Trip to Utrecht and UK September/October 2013

So a quick turnaround after Rob and Donna left and we set off to drive to Utrecht o visit Barclay and Janneke. We stayed overnight 26/27th in Palaiseau on the outskirts of Paris. Next day, Sunday, we tackled the Paris peripherique which was still busy but the sat nav was behaing itself and we managed the circumnavigation without too many problems. We got lost in Amiens, took a wrong turning and seemed to go round the town several times before getting back on the right road. It was very busy around Lille and the Belgian border and the sat nav gave up the ghost. We managed OK till we got into Holland and then we had to rely on road signs which caused some problems. We finally, more by luck than management, got to Utrecht and dove around several times. N eventually went in a shop to ask for directions and then a miracle occurred! The sat nav came back to life after it’s siesta!! We were later than anticipated arriving at Janneke and Barclays but soon settled in and so good to see them again. Kenai is now 4 and Zazu 18 months. The house is quite small and only has 2 bedrooms which we didn’t know before we went. Janneke and Barclay had put a mattress for themselves on the floor of the boys bedroom and given us their bed. We were so touched at their welcome and kindness. We had 2 full days there. Saturday we went into the market in Utrecht and to the park. What sticks in my mind is the number of bicycles both on the bike lanes and the huge numbers of them parked in the middle of town. The cheese stall was an absolute delight and I was most impressed by the way the town was laid out. At some point over the weekend I went for a walk around the area and had my first sight of a Dutch canal, it was huge!!! On Sunday we went to another park on the outskirts of town for lunch. Barclay has a bike with trailer attached so he can take the children to and from childcare just as do so many others in the neighbourhood. A short visit but so good to see them all again and learn of their life in Holland. Definitely a country I would like to see more of one day. Next day we only had a short drive to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle which departed at 5 pm. As I remember meals on board were very expensive so we took a « picnic » on board with us.

Rob and Donna’s visit.September 2013.

our friends, Rob and Donna, from Perth, Western Australia arrived on the 19th September and we met them at Bordeaux airport. We had stayed with them en route to our trip to New Zealand in 2011. So good to see them again. As well as some long, relaxing meals on the patio we gave them a tour of the area visiting Eugenie les Bains, Pau and Mont de Marsan. They left early morning of the 25th September when N took them to Dax to catch the train.

Ariege April 2013

We visited Martin and Mieke for a weekend in April.

Devon June 2013

First stop was to stay a couple of nights with Annie in Woodbury. On the Friday afternoon Annie took me on a walk which turned into a hike and us getting lost! Eventaully I persuaded her to turn back and make our way home. We seemed to walk miles and all this on the hottest day of the year so far! I was pretty shattered by the time we got back and have vowed never to go on one of her "little" walks agan! The purpose of this trip was to celebrate the 40th burthdays of Steve and Rodger. Rodger is Steve's boyhood friend and my 3rd "son" as he spent so much time at our place when they were growing up. Rodger,Miryl, Josh and Livvy niw live in Melbourne and had come over to visit his family in Dalwood. Steve had booked us in to share a cottage with them at Hawley Farm. for the week beginning 10th June. Now Dalwood, in East Devon, is where we lived from 1977 until 1997 and Rob and Steve were just 4 and 6 when we moved there. I knew Hawley farm from those years before Gordon and Pam moved there and eventually converted the barns into holiday cottages. Gordon was a teenager when we moved there and lived close to us at his parents farm on the edge of the village. Nigel and I went up to the farm and were able to check in early and had a chat and some reminiscing with Gordon particularily about the time his tractor scared my horse and I ended up in the ditch! I hopped onto the tractor and we went off in hot pursuit of Chippie before finding her calmly grazing at the side of lane by the school! Then we drove down to the village to meet up with Steve and family and Rodger and family. Wonderful to see them all! We had a drink at the Tuckers Arms, our "local" when we lived there. The weather was good enough to be able to sit out in the garden and enjoy our reunion. The "boys" spent the afternoon getting ready for the joint birthday party tomorrow which was to be held in the garden of Rodger's brother Neil who lives adjacent to the pub. The next day was warm and sunny and when we arrived at Neil's the marquee was up and tables were seated around the garden with a bbq being fired up. It was good to see so many of Steve and Rodger's friends many of them now with children of their own. By mid afternoon the bbq was in full flow and it dawned on me that a)I wasn't feeling very hungry and b) I didn't feel too well. I didnt want to be a party pooper but certainly wasn't my usual sociable self. Anyway the party was a great success and everyone enjoyed themselves. Next morning Steve and Nigel went down to the village to help with the aftermath of the party. I had not had a good night but had to rouse myself as I had invited friends, Dave and Sheila and Jan and Roy for an evening meal. It was so good to see them but I really was not feeling well at all. Tuesday and Wednesday passed in a blur, sleepless nights, coughing and the odd bit of sleep I felt so bad and I had been so much looking forward to this week especially being able to spend time with my new granddaughter. On Thursday I made an appointment to visit the doctors surgery in Axminster to see one of the nurses there. We had lunch planned first at the Old Inn in Kilmington along with Rodger and family as well as Pat, Rodger's mother. I dont think I ate much. At the surgery the nurse diagnosed a lung infection and said it was on the edge of pneumonia. She prescribed rest and antibiotics. We had to leave our accomodation on Saturday and I was st

