Friday 11th July- Elton tonight

We were up early but no workmen. Perhaps Noel misunderstood the conversation with the builder. Anyway it was not problem as most of it can wait.
We did a few jobs around the house and garden and had an early lunch.
By late afternoon both Michael and Joanne had arrived and also Gerry and Toni and we headed of to Dexters Bar and Grill in Weybridge for dinner but had a couple of glasses of Moet first.
It was quite a rushed dinner but enough time to down two bottles of a decent Chablis. As we left the restaurant is started to rain heavily.
By the time we arrived at the outside of the arena the grass was already very muddy but we bought some wine in plastic bottles at a rip off price of £24 per bottle just to keep our spirits up.
Elton came on ten minutes early just as the rain really started chucking it down and it was only Jen and Noel who stood up to dance and join in. Two people out of the 20000 seemed to be enjoying it unless it was the booze beginning to take over. Needless to say Michael was perhaps slightly embarrassed with his parents but then both he and Joanne joined in. Most people seamed to be sitting rather than stand and dance perhaps they did not want to get to wet. There were people arriving as though it was an outside summer evening ball and not dressed for a very wet evening in Brooklands.
Elton and his band played for two and a half hours non stop and was magnificent. All the new and some of the older great numbers were played. He had a slight sore throat but you would never know it. It was also quite annoying at one time because there was this oldish guy with grey hair and glasses and back from his french holiday in the crowd who kept on shouting out 'Rocket Man' between all of the songs until Elton sang it. Jennifer reckons he was pi**ed.
Noel had forgotten to take his camera to this event, anyway Michael will be on St Johns duty there on Sunday and will take some pictures .
We trudged home through mud and puddles and got back about 11 pm. The Groves family really enjoyed the event as did Toni although I am not sure Gerry liked it as much as us. This was Gerry's first outdoor rock concert and so to go and sit in the pouring rain was not the best start.
A really great evening and well worth the cost of returning to London

Thursday 10th July-Today London

We parked the car in the undercover long stay car park, four nights at an airport for less than £ 35 is not bad at all.
The flight was very full but whilst waiting for the the departure across the runway about one mile away you could see all the Airbus Aircraft, some with livery, waiting for completion or delivery. I guess we could see about 40 aeroplanes and it was an impressive sight including two Guppies which they use for transporting wings and also two Super A 380 aircraft.
We arrived at Gatwick and met the taxi and headed home. Noel had a number of phone calls to make re the house including a legal discussion with regard to his complaints with Ashley Flooring.
A quick visit to Do-it-all for some wire wool and wet and dry sand paper to clean the paint of the new tow ball and then some food shopping. The prices in Waitrose seem to be escalating at an alarming fashion.
We had a quiet evening watching TV and an early night as we know that tomorrow will be busy as we expect workmen to appear in the morning and then an evening with Elton J

Wednesday 9th July -Off to Toulouse

The sun was shining at last and Mike came over to look at the front of our caravan and also looked at the tow bar and after some quick measuring it looks like that I have the wrong tow ball head fitted to the two bar and this does not allow the caravan to move left and right without the Base of the Alko head from rubbing.
I was given when I collected the van last year an Alko tow bar ball but the guy said the one I had fitted was fine. Anyway this will be changed when I get back to site.
We left Larnagol around midday and took a long drive through the country lanes but went in to Montauban as we had missed a turning. This is a lovely old city but on the outskirts are the American style road with all the major supermarket and store chains on it.Shame really.
It was begining to get quite hot and the car outside temperature gauge was showing 33 degrees centigrade and as we had the air con on we did not notice how warm it had got outside. By the time we reached our Hotel at Toulouse Blagnac Airport the temp had reached 35 degrees. We had a short stop to check in and have a quick shower before heading down town for a walk. The centre of Toulouse is a great place with plenty of large and small piazza's where the bars and restaurants operate.
We ducked in to a Internet shop to check in on line for our BA flights and then headed for the bar as it was still very hot. The restaurants in this town do not open before 8pm and then they are suddenly packed . At a previous visit to Toulouse some years ago we had come across a fabulous local restaurant where the Chef comes and sits at your table and tells you whats on for the night and then told us to ignore the menu as he would like to arrange our meal himself. It was a great meal, one of the best we have had in years. However it was so hot tonight that we were not that hungry to have a four course meal and so we found a little but active restaurant who made excellent pizzas. We had a great dinner and watched a couple of young ladies who obviously worked in the worlds oldest profession (plumbing and bricklaying) plying for trade (picture to be added next week when I get back to Larnagol)
Using the Sat Nav to find the Hotel again we headed back. We had been asleep for about an hour and there was this large bang from the bathroom which we investigated and it turned out to be the soap holder falling off and bouncing around the bath. Great

