WAGS 2023 05 17: Words One Must Not use Nowadays

 Rod´s report which follows makes reference to a friendly dog that joined us for part of the walk. And that reminds me that Rod, just before the dog appeared, had been reminiscing about the Second World War Dam Busters Raid, which had been the subject of a recent TV programme, and we had also mentioned the current concocted fuss in the UK press about a ministerial attempt to convert the Dam Busters former secret training camp into emergency housing for cross-channel immigrants, which proposed conversion apparently upsets military historians and sentimentalists alike because it will involve moving the grave of a dog which had belonged to the commander of the raid. Perhaps only in Britain can the possible re-burial of a dog cause more fuss than some of the re-burials of national figures in other countries, but there we are.

Anyway, that deceased dog was of a very dark colour and so was called Nigger which of course one cannot say nowadays so therefore, even although it is a historical fact that he was called that, in all the press fuss about its reburial and in  the aforesaid TV programme , the poor animal is never referred to by its name.

And the friendly dog that joined us on Wednesday was of the same very dark colour, i.e. black. But wokery would forbid one from using that word. So we referred to it as a dark dog, which somehow did not sound quite right. The same sort of correct-wordness thing had infected a recent BBC TV broadcast of The Scottish Play as it is called. i.e. Shakespeare´s Macbeth. In the original script Shakespeare uses the actual word "black " quite often and quite deliberately but, perhaps because several of the cast, all pretending to be 11th century Scots, were clearly of African heritage rather than of Celtic or Pictish descent, the word "dark" was substituted in each case. And presumably modern editions of Treasure Island now have Blind Pew giving Billy Bones the Dark Spot. Oh dearie me. Something of the atmosphere is lost.

Anyway, on to Rod´s report:-

A mere four walkers, John and Hazel, Myriam and Rod, gathered at the Honey Café on a pleasantly warm morning. Paul was there to see us off.

The Usual Caffeine Shot

Four Starters plus One

Following the usual caffeine shot and Starter pics, we set off along the track towards the autodrome.

This time we did not veer off left up the ridge to visit our old medronho grower friend but carried on towards the end of the Race Track. There, the old farmhouse now totally surrounded by barren land was occupied by a lone dog....

A dark dog

Into the pond, no hesitation

.a friendly fellow who followed us for a while before deciding a cooling pond was better entertainment.

Did JohnH say something politically incorrect?

Probably not too incorrect.

We headed north opting for the centre route which would give us a choice of return routes. In the event, the passing of time and a far from scorching pace, meant that we decided to turn around before we even reached the crossroads.

The return route involved a slightly different diversion and somehow or other even four seemed to manage to straggle. John, who was obviously more interested  in his beer, was firmly ensconced at a table and well into his caneca, or was it even his second, before the rest of us arrived. (There had  been a lot of discussion going on and some of the group seemed to be losing the ability to walk and talk at the same time, so there was much stopping to talk. And yes, a beer seemed increasingly enticing, so rather than dawdle, I pressed on.)

The sustenance at the Honey Cafe may not have the Michelin Stars that that many of today's WAGS crave for but their tostas, particularly the "Tropical" variety, are of the highest quality. Paul was there on the dot to greet us; he even expressed his determination to visit the café again but whether this was because of the particular excellence of his bifana com tomate or because of the prettiness of our young waitress, who can say? 

The Track and the Statistics

We had passed this ramshackle barn earlier and had found in it, in remarkably good condition a stash of Ministry of Health pamphlets from the last century which made for interesting reading at the lunch table.

The Tropical Tosta with pineapple and a touch of oregano

Bifana and chips

Revealed - the secrets of the bifana com tomate

Our previous mention of the Dam Busters also reminds me that, while that raid did not significantly alter the momentum of the war, its comparative success did inspire the exploits of another daring but little known air squadron. The occupation of the  Netherlands had given the German army access to the great nutritional benefits of Dutch dairy produce. The thought that opposing forces could become individually taller and stronger that the average British Tommy - after all you see a lot of very tall Dutchmen around today as testimony to the body building effects of such a diet - was of grave concern to Whitehall (is one still allowed to say Whitehall without causing offence?) and the RAF was given the job of countering the threat. And so another secret squadron was formed. The number of cheese factories and butter and yoghourt outlets that the Edam Busters managed to destroy is still classified information, but is believed to be considerable. I am of course indebted to Yves, our teller of tall tales and spinner of fancy fables, for this historical insight

And to close, a nod of thanks to Paul for this touching scene from an old war film

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