The new jetty

Yes, great excitement this morning when Caro and I cycled down to the jetty to find they had been very busy at low tide and had already hoisted the first three sections into place before 11 am.

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The first three photos show stages in preparing the 'piles' to take the weight of the jetty pieces. Photo four shows you the landing stage that will be at the end of the jetty, with several levels to embark/disembark on the 'Inter-Iles' ferries (starting at the end of July if their timetable is to believed).

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And the last two photos show how the jetty looked this morning. Lengths of wood have been attached to the frame on land before hoisting into position. Presumably, the 'across' lengths will be done in situ.

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To be continued.......

Odds and ends

Wow, thanks to the lads for a fantastic post last time. We had a great time with them and they were a credit to their parents, always asking if there were any jobs to do - just like at home I bet!!
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Anyway it was very quiet once they had gone, but today we have been to La Roche to collect Caro from the station, having travelled up from Toulouse by herself. She's not as conspicuous as the lads but it's lovely to have her here. She and Tine are watching TV right now whilst I work hard bringing you up-to-date!
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We had a great afternoon sunning ourselves at the campsite swimming pool, dipping in the water to cool down. We introduced Caro to Happy Hour Chez Matt, but she was a good girl and had cranberry juice!!
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The photos are a bit of a hotch-potch. Do you recognise your boat, T'L, in the first photo - the lads had a great time in it! Photo 2 was taken at les Puits d'Enfer, one of our favourite spots in the area (although it was pretty calm this time).
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Next we have our new pet, a fluorescent green lizard who is far less timid than his cousins, and somewhat bigger. He's at the base of one of the cherry trees in this photo.
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Finally the local council must be happy with us as they came to 'improve' the road outside our house last week. I can't help thinking there's a layer of tarmac missing though...

The Lads' Guest Appearance

Alreet, this is Phil, and this is our guest blog of photo-highlights. Enjoy.

Us on't plane.
Jim in Super Uuuuu.
Drunken pizzas Bingley style.
Proof that we were here and we did exercise.
Eels! Eels' heads anyway...
Sunset shannanigans.
Buried Dan getting some lovin' abuse.
Splish splash I was takin' a bath.
Men overboard.
The coolest guys I know.
Senor Lizardo.
Cleggy Jr. Jr. and buff Cleggy Sr.
Not as good as Yorkshire, but pretty good all the same.
The last night on the beach.

Voila, I hope you enjoyed our tour de force of emotions.

A la prochaine, Philippe.

Garden update

Thought I'd bring you up to date with our garden. As you can see from the photos things are developing well. The apple and pear trees are laden with fruit - the first photo is one of the two pear trees. Looks like I'll be forced to make my delicious pear pudding way into the future!!
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Don't think the second crop is that well known back home. It's Swiss chard and we used quite a few leaves the other day in a béchamel sauce, with cheese on top. I bet Nad's envious as it's one of her faves!
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You can just make out some green cherry tomatoes on the third photo (and if you look carefully you can also make out one of our last strawberries - we didn't get loads but they have been deliciously sweet). We also have regular tomato plants and they already have plenty of fruit.
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Finally we're very proud of our first crop of courgettes which we selflessly gave to Gill - there are plenty more on their way!
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The potatoes aren't looking as healthy as they were - perhaps they haven't had enough water - and we're still waiting for the artichokes to send up their stalks. They ARE looking good though.

Happy Birthday Tine!

Just had breakfast outside (although the forecast blue skies haven't arrived yet) whilst Tine opened her cards and a few presents. Gill's here to help us celebrate Tine's birthday (and also to scare Matt, Phil, Jim & Dan - all former pupils of hers). Tine's not working today as she did extra on Tuesday - great! We're planning to go to La Paillote tonight to continue the celebrations. A dip in the sea would be good in the meantime...

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Yesterday the boys asked if I would take them to La Rochelle as some girl friends were making their way back to the airport for flights home. As you can see in the first photo I joined them for a small beer in the depths of an Irish bar(!!) before wandering around.

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Phil had pointed out the old warehouses across the harbour where graffiti artists have been busy. I know it's not everybody's cup-of-tea but I like it when it's well done, and there was plenty on view here.

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I actually bumped into the six youngsters over there (the girls' luggage safely kept at the bar!) and paparazzied Phil, Dan and Iram on the steps of the second tower at the mouth of the harbour. It was good to get a different view of the towers and the waterfront.

Father's Day present

A big thanks to Matt, Nad & Phil for coming to the rescue and getting me a new camera for Father's Day - a bit extreme but I am very grateful. The blog lives on!!
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Yes, there's activity at the jetty. After a few weeks of 'will they/won't they' the Vendée Council has decided to go ahead just as the season is hotting up, taking valuable parking space with all the vehicles and materials. It's interesting to see that it's not just in England that they get the timing wrong. For those coming out this Summer the works should be completed by mid-July, so you can breathe again.
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Anyway it all looks like a giant Meccano building set at the moment so I hope somebody knows how to put it all together! The first two photos were taken yesterday and the last two today when I cycled round 'on my way' to Super U to shop once more for our visitors who have very healthy appetites!!

