Morning all. Wet and windy, so might as well do the weekly shop as outside tasks are a no no. According to the supermarket website, fuel prices have remained fairly stable over the past week. Last Friday I put some in the car and it was snowing, so not all is bad. Apart from a couple of trips for bread I haven't been anywhere to use fuel, and my neighbours have cut down on the number of times they get their cars out. I wonder if this will be seen in the turn out at the election on Sunday? Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. Much better weather today after the gales and rain yesterday. My Friday night football takes in the French National League where Chateauroux play, but with a chance of making the playoff spot. As the spectators huddled in the back of the stands to keep out of the wind and rain, the team came out attacking from the kick off. Within the first 10 minutes they were 2-0 ahead, and this will be a stress free evening I thought. Goodness knows what happened to the mentality, but they decided to sit back and defend. Just before half time the visitors popped one in, so surely not another day watching a confident start turn into a scramble to hang on to a one goal lead. 62nd minute and a corner to the home side. Did the wind catch it, or did the keeper get it all wrong as the ball sailed over his head straight into the goal? The two goal lead restored, much more comfortable, so they decided to attack again, and 10 minutes later scored a fourth. Game over, except for the visitors getting a second goal, but by then everyone, including me, was pretty relaxed. Why teams who find a winning formula at the start need to change it is beyond me. So when Watford open up a lead against Leeds, please do not give me a stressful afternoon. Have a good day everyone.
Start the journey back to Leeds today laden with wine and cheese....Ferry cancelled tonight so looking forward to a good evening meal and hotel stay in Ouistreham. Incidentally https://www.fuelflash.eu/en/ is good for finding the cheapest fuel in Europe.
Morning all. A lovely Spring day here, all very quiet and peaceful apart from the occasional car heading towards the polling station. Talking about hotels, I tend to use one in England that is half a mile from the ferry port, meaning that for a morning sailing I can take things at a steady pace, and arrive in time to catch the boat. My last visit to the UK was October 2019 when I paid £49 for a room for one night. Despite early booking to get the best price, they now want £119. A hotel I have used in Dieppe want £51 for the same night. Despite the increase in fuel costs my ferry crossing has risen by 10%, but is now cheaper than one night in that Newhaven hotel room. I am not using that hotel having found another one £40 cheaper about 30 minutes out of town. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. Bright and breezy, but very mild here today. Interesting as an outsider to see the French Presidential results coming through. When Macron formed his new party four years ago he took up the centre ground pulling support from both the two main parties that had held power between them for years. Imagine if in England the Tories and Labour today could only conjure up 7% of the vote between them which has happened here. Apart from this the surprises were that the left winger almost consigned Le Pen to the rubbish bin, and Macron gathered more votes than many of the polls suggested he would. So we wait for a couple of weeks now to see which way the population wishes to go. Stop Le Pen at all costs seems to be the same message as the one from four years ago. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. Overcast and breezy, but quite mild. The new Orange e-mail page has been launched after much hype from the company for several weeks. I suppose that if you employ web designers you have to find something for them to do, but they have come up with something that is not helpful. The mail such as adverts that are of no interest now have taken over, and the actual mail that I want to see is hidden away somewhere. This is going to take a bit of getting used to. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. Damp, but mild today, but something of a mini heatwave should start tomorrow. Bin men come today, and I actually do need to have my general rubbish taken away for the first time this year. There is very little these days on the fruit and veg counters in the supermarkets that are packaged. The days of two potatoes on a tray covered with film haven't been seen in these parts for a long time. Soft fruits such as strawberries or raspberries do need protection, but a large quantity will come on a wooden tray rather than in plastic tubs. Even the paper bags that you get with your bread now have a notice to say that you can add them to your compost bin. So some progress, and one of the largest landfill sites in the area that is full is going to be turned into a solar farm. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. A blue sky with just a few fluffy clouds about. The Brits are back in the village. The photographer who keeps his Harley Davidson locked away in a garage has been cleaning a year's dust from it, and now is chugging slowly in the direction of the shops. The two families that jointly own one of the other houses are back no doubt to carry on with some alterations or remedial work. There is just one more couple who own a house here, and they haven't been here for over two years. Their caravan sat in the back garden is now covered in lichen, and is looking a bit of a sorry sight. With daily temperatures now in the 20 °s and lots of dry weather forecast those who have come should enjoy their time here. Have a good day everyone.
Good day all... bit odd being back in a city after a very tranquil few weeks of rural life....... I said to Mme..... I am not sure which one feels more like home now..... as we have downsized from a family house and gardens in Leeds to a flat....... all a lot of change.....whereas we continue to do more and more work on our French cottage..........and will be having a family gathering there this August to celebrate 20 years.... the youngest and her boyfirend will have a then in the garden. We will also host a village gathering to celebrate..... with chairs and tables in the farmyard and lots of ridiculous fun and games.....
"the youngest and her boyfirend will have a then in the garden." What's a 'then'? I think I can guess what a 'boyfirend' is...
Morning all. A beautiful sunny morning where even the very tall ash tree down the lane is not even waving the thinnest of branches. The greenhouse vent was opening at 8.00 am and is now as far as it will go. Sadly there are things that we need, so a trip to the supermarket will be required. Friday lunch time is a good time to go if you wish to avoid too many people. Many will go and have their lunch in the cafeteria at midday, then do their shopping afterwards. While they are feeding you can have aisles that are free of people who are blocking your route while they have a good gossip to friends they have bumped into. Given a list of what is wanted I can be in and out in 10 - 15 minutes, but if Mme comes it takes a lot longer as she has a look at all the promotional items on the shelves. Next week it will be the masses of chocolate rabbits and bells that they over ordered. Have a good day everyone.
We use the Portsmouth St Malo route. (Brittany Ferries - superior to ALL the rest in every respect) If we get the early morning crossing to P'mouth, we stay at La Glycine in Benouville. £72 for the room. Gives us access to their superb dining room ! Have breakfast on the ferry.
Ferrry crossings for us are def part of it.... and we tend to do portsmouth - caen as the shortest journey for us... and we will often sleep on the boat or a hotel on the French side... Incidentally for our big family shindig in the summer... one family is hiring a car from paris and fliying back from limoges.... and at this point they are struggling with car hire less than EIGHT HUNDRED POUNDS......Crazy.....
Morning all. Another glorious day, so must attack the grass along the green lane while it is dry enough to cut. As I went out of the village yesterday there were a group of people inspecting a house that has been empty for probably five years, and has for sale signs on it. The house comes with a barn that during WWII was the communal wine store. The owner of the barn reputedly helped himself to rather more than his fair share, and even when I found the village 55 years later, people were still not talking to him. People have very long memories over things that they wish to remember, but shut up like clams if you try to find out about life during the war. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. A beautiful sunny morning, just about warm enough for a coffee sat in the garden. Lots of activity across the road, with cars coming and going and emptying their boots of vast quantities of wine and party food. Our aged neighbour is still very much with it, enjoys having the large family with her, which goes from her in the nineties, down to the great-grandchildren who are just toddlers. We will be going to join our family out here for the day. Must remember to put a bottle of something decent in, as my daughter chooses wine by how colourful the label is, which is not always a very good guide. Have a good day whatever you will be doing.
TBH I have absolutely no idea... I was actually looking for a meme about Eostyr and happened across this. If I see it I will try it.