ill pretty much bedridden so what to do? My good friends Mairi and Bryan stepped into the breach and let us stay there for a couple of nights. The antibiotics started to kick in and, thankfully, we were able to catch the ferry back to France and Nigel drove back all the way in one day. Such a relief to get back home, such a disappointment though to have been ill at such a time. One good thing came out of it though, it stopped me smoking and even when fully recovered I didnt have the slightest desire to have another cigarette and never have done since then.

Lauren March 2013

Steve and Kristina's daughter, my granddaughter, was born on the 8th March. I'm not sure of the date I went over but I

think it must have been early Apri and a flying visit from Bordeaux to Bristol. I have just found my old Airbnb booking and I was there from the 3-10 April. I picked up a hire car at Bristol airport and had a private room in a house quite close to Steve and Kris'. I was pretty comfortable there but wasnt happy with cats walking all over the kitchen surfaces! Still i only had my breakfast, cereal, to prepare so it wasnt really a problem. Wouldnt stay there again though. I remember Steve taking a photo of me when I was able to hold her for the first time, sadly I cant find it, but I do remember the joy of the occasion. There is a small shopping centre not too far away from them and Kris and I walked up there with Lauren and had a coffee in the Starbuck's. It seems to be a popular meeting place for the young mums in the area, many of them looking rather sleep deprived!

2013 Los Amigos Mijas Costa.

I'm not quite sure how I found a special offer, online, for a stay in a studio at Los Amigos Beach Club in Mijas Costa Southern Spain. So with our new found freedom from animals we decided to have a months break in the sun. We left Castandet on the 10th of January and drove over the border and down towards Madrid. I had booked us in for an overnight stop at the hotel Juaneca in San Agustin de Guadalix just north of Madrid. Looking at the map it seemed as if the hotel was adjacent to the main road but our sat nav had other ideas! We made a joint decision to obey the sat nav and ended up in some exclusive, private development high up in the hills! We retraced our steps and stopped in the middle of the village to ask directions. It seemed to be tapas time and I leaped out of the car and asked a group of chaps, standing around on a cafe terrace, glasses in hand, where the hotel was. It was indeed at the side of the main road and we finally arrived, probably an hour or so later than we should have done without the help of the sat nav! We left early next day in order to circumnavigate Madrid before it got too busy. It was a vain hope that it wouldnt be too busy but with the sat nav behaving itself we survived without mishap and carried on our journey to la Cala de Mijas. We were pleased with our accomodation which was a studio apartment and the bed folded up into the wall, all very well designed and comfortable. We unpacked our belongings and settled in for our 4 week stay. There was a heated, indoor pool at the complex which we made full use of, mainly during Spanish lunch hour when it was relatively quiet. We also made full use of the miniature golf which provided us with lots of fun., It was only a short drive into la Cala, a small town by the beach with all facilities. The older town of Mijas was a few kilometres up in the hills. One day we drove up there to meet up with friends Mags and Tony who had driven down from their holiday resort of Nerja to join us for lunch. I discovered some stables not too far away and had a good ride out on a very nice horse in some interesting countryside high up and away from the coast.One day we visited the "exclusive"resort of Marbella which we found to be over-rated and very busy. The coast road that runs from Malaga down to Marbella and then Gibralter is very busy and not the most pleasant of roads to drive on. We had a day trip to Ronda to meet up with friends feom Devon, Paul and Steph, who now live near Seville. It was many years since i had seen them, N had met Steph but not Paul when we lived in Dalwood. It was good to see them and we had a very pleasant lunch with them. They invited us to stay over at their place on our return journey. Another week at Las Amigas and all too soon it was time to leave and make our way back. Looking at the map for the route toPaul andd Steph's we decided to explore the historic town of Osuna.and have lunch there before continuing our journey. I have forgotten the name of the village where Steph and Paul lived although to be fair we never saw a village! There house was set well back from the road along a track through the vines. Due to Paul's explicit directions we found it without anyproblems. We soon settled in and met the various animals and had a tour of their smallholding. Paul is building what looks to be a bery large boat, im not sure how he will get it to the sea which is a long way away! Next day we went to the outskirts of Seville with them as Paul needed some DIY supplies and we had lunch in the commercial centre. Seville is huge and busy infact we have circumnavigated it twice and got lost both times even with the sat nav! I still havent managed to see the town centre, one day perhaps! Another pleasant evening with them and then it was time to leave and continue our journey home. We stayed at the hotel Juanesca again and next day were back in Castandet.

