A fishy weekend

After all the excitement of getting Nadine back home safe and sound we ventured up to the Normandy coast to spend a wonderful weekend with cousins Annie & Christian in their new holiday home.

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We had several holidays in the area when MN&P were young but it was good to discover Corseulles and spend some quality time with the cousins. Corseulles is an active fishing port where the produce is sold directly on the quayside. So I impressed everyone by eating not one but two fishy meals on Saturday - that's my scallop and crayfish kebab as proof!

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Tine disappeared on Sunday morning and returned with the funny owl which now looks most at home in its niche.

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Merci A&C pour un weekend superb.

Visits & a volcano

We did some lovely visits with Nadine and our old friends Jim & Les. One day we drove up to le Plage du Veillon (Photos 1 & 2) then onto Bourgenay for a walk along the jetty (Photo 3) and lunch.

We later decided to stop at a local pre-history centre and were very impressed by a young woman showing a group of children (along with many adult hangers-on) how ancient stones might have been moved (Photo 4) and how to make fire from flint, dried mushrooms and hay (Photos 5, 6 & 7) - very interesting!

We then decided to do a bit of ancient stone spotting ourselves (Photo 8) but these two geckos (Photo 9) were more interested in each other than the nearby stones!

We said goodbye to J&L on Thursday morning little knowing that we would soon be tearing up the motorway to meet them again at 'Er in Brittany's once we realised the extent of the problems with the Icelandic volcano and flights home for Nad. Anyway we had a lovely unexpected meal out with them all to celebrate 'Er's birthday and Nad eventually got home safe and sound.

Visitors from far and near

The days are getting longer, brighter and warmer. At last we can really feel that summer is on its way.

We've had some fun times recently with visits from Nad (perched in the kitchen here) and Jim & Les. We had hoped to invite the cousins whilst J&L were here but some of us have to work I'm afraid (not me of course)! So Jean & Monique and Jean-Pierre & Catherine joined us the other Saturday night along with our friends G'Isabelle (Guy & Isabelle) and we celebrated JP's birthday in style with several unhealthy puds!

J&L arrived the next day and it was great to catch up with them not too long after Anna & George's wedding. One day we drove over to 'Venise Verte' and enjoyed being punted along the waterways relaxing after a scrumptious galette in nearby Damvix. They really are Les's short legs, by the way!

More of their (and Nadine's) stay next time.

Easter celebrations

After the morning's exertions we spent the rest of the day celebrating Easter chez Jean & Monique with many of M's cousins. Of course the Easter bunny had been busy and everyone, young and old, was treated to a cache of chocolate!

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The weather was very kind to us and it warmed up considerably in the afternoon. The cousins are enjoying their aperitif on Clemenceau's bench in front of the house, whilst Cécile is showing how plastic goblets don't have the same properties as crystal ones!

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But before that Tine had been busy creating her traditional Easter cake - no Cadbury mini-eggs for sale here sadly but a bit of forward planning helped! The mini hot cross buns were delicious too.

Old cinema and healthy people

The end of an era: the demolition of the old cinema in La Tranche attracting numbers of curious onlookers. Look carefully at Photo 3 and you can see the crane holding a large skip mid-air in order to stop the wall tumbling onto the neighbour's roof!

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No lie-in for us on Easter Sunday morning as we helped to represent Tine's gym club in the local charity walk/run - we walked (surprise surprise)! It was particularly good to chat and get to know new friends Dominique, Michel and Françoise. Hopefully we'll have more contact next winter.

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Un grand merci à Dominique et Michel pour les photos des Galopades!

Spring at last

Well it looked like it was never coming but at last the days are warming up and signs of spring are all around us.

• Photo 1: cherry blossom with a background of daffodils. Let's hope the cherries are as prolific this year (and that we get a fair share with the birds)!
• Photo 2: a new visitor to our garden this year. It's a goldfinch (merci Kate & Nicole - see comments!) and we've seen five together on one occasion, obviously enjoying the birdseed bought in Asda on our recent visit!
• Photos 3 & 4: The beautiful forsythia tree at the front of chez nous.
• Photo 5: the ever-diminishing log pile. We're going to have to order an extra stère (cubic metre) for next winter as we've nearly run out, showing what a long cold winter we've had.
• Photo 6: Looking up the garden showing how hard we've worked to get the vegetable patch prepared. Fingers crossed for the artichokes this year (we only got two last year!) - we've also planted onions, potatoes, carrots, parsnips (thank you 'Er in Brittany), fèves (like butter beans) and radishes. The rest will wait until next month.
• Photo 7: One of our beautiful tulips with the gardener in the background.

Good news and bad news

First, the good news - we survived the extra high tides last week although the waves were impressive, battering against the rocks. The bad news? It seems my informant was wrong, the jetty is to be replaced at a cost of 1.5 million € - this information from the council newsletter. So it looks as though the Inter-Iles cruises will once again miss a year at La Tranche.

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The second photo shows the 'Securité Civile' positioned by the jetty in case there were problems. Helicopters were flying along the coast each high tide for a few days to check everyone's safety, even at 5 am. Photo three shows the rebuilt sea defences stopping the waves from breaking into the Plan d'Eau again.

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And at low tide? Back to work for the council employees: more defences to replace/improve, a car park to rebuild and surface, and the new Capitainerie looking somewhat better than last year's two-storey portacabins.