Let’s start
things off with a picture of my sunflowers. I
think sunflowers are the most amazing plant, from a little seed this
magnificent plant just grows, ducking and diving in the breeze, splattering the
garden with the happiest yellow and even when the weather takes a turn for the
worst. After our few days of scorchio weather we have had the rain we needed,
and frankly the august outlook we are kind of happy to live with, grey and
warm
The
bookings for our Mobile homes have been coming in on a last minute basis. For
the past two years we have seen a change in the way our clientele arrange their
holidays, and it is most definitely last minute and a shorter week. We only rent to the French and we have
families booked in all the way to the end of August but we still have spaces
and are confident that we will fill them in the booking for the next day
brigade.
Our
first family gave us 3 days’ notice that they were coming. The mobile homes were
ready but we did not have the Trolley Bay finished. Mike applied himself, as
always, fitted the roof and cut the bar to make the area a large garden tabled
seating area for 8 people. We lit the BBQ and invited the Scrivens family to inaugurate
the venue before the customers turned up.
The
Countess and Maestro of Breuil-Houtteville brought their children to cut the
ribbon and officially open this outside space naming it the
Trolley Bay BBQ
Area of Brevands
Mike cooked
us up a feast on his le bon coin 30 Euro posh BBQ and the children then ran all
around the garden and back again until they were worn out. I took wholesome
family photos for next year’s web page and Mike and I observed the proceedings
making sure we got this project right. I think we have, and since our first sit
down event we have had a client family happily sitting in the shade of a shower
which made Mike and I glow a little inside.
We
have been Carp fishing with friends this and last year and Mike has taken quite
a liking to it except for the fact that
he had not yet landed a whopper whilst all around him were. Putting on a brave
face he has bought the kit and bate and has soldiered on until this event when
after yet another lost off the rod he finally landed this little beauty. We were there with Graham and Ann and a young
French chap who had enough kit for five fishermen, but we had a pleasant day
helping each other out and chatting about the sport.
Towards the
end of our day just as we lit up the BBQ for our outward bound supper, the heavens
opened and we sat in a huddle laughing
at the extraordinary things we get up to sitting by a lake getting wet. Just in
case you wondering the fish was put back in the lake…..fishing a l’anglais as
they call it here.
As always
we act on impulse, after our damp but
enjoyable feast by the lake Mike went onto the Bon Coin and found this circus
tent for sale. We drove up to Cherbourg and met a lovely couple who were
selling it very cheap as they had no room to store it, and never had the chance
to use it. This magnificent tent is totally unused and is a pop up variety that
with a bit of putting up practice will provide us with a banqueting hall at the
least threat of rain where ever we are….. We paid 150 Euro for this brilliant
tent and saw that they retail new at 600 euro so we felt we got a good deal.
The man we
were fishing with suggested we visit Terre et Eau in Caen for our equipment and
this is my face book post after our visit…….
Mike suggested we
take the camper out for a confidence run and drove it straight to the hooten
shooten fussy fishy thick socks and checked shirt Terre et Eau shop in caen.
Here you can buy anything you might need to full fill your masculine desire to
hunt . Mike was in his element but I observed that you had to wear camouflage
to be seen and know exactly what you needed because there were no explanations
for use or appropriate need. A mortgage application form came with all products
especially the bits Mike popped into his basket on wheels which was also green
and camouflaged in the hope that I would not see him go through the check out.
........it is most definitely a man thing
Before you know
it there is another outing and a gathering of mates. This was an afternoon tea event at Shirley
and Marks chateau. All day the sun shone and we all turned out in our summer
best and happy faces but just as we got comfortable the rain decided to come
too. The food tent became and reception hall and Trevor got his pop up tent out
to save the day.
Kay and I had a
jolly fine time, and despite the drizzle the kids played treasure hunt and
musical chairs and the food table was abundant and delicious
To celebrate
Mikes fishing accomplishment we transferred his proud picture onto a T shirt
and here he is with Trevor, the current trophy holder hopefully feeling a
little concerned that Mike is now, surely in the running for the ‘biggest wettest slimiest carp in the lake’
trophy
The maestro sends
me pictures from his phone of posters advertising events musical and otherwise.
We then decide if we need to make the effort and if we do we make a plan. The Georgian Cossack dance group coming to St
Mere Eglise seemed like an event not to be missed. We met up in the bar to pass
the time because the French never start early and the crowds drift in at the
cusp of the opening curtain. Here we are sat at the advertised start time and
it would seem that we are fairly sparse as an audience. The music struck up and
we then realized that the Cossack dancers were very young adults and children but by the time the first dance was
finished all the seats were taken and our clapping proved loud enough to
congratulate this hour of nonstop jumping and running and enthusiastic
traditional dance which left us delighted for making the effort.
In the
Polly tunnel this year I have given a bed over to lettuce and radish. I have
bought the seedlings from Carentan market because quite frankly for 1.80 euro I get a variety of 12 lettuce which grow well
and only need watering and eating. This
here is my third batch of 12 plants, I replenish a little before the last batch
are picked and it has worked well until, the chickens found their way into the
poly. My clucking little friends decided
that they also like lettuce and after their treat they made a dust bath and
frankly, had a total fun day out at my expense. I went to the tunnel and saw that the anti-chicken
gate had blown open and when I saw the damage I howled like a demented gardener
and screamed that I was putting the hot pot on to deal with them. We all know I would not do that, but for
a moment I was ready to wring a neck or two
And
finally, Mike celebrated his 10 years in retirement this week. As with most people this was a really big
milestone for us and I felt that I had to acknowledge the day. Mike always planned for early retirement and
had the vision set firmly in his mind that nothing was going to delay his plan.
And here we are still working up his visions and plans but now we do them
together and enjoy the fact that we can, and do. In October I will be
celebrating 10 years of blogging, not all on line as the early days I just
printed them out and sent them to our children and our family
This
is the garden in 2007 when Mike saw it and said we will make a garden
And this is how
we enjoy it . you can see the roof in the back ground as reference…….
it makes
me proud .
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