Dans la maison.

We arrived home yesterday after a few days in France.
We drove down to Dover on Friday & stayed in The Loddington, a small hotel in the Georgian terrace just along from the docks - charming.
We had a v good Italian dinner, in a small family run restaurant & a morning shopping in the town, before catching the 12.30pm ferry to Calais.
We drove South to Amien, where we stayed in The Priory next to the Cathedral - a delightful cell with  gothic, vaulted ceiling.
After Amien we travelled along the Somme, visiting some WW1 sites, staying in Cambrai & St Omer.
On Monday, after touring St Omer, on foot, we visited Montreuil, then drove up the coast, through Le Touquet & Hardelot, scene of many a past KS holiday, before staying overnight in Calais, in a lovely old house, near to The Mairie, catching the ferry back on Tuesday lunchtime.
If I were an entrepreneur I would build a decent department store in Calais & some shops & restaurants on the port, which is totally devoid of anything apart from toilets.
The highlights, apart from some excellent regional dinners - abandoned the diet for the duration  - were the Gothic Cathedrals of N France & the battlefields around Vimy Ridge, still pitted with holes & craters from explosions from the years of battles as the allies attempted to dislodge the German army from the only high ridge amidst hundreds of miles of flat landscape.
The Canadians finally succeeded in 1917, with great loss of life.

I went out early this morning & washed both Volvos, which were amazingly filthy, before we went to Solihull, G to the bank whilst I bought fish & vegetables, to renew the diet & shake off the regained
3 lb!! - the cost of high living!

G gave me a camera for an anniversary present - photos to follow!

  

Passed the test.

I went to Solihull in the alternative volvo today - brill!
Quieter & smoother than it's older cousin.
We are deciding how to distinguish between them, in conversation - old & new, silver & black, RPO & JLU (Jesus Loves Us - love it), yours & mine?????
Any ideas?

We rolled out of bed early, well, 8.15am actually, but we had a late night owing to having fallen asleep on the settee, put on old clothes & raked up leaves for over two hours.
We cleared the yard, garden & this end of the field - 4 cu m of leaves shifted.
I reckon that we must be amazingly carbon negative, considering all of the CO2 utilised in the production of all those leaves.
A leaf-free environment = a happy G!
A bit like me & a clean, tidy house.

I made soup, cheese scones & rock cakes for lunch - Jan came so that we could get the advent festival letters sorted before a bigger meeting tomorrow.
I have to admit that I ate a scone - they are small. (&delicious)
I bought & posted J's b'day present in Solihull, drove to P & A's then walked to collect J from school.
We collected Th later, after football coaching, then cleared up after the gardener & cooked tea.
Their drive is like an emmental cheese as the gas Board lay new pipes to the house - they'll be filled in a couple of days, by different contractors, so I understood.
strange!

Grilled herring followed by chicken tikka  followed by a brandy before bed, to settle my stomach!
This is not a recommended combination!

No eggs again today. 

New wheels.

We have added to the fleet - a "Saville grey*, pearl" V50 with extras - just like our other one but with built in SATNAV & bluetooth & reversing alarm & younger.
*bet they drop that name, however many Ls.
G drove it to Solihull, then home, after we had done the school pick up & tea, I followed on in the old........
We bought the car at Tollbar in Warwick - great people.
I stopped for a quick saunter in Warwick en route forSolihull, then collected J then stopped at JS for fuel on the way home.
JS have really good offers on wine+ 25% off for 6 bottles.
I/we'll have another look tomorrow - some real bargains.
Look for the "Taste the Difference" - their winebuyers' choice, with a purple band, we have always found them to be v good.

P & A are having the garden cleared - a muddy job today, but looking good.

A little leaf clearing tomorrow - ash leaves down in abundance, a mtg with Jan about the Mid Advent/Christmas tree festival,before picking up J & Th from school.
Anyone want to decorate/sponsor a Christmas tree?.

All aboard!

A good weekend - the barn dance went well, with over 80 there & a really clean floor as the hall had all been scrubbed after the dog show!
The catering was spot on & the supper was great & well received.
We came home & slept through the recording of "Strictly", with relief.

Church this morning, followed by a Paleo breakfast of bacon & egg before going to The Cruise Show at the NEC, compliments of Fred Olsen.
Full of middle aged + cruising types, we were quite out of place - much too young & fit!

Weird chickens - taken to sitting on a horizontal branch half way up the hedge or on a tree branch in the wood - they fly down the field when called/ when they hear us.
the one thing they don't do at all this week, is lay eggs, not in the laying box, anyway!

Exciting day tomorrow, picking up some new wheels!!!
More later.
  

Costco.

I've now done this blog twice, just to watch it disappear from the Universe for no apparent reason.
This effort will be brief!
A fun trip to Costco with Jan & Hazel (she has a card) to buy the vittles for the Barn dance tomorrow - cheddar cheese & Wiltshire ham, in the main.
Scrummy & a good price.

G stayed at home to welcome the aerial man as we have signal problems.
The aerial needed rewiring, but we still have a problem, with intermittent loss of signal.
Perhaps it's the box.

I went to Solihull afterwards, catching up with g, who had gone to oversee the finalising of the new boiler installation at P & A's.
On seeing the rather strange, elongated flue emerging at the side of the garage door, Th immediate concern, was "Will father Christmas get down that?"
I doubt it!

I stopped in Knowle en route & bought a picture of an owl - vintage majolica tiles by Maw & co, Burslem - they started making them again for a while in 1974, using techniques dormant since the 1880s.
It's brill!

Home made chili chicken & loads of vegetables for dinner - the highlight of the evening as TV is rubbish, as usual.
Looking forward to seeing the new bond film next week.
Barn dance looks hopefull - about 70 tickets sold.

Home again

Having a busy evening on the computer, doing the final drive to sell tickets for the Barn Dance, on Saturday evening.
We've had a relaxing couple of days, visiting B, E & family in Bicester.
T helped us on the computer & KP entertained as only KP can, & declared the Granny's egg was "the best boiled egg ever", at breakfast.
T had his egg with two rashers of bacon & a slice of fried bread, followed up with a crumpet with jam!
That should have kept him going until lunchtime!
I took T & KP to school this morning, had a cuddle, then we pottered around the town, had a scrummy lunch at the Great Western Arms, which is on the canal, next to the railway in Aynho.
The food is excellent/recommended.
A little time in Warwick, then home for a nice cup of tea.

Costco in the morning for some of their very best English cheddar.
To Solihull later to pick up J & Th, then home to light the first fire of the season, unless there's a change in the weather. 

Windy.

It is 25 years since the great storm in 1987 - amazing!
The weather today tried to emulate 1987, but failed.
We had planned to spend the day cutting the front hedge, had a relaxed start to the day, whilst waiting for the sun to come out, then put on lots of clothes & got on with it.
G does the cutting & I do the collecting. A lot of leaves were blowing down, which added to the mass of material to be collected - we dragged a loaded tarpaulin up the field to the bonfire six times, finally finishing shortly after 6.00pm, both knackered!
We've recovered, after hot baths & dinner - a nice piece of fish with stir fried vegetables.
We are rewarding ourselves with two days off - going to Bicester tomorrow to see the family, perhaps taking in a National trust establishment en route.

Hilary Mantell has just been awarded the Mann Booker prize with "Bring out the Bodies", a sequel to "Wolf Hall" that W & MK bought me for Christmas two years ago.
It was/is brilliant - an historical novel about Cardinal Wolsey & Henry V111 - anyone want to borrow it?

Wet & windy again tonight then a good weather forecast until Sunday - brilliant.