7th May 2010
Having said a fond farewell to Kaye we headed for Julie and Khaled’s but when we phoned her we discovered that she was heading out and would not return until late that evening so it was easier all round for us to stay on an aire 65 miles away. This meant Julie did not have to worry about us and could enjoy her evening out and we could have a shorter drive that day. What she did not tell us was it was a soiree at which we would have been given FREE wine! However we did enjoy a pleasant drive plus an evening trying out our French with some other motorhomers and it was all very pleasant.
8th May 2010
We arrived refreshed and ready to attend the village’s ceremony honouring the Allies of world war two, at which Hana was going to carry the flowers to lay on their cenotaph. Sadly the night before she had been told she had to attend school so she missed it. Fortunately we did not as it was a classic French farce, don’t get me wrong it was a fairly solemn occasion and initially started well.
A large, important gentleman with a moustache sporting a row of small dress medals on a light coloured blazer was preparing the choir, while another chap practised the trombone. Meanwhile a chap in uniform we supposed to be a gendarme set up a microphone attached to a big speaker which we later learned also had a tape player in it. Large gent starts choir singing the Marseillaise, a small solemn procession enters stage right led by young man with tricolour. Trombonist suddenly realises he should be with procession and starts to play and runs to the back; everybody gets to memorial and deploys in semi-circle. Small smartly dressed deputy mayor with small children stands while choir sings all verses! Small children are restive, mayor grabs hand, and finally choir stops. They walk solemnly up and place wreath of flowers which will not stay and keeps trying to roll off! Having laid them on sideways, steps back for solemn moment then children are able to leave and join their mates.
Mayor approaches microphone and it promptly falls off with load bang as it hits the road, he picks it up and starts to address the crowd only to be instantly corrected by large choirmaster. As the exchange is in French we do not quite understand but it appears to be the date of the armistice which is under discussion!! As mayor finishes Gendarme starts tape only to be growled at by large gent, who approaches microphone and drops it on road again, bang! He makes a short speech, turns to choir, signals to man to start tape, choir starts to sing; large man stops choir and tape, something is wrong with tape. Tape restarts and finally it is alright and with loud applause we all retire to town hall for free drinks, peanuts and olives, marvellous. To be fair to him, the deputy mayor walks up and says did I look a real prat? We assured him he did not and truthfully he didn’t really, it was just funny to a visitor who didn’t know what was going on. What was nice though was how lovely everybody was to us but I think that was a lot to do with how well Julie and Khaled are respected.
Monday 9th - So on with the happy hols, the weather is decidedly warmer and we have had sunshine more or less all day today with Joan finally able to don her shorts! My inclination is to move on soon and get into Italy where hopefully the weather will continue to improve. That said it would take several days and we must deliver Kathleen and Kens tea bags first.
Tuesday 10th- Well we cannot believe it but it is really hot and we are both in shorts today. Just a day of pleasure. I cut the grass which sounds hard but it is such a huge garden that they have a sit on mower, so it was fun. We then made contact with K&K for the ceremonial handing over of the ‘T’ Bags tomorrow. We anticipate that they will both be in full ceremonial dress uniform and after the ceremony will suitably reward us with large libations of alcohol, olives etc. Sadly, the aforementioned trombonist will be at work and therefore unable to attend.
That’s all folks, sorry if it isn’t very long but we really have just been enjoying Julie, Hana and all the animals company.
All our love
‘US’ xxxx
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Friday, 7 May 2010
Angela Paul and a 3 legged dog! We've started.
6th May Polling day, good luck Andy X
Many of you will be wondering where the hell we are and why we have not posted anything as yet, no? Oh well, here’s why anyway especially for Pam, Maria and Marion who we know will be watching the blog.
Having left home on the Thursday, travelled to London, then popped up to Oxford on the Monday to see Andy, Carole, Joe and Eleanor for a couple of nights. It was great to see them all and have time to chat as we hadn’t had time to say more than two words to them on the wedding weekend. Thank you Carole for the recipe for the delicious chicken dish you cooked for us. We then returned to London and stayed with Angela and Paul, so all in all we spent 9 days in London. They as usual made us more than welcome and ran us around all over the place, and kept feeding us! We really felt as though we’d had a brilliant week’s holiday. Thank you both so much.
I think we also have to mention Pam & Colin who have spent more time going to our house and checking things for us than is really fair. Thanks X
While we were in London we managed to see Jamie and Tim twice which was great. We had a couple of nice meals with them and Tim disappeared at one point. He’d gone to the bookshop next door and returned with two books for us for our holiday which he thought we’d enjoy, so kind of him. We also caught Stephen and Reena just before we left for France which was a lovely bonus as we feared we would not see them until August when we return. The London tube is always good for a laugh and as you know things tend to happen to us, this trip was no exception. While returning on the northern line from an excellent meal with the boys in Waterloo we encountered a three legged dog! He was being carried around by his master in a wicker basket; you see, all life is here in these pages.
At 5am bank holiday Monday my lovely sister and Paul got up to see us off, Paul moved his car which was blocking the road outside. This was so that I could get some sleep as I was really worried we would be unable to leave if a neighbour parked there as they often do. Our trip to the Eurotunnel was uneventful and we arrived a little early so were offered the earlier train, which was fine by us. Joan and I had been a little worried about what to do on arrival but it was very simple as they employ a system of number plate recognition, so as we pulled up it addressed us as Mr Crick, amazing. Then after a swift check that our gas was turned off we were sent to board the train. Almost immediately this lady appeared, put chocks under our wheels and we were off. 35 minutes later we drove off and straight onto the motorway heading for our first nights stop, all we had managed to do was have some muesli and a drink of water!
I must say that this was the most hassle free way to go but personally I missed my breakfast! Those of you who have read previous blog’s will know that as soon as we get on board the ferry we make for the restaurant and have a full English breakfast plus tea, toast and marmalade. Never mind, we are here in La Belle France and as usual there is no traffic on the road so we are bowling along heading for the south avoiding Paris like the plague. After a pleasant couple of hundred miles we stopped at a little campsite which appeared totally deserted except for the sign on the door which more or less said help yourself, we will return later. Having quickly checked the facilities, (which were spotless), we did. Later turned out to be the next morning, so it’s a good job we did not wait up!
Next day we set off for Kaye’s house and somehow got our addresses mixed up, I am hurt to notice that none of you are surprised! However whenever we talk about Kaye and Phil for some reason we always refer to them living at Airvault, so we headed there. On arrival we realised it was far too big a town and could not for the life of us remember the name of their village. We did remember that they were very friendly with the English couple who have a campsite here so we headed for that. They were very nice and just as they told us the name of Kaye’s village it came to Joan, Oiron! Not funny as I had already driven about 180 miles but it was 5 miles back along narrow country roads. Kaye was very happy to see us and amused at our brilliant route finding.
Kaye and her partner Phil have bought a huge house which was in very bad repair and while he works away in Libya she is renovating it and setting up as a B&B or Chambres d’hotes as it is called here. It is impossible to describe what this girl has done, suffice to say that this year she has opened and awaits her first guests, and I wish I could plaster the way she does!!! Plus if all the things she is growing come up she will be virtually self sufficient, where does she find the time? We spent a lovely couple of days together and she had a well earned rest/day off when we all visited Thouars old town, which was really great but we suffered from the Kathleen and Ken syndrome, i.e. neither of us remembered the bloomin camera!
So there you are, this is our first week. On the whole it’s dry and quite sunny but if it doesn’t get warmer soon I think we will go home and book a cruise to the tropics, ‘cause it’s bloomin freezing!
Oops! Sorry Stephen we just sat down to watch the DVD you did for us of the photos and I have left it at Angela’s, hopefully Joan will forgive me eventually.
Lots of love
Bryan & Joan
XXXX
Many of you will be wondering where the hell we are and why we have not posted anything as yet, no? Oh well, here’s why anyway especially for Pam, Maria and Marion who we know will be watching the blog.
Having left home on the Thursday, travelled to London, then popped up to Oxford on the Monday to see Andy, Carole, Joe and Eleanor for a couple of nights. It was great to see them all and have time to chat as we hadn’t had time to say more than two words to them on the wedding weekend. Thank you Carole for the recipe for the delicious chicken dish you cooked for us. We then returned to London and stayed with Angela and Paul, so all in all we spent 9 days in London. They as usual made us more than welcome and ran us around all over the place, and kept feeding us! We really felt as though we’d had a brilliant week’s holiday. Thank you both so much.