Tuesday 8th July An easier day

We planned for Tuesday to be a quiet day and hopefully enjoy the sun which had been in short supply in the last couple of days.
The site is very quiet indeed and just how we like it. There are perhaps only 7 sites of the 80 odd occupied and three of those seven were people who work on the site. Many of the camp and caravan sites in France cannot afford full time help and so they do deals with caravaners who can stay free accommodation costs etc but then you donate 3 or 4 hours per day to cut grass, keep the place looking tidy etc and its a good way for both parties.
One of the couples on site had a computer web connection problem which I tried to resolve and eventually did as it was a problem which allowed Skype to run but would not allow any web pages to be shown. The problem in the end was the Norton security package. He was delighted as it had been that way for over a week.
A couple who are parked across the road from us we met previously when we last stayed two years ago on this site. So in the evening they arrived with their chairs and a bottle of local wine and we had a great evening discussing our activities since we last met. Mike mentioned that he though the noise coming from the front of the caravan as we turned corners was a front bulkhead rubbing and he would help me look at this problem in the morning. It was a late'ish night for us and we got to bed around11.30pm.
Tomorrow we leave for slow trip to Toulouse

Monday 7th July- The awning goes up again

As we started to put up the awning again, it’s started to rain and get a bit windy. Anybody who has been camping will know about rain and wind and the impact on putting up a tent and the same applies to the awning.

Anyway a couple of hours later with lots of comments, rude and otherwise from various passers by, we succeeded.

In the afternoon we did some shopping at the Hyper U in Villefranche, a shop we have been to many times before and so purchased the next few days food.

The rest of the day we spent signing up for the site internet connection and enjoying Pork filet and French sausage with pasta basted in olive oil and basil and bottle of plonk from the supermarket. Should be good otherwise will have to change the cook.

A nice day and tomorrow we will perhaps take a walk and also start booking a Hotel near Toulouse Airport so we can be early and catch our flight back to the UK for the Elton John concert this Friday night at the Mercedes Centre at Brooklands Musuem Weybridge.

6th July- We’re off to the Lot Valley

We woke in the night to hear the heavy rain, Oh No. However by the morning the rain had continued but was a little lighter. There were still a number of jobs to do with the caravan outside, in the rain, which Noel did. So after a quick breakfast and morning ablutions we put up the corner jacks and hoped that the van had not sunk too much in to the ground. However the Land Cruiser pulled it out without even a twitch and so we headed off and the rain got far worse.

The drive was over the Sioule Gorge and the 1000 metre high mountain which we needed to go over on the motorway. If it had not been so misty and dark with heavy rain we believe it would have been a beautiful drive and when we reached Brive we had hoped that the weather would improve, but no.

We stopped just outside Cahor in the motorway rest place for some lunch before tackling what we thought would be a difficult bit with the caravan along the side of the Lot Valley towards Larnagol which is about a 45 minute drive. We had chosen a Sunday as this would reduce the amount of traffic and particularly heavy lorries and buses, and we were right as the road was quite clear.

We made it to the site at about 3.30 pm and the van was in place within half an hour.

As we had no time for shopping en-route we understood that a van visits the site on Sunday nights and makes Pizza’s to order. So we bought one and sat at the bar with several other campers and also the owners of the site Mike & Roz and had a few beers and a bottle of wine. This was a great way to start our time here.

It was a bit cool this evening and so we are hoping that the weather will improve tomorrow, let’s see what happens.

5th July Get packing guys

Well as we are planning to leave tomorrow for the Lot Valley we need to start packing up some of the gear we brought with us so that we can get an early start.

So we took down the awning which lasted about two hours or so and then off came the wheel security bolts and generally we made a good impact on the little things that we needed to do.

The rest of the day we spent enjoying the sunshine and reading. Dinner was a take away and it was excellent as usual. This was our last night in Ebreuil and it has been a lovely visit and we shall be back next year.

Friday 4th July. The Wild West comes to Vichy

We arrived in Vichy around 1200 after getting stuck in a stupid traffic jam caused by some road workers who were totally oblivious to the chaos around them which they had caused.

We found the Tourist Office from where the Petit train left and discovered we had missed the last morning circuit by half an hour and the next one would be at 2pm.

So we headed slowly off to our usual sandwich bar in the middle of town and were queuing to place an order when there was this rather loud bang. At first we thought it was a car or motorcycle backfiring and then someone shouted ‘On the Left’ (in French of course) and it was then that Jennifer, who was not in the queue, saw a man holding a sawn off shotgun and then he fired again. We ran in to the shop and in the meantime somebody opened the Police Gates and they arrived on en-masse. We think there were already under cover cops in the road already as they blocked off the road for about half an hour. It was strange they blocked off the road for vehicles but allowed pedestrians to continue?

Quite exiting but at the same time worrying.

A window in a bank had been shattered and so we guessed it may have been a bank robbery attempt which had gone wrong from the perpetrator.

