La Belle France (or, to be precise, Brittany)

Arrived here 4th January and have very much enjoyed visits from Peter O'Shea and Sue Sharpe, Laz and Rod (Alan's golfing companions and my 'foodie friends'), then Kina and a lovely quiet time with little vists to harbour cafes, markets and Cap Frehel. Now Alan is working with Pascal on 'Le Atelier" which will be a grand project and one which Alan is very much enjoying the manual labouring on. I remain 'Textile Manager' and interpreter plus sometime hostess and Madame des Chambres d'hotes. Fine cuisine and plenty of time for reflection, piano, gardening planning and relaxing in front of the most beautiful log fires topped up by for cones and 'shed kindling'. Ahh, the Good Life!

Since summer ...

After a fab week in Edinburgh with Archie and at the Fringe Festival, summer's drawing to a close.

Alastair is back home and completing his MA dissertation.
We now have Jack, Alan's nephew also in residence and our travelling companions, Kay & Richard are moving on and out to Abu Dhabi where Richard has a new job. As can be seen from the photo, Ziggy seems to be taking all the household movements in his stride!
And a nice chance to catch up with little Roshi who is now walking and babbling.

Summer 08 (part 2): The Loire Valley

Another lazy summer in France (Part 1)

And so to France once more … first a couple of weeks on our own, with time to do the gardening and house maintenance stuff before the arrival of various friends. We took the opportunity to go and see the Tour de France whiz by at St Brieuc which was an experience, albeit rather a strange one.

Firstly, hours of hanging around and trying to pick a decent spot and then a prolonged assault from the sponsors who chucked out various useless freebies to the attending crowds and then, in seconds, the no-doubt drug-induced riders shot by in a blur. Still, it was an experience. In the evening we went to a music festival in St Brieuc which had some great bands, but was poorly attended with no more than about 150 people.

Caught up with Lucy on her Bastille Day birthday and after that our Belfast friends, Joe & Janet Blake arrived, along with our usual contingency from Ayr, Ken, Caroline, and Sarah (who is now seven). Alan taught Sarah to climb the huge oak tree in our garden (with Caroline looking on aghast!), plus some kayaking and go-karting. Joe & Janet seemed to enjoy themselves although the time passed by so quickly. But Joe, previously non-plussed by seafood, seems to have overcome his objections and is now a successful convert to crunching, poking, and munching on salty goodies such as Alan’s new-found skill with crabs.




Having seen everyone off, including a lovely day out in Rennes with Joe & Janet, Alan and I decided on a sojourn in The Loire Valley, and have hired a gite near Saumur. Part of a small campsite run by some Brits from Bradford, we are catching up on reading, cycling and will shortly be exploring the numerous caves and wineries that abound in this region. Yesterday, we visited the pretty town of St Nicolas de Bourgeuil, which is challenging Alan’s pronunciation skills.

Going to the Dogs

An unprofitable but fun evening with Penny & Mickey at Walthamstow Dogs which, most sadly, will be closing for the last time this summer, making way for posh new flats. Death of an institution.