I think we also have to mention Pam & Colin who have spent more time going to our house and checking things for us than is really fair. Thanks X
While we were in London we managed to see Jamie and Tim twice which was great. We had a couple of nice meals with them and Tim disappeared at one point. He’d gone to the bookshop next door and returned with two books for us for our holiday which he thought we’d enjoy, so kind of him. We also caught Stephen and Reena just before we left for France which was a lovely bonus as we feared we would not see them until August when we return. The London tube is always good for a laugh and as you know things tend to happen to us, this trip was no exception. While returning on the northern line from an excellent meal with the boys in Waterloo we encountered a three legged dog! He was being carried around by his master in a wicker basket; you see, all life is here in these pages.
At 5am bank holiday Monday my lovely sister and Paul got up to see us off, Paul moved his car which was blocking the road outside. This was so that I could get some sleep as I was really worried we would be unable to leave if a neighbour parked there as they often do. Our trip to the Eurotunnel was uneventful and we arrived a little early so were offered the earlier train, which was fine by us. Joan and I had been a little worried about what to do on arrival but it was very simple as they employ a system of number plate recognition, so as we pulled up it addressed us as Mr Crick, amazing. Then after a swift check that our gas was turned off we were sent to board the train. Almost immediately this lady appeared, put chocks under our wheels and we were off. 35 minutes later we drove off and straight onto the motorway heading for our first nights stop, all we had managed to do was have some muesli and a drink of water!
I must say that this was the most hassle free way to go but personally I missed my breakfast! Those of you who have read previous blog’s will know that as soon as we get on board the ferry we make for the restaurant and have a full English breakfast plus tea, toast and marmalade. Never mind, we are here in La Belle France and as usual there is no traffic on the road so we are bowling along heading for the south avoiding Paris like the plague. After a pleasant couple of hundred miles we stopped at a little campsite which appeared totally deserted except for the sign on the door which more or less said help yourself, we will return later. Having quickly checked the facilities, (which were spotless), we did. Later turned out to be the next morning, so it’s a good job we did not wait up!
Next day we set off for Kaye’s house and somehow got our addresses mixed up, I am hurt to notice that none of you are surprised! However whenever we talk about Kaye and Phil for some reason we always refer to them living at Airvault, so we headed there. On arrival we realised it was far too big a town and could not for the life of us remember the name of their village. We did remember that they were very friendly with the English couple who have a campsite here so we headed for that. They were very nice and just as they told us the name of Kaye’s village it came to Joan, Oiron! Not funny as I had already driven about 180 miles but it was 5 miles back along narrow country roads. Kaye was very happy to see us and amused at our brilliant route finding.
Kaye and her partner Phil have bought a huge house which was in very bad repair and while he works away in Libya she is renovating it and setting up as a B&B or Chambres d’hotes as it is called here. It is impossible to describe what this girl has done, suffice to say that this year she has opened and awaits her first guests, and I wish I could plaster the way she does!!! Plus if all the things she is growing come up she will be virtually self sufficient, where does she find the time? We spent a lovely couple of days together and she had a well earned rest/day off when we all visited Thouars old town, which was really great but we suffered from the Kathleen and Ken syndrome, i.e. neither of us remembered the bloomin camera!
So there you are, this is our first week. On the whole it’s dry and quite sunny but if it doesn’t get warmer soon I think we will go home and book a cruise to the tropics, ‘cause it’s bloomin freezing!
Oops! Sorry Stephen we just sat down to watch the DVD you did for us of the photos and I have left it at Angela’s, hopefully Joan will forgive me eventually.
Lots of love
Bryan & Joan
XXXX
Monday, 19 April 2010
It's nearly May!
Yes it's May in eleven days time and so nearly time for us to start on our trip for this year. Several people have been kind enough to say they will be reading this blog so I thought well we better make sure it's still working and more importantly can we get pictures onto it etc.
So sorry if you thought this was going to be a long one I am off now and will check it's all working with some of those I know who follow us plus here (Ihope) is a picture to prove how well we scrub up when we try.
Love
For now
US! XXX
So sorry if you thought this was going to be a long one I am off now and will check it's all working with some of those I know who follow us plus here (Ihope) is a picture to prove how well we scrub up when we try.
Love
For now
US! XXX
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Wow! Joseph and eleanor then home to hospital!
19th – 24th July
Hooray! The children are coming today and Joan and I are already at the site all set up and waiting. Having had a text from Andy to say they are off the ferry and on their way we reckon as it is only about 90 miles they will be with us in a couple of hours. 4 hours later we are beginning to become alarmed, where are they? It turns out that Andy has taken a slight detour/ taken the wrong turning, and is still about an hour away! But eventually they arrive and as all of you who have grandchildren will know, just bounced out of the car and hit the ground running, wow. So this is what it’s like living through a hurricane, exhausting but wonderful.
Right first job put up their new tent which has not been erected by them before because it is too big for their back garden, unless they want to put it over the flower beds. Fortunately Andy did have the instructions as I had never seen a tent this shape before. To be honest we never did quite get it perfect and Andy kept adjusting bits the entire time. Unfortunately it was immediately apparent that although the seller said it had only been used a couple of times it had not been looked after and had in fact been put away damp, plus a couple of fixing points were broken. It did the trick though of giving them shelter for sleeping. We had already arranged that all cooking etc would be done in the van so it all worked fine. We would all rather have eaten outside as it is such good fun, plus it does not matter if you drop something but the weather was not really good enough with often a stiff breeze so we ate inside. Although we had picked a pitch near the toilets so the children could nip in if they needed, after the first night we realised it was a mistake. It was the meeting point for all the teenagers on the site, carrying on and with music playing on their mobile phones. Although Andy protested, Joan and Carole decided we would move in the morning and I have been married far too long to argue, so we did. The children really enjoyed being in France and as they had money to spend in the shops they were equally delighted and delightful with their “bonjour & merci”, plus Joe was our official bread buyer for breakfast. Every morning a van came to the site just near us and he went with our order of Pain au chocolat, croixants and baguettes, ooh I'm feeling hungry just thinking about it! They really enjoyed the camping experience and I will be surprised if they don’t go again.
One fairly amusing thing to happen was the peculiar smell. a couple of days before they arrived Joan and I were sitting having a drink and I said to her gosh I really must wash my sandels as I think they are very smelly. So having done so I thought that would be the end of it until having put the children to bed we were all sitting in the van having a chat and a glass of wine I noticed it again so when they left I told Joan and we thought I should wash them again. However the next morning I was standing over near the cooker, the smell was putrid and my sandels were outside! You know what Joan, I think I know where the piece of cheese we lost is, it's in this cooker. Immediately we started to empty the oven which we only use for storing vegetables and found the cause of the problem. It was a rotten potato and boy was it ripe! Later the next day having totally aired the van we asked Carole if she had noticed it and she said oh yes I just thought it was Bryan's feet and didn't like to say.
Some nights we had really heavy rain and Andy was quite worried as they did have a couple of leaks. One night/early morning about 2am I awoke to hear a huge downpour and suddenly thunder and lightning. I leaped out of bed and rushed out to make sure they were alright only to be greeted by cheery greetings from the tent, yes we are fine said Carole, but I was worried so I nipped back in and put up our lounge bed, which is enormous, just in case. In the event next morning we found they had all gone back to sleep and all was well.
Sadly our weather could have been better, after all it was the end of July, but the children did go on to the beach every single day. Joe was fearless and straight into the water as soon as possible but Eleanor at 4 years of age decided she preferred the pools some of which were quite big. The beach here is pebbles when the tide is in but very soon after it starts to go out there is sand, so apart from a couple of hours when it comes right in it was always fun. Most of the time we were there the tides were favourable but on the last full day as it was not out early on so we took them to St.Valery en Caux (mentioned earlier), parked on the Aire and all climbed the cliff and then enjoyed lunch in the town square. After a visit to the Patisserie for some wonderful cakes it was time to return to the campsite where the tide had receded enough for them to spend the rest of the day on the beach.
