APAPS 25.04: Tons Of Mustard But No HP Sauce

For the second week running, John was relieved of the burden of arranging the breakfast and, not only that, but on this occasion  he did not even have to plan and lead the walk because Antje stepped nobly into the breach and organised both walk and breakfast. To quote Bill Shakespeare, "For this relief much thanks" (Hamlet: Act 1 Scene i).

The walk was on the boardwalk at Dona Ana, Lagos, a walk which Antje has led for us on numerous occasions, so there is not really much to say about it, except that this was the first time we have done it as a breakfast walk which meant that the light of the early morning sunshine glinting off the sea made for some tricky photo shots. One other remark. Quite a few of the screws used to build the board walk have "sprung" and some are protruding dangerously; if you are fit enough to go for a run there, be careful! Apparently, Mike Pease has noticed the same problem on the Meia Praia boardwalk and takes an electric screwdriver with him to do repairs. Good on him.

The Starters: Myriam, JohnH, Hazel, Maria, Antje, and Christl.

 

Intsability

The Track and the Statistics

The actual distance done by the majority of the group was 5.3 kms; the statistician and his recording gizmo took a cunning short cut at one stage.

The Breakfast.

This was at the Lagos Saturday Group´s favourite café, Aqui Há Gato, which is an odd name for a café. The unaware and/or ignorant estrangeiro was informed that the phrase does not mean "There is a cat here", but is instead a colloquial phrase signifying that there is a suspicion that something is wrong but no one knows exactly what something. In English, it is along the lines of  "something´s up," "there´s something fishy about this." or "I smell a rat." You can´t use the phrase in Brazil because "gato" seemingly means "cute" in Brazilian; instead they say "there´s a dog in the forest."

Even so, it´s still an odd name for a café - Portuguese sense of humour ?

Group 1

Group 2

Group 1 + 2

The breakfast, although not the Full English, was substantial. Huge sausage (bratwurst maybe?), good bread and two eggs reduced from the advertised three.

Plus a very impressive selection of mustard, mayonnaise and ketchup, presented in industrial sized containers.

Why the ketchup and mustard in kgs and the mayo in mls is known only to those in the catering trade. 

There was a reluctance by some to have a beer, it being thought that 11 am was too early for that, although Maria said it was OK because it was past 12 noon in Spain. Didn´t bother JohnH what time it was. 

Myriam proposes this news item as a discussion topic for the next walk.

Music has been lacking from previous APAPS blogs so I thought that we would introduce a musical theme for the next few weeks which is railway songs. The first one is about a railway in Kenya which when it was first proposed in the late 1890s was derided in the House of Commons as The Lunatic Line.

"What it will cost no words can express,

What is its object no brain can suppose,

Where it will start from no one can guess, 

Where it is going to nobody knows. 

What is the use of it, none can conjecture,

What it will carry, there is none can define,

And in spite of George Curzon´s superior lecture,

It is clearly naught but a lunatic line."

(Henry Labouchère, MP)

(Don´t mention UK´s HS2 project.) 

It was built between 1895 and 1903 connecting Mombasa on the coast with Lake Victoria, and in 1931 an extension linked it to Kampala in Uganda. 

It eliminated the need for African porters to carry goods to and from the coast and Central East Africa and so contributed to the ending of slavery in those parts. 

The British brought in 36,811 indentured workers from India to build the line. 2,493 workers died during its construction, include several eaten by lions near Tsavo, but most returned home after their contracts were over. However, 6,724 stayed in East Africa starting the Indian community there, most of them setting up as Dukawallahs or small shopkeepers.

A lot of their descendants were later expelled from Uganda and settled in UK, many running corner shops. Quite few became very rich and one descendant was briefly UK´s prime minister. Strange outcome of British imperialism.

Now the railway line has fallen into disrepair and the non-imperialist Chinese are trying to build a replacement, although it is said that they have got bogged down somewhere in the Rift Valley; Chris and Rachel will be able to tell you more.

Anyway, here is the song, "The Good Old E A R & H" which has a touch of nostalgia:-