Post Cropredy, one last breakfast in a bun, one last result on the tea season ticket – okay, two, the latter being for on the road. An early enough away to beat the main crowd and so quiet roads to the motorway and a gentle run back to BSB. Gosh, I’m getting boring in my old age.
The big paint-in (to be very 60’s – decade although current age also fits) continued with another huge investment in the chandlery. The magic, one type does under- and topcoat paint is expensive but does (obviously) do away with the need for two types – and, more importantly, seals in one go. With a whole month at LTC all would go to hell in a handcart otherwise.
An early peak to Les Grands Vacances came with Monday’s drive (on the bike, in good weather, so took a clean pants route) to see Mattie. That made two thirds of my off-spring in one UK sojourn, the percentage of total family was less but still the best I could realistically hope for. Not only did we manage the two small plumbing jobs that he wanted, I also did post-festival dhobi and had a jolly good blether, to boot.
Leaving early on Wednesday morning (which was an adventure in itself as he is as bad as me at reveille and I don’t know how to set the alarm clock to ring on my phone), the road was another clean pants one and I even got a wave of thanks from one of Dorset’s finest. Having just passed a car crash (where everything seemed to be under control so I didn’t stop) I was driving past the oncoming traffic jam when a police van came towards me, on my side of the road, with blue lights flashing; I pulled in and waved him through, he waved a thanks to me… At least, I think that’s what it was – I am not used to the police doing that; normally it is, “do you know what speed you were doing, sir?”
Despite the traffic I was at the ferry port with time to spare – even time to be searched by a very polite port security officer. I did think of questioning his kind offer of me choosing the bag to be examined – I must pick the one with drugs/firearms/bombs in, oh hang on, I’ve got a better idea… My run of i cryptic crosswords continued and the crossing so quick I was at Cherbourg in a trice. It is a while since I have driven the Cherbourg route and some of the not indicated road has been ‘improved.’ Luckily the nice, sweeping bends, very definitely clean pants bits south of Percy (in this case a small town rather than a small engine) were intact – and there was space to whizz past the slower moving traffic. The new(ish) to me bike is not a sports bike but does everything I want and perhaps a little bit more; if I leant far enough to need sliders on my knees I fear I would never get up again, at least not without a creak and a groan. That would bring a whole new meaning to going round in circles.
Thursday was market day (as usual) at LRB and it being high season everything was in full swing and crowded. Alchie Annie is being very saccharine, aspartame over the top gooey and insisted on driving me in, which actually quite helpful as it allowed me to buy\ sufficient supplies to keep me going. In her befuddled way she is convinced that LRB is at imminent threat of a terrorist attack and so will not go near a crowd, thus I shopped and then met her at the former yellow teapot cafe. She has a friend, another Cathy, who is not particularly keen on me; they were sitting together until Cathy saw me approaching. She leapt up like a shot rabbit, ran inside, paid and hot-footed.
I successfully completed the great biscuit smuggle; Pat was making melon sorbet and Trevor was hiding somewhere in the garden and so I left them to it and went, two melons to the good. They live close to Charles and Daff, another British couple, so I popped in there – and arranged to host a barbeque on Tuesday for them, one of their children with wife and two youngsters, and Geo. et al. It was a stroke of pure genius – the four children ran off their excess energy making new friends with each other (and the adults could do adult things…).
The main adult thing allowed me to show off my marvellous new toy. Geo. has spend a long and happy time playing rolling in the mud with his bushcrafty friends, who like to show off their various now minority interest skills. One is an ironsmith, who Geo. filmed making the intriguing little item (see attached video)
which he then bought and gave to me as a thank you for having them stay. Having them stay is thank you enough, I really enjoy their company, but the wee gift was icing on the cake.
It was only after I took this photo that I realised how similar to the Nepali figure 1 my new bottle opener looks and thus the whole thing resembles the face often portrayed on Buddhist stupas as the all seeing one… For those with a vivid imagination, of course.
The weather being fine (for some) – poor Geo. suffers in anything above slightly warm and the forecast for their arrival was for hotter – my holy shorts have made their summer bow. For those of a delicate disposition I am loth to announce that my sorting and shedding has lead to the discovery of a few more pairs-in-waiting, but one person’s loss is another’s gain – the fashion for slashed knees in jeans means that rather than having to cut them off I have a resale option! This could be the end of the road for one of history’s longer serving fashion trends.
On Friday Cathy arrived with Christian to collect the rest of her belongings – Phillipe, Lena’s father has still not come for his more intrusive furniture – and we arranged to meet at Le Pisse-Meme later. To enable me to enjoy the ambience I was invited to stay over and thus discovered that Maison Plaud, boulangerie par excellence, has their pain de menage (household bread) on a Saturday morning as well. I had thought it only available on Thursdays and Sundays; oh, divine joy.
There was a concert at Le Pisse-Meme on Saturday evening and the set had a certain je ne sais quoi:
Punk rock was. to me. fairly grungy anyway; quite why now there is steam punk, grunge, whatever I really don’t know – but it did seem to be appropriate. With ‘Unlop’ on the side of the moped I wondered if it was for Oey or Ichael, but I couldn’t see either of them winning a TT on it.
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