So all too soon it was the last day but as their ferry was not until the evening we suggested breaking the journey at Le Treport. This is a very nice little place where Joan and I had spent a few days last year. Andy and Carole really liked it and the children were pleased as they got another chance to shop with the holiday money they had left. We all enjoyed a very nice meal and then Joan and I left them to go on the funicular railway up to the top of the cliff while we headed for our ferry at Dunkirk. We had decided to return a few days early as we wanted to see Jamie before he went on holiday, spend a bit of time with Stephen and Reena and we were also anxious to get home to see Jacqueline who’d had an operation the week before. I am a great believer in the fact that everything happens for a reason and so I am convinced we returned early because of the pending disaster with Joan ending up in hospital. Whatever it was I am so glad we did come home when we did.
So there it is another 3 months holiday in Europe during which time we have met some wonderful people and stayed in some lovely places. We have enjoyed all sorts of weather and seen some outstanding scenery. So thank you to all the people who helped to make it another memorable holiday.
Lots of love
Bryan & Joan
xxxx
p.s. Hello everybody,
First may I apologise for making this a sort of round robin but I have had my plate a little full of late and now I expect to be fairly busy with the patient.
So the story is that the day after we returned to England from our holiday Joan became very ill. Because of the world wide panic about swine flu she was wrongly diagnosed on line as having it. This happened while we were stating in London at my sister’s house and it was really impossible to get any sort of medical help, plus the fact that it was a Sunday did not help. So we returned to Gateshead on the Monday and first thing Tuesday I got the Tami flu which was prescribed, this has apparently caused Joan some liver damage but hopefully this will regenerate itself. Joan had spoken to a doctor and they were reluctant to visit because of the flu scare but we decided enough was enough. So I phoned and insisted that the doctor visited her as she was in a lot of pain and had a very high temperature plus her breathing was very shallow. Within 20 minutes the top man at the practice arrived took one look at her, had a quick listen to her chest and her back and called an ambulance. He told us he suspected she had pneumonia and was very ill indeed. The ambulance came within a very short time and admitted her to hospital where because of the flu she was put into isolation. By now she could not have cared one way or the other as she was so ill, they had her on oxygen, a saline drip and huge amounts of antibiotics. Having assessed her she was moved to another ward and started to feel marginally better.
One of the things getting her down was the total isolation as everybody who entered the room had masks, aprons and rubber gloves on and spent as little time as possible in there, plus they did not talk to her. I had always tried to tell them that she did NOT have swine flu but to no avail, then I spoke to one of the doctors. He said well her swabs said...............oh she hasn’t been swabbed yet! He promptly did it and that afternoon when it showed negative they opened her door took the RED sign off it and started treating her like a human being. Finally she was beginning to feel a bit better but still had excruciating pain when she breathed or moved. Finally they said all the treatments were working and that she should go home as she would get better sooner there. That night she had a horrendous night and next day they said she couldn’t go home. However on Monday the head man arrived and told her it was quite normal and that it would take at least a month for the pain to ease completely maybe longer and a full two months to full recovery. So there we are, this of course is a précis of the last 14 days, she is home and has had the best nights sleep she has had for ages, and hopefully her recovery will continue now.
She has asked me to say thank you to all of you for your prayers, kind thoughts, flowers, chocolates and cards.
Lots of love
Joan & Bryan
XXXX
Hooray! The children are coming today and Joan and I are already at the site all set up and waiting. Having had a text from Andy to say they are off the ferry and on their way we reckon as it is only about 90 miles they will be with us in a couple of hours. 4 hours later we are beginning to become alarmed, where are they? It turns out that Andy has taken a slight detour/ taken the wrong turning, and is still about an hour away! But eventually they arrive and as all of you who have grandchildren will know, just bounced out of the car and hit the ground running, wow. So this is what it’s like living through a hurricane, exhausting but wonderful.
Right first job put up their new tent which has not been erected by them before because it is too big for their back garden, unless they want to put it over the flower beds. Fortunately Andy did have the instructions as I had never seen a tent this shape before. To be honest we never did quite get it perfect and Andy kept adjusting bits the entire time. Unfortunately it was immediately apparent that although the seller said it had only been used a couple of times it had not been looked after and had in fact been put away damp, plus a couple of fixing points were broken. It did the trick though of giving them shelter for sleeping. We had already arranged that all cooking etc would be done in the van so it all worked fine. We would all rather have eaten outside as it is such good fun, plus it does not matter if you drop something but the weather was not really good enough with often a stiff breeze so we ate inside. Although we had picked a pitch near the toilets so the children could nip in if they needed, after the first night we realised it was a mistake. It was the meeting point for all the teenagers on the site, carrying on and with music playing on their mobile phones. Although Andy protested, Joan and Carole decided we would move in the morning and I have been married far too long to argue, so we did. The children really enjoyed being in France and as they had money to spend in the shops they were equally delighted and delightful with their “bonjour & merci”, plus Joe was our official bread buyer for breakfast. Every morning a van came to the site just near us and he went with our order of Pain au chocolat, croixants and baguettes, ooh I'm feeling hungry just thinking about it! They really enjoyed the camping experience and I will be surprised if they don’t go again.
One fairly amusing thing to happen was the peculiar smell. a couple of days before they arrived Joan and I were sitting having a drink and I said to her gosh I really must wash my sandels as I think they are very smelly. So having done so I thought that would be the end of it until having put the children to bed we were all sitting in the van having a chat and a glass of wine I noticed it again so when they left I told Joan and we thought I should wash them again. However the next morning I was standing over near the cooker, the smell was putrid and my sandels were outside! You know what Joan, I think I know where the piece of cheese we lost is, it's in this cooker. Immediately we started to empty the oven which we only use for storing vegetables and found the cause of the problem. It was a rotten potato and boy was it ripe! Later the next day having totally aired the van we asked Carole if she had noticed it and she said oh yes I just thought it was Bryan's feet and didn't like to say.
Some nights we had really heavy rain and Andy was quite worried as they did have a couple of leaks. One night/early morning about 2am I awoke to hear a huge downpour and suddenly thunder and lightning. I leaped out of bed and rushed out to make sure they were alright only to be greeted by cheery greetings from the tent, yes we are fine said Carole, but I was worried so I nipped back in and put up our lounge bed, which is enormous, just in case. In the event next morning we found they had all gone back to sleep and all was well.
Sadly our weather could have been better, after all it was the end of July, but the children did go on to the beach every single day. Joe was fearless and straight into the water as soon as possible but Eleanor at 4 years of age decided she preferred the pools some of which were quite big. The beach here is pebbles when the tide is in but very soon after it starts to go out there is sand, so apart from a couple of hours when it comes right in it was always fun. Most of the time we were there the tides were favourable but on the last full day as it was not out early on so we took them to St.Valery en Caux (mentioned earlier), parked on the Aire and all climbed the cliff and then enjoyed lunch in the town square. After a visit to the Patisserie for some wonderful cakes it was time to return to the campsite where the tide had receded enough for them to spend the rest of the day on the beach.
So all too soon it was the last day but as their ferry was not until the evening we suggested breaking the journey at Le Treport. This is a very nice little place where Joan and I had spent a few days last year. Andy and Carole really liked it and the children were pleased as they got another chance to shop with the holiday money they had left. We all enjoyed a very nice meal and then Joan and I left them to go on the funicular railway up to the top of the cliff while we headed for our ferry at Dunkirk. We had decided to return a few days early as we wanted to see Jamie before he went on holiday, spend a bit of time with Stephen and Reena and we were also anxious to get home to see Jacqueline who’d had an operation the week before. I am a great believer in the fact that everything happens for a reason and so I am convinced we returned early because of the pending disaster with Joan ending up in hospital. Whatever it was I am so glad we did come home when we did.
So there it is another 3 months holiday in Europe during which time we have met some wonderful people and stayed in some lovely places. We have enjoyed all sorts of weather and seen some outstanding scenery. So thank you to all the people who helped to make it another memorable holiday.
Lots of love
Bryan & Joan
xxxx
p.s. Hello everybody,
First may I apologise for making this a sort of round robin but I have had my plate a little full of late and now I expect to be fairly busy with the patient.
