After the storm

Thanks to many of you who enquired how we had got in the storm this weekend. Vendée was on Orange Alert, but all the départements to the south-west of France were on Red Alert, and the footage we saw on TV was incredible. We had been going to visit friends and family and even had our packed cases by the front door but changed our minds when we heard advice on the radio not to go on the roads. A good decision, I reckon.

.

Once the winds died down a little we had a beautiful afternoon here and the surfers were out in force on 'our' beach. Good news for them, but bad news for the beach as you can see in the 4th photo which shows how near it is for the tide to break through the footpath on top of the dunes and into the lagoon behind.

.

The last photo shows the strength of recent waves which have started to destroy the brand new concrete and teak ledge at the end of the jetty.

January ramblings (in more ways than one!)

Hugh & Jeanne wanted to see what La Tranche is like out of season, and here they are standing on their plot on the campsite (but without the posh caravan of course!)

.

On one of our tours around with H&J we showed them the beautifully restored windmill known as Ancien Moulin des Rabouillères (yes, it's been on the blog before but it's still as impressive).

.

We also took them to the Abbaye de Lieu Dieu near Jard-sur-Mer where these lovely (but not quite so blurry) cows were grazing. I found some great photos of the abbey on http://rgilles.chez-alice.fr/page12.html .

.

Finally you will remember our mid-air adventures in the cherry picker before Christmas. We called on Jean & Monique today and I was very impressed with the stock of wood that has been cut from their campsite tree trimming. The piles are four layers deep!

New friends come to stay

We've just spent the most wonderful few days with our 'new' friends, Hugh & Jeanne from sunny Eccles, who were dying to see La Tranche in winter. It's funny when you click with someone immediately, but that's how it was, and we're really looking forward to spending lots of time with them in the summer when they arrive for their long stay (especially Happy Hour).

.

We went to visit them in La Rochelle where they spent their first couple of days - no matter what the weather it's a beautiful town. Ok, it is quieter at this time of year, but still not deserted! They arrived chez nous on Saturday and appreciated staying in the East Wing. I can't say we did anything very exciting but it was just good fun to wander around and have a good time.

.

The first photo shows one of our favourite signs. At this time of year there's not much problem persuading people not to practise nudism (as you can see from Tine's attire). If any of you are interested there are two naturist beaches in the area. At our age I think it's better to cover up!!

.

We've had huge seas again. On the main beach there seems to be more sand deposited, which is a good sign, but on our side of the jetty it's a different story and the sea is VERY near breaking through to the lagoon at one point. Could be it will soon be less than 15 minutes' walk to the beach before long if the Council don't 'pull their finger out' and see what's happening.

.

Photo 2 shows the protective fence at our entrance to the beach, somewhat battle-scarred from the recent very high tide. Next we have Hugh & Jeanne with Tine at Les Conches where the waves were very impressive. The last two photos show the sea at les Puits d'Enfer, near Les Sables. The foam was so thick it coated the rocks like Chantilly cream - amazing!

Back to blue skies

I could pretend that Summer has returned but not really despite some beautiful days.

The first two photos were taken by le Pavillon and the Plage des Génerelles where we soaked up some heart-warming rays on one of our recent walks!

The next three photos are a bit odd. Just outside St Hilaire-la-Forêt we came across this pool (still frozen at the time), complete with ornate lions at the entrance and a statue rising out of the lake, especially impressive reflecting on the ice! Nobody has explained their significance yet - any ideas?

Photos are courtesy of my mobile - not bad, eh?

Cold weather and a poorly camera

Extremely cold conditions have continued here since our return to France, thankfully becoming milder just two days ago. Sadly we have still not seen snow in La Tranche. Who knows, one day.......?

One morning was particularly spectacular when Jack Frost got just about everywhere, including the catkins in front of the house, and these spiders' webs which were even more like lace than usual!

Sadly my camera has been returned to the manufacturer as the shutter wasn't performing properly, so these are my last higher resolution photos for a little while. Fear not, I've just fathomed out (again) how to download photos from my mobile so there should be more posts in the meantime.

Be very worried, I'm becoming a 'twitcher'!

We motored back up to Morbihan on New Year's Eve to celebrate 2009 with 'Er in Brittany and her Mum, plus two of her friends from Bingley who were stopping for the week. We all helped 'Er prepare a wonderful roast dinner and enjoyed an obligatory glass of champagne to see in the New Year.

.

Next day was cold as ever but we wrapped up well and I was taken on my first birdwatch - well, I accompanied the others! 'Er in Brittany refuses to have her photo taken, hence the first two VERY discreet photos. On our walk we came across this beautiful donkey who preferred fresh grass to the straw in a pile in his field. Bet Nad likes this photo!

.

Thanks once again for a lovely time, 'Er!!

.

Back in La Tranche we get the impression that there are one or two more shops/restaurants open out of season. One big drawer for families has been this mini-skating rink in the central carpark. People will spend money if they come into town. (A bit of local politics for Martin!!)

.

ps A twitcher is a slightly pejorative term for a birdwatcher

Happy New 2009

One of our friends thinks this blog should be more political, so here goes: Sarko (boooooo!), Brown (grrrrrr!), exchange rate (HELP!!!). Now back to my boring normal service........

Since our return to France after our fabulous break in the UK the weather has been VERY cold, but at least some days have been beautifully blue.

I'm sure Matt will be interested to see what is going on in front of La Paillote (if he gets round to reading this - he's majorly busy in Val Thorens at the moment). Yes we now have some new plantations and roadside curbs, but it's still not very clear how it will all look when finished.

There are plenty of people around during the Christmas/New Year holidays and we found this girl looking at the remnants of an octopus washed up onto the main beach. It must have been fairly big - another reason not to go in the water, Si from Hastings?!

The last photo is really for Kate who has carried on our Dad's tradition of giving daffodils to the family at Christmas. She sneakily gave us a second bunch to bring back to France, and here's to show they survived the journey.

Cutting edge stuff, eh, Martin?!!

ps Next time I should bring you up to date with New Year. In the meantime, Bonne Année à tout le monde. XX