2012 continuation.

This blog seemed to fall by the wayside after my last post in 2012. Life in Castandet trundled along and now without any canine companions we realised that the world was our oyster! It's now 2021 and im trying, with the help of memory and photos, to document our life in the last 10 years. We packed up and left on the 17th October to start a trip back to England. We stayed overnight at the Lemon hotel near Futuroscope. Very basic but i'd taken a meal to warm up in the microwave in the communal kitchen there. We arrived at the fery port in Le Havre only to discover that we had arrived a day early!Not my finest moment but better to be a day early. Every cloud has a silver lining though and this gave us a day to explore Le Havre which turned out to be a very pleasant town indeed. My memory gets a bit hazy here as my photos tell me we drove straight uo to Yorkshire from Portsmouth, not a drive that I can remember so it must have been relatively uneventful. I think we stayed with Ken and Kay for a couple of nights and met up with Christine and David and visited Saltaire and Salts Mill always one of my favourite places to visit having been brought up within a stones throw of the mill. We visited my cousin Margaret in Rathmell and her brother Peter and wife Jean came over for the afternoon. We had a lovely walk through the beautiful dales countrside for a break to a tea shop before returning to Margaret's. Next day, 26/10, we left and drove up to the lake district. We stopped off in Windermere which was very crowded and then had lunch before driving on to our hotel in Coniston. The Coniston Inn appeared to be an old country house which had been converted into a very appealing hotel set in it's own grounds adjacent to the shore of the lake. During our two days here we explored the small town and the highlight of the visit, for Nigel anyway, was an afternoon spent at a farm sale! Lots of old farming equipment for him to marvel at. From Coniston we drove up to Durham where we were booked in at the Seven Stars hotel on the outskirts of the city for 2 nights. Nigel is starting to research his family history and our visit here was to visit county hall and the archives. As my birth mother was from the area I was also able to do some research. There's a bit of a gap in my memory here as by the 2/11 we were staying with Annie in Woodbury. I dont think we would have done the journey in one go so I think we may have had an overnight stay in Stratford on Avon to visit my old friend and neighbour Isobel. The next few days were spent in Devon where I celebrated my 70th birthday. On the 3rd, my actual birthday, I left Nigel with Annie and Steve picked me up and took me over to Dave and Sheila's at South Chard. The first Saturday of November is traditionally the opening meet of hunts in the UK. My birthday outing was to be to ride to the meet, but not hunt, on Romeo a magnificent coloured cob of Dave's. As soon as we arrived Sheila pressed a glass of whiskey into my hands and introduced me to Romeo. Jan was there and we all had a wonderful ride over to Cotley house. Lots of chat and laughter. So many people I knew at the meet and so little time to chat with them. All too soon it was time for hounds to mive off and I had to relinquish Romeo to Dave and Sheila's granddaughter to hunt for the day. A very special day. Next day Steve organised a small party for me and Annie kindly let us use her house as the venue. Another memorable day. Annie and Trevor had gone to great pains to decorate the house, so touched to have such good friends. Next day we were on the road again and had an overnight stay in West Wycombe at the George and Dragon. John and I had stayed there many years ago when we started our house hunting for our move to the area in 1967. A trip back in time the next day as we drove to Naphill to see the house where John and I had lived all those years ago, Claremont, on the common. We also drove past RAF Strike Command where I had worked and the Wheel Inn which had been our local and was now closed. Then on to have a look around High Wycombe a town of which Nigel also had many memories having lived nearby in his younger days. On the road again to Windsor where we stayed at the New Oscar overnight. Windsor is Nigel's birthplace and it holds many memories for him. Nigel flew from Heathrow to Toronto on the 8th to meet up with and spend a couple of weeks with his newly found half brother, Roger and family. The next bit is a mystery as i must have returned, on my own, to Castandet. I assume i caught the ferry from Portsmouth but have no recollection of this! The year ended with Christmas celebrations with our friends Jane and Michael. Jane had recently had knee surgery and was in convalescence. She was allowed out for the day so Michael went to collect her and Nigel and I went over to theirs and prepared the Christmas meal. We stayed overnight afterwards.