So the story is that the day after we returned to England from our holiday Joan became very ill. Because of the world wide panic about swine flu she was wrongly diagnosed on line as having it. This happened while we were stating in London at my sister’s house and it was really impossible to get any sort of medical help, plus the fact that it was a Sunday did not help. So we returned to Gateshead on the Monday and first thing Tuesday I got the Tami flu which was prescribed, this has apparently caused Joan some liver damage but hopefully this will regenerate itself. Joan had spoken to a doctor and they were reluctant to visit because of the flu scare but we decided enough was enough. So I phoned and insisted that the doctor visited her as she was in a lot of pain and had a very high temperature plus her breathing was very shallow. Within 20 minutes the top man at the practice arrived took one look at her, had a quick listen to her chest and her back and called an ambulance. He told us he suspected she had pneumonia and was very ill indeed. The ambulance came within a very short time and admitted her to hospital where because of the flu she was put into isolation. By now she could not have cared one way or the other as she was so ill, they had her on oxygen, a saline drip and huge amounts of antibiotics. Having assessed her she was moved to another ward and started to feel marginally better.
One of the things getting her down was the total isolation as everybody who entered the room had masks, aprons and rubber gloves on and spent as little time as possible in there, plus they did not talk to her. I had always tried to tell them that she did NOT have swine flu but to no avail, then I spoke to one of the doctors. He said well her swabs said...............oh she hasn’t been swabbed yet! He promptly did it and that afternoon when it showed negative they opened her door took the RED sign off it and started treating her like a human being. Finally she was beginning to feel a bit better but still had excruciating pain when she breathed or moved. Finally they said all the treatments were working and that she should go home as she would get better sooner there. That night she had a horrendous night and next day they said she couldn’t go home. However on Monday the head man arrived and told her it was quite normal and that it would take at least a month for the pain to ease completely maybe longer and a full two months to full recovery. So there we are, this of course is a précis of the last 14 days, she is home and has had the best nights sleep she has had for ages, and hopefully her recovery will continue now.
She has asked me to say thank you to all of you for your prayers, kind thoughts, flowers, chocolates and cards.
Lots of love
Joan & Bryan
XXXX
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Sea? What sea? How many millions of gallons?
14th to 18th July
Well now we know it definitely is Bastille Day and everything in France is closed. Fortunately we have loads of food so no need to worry and of course the boulangerie (bakers), are open first thing every day. We are heading for the “best aire in France” according to the book. This aire is reached up a single track road running alongside the port entrance. The main problem with this is that it is not straight but curves fairly sharply around so you cannot see if anybody is coming the other way, we have seen some huge vans having to reverse out of the way. On our arrival it looks absolutely packed and we park at the side of the road and are about to look for somewhere else nearby when the Dutch chap in the van next to us says, just stay there, nobody will mind, so we did. Then about 2 hours later we saw a van leaving a prime spot and quickly nipped in there. The weather is amazing so hot and sunny, having wandered around the village and along the pebble beach, plus of course a visit to the lighthouse we just chilled out on our chairs. This is one of the nice things about aires you tend to sit at the back of your van and chat to the people either side while sipping your drink. We saw a really good sunset at around 10pm and made our plans for tomorrow.
Somewhere along the line we got our lines crossed with Carole and Andy and headed for Le Crotoy some 50 odd miles further up the coast towards Boulogne. This seemed like a very good idea as the children would not have to sit in the car for hours on end. We went to check out the place and stayed on the biggest aire we have ever seen. It holds some 70 vans and so we could not imagine having any trouble getting on, which was the case. As soon as we were set up we got our bikes off and cycled to find the campsite we thought we were booked on for Sunday. We were soo excited as Joseph and Eleanor were coming with a tent to spend some time with us in Normandy. Carole says they are very excited and it is very difficult to keep them calm but I reckon Joan is worse, we keep stopping at shops and she says I think I should get this or that for them.
Anyway having cycled for several miles we arrived at the seaside where there was no sign of any sea? Still we cycled back to the two campsites we had passed and inquired if we were booked in, and received a negative answer. So we returned to the town and enquired at both the campsites there and received the same answer, strange? Having returned to our van we were just chilling out with a drink when there was a very loud noise from a siren. Gosh I said to Joan there must be a factory near here, I wonder what they make? About 20 minutes later Joan who had been reading a booklet from the tourist information shop suddenly exclaimed, “my God!” That’s not a factory siren, 5 hours after high tide they open the flood gates over there and release millions of gallons of water onto the beach. We had this picture in our heads of us all being on the beach happily playing and suddenly this siren goes off and we grab everything and run like hell, weird. What was worse was we could see us hearing it seeing people running and thinking it was some sort of dinner bell! The leaflet also explained that the sea went out for 9 miles!!
Fortunately about now we got a text saying, we are not going to Le Crotoy but a place called Quiberville plage, which was about 5 miles from where we had been when we set of to Le Crotoy! However we had enjoyed the trip and our main concern was to ensure the site was good and we could get a couple of pitches adjacent in the hope that Carole and Andy could go out for a free evening and enjoy a meal or at the least a couple of drinks. On our arrival the site was very nice and the pitches were enormous. It very soon became apparent that we could all get onto one pitch, great. As the lady had no booking although Carole had emailed her we went around and picked one which seemed perfect and booked us all in, then went off to Veules les Roses a free aire about 5 miles away. It was amazing it must be highly recommended in a German book of aires as everybody else had a ‘D’ on their number plate. We had a quick look around to see if possibly our friends Joe & Ingrid were among them but we were pretty sure they had gone home by now. Most of the van’s seemed to be full of children and this raised our excitement levels as we anticipated Joe and Eleanor’s arrival. Sadly we did not go very far as it rained more or less continuously shame for the kids. Next day we went back to the port aire at St Valen Caux which was only a couple of miles further on so we arrived pretty early and explored the area, which was to prove useful later in the week.
To be continued..................................
Love
Joan and Bryan xxx
p.s. As many of you know we are home now and Joan is very ill with pneumonia so I will add here that she is much improved and apart from difficulty breathing is much better. She is receiving antibiotics and very good care. x
I should also explain that this has NOT been veted by management so the grammer/spelling may be iffy.
Well now we know it definitely is Bastille Day and everything in France is closed. Fortunately we have loads of food so no need to worry and of course the boulangerie (bakers), are open first thing every day. We are heading for the “best aire in France” according to the book. This aire is reached up a single track road running alongside the port entrance. The main problem with this is that it is not straight but curves fairly sharply around so you cannot see if anybody is coming the other way, we have seen some huge vans having to reverse out of the way. On our arrival it looks absolutely packed and we park at the side of the road and are about to look for somewhere else nearby when the Dutch chap in the van next to us says, just stay there, nobody will mind, so we did. Then about 2 hours later we saw a van leaving a prime spot and quickly nipped in there. The weather is amazing so hot and sunny, having wandered around the village and along the pebble beach, plus of course a visit to the lighthouse we just chilled out on our chairs. This is one of the nice things about aires you tend to sit at the back of your van and chat to the people either side while sipping your drink. We saw a really good sunset at around 10pm and made our plans for tomorrow.
Somewhere along the line we got our lines crossed with Carole and Andy and headed for Le Crotoy some 50 odd miles further up the coast towards Boulogne. This seemed like a very good idea as the children would not have to sit in the car for hours on end. We went to check out the place and stayed on the biggest aire we have ever seen. It holds some 70 vans and so we could not imagine having any trouble getting on, which was the case. As soon as we were set up we got our bikes off and cycled to find the campsite we thought we were booked on for Sunday. We were soo excited as Joseph and Eleanor were coming with a tent to spend some time with us in Normandy. Carole says they are very excited and it is very difficult to keep them calm but I reckon Joan is worse, we keep stopping at shops and she says I think I should get this or that for them.
Anyway having cycled for several miles we arrived at the seaside where there was no sign of any sea? Still we cycled back to the two campsites we had passed and inquired if we were booked in, and received a negative answer. So we returned to the town and enquired at both the campsites there and received the same answer, strange? Having returned to our van we were just chilling out with a drink when there was a very loud noise from a siren. Gosh I said to Joan there must be a factory near here, I wonder what they make? About 20 minutes later Joan who had been reading a booklet from the tourist information shop suddenly exclaimed, “my God!” That’s not a factory siren, 5 hours after high tide they open the flood gates over there and release millions of gallons of water onto the beach. We had this picture in our heads of us all being on the beach happily playing and suddenly this siren goes off and we grab everything and run like hell, weird. What was worse was we could see us hearing it seeing people running and thinking it was some sort of dinner bell! The leaflet also explained that the sea went out for 9 miles!!
