Lovely Sunday day out

 Blog 13 / June 2015

We had a lunch date with John and Lynn this week, Monty’s previous owners, and it didn’t take too long for the chaps to get under the bonnet and have a heads together moment to discuss a point of interest. We enjoyed a leisurely pizza lunch at Carentan Marina to hatch up a plan to get the old cars out and on the road for the D-day celebrations and take part, as we have never done it before.

 

On the evening of the 5^th June, the night before D-day we took a ride out with Graham and Anne to be on the Pegasus Bridge to commemorate the first glider landing at 00:16 hours on the 6^th June 1944. The evening was filled with many re-enactors and many actual soldiers on parade. We watched Pipe bands march over the bridge and watched them march right back again, it was extremely entertaining and after we picnicked over a glass of beer in the beer tent we made our way to the original Pegasus Bridge which is now part of a museum. We sat in the garden area to watch a Yorkshire Police Brass Band present their best and not so best tunes but in that environment the atmosphere was wonderful and quite emotional.

 The whole concert was in English which I thought a little odd as much of the audience was French but there was a contingency of Australian Navy sailors there so we laughed at the jokes and the commentary but it was English northern humour which left us a little wanting, at times and I did feel a little bemused that there was no translation for our hosts.

 

 

 

The drummers turned up and gave a very impressive performance and we were truly entertained and invigorated as this is a rare type of music seen here in France, or where we live anyway.

 

 

 

 

We had chatted to a couple of the Australian  Sailors  and I was very touched when the band played their national anthem and they all stood up and held their hearts and sang out their love for their nation,  it was a very lovely moment.

 

 

 

 

We took Monty into Carentan on the 7^th and met up with other old car enthusiasts to join in the WW2 vehicle parade through Town. Mike painted Monty with Free French logos and we both dressed up in 1940’s  and joined the parade of over 100 vehicles.

 

 

We were really amazed at the enthusiasm of the Carentan people on the street, thumbs up and clapping and waving at us, yes us, in our little Monty dressed up as Free French, and I had such a good time just being happy and uplifted. We drove around the town twice and then all the jeeps and command cars and little tanks, period motorbikes and even push bikes parked up in the centre of town for the crowds to come and have a close up look. We met up with all sorts of people and a man from way down south of France insisted in showing me the pictures of his 1936 Renault that he takes out on rallies and I realised that these people are really out there,  doing as we have done today. Both Mike and I have hankered to do this for many years and are pleased to have found the in-crowd, at last.

I saw this 1940’s gendarme and I just had to get him in the frame, so I went straight up and asked if he would please be photographed with me in front of our Monty. As we set ourselves up to have a photo taken we were suddenly surrounded with clicking photographers. Mike was four cars down the row, saw the commotion and came up to find that it was me and my gendarme in a Hollywood pose lapping up the fame……

 

 

 

 

So Monty played his part in the 71^st D-day commemorations and we had a great day out to boot. We met up with two veterans who both thanked us for keeping the story alive, but I felt a little bit of a fraud as this is the first time that we have participated, but it is most definitely not the last

 

 

Then back to the ranch for a swim in the pool and a snooze in the sun …….

Lovely Sunday day out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

motivation enough to stay, and enjoy xx

 Blog 12 / May 2015

We are home from a month in Canada to visit our Daughter Georgina, husband Al and children Victoria and Alex. There is no way that I can use a blog to explain the fantastic time we had but I will throw a few pictures at you for  a clue as to what has pushed our buttons and made us so very happy that  we finally bit the bullet and went.

 

 

 

The first week was a 7 day tourist drive through the Rocky Mountains which no matter what sort of photographer you think you are  there is no way to convey the huge vista, smell of cold air and sheer enormity and majesty of the region. We saw a wild bear grazing on the side of the road, followed the Trans Canadian railway meander through the mountain passes. We took a ski lift in Lake Louise and sat on the top on a mountain in our European holiday clothes whilst all around us, the Sloan square and bondi beach snow boarders and skiers launched themselves in full winter garb with gloves, headbands and stretchy legware whilst we looked on in T shirts and sandals. Our road trip took us to Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Kamloops and Vancouver  1600 Kilometres of snow, sun, wind and rain but wall to wall silver topped mountains all the way. It felt quite comforting to catch the ferry to Vancouver Island which confirmed  we are true water lubbers but  took this short sea trip in the shadow  of snow covered mountains…. best of both worlds…

 

 

 

We joined the Joiner family on Vancouver Island and continued our Canadian stay doing as they do, the whole purpose was to settle in as a family and enjoy the next three weeks like we had never been apart since 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So we went shopping and yes that is a real vintage tractor on display making the whole shopping experience that much more exciting for us. The cost of living is comparable if you are tea total and don’t want proper PG tips tea.

 

 

 

 

 

As a family, we took a tiny ferry to Newcastle Island for a picnic and Pumba the dog came too, Pumba is the tallest dog I know and we had lots of fun with him, his gentlemanly manners and savoir fair made HOSS look manic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a drive to Tofino Beach on the west coast of the island via a stop to stare wonder and at an 800 year old Douglas fir tree still looking good. Then I stripped to my bare feet to paddle in the Pacific ocean, a once in a lifetime requirement which I have now achieved.

 

 

 

 

 

There are beaches all around the island all of them scattered with white bleached flotsam, tree trunks to fragments of worn and torn lost wood waiting for beach comers to come and claim. I collected a little bag of interesting bits to make a wind chime as a souvenir and in our quiet considering discussions about if we came what would we be and I always ended up being a beach bum selling white wood ornaments….

