THE ‘MISSING’ MONTHS AND A FLYING VISIT TO UK

Readers with an eye for detail might have noticed (but probably didn’t!) that there were almost two months unaccounted for between Harry’s return from England in March and the Dordogne holiday in May. Here are a few pictures and comments on the missing weeks.

April included a mini heatwave and brought our ancient pear tree into full bloom – we’d missed this last year as we were ‘over there’ in April.

We opened up the pool and were pleased with its general condition. With the water around 22° we got in and scrubbed the tidemark at the water line:

Then we had the year’s first barbecue:

Of course, April 8th saw the start of my 70th year. Carol made me a cake:

There was the traditional ‘Omelette de Pâques’ in the village on Easter Monday. Does Carolyn know what’s going on behind her back?

After the heatwave there were a couple of weeks of fairly persistent drizzle – quite Cumbrian! But April 25th included a fine double rainbow – impossible to get it all in one photo.

Carol decided to use this time to decorate our bedroom. The room was cleared of all except the largest pieces of furniture, and for about two weeks we slept in ‘Patience’, the first guest room.

We like the end result:

But it was nearly time for Judi’s arrival to house-sit. This lot had be removed from ‘Pirates’ so that Carol (Jnr) could use it, arriving while we were away.

Pam and Trevor have now bought a house in Arriège, about 40 minutes away, but at this time had not yet moved in. They were living in a ‘gîte’ nearby. We’d heard of an Esperanto group meeting near Pamiers and, though it wasn’t ideal timing, Trevor and I went and were glad to have done so. Pam kindly helped Carol with the bed-making here. That done, they went for a walk above the village:

After the Dordogne holiday, and just before our next escapade, Nick had a significant birthday:

He and Carolyn invited most of the village to ‘apéro’ on the square in front of ‘Maison Bleue’, and kindly – or rashly – invited me to entertain!

The next day,May 29th, we flew out of Carcassonne heading for Stansted. I really should have taken a picture of the cattle pen which passes for a ‘departure lounge’ at Carcassonne airport, and circulated it widely to illustrate the difference between the myth of Ryanair travel as portrayed by the current TV advert and the reality. It really is a dreadful experience!

At Stansted, more discomfort; we missed the chance to use the loos on the plane before the descent began, so by the time we we in the terminal this was first priority. Once up the steps – STEPS! – and into the corridor, the nearest loos were the ‘wrong’ way – against the flow (of people). Got there – the ladies was queueing, and the gents: closed! Disabled, only choice! Once in, pitch black, no light, no switch! In the end, Carol emerged from the Ladies and stood guard with the door open enough to provide a minimum of light ….

So now we were way behind everyone else, the disgorged contents of two planes. We followed signs. Down two escalators. Into an empty hall with no exit but several automatic doors, which wouldn’t open – and the escalators coming DOWN, but none going UP. There was no signage. We had NO IDEA that this was a shuttle station. I banged on several of the doors with my stick. Carol picked up the emergency phone, then lights began to flash above some of the doors, which then soon opened to give access to the shuttle.

Things did get a bit better. At the main terminal a very nice young lady listened sympathetically to tales of closed and unlit loos and claustrophobic basements with no signs, then once through passport control we set about trying to find our car hire firm. Having said ‘never again’ to Hertz after last year’s experience (you can check back if you really want to!) we’d chosen ‘Firefly’. No evidence of Firefly’s desk …. We phoned them. They’re part of Hertz!! But this worked in our favour, in the end. We asked if they could bring up our previous history and we registered ‘disappointment’ at having had no reply to our feedback; they gave us £24 worth of 2nd driver insurance for free.

We collected our Vauxhall Corsa and headed for Potters Bar where we had a nice meal with Chrys and Jan.

We had gone to England to be at the dedication service for Chris & Michelle’s children. We were saddened to have heard of the death of Martin Horton, an old friend of Carol’s, husband of Cathy. But happily, in one sense, the funeral had been planned for that Saturday, 31st May, so we were able to postpone our drive to Huddersfield in order to attend. Not only that, but Martin’s sister, Mary, wheelchair user, lives not far from Chrys and Jan, so we were able to take her as well.