Fortunately about now we got a text saying, we are not going to Le Crotoy but a place called Quiberville plage, which was about 5 miles from where we had been when we set of to Le Crotoy! However we had enjoyed the trip and our main concern was to ensure the site was good and we could get a couple of pitches adjacent in the hope that Carole and Andy could go out for a free evening and enjoy a meal or at the least a couple of drinks. On our arrival the site was very nice and the pitches were enormous. It very soon became apparent that we could all get onto one pitch, great. As the lady had no booking although Carole had emailed her we went around and picked one which seemed perfect and booked us all in, then went off to Veules les Roses a free aire about 5 miles away. It was amazing it must be highly recommended in a German book of aires as everybody else had a ‘D’ on their number plate. We had a quick look around to see if possibly our friends Joe & Ingrid were among them but we were pretty sure they had gone home by now. Most of the van’s seemed to be full of children and this raised our excitement levels as we anticipated Joe and Eleanor’s arrival. Sadly we did not go very far as it rained more or less continuously shame for the kids. Next day we went back to the port aire at St Valen Caux which was only a couple of miles further on so we arrived pretty early and explored the area, which was to prove useful later in the week.
To be continued..................................
Love
Joan and Bryan xxx
p.s. As many of you know we are home now and Joan is very ill with pneumonia so I will add here that she is much improved and apart from difficulty breathing is much better. She is receiving antibiotics and very good care. x
I should also explain that this has NOT been veted by management so the grammer/spelling may be iffy.
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
St. Reverend Boule club and Fireworks!
7th to 12th July
As we approached Oiron the mobile rang and Kaye asked if we were actually coming, just then we came around the corner and there she was waving to us. Joan got out and I drove around the corner to the car park for the chateau where, this being France we were able to park overnight and slept very well indeed. Before this we were shown around Kaye & Phil’s house and were amazed at the work she had already done. I say she had done because Phil is in England during term time as he is a teacher and his income helps them to afford the work they have to do. They have taken on a similar task to Julie & Khaled and as with them we are amazed at how much they have had to do to make their house habitable. Their intention eventually is to have B&B guests but it has not happened as soon as they had initially hoped. As with all such ventures it is really hard work but Kaye is doing a fantastic job and turning her hand to major tasks like plastering/painting/cementing etc.
This being her first such venture she has made some mistakes she openly admits, and some of them have been costly. Also they have some severe restrictions as to what they can do as the Chateau has control over what is done in the area, for instance they had to have special windows made to conform to the local laws, she has even had to build a cover for her caravan as it must not be visible from the air! From what she says one of the biggest disappointments she has had is that she has been ripped off by English builders, but on the other hand has found the French to be very helpful indeed and now only employs them for major jobs.
After we had had the grand tour we all went into the huge garden which will be another mammoth task. Phil is not the most handy of chaps but is quite good at taking instruction and doing the heavy work so that suits Kaye. As with all such projects they will eventually emerge into the light and all will be well but it will take a lot of hard work and a lot of give and take from both of them. We took Kaye for lunch and had a really good meal at another village nearby that she knows. We returned to meet a couple of really good friends of theirs and enjoyed an evening meal with them, although neither of us was hungry after the meal this afternoon.
On Thursday morning after breakfast we went and said goodbye to Kaye and told her if she felt like a break to come over for the weekend to where we were going, St. Reverend where we all met last year. We then headed off to meet Ron & Sandra there and on our arrival were immediately recognised by Herve & Christina the couple who run it who made us very welcome. Soon afterwards our good friends Ron & Sandra arrived and said come and have lunch with us it’s all ready, which was a very nice surprise. Over lunch they told us about the other members of the “Boule club 2008” who we had not managed to contact, and we all expressed our admiration for the work Kaye was doing. It is a shame our Belgian friends Agide and Simone are not here.
Friday morning Ron & Sandra arranged to take us to the market in town, which turned out to be a very expensive trip. As we wandered around we decided to take advantage of Ron’s knowledge of French and buy some cheese. The problem is that neither of us particularly likes sheep or goat’s cheese and we prefer hard cheese not soft. Ron was quite happy to oblige and we approached a cheese stall where after his enquiry the stall holder pointed out the cows cheeses. She was only too happy to give us all a sample and we all agreed it was a very nice cheese. Ron & Sandra bought some and Joan & I also added a piece of another one. When we paid for it we were astounded, we had paid €20.80 (about £19.50) for a couple of fairly small bits of cheese! We are not sure whether to frame it or eat it, but it has been a standing joke with all of us ever since. We later saw the same cheese in the supermarket for under half the price per kilo.
Having spent another very pleasant day together we were delighted when Kaye arrived with Cobbles her little kitten and a tent to spend a few days relaxing with us. She put her tent up on our pitch which had plenty of room and they only charged us €2 a night for an extra person which was very good. The following day we had another surprise courtesy of Ron who drove us to the seaside which was only just around the corner. We had not realised all last year just how close we had been!
On our return to the van, somewhat later than any of us intended the small one disappeared inside and produced a meal for all five of us in less than an hour, amazing woman. The following morning it poured with rain and we really thought it would be a wash out but it stopped around 11 o’clock and we all went off again to St Gilles, intending another walk along the beach. As we approached, the traffic seemed very heavy and we discovered why, oh boy, another market! The ladies were delighted and we parked and walked around it but managed to avoid the cheese stall thank God. That evening Ron and Sandra had us all around for a superb barbeque and I said to Joan if we don’t stop eating soon we will need new clothes!
As planned Monday morning we said goodbye to Sandra, Ron & Kaye and headed off to the supermarket for supplies. Good grief, what’s going on, not another market surely? It was wall to wall traffic and everywhere seemed to be full of people and cars. Fortunately there are 3 dedicated motorhome bays and we managed to get one. Still none the wiser we got our few bits and left asap, and headed for an aire about 150 miles away. When we arrived it was as we had been told, in a perfect spot near a marina, but it was packed. Joan quickly found another one about 18 miles further on which when we arrived at the co-ordinates appeared non-existent as even the locals could not tell us where it was. Still we had to find a place for the night and it was still fairly early so Joan plotted another one and as we started towards it she suddenly checked the map again and said oops! turn here and go to the one at Rohan as it is on our planned route. This proved to be a really good move.
When we arrived it was a lovely little spot at the side of a canal overlooking a marina with a few narrow boats in it, perfect. It was still only 6.30pm so plenty of time for a stroll into town and possibly spot a place for dinner, no chance. Having returned to cook our own dinner we noticed some chaps unloading a couple of enormous speakers across the other side of the canal. Oh dear said Joan too late to move on now. Around 9.30pm we saw loads of families gathering on the opposite bank of the river which ran alongside the canal. Next somebody put on some noise which I understand is called music by today’s generation? It was I should add a really nice night and warm, then suddenly it started to rain. Well that will probably spoil it for them I said, they will have to pack up now. As we were about to close our curtains for the night the bloomin sky lit up with colour and noise.
We then witnessed the biggest and most beautiful firework display I have ever seen up close, I say up close because if we had been that close in England we would have been moved back!! Some of these explosions shook the van and the ground. By now of course we were outside enjoying the spectacle and praying that the embers that were dropping were actually out by the time they hit the van! Amazing! The end was greeted by cheers from the crowd and we think the music continued for a bit but we both zonked out after another wonderful experience.
We awoke at 8.30am and were on the road by 9.10am. After a pretty uneventful trip we got here (Cerisy la Foret) on a very quiet little free aire set next to a field full of modern sculptures at lunchtime. As we drove I said to Joan, you know I think all the fireworks etc be because it’s Bastille day, but I thought it was an even numbered day? If anybody rings ask them and true enough when Jacq rang she said, well it’s actually today the 14th, but we are sure that explains the fireworks and all the crowds buying food.
Sorry no precis this time.
Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx
As we approached Oiron the mobile rang and Kaye asked if we were actually coming, just then we came around the corner and there she was waving to us. Joan got out and I drove around the corner to the car park for the chateau where, this being France we were able to park overnight and slept very well indeed. Before this we were shown around Kaye & Phil’s house and were amazed at the work she had already done. I say she had done because Phil is in England during term time as he is a teacher and his income helps them to afford the work they have to do. They have taken on a similar task to Julie & Khaled and as with them we are amazed at how much they have had to do to make their house habitable. Their intention eventually is to have B&B guests but it has not happened as soon as they had initially hoped. As with all such ventures it is really hard work but Kaye is doing a fantastic job and turning her hand to major tasks like plastering/painting/cementing etc.
