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16
my idea
of paradise
When Jimmy Tarbuck is not busy entertaining
audiences in the UK, there’s just one place he
wants to be: Quinta do Lago.
It’s a dark, dismal December day in England when we talk, and veteran entertainer Jimmy Tarbuck
is already planning his next stay in Quinta do Lago. “It’s absolutely delightful there in the winter,” he
says, “mind you, it’s very nice in the summer too. But with my work I only really get the chance to
be there for a few months each winter, usually January and February. On winter nights you can sit
in front of a log fire and, in the day, out on the golf course, it can be warm enough to go round
in shorts.”
Being Jimmy Tarbuck, it’s never long before the conversation gets round to his favourite pastime.
Jimmy has played with many of the world’s greatest players along the way, as well as a huge number
of celebrity golfers – the experiences form the staple of a lot of his stand-up material and his book
‘Tarbuck on Golf’. But he’s no mean player himself, playing off a very respectable 10 handicap; and
the course he most loves? “It’s got to be San Larenzo. It’s fabulous.”
And if not golf, then it’s football that animates Jimmy. Famous for his support for Liverpool, he was in
Portugal to relish the 2005 European Cup Final. “What a second half. That was the biggest
comeback since Sinatra,” he quips.
“There’s some good football there,” he says. “Although Faro are not a leading club at present,
Estádio do Algarve (the new 30,000-seat stadium between Faro and Loulé) is a great place to watch
a match. I got to see England play Portugal there in September when Figo won his 100 th cap.”
“It’s absolutely delightful there in the winter
...mind you, it’s very nice in the summer too.”
Jimmy has made his winter home here for 15 years now and relishes every day. He has always been
busy professionally since he first broke onto the scene some 40 years ago, but the last couple of
years have seen his workload increase even further: “I seem to have had a real renaissance,” he says,
“and that can make it difficult to get away.”
Between his TV, corporate and theatre commitments (he is just coming to the end of a punishing
44-night tour with his show ‘This is My Life’) Jimmy also manages to fit in a very busy schedule of
charity events. Famous for his work with the Variety Club, he also dedicates a lot of time to his role
as President of Diabetes UK. But even when he’s lapping up the winter sun in Quinta do Lago, he’s
still often working for a good cause.
“I’m a supporter of the local children’s home, Refúgio Aboim Ascensão, run by a man who
deserves a knighthood – no, a sainthood – Dr Vilas Boas. It’s one of the finest homes in the world
for children at risk. The children there are just beautiful kids.” The 67 full-time and 45 volunteer staff
there give the children a family and a future, and Jimmy regularly helps to raise much needed funds.
“It’s easy to see why so many people want to come to the Algarve,” he says. “It’s not just beautiful
and easy to get to, the people are so warm too. All I can say is that if you are interested in buying a
property there, the team at Quinta Properties are the people to speak to – they are terrific.”
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