During the drive north in the evening, the second driver insurance was particularly important since I was hit by the second migraine of the day (or a recurrence of the first) and couldn’t see straight!

We got lucky in Huddersfield as we needed advice to find our hotel, having no satnav or plan. We stopped beside a very helpful taxi driver who said ‘follow me’ and then stopped again a bit later to point out the road we needed.

We were also well served at the Cambridge Hotel the next morning where the receptionist not only copied two sections of town plan for us showing how to get to the (changed) venue for the service, but brought them to our room. Chris’s instructions by text hadn’t arrived at that time.

It’s difficult for us to comment on the service, especially after the sharply contrasting funeral the day before. Contrasting not only because of the nature of the event. The funeral had been High Anglican, with robed clergy, traditional church music, communion, and a Bishop to pronounce the commendation. The dedication was ‘Evengelical / Pentecostal’, casual dress, guitars and drums. Let’s say both events were found to be appropriate and meaningful to those most closely involved.

Respecting the ongoing advice not to show identifiable photos of S & N (a pity since this was ‘their’ day!) here are some of other folk:

She’s a show-stealer; can’t think where she gets it from!

After lunch at the church, a reduced party moved to 730 Manchester Road …..

CHRIS! I think Dan and Fiona gave ‘Funny Faces’ as a present to the children!

Er, yes, well …..

….it was on the chair; I just picked it up. But who took the photo? Either S or N, I can’t remember, but didn’t he/she do well?

At last Daddy (Chris) stopped playing and let his son have a go:

Rachel, Sean and Sannon left before the rest of us shared a take-away meal. Then after bedtime we got the cards out and the remaining foursome (Dan, Fiona and Luke had also left) enjoyed a rubber of bridge.

The drive south on Monday 2nd June was uneventful and we are grateful to Chrys and Jan for another evening’s hospitality and bed for the night. The Stansted experience on Tuesday morning wasn’t too bad:

– though it still doesn’t match the propaganda!

Back at home, on a hot day, we were glad of the pool to jump into!

Since then, the weather has got hotter and hotter; there’s always the threat of thunderstorms, but they haven’t materialised yet. (Do thunderstorms do that?) We’re eating our own-grown lettuce leaves, and lots of strawberries. Tomatoes are just visible. Last Thursday I took part in, and Carol attended, my first ‘Chorale’ concert. (No photos). A new style of performance for me – I’m not used to singing unaccompanied with lots of ‘doo-be-do-wah’s instead!

I think it’s time for a dip ….

FOOTNOTE:

Tuesday 3rd June, 4.30 pm:

Hallo, Lady Lucy! Wo warst du, denn? Where have you been?

A Carcassonne. A l’aéroport. THEY left me there.

THEY? I thought we weren’t to say that any more.

Don’t care! Je suis cuite.

What?

Cooked – fried – what you say? Frazzled.

But it’s not been hot till today.

Tu parles! J’en ai marre! I have had enough of HIM. And HE bashed me up in Carcassonne last week. HE backed me into a fence post. Look!

Those few scratches! That’s nothing. He practically pulled my tail light cluster right off back in Cumbria. I was stuck up with duck tape for months. He doesn’t mean to do it; he’s just a bit too hasty at times …..

Oops! Well, you’ll never get nowhere if you’re too hasty ….. I don’t suppose either of THEM would have come up with that.

SUNEJO DIARY JANUARY 2014

We saw the New Year in at the village ‘Réveillon’, a shared meal attended by 20+ local folk.

Starting soon after 6.30pm with ‘apéro’ – drinks and nibbles – a 5-course meal was accompanied by unlimited red, white or rosé wine, not to mention a locally distilled plum liqueur at some stage.

I didn’t mention the plum liqueur in the first account of the evening on Facebook, because I hardly noticed it, in that I was singing at the time, which I was invited to do both before the meal and between courses!

At midnight there was a lot of ’embracing’ (kiss-kissing) and exchanging of ‘Meilleurs Voeux’ (best wishes) which more people said than ‘Bonne Année’, and continued to say for a couple of weeks to people they hadn’t met yet this year. I made the mistake of saying ‘Meileurs Voeux’ about two weeks later to someone who’d been at the réveillon and got an exaggerated Gallic shrug with the words ‘Mais on s’est déjà vu!’ (We’ve met already!) She might as well have lifted her eyes heavenward and said ‘Ils sont fous, les Anglais!’

