AWW 15.12. 2010: Christmas Stroll and Lunch

 
Well, it´s now the 24th December and no Leader´s report has come in yet, so I suppose that it is “D.I.Y.” or nothing. Here goes.
 

The Starters
From left to right:
Alex, Hilke, Ingrid, Antje, Dina, JohnO, Hazel, Yves, Chris, Maria, Rod, Myriam, IanW, Paul, JohnH.
Not seen, the dogs were Tiggie and Misty.
The Track

The Statistic.
Distance:9.22 km.
 
Rod the leader, with his customary Field-Marshall efficiency, got the show on the road from Patricia´s at 10 am sharpish. Good weather, pleasant temperatures, mostly dry under foot, as we circled away from the autodrome and up into the foothills. The expectation was that Terry and Jill would catch up with us later, as they usually do, but no, not this time. Phone calls disclosed that Terry was doing his own private reconnaissances along routes not yet well known to the public and, so it seems, not known to him at all, so neither Rusty nor they walked with us this year.
As we moved steadily but not too energetically along, many topics were discussed. Perhaps the most recherché of which was vouchsafed to a select group at the rear by Ingrid, newly returned from her tour round northern Europe visiting her various “properties” ( as your correspondent termed them) - “love nests” (as she insisted on describing them). Five pads at the latest I would guess, with the one in Paris complete with 24/7 maid service and chilled champagne on tap sounding especially intriguing. Ooh la la!

“And as for the one in Amsterdam, well, I tell you….. ”
Up in the hills, the medronho bushes looked particularly attractive as we went which may be why the men kept dashing off into them.

Starting the gentle descent
After a gentle ascent, a gentle descent, to the now-traditional Pause Place, which is where Rod looks at his watch and works out whether we are in good time for the lunch or too early.Too early it was this time, so he led us up a moderate hill and round a few superfluous bends until Ian W., freshly back from altitude training in the Chilean Andes, fairly got the bit between his teeth and led the group smartly back to Patricia´s.

At the Traditional Pause
Back at Patricia´s, the lady walkers transformed themselves into their finery while the men smartened themselves up after a fashion. We then gathered for a welcome mulled wine or two with those friends who preferred not to walk.


 

The Arrival of Donner und Blitzen
 

 Maria takes “Guess My Weight” very seriously
Non-walking Lunchers:
Mike and Jyll, Susan Frew, Andrew and Lindsey,, Terry A and Jill, Diane W, and David and Dinah.
Shortly after Paul had “had his collar felt”, we adjourned for the lunch, which was excellent as always – your food critic personally found the Thai Green Chicken Curry a perfectly acceptable (and probably healthier) alternative to his customary Confit de Canard.
Everyone´s place-setting was embellished with a magentic AWW calendar presented by Yves ( nous vous remercions, notre ami), and the ladies were equally gratified each to receive a jar of Hilke´s finest preserves.

 

 

Is he complaining, or passing his compliments to the chef?

 
 

 

Rod proposed the toast to Absent Friends and then his annual review speech was crisp and to the main point – how well the absent Janet and Tina had organised this event for us and how efficiently Alexandra had stepped into the breach for the final stretch – she knew exactly what everyone had ordered and what they should be eating and (as far as I know) she and her assistant for the afternoon, Ingrid, broke even cash-wise at the end. She had modestly taken on the job in her words as a “Temporary & Extremely Vague Assistant Deputy (Deputy ) Secretary. In fact, with apologies to W.S Gilbert, the Pirates of Penzance patter song could be adapted to go:-
”She excels at spread sheets financial, dietical and meticulous,
She notes exactly who chose what and has no qualms in billing us.
In short, in things both peripatetical and exchequeral,
She´s the perfect model of a Walkers`Secretary-General.”


There was a deserved round of applause for Patricia:

 Myriam took photos of all sorts of things, including the tops of men´s heads ( of which we will no doubt hear or see more later) and of the menus dishes:




Caption competition prizes went to Hilke and Chris:

 
and the winner of a long-odds guessing game about Paul´s weight ( What his weight was at 0800 hrs on 15.12.2010 ) was Susan Frew. Exercising the diplomacy for which these blogs are renowned, we will draw a veil over the answer to that particular quiz.
All in all, a most enjoyable occasion.

May we all have a Happy Christmas and a Healthily Energetic New Year.