AWW 7th December 2016: Christmas Lunch at Solar do Farelo

 

Here is Geoff´s illustrated report on the Christmas walk and the Christmas lunch, which marked the AWWs  return to the Solar do Farelo restaurant after a gap of several years, 9 years to be precise. Over to Geoff…….

AWW Christmas Walk and Lunch, 7 December 2016

I couldn’t possibly follow Russell and Linda’s excellent walk report of last week, so I am afraid this is back to the mundane!. Of the 34 who signed up for the lunch, exactly half reported to the Honey Cafe for a brisk 2 hour appetizer.....along with Bica. It was good to see Frank W walking again, and he promised to come again next year : we also welcomed Myriam ( AdV)’s niece and Ryan (who are so young, they hadn’t heard of Ryan O’Neill, Peyton Place etc etc), along with Wags Rod, Paul & Myriam.

More senior members of the AWW will recall Patricia’s, where she and William used to host such lunches back in The Day:

Lance-Corporal elect Ken ( sorry, Lance-Bombadier Ken) showed off his improvisational powers again when a couple of local dogs fancied having a go at poor Bica:

We had walked here a month ago , and were surprised at the amount of verdant growth there had been since then ( there had been copious rains of late) , but the overall impression was still one of stunted trees in a black/sepia background, almost reminiscent of old WW1 photos : hopefully, recovery will be well underway by next spring.

We identified a lot of holes in the ground : consensus was they were caused by old tree stumps smouldering for some time after the fires, burning themselves out but leaving a hole, sometimes with a bit of charred stump within.

Having described the walk as flat(ish) I was reminded that it was actually quite hilly, though that didn’t seem to be a problem:

Our peaceful itinerary was rather rudely interrupted by some noisy off-roaders, and again later by some quad-bikers : the blessing being that the scree was damp after the rains and hence we weren’t covered in dust.

What pleasure the occupants got from being in such a cramped, noisy and dirty environment, is beyond my comprehension. We enjoyed the delights of a walk in fresh air, with sun on our backs and good company...not forgetting the growing appetite for a Christmas Lunch!

First we had to navigate a big puddle though:

And of course, get dressed for the occasion, usually surreptitiously behind the cars:

After a quick refreshing beer or coffee, ( for which many thanks to Frank M for his treat for all) , we made our way to the Solar de Farelo where the ever resourceful treasurer had provided Christmas wrapping paper , scissors and sellotape for those who weren’t adorned with antlers such as these:

We had wondered why Maria hadn’t joined the walking group, that is until we espied her glamourous outfit.....you can’t change into that behind a car!

Lance-Bombadier Ken gave a vote of thanks to David and Ros for their hard work in organising the delicious meal, and David was eventually reunited with his Wainwright Ale, given to him in Spain, but somehow having eluded him to date.

All in all, a great finish to another great walking year.

Geoff

To conclude, some further photos from Yves and Myriam, of the jollity, and of the varied ways of wearing silly hats. Some can get away with it – others….well, I´ll let you be the judge.

And for nostalgic old-timers, here is the link to the blog for that previous Christmas lunch at Solar do Farelo, way back on 19th December 2007:- 

http://aww2007.blogspot.pt/2007/12/aww-19122007-walk-that-wasnt-christmas.html

“Memories are like mulligatawny soup in a cheap restaurant. It is best not to stir them.”

                                                                                                                                                                         (P.G Wodehouse)

“Memories are hunting horns whose sound dies on the wind.”

                                                                                                                                                              (Guillaume Apollinaire)

“There are three things I always forget. Names, faces and - - - the third I can´t remember.”

                                                                                                                                                                                    (Italo Svevo)