On a beautifully sunny afternoon I arrived at Kennington Park to see smoke rising from tents. As I arrived the Bishop of Madeira was holding mass on the park, I was greeted by several dignitaries including the Portuguese Ambassador, the Mayor of Santa Cruz and The Secretary Regional dor immigration DR. Barzalo deCastri of the Madeira Government. Throughout the day I was looked after by the Conselho permanente communindandes Madeirenses, Carlos Freitas.
I was joined at the event by Councillor Rachel Heywood, Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities, who spoke to the audience who had come to this community event in Portuguese.
We toured the stands, with a huge variety of foods; meat, fish, bread and cakes followed thankfully by lunch as after seeing all the delicious food we were all very hungry.
Throughout the day I learnt a great deal about Madeira and the Potuguese speaking community in Lambeth. I learnt that Madeira day is actually on July 1st, however is celebrated on different days throughout the world. This was an excellent community event which I am sure was throughly enjoyed by all that attended.
[…] meeting the Portuguese Consulate to the United Kingdom at the Maderia Day event held on Kennington Park, I was pleased to be invited to the consulate for a […]