push on and finish this roof

Blog 18 / June 2016

I posted on Facebook today 23rd June my best wishes for Britain and all those brave people who have to make a huge choice. We live in the European community, we live and breathe it every day with no question of it not being the French way of life. We chose not to vote as we feel we have a conflict of interest.  Whichever way it goes there will be a different feel to the federal state we live in and I hope by the time we have Breakfast we will know which way UK is going and then we can start to understand how it will affect us here in Brevands.

We finally finished the two long sides of the barn roof and we are dry at last, but not yet dust free.  Tons of slates fell into the barn and we set to the clearance job protected with masks which actually lasted 15 minutes as my glasses misted up and I couldn’t understand a word Mike was saying.  We have the front triangle to finish and the capping to fit and the job is done…..

This job has taken its toll on Mike’s worn out legs and a bit of clearing up was a relief, but the slates that rained off this huge roof have now been picked up and deposited in the gardens and in store and the thousands of nails that kept the slates in place have been picked up with a powerful magnet to protect HOSS’s Paws and me, when I am out in my crocs. We have filled two lidle ice cream tubs with nails, it is quite remarkable.

Hooray…. the fishing season has started and we made it out twice in a week. For 8 euros we can have 6 hours of carp fishing and although  Ann and I are happy to sit and chat for the whole time Mike has convinced me that I should mind a  rod and give it a go on our next sortie

Both Shirley and Graham landed big carp and Mike lost two at the point of netting, but the excitement when one of us has a bite is both thrilling and fun

Don’t misunderstand this photo, there is no competitive culture going on, it is just a question of landing the biggest fish to win the trophy and all the accolade that goes with it  …..win win win …

And quite right, a 20 pounder is something to be proud of and we all gather around to congratulate, and then back to the swim with a revitalised enthusiasm that there is a whopper out there just waiting to play.

On the 21st June we gathered in the garden to celebrate the longest day 2016. I spent days glued to weather forecast wriggling out of the promised warm and clear skies it kept promising.

Mike cleared the Barn just in case it poured but as it happened the rain stayed off long enough to see the sun set and then we all moved into the tent and carried on regardless.

Sun set was at 22:17 and at the precise moment Mark played us the last post on his violin to mark the moment beautifully, and then at 23:00, at dusk, six of us girls picked up our recorders and played TAPS stood around our fire pit. It was a moment I will remember with love in my heart because I always sit out for longest days, sun and moon eclipses and meteor showers and to do this with my best mates made it all the more special for me and when I am happy, Mike is delighted.

Our wonderful gang of friends left at the point of a new day and we just dumped everything in the kitchen and hit the sack.  It all has to be cleared up and put away but for me that is all part of the fun with a lovely warm feeling that we all had a good time singing and chatting until the day was done.

My regular Blog readers will remember that we had to move our lily plants into protective custody because the ducks took a fancy to them and we corralled them in an old awning frame surrounded by wire to keep the little buggers out. We were delighted when the leaves pop up from the bottom of the pond and this week we had our first bloom.  We still have work to do on this project because it seems that the moor hens can squeeze through the wire netting and it appears they quite like lily flowers. We will have to start again in the autumn and replace the green wire with chicken wire to keep those little buggers out as well.

We had two extra days rest and then started to prepare for Jacobs return to lay the final metal sheets on the roof. Mike and I rebuilt the scaffolding for the penultimate time, we will only need to move one half again and then it will all come down…….. Never to be used again, I hope.  As Mike got to the top level and tied the ladders securely  and started to collect the tools and equipment he needs to start in the morning the heavens opened and the thunder and lightning  lit up the skies and vibrated around us so we came in and checked the weather forecast again. It promises that the rain is pushing off and the thunder will head off with it and we are in for a dry and pleasant time……and I hope just for once the weather men have got it right so we can push on and finish this roof.

it is guaranteed, and very satisfying.

Blog 17 / June 2016

What a busy two weeks this has been and we start with a delightful evening with Graham and Ann and their two allocated American Airmen to entertain as part of their culture appreciation whilst here in France. These bright and intelligent chaps are stationed in Italy and had volunteered to take part in a schedule of parachute drops during the DDay weekend. We had a great time discussing many subjects, Donald trump and Brexit all came up at least once. Supper was wonderful and it was a delight to see these Young active soldiers getting stuck into homemade food with a warm welcome as a bonus.

