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!

UK Visit

30th April - 13th  May 2019:
Follow the link for the photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/zsVMz89aY9U7w9sJ7

30.4.19:

Tied up loose ends right up until it was time to leave for the airport with Nicole P. Flight passed quickly and Mary was there to meet me. Would you believe an hour's parking just over from the terminal building costs £48!

It was about 9pm when we arrived home so a glass of cava was most welcome. Well, that was when we managed to get the cork out if the bottle. Ate a light but plentiful supper and headed to bed in the guest room of Mary's new apartment complex designed for older people. Spacious and all any guest would need especially as Mary had added several homely touches to compensate for the official notices (7of them).

Weather:

Perpignan 24°, sunny; Birmingham 15°, cloudy (on arrival)

1.5.19: May Day

No maypoles or May Queens, no public holiday in UK; no lily of the valley or workers' demonstrations; no newspapers in France.

We made a leisurely start and eventually got ourselves over to "Pesto". Met up with Annie and Graham for lunch. We reminisced about their time in France over tasty food and a glass of wine. 
http://pestorestaurants.co.uk/find-a-restaurant/pesto-sutton-coldfield-2/
From there we went back to theirs for a cuppa and more chat. Rounded off the afternoon with a trip to the lovely Sutton Park  where we checked out the newly opened Bracegridge restaurant. A pretty swish place with a large terrace overlooking the lake. https://thebracebridge.com/

Had a hot drink and came home for a cava but still couldn't open the bottle. Luckily, as last night, Mary had another one in reserve. Just see how our supper looks almost too pretty to eat. Despite a not very energetic day, with a relatively early start in view we made it to bed at a reasonable time.

Weather:

16°, overcast

2.5.19:

Made sure that the guest room was clean before handing back the keys. Don't know how we did it but we were out for 10am to go to M and S to exchange the bottle of cava that we couldn't get the cork out of, which they did without problem.

Did the scenic tour around Mere Green, a seriously upmarket (now) part of B'ham. Trendy bars, brasseries, restaurants and independent shops. Apparently even the hospice charity shop has a large selection of evening and cruise wear!

Arrived in good time to take Mum for lunch to the "Red Lion", the village local. Really nice landlord and the food wasn't too bad, either

A quiet afternoon then it was back to Jill's for the evening.

Weather:

15°. Sunny soon clouding over, a heavy downpour then drizzle.

3.5.19:

Leisurely start before collecting Si from Alison's to take him to the station. Stopped in Moreton long enough for a coffee and as Mum was away shopping, we had another at the community café.  A bite to eat and then tackled Mum's fridge. Suffice it to say a lot was binned.  Tomorrow the pantry and that's a daunting prospect, I can tell you. Feeling pretty weary, Jill and I abandoned the idea of braving the rain to go for a drink and instead stayed home  and watched tv

Weather:

14°, same as yesterday

5.5.19: On Safari/Pride of Lions

Popped round to the church, which is just next door, to say "hello" to Mum. Of course she was muddled up and thought we were going back with her.

Instead I had a date with Andy and Mary who, by chance, were up from Dorset for a week’s holiday. Was great to catch up in person rather than by email.

We had lunch at "The Red Lion" in Long Compton. That's the second Red Lion in four days! How many before to make it a pride? The place had loads of character, low ceilings, stone floors, nooks and crannies.

Back to Jill's for a cuppa and like a home from home, spent the evening in front of the box.

Weather:

12°, cloudy

4.5.19:

Leisurely start to the day followed by a walk around the town.

Took Mum to the community café to fortify ourselves for a clean up of her pantry. Threw out at least 8 jars of out of date tartar sauce! There was more besides but you don't need the gory details. 3 hours later we called it a day with still one more shelf and the freezer left to tackle.

Well, it was Saturday night so rather than watch tv, we hit the town! A Pinot Noir in "the George" and a Pinot Noir in "Thirst Impressions", a new micro pub. But there again, there's only so much Pinot that a girl can safely drink, so we headed home and ........ watched tv.

