The June event is a BBQ dinner at the Holiday Inn in Armação de Pêra

Carvoeiro-based CASA Social Club has been impacted by the Covid pandemic, like everyone else, but life is now returning to normal.

Spokesperson for the club Norman Crocker said: “We have been relatively lucky being in Portugal as the government has been so responsive. Although we had to abandon most of our 2020 and 2021 programme of events, we did keep active online and, from mid-2021, have slowly been able to restart live events with limited numbers – and lots of social distancing.”

In March this year, CASA was able to hold an AGM and dinner at Recanto dos Mouros in Silves. With just 35 members present, the club elected a new committee to run the club.

“We are extremely grateful to the previous committee who devoted so much time and effort to keeping the club going through the pandemic,” said the spokesperson.

“The club has been running for nearly 50 years and we all felt it would be a great shame to let a pesky virus beat us. With only one committee member left from prior to Covid, there are a lot of changes happening to the way the committee functions – we can only hope that the members will approve!”

The first lunch after the new committee took over was actually still arranged by the old committee. Seventeen members enjoyed lunch at Restinga Ria on the riverfront in Alvor on April 8. Thanks go to Zélia and her staff for the “great food and service”.

This lunch was followed, on May 20, by another lunch at the Asia Tokyo ‘all you can eat’ restaurant in Praia da Rocha. Once again, only a few members attended but “an excellent meal served by the attentive staff” was enjoyed by all.

CASA’s next scheduled event is a BBQ dinner on the terrace of the Holiday Inn in Armação de Pêra on June 19.

Details of the club and all planned events can be found at www.casasocial.club