Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Food And Fiesta
by admin - 21:58 on 10 May 2014
It's fortunate that I joined in Matchgirl's detox a few weeks ago – so far, the Snappery Fiesta is proving more of a food and drink marathon than a bike club weekend. An all-you-want buffet breakfast was followed by our snappery show-and-tell, then tea or coffee and snacks to fortify us before lunch taken outside the S'Algar Diving Club from where we could enjoy views of blue skies, bluer seas, and the less agreeable sight of swarms of portly British tourists.
The resort was quieter in previous years, we were told. The culprit is Thomson Holidays which is running all-inclusive packages here for the first time, attracting a different type of holidaymaker. PhotoActive Philip is not best pleased.
That said, it's certainly no Costa Brava – there are much worse places to spend a week.
For the information of snappers who've sampled the PhotoActive experience and will be interested in these things (hello Cathy), our group comprises previous attendees Ken, Jenny, John and Yvonne, first-timer Carol and first-timer me. Ken, on his tenth Snappery Fiesta, was presented with a cake yesterday evening that we're still eating today. Consumption never stops.
The snappery finally began this afternoon with a short walk from S'Algar to Alcaufar to prepare our shutter fingers for harder work at the weekly Menorcan trotting races where we practised the arts of panning and freezing speed. For one race, I got to ride beside the action in the judge's official vehicle (needed so he can disqualify anyone who breaks from a trot to a canter or – heaven forbid – a gallop). Despite that, my best (or least worst) shots were taken beside the track and outside the stables at the back of the bijou racecourse.
Ascot it isn't – the crowd included local families as well as tourists and the maximum bet per race (six on the card) was 1.50 euros.
We returned shortly after 7pm when the temperature had plummeted to 20C. An hour later we were back in the dining room. Life can be hard.
The day ended with me deleting eighty-six of the hundred plus snaps I took today. More might go in the morning. I'm my own worst critic (apart from camera club judges).
Add your comment
© Russell Turner 2008-2024