This being her first such venture she has made some mistakes she openly admits, and some of them have been costly. Also they have some severe restrictions as to what they can do as the Chateau has control over what is done in the area, for instance they had to have special windows made to conform to the local laws, she has even had to build a cover for her caravan as it must not be visible from the air! From what she says one of the biggest disappointments she has had is that she has been ripped off by English builders, but on the other hand has found the French to be very helpful indeed and now only employs them for major jobs.
After we had had the grand tour we all went into the huge garden which will be another mammoth task. Phil is not the most handy of chaps but is quite good at taking instruction and doing the heavy work so that suits Kaye. As with all such projects they will eventually emerge into the light and all will be well but it will take a lot of hard work and a lot of give and take from both of them. We took Kaye for lunch and had a really good meal at another village nearby that she knows. We returned to meet a couple of really good friends of theirs and enjoyed an evening meal with them, although neither of us was hungry after the meal this afternoon.
On Thursday morning after breakfast we went and said goodbye to Kaye and told her if she felt like a break to come over for the weekend to where we were going, St. Reverend where we all met last year. We then headed off to meet Ron & Sandra there and on our arrival were immediately recognised by Herve & Christina the couple who run it who made us very welcome. Soon afterwards our good friends Ron & Sandra arrived and said come and have lunch with us it’s all ready, which was a very nice surprise. Over lunch they told us about the other members of the “Boule club 2008” who we had not managed to contact, and we all expressed our admiration for the work Kaye was doing. It is a shame our Belgian friends Agide and Simone are not here.
Friday morning Ron & Sandra arranged to take us to the market in town, which turned out to be a very expensive trip. As we wandered around we decided to take advantage of Ron’s knowledge of French and buy some cheese. The problem is that neither of us particularly likes sheep or goat’s cheese and we prefer hard cheese not soft. Ron was quite happy to oblige and we approached a cheese stall where after his enquiry the stall holder pointed out the cows cheeses. She was only too happy to give us all a sample and we all agreed it was a very nice cheese. Ron & Sandra bought some and Joan & I also added a piece of another one. When we paid for it we were astounded, we had paid €20.80 (about £19.50) for a couple of fairly small bits of cheese! We are not sure whether to frame it or eat it, but it has been a standing joke with all of us ever since. We later saw the same cheese in the supermarket for under half the price per kilo.
Having spent another very pleasant day together we were delighted when Kaye arrived with Cobbles her little kitten and a tent to spend a few days relaxing with us. She put her tent up on our pitch which had plenty of room and they only charged us €2 a night for an extra person which was very good. The following day we had another surprise courtesy of Ron who drove us to the seaside which was only just around the corner. We had not realised all last year just how close we had been!
On our return to the van, somewhat later than any of us intended the small one disappeared inside and produced a meal for all five of us in less than an hour, amazing woman. The following morning it poured with rain and we really thought it would be a wash out but it stopped around 11 o’clock and we all went off again to St Gilles, intending another walk along the beach. As we approached, the traffic seemed very heavy and we discovered why, oh boy, another market! The ladies were delighted and we parked and walked around it but managed to avoid the cheese stall thank God. That evening Ron and Sandra had us all around for a superb barbeque and I said to Joan if we don’t stop eating soon we will need new clothes!
As planned Monday morning we said goodbye to Sandra, Ron & Kaye and headed off to the supermarket for supplies. Good grief, what’s going on, not another market surely? It was wall to wall traffic and everywhere seemed to be full of people and cars. Fortunately there are 3 dedicated motorhome bays and we managed to get one. Still none the wiser we got our few bits and left asap, and headed for an aire about 150 miles away. When we arrived it was as we had been told, in a perfect spot near a marina, but it was packed. Joan quickly found another one about 18 miles further on which when we arrived at the co-ordinates appeared non-existent as even the locals could not tell us where it was. Still we had to find a place for the night and it was still fairly early so Joan plotted another one and as we started towards it she suddenly checked the map again and said oops! turn here and go to the one at Rohan as it is on our planned route. This proved to be a really good move.
When we arrived it was a lovely little spot at the side of a canal overlooking a marina with a few narrow boats in it, perfect. It was still only 6.30pm so plenty of time for a stroll into town and possibly spot a place for dinner, no chance. Having returned to cook our own dinner we noticed some chaps unloading a couple of enormous speakers across the other side of the canal. Oh dear said Joan too late to move on now. Around 9.30pm we saw loads of families gathering on the opposite bank of the river which ran alongside the canal. Next somebody put on some noise which I understand is called music by today’s generation? It was I should add a really nice night and warm, then suddenly it started to rain. Well that will probably spoil it for them I said, they will have to pack up now. As we were about to close our curtains for the night the bloomin sky lit up with colour and noise.
We then witnessed the biggest and most beautiful firework display I have ever seen up close, I say up close because if we had been that close in England we would have been moved back!! Some of these explosions shook the van and the ground. By now of course we were outside enjoying the spectacle and praying that the embers that were dropping were actually out by the time they hit the van! Amazing! The end was greeted by cheers from the crowd and we think the music continued for a bit but we both zonked out after another wonderful experience.
We awoke at 8.30am and were on the road by 9.10am. After a pretty uneventful trip we got here (Cerisy la Foret) on a very quiet little free aire set next to a field full of modern sculptures at lunchtime. As we drove I said to Joan, you know I think all the fireworks etc be because it’s Bastille day, but I thought it was an even numbered day? If anybody rings ask them and true enough when Jacq rang she said, well it’s actually today the 14th, but we are sure that explains the fireworks and all the crowds buying food.
Sorry no precis this time.
Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Animals, a beach, booze, an enormous fish and help I’m lost!
29th June to 7th July
Précis for those with little time=
Saw Julie, Khaled & Hannah off, met return flight, safely returned the animals and enjoyed lots of good food, drink and fellowship. Met Khaled’s oldest friend and new wife, very nice. Saw old towns, took pictures. Carried on to seaside resort, lay on beach, met new friends. Broke camping club noise rule, enjoyed meal out. Got lost in France and worse, lost small one. Visited Millau Bridge again another €11.50
Worrying about image as everybody giving us drinks, and now food?! XX
The full story for our loyal fans.
I have just realised that nowhere have I mentioned Julie’s departure or for that matter Khaled’s, suffice to say they both caught their respective planes on time. Also we should have mentioned that their good friends Arfan and his new wife Annamarie who were expected to call in after they had been to Barcelona suddenly arrived on Friday. This was not a problem as they were expected, and their room was ready for them. The only problem was we were not sure if they would like the food we had prepared but we need not have worried, they are a lovely couple and just sort of joined in with us. They left on Monday morning to visit Barcelona and returned Tuesday night late.
On Monday we visited another of Julies recommendations, a small village called Minerve which is an ancient Cathar stronghold. When you arrive you are directed all around it and appear to be going out into the country. Then you arrive at a car park which is but a short walk downhill to the town. It is constructed on an outcrop of rock with a deep gorge on both sides that eventually meet so it must have been almost impregnable in the old days. Sadly it is overrun with “art shops” and I said to Joan ‘baa’ as we could see them looking at us as we walked in ready to be shorn! Still we had a very nice visit and enjoyed a mid-day Pizza and a drink then returned home. Wow! Sam, assisted by his lovely girlfriend Yolene, is cooking dinner, a very delicious spag bol. It was not until the next day we discovered he had used enough meat for about 6 people. Still as he is about to become a student he will rapidly learn I am sure.
Tuesday is a funny one, Julie and Co return and relieve us of our duties. In a way we will miss doing them, but at least all the animals are still here and appear to be healthy. As Julie phoned and expressed concern about all the luggage they had, I asked Arfan and Annamarie to join us on the airport run and of course they were only too happy to agree.
Khaled, Julie and Hannah have had a really good time but are really knackered as every moment has been filled, which is as it should be. So I did the animals for the last time, and cooked a Thai curry for them all, which they seemed to thoroughly enjoy. We were going to leave Thursday but were persuaded to stay for lunch. Khaled and Arfan did a great barbecue which we ate out in the garden in a special shed originally constructed for Pablo the donkey. It rained for the first time since we’d arrived but we were fairly sheltered although Khaled needs to attend to the roof to cover all the holes! By the time we’d finished lunch and had a few drinks we decided to leave on Friday. Arfan said he was really pleased as he had been saying he wanted to cook us a meal because he felt embarrassed that we’d cooked for them. They always said we will help you cook, and did make us an accompaniment one day, so Thursday we offered to help and were told to relax. He made us all a lovely Syrian meal which we ate outside on the upstairs decking. It was a very pleasant evening indeed and a perfect end to our stay. As always tearing ourselves away from chez Shbib was very difficult and they don’t make it any easier to leave. They did however express their thanks for our looking after everything while they were away but we both agreed it had been very enjoyable indeed.
