Sir Cliff received by large crowd

By INÊS LOPES [email protected]

Shoppers arriving at Intermarché Lagoa on the morning of August 2 could not believe their eyes when they saw the car park nearly full to capacity. But then, it was hardly surprising when an internationally acclaimed superstar like Sir Cliff Richard could be found inside, signing bottles of his Algarve-produced Vida Nova wine and interacting with fans.

Sir Cliff Richard delighted the dozens of fans who waited in anticipation in the long queue at the supermarket to meet the star.

The singer arrived 15 minutes earlier for the autograph session (scheduled to start at 11am) and spent over two hours signing bottles and boxes of his wines, with the supermarket no doubt recording staggering sales of the wine that morning.

Some fans even travelled from the UK, Germany and Norway just to be there for the occasion. The Algarve Resident spoke to several fans lining up for the rare chance to be so close to the star.

From left, Tracy Whittingham (UK), Rune Roman Hagen (Norway), Sarah Grallert (Germany) and Sarah James (UK) travelled to the Algarve just for the occasion

Sarah Grallert from Germany said she had arrived in Portugal on Tuesday (last week) and counted the days until she could meet Sir Cliff. She had made the trip with three other friends who shared the same love for the singer, just to be at the autograph session. They could hardly contain their excitment and admitted to being “very nervous about this unique moment”. They were returning to their home countries that same Friday evening. Another fan, Brenda Ward from the UK, said she was staying at a villa at the singer’s winery, Adega do Cantor in Guia, but rarely saw him there. However, she was now going to make the most of the opportunity and patiently waited in line to have her bottle of Vida Nova Espumante signed by the artist. Her friend Linda Calvert, also from the UK and a regular visitor to the Algarve for the last 10 years, had already had the chance to meet Sir Cliff after a concert in Sydney, but this opportunity was “just unmissable”.

From left: Fans Brenda Ward, Jenny Walker and Linda Calvert, all from the UK

Philippe Bourroux, owner of Intermarché Lagoa, had no doubt the event would be well attended and certainly met his expectations. “Sir Cliff always attracts a huge crowd and our customers are delighted to be able to buy bottles of his wine especially autographed by the singer.” The event was co-organised with Porches-based wine distributors Saint Graal, which distributes Sir Cliff’s wines to the supermarket.

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