Two Disaster Clips from BBC

First one ... a plane trying to land in Spain in high winds.   Very scary!

Second one ... a car is blown into the air by flood water

Good Morning

 

Deer Repair

Took the car to Citroen garage to see what had been damaged when we hit that deer in France.  They said they could patch the bumper and  that the fog light mounting was broken.  It was the light that was causing the rattle.  Estimated cost for the job is £350!  Oh dear.

Dumb Animals

 

Rachel's Birthday

It's Rachel's 40th birthday tomorrow, Thursday, so we organised a big bunch of flowers to be sent to her house.  While we were in town, I got an email from her saying that she and Alfie were leaving to fly to New York for the weekend so I had to quickly cancel the flowers.  John is away filming in China and can't get get back in time for her birthday.

She also told me that Alfie has been picked to take part in a new Christmas Play called Rat'sTails written by the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

Our Other National Cake

 

You can buy them in Bradford's bakery

Very Lucky Man

Amazing picture of a lorry hanging off a bridge

Woken Early

Quarter to eight - the phone rings.  It is Ikea saying they will deliver stuff this morning.  Half an hour later, they are at the door with all the bits for the new wardrobes.  They weigh a ton but they refuse to carry them upstairs and leave them propped up badly in the hall which makes the doors bend out of shape.  Grrr!!!

Well ... Can You?

Three In A Row

Marion got three of her paintings accepted for the big RGI Exhibition which opened last Saturday.  This is the third year that she has had work accepted.  Her good friend, Judith, who is a very successful painter (i.e. she sells loads of paintings), entered 6 of her works and none were accepted. She didn't get any accepted last year either. It is all a bit awkward because she is really upset about it and thinks the committee who do the choosing have got it in for her.

Saint Malo, Brittany

This is the famous fishing port of Saint Malo.  The coastline is very dramatic: full of half hidden rocks and small islands topped with defensive forts.  The tide is huge there ... anything up to 13 meters between high and low tides ... which is why they built the world's 2nd largest electricty generator dam between St Malo and Dinard.

Safe Home

After we got off the ferry on Wednesday evening, the weather was fine for an hour or so and then we hit blindingly heavy rain.  By 10pm we reckoned it would be better to spend the night in an hotel so we went to a Trevelodge on the motorway.  They just laughed when we asked for a room and said every hotel for fifty miles was full because we were at Stoke-on-Trent and the Round Britain cycle race was starting from there the next morning.  And they were right.

Eventually we found a scabby hotel in Crewe with one room.  By this time it was after midnight and we were getting too desperate to be fussy.   Then we found out why this room was the last one empty .... it was right on top of the main railway line.  Every train (and that were lots of them) sounded like it was going right through our room.  And we could hear all the station announcements. At least we slept OK and it was cheap.

Got to Glasgow on Thursday afternoon.  Can't get used to this cold weather!

Murder Mystery in Annecy

We'd arranged for Fidelma to come for lunch today but she phoned and cancelled last night.  She is a journalist and she writes a weekly column about life in France for the Glasgow Herald.  She also does what is called 'hard news reporting' and the Sunday Mirror and the Daily Mail have asked her to get herself over to Annecy as fast as she can to report on the shooting of the three people in their car - the one where the little girl hid for eight hours.  Everyone knows the killings were done by one or two professional assassins but they don't know why.

As it is, we are pouring sweat from cutting back all the overgrown wisteria and  bignonia plants in the garden.    Next, we'll pop down to Valence for a little shopping and then start packing the car for the journey home.

It's going to be a dull wet day tomorrow which is OK for a long 7-hour drive.  This is the hotel in Dinard we'll be staying in for Tuesday night.  Wednesday morning, we get the ferry across to England.  We will get to Portsmouth around 6pm that day.

Five Empty Bottles

Saturday evening we had Ian & Shuna, John & Eileen plus Stephane for drinks.  By nine o'clock, everyone was a bit tiddly and Shuna started singing.  Not your ordinary party songs ... she is a trained singer so we got snatches of serious operatic stuff.  I'd have liked to have a movie clip of it but it would have seemed rude.

The next morning, I counted five empty bottles of white wine.  We had to dash down to Moissac market this morning to buy more wine because we have got more people - Hillary Brown & Martin, Lolly & Robert and their two American friends - coming for aperitifs this evening.  If we have the time and energy, we might go down to the fun fair afterwards.

Much Too Hot

Very hot again and the sun is lower in the sky so you face gets burnt more.

Drove to Agen Geant Casino and went to Fly and Cache-Cache.  Found nothing in Fly but I got a nice shirt and trousers at the other place from their new autumn stock and got 20% off in a promotion.  When we got back to the car the temperature was showing 47C in full sun.

Too Much To Drink

Wednesday evening we had four neighbours in for drinks and snacks .... the French call it 'un aperitif' ... which meant talking only French for over three hours. It was a lovely warm evening and everyone enjoyed the chat but it is hard work!  It was dark by the time they all went home.

The next morning, we had to prepare lunch for Linda who had driven a long way to see us.  She stayed and chatted all afternoon.  It was incredibly hot so we drank only water because we knew we were going out to dinner that evening. Dinner was at John & Eileen's with Nanda and Barry.  There was a huge amount of food and drink and everyone got a bit hysterical.  We did not get home till after 1am .... today is we feeling rotten and we are fasting.

Our old friends from New York arrive today and also Shuna & Ian who have a house in our street have  also arrived, so we will have to see all of them before Monday night.  More aperitifs!!!

Packing Up To Leave

We have booked a hotel for this Tuesday night in Dinard (near Saint Malo) so we can get the 10:30 ferry on Wednesday to Portsmouth.  It will be after 6pm when we get off the boat and it takes around ten hours to drive to Glasgow so we might have to make another overnight stop.  One way or another, we should be back home by Thursday evening.

Old-style Fairy Advert

Watch the Fairy Liquid advert on YouTube

Cake Wrecks

Here's some terrible cakes .... I like the last one because it took me a while to see what was wrong with it.  The guy had taken a USB drive with a photo of what he wanted the cake to look like to the cake shop.  They made the cake to look like a USB drive.

Bursting For A Pew

We saw these in the Museum of Medicine on Monday.  I've never seen anything like them before.

Here is the explanation, in French.

They are portable chamber pots used by ladies of high society in church.  It says they got the name 'Bourdalou' from a priest of that name.  His sermons went on and on for so long that some women could not hold out till the end.  You would think he would have taken the hint, wouldn't you?

Sunday/Monday draft

Sunday - Perigord - Villefranche de Perigord - lunch ()  La Roque Gageac ... river trip ... brocante ....  Tursac ... la Maison Forte de Reignac ... torture exhibition  hotel in Montignac

Monday  Hautefort  Brits everywhere ... cafe woman with tatt of watch plus jewel on wrist... no cheese sanwich cos Monday, chips would take half hour....sod off ... museum of medecine  chateau   Baronne de Bastard   .... drove home.