The weather was quite good at the start of the month and on the 2nd we were able to eat lunch on the terrace:

I’d made a New Year’s resolution to cut back on the alcohol a bit, so the photo above shows long glasses with water or cordial. The intention is to drink wine only once a day, unless visiting or entertaining, and to limit stronger drinks – sherry, whisky, liqueurs and so on – to once a week. So far we’ve stuck to it!

As a result of the singing at the réveillon, I was encouraged to join the local ‘chorale’ which rehearses on Friday afternoons in Chalabre. It consists mainly of senior citizens (who sometimes go and entertain the old folk at the retirement home!) and an 85 year old neighbour, Guy, insists on driving me to rehearsals! That’s an exciting ride!

I was due to have the injection into my hip on the 14th, so we decided to have a day out in Harry on the 12th. We thought we’d head for Carcassonne and find the lake known as ‘Carcassonne Plage’. Unfortunately, a big bank of rain bearing cloud was lying to the east, whereas to the south and west were blue skies and sunshine. But we went ahead anyway and picnicked in Harry in the drizzle which then held off long enough for us to walk down to the water and a little way along the shore.

This was a cold, grey, drizzly Sunday, but there were still plenty of people there, some of them feeding the ducks – so we could tell this will be a very popular spot on a hot summer’s day, both for locals and tourists

The walk was very pleasant, but unfortunately the car park is some height above the lake and getting back to Harry wasn’t too comfortable, but we hoped all that would be resolved soon ….

We hoped it would be resolved! …… This would surprise any enthusiast for the French health system who came across it, and they’d have difficulty explaining it; we left home in good time, travelled the hour to Castelnaudary, arrived in good time, did the paper work at reception, and waited …… for an hour and a half …. the doctor didn’t turn up! At 1pm a couple of other consultants noticed we were still there (during lunch time!!) and asked questions on our behalf. A secretary telephoned the doctor’s surgery (in a different building) but only got an anwserphone; like I said it was lunch time, what else would you get? Since ‘my’ doctor had no-one else to see at the hospital that day, they said they ‘didn’t know what to say’, but the implication was ‘don’t hang around’. We didn’t hand around. Confession time: we had lunch at McDonald’s! Didn’t even need the wi-fi! But at least we didn’t drink! We had to make another appointment, of course, and also of course, that couldn’t be done at the hospital; no, no, no; that could only be done by phoning the surgery.

One week later and we tried again; the snow-topped Pyrenees were superbly displayed as we set off mid-morning:

However, that was the last we saw of the sun for over a week, more of that later …. This time the doctor was there and the procedure went ahead with nothing at all said about last week! As for the procedure itself, I don’t think anyone wants to read about it (if they do, they can ask!). Carol drove home and we were back by 2pm. The hip was stiff and sore, but that wore off with rest and painkillers.

Then the rains came! When you see the weather maps on UK TV, you sometimes get a wide view which include northern Spain, the Pyrenees and part of the Med. On those maps you may notice that we are often affected by the southern end of the same fronts as hit the UK; so it’s been WET for nearly a fortnight now, and although the sun is shining today another week of rain is due to start tomorrow. The River which gives the village its name (Sonnac Sur L’HERS) isn’t usually visible from ‘Sunejo’, but by January 25 it was clearly visible:

Not only that, but the field between us and the river was seriously waterlogged. In November I put up a photo of the river in spate under the bridge, but find the bridge on this one:

Yes, the bridge is under the water this time and the water in the foreground is the track leading o the bridge. It’s only a short walk, but this was just 4 days after the injection and the hip didn’t like it! Maybe it was too soon. Still, later the same day we went shopping and just beyond Camon we found the road had been blocked by an ‘éboulement’, a mudslide. In fact, the workers had just finished clearing the road and were moving the barriers; they said it was OK to go through, but we met some friends in the supermarket who had had to follow a considerable diversion on narrow, windy, hilly roads! This is what that site looked like a few days later (and still does):

On January 29th, which was a fine day between wet nights, Carol discovered that although the water had gone down a lot, an accumulation of fallen trees was now blocking the bridge so that it was still unusable by wheeled vehicles:

To photograph this we went down BY BIKE! (Thinking it might be better for the hip.)