The Three Amigos

Major catastrophe - no, it's not our visitors - the camera has broken. We had planned on replacing it this Summer but it looks like we're going to have to do it sooner rather than later. So thanks to Phil's phone there are still some photographs for your pleasure!
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Phil, Jimmy & Dan's plane arrived at La Rochelle more or less on time last Thursday under a rainy sky. When we got nearer to La Tranche we could see a strong band of blue, and sure enough Jean's microclimate was in full force and we arrived home in the sunshine!
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After a quick inspection of the house (and the delight of seeing the mezzanine to replace the attic at Charles Street) we went to La Paillote for the last few minutes of Happy Hour, followed by a lovely meal there.
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The lads have been very easy going, making the most of the bikes and even venturing into the sea one day, claiming it wasn't the official 18°C. Today has been overcast and drizzly but they say tomorrow should be back to blue, getting quite hot again by the weekend - yes!
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You can see Phil in the window reflection in the the third photo, the other two awaiting their barbecued sausages and La Pailotte chips. We two had gone to JP&C's for a cousinly meal to celebrate Charles' 18th birthday, Tine's forthcoming XXth birthday AND Charles passing his driving licence on Friday 13th!

New floor in mezzanine

Not wishing to upset Matt, even though I've been painting all afternoon and wanted to go to the beach to enjoy some of today's hot sunshine, but on the other hand Happy Hour is on at his bar VERY shortly.........I thought I'd better do an extra post today to show my son's hard work laying the new flooring on his day off this week (see comment on the previous post for his thoughts on the subject!)
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The proof of the pudding will be in the sleeping (sort that one out, mes petits français!) when Phil, Dan & Jim possibly sleep there tomorrow.
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Right, duty done - I'm now off to the beach AND Happy Hour!

Down on the beach

We've had high temperatures recently and the sea is up to 18°C and the big holiday season is about to begin when the schools break up at the end of the month. Meanwhile there are quite a few people about ('of a certain age'!) and weekends are pretty busy. A good sign is having to queue at Super-U!
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Tomorrow Phil arrives at La Rochelle (it's a long time since I've done that trip!) with Dan and Jimmy. Sadly the tiler hasn't been so we're not sure whether to put them up on the mezzanine or in the tent, which will need emptying. We're really looking forward to the B-Town lads' visit (and I'm sure Matt will at the bar!!)
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I took these photos earlier in June. We've had some magnificent skies recently, often avoiding storms that have hit not at all far away. Photo 2 is for Les who adopted this beach-hut as her local coffee bar when her foot was in a bad way - she could just make it to there. The bouncy castle next time, Les?
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Had a long walk to Le Phare along the beach one day and saw these plantations on the dunes (Photo 3), and our favourite birds, playing avoiding the waves. I believe they are sanderlings, but I will stand corrected if necessary. We love the way they move like cartoon characters.

The sand arrives!

Big excitement this week as we have had a twice daily visit from this dredger, named Fort Boyard, which is just across the bay from here for those who remember the TV series (still playing in France, I think).

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For those who have read the blog over the last few months you know that there has been a large depletion of sand from our beaches, caused by a change in the prevailing winds, apparently. All our sand has been deposited along the bay.

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The boat is on a twice daily mission at high tide to bring sand back to the main beach at La Tranche, and it has been a spectator sport each time. Right now I can't see a major difference in the beach, but hopefully things will improve over the next few days. 'Our' beach hasn't been hit so badly, neither has the surfing beach at Les Conches (Bud). As the sea temperature is now 17.7° C it's getting just right for our imminent visitors!

And into June

Where does the time go?! The days just roll one into the other. Even when it's pouring down you know it's not long before the next blue sky.

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The garden's coming on, despite the dreaded mare's tail (la prelle) which returns as quickly as you seemingly uproot it. The first photo shows our cherries (no, no laughter here for you Brits!) which are beautifully sweet, if you get a look in before the blackbirds take their pick!! Next you can see a pumpkin flower - you can even spot a baby pumpkin if you look carefully - and the whole patch is looking impressive with courgettes also flowering. It's quite satisfying - even though all we now have to do now is to encourage our plants to grow and, oh yes, I nearly forgot, weed and water (when necessary)! The sunshine is doing the rest and we are having our fair share of it at the moment, even though the weather has been quite changeable of late.

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We have had some fabulous skies, with bulging clouds, ranging from black to brilliant white, and some looking extremely threatening (cue photo 3, courtesy of Matt) but escaped the worst storms mainly hitting La Rochelle and the Isle de Ré. Apparently, there was a huge hail storm last week end where our 'little' cousin (first cousin once removed I believe!) Julie and partner Cedric live. So it looks like Jean's micro-climate saved us once again!