So what next, well we had intended to go along to St.Tropez and spend some time just lying on the beach. However when we stopped to look at all we had to do with the remaining time we had, we realised it was not such a good plan. We really wanted some beach time so we went to Vias Plage which is not very far from Julie and Khaled’s but was almost right on the beach. Some people would not like it at all as it was a bit like Blackpool but it was just right at the time for us. With temperatures always in and around the mid 30’s and a very short walk to the beach we allowed ourselves to just chill. On the first day when we arrived we were asked to leave the van and go and pick a pitch, so as I was blocking the entry I moved the van forward and over a bit. Some Dutch people we were preventing from entering pulled in. We picked a very nice spot and went back to register it and get the van. As I drove up the Dutch were in the process of nicking it, it really was a good spot, and they got very uppity when I told them it was mine. But having watched me move my van to let them in the wife accused me of arriving after them! Silly cow.
The Frenchman opposite helped me find the electricity point and after that he and his wife were very friendly. That evening when he was leaving with a huge fishing rod I managed to refrain from saying, going fishing?, and just kept to 'Bon chance’ The next day he came over and showed us some pictures of him with an enormous fish. We were genuinely impressed and made all the right noises. That night after dinner he brought over some homemade Calvados from 1986 and we both slept like logs even though it was soo hot.
Later that night we were wandering around the site and met an English couple called Rod & Diane who insisted on us having a drink with them, we sat and chatted for several hours. It was nice to chat in English without having to work out what to say first, although I think our French is a little improved. The following night we invited them for a return drink and had another good night especially as when Joan mentioned something about her 60th birthday they were shocked. They said they had tried to guess her age and had decided 53 or 54. (NO, Joan says it wasn’t because they were drunk) Again our French pal came over with some homemade grappa from 1983 made from grapevines. I got him to show Rod & Dianne the pictures of his catch and he told us all nine people sitting around his table had had a meal from it! Sadly we blotted our copy books and stayed up until one o’clock chatting! Somebody suddenly said shush and we realised our mistake. There is a very loud disco until about 12pm and we should have stopped then. The next morning we worked out an apology, wrote it down in French and went to all our neighbours who all laughed and said it was not a problem at all.
The next morning started as always with bright sunshine then all of a sudden a huge downpour started and it looked as though that was it for the beach. Fortunately as Rod had said, it cleared up and we got several hours in the warm Med. Rod and Diane told us about a fish restaurant just outside the campsite where the food was really good so that evening we got ourselves all tarted up to go out. Joan looked stunning and I of course was my usual suave self. We enjoyed a very pleasant 3 course meal with a nice bottle of wine, lovely, thanks you two.
We still don’t know who shushed us but we were glad we had apologised. I am not sure that the French was quite right because they looked very hard at it before they understood what we wanted to say. Still when we left the next day they came out, all smiles and said bon-voyage to us, nice people. Rod and Diane also came round to say goodbye, little did they know!
What happened next could only happen to me! As we left we wanted to get our Monday paper with Saturday’s crossword answers plus a baguette. So as we approached the shop Joan jumped out and I continued to the next roundabout to return and pick her up, easy, NOT! Having nipped off the slip road to go underneath and return the other side I found myself on a dual carriage way. I had to travel some way before I could return the other side. Now as I have said before, Joan and her sat-nav tell me where to go so I could not remember where we had been, something plage. I know I thought, I’ll ring her. No reply. Her bloody phones not on, again! Then another bright idea, we always put the site number on our calendar so we can remember it later. I frantically searched for a possible stopping point only to end up at a place called Agde which is a bloomin port with a huge boat. I must have been miles off course as the biggest thing I’ve seen in the last week is a pedalo. By now I am really worried that Joan will think I have had an accident, and I still don’t know where I am. Lost in France! I’ve got this vision of her standing at the roundabout bottom lip trembling thinking I’ve gone off with her hairdryer and lipstick!
Finally able to stop, now what? Oh of course, silly arse, the co-ordinates will be in the sat-nav. Grab it, turn it on, oh God she’s cleared it! I get out of my seat to run back for the calendar and fall over her bag with, yes you guessed, her phone in it. On finding the calendar, Oh joy of joys she has not filled it in. Ok calm, we stayed at a campsite called Napoleon camping, so just look in the book and it will be easy. IT’S NOT THERE, but I slept there for the last few nights? Later I learn it is called that but the address is different. Suddenly my phone rings, after waiting half an hour Joan has gone back to find our friends Rod and Diane and borrowed their mobile phone.
Where are you? She says.
I wish I bloody knew I say but more to the point where are you?
I am at Vias Plage, just put it into the sat-nav pet.
Well I tried, I said, but the sat-nav will not let me in, so I threw it. Oh wow, just seen a signpost for Vias Plage, be with you very soon.
As I finally pulled up bless them, Rod and Diane had walked back with Joan and were standing at the roundabout with her. Rod knows exactly what I have done as he’s done it too. We thanked them and Joan jumped back in, grabbed her handbag and sat-nav, the blasted thing promptly worked and we were off again, phew! I had managed to do 22.5 miles and we left an hour later than planned.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful until we got to the Millau bridge. We had been over it on our way south but the weather was not good and Joan’s pictures left a lot to be desired. This time we went into the specially provided rest area and observation point which had fantastic views of the bridge and surrounding countryside. This was ideal as we had lunch there and climbed up to get some good pictures as well, hopefully they are ok. Finally after a 202 mile day we arrived at our campsite only to be confronted by what looked like a vertical drop down to a riverside. I really didn’t fancy it but Joan felt it was alright so down we went, which was ok but my worry was that we would have trouble getting back up tomorrow.
The site was very nice and we had our pick of spots so we chose one near the loos next to a French couple with a lovely dog which I made a fuss of. Imagine our faces when as Joan was about to put our meal out, the gentleman appeared at our door all smiles with 2 of the biggest barbecued sausages I’ve ever seen on metal rods in his hand, so kind. They were actually delicious and we made all the right noises. Plus when I was washing up I said how good they were to his wife who was delighted. I later gave the dog two biscuits, not a bad exchange really.
This morning Tuesday 7th I awoke to a bleary eyed Joan, she has been awake since 4am worrying if we will be able to get up the hill! In the event the van was up and out no trouble at all, but I must admit I had been a little concerned. Tonight we are on an ‘aire de repos’ with free electricity, a toilet and water laid on. Tomorrow we are looking forward to seeing our friend Kaye from last year who has or is opening a B&B in a small village about 50 miles further on.
Well it’s a long one but hopefully you have enjoyed it, we did.
Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx
Précis for those with little time=
Saw Julie, Khaled & Hannah off, met return flight, safely returned the animals and enjoyed lots of good food, drink and fellowship. Met Khaled’s oldest friend and new wife, very nice. Saw old towns, took pictures. Carried on to seaside resort, lay on beach, met new friends. Broke camping club noise rule, enjoyed meal out. Got lost in France and worse, lost small one. Visited Millau Bridge again another €11.50
Worrying about image as everybody giving us drinks, and now food?! XX
The full story for our loyal fans.
I have just realised that nowhere have I mentioned Julie’s departure or for that matter Khaled’s, suffice to say they both caught their respective planes on time. Also we should have mentioned that their good friends Arfan and his new wife Annamarie who were expected to call in after they had been to Barcelona suddenly arrived on Friday. This was not a problem as they were expected, and their room was ready for them. The only problem was we were not sure if they would like the food we had prepared but we need not have worried, they are a lovely couple and just sort of joined in with us. They left on Monday morning to visit Barcelona and returned Tuesday night late.
