Here comes Summer

 

Cornwall much beloved by artists and surfers not to mention Rick Stein, restauranteur and tv chef . . .  and you can't go any farther on mainland Britain. Myths and legends, cream teas and several holidays in this part of the country bring memories of picturesque villages, sandy beches rugged coasts and wild seas. 

Hitch hiking and staying in youth hostels with Jill gave us many a tale to tell. Leap frogging on the way back from the pub; meeting some of the "Downliners Sect," a group you've probably never heard of and lots of sightseeing.

Later visits were considerably more comfortable and needless to say less unpredictable! 

July 2024: School's out, the roads are crowded, shutters are closed to keep out the blistering sun and visitors are expected.

 

June Already

June already and more and more people are appearing on the terrace of the café; midsummer, the longest day and the "Feux de St Jean" are in view as is a trip to chillier climes. Although looking at the above picture, you wouldn't believe that description of UK. There again, Wiltshire is a bit further south than my destination. 

What's Wiltshire famous for? Salisbury cathedral (13th century) sporting the tallest spire in Britain painted by John Constable

White horses carved into the chalk hillsides dating from the 18th century and of course, the monumental Stonehenge dating from 3000 BC or BCE if you prefer to leave the Christian reference aside in favour of "Common/Current Era dating. Writing this in August, the news has just broken that the large stone, known as the altar stone is not Welsh blue stone as thought but Scottish! No mean feat to transport a 6 ton (5,433kg) stone all the way from NE Scotland! 

1992: Our visit was a detour coming up from the overnight ferry on our way north. If I remember rightly we had breakfast in Marlborough and were disappointed that we had to view the stones from behind a rope which I believe is even farther back nowadays. If you're ready to sign up for a VIP visit for £61, you can go inside the circle and at the summer solstice special permission can be granted. Don't know, though, if you need to be a bona fide druid!! (lol, of course you don't!)

June 2024  Well, of course the highlight of the month was my trip to visit family and friends though this time I missed seeing Mary who will be a definite for next year's visit and Jen who I hope to see in the autumn before the direct flight from Perpignan hibernates for several months.

First off, was a visit to see Maureen, my Mum's Irish 2nd cousin, who lives with her daughter and son in law in the East Midlands. It was quite a journey for me on public transport; two buses to get to the airport which entailed a long wait for the flight and a bus at the other end to Leicester where Joanne & Terry picked me up. 12 hours in all. Maureen had just celebrated her 100th. Still going strong, she's some woman! Loves life, walks up 13 stairs to go to bed, attends to her own personal needs and does a 20 minute walk twice a day. Hope some of those genes have filtered down this way. She'd had a telegram from Charles & Camilla, an ornate certificate from the Pope and the prospect of 2,400€ from the Irish state! Of course we spent a lot of time reminiscing about her trips with Mum here and to Paris and Dubai when Christian and I were there, looking at photos and having a laugh. 

A pub lunch with Joanne and massive pieces of birthday cake were also on the cards.

Next stop was chez Jean & John which involved two buses, one of which set off with a water leak and was replaced en route. Finally, got to Coventry where I had time enough to eat a lunch in the bus station café before my hosts picked me up.  While tucking in to my omelette and chips, I heard a very noisy drug arrest going down and listened to a number of stories from one of the litter collectors employed by the Council about all the aggression he'd experienced. 

A quiet night in, looking out of the window at a peaceful English village was more than welcome. 

 

 The same goes for our visit the next day to steeped in history Kenilworth with its castle that we didn't have time to visit.

 

 The following day it was time to move on to my final destination but not before Sunday lunch at the local pub. A roast, what else? and what a bonus . . there was no bus to catch as Jean & Jean drove me down to Jill's.

 

No more humping around my suitcase or watching the clock to be in the right place at the right time. My bed was ready, space was cleared in the wardrobe and a bottle of cava was chilling in the fridge. Bienvenue chez Jill!

 

Chatted a lot, caught up with all the family, morning coffees, walked most days, put the visa card to work, watched tv and ate chocolate. And of course, went out and about. First outing was for prosecco and salad at the Church House Brasserie in Banbury

Sunday lunch at "The Black Horse", the oldest pub in the town (1540)

A superior hot chocolate on a wet Saturday morning in Stratford

Lunch and shopping in Stratford

Lunch and shopping in Warwick, the county town home to the Municipal Council that helped fund my university studies back in the glory days.

More shopping in Banbury that yielded several bargains

A must for every visit. Shame the other half of  "sœurs" couldn't make it 

We hadn't met since Yasmin and her husband sold their holiday home five years ago. Finally managed to get together in Oxford. I let the train take the strain and all went without a hitch. Dodging the rain, we found "Côte Brasserie" for lunch and chatted the time away. I was so pleased that Yasmin made it as the next day she was downsizing and moving out of London. Such a capable woman, with Raza away in Iran, she was managing it all herself. We parted with promises of me visiting and trying out the futon she's planning to buy for guests.

It's clear to see from the photos, the weather was mixed but glad to say that there was only one episode of such heavy rain and as I left there was a promise of sunny spells to come both sides of la Manche.

Despite having to check in 3 hours in advance because of problems with new security equipment, the journey home went without a hitch; JJ was at the airport to meet me and Jacques had dinner ready. Aren't I lucky to have such good pals? 

It goes without saying that there were other get togethers with friends, not all of which are mentioned below.

At last I returned hospitality to Michèle and Henri starting with an apéro chez moi. Lunch at the local restaurant, needless to say, far surpassed anything I could offer at home.
 