Then the festivities begin and we met friends Shirley and Mark at Camp Arizona. A farmer’s field in the centre of Carentan is converted overnight into a 1944 American WW2 camp. Here we are in the canteen listening to 40’s music watching enthusiasts jiving in full costume all having a good time.  There is no age limit to these wonderful occasions and we sat amongst veterans and babies enjoying the respect of re-enactment that keeps the DDay story alive and never forgotten

The Flags go up in Brevands and Monty is polished so Mike can paint on the Free French logo in preparation for our place in the WW2 vehicle parade through Carentan

With our Picnic on the back luggage rack flying the Canadian flag because we can, we drove through town with Graham and Ann as our waving crew.

Carentan was crowded and people waved and cheered at us just because we participated, and it felt great and somehow a little humbling.

We met Friends Jay and Helen looking fantastic in their military uniforms, and because we go as free French we dress in civilian attire of the time.

A 94 year old gentleman stopped our friends John and Lynne who also go as Free French and because I have the language they called me over to chat and he spoke to us about his time in the resistance and how he used the logo on his car. He was a little emotional and then we got talking about where we live and it turns out he lunched several times in our home over the years as he knows  M et Mm Leboulanger who we bought the house  from 9 years ago. He promised to call by and say hello and I hope he does, I bet there are some great local stories for us to listen to there

The 2016 Camp Arizona was a great success and the Mairie of Carentan had opened the doors wide open for this annual event.  It is now the third year that we have had such a wonderful camp and long may it last as we no longer have to travel to St Mere Eglise to get a show and see all these wonderfully restored and well-presented WW2 vehicles and artefacts.

I took a few pictures where there was no evidence of 2016. The attention to detail to keep everything authentic and in timeline is remarkable. It is a great hobby and these re-enactors take it very seriously

But  then it is time to pack up, the low loaders turn up and trailers and Lorries load up to take this precious cargo back to the garages and barns until the next sortie out, in uniform and regalia.

Our last event was a BBQ with Trevor and Carol and these two lovely ladies made it fun and jolly. I wanted to find a better 40’s look that I could be more comfortable in and when I saw Carol in her Land Girls outfit I knew that was the look I wanted. Carol ran off to her vintage clothes shop and brought me over a brilliant pair of dungarees and the rest is up to me, …so watch this space.

We all sat out in French style until the sun went down which is now about 23:00 and then we finished off in Trev’s 1940’s bar, a really great night out had by all.

In the middle of this busy week Mike saw a ‘must have’ bargain on the Bon Coin and we went to Cherbourg to look at this little caravan and loved it so much we brought it home and called it Dotty.  Mike and I are going back to basics with our camping and will move our Motorhome on at the end of the season.  We have a desire a go with the simple French approach to camping for our need of a few days away.  It will be a squeeze and a bit of a culture shock after our current palatial Motor Home but we love a challenge and we like to make changes to the way we do things.

Dotty is set up in the orchard until we can find the time to revamp, update and make her ours, adding another project to the to-do list…….!!

The Barn roof project started again for a few days and we have now completed both sides. At the end of each day when Jacob has gone home Mike and I move the scaffolding along by dismantling it and rebuilding at the next work area. We are getting pretty smart now and have a good system going but it is heavy work and in many ways it is good that Jacob comes to us in his spare time, so we have time to recover.

Mike and Jacob work well together,  tools and knowledge are shared and discussed and I know that Mike is having a really good time getting a good job done in good time with somebody who know how

Needless to say I could not resist the temptation of getting up the scaffolding to the higher level to appreciate our surroundings. I love this picture with my beloved and precious Polly tunnel looking good, warming and protecting my crops.

Whist Mike is so preoccupied I have taken the opportunity to loose myself in my gardens, and it was about time. I usually do a severe prune and bramble hunt in the winter and for some reason it did not happen last year, so a massive intervention ended up with as much garden lain strewn on the grass all around as left in the garden. I managed to get through the Mound garden and the Gardengarden and then I will get cracking on the others during the summer now I am in the mood ………!!

Mike and I have had two years of concern about how we deal with our grass cuttings. If you have a lawn it becomes an obsession to make it look as good as possible and picking up the cuttings becomes essential. We have now, however,  committed to a plan where I use one place to dump and I have planted 30 little home propagated Box plants to  create a hedge to hide the bank of composting grass cuttings, which can look a little dull and uninteresting in the winter and when it is wet. I spent all of one day planting this hedge but it is one of my favourite things to do because a hedge becomes an architectural element with purpose. Watching your very own little hedge grow and flourish is one of the great joys of gardening, it is guaranteed, and very satisfying.