Wednesday Algarve Geriatric Strollers The 2020's

  'Bubbles' by Millais        It has been a long hard week in AR (Active Retirement), and the Lagos Bubble failed to meet on Wednesday, for the second week of Bubbling. I was reminded of a verse:- Dip your pipe and gently blow. Watch the tiny bubble grow Big and bigger, round and fat, Rainbow-colored, and then SPLAT!     And it was a bit of this and a bit of that. I had a rearranged 10am. appointment at HPA which I couldn't miss, the Consultants becoming very hard to pin down these days, and of course time slipped out of the window like an errant bubble, and so did our walk. So I won't bore you with an account of that event, but just as a side note as we didn't get back from Alvor until almost 2pm and decided to reacquaint ourselves with Sergio at Pedra Alcada Cafe  for lunch, as I hadn't seen him since March.               He was on fine form, greeted us like long lost friends, and delighted us with his Pra...

I will forego the obvious comment and just publish a picture of a male model, who although he looks rather like myself a couple of years ago but updated with masculine stubble, whose nickname, coincidentally enough, is 'Bubbles'!! Please don't ask me why!! Yes, this Covid Pandemic has now reduced our group sizes to 5 members on a walk, and yes, it is a nationwide rule for at least 15 days, the Portuguese Government having avoided the complications of a different rule for every neighbourhood, depending on the 'R' number, the MP's party, and the perceived ability to obey any rules at all. We had looked at the weather report for Wednesday with mixed feelings, partly happy because we need some water and the tail end of Storm Barbara was due to lash us! Well unlike most Iberian arrivals, Barbara arrived early on Tuesday, dampened the ground round the reservoirs a little and swept out swishing her skirts early Wednesday, leaving the day reasonably calm and dry, which ...

        Currently we have a Rule of 10 for gatherings, ie only groups of 10 or less may get together, whether for walking, swinging or sitting in a coffee shop. You would think it would be enough, but this week alas it wasn't. There were 12 ready to venture off behind Antje into untrodden ways, well the cliff path from Porto de Mos to the Luz Obelisk. The first 10 to respond didn't include Rod or John, as Rod was probably pre-occupied with domestic duties, and John has stubbornly tried to stay in the late 90's early 2000's by refusing to join the WhatsApp group, hence not receiving messages until sometime after the others. Hazel could tell him, but she has just won her spurs, and is not walking yet and also probably tries to communicate with him via WhatsApp with the same lack of success.   (STOP PRESS:  John has cautiously come out of the closet and been promoted to the WAGS WhatsApp group, where all the reasons for not joining were immediately made appare...