As I sit here listening to last night’s episode of BBC’s Archers and reflect over the last six months I say to myself in fluent French where has the last six months gone?? This is my build up to justifying that I have not written a blog for some time, so much has happened since the last blog it is difficult to know where to start without being too long winded and boring.
I think a synopsis will be enough but in the style of the back of a new novel that you are not sure whether to read or not:
“This gripping, exciting page turner of a blog will make you stay awake until the last word has been read. Read about the trip to the UK and amazing visits by friends and family from Australia”
Or
“Unputdownable”, “Pacy. Sexy. High-octane stuff” “A blog which makes for sleepless nights”
Actually that describes the latest James Patterson book but I thought it might add a bit of zest to the reading!!
Since returning from Lake Geneva and Provence our great 2009 French experience has continued, the highlight of course was the children (adults) and grandchildren coming en masse to stay for almost three weeks. As a bonus Terry’s father Ron was here also (his second visit this year) which made it a very emotional time with him bonding with grandchildren he has not seen in 10 years and great grandchildren he hadn’t ever met. We had a ball, not only sightseeing but challenging ourselves with rope climbing in the trees, go- karting, chopping down trees, building a tepee in the garden (well done Steve), catching yabbies in the pond, playing in the pond or should I say mud, shooting and missing frogs and yabbies in the pond with the air rifle and air gun, pumping water out of our neighbours pond into ours ...anyway the list is endless and this is without mentioning the nightly firework display by the boys I mean adult boys but that is debatable watching them playing with the fireworks. We also celebrated Terry’s 60th with Steve’s mother and stepfather and Steve’s brother, sister in law and children, who had also come to France, so one big get together.
It was amazing how technology played such an important role in this trip with family mainly through the social media Facebook, there was many a time when three laptops were on the go all logged into facebook downloading photos from France, so it has been interesting for Terry and I reading facebook since they have left and checking out all their photos. Dominic and Annie had a week end in Barcelona while we all looked after Abigail, Gavin, Dominic and Annie had a night in Andorra and then Kaliska and Steve had a night in Andorra while we looked after their children.
The day after they all left we went to the UK for Bob’s 60th birthday party, Helene and I had a great day shopping in Croydon, Marks and Spencers (shoppers dream, well mine anyway), as we drove up to Deippe over to Newhaven with the car, it was amazing not having to worry about the luggage allowance, the car got filled up from places like B & Q (Bunnings look alike), Sainsburys (Coles look alike) Marks & Spencers (nothing compares!!!) and of course NEXT and Mothercare for the girls who had given me a list and money to buy children’s’ clothes. The worst thing about the UK we had arrived during a bitterly cold snap and our bones could have snapped with the cold, ugh.
When we got back I had organised another party for Terry’s 60th a Curry night for our French friends, this was interesting as I had never cooked a curry in my life before but thankfully a great expat friend Bob came to the rescue with a detailed telephone call telling me what I needed to do step by step. I phoned this particular friend as he has a reputation for his fine curries, I did try asking the audience but they weren’t in the slightest bit interested. (sorry I digress and for those non sad people I was using the Who wants to be a millionaire program as an analogy).
Terry’s birthday was on the following Monday to make it even more special Bob and Chris his two lifelong buddies (Bob was our bestman) arrived for two days, we had a great time doing what we do best ... eat, drink and chat ....and chat they did, continuously for two days, who said women talk alot (sorry Chris).
Things have been pretty full on since we have been back from the UK including a motor vehicle accident I sustained in our local village. For reasons of accuracy this is what happened from the horse’s mouth, me, Carol who was technically in charge of the vehicle at the time. I had driven into SOS to pay someone some money, when I returned to the car it wasn’t there, mon dieu I exclaimed in my best French accent. Then I noticed 5 or 6 French men gesturing and scratching their heads towards a grey grand voyager that was in the doors of the butcher’s shop. Mon dieu I exclaimed (again) (actually it was worse than that but I am reluctant to put it in black and white the word I used) the car looked suspiciously like ours, in fact it was our car and to be honest I was all set to walk past with a cheery Bonjour but decided there was no way out of this situation but just find out what damage I had incurred to the butchers front door. Luckily, when I drove it off the wall and pot plant and out of the door it was surprising that other than a chunk out of the wall, a small scratch on the door and slight bend in the door frame it looked fine. But the French being the French we exchanged insurance companies but this was a week ago and so far no news. Fingers crossed, for those of you interested, once I had rubbed off the brick dust off the ball bar and side of the car there was only a couple of little scratches!!!
SOS has been high on our ‘entertainment’ list recently, another highlight has been the fact that the new mayor is renovating the market square, they have removed the surface of the carpark to reveal the remains of a 11th century church and cemetery, I have taken some photos of the wall outlines and also of a number of exposed bones. How amazing it has been, Terry’s own Time Team on his doorstep. They are planning to cover it up again in the next few days but there has been some talk of putting some lights and Perspex over a particularly well preserved crypt (see circular room in photo). I can’t believe how you can just walk up to the site and see bones in the dirt, we even saw a stone coffin with a pelvis just laying there, anywhere else the area would have been roped off and the bones moved ceremoniously to another place of rest, but no not the French, it is not their way.
I am sure there have been many incidents and anecdotes that I have either forgotten or omitted to write about but our thoughts are now in a hotter climates as we slowly pack up the house and garden ready for next year’s French experience.
A bientot
Great Grandad with Owen and Chloe
Crypt
