Lockdown life

We're used to life being quiet in the winter months but normally spring means the weather improves,  La Tranche begins to wake up and we socialise more. Well, the weather certainly improved with long sunny,  even hot spells. What could we do to console ourselves about the lack of social interaction?

In the bar on the ferry from St Malo to Portsmouth, handwash gel already evident

A few days later and back in La Tranche: a better kind of sanitiser

Comfort food helped us through the lockdown: steak with home-made chips and pepper sauce...

...chickory (endive) gratin another day...

...sausage casserole Sunday lunch, Yorkshires and roasties to the ready...

...cheese soufflée, one of your faithful blogger's signature dishes, ...

...or chicken & new potato tagine?

Of course puds were allowed as well (but not too often)!

Lemon meringue so good it merits two photographs

Or a new favourite: marmalade cake

One day we and Sacha picnicked (courtesy of The Slice) above the Starfish. This was in the second stage of lockdown when we could finally be with family again.

But, all this eating is going to take its toll...

...Joe Wicks' exercise class to the rescue!

Day out with Dave & Shan

We were booked on the overnight cross-channel ferry for the Saturday but couldn't resist a day out with our Essex friends who'd only just arrived in La Tranche. Little did we know how life was about to change.

First stop, Les Puits d'Enfer. The tide was going out so no impressive waves smashing against the rocks...

...still beautiful though.

Next onto Les Sables for a coffee, but first l'Île Penotte aux Coquillages...

...with its fun collages made from shells.

Don't get your fingers trapped in the letter-box mouth!

After driving round to La Chaume on the other side of the estuary we walked up to the lighthouse passing the old church...

...and some very rusty capstans.

The view back down the estuary, La Chaume on the left and Les Sables on the right. This is where competitors in the Vendée Globe leave and return after their single-handed race around the world.

I'm not sure who these two miscreants were...

...but they were waiting under the lighthouse!

Another favourite spot in La Chaume is by the church where someone has been very creative with their 'trompe l'oeil' paintings.

They even fooled Shan and your faithful blogger trying to get in the bar!

A big thank you to Big Dave for several of these photos.

Sacha playing out and a few odds & ends

In the middle of the forest not far from town is la Plaine de Jeux du Fond du Mourat, a playpark in a clearing. It's a bit of a walk from our house but it all helps to achieve my daily 10,000 steps target.

Sacha's always ready for a bit of fun...

...as can clearly be seen on his face here!

Even the climbing wall...

...can be a good place to pull a face.

Meanwhile back home it looks like we're being invaded by lizards. Like me they love the warm sunshine.

Town workers making the most of a very low tide to scrub the jetty of its barnacles

But as I said recently, where there's a low there's a high, the main beach practically disappearing...

...and Tine there to show how high the sand cliff was.

To finish, who'd like to count the number of birds on the Plan d'Eau? There must be something very tasty in there!

Flooding at Le Port de la Claye & le Communal

What a difference 10 months make: last May Sue & Paul and Gina & Ian came to stay (and what great fun we had). We took them to Le Port de la Claye on the river Lay, then onto le Communal near Lairoux. Look at the difference in March 2020.

Remember the deer swimming across the river?

He'd be struggling this time.

Or the lazy, idyllic scene: a birdwatcher's delight...

...now a huge lake.

Luckily the locals know that this is an annual occurrence with no constructions on the floodplain.

A tale of two skateparks

We had a very wet winter this year, as the first photos show.

This is the skatepark in La Tranche, slightly under water

Warnings about flooding at the new skatepark in La Faute...

...but work was in full swing the day I walked by.

Another day, the view over the bay to the bridge connecting La Rochelle to l'Île de Ré...

...and another day I was highly amused by someone's antics decorating a Christmas tree with sea debris on our beach.