they balance producer value generation at small scales? Constant pivots are tough…
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Join us in Portugal on 18-21 May 2026 for our Travel Writing Retreat
For me, travel writing is about connection and community. It is about exploring myself as much as it is discovering new and challenging places. Stephen and I, are inviting you to a journey. This retreat is not just about improving writing skills. It is also about discovering why travel writing matters. We draw inspiration partly from 19th century English art critic John Ruskin, for whom beauty was key. Ruskin taught drawing to working men and he wanted to go beyond technique. His fundamental aim, he said, was to develop in his students a deeper appreciation of beauty. Writing works in much the same way. To describe a place well, a…
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4 day Travel writing retreat 18-21 May 2026
My neighbour Stephen and I are both writers. During my last writing workshop in 2025, we discussed the possibility of a shared Travel Writing Retreat and created an event page on Facebook.We both live on Monte Agudo, near Tavira, in the Eastern Algarve. I live at Casa Alexandra and Stephen at Casa Anatôlio. Both venues will be used for workshop sessions during the retreat.We created the following text: Could this work as a spring treat – a four day travel writing course in the sunny Algarve? This course aims to give you the tools and the mindset to bring your ideas to life. There can be so much richness in…
