Blog 25 / September 2015
No sooner had we decided that we needed gravel to complete the gate garden extension and it
was on its way with customer service and good humour, oui madam this, and oui
madam that, and a call in the morning over breakfast to say the lorry was on
his way …perfect. 14 tons of gravel is better that chocolate and roses for me
and Mike knows that and got stuck into filling the garden making the offering even more delightful by
committing himself to getting the job done
150 shovels of gravel in each trailer is equivalent to
14 barrows walked backward and forwards from gravel pile to
garden. It is hard work but in no time
at all using the trailer we have a good covering even with sore shoulders and wobbly
knees. Getting the railway sleepers into position is the hardest bit having to
measure once and measure again for square and positioning for best effect and
now we are just at the point of seeing the fruits of our labours.
Ron and Pauline came by again on their way back to the
UK from Spain in their camper and have now convinced us this is the way forward
with our travels. We have not felt like we have had a real change if we go away
in France, just a rest, a bit like going to Bognor from Bracknell, so a trip to
Spain is now arranged and we are off to find some winter sun quite soon
On Sunday night I set the alarm for 3 am and hardly
slept in case I missed it but none the less fell out of my slumber into my
joggers and set myself up to see the eclipse of the moon. I say I, because, although
Mike is really not into this sort of thing he does join in and we hugged our tea
mugs and waited for the special event to
develop in front of our very eyes.
The very next morning we had planned to go to the bankruptcy
auction of the Hotel de Baie in the next Village. Our friends brought it to our attention and
although we really had no need for anything in the catalogue we thought there
may be a table to go in the trolley bay but really we were just curious about
how these things work and see what was for sale and for how much. I must admit not to being very impressed but
the experience was good and we will go to auctions when we have an interest……we have however watched this hotel
go from worse to even worse and when they
did not seem to be full to overflowing for the 70th DDay anniversary last year, when we heard they had gone under it came as
no surprise.
With October knocking at the door and the promise of a
few dry days Mike decided the pool must be emptied and dismantled. We wait for
the water to go ph normal and empty into the pond and to date it has taken
three days to get this far but we still have good weather on the horizon and
will let it go at it’s own pace. There is a tinge of sadness that summer is
over but the excitement of autumn and winter and the New Year to come lifts our
mood to do a good job ready for next spring.
We finally did it and found a digger at the right
price and not on the other side of our huge country. We fell very lucky and
called this nice man just as he got in, and made our claim to his digger. Mike
has been searching for over a year and we knew that if we reacted quickly and positively
we would find what we wanted but we had to get the money in the envelope and
know we had access to a flatbed trailer and all the bits came together like a well-rehearsed
ballet.
We fed the ducks and in 5 years he has never missed a meal
opportunity. We had to separate him from the other coq in the hen area as they
fought and we gave Napoleon the garden. He has spent two winters on the loose perusing
his estate and letting us all know about it. I asked Mike if he could please
trim the hedge in the potages and he said he was reluctant whilst Napoleon was
living in there so I let that excuse go, but today Mike, I would really like
the hedge trimmed. …RIP Napoleon, you will be missed but perhaps
not at 3 in the morning when you set off the other coq …… we will miss you sweet
pet, you made us laugh more often that we growled at you…..xxxxx
150 shovels of gravel in each trailer is equivalent to
14 barrows walked backward and forwards from gravel pile to
garden. It is hard work but in no time
at all using the trailer we have a good covering even with sore shoulders and wobbly
knees. Getting the railway sleepers into position is the hardest bit having to
measure once and measure again for square and positioning for best effect and
now we are just at the point of seeing the fruits of our labours.
And then the work of piecing together somebody else’s disassembling…..It
is a good thing Mike worked for Waitrose and has an inkling of what a trolley
bay might look like in separate bits on the gravel.
Whilst waiting for dinner to cook we all went down to
Carentan Port for the Fete des Normand which was the same as all the other fete de port with the wooden sailing boats on their
annual visit. This year however the Viking re-enactor club, pretended to be
Normans. The atmosphere was good and the town rocked up to have a look, have a
beer and take a little promenade around the port to see who they can see….and
so did we.
On Sunday night I set the alarm for 3 am and hardly
slept in case I missed it but none the less fell out of my slumber into my
joggers and set myself up to see the eclipse of the moon. I say I, because, although
Mike is really not into this sort of thing he does join in and we hugged our tea
mugs and waited for the special event to
develop in front of our very eyes. 
We both
sat for an hour and a half with binoculars and a telescope and watched our garden go from being bathed in moonlight
to really quite dark and eerie, and I just love this sort of thing. I thought
about our girls on the other side of the world going about their business
The very next morning we had planned to go to the bankruptcy
auction of the Hotel de Baie in the next Village. Our friends brought it to our attention and
although we really had no need for anything in the catalogue we thought there
may be a table to go in the trolley bay but really we were just curious about
how these things work and see what was for sale and for how much. I must admit not to being very impressed but
the experience was good and we will go to auctions when we have an interest……we have however watched this hotel
go from worse to even worse and when they
did not seem to be full to overflowing for the 70th DDay anniversary last year, when we heard they had gone under it came as
no surprise.
With October knocking at the door and the promise of a
few dry days Mike decided the pool must be emptied and dismantled. We wait for
the water to go ph normal and empty into the pond and to date it has taken
three days to get this far but we still have good weather on the horizon and
will let it go at it’s own pace. There is a tinge of sadness that summer is
over but the excitement of autumn and winter and the New Year to come lifts our
mood to do a good job ready for next spring.
We finally did it and found a digger at the right
price and not on the other side of our huge country. We fell very lucky and
called this nice man just as he got in, and made our claim to his digger. Mike
has been searching for over a year and we knew that if we reacted quickly and positively
we would find what we wanted but we had to get the money in the envelope and
know we had access to a flatbed trailer and all the bits came together like a well-rehearsed
ballet. 
So today we got it home and we are like a mum and dad with
a new baby . I was a little concerned
that mike’s first go at driving was to get it off the trailer but as always he showed
an amazing proactive attitude and just got in and did it using all the safety
tricks he has obviously seen in his working life, and for that, I am thank full.
Mike has a to-do list as long as your arm for jobs that need the help of a digger
and we just can’t wait to get cracking.
On the same day that we got our digger home Mike asked
if I had seen Napoleon that morning because there was a pile of glorious
coloured feathers in front of the beach garden and it may just be that he has popped
his clogs.
We fed the ducks and in 5 years he has never missed a meal
opportunity. We had to separate him from the other coq in the hen area as they
fought and we gave Napoleon the garden. He has spent two winters on the loose perusing
his estate and letting us all know about it. I asked Mike if he could please
trim the hedge in the potages and he said he was reluctant whilst Napoleon was
living in there so I let that excuse go, but today Mike, I would really like
the hedge trimmed. …RIP Napoleon, you will be missed but perhaps
not at 3 in the morning when you set off the other coq …… we will miss you sweet
pet, you made us laugh more often that we growled at you…..xxxxx 
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