Apéro dinatoire chez Thérèse

 JJ entertained some his women friends over an apéro

Michel entertained some of his friends over coffee and croissants at the bar

The bar entertained all & sundry at a soirée musicale

All and sundry entertained the rest of us at the Fête de la Musique  

 

Two days later the Feux de st Jean celebrations were cancelled due to high winds but the decorations in our street meant that it wasn't forgotten.

 

An opportunity for us to catch up with Eric at his exhibition "Art in the Garden in St Cyprien. Was also an opportunity for us to have lunch by the sea at the restaurant "Espadron" which was a pot luck choice that we didn't regret.

There was another exhibition to see and this one was within walking distance in the village. As I hadn"t been around for the vernissage, Françoise and I went together. The artist was there so we had a private showing complete with recitation.

Other things of note? Wordle in 1 with "paint", the purchase of a new oven which necessitated having to organise replacing the struts holding it in place and changing the rubber gas pipe lurking at the back which should have been done in 2010!

Weather:

Temperature reached a high of 30° and dropped as low as 14° and there was one almighty downpour which for once was followed by consistent rain for most of the day In Uk there was a high of 15° and a low of 6°.

Notes of Nature:

 

 

Last Word:

Appropriately enough found at Maureen's!

Blooming May

May 2024:

 

Looking forward; in May we've three public holidays, the hosting of  the twinning visit and of course thoughts of long , warm evenings.

Looking back, I had to dig into the depths of time to find memories of visits to this month's destination of Northumberland. Went at least three times with different people, taking in Bamburgh with it's long, unspoiled, sandy beaches and impressive castle ruins, the spooky Kilder forest, and of course, Lindisfarne. Here, a priory was built in the 7th century and is reached by a causeway when the tide is out. Viking incursions, skirmishes with the Scots, power base of the Percy family, wild and windy Northumberland is rich in history and well worth going off the beaten track for a visit.

1.1.24: May Day

In Uk, May Day, with the exception of bygone Miners' Galas, brings Maypole and Morris dancing, sporting events and for me memories of never being elected May Queen in primary school!

Here, it's a public holiday and the only day when newspaper's aren't printed. It's also, the day when Lily of the Valley is given for luck. I had several virtual sprigs to brighten the dull, cloudy day that dawned. Despite damp and uncertain weather, Françoise and I headed down to Collioure for a warm drink at Les Templiers and a walk around. Noted that a café crème and a hot chocolate that costs 5€ in the village café costs 8€ there. Not only is it at the sea, it's in all the guide books as the bar where artists paid their bill with bits of art. The walls are full of paintings but sadly those done back in the days by famous artists are long gone to other homes.

8th - 12th:  May's Main Event the Twinning Visit

 This year it was our turn to host the twinning visit. As usual, Agnes stayed with me and to my relief there were enough beds to go around for the nearly 40 Normans who braved an overnight coach drive down from Calvados, so no need for me to volunteer to take anyone else. With two back to back public holidays followed close on the heels by a weekend, meant that there was heavy traffic and a delayed arrival. After a welcome apéritif down at the recreation ground, Agnès and I went to have lunch at her aunt and uncle's in the next village. Dinner at the foyer was wild boar flavoured with orange which was deliciously lighter than the usual stew in red wine.  The evening ended at midnight but with salsa music and dance still going strong in the square, Agnès and I stopped off to watch for a while before turning in.

Next morning with some free time to fill, we headed off to Le Perthus with Uncle & Aunt to do some shopping and then a coffee back in the bar before lunch at Nicole's. She was glad of a bit of relief from her guest. After lunch Agnès went off on the organised visit and I went on the treadmill. Paella for dinner at the foyer and a late night followed.

A day off for me as the Normans were away all day. Just as well that there was time for a rest as it was another late night. This was the official part of the visit. The Mairie provided the meal, there were speeches, mutual pats on the back and an exchange of presents.

Another free morning and it being Saturday, we went off to the market for a wander and a coffee. A BBQ lunch at the recreation ground went on until 16h so there wasn't much time to recover before dinner at the foyer hosted by our visitors. It was a lively evening with music provided by an excellent guitarist/singer who had everyone going and by that I mean, I actually got myself onto the dance floor. Not that Bretteville needed any encouragement. They partied non-stop!

And so the day dawned at 6h30, which was all too soon, but there was a rendez-vous at the bus to keep with strict instructions to be there for 7h30. The road to Normandy is a long one. All the farewells took half an hour and then the rest of the day was mine! Treadmill, coffee at the bar, some gardening and an impromptu apéro at Jean & Françoise's put pay to any idea of putting my feet up.

There were other apéritifs too, here, there and everywhere including a get together with Jenny who used to live here but a few years ago at the age of 80 moved with her husband to live in New Zealand near to her family.

What a blessing that there were less dinner invites than usual; after all the feasting with the Normans, my stomach needed a rest. Just a couple of meals at Jacques'. Restaurant-wise there were two contasting lunches; one at the village café with Bridget & Hortense, where I only ate a salad and at the newly opened "Jardin de Céret" with Michèle & Henri. Talk about chalk and cheese! It was a splendid meal in modern, comfortable surroundings.

Other things of note: 

On the down side I gave myself a headache by starting to do my tax return and was disappointed by an exhibition of black & white photos of Glasgow. They were so dismal.

On the up side: I had a trip to Argelès with Jean and Françoise to enjoy the sea air, the seaside art and the local producers' market. 

This month's vernissage was unchallenging and easy on the eye . . . .            and now to look forward to June and a trip to visit family and friends in UK.

Weather: Day time temperatures between 16° - 28°; Night time temperatures 6° - 15°. So much for warm evenings! Just a few light rain showers. Water restrictions continue.

Notes of Nature: