Season's Greetings - That was the year that was...

**More pics to be added later when our broadband is functional.**

I can't quite believe that it has been a whole year since my last blog. Such a lot has happened during the past twelve months. The fall out from the Brexit vote continues to make me sad and angry. Theresa May is hanging on and leading us to goodness knows where.

Our travels have taken us to South Africa for the first time and were amazed by the stunning scenery and wildlife, 

 In June we became grandparents for the first time. Ronnie Thomas is a little star!

We've sold and moved out of The Old School after nearly 35 wonderful years. We didn't manage to find the right house to buy so are renting a lovely house in Stafford whilst we continue our search. It has been a difficult process both physically and emotionally, but we know that it was the right thing to do. We are very fortunate to have options when so many people really don't.

Since late November we've visited Rome and Venice, stayed in a cottage in the Peak District and managed to move and set up our rented house. Two rooms are almost completely full of boxes which there seems very little point in unpacking, but we also have comfortable rooms in which to relax and browse the Rightmove app - or at least we will when BT get their act together and connect our broadband. A wait of 19 days is a bit excessive, don't you think?

We’ve had a busy couple of weeks meeting up with family and friends for pre-Christmas celebrations. We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time at the ‘trough’, but have enjoyed some delicious meals and sparkling company. No doubt there will be more to come before the decorations are taken down!
.
We are spending Christmas day with Tom, Rhiannon, Stuart and Ronnie and we’ll enjoy a wonderful meal and good company. 

Wherever you are…
Whatever you are doing…
However you are celebrating this time of the year…
Whether celebrations are more difficult because of loved ones who are no longer with you…

Tim and I send you our very best wishes for

 a merry Christmas

 and a happy, healthy and peaceful 2018.

Season’s Greetings…

It's been a long time! However, although the I may not be finding the time, inspiration or inclination to write this blog I always try to find some time to read and keep up with my many friends in the blogging world. I think of you all often. I take delight in seeing your photographs of amazing places or just your day to day activities. Some of you have become real friends, and we are much enriched by having you as part of our lives.  We count ourselves fortunate to have met you.

At this time we also remember absent friends. Some will return tomorrow, next week or next year. Others are but precious memories of times spent together.

At 3pm GMT we shall be following the lead of Jim and Pauline Craig and raising a toast to absent friends.

Today we are also thinking about those who are less fortunate, where ‘christmas’ never comes - in war zones, touched by tragedy, intolerance, natural disasters, in poverty, poor health, lonely, homeless, refugees -the list goes on. Santa doesn't bring every child a huge pile of presents, and the 'world' so often shows that it doesn't care for the problems of others. Each one of us can make a difference.

Annie Lennox – Universal Child

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nInCpOvDC8

We wish you all healthy, peaceful and joyful Christmas...

Le Mont-Dore to Super Besse...

We've been to the Auvergne quite a few times over the years. The first was in 1980 on a ski holiday with a group of school children. Our hotel was at La Bourboule, but the skiing area was at Le Mont-Dore. Although we haven't skied there since (we've opted for the Swiss and French Alps, which in the higher resorts is more snow-sure) the ski area and lift system has developed and the resort is linked over the Massive de Sancy to Super Besse. Super Besse is a purpose built resort and has little of the charm of more traditional villages, but it does have mountains, a lake and even an indoor swimming pool. It was crowded with people making the most of the last sunny days of the school holidays.

The intrepid cyclists were cycling up over the Col de Robert and taking a detour around Lac Chambon, Murol, St Nectaire (of the cheese fame) and Besse (for coffee) and then taking the massive climb up to Super Besse, which varies between 7 and 12% for around 7km. The total ride was about 50km. I hope you're impressed - I was!! 

I drove the support vehicle which involved passing them a couple of times, pipping the horn, shouting the "allez, allez" and blasting out a few bars of Born to Run. My job done I headed to the traditional stone and cobble village of Besse et St Anastaise to do some window shopping and have a drink in the town square. It's thirsty work!

I have better photographs of Besse on my camera, which I'll download to my laptop and update.

The scenery was stunning. 

It's a mammoth task getting the bikes on to the roof bars...

A cooling dip in the lake...

Finally, you know you are in a ski resort when three apples and three tomatoes cost 4€87!

To round off the day we walked around the crater lake. Lac Pavin. We remembered doing this in 1994 with Rhiannon and our Dutch friends Robert and Erna Van der Pieterman, Maaike, Erik and Frank. 

Happy days...

