Happy Memories, Happy times xxxxx

Blog 6 June 2017

We have had the most emotionally charged June 2017, filled with fun and laughter  then  into the upset of experiencing the loss of a good friend and our brother in law within a week of each other.

Early in June we had a visit from Shirley and Mark’s grandchildren to play in the pool.  Fearless and happy splashing about in the warm June sunshine …..What fun and how lovely to hear the squeals of youngster and their Mum in our garden……!

Our lovely Monty Morris car had to come off the road in April with a slipping clutch and as expected, 1936 clutch spares and repairs come to order very slowly and at some stages, seemingly impossible. As the day approached for the D-day vehicle parade in Carentan Mike and I had to resign ourselves to being left on the pavement as on lookers this year. Happily for us, friends Lisa and Kevin stepped forward and offered us the lend of their jeep as they were unable to attend themselves…..WOW… what a fabulous gesture and one we embraced with enthusiasm and huge appreciation.

We donned appropriate attire to present ourselves as jeep participants and joined a group of likeminded enthusiasts to do a convoy run from Perier to Carentan to meet up in Camp Arizona for the parade of over 100 WW2 vehicles.

A drive out in convoy to the local countryside and over our famous Baily Bridge just outside Brevands.  Here are our friends Elaine and Pat with dad Ernie on board following us in the parade.  We ended the run going through the streets of Carentan filled with people waving and enjoying the spectacle.

It is a treat to be an attraction for a few moments in the year, we must have been photographed a million times and featured in a number of videos that showed on u tube, totally hilarious and very enjoyable.

At the end of the parade we all gathered in the centre of Carentan and the crowds come to see and chat about the vehicles and costumes. The weather was fantastic and we are already looking forward to Monty in good working order for the Carentan 2018 parade

Kevin’s Jeep took pride of place in Monty’s garage as Monty  languished on his red ramps in the outhouse, looking forlorn next to this brave and shiny upstart…….!!

A group selfie to celebrate a good D-day June 2016 with our enthusiastic mates who love to drive out in their vintage vehicles, dress up in 40’s style and have fun…….thank you chaps and chapesses,  looking forward to our regular rallies and fun times out together for the rest of the year xx

My faithful blog followers will know that over the years I have storied with great enthusiasm at having big Lorries on the drive. It always means there are plans a foot and things are getting done and on this occasion it was a change of contract on the gas supplier which, to our utter amazement, meant a gleaming new Gas tank …..

Hoorah. We are promised far cheaper gas for the next 3 contracted years and that can only be good for our finances. So far, so good, the tank is installed and working and the bill that came with it is half our annual fill up charge…great! We have this year connected the cooker to the big tank so we now have better pressure and I am finding the joy of cooking on an 8 ring range with loads of sized jets, double ovens and separate grill…..I guess this has to be a girl thing but it certainly is pushing my buttons at the moment

For all you petrol heads out there, Monty’s clutch plate was returned through the post with all its 52 new corks in place and ready to be remounted in the clutch housing. This old technology is getting hard to source but the more we do, the more we learn and people with knowledge and good solutions come out of the woodwork to offer support and help. This is a hobby and I do have to keep reminding Mike that he is supposed to be having fun when it all goes wrong and he has to start again. When the car is back on the road the frustration will become an oily rag memory, until something else fails…..!!

We got a very odd message from Shirley and Mark asking us if we wanted some grey Gavel and there is only one answer to that …..YES …. We went over to their holiday cottage and cleared their drive of the gravel in about 6 x 500 kilo trailer loads and deposited them here by the side of the barn. What a fantastic difference a bit of gravel makes and where we had slippy mud and weeds we now have the beginnings of a new parking area behind the barn.  Our lovely barn is now surrounded by gravel and sits in it’s own splender screaming Normandy  character. …

Sitting at table on a summers evening just enjoying good company and a few glasses of something red white or pink is a treat beyond our dreams.  Our recycled window wall keeping the evening chill off and later as the sun went down we put the gas heater on the table to give us a Caribbean glow, and we sat out till the sky went dark…great. Thank you to Sarah and Peter for the windows, good recycling project …..

We have friends who decided to sell up here and head for the home country and Christmas was the last we saw of them, until now. Ron and Kay came over for a visit and we all sat in Shirley and Marks garden celebrating friendships and catching up on each other’s news.  It was as though time had stopped, the only regret they had on their move, was this…… sitting in a garden eating with mates and just enjoying the moment. We wish them both lots of happiness in their new life in the UK.

