A Black Day for Tilley Owners everywhere!! Antje’s pristine LTM6 AirFlo hat was caught by a capricious gust on today’s walk and tantalisingly landed on an unreachable ledge below the cliff on which she was standing. No potential Chris Bonington’s stepped forward, so the hat may still be there until the next gust flings it into the Atlantic, where it may float for some months, unless washed ashore. This is where owners thank their foresight for buying a Tilley, as the Guarantee Against Loss comes into play!
After the marathon blogging of our tour to Spain last week, and the unblogged (or more importantly, unphotographed) 17 km. Alternate AWW Bikini Walk, by Ingrid and Alex along the coast last Wednesday, it was time to return to norms, and Ian S. volunteered his famous Benagil Aperitif Walk.
The well-established procedure is that unless the Leader is a Certified Qualified Blogger, he submits his report via email to the CB, DCB or ADCB depending on who is ‘On Duty’. This is then edited and decorated with pictures from the Walk with a Garnish of Statistics.
But not this time!! Ian’s Server was apparently playing up, so the text for his report was hand-delivered to the CB very promptly on Thursday morning, in what I hesitate to call longhand! He did explain that it had to be in Block Capitals as his joined-up writing was illegible!
After pretending that I could read it all, I immediately put it through the scanner on my computer, but it totally defeated my sophisticated OCR (Optical Character Recognition) System, and I was forced to transcribe it using pure intuition.
Now do you get the picture?
Below is my attempt to render it in a decent font!
Benagil Starters
Stats: Total Dist.: 11.6 km.; Moving Time: 3 hrs; Overall Time: 3:30 hrs; Moving Avg.: 3.8 km/hr; Overall Avg.: 3.3 km/hr: Total Ascent: 309 m.: Max Elevation: 51 m.
The more observant may notice that I have omitted the customary track of the walk in the interest of saving online storage! Please refer to previous incarnations of this blog, where very similar routes are displayed
What a Silly Tilley
Leader: Ian S.
Mad Hatters: Myriam, Paul, Terry A., Jill, Chris, Antje, John H., Hazel, Dina, Terry M., Yves, John O’, Alex, Ingrid, Frank, David B., Judy.
Mad Dogs: Rusty, Tiggy, Sam.
On a sunny, breezy morning we set off from Benagil on this Classic Short Coastal Walk to Senhora de Rocha and back.
As usual, the views were stunning, and after reaching Praia da Albandeira we diverted to view Cormorant Rock. (CB’s comment: That was not what he called it at the time!)
‘Cormorant rock’ – Antje, having commandeered Chris’ Tilley points out the ledge on the way back.
Here Antje’s Tilley, aided by a gust of wind, departed for a new life on a cliff ledge, out of reach despite all efforts.
It’s down there somewhere!
Antje was brave to take this picture!
Myriam was even braver to lend her camera to her!!
On then to Senhora de Rocha for refreshments. Here Judy decided to opt out due to blister problems.
Unknown to the rest of the party, Terry M. was able to use his latest communication gismo to contact the Portuguese Maritime Reconnaissance Unit with a request that they fly a sortie to locate the Lost Tilley.
Sure enough, on our return walk the aircraft appeared flying at low altitude along the cliff tops. Unfortunately no hat was sighted. The walk concluded without further incident.
P.S. The Air Force has advised that Chris and Antje will receive their ‘factura’ in the next day or so.
CB’s Comment: Thanks Ian – was that a close approximation to your hieroglyphs? Luckily, the Tilley Guarantee includes Maritime Reconnaissance expenses, as well as Elephant Tracking!
Another talking point was that John H., stung by the comments about his ‘Empire Builder’ shorts on the Aracena trip, had opted for a rather daring pair of Rohan ‘Bjorn Borg’s’
He was absolutely right to stand by this sign and pose for a photo!………..
………although the depiction of falling boulders is inaccurate and rather arty-farty!
Myriam became startled at Senhora de Rocha, when he suddenly produced a banana from his pocket!
Our designated leader also posed in an insouciant fashion, confident in the knowledge that on this walk, he would get back to the start if he kept the sea on the left!
Blue, Red and White!!!
Ingrid, not to be outdone by the CB’s gadgetry, has taken to sporting a GPS and a camera on the various straps about her person. 
She now needs a Tilley Hat to become ‘One of the Boys’!
Yves had a few spasm’s of Montezuma’s Revenge at Senhora de Rocha, but we all prayed that he would get back without an accident. He hastened to inform us that it was not his wife’s superb Lasagne the previous evening that had brought it on!
Like a Ghurkha’s Kukri, no Wednesday Walk is complete without some spillage of blood, and true to form the leader obliged on the way back, after a brief skirmish with a gorse bush.
…….do we not bleed?
Luckily Alex has her First Aid Badge, and after some immediate cleansing in the field, she finished him off in the bar at the end of the walk.
Ouch! ouch! More please!
Most were able to get out of the sun under a large umbrella back at the Benagil Bar.
Thanks to Ian for a nice gentle stroll – which is what we all needed, - and with the cooling Atlantic breeze was not at all arduous. I am confident that the season can continue much longer if we either start earlier or walk in the coolest places!
“And all your future lies beneath your (Tilley) hat.” Oldham, John
“Her hat is a creation that will never go out of style; it will just look ridiculous year after year.” Allen, Fred A.
Post-script: one of Paul's latest pedal extremities.
2 comments:
Why this emphasis on my shorts all of a sudden? The latest pair I wore when I won the Best Brown Knees competition held at L'Hotel La Grande Duchesse de Luxembourg, Timmimoun, Algeria in May 1968,and I'm glad they still fit me. Any way, as the CB seems to have become a wee bit camera-shy recently, I have added a picture of his latest footwear to the blog,. These surely rank alongside his notorous crocodile loafers of 2007.
Thank you CB for the flattery, but I want to stay with the girls, and like my biodegradable hat.
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