Another
summer month has passed and we can honestly say it has been a good one….. August has been full of visitors and we have
done interesting and fun things. Our mobile homes have been full from middle of
July to middle of this month….that’s plenty.
Here I am
showing off my new Spec Savers spectacles and the reason for putting them in
the blog is to explain with amazement why we have to wait for a trip to the UK
to achieve anything like a faire price for these simple essentials. In our part
of France there is a 6 month wait for an eye test and then the cost of lenses and
frames is staggering. My eighty year old
friend, Genevieve in the village
moaned and groaned about her 700 euro
specs when I told her about my purchase in the UK. A week to wait for an eye
test and then 2 pairs of specs for £69
and I was lucky on the day I went
because the eye test was free but even
at £33 I am quids in every time . I also come home with my prescription I can
use in France so in an emergency I can have a pair of specs made up here. It is
a win win situation and I am so very grateful that we have the opportunity to
take the best from both France and UK.
Mireill and
Christian’s visit in 2009
Mireill and
Christians visit in 2017
Oh what
fun, a lovely and lively visit from our niece Mireill and her grown up family.
They stayed overnight and most of the next day on their way to visit my brother
John in Brittany. We wondered around the garden and house glowing in their
enthusiasm for our life here in France. There
is nothing quite like a bunch of people going Wow and asking how, when and
where , it certainly did us good to open all our doors and share a bite to eat
around the table. Come back soon, we had a good time with you lovely people. 
Gregory
Porter…..never heard of him… but our friends Mark and Shirley had, and
encouraged us to buy our tickets to meet them in the Christian Dior gardens in
Granville for a concert.
We sat in
front of the adorable Dior house sharing beers and chips until the maestro came
on stage as the light started to fade so the atmosphere was electrified. As soon as he started to sing and his ohh, so,
talented band struck up I grabbed our little bunch of groupies and went into
the mosh pit. We stood for 2 hours engrossed and participating in a truly
wonderful show in a genre Mike and I were not sure we liked and decided we most
definitely did when, it is live and wonderful, in front of your very eyes.
I found an
old sailing hat and took it along to be a truly committed groupie and we had
fun and laughed along with the joke in the deliciously tiny, friendly concert arena
we found ourselves in.
Our Gregory
Porter outing was made even more memorable because we took the camper and
parked overnight in the Granville Aire de camping car in the old part of town.
We spent a lovely day getting to know this
interesting place and walked for miles to get our bearings and know where to go
for the concert. There was a bus service but Mike put a brave face on and
walked so we could get close and intimate with our surroundings. HOSS came too, and after far too much walking
for him , was happy to sit in the camper and wait for us to return at one in
the morning from our concert experience. Life is so easy and fun with a bit of
planning and a lot of organisation.
We had our
monthly run out with our vintage vehicle friends and took a ride out to the abbey
at Cerisy le Foret. Eight vehicles made
the convoy to the abbey for a picnic then a guided run out to a memorial for
our interest and delight.
Everybody
brings a contribution to the table which becomes an object of feasting. Everything is
shared and the event is just a wonderfully friendly afternoon out.
Monty had a
very successful trip out with no slipping clutch or braking issues and we felt
happy and content that he was behaving …. Old cars are a worry and a tool kit
is an inevitable must, but that day all went well. Jay and Helen’s lorry,
Beauty, decided to have a slow start and it took a bunch of blokes to look and
wonder and with a bit of special handling she bounced back to life for the
homeward journey.
We are a
happy bunch of military and civilian vehicles owners and when we hit the road we
are certainly a head turning, enthusiastically waving event for the people we
pass on the way. A lot of fun and good camaraderie.
The
smallest little restaurant in Normandy and it is just around the corner from
home. They advertised sausages and chips and a free live band on a Saturday
night so we donned our warm jumpers and sat out till it got dark in the company
of a folk band keeping us entertained and plenty of beer to keep the evening
oiled.
HOSS started
to show signs of failing again and to try to not have to keep visiting the vet and
filling him with medication we thought about what his needs were. Mike cut up a
carpet he was saving for his garage floor and made a run way so HOSS could get
to the garden without looking like the drive was covered in hot coals. This
made a huge difference to his demeanour and then our friend Lisa linked me to a
turmeric users face book site and I decided to put our boy on Golden Paste to
help with his aches and pains.
I
gave HOSS
the recommended dose in his dinner and within 5 days we had a revived and
happier boy bouncing up his runway to the garden and asking to go out to play.
I posted on the site that after 2 weeks we had our old boy back, showing signs
of comfort and happiness in comparison to not taking the Golden Paste. I had
944 likes and 72 messages of good wishes and dog owner love . I recon if you feel
low and in need of a lift put a posting
on the turmeric users site and watch all this love and caring flow like a bubbling brook towards you. There
are so many sweet and lovely supportive people out there.
Within the
vehicle enthusiast group of friends we have found a gang of likeminded motorbike
riders who have invited us to join them on their evening rides out. This ride out was a 134 kilometre ride on
wonderful roads into Granville for a beer stop and out to Blainville Sur Mer for a meal on the terrace
looking out to sea.
Moules
frits and a good rose to wash it down with lots of biker talk and then we
watched the sun disappear into the sea …..…what more could you want for, in
great company.
You know
you live in a lively and cosmopolitan town when you see a camel grazing behind
the Carfour supermarket. On the other side of the road were the horses and
other exotic specimen. The circus tent was in the supermarket car park and the whole
entourage was a blaze of colour and fun….. you need little people around to buy a ticket but it was good to observe and enjoy x
We have
certainly sat around this table more this year, and our glass wall has served
us well. A paella cooked on the patio is
a happy meal with good friends and we all enjoyed a good catch up in the garden….. al fresco.
The harvest
has been good and I have filled the freezer with soups and sources for our
winter menus. There is nothing better than eating fresh and then putting the
spare away and it is why I love gardening and why it is all so worthwhile.
Mike is a
happy chappy…. We are the proud owners of this beast and we are both very
excited. We have come to realise that we
need a front loading devise and were going to try to afford an attachment to our
Kubota but our friend Jay put this tractor on the market and although we know
it needs a lot of TLC Mike is confident he can make it work for us. We can then
sell two other pieces of equipment this one big beast will cover in terms of
application… watch this space for progress reports ……
We had
another fishing day out and Shirley won the accolade for the only catch of the
day. Mike got through two baguettes and
Pat was using all his secret bait but it was Shirley who scored ……..so well
done to Shirley and looking forward to the next gathering around the lake.…..
We all rush
together to watch the fish being landed and record the occasion. Here is Elaine
getting it all down on video for us to watch and laugh about on one of those dark,
dark winters’ evenings.
To celebrate
our 10 years in Brevands we invited a gang of new and old friends to help us
mark the occasion and they did that in real style and full of fun
We
sat 27 people in the barn and feasted on sausages in baguettes and salad with
lashings of wine and cake and coffee. As
everybody relaxed and sat back Mike put his karaoke machine on and the evening
developed into a rip roaring event
I can only imagine that we were singing ‘never walk alone ’ here as we all look very committed and we all know the words, Jay and Kevin held the mics and every one joined in to all the tunes. It became obvious that we all like a good old sing along so we will certainly arrange another night like this. Mike and I have been launched into our next ten years in France in style and surrounded with love and happiness. And for that we are very grateful.
Hey look….
more visitors, and a wonderful visit from sailing friends Wendy and Andy for
their first look at our home. These
lovely people are great blog watchers and were up to speed with our life so we
shared lots of stories over the table
We took a
ride out in Monty into Carentan for a lunch stop which was a real treat and
then back to the garden for a swim as the weather showed off and the afternoon
was glorious. We sat out until the sun
started to show signs of fading and it was time for them to take the road for
their ferry and home. x
At the
beginning of the year we cleared a space to have a bonfire site and the day
came when we had collected enough and the wind was whispering in the right direction
and away we went. Within 45 minutes all
the collected dechete is burned and gone and we have a tidy area again at the
back of the wood.
Mike loves
a good bonfire, the wonderful process of piles of cuttings that will not
compost down gone in the space of a few moments as though they were never
there. …
And for us
now in our new bonfire site at the back of the wood the chance to spend some
time in this special place. Wonderful.
The
time came around again to have the cess pit emptied and cleaned. It’s a job I
never look forward to. We, actually have nothing to do but watch, in utter
amazement at how these men roll up in big Lorries and deal with your poo. They always
approach you with a warm hand shake and a bright smile before they get to work.
We habitually ask about the state of our
foss system and we are always told we are conforming and not to worry. France
has a habit of changing the rules on cess pits and a change that puts us in a
non-conforming state could be costly. Our neighbour fell short on his
inspection and had a 10.000 euro bill to get legal, so it is a worrying issue.
The cost of this visit was 200 euro so we have another 4 years of worry free
use until the lorry arrives again next time with a warm handshake and a bright
smile
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