1 September 2026 – Jalon to Alcalali

During the summer break I took action to reduce the number of members

There were 30 residents and 18 non residents

The result was an average of 26 on each walk

All 48 had indicated that they would like to walk during September

I decided I would have to take steps to reduce the average on each walk closer to our ideal 12 to 16.

After much consideration I decided it would be fairest to offer priority to residents who agreed to walk every week when possible

Second priority woud be residents and non residents who agreed to walk for at least 3 consecutive Mondays.

Everyone else would go on the reserve list and be offered a walk if there were less than 20 walking from the priority list.

The result was 20 on the first list, who would walk each week

And 22 on the reserve list

That is still 42 wanting to walk, but at least there is now a fully accepted priority system.

After all of that only 11, plus Jan and I, turned up today

This was partly because I brought forward the start date to 31 August

Many had made other arrangements expecting to start on 7 September

I brought it forward because the weather forecast was a high of 28c when we expected to finish the walk

This is still pretty hot, but we have walked in these temperatures many times before

However this time it felt too hot to walk, especially on the walk back to Jalon

There was direct hot sun, very little shade and no breeze at all

In retrospect I feel I should have cancelled the walk

So next week we are hoping for lower temperatures

Temperature – 24 to 28c

Time taken – 3 hours

Distance – 9km

23 July to 11 August 2026 - Family Visit

Our first family meal was The Wok in Javea

This has been a family favourite for many years

And is one of the reasons Jack came for a week

Not sure why he returned home early, but  he does have a new girlfriend

We booked the pool for 1600 each day

They could use it any other time

they used it most days

     

But not as much as they did when younger

Chloe has made friends with the dog who lives opposite

 

She sets her phone alarm for 2130 each day, when he is allowed out for a run around

He seems to enjoy it just as much as she does

Our second meal was The Imperial in Calpe

Georgia wanted to have a meal there to celebrate her 16^th birthday

We have eaten there every year since their first visit in 2006

    

So it is a firm favourite with the whole family

It was one of the first restaurants we visited in Calpe

And we have eaten there with many friends since then

So it has a particular sentimental attachment for us too

Each year Chloe has her photo taken with her “spaghetti moustache”

This is the first year that Jack was not with us

But he was there in spirit, or at least his photo was

Georgia has her birthday cake a day late, but we all enjoyed it

Stuart and Michelle had a “date night” at Nou Portet  in Orba

Our third family meal was at Dockers in Jalon

Jan and I had our favourite fish and chips

        

We only have them when the family visit and at Christmas in Rothbury

We thought parking might be difficult because it is Jalon Fiesta Week

But in fact the car park was almost empty

And we need not have booked our meal

Two years ago we could not eat there because it was fully booked 

After the meal we walked up to the play area above Jalon

Temperatures have been higher than usual during this visit, and our limited air conditioning has been much in demand.   We only have it in the sitting room and the main bedroom.   The other rooms have good ceiling fans, but they are not very effective when the room temperature is high.   When that happens they just circulate hot air.   The pool has been much in demand as the most effective way of cooling down.   Despite this we all enjoyed the visit and they made the most  of getting out and about.