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