Last days with old friends & photo-shoot at La Belle Henriette

All good things come to an end but luckily our last few days with Jim & Les and Pauline & David were blessed with good weather and we made the most of it. No visits though as our car only holds five!

A Tine-style lunch

I'm not sure what the girls are watching but it's got their attention!

Pool fun

Excluding your faithful blogger there were 308 years in the pool on this occasion!

A couple of days later and it was my birthday and I received a fantastic present: a new camera. I'll need a bit of tuition though!

Young Sacha, my first subject!

We decided to go on a 'shoot' (no, not the hunting kind) to La Belle Henriette, a nature reserve a short distance down the coast.

They've been working on this area, making access much easier

Not so much bird life to be seen

The beach isn't far away...

...with a very calm sea...

...and a rogue jellyfish!

Out and about with Jim & Les

As you can see, we managed quite a few trips out whilst our 'old' friends were here.

Making the most of a dry spell one afternoon...

...we walked along 'our' beach towards the jetty, and a visit to the Starfish of course.

By November none of these boats will be moored in the bay

One of our favourite local spots: the old abbey at Lieu Dieu...

...now privately owned and being converted into apartments. They seem to be doing a great job of it!

The pool guy preparing for guests of honour (and no, not wearing Speedos)!

Mmm, that 29ºC will do nicely, eh Tine, Jim & Les?

Signs of autumn

We haven't started hibernating yet so I thought I'd share a few seasonal photos with you.

Big Dave's grapes are magnificent - ours weren't happy at all -

but we've had a good crop of pumpkins and butternut squash.

There are lots of wild mushrooms in the woods at the moment. I still don't trust myself to know what's what.

An early arrival of holly berries - don't they say it's a sign of a hard winter to come?!

You can just make out the bird on the feed: good viewing from the conservatory

What about this splash of colour metres from our house?

There are still many fields of maize/corn ready to be harvested...

...but this farmer's livestock won't go hungry!

Meanwhile we'll keep nice and snug this winter with the annual delivery of logs. Hope we've ordered enough.

What a difference...

... a few days make!

St Vincent-sur-Jard, with a high tide and an excellent view of the sailboarders enjoying the swell

Clémenceau's Vendée home which is situated in St Vincent...

...with its wild garden and beautiful view over the ocean.

Three days later and look who's come to visit for the first time: Pauline & David!

Bingley College of Education it isn't, but look at that sky! (Pauline, your faithful blogger and Les)

Boys will be boys: David & Jim

This is where we were watching the sailboarders just three days before!

Luçon cathedral & les Marais

Our next destination: the cathedral at Luçon, where Cardinal Richelieu once served as bishop.

Grey skies and works being done on the roof

The cloisters

Les & Tine, 42 years after their first meeting...

...and Jim & your faithful blogger, 45 years later!

Next day in les Marais (the marshlands) near Jard and the weather's not much better

We only discovered this area late last year and wanted to share it with J&L

There's a footpath meandering through the waterways to La Vinière

Hats off: we're warming up!

The first two photos were taken from the look-out area, bottom right of the screen-shot. The footpath makes its way NW to the village of La Venière (top corner). Thankyou, Google Maps!

In the crypt at Curzon

Golden oldie friends Jim & Les came to stay for the week. We had very unsettled weather the first few days but still managed to get out and about.

Jim makes his way down to the crypt

There are rather strange carvings there...

...and you bump into even stranger folk!

And as you know: I like a good stained glass window!

The next few posts will include Jim's photos as well as mine, so thank you kind sir.

And if you're reading this Richard, we did drive past but saw no sign of life!