blog 29 / October
I broke the news to Mike that the Poly tunnel needed closing and that meant a huge ‘mend’ job on the doors. We took the doors off in the spring in a tattered and sorry state and thought we had months to think about how to get them back into working order for the winter, and blow me down here we are already. Mike set to, as he does, clonked and bashed away whilst I was picking and prodding at the beds and in a morning’s work got the poly back together. Now all we need to do is re-cover it completely and we have months to go before spring, when that job will need to be done, and before you know it ….!!!!!!!
I know I have been bleating on about the odd unseasonal sequence of growth in the garden this year but a gladioli in flower on the front drive on October 16th is ridiculous……but lovely. My only fear is that this bulb is now spent and will not make it into flower again next year, but I will just have to keep an eye on it and keep you informed.
It was my
turn to celebrate my 60th birthday and I wanted to sit around my
table in the kitchen and just be with friends and that is exactly what we did. A
very sing song evening not all in great tune but a funny and rowdy night is the
only way to start the next phase of one’s life, and I was delighted especially
as Mim and Dick had made the trip from the UK to be with us as well
Mark came
with his violin and after a little home spun concert between us we sang ditties
and told jokes and I laughed till I cried. Thank you all my friends for making
a difficult birthday, for a lady, seem like a walk in the park……
And then after a day of rest I was sat in the garden with Shirley and Mark just passing by to say hello when a car rolled onto the drive and I stood up saying oh flip…. who could that be……..I had the surprise of my life to see our boy Chris get out of the driving seat and brother Billy closing the gate behind them. Chris, Sam, Billy and Maxine had started off at 5:00 that morning to take the channel tunnel and drove all the way to my house to take me out to dinner for my birthday. It was not good enough that I had Mim and Dick with us for the week now we were a family gathering and I was touched to the bottom of my heart that everyone around me including Mike had been plotting and organising to give me such a wonder full surprise.
I was
whisked off to Grandcamp Maisy for a fab meal thanks to Billy and then everyone
just went to bed, and I realised just how
much Mike had been up to, cleverly getting the spare room ready and warming up
the camper so everyone had a warm bed. Sam did make a comment that Napoleon the
cockerel had to die, they were very tired and we all know that Napoleon starts
his cockadoodling at 4:30 in the morning, and knowing we had guests made sure
he was in full voice for the occasion.
Before I
could appreciate the impact of this group of very special people being in our
home for my birthday it was all over and the house was quiet and empty and
ringing with the sound of happy people doing wonderful things for me. Mike was
a brick and made sure there was no way I was going to miss my surprise but I am now on my guard, as I don’t know what he
is capable of in terms of lies and deceit, but
I love him to bits for
making it happen. I am also amazed that
Mim and Dick were able to keep their lips tight shut and not let the cat out of
the bag and I am just delighted that this birthday was made extra special
despite living on the other side of the channel…….
To
avoid the sound and feel of an empty house, I had planned to get away for a few days in the camper.
Every time we have company I go into a melancholy state and I am so glad I
anticipated this trip as I was on a double dose with all our friends and family
there one moment and gone the next. So we set off for a trip to Chatres to
rediscover a bit of art I saw 10 years ago on our long leave trip of Europe
When we got
to the cathedral I was reminded of the architectural marvel but was more
excited about the choir screen that I had seen all those years ago and never really
understood what I had I been looking at. I did my research so I more understood
when in front of it again, and Mike walked me around the 40 sculpted deep
relief panels dating from 1510 to 1720 twice. The rest of the cathedral is in
the midst of a very French style restore and I took this pic to show the
beautiful ceiling and vaults and the screen section already restored and I now
await with bated breath for the screen to be cleaned and restored like the rest of the building. Mike is a bit
of a groupie as he has to follow me anywhere there is a statue as I am a
complete nutter for an ancient figure in any medium as long as it is telling an
ancient story ………
We took the
guide book’s advice and found our way to a street where an artist had been let
free to create this trompe d’oeil as they call it. The entire front of this building
is painted and the windows were very convincing. We stood in front of it for
ages and it seemed to me we were the only ones looking up but I guess it is out
of season and the people passing by see it every day
Mike
and I are discovering that driving through France is a hit and
miss event. You just don’t know what is around the next corner and as all the
regions only deal with what is in their region anything we picked up in Chatres
office of tourism would not advertise interesting sites to see next door. As we
approached our third way point on the gps on our way to Villiers Bocage we
noticed a huge wall that seemed to go on for many kilometres and we became more
and more curious about what might be behind such a wall, as it went the village of La Fert Vidame and out the
other side until suddenly the road opened up and to our left was the ruin of a
palace. The gardens were still outlined, the water features in place. We drove
past but we knew we had to go back and parked up to take a look and this palace
that had been derelict since the French revolution. In the 1920’s Mr Citroen
bought the estate and built his development track in the grounds……well we were
so very excited about this find that when we got home we goggled the village
and found that this pocket of amazement is a public park open all year and just
around the corner is a camp site that is closed now until May, but guess where
we will be going as soon as the season starts…….can’t wait.
So I had a
wonderful birthday and I will put this week in the blog file as a truly memorable
time and to add this to the rest of the year with Mikes birthday party in May and
our family gathering in July here in Brevands, I can now gather up an armful of happy
memories to keep for every.
It is not all over though, we will close this 60
years with a new year party and the chance to be surrounded by lovely people all
over again …….
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