WAGS 27.10.2021: Terry Amessines

 

S. Bartolomeu de Messines

AnswerSmash is a game from Richard Osman's House of Games, invariably the last round of each session.

A picture from a selected category will be shown above a written clue. Solve what the picture is, answer the clue and smash the answers together. Easy

Here is an example:

Category: WAGS Members

 AnswerSmash Question: 

Q, Town where WAGS normally walk from  the Cafe Joao de Deus.

Stumped? The answer is in the title of this post!!

I have to start by saying that Myriam and I did not participate in this walk, only joining the Apres -Walk snack lunch. This was due to Myriam having fractured her toe carelessly kicking the outer kitchen door. She was prescribed a Barouk Boot (qv.), which is designed to relieve pressure on the front foot and allow walking without bending the toes.  

       So instead of The War of Jenkins Ear, we have the Battle of Myriam's Barouk Boot

Now the War of Jenkins Ear is recorded in history. The incident, in 1731 in which sailors from the Spanish Coastguard cut off the ear of Captain  Jenkins, who was commanding a British trading ship, when they boarded in search for contraband. Public reaction in England was lukewarm at the time (No Twitter or Facebook or YouTube). However over the next few years, British Naval Tacticians (propagandists) were realising that if we were to get involved in a victorious war with Spain, it would improve our trading opportunities in the Caribbean,  Eight years after the incident, a master strategist decided that if we could whip up public outrage by parading Jenkins before Parliament without his ear, we could justifiably get enough support to begin naval operations against Spain. This is a little simplistic as there were a number of reasons for Britain to keep pressure on Spain including getting them to agree to Britain collecting and trading 5000 slaves a year from the South Americas, which had been ratified by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Of course in the interests of profiteering the income from the slaves would be augmented by smuggling contraband between the countries in time-honoured fashion.

   And still today Governments invent agendas for whipping up the population against another State and at the core is always business and trade.

     By no means can the Battle of Myriam's Barouk Boot be as significant to Portugal as the War of Jenkins Ear was to Perfidious Albion, but it did involve side issues of money (ask Myriam), unfounded accusations and mental torture!!!

Well the foregoing was padding and also to inject a little intellectual and historical gravity into the Blog. This was needed as though the Leader's Walk Report and the Deputy Chief Blogger's colour commentary were submitted promptly, they were fairly brief, though I was sent plenty of pictures.

The Starters. A good turnout and nice to see Lindsay and Andrew join the Usual Suspects

 The Stats and Track

A fine set of WAGS 2021 Parameter Stats - Courtesy of John

Here are Terry's thoughts on the walk

Wednesday a lovely October morning sunny with that little bit of a chill to remind you the the year is fast running out.  I chose Messines again as there is a good choice of walks now that the land has been cleaned up and new tracks created. There was a good turnout of Wags to meet up once we had the cafe sorted as our usual one was closed why I don’t know.? 🤷‍♀️. After meet & greet we got started at 10.15 am, nice now not to have masks on as well, the walk was one of my many variations going anti clockwise this time.

Route Conference - a lovely day to be out and getting very warm.

.....and the BBQ will go here!!

The Leader leading - off-road

I will say it’s not easy leading and having to mind the parameters that you’re working and walking with, however a little bit of understanding of the countryside you are walking into you can arrive at the distance and time etc to please everyone I hope. Back to the cafe at 1.oc for lunch and quite adequate as well.  Good walk, good company, what more do we need, just good health I suppose. 

                             Terry

Nice Hill- -bypassed. En vivo Counselling Session

A break in the shade.

And now over to John. Some say it seemed a very quiet walk. Nothing to do of course with Myriam being 'Excused Boots' Perhaps the  narrative by John explains what compensated  for too much peace and quiet.

The Alphapendular sweeping through the landscape

John writes:-

Not much of exceptional interest during the walk. Twice the rural peace was shattered, once by the passing Lisboa-Faro Alphapendular, and again by a group of noisy quadbikes which forced the walker off the track.

 

Quad bikes

Late on Parade

Grass skirt?

Loofah and gourd

Back at the café there were a couple of late arrivals for lunch – navigational mishap? The noise inside was at times overpowering, especially during a discussion about loofahs –does one eat them or use them to scrub one´s back in the shower? –and hearing about Andrew´s personal trainer

 

Andrew needs his personal trainer

Outside was noticeably quieter.

 

My bifana baguette was excellent. Myriam asked for a bifana torrada I think and got just the toast.

The Mystery of the Meatless bifana !

 

Hazel´s travelling greengrocery did a roaring trade. (Ed. In fact so good that it relieved me of my last €25)

  The late arrival was caused by my faulty memory of the location of Cafe S. Joao de Deus, which I last visited about 10 years ago. Myriam had been there several times more recently and alleged that she knew where it was, but I have learnt from experience that Sigmund Freud himself had diagnosed her with False Memory Syndrome. I took her route and was delighted to find that the road was blocked by some road works. I tried to circumvent them, but only ended up back at the Railway Station. This called for a couple of strategic calls to the Leader, who put me on the way by advising me to head for Intermarche. However the Intermarche I  thought I remembered was at the East end of town.  Unbeknown to me they had removed that one in 2016 and replanted it with this new store at the west end near the Bombeiros. Mea culpa - I also apparently have False memory Syndrome!

  

I think this is the Cafe where we had lunch - back in 2009 about when I was last there!

So all that is left is to extol the virtues of the bifana AND chips of the Cafe Kapheina as Terry has just reminded me features in the starter photo. According to Cafe Guru it is rated best coffee house in Messines. See HERE

(Note Yves had trouble with his mail and has just sent me a lot of photos, which will have to be added later with his own inimitable subtitles!)

 And finally a rollicking song to sign off:-

So finally after all, our very own Henri Cartier-Bresson has not yet managed to recover his Outlook, so he forwarded these photos via WhatsApp, with sub-titles in his own inimitable style.

She was told not to go there

'ooligans

Now you see him........

.....now you don't

A miss is as good as half a million miles!

Unreachable lady in a dreamy haze

Men and wives watching

Striders and lagger