For those who had never noticed, the La Torre Golf Resort in Spain is where many of the families being supported by holidays4heroes are accommodated. Sgt Braille took another trip there to update himself.
On a dark, wet miserable morning in October, I was taken from my postal box, driven to Prestwick Airport and flew out to Murcia Airport for a week's break at La Torre. My Bearer had been lucky enough to win this in a holidays4heroes raffle, and kindly agreed to let me share the holiday with herself and Mr mwl946.
Arriving in Spain we discovered that someone had left the central heating on full ... it was scorchio!!
Once we settled into the beautiful apartment (thank you so much, "Spanish Dave"), we decided to make the most of our time and headed off out to explore the local area. A short drive away is the little fishing village of Cabo de Palos, at the start of the La Manga "strip". This is a 21km spit of land separating the Mar Menor (an inland "sea") from the Mediterranean.
We also visited the area around Murcia itself and, typical woman, mwl discovered a beautiful designer retail village at La Noria - cue Mr mwl and myself to sit and have a quiet beer while she indulged herself in the feminine sport of retail therapy.
Another day saw us drive along the Segura Valley to the ancient town of Mula, also famous for its spa and waters. The pretty little church at Roldan provided another photo opportunity.
Before long, however, as a bear (and a handsome one at that) it was not long before I attracted the attention of two young female humans, Olivia and Julia, who, along with their mum Lizz, persuaded the mwls to take me along to the karaoke evening held in the Irish bar within the La Torre complex. The girls proved to be an excellent adjunct to fundraising! I accompanied many of the "performers", growling along to their widely varying singing talents. Karaoke Dave, who ran the show, is a 22-year ex-regular (RScots, and CSM no less, and was a member of the White Helmets motorcycle Display Team). He was very supportive of our efforts and continually encouraged the punters to donate to the cause of holidays4heroes.
It was a slow start next morning for some reason ... but we took this opportunity to tour the complex taking many photos. It really is a lovely, tranquil place but I'm sure the pictures speak for themselves!
After a sudden, but brief, storm of wind and rain on Wednesday morning, the weather stepped up a gear - 30 deg heat and cloudless blue skies, perfect "lie by the pool with a cool beer" conditions but just a tad hot with a fur coat, let me tell you!
A second karaoke evening proved to be as successful as the first - 170 euros in total raised for holidays4heroes!!
Our final jaunt out was to Los Alcazares on the Mar Menor, for a stroll along the promenade, before returning to the complex to catch a few more rays. It was so hot, I had to remove my shirt and roll up my trousers, and gain some blissful relief in the pool.
All too soon, it was time to return to the airport for our flight home. The pilot was a very nice chap and allowed me to jo in him briefly for a photo opportunity on the flight deck - thank you, Sir!
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Holidays 4 Heroes is an informal group of people that assists wounded service personnel and their families get a precious break from the routine of rehab, hospital appointments and visits to welfare offices by facilitating holidays away from it all in accommodation donated by our sponsors in the UK and abroad.
Deals with the cases that either lie outside the normal remit of the main Service Charities, or require a faster response than they can usually provide. Sometimes the cases require financial assistance, a little bit of nudging in the right direction for long-term help, or the application of a bit of expertise.