After that, since it was a fine and warm day, and although we might have sunk into the marsh if we’d sat on the grass, we had lunch out on the terrace. So in spite of the excess of rain, that’s three outdoor lunches in January!

So we’re in to February. February 2nd is Candlemas / Le Chandeleur, not much celebrated in England, but an excuse for a pancake fest in France. So we invited our neighbour, Marthe, who was one of the first local people to speak to us and invite us to knock on her door if we needed anything, to join us on Sunday evening and served a seafood pancake followed by a sweet one. This was the first time Marthe has actually come in, in spite of numerous invitations to share a drink or a brew. She’s 80 + and passes the gate regularly when out for her ‘constitutional’. Once again, no photo of pancake tossing! At about 11pm we offered to go along the road with Marthe to her place (it’s about 200 metres, but there”s no street lighting outside the village). She protested a bit but accepted in the end so long as we would go in for a ‘nightcap’. That turned out to be half a tumbler of whisky (for me); we told her to stop, but she just said ‘might as well empty the bottle’! Didn’t notice the hip on the way back!

Actually, I”m seeing the hip doctor again tomorrow (if he can be bothered!), and I think I can say it’s getting better. We’ve been out for a walk by Lake Montbel this afternoon, and there are no uncomfortable after-effects – yet! Here are some pictures to finish with:

November ….. December ……

November continued to be cold, windy and wet. The river Hers overtopped the little bridge for the second time this year, though locals say it hasn’t done so for the last thirty years!Halfway through the month we even had a couple of days of snow. This didn’t stop the hens from laying, however!Recovery from the surgery on the nose seemed to take longer than expected, but breathing does seem to be getting easier and there’s no sore throat most mornings. However, the surgeon isn’t ready to sign me off and feels a bit more radio / laser treatment may still be helpful. That would be under local anesthetic.

After that grim November, December, by contrast, has until now been beautiful with blue skies and warm sunshine after frosty nights. Unfortunately this is due to break on Christmas day! We combined one of our visits to the clinic at Colombiers with taking Harry to the Motorhome centre at Narbonne where, FINALLY!, he got his new skylight! Hurrah! While waiting for the job to be finished wo took the opportunity to go down to Narbonne Plage in the last of the daylight:

Not the best photo ever! The sculpure represents a wave and the old man was caught by surprise with his leg hurting! That’s another issue due to be resolved, or at least treated, by injection, in January; it’s been a long wait!

Lucy has to have jobs done in the other direction, but the drive to Foix is very pleasant, and on the last occasion we went into the town for the first time and found a shop specialising in British goods and produce; there will be pudding on Christmas day! Foix is dominated by it’s castle, but we haven’t visited it yet:

There was another fish & chip night at the Mad Hatter in Mirepoix on the 13th. In response to an invitation on their website, I offered to add some Christmas music – in several languages – to the evening. It seemed to go well and be well received: DSCF1844 Most of the music was to the guitar, but I did play the melodeon in public for the first time as well.

A lot of time has been spent – mainly by Carol – getting the attic room above the garage ready for use as a bedroom. Sorting out this lot was just part of it!: DSCN0862 So today – 22nd Dec. – the family arrived at Carcassonne airport, to be greeted by bright sunshine and snow on the mountains, oh – and me with the big, black hired Nissan Qashkai. Big? Not really big enough for five folk, plus baby and luggage. The journey home was not really comfortable, though some slept through it and we arrived safely. We’re looking forward to a Happy Christmas; more of that next time …… DSCF1862

left to right: Megan, Becky, Sean, Shannon.

Autumn sets in; we’re on chicken-watch; Stephen gets a nose job and Lucy gets a flat tyre (on the same day!)