On father’s day Elaine and Pat threw a party to celebrate their new life in France and the fact that Elaine’s Dad was with them to join in with the D-day celebrations.  We all met in their garden to feast on wonderful food in great company

The men talked about cars, gardens and interesting things like that and we girls just chatted. There was a race for the shade as the sun was fierce but we we’re not complaining and a delightful afternoon was had by all.

We got the sad news that our brother in law, Dick, had lost his battle for life and we needed to arrange our visit to the UK to attend his funeral. We wanted to be with my sister Mim and her family for our final goodbyes. Mike and I had not been back to the UK in  two and a half years and in all the sadness and upset realised just how stressful and difficult it can be. We did not want to take HOSS as he was just recovering from a habitual bout of mange. He was on the mend and our good friends Shirley and Mark volunteered to have him so a quick visit to the UK was arranged with such a kind and thoughtful offer on the table.

We delivered HOSS in the white van as a mobile kennel with instructions not to worry if he does not want to get out as he is in his own little bit of heaven and will sleep there ,  eat there and only come out to chase cats and sun bath, of which he did all.

Funerals are sad occasions and Mim and her children did a fabulous job giving Dick a good send off. The Downshire crematorium in Bracknell has the ability of making a sad and final gesture into an occasion and we are very grateful that our goodbyes to Dick were in good sprit.  Afterwards a wonderful opportunity to meet up with lots of family and friends.  We were so very happy to see our son Chris for a few hours and that is always a treat.  It is at times where family reunite that we find ourselves feeling isolated and far away from our roots, but for us it is an emotion we learn to manage so we can continue our good life in Brevands.

My brother Billy pre booked a table and we siblings met up for a meal on the terrace of a local pub. The loss of a friend and member of the family is hard and we wish Mim and her children a ton of strength to see these next few months without too much sadness and lots of love……x

During all our family loss and upset we got the dreadful news that our friend Graham also lost his fight for life. We had seen him out and about with his son at camp Arizona in Carentan during DDay Sunday and had no idea he was so very unwell.  We were unable to attend his funeral as we were on our way to the UK. Funerals in France are a 7 day schedule and our sad occurrences collided and crashed all at once. This is us out with Graham in April 2016, we will miss that jolly smile…..

Our dear sailing friends Pauline and Ron, who have come to visit us in their camper every year for the past 10 years or so offered us a bed in Portsmouth so we could roll in and roll out with ease. We had a full day in Bracknell with our family and then a day to catch up with eye tests and shopping for all those special things we have learned to live without but given the chance to stock up become treats and essentials.  

Tea, custard powder, gravy granules, English beer, clothes,   cheddar cheese, poppadum’s and curry condiments are high on our shopping list, nappy bags for dog poo,  branston pickle and oats, squash, vimto , Danish bacon….. the list is huge.  A visit to the largest supermarket I know was worthwhile, jumpers for £3 and jeans for £8, there is no way we can find those sort of prices in France. But then we see so many more things that the UK over pay for and we smile and say ….vive la difference…… Mike also did an hour of retail therapy in Machine Mart in Portsmouth ….. Mike misses a real tool shop with helpful staff where he can speak his mind and explain his tooling needs……but it is a small price to pay if you can get all your chores and purchases done  at least once in a while

And finally …….Happy memories, happy times xxxxx   

happy and satified ... ding dong

Blog 5 May 2017

May is always a busy month for us and we do very little else but prepare for the summer. Putting up the Pool has become an annual event that once up sets off a to do list  to achieve a perfect  outdoor space.

When the garden furniture comes out we find ourselves eating drinking and sleeping up there …and swimming…….and entertaining… so cross fingers for good weather and long days.

Monty is still up on ramps. As Mike takes it apart faults appear and the reason for the breakdown are apparent and we are happy with that.

When the clutch finally came out, of the 56 corks required on the friction plate there were only 15 left and then we both went.. ahhh that’s why the clutch was slipping…. Sadly cork clutches are the thing of the past and our 1936 plate has had to go back to the UK and this all takes time and a huge amount of patients and a nice fat cheque book !!

The simplest solutions can transform a daily chore from frustration to fun… Mike bought me a golf bag so I can easily transport  my gardening tools, we have lost his old trolley in the past 15 years of moving and clearing out, so  a little post on facebook put us in touch with the lovely Coombes family who had one spare. So here I am on my way with all the gadgets, tools and things that a gardener doesn’t know she needs until she finds it in a deep pocket of her trusty golf bag…

The garden is coming on brilliantly. I had so many plants left over from a hugely successful seed time that I gave given hundreds away. I left a note at the gate asking my neighbours to help themselves and then they rang the bell at the gate to ask for more… I put my courgettes in the  soil, asked them nicely to pull themselves together and grow and just a few days later they all put out a bright yellow flower to say thank you, we have our roots down……as my Mum used to say, courgettes are obligatory on the menu when the crop starts…. How very true as I have 6 plants and 2 would have been more than enough.

HOSS is having a lot of trouble with his poor paws. He is unable to get across the gravel without showing a huge amount of discomfort and has to stop to take breath just to get to the garden.  He stands on the concrete around the house and is reluctant to launch himself on the gravel drive so we bought him a set of boots to help him get into the garden.  At first he was unsure and did nip me a couple of times as I put them on but soon learned that he could come and go as he pleased and now lays down with his paws out in front of him so I can get them on…..we are so happy and amazed that these simple little boots can make so much difference..but HOSS is a little concerned  about  his street cred but that is the compromise of getting old….we know about that.....

Mike had a birthday this month so we set off in our newly converted camper for a Brocante and a walk on the beach. Mike has lowered the bed in the camper giving us a more comfortable day lounge so we have reinstalled the table which we inaugurated with two ridiculously creamy cakes from a very posh patisserie.

We were over on the Atlantic coast where the beaches are huge and really smell of the seaside. HOSS had a well-deserved run which these days only lasts a couple of minutes but he remembers he is supposed to be joyous and bouncy on the beach and still makes a sterling effort.

We walked HOSS around a vide grenier and saw some German Sheppard mugs that we quite liked and when the stall owners met HOSS they got all enthusiastic and gave him a medal for being a good boy. They were breeders and showers and they were selling off the trappings of their past occupation. Nice..

We have a new museum in our next village, Catz, so we took a drive out with Elaine and Pat to see what all the fuss was about.  The Normandy Victory Museum is about local events during WW2 and was full of everyday 1940 memorabilia, both military and domestic and was interesting from all angles  for that time in history.

Monty  has been off the road all May so when it was time to show at the Perier car show John and Lynn Webb kindly lent us their 1936  Peugeot  whilst they took their mid-60’s Vanden plas.

We had a lovely time catching up with friends visiting and  showing and as the weather was fabulous we girls sat in a bar and watched the men talk car….. Perfect.

The atrocity in Manchester this month meant that we had our flag at half-mast for a week. It is a really effective way of feeling connected to the UK keeping up flag day traditions of St Georges day and the Queen’s birthday but a half mast is just a reminder that despite our lovely life here there are people in trouble and in pain.

All my efforts in growing petunia from seed are paying off and my tubs, troughs and hanging baskets are starting to look quite lovely. Cat is still well, never coming in the house but always somewhere around the house looking lovely and keeping the mice well under her management.

Gill and Eric came through again on their way to the UK. This time we had lots to talk about as they are now in the last throws of purchasing their very own bit of paradise in France. We had lots of good times around the table and a walk on the beach had both HOSS and Mike reaching for sticks as Gill and Eric love a good brisk walk and my boys don’t.  We did get a little way down the beach and then HOSS turned back in protest.

Good luck to these good friends who sincerely appreciate what we are doing here and want a bit for themselves ….lovely ….

I made Facebook friends with the man who runs a car club in a local village called Baupt. I liked his page just so we could see what his car club were doing, and to understand when they did it. What a surprise when Alaine, the head honcho, advertised an evening with the Marins de Cotentin. We have seen this bunch of 50 chantey singers a couple of times before and could not resist getting a gang together to support and enjoy such a special local event. A great night was had by all. The one most amazing thing was that Alaine actually recognised Mike and I from when we showed Monty at the Baupt  car show last year and made us feel welcome by name, and made us feel very special by nature,….i wish I had a head for names to that extent ….merci Alaine.

Grass cutting has started with a vengeance and that sounds like it’s not a nice thing but for me cutting grass is a delight. I keep a close eye on the rate of growth and then I watch the weather forecasts and I decide when I will commit.  Mike has given this chore over to me as a couple of years ago he said… I’ve been cutting this grass for eight years now and I hate it….. so we bought me a super dooper mower and I start the ball rolling at my pace and my decision and then Mike picks one of his many mowers and comes out to support my single minded approach to the task…..which is… cut and lift it all , or not at all

And every week I get the total satisfaction of a beautiful lawn a ton of grass clippings to compost down and the therapeutic smell of new grass for at least a day …..What more could you ask for in life.

And finally, Mike has a good reputation for finding great bargains on the French free ads site, Le Bon Coin and often browses on behalf of our friends. We were chatting to Elaine and Pat on one of  our French supper nights and they asked whilst out at the vide grenier and depot vends,  if we see a good bell for their front door and  for 20 euros then buy it. Blow me down if we were out at the Carentan vide grenier three days later and found this great sounding bell, in budget and so perfect for their front door. Isn’t it great when a plan comes to fruition and everyone is happy and satisfied……ding dong.

Watch this space .......

Blog 4 April 2017

Here is something to make you smile for April. The vide grenier season has started and as is our habit, we arrange to go to as many as we can to browse peoples rubbish and purchase other peoples treasures. This Tupperware is a classic example. Do I really need a hand blender? well the answer is no, but this icon kitchen appliance and ‘must have’, was priced up at 1 euro in the Carentan vide grenier and I know that new at a Tupperware party they cost 49 euro……I just had to have it and confess that I have used it.

In my blog this time last year I told the story of the lovely French tradition of giving your friend a sprig of lily of the Valley on May 1^st. Last year the cold weather had slowed growth and sprigs were fetching as much as 9 euros in the shops and I had none in my garden ready to pick to add to the crisis. I decided that I would be sure of my sprigs this year and collected all my random plants to pot them up so that I could put them in the poly tunnel should the weather turn.   So here we have a perfect selection of lily of the Valley. We did have friends here on the 30^th April but I completely forgot the tradition and didn’t give a mate a sprig…..not a problem they know we care and I still have a lovely pot full. Lily of the Valley was my Mums favourite spring flower so win win all around for me.

We had a visitor come to stay in the month and a very jolly fellow he was to. To help out friends Jay and Helen we had Guapo here with us for a few days. He is a recued pooch up from Spain at jay and Helens as a foster dog and needed a happy home for a few days whilst there was an animal crisis at home. HOSS was a total gentleman and did not bat an eye lid and guapo fitted in and did as he was expected to.  Happily Guapo has now found a forever home in the UK and we are all pleased he is rescued and off on a new and happy adventure.

This is Ted rescued from Spain and delivered to France on the same transport van as Guapo. Ted is now in his forever home with Shirley and Mark and here we are getting close up and friendly in the sun.  

We have had a busy social April which kicked off nicely at the Polish restaurant in St Jean de Daye to celebrate Jays birthday. Great food and a very birthday atmosphere as there was another French group also celebrating a birthday and we ended up singing the song in both languages and very loudly, good night out was had by all.

Monty had a run out on one of April’s glorious days. We convoyed around on another of the WW2 tours and had a fabulous time.

A picnic at Utah beach and then a run home through St Marie Du Mont for a cider at the café and then home.

It was Ross’s birthday and Margery made a cake and there were more happy birthdays and lashings of sparkling wine.

The Victory Ball this year was held in La Camb and we all bought tickets and dressed in our 1940 best, to join in the fun. A sausage in a baguette with chips was the supper and the Hall was decorated to befit a 1940 event.

There was a lot of laughter and we managed to catch up with a few people we had not seen for a while and that in itself is great and very enjoyable.

Getting into the swing of things is the whole point of all of this and here are Kevin and Lisa looking dashing in their military outfits… they Jive pretty well too.

The last of our chickens have moved house.  We have Big boy who makes a lot of noise and missy who has been disabled for the past 2 years and when we thought she would not make it through the night she had different ideas and is still very perky. She limps badly and has to flap her wing to walk but she follows big boy about and they make a good team. They have had the run of the potager and poly tunnel area but they did get into the poly last year and feasted on my lettuces so I had a plan to shut them up in the pond area with the ducks so I can keep then away from my crops.  Mike’s biggest reservation on the plan was that the ducks hoover up their grain and would move onto the chicken’s portion, who may go hungry. There is however, no danger of that as we have watched with delight, the pecking order procedure and our Missy has seen off the Ducks and is not going hungry under any circumstances…

The Gunnera is coming on absolutely fantastically now that they are in their gunerarium. Without the ducks pecking at them they have peace and are blooming and promise us a great giant leaf spectacle come July and August.

We had another night out at the swing dance event in Isgny sur Mer and the attention to detail was amazing. The tables were beautifully set out for a meal that started at nine and at one in the morning we were eating dessert and waiting for the coffee…..

There was a swing dance club in from Caen who danced all night in their pairs and we thoroughly enjoyed watching their moves…and joining in. At one point the DJ called us all on the floor for a training session on how to shim sham and we went through a routine and then all danced together…. Looks like I got my moves wrong here but it felt like it all came together OK in the end…..