Weather:

12°, Sun, menacing cloud, chilly wind

6.5.19:

Who'd have thought that it would have been such a cold Bank Holiday. We were spared rain though which was a boon as Jean and John came down for a catch up.

Had a walk around Moreton then went off in search of lunch at the Batsford Arboretum. It was too cold to sit out on the patio so the dining room was pretty busy. Abandoned the idea of a walk given it was cold and went back to Moreton for tea and cake.

Arrived back at Jill's just in time to welcome Jen down from Yorkshire; so tonight there were three pairs of eyes fixed on some nondescript tv instead of two.

Weather:

12°, cloudy

7.5.19:

Went to the village café only to find that it was closed. In true community spirit, the manageress of the attached shop offered to make Jen and I a drink which we had sitting out on the terrace.

Took Mum out for lunch to the garden centre, had a walk around and then tea and cake.

More tea back at Mum's and then home to Jill's for another night in with telly, cava and for a change walnut whips.

Weather:

13°, sun and cloud with the odd spot of rain

8.5.18:

Met up with Irene and Margaret who came down from near Melton Mowbray.

Started off in the "Three Ewes" for coffee and then wandered over to "El Café" for a tapas lunch.

https://www.elcafe.co.uk/ We were served a great selection which was very tasty. Had a good laugh and had even more when we ended up back at Jill's for a cuppa.

Only had room for a very light supper whilst watching tv. My body is missing the treadmill and despite the lack of exercise, I'm nevertheless feeling tired from the overindulgence. Oh, for a stronger will.

Weather:

15°, rain

9.5.19:

Went to the village café with Jen. Route planning to the Dales for her and catching up with emails for me.

Up at Mum's she was in the starting blocks to go to do her grocery shopping. An added bonus was Rosie's lunch time stopover just before Mum had to leave. She and I had a quick catch up over tea and sandwiches.

Mum arrived home to find me stuck into dealing with the last shelf in the pantry. Of note this time were the ten out of date boxes of sweeteners.

This evening Mel and Boo took us to the Marina bistro for some serious tapas.  https://www.marinacafebistrostratford.co.uk/default.html

Afterward we carried on along the river to Tiddington to the Baraset House which will be on the agenda next time I'm over. Had a last drink, well I'd did. The others had hot chocolate! Well, next stop was home and bed. https://www.barasetbarn.co.uk/

Weather:

14°, rain

10.5.19:

Up in time to catch a bus to Stratford just after 9am but ****** I found that the timetable at the bus stop had not been updated by the Council; there were 30 minutes to wait during which time I grumbled about the lack of customer care and thanked my lucky stars that at least it wasn't raining.

Met Bernadette as arranged and the first item on the agenda was a coffee at "Coffee 1" where we started on our catch up.

Some shopping and a leisurely lunch at the theatre overlooking the river followed.

No prizes for guessing how Jill and I spent the evening.

Weather:

15°, sun, cloud, few spots of rain

 

11.5.19:

Toddled down into the town for a coffee at "The George" where met and chatted to a young family. Went over to Mum's and continued to attack her cupboards.

Then it was back home and up to Alison's where Mel and Paul were already ensconced for an evening en famille.

Weather:

17°, sun, cloud    

12.4.19. Best laid plans

Up and out to see Mum as she emerged from church. Then waited and waited and waited for Karen to arrive for lunch. Eventually found out that she was blocked in her house by a cycle race so it was a late sandwich lunch and a promise that we'd meet up in Autumn when I'm back again. It hadn't been a completely wasted morning as the weather was sunny and the bench in the garden beckoned.

Took a walk down town with Jill for a cuppa at the George and bumped into Mervyn with whom I was at school and haven't seen since.

This evening called around to Kim and Simon's for a drink which we enjoyed sitting in their back garden.

Supper, tv, bed

Weather:

19°, sun and light cloud.

13.5.19:

Last day in the ancestral stamping ground so I spent the best part of the time with Mum. We did a couple of crosswords, went for a walk and watched some tv. Took the bus back to Jill's for an evening of packing, eating up bits and pieces and finishing a stray bottle of cava in the fridge.

Weather:

19°, sun and light cloud