In the last post I mentioned how the sunflower fields turned black before being harvested. Didn’t have a photo of that just then. Here’s one now: Nick and Carolyn have gone away (to England!) for a couple of months, so we, or rather, Carol, is on chicken watch. A daily stroll into the village to top up the feeder and collect the eggs. But they are laying five or six a day! We’ve given away what we can, but we’re struggling to keep up with extra-sized omelettes and scrambled eggs! Eggs are appearing in the salads more frequently than before, too ….

There are six of them, but they won’t stand still and in shot to be photographed!

Autumn colours still don’t predominate, though one group of trees across the road is turning:However, the weather has changed significantly. We’ve had several windy days, so the pear tree has lost its leaves before they changed colour. We’ve also had a couple of days and nights of really serious rain, including yesterday which was a right soggy Sunday!

I’ve had a chance to compare out-patient treatment in the French and English systems. There’s no clear winner, contrary to some of what you hear about French health care being outstanding. To begin with, the clinic where I had to go on Friday for minor surgery on my nose (septoplasty – google it if you feel the need!) is a good 2 hours away. Our plan was to go on Thursday in Harry and be on the spot for first thing Friday morning. But Harry hasn’t had his skylight repaired yet and we didn’t dare risk it, so Lucy had to serve. Up at 5 and on the road soon after 6. OK, we managed that. Paperwork in order at the hospital, including results of blood tests and ECG which I had to be responsible for myself, and so to a 2-person room to change into disposable operating garb. I don’t know whether it was because I was English, or whether it’s just the way it’s done, but explanation of the anaesthetising procedure was missing compared with the NHS so I was ‘under’ almost before I knew it was happening.

Late afternoon, it was time to leave. Here’s the big difference – payment to be made! Not only that, but separate payments at different desks on different floors! Just what you need! (I expect to get most of it back, but that’s not the point!). At the second desk the receptionist saw that I was still bleeding and wouldn’t sign me out till the consultant had seen me again! This delayed us by about 45 minutes. Then Carol was about to drive off the car park when we spotted a note on Lucy’s windscreen: “Take care – back right tyre flat”. (In French). I was NOT up for changing a wheel in the dark! We rang the roadside assistance number on our insurance certificate and the man with the tools came very quickly. But Lucy’s spare wheel is a small, emergency only wheel, so the return journey had to be made at well below normal speed and took 2 hours 45 minutes.

I’ve spent most of the weekend in bed but things are a bit better today (Monday). Not looking forward to next Monday when I have to go back and have some ‘splints’ removed. Don’t know how that’s done – probably not comfortable. Will it have been worth it? Well, if eventually I can breathe more easily and sleep with my mouth shut and so not have a sore throat in the morning, maybe!

That’s all a bit grim! So let’s backtrack to the end-of-month barbecue with Nick and Carolyn before they went away. (Friends on Facebook stop here, ‘cos you’ve seen these!) 8am: Sunshine on the hill over the river, but not on the terrace yet:11am: Blue skies and things are warming up, though there’s a slight ‘nip’ in the air: DSCN0849 1pm: Sticky chicken wings get us going while the salmon fillets are on the Cadac: DSCN0851 Time to consult the library?Wild Turkey, Man!

October at Sunejo.

At the start of the last post, I said we’d ‘seen the year round’. Of course that was the case only in that Sunejo has been our home for a year. We didn’t ‘see’ October last year because we were busy with a wedding, a birthday, and meeting Grandchildren in England and Wales! We’ve had a beautiful month with very little rain, and autumn has really only just arrived. Sonnac’s only real ‘industry’ is the orchards and harvesting the apples has been a major activity, with trailer loads of fruit passing the house (behind tractors!) almost every day. That’s although most of the orchards are on the village side of ‘Sunejo’, so we wouldn’t be aware of activity there.

The field on three sides of the house has been harvested, ploughed, harrowed, treated and possibly sown, we’re not quite sure. What has surprised us is how much of that work has been carried out late at night – as late as 1 in the morning the night the clocks changed! Maybe work in the orchards has to take priority in daylight whereas the tractor’s lights are adequate for working the field.