On Monday we visited another of Julies recommendations, a small village called Minerve which is an ancient Cathar stronghold. When you arrive you are directed all around it and appear to be going out into the country. Then you arrive at a car park which is but a short walk downhill to the town. It is constructed on an outcrop of rock with a deep gorge on both sides that eventually meet so it must have been almost impregnable in the old days. Sadly it is overrun with “art shops” and I said to Joan ‘baa’ as we could see them looking at us as we walked in ready to be shorn! Still we had a very nice visit and enjoyed a mid-day Pizza and a drink then returned home. Wow! Sam, assisted by his lovely girlfriend Yolene, is cooking dinner, a very delicious spag bol. It was not until the next day we discovered he had used enough meat for about 6 people. Still as he is about to become a student he will rapidly learn I am sure.
Tuesday is a funny one, Julie and Co return and relieve us of our duties. In a way we will miss doing them, but at least all the animals are still here and appear to be healthy. As Julie phoned and expressed concern about all the luggage they had, I asked Arfan and Annamarie to join us on the airport run and of course they were only too happy to agree.
Khaled, Julie and Hannah have had a really good time but are really knackered as every moment has been filled, which is as it should be. So I did the animals for the last time, and cooked a Thai curry for them all, which they seemed to thoroughly enjoy. We were going to leave Thursday but were persuaded to stay for lunch. Khaled and Arfan did a great barbecue which we ate out in the garden in a special shed originally constructed for Pablo the donkey. It rained for the first time since we’d arrived but we were fairly sheltered although Khaled needs to attend to the roof to cover all the holes! By the time we’d finished lunch and had a few drinks we decided to leave on Friday. Arfan said he was really pleased as he had been saying he wanted to cook us a meal because he felt embarrassed that we’d cooked for them. They always said we will help you cook, and did make us an accompaniment one day, so Thursday we offered to help and were told to relax. He made us all a lovely Syrian meal which we ate outside on the upstairs decking. It was a very pleasant evening indeed and a perfect end to our stay. As always tearing ourselves away from chez Shbib was very difficult and they don’t make it any easier to leave. They did however express their thanks for our looking after everything while they were away but we both agreed it had been very enjoyable indeed.
So what next, well we had intended to go along to St.Tropez and spend some time just lying on the beach. However when we stopped to look at all we had to do with the remaining time we had, we realised it was not such a good plan. We really wanted some beach time so we went to Vias Plage which is not very far from Julie and Khaled’s but was almost right on the beach. Some people would not like it at all as it was a bit like Blackpool but it was just right at the time for us. With temperatures always in and around the mid 30’s and a very short walk to the beach we allowed ourselves to just chill. On the first day when we arrived we were asked to leave the van and go and pick a pitch, so as I was blocking the entry I moved the van forward and over a bit. Some Dutch people we were preventing from entering pulled in. We picked a very nice spot and went back to register it and get the van. As I drove up the Dutch were in the process of nicking it, it really was a good spot, and they got very uppity when I told them it was mine. But having watched me move my van to let them in the wife accused me of arriving after them! Silly cow.
The Frenchman opposite helped me find the electricity point and after that he and his wife were very friendly. That evening when he was leaving with a huge fishing rod I managed to refrain from saying, going fishing?, and just kept to 'Bon chance’ The next day he came over and showed us some pictures of him with an enormous fish. We were genuinely impressed and made all the right noises. That night after dinner he brought over some homemade Calvados from 1986 and we both slept like logs even though it was soo hot.
Later that night we were wandering around the site and met an English couple called Rod & Diane who insisted on us having a drink with them, we sat and chatted for several hours. It was nice to chat in English without having to work out what to say first, although I think our French is a little improved. The following night we invited them for a return drink and had another good night especially as when Joan mentioned something about her 60th birthday they were shocked. They said they had tried to guess her age and had decided 53 or 54. (NO, Joan says it wasn’t because they were drunk) Again our French pal came over with some homemade grappa from 1983 made from grapevines. I got him to show Rod & Dianne the pictures of his catch and he told us all nine people sitting around his table had had a meal from it! Sadly we blotted our copy books and stayed up until one o’clock chatting! Somebody suddenly said shush and we realised our mistake. There is a very loud disco until about 12pm and we should have stopped then. The next morning we worked out an apology, wrote it down in French and went to all our neighbours who all laughed and said it was not a problem at all.
The next morning started as always with bright sunshine then all of a sudden a huge downpour started and it looked as though that was it for the beach. Fortunately as Rod had said, it cleared up and we got several hours in the warm Med. Rod and Diane told us about a fish restaurant just outside the campsite where the food was really good so that evening we got ourselves all tarted up to go out. Joan looked stunning and I of course was my usual suave self. We enjoyed a very pleasant 3 course meal with a nice bottle of wine, lovely, thanks you two.
We still don’t know who shushed us but we were glad we had apologised. I am not sure that the French was quite right because they looked very hard at it before they understood what we wanted to say. Still when we left the next day they came out, all smiles and said bon-voyage to us, nice people. Rod and Diane also came round to say goodbye, little did they know!
What happened next could only happen to me! As we left we wanted to get our Monday paper with Saturday’s crossword answers plus a baguette. So as we approached the shop Joan jumped out and I continued to the next roundabout to return and pick her up, easy, NOT! Having nipped off the slip road to go underneath and return the other side I found myself on a dual carriage way. I had to travel some way before I could return the other side. Now as I have said before, Joan and her sat-nav tell me where to go so I could not remember where we had been, something plage. I know I thought, I’ll ring her. No reply. Her bloody phones not on, again! Then another bright idea, we always put the site number on our calendar so we can remember it later. I frantically searched for a possible stopping point only to end up at a place called Agde which is a bloomin port with a huge boat. I must have been miles off course as the biggest thing I’ve seen in the last week is a pedalo. By now I am really worried that Joan will think I have had an accident, and I still don’t know where I am. Lost in France! I’ve got this vision of her standing at the roundabout bottom lip trembling thinking I’ve gone off with her hairdryer and lipstick!
Finally able to stop, now what? Oh of course, silly arse, the co-ordinates will be in the sat-nav. Grab it, turn it on, oh God she’s cleared it! I get out of my seat to run back for the calendar and fall over her bag with, yes you guessed, her phone in it. On finding the calendar, Oh joy of joys she has not filled it in. Ok calm, we stayed at a campsite called Napoleon camping, so just look in the book and it will be easy. IT’S NOT THERE, but I slept there for the last few nights? Later I learn it is called that but the address is different. Suddenly my phone rings, after waiting half an hour Joan has gone back to find our friends Rod and Diane and borrowed their mobile phone.
Where are you? She says.
I wish I bloody knew I say but more to the point where are you?
I am at Vias Plage, just put it into the sat-nav pet.
Well I tried, I said, but the sat-nav will not let me in, so I threw it. Oh wow, just seen a signpost for Vias Plage, be with you very soon.
As I finally pulled up bless them, Rod and Diane had walked back with Joan and were standing at the roundabout with her. Rod knows exactly what I have done as he’s done it too. We thanked them and Joan jumped back in, grabbed her handbag and sat-nav, the blasted thing promptly worked and we were off again, phew! I had managed to do 22.5 miles and we left an hour later than planned.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful until we got to the Millau bridge. We had been over it on our way south but the weather was not good and Joan’s pictures left a lot to be desired. This time we went into the specially provided rest area and observation point which had fantastic views of the bridge and surrounding countryside. This was ideal as we had lunch there and climbed up to get some good pictures as well, hopefully they are ok. Finally after a 202 mile day we arrived at our campsite only to be confronted by what looked like a vertical drop down to a riverside. I really didn’t fancy it but Joan felt it was alright so down we went, which was ok but my worry was that we would have trouble getting back up tomorrow.
The site was very nice and we had our pick of spots so we chose one near the loos next to a French couple with a lovely dog which I made a fuss of. Imagine our faces when as Joan was about to put our meal out, the gentleman appeared at our door all smiles with 2 of the biggest barbecued sausages I’ve ever seen on metal rods in his hand, so kind. They were actually delicious and we made all the right noises. Plus when I was washing up I said how good they were to his wife who was delighted. I later gave the dog two biscuits, not a bad exchange really.
This morning Tuesday 7th I awoke to a bleary eyed Joan, she has been awake since 4am worrying if we will be able to get up the hill! In the event the van was up and out no trouble at all, but I must admit I had been a little concerned. Tonight we are on an ‘aire de repos’ with free electricity, a toilet and water laid on. Tomorrow we are looking forward to seeing our friend Kaye from last year who has or is opening a B&B in a small village about 50 miles further on.
Well it’s a long one but hopefully you have enjoyed it, we did.
Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx
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