On tour in the Auvergne

  ** I know that the photographs and font won't be right but I'm doing this post via iPad. I'll correct them when I get back to my laptop**

We've spent a couple of lovely days in the Cantal. Tim and Tom have cycled in the footsteps (or should it be wheel tracks?) of Chris Froome et al up from Salers to the top of the Pas de Peyrol and down the other side. The Pas de Peyrol is just below Puy Mary. Yesterday we followed in our own footsteps of 22 years previous and climbed up Puy Mary. I was 38 then and found the climb easier, but knocking 60 still made it without the need for extra oxygen or a defibrillator! We missed Rhiannon, but she has her own mountains to climb, and will soon be off to even warmer climes on her honeymoon to Sri Lanka!

I provided backup in the car but unfortunately couldn't run to the Ford Mustang of Dave rails ford and Team Sky. 

I'm very proud of Tim and Tom, but livid that a Brit in a Toyota estate prevented me from behind at the summit to welcome them. It's a long story, but I was parked in the shade and two cars parked so close to me that I couldn't open the doors on either side enough to even hope to get in! It often happens on one side so I've perfected the technique of getting into the passenger side and climbing into the driving seat. This time neither door would open more than about 15cm! After about 25 minutes (and rehearsing the French for my displeasure!) the selfish Brit arrived back. To say he got a piece of my mind was an understatement! I would have still been annoyed, but less so has the car park been full. There was lots of space, but not in the shade.

So I missed being there to welcome them, photograph the occasion and pour some cold water over them. There are other photographs...

We then moved on to Le Mont Dore and the Puy de Sancy. Taking a break from cycling we decided to have a day walking in the mountains. No mean feat given the temperatures! However, a slight breeze and the altitude meant that the temperatures were moderated somewhat, but it was still HOT.

With so many people wanting to climb to the summit and the problems of erosion, the last 500m was steep and wooden steps had been created.

The views along. The way were spectacular. I haven't been able to download from my camera yetso these were taken with my mobile phone...

The Puy de Dome in the background...

It was slightly disappointing ar the summit to be plagued by thousands of flying ants. We couldn't believe it! It meant that we couldn't  stay around too long to soak up the view.

There were loads of myrtilles sauvage. In Wales we would call these whimberries or whinberries. You could be picking all afternoon to get enough for a tart!! 

And sheep...

We also found the source of the river Dordogne. It starts off as two streams in the Massive de Sancy, the Dore and the Dogne...

They join at this point...

That's it for today. Tomorrow another mountain stage of the TdF from Le Mont Dore to Super Besse.

When I've done that there will be a wedding to tell you about...

Reflections…

I’m not going to attempt to explain my absence from blogging over the past four months. We’ve been busy with a wedding, but perhaps more about that and other diversions in future posts.

Following a wonderful evening at Les Tilleuils bar in Barrou listening to Angie Palmer (a link to Jim Craig’s Loire Valley Experiences blog) perform, enjoying a lethal punch, steak frites all washed down with a nice rosé, we were up and about early for a walk around Le Petit-Pressigny.

We’d decided that if there was to be a walk today it would need to be an early one. Temperatures are set to soar over the next few days and Celine at the boucherie assures me that by Monday we can expect 34C, followed by storms on Wednesday!

Walking just after 7am the temperatures were cool and refreshing, although warmer in the sunshine. Everywhere was quiet, but even at that early hour there was a lot of activity at the fishing lake, with even a queue for the toilet!!

A few reflections along the way. For how much longer, I wonder, will we see the Union flag alongside the EU flag as we see the Tricolor outside the salle des fetes? I am desperately disappointed (to put it mildly) about how things have turned out with the referendum vote for Brexit… 

Something new has appeared in the smaller lake. Certainly not the one that got away…

A closer look…

Look closely and you will see someone lurking in the roses…

It’s days like these that make you count your lucky stars just a bit more carefully…

 

Test and a blast from the past…

Long time no see, write, read or hear.

I like the sentiments expressed in this photograph I took at the Law Courts in Westminster.

As Jean pointed out in her blog Windows Live Writer is no more, and her husband, Nick, has researched Open Live Writer is an alternative. Although I’d noticed this on the forums it seemed like a faff, but to know that it works made all the difference! I instructed my IT technician (aka Tim) to sort it.

So here goes…

R.I.P. Sir Terry...

Sadly Sir Terry Wogan passed away today. For many years I arrived at school with a smile on my face listening to his breakfast programme. 

Tears of laughter listening to his Janet and John stories turn to sadness today for the man who helped raise millions for Children in Need.

Check this out...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E8U612YLjHQ