The sunflower fields turned black before being harvested, which has just taken place, but most of the maize is still standing. The swallows have gone, but the wagtails and redstarts are active and today (October 30th) we saw the robin for the first time since spring. As it happens, today was also the first day when, travelling home from Limoux, I noticed there had been a significant snowfall on the High Pyrenees. Maybe autumn is here. Nevertheless, as late as this Monday – the day the storm hit the UK – our poolside thermometer showed 35° in the sunshine and the water was holding up at 23 / 24. There has been a significant drop in temperature since then, so maybe swimming is over and we must learn about winterising the pool. Still, we’re hoping to entertain Nick and Carolyn to a lunch-time barbecue tomorrow – earlier this month they entertained us to a lovely evening with apéro on the square in front of ‘Chez Maison Bleue’ and dinner inside.

A few days later Nick came round with his rotovator to make a start on my planned vegetable patch. Before: DSCN0815

During: DSCN0818

After: DSCN0823

That really was a great start, and I’ve done a bit of digging since to break up the soil so that the frost can get at it over the winter. Just a bit at a time so as not to aggravate the hip; I haven’t done it all yet.

As for that hip, the consultant thinks it’s too soon to do a replacement, so he’s going to see what an injection can do. I can only hope he’s giving good advice! Before that, another consultant is going to operate on my nose! Not really a ‘nose job’ but an attempt to help me breathe more easily and sleep with my mouth closed, so not waking with a sore throat every morning. That’s set for next Friday.

Now here’s a thing! When we were in Mirepoix with Trevor and Pam (see last post) we noticed that the ‘Mad Hatter’ restaurant was having a Fish and Chips night! Orders were to be placed via the internet – a visiting Fish and Chip Man (English) came and took over the kitchen for the evening. Everything was as authentically English as it could be (except the wine!); the frying, the bread and butter, the paper, the mushy peas:

DSCF1762

Someone seems less than happy with the (small) quantity of wine! DSCF1763

but it still put a smile on his face! DSCF1764

We found that this event was part of Mirepoix’ “Fête de la Pomme”. Evidently the region, including Sonnac, though strictly speaking we’re in a different county, produces such an excess of pommes that a novel use must be found for them: DSCF1772

Hundreds of apples, individually secured by elastic bands to metal frames on the square represented all types of means of transport. We just had to go back next day and have another look. After parking the car, as we got near the square we heard sounds of Country and Western music, then we found a troupe of (French) line dancers performing to an ever-faster version of ‘Pick a Bale o’Cotton’: DSCN0826

Had to take a closer look at the ‘Apple Steamer’:

DSCN0828

‘The Sirens of the Hers’ Hmmm …….. Is that Carol and Carolyn? DSCN0829

On yer bike, Carol! DSCN0830

Apple decorations were everywhere, while the market place was full of stalls selling (mainly) apples and apple-related produce. DSCN0833

Time to take off:

Stop chatting up the pilot! (And give me my stick back!) DSCN0840

We’ve been disappointed by the lack of progress in getting Harry’s skylight repaired. The place we went to in Pamiers – two months ago! – haven’t even given us a price and ordered the part yet. So we’ve given them the elbow and turned to the very well reputed motorhome centre in Narbonne. It was a longer drive and there’s still a wait, but at least the replacement skylight is on order now.

At home, time to relax and enjoy the sunshine – and the pool! DSCN0766

Finally, a view of the Square in Sonnac Sur L’Hers – as we left Chez Maison Bleue (and Nick tidying up) after that delicious dinner earlier in the month. DSCN0810

YEAR 2 BEGINS AT SUNEJO; we get a new car, our first visitor returns and new ones arrive.

So we’ve seen the year round!

For those who might be interested, and haven’t found them already, I’ve put an album of representative pictures on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006348009110 – don’t know whether that works; someone can try it and tell us. (OK! I tried and it does.)

The second year began as did the first – with a visit from (Cousin) Mark, by motorbike:

He had better weather than last year and we were free to entertain (no removal men!) so we fitted in a trip to Andorra where a mountain biking event was taking place below the cable car;

and one to Puivert Castle:

Though a heavy shower opened up just before Mark and Carol got back to the car where I was waiting for them – warm and dry!

