Alyson Sheldrake

Alyson Sheldrake was born in Birmingham in 1968. She has always loved art and painting, although she found little time for such pleasures, working full time after graduation. Alyson joined the Devon and Cornwall Police in 1992 and served for thirteen years, before leaving to work in the field of education. She became the Director of Education for the Church of England in Devon in 2008. Once her husband Dave retired from the Police, their long-held dream of living in the sun could become a reality. Alyson handed in her notice, and with her dusty easel and set of acrylic paints packed and ready to move, they started their new adventure living in the beautiful Algarve in Portugal in 2011. She is now an accomplished and sought-after artist working alongside her husband, Dave, a professional photographer. Being able to bring their much-loved hobbies and interests to life has been a wonderful bonus to their new life in the Algarve. Alyson is the former editor of Portugal Letter magazine, and a feature writer for the Algarve’s Tomorrow magazine. She is the author of the award-winning and popular Algarve Blog, and is also a keynote speaker at the Portugal Resident 'Living in the Algarve' conferences. She is the author of Kat the Dog - The remarkable tale of a rescued Spanish water dog, and the Algarve Dream series of travel memoirs. Alyson was also the author/curator of the Travel Stories series of anthologies. She lives in the Algarve, Portugal with her husband, Dave, a professional photographer, and their rescued Spanish water dog. They create and publish a popular monthly free online newsletter/magazine called Snapshot! For more information, visit her website at alysonsheldrake.com