There is continuing interest in the role of the Templars – the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon – particularly since in Portugal the Order was re-founded as The Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ. But it was the Orders of Santiago and Aviz that led the way in the Algarve. Peter Booker discusses these issues and the present-day existence of the successor Orders in Portuguese civil life. Lagoa Municipal Library at 18:00 on Tuesday 28 January; and Tavira Municipal Library at 11:00 on Friday 31 January. There is no charge for these presentations, but voluntary contributions are welcome.

The performance of our recent soloist Varoujan Bartikian reminded me of a post that he made on YouTube. During the Covid shutdown, he posted a witty performance of the cello introduction to Rossini´s William Tell Overture. https://youtu.be/pjujc4SvRHk.

Our next concert on 23 February features the popular Dutch pianist Nikola Meeuwsen, who will be making his ninth visit to our concert series. He visited for the first time in 2016 as a teenager and has since become an international star performer. His programme will include works by Ligeti, Mendelssohn, Liszt and Chopin; and the second half will feature Mozart´s Jeunehomme Concerto K271. Nikola has become intensely busy on the concert and recital circuit, and we are fortunate that he has chosen to return. Sunday 23 February at 16:00 at Quintinha da Música. Reservations at €30 by email through Peter peterbooker1347@gmail.com.