What to do?

This has been a dreadful week for journalists and breaking news. What is there to report? An outbreak of a new virus that originated in the Canary Islands is beginning to spread worldwide, which isn’t true. A mentally disabled president is on holiday in Beijing, which isn’t true either. This or that government has little money left in its state budget and has to make savings, which cannot be true, as we all pay our taxes. So, what else should a journalist write about? About the elections lost by the Labour Party in an island called Great Britain? It’s not even worth mentioning…

We in Monchique came across a herd of wild boars digging up the front garden of our newsroom. They left the marks of their activity around the lemon tree with their tusks, doing what they do best: digging up earth.

Meanwhile, my colleague Sofia Silva in São Brás de Alportel has been trying to convince me to publish a press release. She informs me that, this weekend of 16 and 17 May, a flower festival will be held in a village in the municipality of São Brás de Alportel called Parises: featuring pilgrimages, traditional celebrations and entertainment. With lots of folklore and conviviality in the midst of nature, another weekend will be celebrated there, filled with walks, the serving of traditional mountain delicacies, music, religious ceremonies and the symbolic floral displays arranged in honour of ‘Our Lady of Fátima’…

So, tradition is making its return to Parises this weekend, and the programme offers plenty of activities for the whole family, as part of the “Aldeias de Portugal” (Villages of Portugal) celebrations. The programme begins on Saturday with a pilgrimage to the Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Fátima (Parises).

This is an initiative organised by Scout Group 1330 from São Brás de Alportel. The programme also includes two other hikes. At 3:30 p.m., the pilgrimage along the municipal road will start from the square in front of the Parish Church. This 20-kilometre hike is classified as a walk of moderate difficulty. The São Brás de Alportel town council is supporting the initiative, providing participants with a support vehicle during their walk and offering them return transport. The traditional candlelit procession in front of the Chapel of Parises begins at 9:30 p.m. and marks the end of the first day of the event. For more information, contact the town hall in São Brás de Alportel directly: 289 840 000. Oh, yes, and you don’t need to register in advance, but there’s a fee of €3.07 charged for each event in which you participate. So, don’t forget your wallet.

Speaking of wild boars and subscribers. If you’d like to send us your favourite photo of a live wild boar, you could win the Monchique Grand Prize: dinner for two at the Foz de Banho restaurant in Caldas de Monchique. Hunters need not apply: they are not eligible.