So we finished our lunch and then found that the Tourist Office was now closed due an emergency and no train. This was a shame as we were both looking forward to it.

So we moved across town to the local Carrefour for a small amount of shopping and then headed out of town. During our drive through the outskirts of Vichy there was still a high police presence and several roads were blocked off with a few people hanging around waiting for something to happen.

We stopped on the outskirts of town and put about 60 litres of what must be gold plated diesel in the tank (comments based on current fuel pricing) and headed home.

Jennifer converted the left over steak in to a casserole which she cooked for about two hours and when we tasted it, it was still very tough and so it was removed from the premises forthwith. Instead we opened one of Costco lamb shanks, these are specially packed and last for months without being chilled or frozen, and so converted our beef casserole in to a lamb shank casserole.

A Dutch couple had pitched their tent almost next door and you could tell they were anxious to see inside our awning and caravan and so we invited them over for a drink and a small tour which they enjoyed. It would appear that he is an artist by trade and spends most of his time on stone sculptures. They have been coming to this camp site for the past 20 years firstly with their two young girls but now by themselves. They had a tiny tent which neither Jennifer or I could ever see us using.

A nice evening and we must start packing up things tomorrow in readiness for the big move to Larnagol in the Lot Valley, about 40 minutes from Cahor.

UPDATE. When writing this Blog on Saturday morning we learnt from the camp site owners that the local paper says there were two dead in the gunfire yesterday. It would appear that an escaped prisoner shot dead a 46 year waitress not far from where we had our lunch and then was chased by police to a house where barricaded himself in and was subsequently shot dead by the police. No other details of the case are known for the moment.

3rd July- A quietish day

The rain has stopped and the sun is now shining again. We went shopping in Ebreiul and found the food market was there. Not many stores but a good selection all the same.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing and in the evening thought we would have the filet steak that we purchased earlier. Noel cooked it with his usual style and it was so very tough we had to give up and have some ham we had also bought.
Never mind we have had this problem before and so Jennifer will turn it in to a casserole for tomorrow night.
The bottle of bordeaux superior wine we purchased to go with the steak was still drunk and took away the disspointment of the steak.
Tomorrows plan is to go in to Vichy and go on the little tourist train which should be fun. They have these in many villages/towns in France and its a great way to see the town.

2nd July and the rain arrives in a bucket load

Well, the morning was great and plenty of time to relax and enjoy the sun. My brother in law who lives in Western Brittany phoned to discuss a couple of things re the house and mentioned that heavy rain was on the way. He was right.
By mid afternoon the clouds had arrived and then the rain got much worse with thunder and lightening. So we sat in the van listening to the rain and enjoying a glass of whisky to keep the cold out ( it was actually 25 degrees at the time but it was a good excuse)
Most of the day was spent reading and relaxing after the jouney back from Weybridge. The take-away tonight was Duck a'la orange and as this would be a little bit heavy for us older folks we declined and lived it up on mushroom omlette chips and peas. Boy do we know how to live it up.
Lets hope the weather is better tomorrow.

1st July- Ebreuil here we come again

It was a beautiful morning when we got up at 0515, Oh how we hate this. Anyway the taxi was on time and the visit to terminal 5 from a departure aspect was much better. It has colour and plenty of shops and light and space and quite a difference to the arrival building.

Our BA flight was on time and we arrived in Paris early. The bus to the Gare De Lyon came along pretty quickly and then proceeded to get seriously stuck in traffic and it took almost one hour forty five minutes to reach our destination.

On the bright side however, it was time to have lunch and so we wandered around for a bit and found a nice restaurant where we had some great food and wine, it was a bit expensive but really worth it.

The train journey was also on time but in the meantime the temperature had climbed to over 33 degrees and the carriage air conditioning was beginning to suffer. We both like train rides and this one was enjoyable to. Anyway we picked up the car and were grateful it was in an underground car park and therefore relatively cool. The caravan was about 40 degrees centigrade when we got back but otherwise fine. It is now 2045 and we are sitting outside the van watching the trout fishermen ply their trade and enjoying the cooler air.

The site owners have our second set of caravan keys which we left with them and we will pick them up tomorrow.

I was planning to bring my little camera on the way back to take some photo reminders of the journey but with an early morning I clean forgot and so no piccies toda

30th June- A day of rest and calm

There was quite a bit of activity to get ready for the Elmbridge Building inspector. We still have a few issues to resolve following his visit but they will have to wait as we are going back to France tomorrow.

There is a lot of sad news aeound which will not be reported here

28-29th June The weekend in London

We had a great weekend at home and went to Toni & Gerry’s party on Saturday night and had a really great time. Photos are on the Phanfare blog including some video of Jennifer hooting it up on stage with the band.

Sunday we were a bit slow after rather a late night and as we had decided not to do much around the house we took it very easy indeed. Noel watched the football and Jennifer read a book. What a way to recover and an early night was required.