Ah, car; yes. We set about finding a replacement for Sally as soon as we got back from England. We found this Citroën C3 in ‘Lucifer Red’, and she’s a former driving school car, which appealed in a quirky sort of way:

I said that with that colour description, it was as well the number plate was 777, not 666! We toyed with calling her ‘Cerise’, but on the way home Carol suggested ‘Lucy’ and so she is. She’s not as excitable as Sally, who used to squawk if you set off with your belt not fastened, even for a short manoeuvre on a car-park. Lucy just jingles politely; and she’s very good at drawing attention to open doors, or key left in the ignition – she even tells us how many kms we can go before we have to fill up.

We have less good news of Harry; the place we called at in Pamiers haven’t got us a new skylight yet and we’re worried about wet weather approaching. We also didn’t dare use him for excursions with the next visitors, which was a bit disappointing.

The day after Mark left we welcomed Trevor and Pam – we stayed with Trevor for three weeks last year while Harry was having that major repair, then in January we went to their wedding. Even without Harry, we enjoyed the ‘usual’ excursions, with trips to Mirepoix on Market Day:

The Church in the Rock at Vals:

A look at the castles of Montségur and Roquefixade:

Carcassonne, on a drizzly day, when Harry would have been really useful (for eating in):

A picnic by the Aude:

followed by a ride on the Train Rouge:

and a drive up – and down Galamus Gorge:

followed by an eve-of-birthday dinner for Pam at Mike’s (Café du Fleuve in Quillan) – Pam & Trevor’s invitation, thank you!

More eating and another willing waiter (to take the photo) next day during Pam’s birthday trip to Andorra; this is at our now ‘usual’ eat-as-much-as-you-like buffet restaurant:

We were a bit disappointed that the cable cars weren’t running – possibly due to insufficient custom between seasons – but since T & P were visiting by car they made the most of the shopping opportunities, contributing adequately to the Principality’s economy. As for photography, cows and horses beside, or even on, the road seemed to be the main ‘focus’ of attention:

During stay-at-home days, Pam & Trevor enjoyed the pool, and were the first of our visitors to do so. Trevor even had a pre-breakfast dip a couple of times, which I haven’t done yet! No photos of any of that, but there’s a nice stay-at-home one to close with: (Peace, Pedants! John Humphreys says prepositions at the end of sentences don’t matter; who am I to argue?!)

A TRIP TO ANDORRA AND SALLY GETS WIND OF SOME BAD NEWS …..

C’était le 31 juillet, M’sieur and M’dame decided to go up to Andorra and buy some stuff, in bottles. –

It wasn’t all in bottles; we bought some other stuff as well.

C’est possible. There were a lot of bottles. After driving over the hill from Pas De La Case, THEY decided to take a ride on a cable car, which THEY have been talking about every time we go up there, but they haven’t done it before.

Yes, we thought it was time to find out what it was like. There was a large multistorey car park as part of the base station, and there was no queue; it would probably be rather different during the winter months.

Though in spite of the 3-week heat wave, there were still patches of snow to be seen near the summits. This particular cable car ride keeps going all year by exploiting other possibilities than skiing. Some of the cabins are equipped with external bike racks – see second photo – so the mountain bikers go up in the cable car and then ride down:

Then at the top there’s a golf course:

After that we did some more shopping and headed for home, arriving in time for a sunset swim.

It was a nice drive, as always, in spite of the extra weight to bring back, but I was a bit worried about something …. I kept hearing remarks about ‘if we sell her’ or ‘what if we don’t sell her?’ … Ils ne parlent pas de moi, sûrement? THEY wouldn’t do that …. would they?

We really did work hard to try to be ready for an early start on Friday morning, packing up everything except the contents of the fridge and hooking the vehicles up just inside the gate, as we did once before, but in spite of getting up before seven o’clock on Friday, it was still after midday before we got away. One issue was that as a first job I put Harry’s fridge on using the gas and during the morning the gas bottle reached empty! It was probably better to have to change it at home than later in the dark and a hailstorm, but it took time. Another thing was that there was far too much stuff in the big house fridge then Harry’s little one could take – bad planning! – and then at the last minute we couldn’t find Carol’s car key. She’d slipped it into a pocket of the apron she put on to help change the gas bottle, then completely forgotten it. We spent about half an hour searching …..

