This will be my first post in English, aiming at reaching as many collectors worldwide as possible.
The 10th International Sugar Packets Collectors' meeting of the Portuguese club, CLUPAC, called Portsugar (a registered mark), took place last 25th and 26th September in the fortress town of Elvas, near the Spanish border. 201 collectors took part in the meeting. The majority were Portuguese collectors, but there were also around two dozens from Spain, Andorra, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. It is the largest sugar meeting in the world, but it is not the one which attracts more collectors from different nationalities, probably due to the location of Portugal in the west of Europe.
The exchange meeting was on Saturday afternoon. Besides the collectors themselves, there were lots of locals visiting the exchange room and CLUPAC's collection exhibit. Everybody seemed a little surprised at the meeting's size and the enthusiasm shown by everyone involved.
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During the meeting the collectors and their families could give blood to the Portuguese blood bank, which had brought all the necessary equipment and trained personel for the task. It was a success, as it had been the previous year in Castelo Branco. Collectors also brought their spare sugar to be offered to a society caring for disabled children. We collected more that 600 kg of the sweet substance, part of which will be transformed into jelly and marmalade to be sold by the society as a means of increasing their budget.
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The rules of the meeting say that collectors should put packets for offer on their tables and that anyone can take them (if they have packets that they only want to exchange, they should identify them - but this is not clear in the rules). Because of this, many collectors only brought uninteresting packets, exchanging the good ones "under the table" or outside the exchange room. There will probably be a change in the rules for the next years. It was an interesting and pleasant meeting, anyway.
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On Saturday evening the collectors met for dinner at a local restaurant, being served two courses (cod fish first and then pork meat). Drinks were free as usual. There was some live music and the traditional celebration of CLUPAC's anniversary with a big cake and Champagne. Everybody went to their hotels in good spirits.
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On Sunday morning there was the traditional "Peddy Paper" - a walking tour through the city with several stops to gather a number of packets which together make a series. You had to follow some instructions and use a map to find your way. It was a wonderful tour and the best way to know the town and its long history.
We ended up in our friend Paulo Araújo's home tasting a delicious Porto wine to celebrate our time together.
And that was it - until next year! 
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