I have in the past used the railway car transporter, as it is not a bad way to extend your holiday. One sunny afternoon in Avignon the holiday had come to an end and I was watching the railway staff loading the cars. A very expensive top of the range Laguna was being taken up the ramp by some youth who was in too much of a hurry, and instead of driving onto the rolling stock went sideways off the ramp, and with a lot of grinding and scrapping came to a halt with the suspension hanging limply over the side. All loading stopped while the staff went in search of a forklift truck to lift the car off the ramp as it clearly was not going anywhere under its own power. By this time the owner, a Parisian lady of advanced years was screeching at maximum volume, calling on the gods to bring a lightning bolt down on the poor unfortunate youth. Her demands were that she be flown back to Paris and the car repaired in Avignon. The railway company didn't agree, and when the car was lifted, then hauled aboard, she was given an accident claim form and told to get it repaired in Paris at the company's expense. I never found out the outcome as Mme disappeared into an office, but her volume was as impressive as any Brit I have heard who believes that shouting in English will make a waiter suddenly remember that he speaks the language if only a please and thank you is used.
And , would you believe, we have used the autotrain too - Calais to Aix , as I recall. Not economic, but quite wonderful magical experience. As I was advised, no dining car, so eat in Calais station restaurant - pretty good - and take a supper ( cheese, fruit and Burgundy) for the journey. At Calais, the car loaders took over ( I was unhappy as my car was 2 months old). Anyway , all fine, except they wouldn't ( or weren't allowed to ) load a beautiful 2-tone (50's / 60's ) Rolls Royce ! However, at ~ Aix, they unloaded a BMW onto the road before the end of the truck - much oops. But in some ways the best bit was the return. Left the car at Nice auto train car park - Saturday night - had an excellent meal in Nice - got back on, arrived Calais 9-ish on the sunday, crossed the channel in a couple of hours, and home in Cheshire early evening - and into work on Monday feeling quite chipper. Not quite The orient Express ( which by the way is extraordinary, and extraordinarily over-priced) , but a treat not to be forgotten. Seems it only runs from Paris now. Sad
Morning all. Not a cloud to be seen and the temperature is rising nicely. Been busy, having an appointment at the lab for Mme to have a blood test, then as we were in town a visit to the bank. En route back Mme wanted a detour to photograph a magnificent sweet chestnut that is in full flower and a wonderful sight set against the mellow stone wall of an ancient church. In previous years she left it too long to get her picture and the blossom was spoiled by the wind or rain. The cowslips that covered the roadside verges have just about finished now, to be replaced by buttercups. Wherever you look there is colour in sight, but the acres of oil seed rape further north do not look natural and it makes me sneeze. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. Lovely day here once more, and according to the Météo we will see temperatures rising to around 27 °C next week. Slowly getting back into the swing of things after my trip abroad, but not happy with the farmer who has slaughtered the hazel tree that I had coppiced and intended to use for my runner bean poles this year. To actually go hedge cutting while birds are nesting is the action of a vandal, yet there is no action that can be taken against him. No good complaining to the council as half of them are farmers. I will register my disapproval with a neighbour who has the ear of many in the community. Have a good day everyone.
It is 'illegal' in my commune to cut hedges between April and end of July We had a great walk out of grassington yesterdat and saw wild orchids. cowslps as well as blubells and wild garlic.... Curlews and sandmartins too...
Morning all. Another warm sunny day, just right for some gardening. Had to make a visit into town thinking that while I was there I would go into the garden centre. After 15 years I still forget that some places close for a two hour lunch break, and the garden centre is one of them. They have plenty of staff, so they could stagger their times to go and get something to eat. During the period of virus restrictions they didn't shut, but as soon as they came off, back to the time away. There was a second garden centre in town until we had gales one night that totally wrecked it. There wasn't even a roof left. The debris has been cleared away now and what remained of the glasshouses taken away. A great shame as they didn't shut up for lunch. Have a good day everyone.