Ja, und es war heiss beim warten! It was hot, waiting for THEM in the sun. But endlich we did get away and drove past the fields of sunflowers:

on the way to fill up with diesel at Pamiers.

But now I know! They said ‘say goodbye to your abri’ before we left and they put a notice in my back window about this little car being for sale! …….. So it’s true; THEY don’t love me any more!

Yes, we do!

Then why are you trying to get rid of me?

Sally, it isn’t like that; but we really need a French car now –

But I am French!

Well, you’re a French make, but you’re made to be used in Britain – your steering wheel is on the right hand side, and anyway rules about towing are different in France and the A Frame is illegal. Not only that; but I’ve change my licence for a French one, and it doesn’t include towing, unless I have a medical. I didn’t know that when I changed it – I thought these things were standard across the European Union.

Well, that’s not fair …

Whoever said life was going to be fair, even for a car, was lying.

So what ARE you going to do if no-one buys me?

Hmmm ….. we haven’t decided yet. But anyway, here’s a picture of the first lunch stop on the way north, with you and Harry taking a break in the shade:

MOONRISE AND A MAGNIFICENT MANIFESTATION.

Monday 22nd July, a magnificent full moon rises above the hillside beyond the farm:

The field which surrounds Sunejo , supposedly barley, but there was a lot of oats in it and other stuff, has been harvested, and the straw bailed and taken away. Other fields in the area have ripening wheat, maize, sown late but growing very fast, and sunflowers just coming into bloom.

I responded to an item on ‘Any Questions’ on Friday evening with an e-mail to ‘Any Answers’. They contacted me, but in the end the didn’t revisit that question (Europe) in the programme. Anyway, I posted the e-mail in my parallel blog “Daddy Says”, which is public, and suddenly I have a ‘like’ from one total stranger and another is ‘following’ me. You can find the blog, if you want, by clicking ‘stephenkeith0804’ at the top right of this screen and going to ‘Daddy Says” – but remember, you’ll be signed in as me, so no edits or comments, please, unless you find another way in as yourself.

Now, Wednesday, 24th July. A year ago, while living in Harry at Puivert, we promised ourselves a return visit for their annual festival and firework display. We booked a pitch for Harry, knowing that after the meal, and what goes with, neither of us would be likely to be able to drive home legally, and we encouraged our friends Nick & Carolyn, who run a guest house in the village, to come and join us, with their guests. We parked up mid-afternoon and had a dip in the lake, for old time’s sake (at 25° the water was chillier than in our pool, which is now over 30°, with poolside temperatures in the mid 40s. Who wants to house sit for us next year while we’re away – or even next month? )

After apéro (drinks and nibbles) the 200 folk who’d booked the meal at the campsite found their places at the three rows of trestle tables beside the lake – are Carol and Carolyn laughing at me? I’ve forgotten, but probably ………

As last year the French people beside us were friendly and sociable, as we would expect.

First course: assiette de charcuteries:

Second course – it’s difficult to make a beef stew look good on a photograph, but it was! And the jugs of red and rosé wine just kept getting refilled as soon as they were any where near empty!

Third course: fromage de chèvre (goats cheese) / salade. Actually, it’s now getting dark and the photo used flash – I didn’t realise till I saw the picture that the salad had dressing on it!

Fourth course: tarte aux pommes. (That’s not my personal jug of rosé, you know!)

A reminder of the setting: very soon now, the bank on the far side of the lake will be ablaze with fireworks and lasers, all reflected in the lake:

Here we go:

I took about 100 photos of this display, which lasted 20 minutes

Whereas last year we had a more or less clear view of the lake, this year an overhanging tree was a bit too close.

I think the tree enhances some pictures and spoils others.

I also switched to video for about 2 minutes – the result is on FACEBOOK!!

And finally:

It’s over! One man seems worried about his taxi, but most are joining in the applause and cheering.

We could have followed on by going to the disco and the marché nocturne just outside the campsite, but we settled for coffee and digestif with our friends, chez Harry, where the music was quite adequate for our liking; in fact, just happening to have a guitar handy, we competed with it. (No photo! Shame!)

Another amazing evening provided by a small community ……

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Tag Archives: French Life.