This gentleman here had mean footwork and spent the evening inviting ladies to have a jive with him. When he came to our table I tried to hide as we had been watching him and he was good….. The banter on the table gave me no choice but to join in. I said in my best French. Je ne danse pas bien…… we replied…. do not take your eyes off mine and you will be fine. And I did not take my eyes off of his and he whizzed me around the floor on the  jive of my life and I thought for a moment I could give Ginger Rogers something to think about …..But in reality it was my partner who did all the moves and dragged me around like a rag doll….but it was great fun.

Our alarm in the morning is radio 4 and depending on the time of year determines what time it comes on. This time of year when the sun is up and there is so much to achieve each day we ordinarily wake at 7:00. This day I woke up to the British National Anthem wishing the Queen a happy birthday so I decide I would hoist our union flag in her honour. Mike has erected three flag poles in front of the pond for this year and I am jolly well going to use them.

We set off on a Brocante Sunday and decided to go out of our manner so to speak, and had an away day to Courseille Sur Mer. I was delighted to find so many lovely pieces at the bottom of buckets, boxes and bags. All these items are on my Etsy shop now and we just have to wait to find interested buyers and enthusiastic collectors and must havers to buy my stock

This is 7:30 in the morning at Carentan vide grenier,  I took the picture just to show the enthusiasm and crowds at this ridiculous hour on a Sunday morning and when I looked at the picture I saw that our friend Tony was eyes down bottom right hand corner looking for that special bargain, which he usually finds…..

Last year our friends Sarah and Peter asked if we might like some double glazed units that were left over from their conservatory build and as recycling is a fine past time we said we would love them. Mike had a feeling he wanted to build a glass wall on the patio where we could huddle behind during winter and on windy days in the summer.  So, the project begins, and for many days on and off, the plan slowly came to fruition and we now have a corner of our patio, glass walled. It is very homemade but looks smart and professional at the same time.

Now we have somewhere to sit and look at the garden out of the wind and rain it became apparent that the hedge around my rose garden was very overdue it’s trim. Mike set to and did a great job but it is not one of his favourite jobs. I have now purchased my very own electric trimmer so I don’t have to whinge and moan to get the hedges cut and I can deal with all my boxes of box myself.

We bought our camper in 2013 when we sold our yacht Beema   and it still feels new, unused and not complete. We have had a few technical issues but over the years we have got away and have made changes to make it comfortable. Last year while away I suggested that we would enjoy the space more if only the bed could be lowered to make the bedding area into a lounger, and not just a sleeping pod. Well, Mike set to this spring and has achieved the dream.

The bed is now low enough for us to sit and read and watch TV and we do not have to climb in and out like a couple of geriatric bunk bed mountain climbers to have a wee in the night.   We measured HOSS standing up to make sure he still has enough room to stand and turn in his bed in the garage and I am very pleased to announce we are all very happy with the change…..good work Mike xx

We have needed a permanent bonfire site for many years and always manage to do our annual fire wherever we have left the dechete. This is not satisfactory because a year of burning is huge and difficult and I wanted a place we can fill then fire up whenever the wind says we can burn. So a walk around the garden to see where we could make a bonfire site and sadly, but unanimously, we decided that a willow tree we planted as a twig in 2009 would have to go to make space. 
Look away Alan Joiner the wedges were made and the tree was falling as planned then the wind took it in the other direction……ooops no harm done though.

There you have it, a permanent bonfire site at the back of the wood where I can build a fire and then burn at will…….I love bonfires they are good for the soul and clear out all the tons of garden waste we seem to produce

At the new year the French Federation for Ancient Vehicles sent out a call to all old car owners to hit the road on the same day and show that they are proud of their hobby. I liked the sound of such a call to arms and tried to arrange a day out but sadly the weather decided that this was not the best day for a rally. Happily though, Jay, Helen, Mike and I still thought it was a good idea and hit the road regardless. We had a very wet run around Carentan and then back to our covered patio for a BBQ, with lots of wine and loads of food….what fun, and a great commitment statement to our hobby…..

Hopefully the federation will try again next year and we can all join in then.

Despite the pouring rain we took the time to take pictures of Beauty on the WW2 Baily Bridge on the way to Brevands. If it were not for the camper in the background it could have been an ageless photo….. I can feel a picnic Sunday coming up soon at the Baily Bridge just to take pictures…..without campers in the background…….!

And finally a shot of the poly tunnel now straining at the seams. I have started moving out the hardier plants but I am still a little nervous in case we have a frosty night.  I am going to commit on the 8^th May, it is a bank holiday here in France. We will plan to stay home and get all the beds filled and then we can sit back and watch. …All this hard work and time consuming activity will be worth the while in July and August when the garden looks after itself.  …watch this space.