Rotary Silves is on count-down in their preparations for the long 120km march from the Portuguese border to Santiago de Compostela.
All 10 participants are off on regular training walks to tone up muscles which have been neglected over the Covid-19 pandemic.
None more so than that Dad’s Army-type pilgrim, the 82-year-old David Butler-Cole. Compared to some of the younger brethren, he has had no major bodily disaster – though he does complain of creaky knee syndrome. This problem is probably as much mental as physical.
To boost his confidence, he has recently purchased a pair of Nordic walking poles on the internet, purporting to come from Germany. When David opened the package, he found a “Made in PRC” label … Watch this space!
David, along with the whole Rotary Silves team, have committed themselves to this pilgrimage in order to gain support from the public in their quest to raise funds to equip a much-needed sensory room to help autistic children and their teachers at the Silves Sul school in Armação de Pêra. Each Rotarian will be carrying the personal mascot on the walk given them by a class from the school. The children will be able to follow the progress of the mascot through daily contact with the team.
The walk starts this Friday (September 23), and the pilgrims will hopefully totter into Santiago de Compostela by September 30.
Will you help us? You can sponsor David personally or all 10 Rotary Pilgrims in aid of this good cause. All money raised will go directly to this project. Please donate now whatever you can at internet site GoFundMe.com via Rotary page “Help Pilgrims Change Kids Lives”.
By ROTARY SILVES