 

 

 

 

 

Mike had his 61^st birthday and the yellow point household laid on a pirate themed breakfast and we all sang happy birthday several times to mark his special day.

 

 

 

 

 

Grandad was the star throughout our stay, playing and joking getting to know these lovely children we are grandparents to, and everyday was a special and significant  day, without exception.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Georgina and I sewed.  In our twice weekly skype calls we had often spoken about her wanting to sew for her children as I did, so I offered to buy some fabric to make Victoria a new frock which I did, and enjoyed.  I did however have to break it to G that she really needed to buy a new sewing machine, which she did and when I used it to make Alex a Super Hero Cape  I decided I  had to have one for 130$ about £70. G and I can now chew the cud over our discoveries and achievements and it made for some awesome (Canadian term) bonding

 

 

 

We spent time in the beautiful city of Victoria, capital of British Columbia. It was Victoria Day weekend and we watched boat planes and harbour taxis busy doing their business and Mike and I took the children back on the cutest little ferry whist Mum and Dad set off on a stepping out walk back to the car

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then as we were getting into the routines and habits of life with the Joiners, once we had found the antique shops and the best thrift stores in Ladysmith and were still excited when we spotted a logging lorry with 20 full sized fir trees on board, it was time to load our souvenirs and sewing machine into our luggage and head for the airport. We chose to take an island hopper so our goodbyes would be local at Nanaimo airport and away from the hustle and bustle of Vancouver international. As we took off, three weeks of love and happiness just erupted in me and I cried like a baby until we hit Europe, I felt exhausted…….

 

Twelve hours later we were back in Bracknell, jumping about for HOSS’s joy to see us again and a quick and fabulous catch up with my brothers and sisters to close proceedings and get our, butts, (Canadian saying) back to France where, we now appreciate is every bit as beautiful as Canada at a fraction of the size.

 

 

If you are a Blog follower then you will guess the expression of astonishment we made when we saw what 4 weeks lawn growth looks like in May.  There are no Canadian words to even get close to our emotions and that very afternoon jetlagged and disorientated we both took a mower and got the first cut done before dinner.  We now realise just how much garden tinkering we do on a daily basis because when you stop for a month is it scary to see  how things  get out of control and in 6 months we would be looking for the lost gardens of Brevands …….….

motivation enough to stay,  and enjoy xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Luck Joiner family

15 blog April 2015

 

 

What a treat to find a bunch of blossom showing off on the side of a cherry tree busting to burst into a new branch. I went into the pond area to collect duck eggs and just wanted to share this with you.

 

 

Getting ready for summer is a fulltime spring occupation and we are here refilling the barley straw cage in the pond to encourage clean and healthy water.  We bought a huge round bale of straw in the autumn, delivered to the house for 25 Euro and it is giving the hens and Ducks first class bedding and is letting us keep the pond in good condition. Sadly though we will not use up this huge bale before it goes off but it is good whilst we have it. And then we can compost it down over next winter.

 

 

 

Every week we get out with our friends Graham and Ann and this week we packed our picnics and set off to St Fromond to take a look at an abandoned chateaux that has now been inhabited by a flock of nesting storks. It has become a real local tourist corner so we parked the car with a view, and out of the wind, got our deck chairs out and enjoyed the sun looking at a bit of local history munching on a sandwich

 

 

 

This fortified home was last lived in, in 1818 and was badly damaged in 1944 as the Germans left to go home.  As you stand and stare at such a fragile yet heroic site the storks fly overhead like flocks of pterodactyl and it is a very interesting and inspiring place to visit. I am sure we will go back to chateaux  Rivierre sometime soon.

 

 

 

 

A night out at les Perroquets with Trevor and Carol for a raclette supper made all the funnier and totally enjoyable as most of us had never done it before. Keeping track of all the instruction, do’s and don’ts when's and why's was a bit overwhelming until we got stuck in and the food and wine started to flow and the evening just ran away with itself. We were also thrilled and  spilled with a little bit of magic in the guise of Mr Mark Mystery Man performing a death defying card trick which had me breathless with amazement although it seemed all around the table had sussed out how it was done. I found it very funny and  amazing so I insisted Mr Mark Mystery Man do it over and over until I understood his slight of hand and only gullible me could fall for it, hook line and sinker…..

 

 

We moved the cider to make way for Monty the Morris and in the process gathered all the empty champagne bottles that in the past we have collected to bottle our home-made cider. We have decided that we no longer need to make cider and have enough stock to see us for a year or two. I have advertised my bottles on Le  Bon Coin, 200 bottles for 40 Euro, what a great deal,  but no takers, and I can see me having to give all these bottles away or have a champagne bottle shire and throw wooden balls at them for entertainment…….please someone, come and buy my bottles…….

 

 

Here we are posing in our kitchen in France with our flags flying because Georgina and Alan are now sworn in and officially Canadian citizens. 

 

      

 

 

My latest hobby is scrap book covers and I made this cover to celebrate the Canadian great occasion. Our friend Jill McNeilly gave us a card she had made in this style for our 35^th wedding anniversary. It was full of hearts, frills and bling and I needed a good reason to have a go myself as I have stock of bling and net curtains, bits of material and reels of ribbon and this art form is really starting push my buttons.  All the elements are sewn together and the fun is making it all feel right and make visual sense.  I am a bit clumsy at the moment and my sewing skills are being challenged but I hope to get good at this sewing hobby to enjoy the process. 

 The French and Canadian post did not let us down and our commemorative gift arrived in Canada the day before Georgina and Alan’s special  ceremony day in Vancouver.      

Good Luck Joiner family