A sad day

Cynthia died from cancer in May. Although she & Matt had separated Matt was supporting her to the end.

Sacha has been very strong, here being hugged by Mireille, his nounou (nanny)...

...and playing Skyjo with Mamie & Papy.

The cremation took place in La Roche sur Yon with lots of people attending in bright colours, just as Cynthia had requested. Later that day her ashes were buried in the cimetière paysager (garden cemetery) in La Tranche.

There was certainly plenty of colour.

Even on the day of the funeral the children had some distracting fun in the pool at Cynthia's.

Here Alfie & Sacha catching up chez nous (awaiting stuffed vegetables)...

...and chez Monique with the Clegglets and Loulou & Sylvie.

Same day, Betty joins the boys outside.

Life indeed goes on and 11-year old Sacha is getting stronger. We're so happy that we can be here to support him & Matt.

Birthday boy, birds & a boat

Yes, another mixed bag!

At the end of April we joined Mehdi & Élodie to help celebrate Selim's 4th birthday

We have many sanderlings on our beaches.

They look like cartoon birds when scurrying along.

I was lucky enough to spot a hoopoe on one of my walks

Not my cup of tea (!) but evidence that the summer season's on its way: one of several mussel trawlers in the bay.

L'Aquarium de Vendée

Looking after Sacha for the day we visited l'Aquarium de Vendée near Talmont.

And what a discovery! There's been a big investment and it seems to have paid off.

Do you fancy walking on this sting-ray...

...or these cushion starfish?

It's hard to see but there's an octopus hiding in this rock...

...and a lobster emerging from another.

It's feeding time in one of the big tanks.

Another fish not to step on, methinks.

Can you spot the big hermit crab's legs?

Now which one is Nemo?

Finally a freaky creature!

Walks in the marshes, l'Embarcadère & introducing le Benèze

I was more than happy to be back getting my steps in every day.

These photos were taken in April...

...please note the greenery and plenty of water in the canals.

(The colour scheme is somewhat different when I type this in August after multiple heatwaves & very little rain!)

Early in the season l'Embarcadère is quiet. Mamie Tine here with Sacha...

...and both of us with Mehdi's Mum Najia, over from Morocco for a visit.

Finally we introduced Monique, Cécile, Arnaud & Mathys to our Friday night haunt, le Benèze.

Gardening exploits

Back home in La Tranche and straight away back to jobs!

 We had ordered 5 big bags of soil to be delivered just after our return. It was fun watching the one-man 'team' at work!

Tine hard at work in the new corner.

All we need are a few plants now.

Meanwhile our many tomato seedlings in the cold frame...

...and look at the size of these two...

...a great help to stop so much bending over. Merci Matthieu!

Tomatoes now in the raised beds...

...and lower in the garden.

On the side of the house there's a splash of colour...

...and in the front.

Our new corner is complete...

...especially with summer visitors.

All this before the summer of drought. The well has helped but many plants have suffered in the great heat,

Briefly back to the UK (2)

And now it's circus time!
Going to the circus reminds me of my childhood when our Dad used to take Pete & me to Belle Vue near Manchester. 

This time the big top was just by Nadine's school.

We were joined by Philippe too.

The clowns were really funny...

...getting lots of audience participation.

But the show was mainly about the acrobats

I'll let you peruse several short video clips.

We loved it and will certainly return for more one day. Gone are the days of wild animal acts: no bad thing.

Briefly back to the UK (1)

Back to the caravan and Nadine visited with AlfnBets on Easter Sunday.

Alf proving he's finally taller than Mamie Tine.

Easter egg hunt at the van. It looks a bit damp to me.

We visited old friends Pauline & David. There's a chance they'll visit us in September.

One day I met my mate Murray at Saltaire Brewery in Shipley. Saltaire Blonde has become one of my go-to beers.

There's a lot of beer in these two tanks...

...and plenty of beermats celebrating their beers behind the counter.