Hello all, I am walking again, surgeon said it'll take a year to be fully normal mind. Well, I am just happy to be able to be out and about. See you all in the Championship! Have a good weekend.
Morning all. A lovely morning, blue sky and already 22 °C. Took Mme a cuppa in bed this morning and wished her a happy birthday. It's not my birthday until tomorrow I was told. Seeing as I usually have to consult something to find out the date this was a simple error. Still better to be a day early than late. A day off as our daughter is preparing a birthday dinner and tea for us, although I might go and have a look at the thicket of bamboo that is spreading from a garden onto a grass verge. If there are some long enough I might cut a few and dry them out, although you can use them while green I read. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. A beautiful sunny morning, and it is Mme's birthday today. A wonderful collection of cards, all totally different, showing the personality to some degree of the sender. In half an hour yesterday I cut and stripped my bamboo poles. The garden centre price would have been €29, so I reckon that €58 an hour is better than minimum wage. My daughter knows the person who planted the one small pot of bamboo without realising that it was a variety that spreads rapidly, and is quickly taking over a large area of his garden and the grassy bank outside. There is a business opportunity here I think. Have a good day everyone.
That takes me back about thirty years to a house we owned in Queensland, which had a large swimming pool at the end of the garden. The pool area stretched the width of the garden and was fenced off properly on three sides - two of which were fences for the neighbouring properties on either side, and the other separated the pool from the house. At the back of the garden, it was fenced off from the rear neighbour by a near-impenetrable stand of bamboo - the width of the garden, about five feet thick & ten feet high. Not long after buying the place, the council issued new requirements for pool fences - and an inspector deemed that our bamboo fence didn't meet those requirements, not being a 'proper' fence. So all my spare time for around three weeks was spent chopping down bamboo and carting it to the dump, then erecting a 'proper' pool fence along the boundary between the two properties. When finished, I contacted the inspector to get him to come back to inspect/approve my handiwork. Unfortunately it took another three weeks before he could get there - by which time the bamboo had regrown to its original height and completely blocked the view of the fence. Annoyingly, he didn't even bother taking a close look at it - he simply stood at the back door, looked at the bamboo and said "yes, that meets the requirements" and left, leaving me to jump in the pool in an attempt to cool down my boiling blood.
Morning all. Rather cloudy currently, but the météo say that it will brighten up as the morning goes on. A temperature of 29°C is forecast for this afternoon, which I reckon must be 83°F. I still tend to think about temperature degrees in F, and find that 16 translating to 61, and 28 being 82 are good reference points. Rather backwards I know, but better than my neighbour who still thinks in old Francs. According to him a small abandoned cottage can have an astronomic value until you find out that he is using pre 1960's currency. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. It is one of those mornings when sitting outside in the garden, you put off the jobs you need to do, and instead have another coffee. I have put the bins out as they need emptying, but it is only the second time since the beginning of the year. There are really big efforts going on to cut waste and landfill that you can see all the way from supermarkets to the DIY stores. Plumbing fittings used to be in small plastic boxes, but now come loose, set out with an example of their use on the front of the space where they are kept. Every little helps. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. Overcast and some rain is expected, which some farmers are hoping for, with parts of the country reporting drought conditions. I have spent the best part of a couple of hours trying to get a new password for the bank account that Mme uses as treasurer to a local association. It is so long, because of covid, without accessing the on-line account, that the existing password has been blocked. All quite simple if you are an individual, but move into the world of associations and everything is designed to be a test of your eye-sight if not your intelligence. Still the bank has sent back a reply to say that the request has been successful, and a new password will be sent through the post. Might arrive within a week then. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. We did have a little rain yesterday, but a really small amount that will have satisfied no one who really needs it. The temperature is starting to rise into the 30's and by Tuesday next week I suspect we will be seeking the shade of the house after midday. While people in the UK talk of trying to keep warm or eat, we are thinking of a visit to the supermarket chilled area to keep cool. Have a good day everyone.