WAGS 05.05.2021: Triplets - a difficult birth!

 

Part the First:- A proper walk by Terry with the editorial assistance of Paul

Spring has Sprung

       Restrictions are falling and we are slowly easing back into contact and walking together. Well some of us anyway. Like a greyhound out of the blocks Terry was in first with his illustrated account of a 'walk' around Alte with Jill and Ingrid. I daren't call it a saunter as we all know that Terry does not saunter. 

Terry and Becky - not sauntering!

   Here is what he sent me:-

Jill, Ingrid and myself + Becky meet in Alte for coffee intent on having a stroll through the countryside. Some old paths, some not walked for years, glad when we were able to get out of the wind witch was a bit on the cold side, I wanted to look at all the new land clearing for more 🍊 groves I could see when I drive pass that a path we have walked for years was being fenced off, but now I was very surprised they had created a new one to go round the fenced of bit complete with new VA marked posts most unusual!!  By now the wind had dropped and it got quite hot. We were glad to be getting nearly back to the fonts Becky was very thirsty and me as well, must remember to carry more water now it’s warmer, one pic of me and Becky in the font, 2 of very old carob trees.

 This video was our afternoon entertainment while waiting to get out of Alte. 

Tour de Portugal passing through Alte

On Ingrid’s stats we walked 14k a large beer and Tosta was very welcome. 

Help pad the blog this week.

Terry 

     I am reluctant to comment on the AWW type distance achieved by this band of renegades posing as WAGS, so not to discourage leaders sending in some content to as Terry says,'Help pad the Blog.  About 3 days worth of my own paltry  'Keep fit Regime' and with two ladies and a dog! Suffice to say this is the type of activity to be kept private, and we don't want to breed a culture of 'WAG Shaming!

Next (hopefully) are a few pix from John demonstrating his take on the Wednesday outing near the Bravura, which I hope to see appearing below in another lavish production by Anthony.

Part the Second: Push the second one out!

The Whittles Came To See Us Off

The Six Starters plus Ember

A Fossilised Basilisk

Cairn Maintenance

The sticker on the disc reads "Immortale".  That´s Us.

In addition to the tostas, there was

a Bifana

and a Bitoque

Part the Third: And a breech birth by Antony de Montanha

WAGS - Cinco de Maio - Bravura SSE

After a wee cup of coffee in Bensafrim and a fording experience across a wee river...we reconvened at the Bravura Dam AKA Albufeira da Barragem de Odiáxere.

The Drone captured some good views of the Bravuras slightly parched state for this time of year.

....with fairly low water levels.

...and revealing an ancient form of graffiti wishing Happy Birthday to Danig(?) in fresh water clams.

At this point I had caught up the rest of the war party to find they were discussing female circumcision and its scientific name. All in agreement that its was an odd, even barbaric, ritual, no one could remember its scientific name. Google was out of reach! In the mean time I can reveal that it has many names; Female genital mutilation, infibulation (Pharaonic), "Bolokoli" in the Bambara language of Mali, "Isa aru" in the Igbo language of eastern Nigeria and "Khifad" in Arabic... 

Quickly losing interest in the subject and changing the subject to things more happy, Myriam decided to explore the lakeworthyness of this raft...needless to say, there was a reason it was high and dry and Noah must have abandoned it some time ago.

Onwards we went...

Until I decided to send the spy bird aloft to investigate the high octane noises emanating from the Autodromo de Portimão. It was around 4km away and this was as close as I could manage before the return home warning sounded.

The last summit of the day was a steep track up where Maria and Hazel arrived after me.

and finally returning to our start point of the great Bravura Arch Dam.

Offering to move Myriam´s car for her, I also decided to try on her rather fetching driving visor.

Paul having arrived in ze peoples wagon had a bout of Portuguese parking syndrome which was explained away by the poor visibility the canvas roof afforded.

I dutifully helped him take it down...ready for the summer!

 

We settled down in the shadow of the Moinho of Odiáxere in Martins & Lopo's Cafe punctuated by the sounds of a petrol powered strimmer and blower...

to enjoy Maria's ubiquitous floral bouquet...

...a tosta mista

...and Frango ´n chips

and finally the stats:

And that's it - One Blog - Three Systems. Until about 30 minutes ago, the Blog was titled 'To be Arranged, as life often rudely elbows Art out of the way. On Wednesday after lunch Antony had confirmed his intention to 'do the Blog' to which I readily agreed, and promoted him to 'Author in the Blogosphere'. However due to one thing or another nothing had appeared, so I decided to go ahead and post Terry's contribution, hoping for Hope to publish his views and Antony de Montanha, who being young,(relatively) is expected to know this stuff.

     By Saturday, Terry's walk was wrapped up and John was champing at the bit to post his pictures, and asked if Antony had done anything yet. I  tried to contact Antony to be told he hadn't found anything but the WAGS 2020 site. I sent Antony a second invite, and later found he had not seen the invites because my Gmail address book had inserted  his name spelt 'Anthony' rather than 'Antony' Perhaps that is 'definately' the secret of the missing 'H'! After lunch today,  'I' found myself , on info from 'J', getting in touch with 'H' .   ( I was between 'H' and 'J'!!! Fact of the Day.) He had actually published his blog on the Old Wednesday  site rather than this streamlined master Blog.

      Literary discussions were held over the WAGS Whatsapp Group and eventually we managed to get the blog loaded by everyone  by the well- researched expedient of the other two logging out. Then just a tidy round, sweep bits off the theatre floor, and get this out two days before the next walk!!

       Well done lads if only the  EU could agree and work together as we have, they might get somewhere!

And finally another verse , modified from Now We Are Sixty, entitled CUTTING EDGE and based on Happiness by AA Mile

Finally another short poem  by Christopher Matthew, from his collection 'Now we are Sixty'.

CUTTING EDGE (after Happiness)

Most WAGS have a 

Brand New 

Personal Computer;

WAGS are 

Plugged in

On the

Internet;

WAGS have 

The Works ,

But are 

Techno illiterate

And that 

is pretty

Much 

That.