HEREFORD'S Portuguese speaking community got the Bank Holiday weekend off to a fine start.

People living in the county with roots in Brazil, Lusophone Africa and - of course - Portugal enjoyed a mixture of food and music from the Iberian nation on Saturday at St Martin's Church off Ross Road.

There were also plenty of English and Eastern European visitors at the cross-community event.

Cesario Martinho played traditional Portuguese songs to stir the 'saudade' while DJ Jorge Franco added to the entertainment with uptempo South American tracks.

Organisers hoped the success of the first event of its kind in Hereford could soon be repeated.