Thursday, August 31, 2006
Flickr account
I have upgraded my Flickr account and paid the $24.75 for the year. To view our photos of France, double-click on the Flickr badge in my sidebar,double-click on the France set, then click on 'view detail'. This way means that you can view my descriptions too. A slide show is also available but doesn't include the descriptions. There are two hundred and something so be warned.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
France - Part 1
I'm here.....Just been busy doing all the domestic stuff, downloading our three cameras worth of photos and looking for a car.
We blend in quite well don't you think? Of course it wasn't long before the parking attendants in this Portsmouth waterfront car park were sniffing around and ordering us to park in assigned bays only. They were decent enough to class the Trike and trailer as a bike and therefore exempt from parking fees though!
The Gadget summer palace. Gadgeteen lives in his own 'summer house' now, which is the grey one on the other side.
The Gadgetkids share an interest. The clumps of seaweed are evidence of how rough the sea has been at times during our stay.
Sunset at Cap Frehel with a view of 'our 'beach' below.
We get to know the french crowd, who all have a ride around the site on the Trike...and we get lots of home-made wine and invites for 'Aperitifs' in return. No-one speaks English so I have fun with my French.
Our new German friend Julia, encouraging Gadgetman and our Dutch friend to sing. She had said earlier that afternoon, "I am coming to your tent tonight with my guitar. You will sing." We did. I think this is 'Country Roads'....or it might have been 'Leaving on a jet plane'.
Preparing our hand-picked 'Moules' for dinner one evening.
We blend in quite well don't you think? Of course it wasn't long before the parking attendants in this Portsmouth waterfront car park were sniffing around and ordering us to park in assigned bays only. They were decent enough to class the Trike and trailer as a bike and therefore exempt from parking fees though!
The Gadget summer palace. Gadgeteen lives in his own 'summer house' now, which is the grey one on the other side.
The Gadgetkids share an interest. The clumps of seaweed are evidence of how rough the sea has been at times during our stay.
Sunset at Cap Frehel with a view of 'our 'beach' below.
We get to know the french crowd, who all have a ride around the site on the Trike...and we get lots of home-made wine and invites for 'Aperitifs' in return. No-one speaks English so I have fun with my French.
Our new German friend Julia, encouraging Gadgetman and our Dutch friend to sing. She had said earlier that afternoon, "I am coming to your tent tonight with my guitar. You will sing." We did. I think this is 'Country Roads'....or it might have been 'Leaving on a jet plane'.
Preparing our hand-picked 'Moules' for dinner one evening.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Ready to roll
The trailer is finally packed full of all the necessities, toys and gadgets that we could possibly hope to use, just the bikes to go on top in the morning and we're ready to roll. Just need to sort the headlight out on the Harley to avoid really pissing the french off at night.
We have this packing down to a fine art now, I'm the gatherer and he packs the trailer, and n'er the twain shall meet. It works every time, it's an advantage of having been together for over 14 years now, and it sure makes for peaceful stress-free packing.
I was going to post some pictures of today but I somehow managed to fry the memory card, so then I had to make a special trip into Kingston to get another one, better to find out now, I guess. At least I know I've got one in there, (unlike Greavsie recently), now I just have to remember to take the camera, (the card is definitely in there).
Longlegs is on his level 2 course down at SWAC this weekend. Apparently there was not much wind today and it was very hot, so the conditions didn't really test his reactions very much. Wasn't I lucky to have the wind last weekend.
Despite all my efforts at sorting this car business out, 1) I couldn't bank the cheque they sent me because it wasn't made payable to anyone, and now I won't be here to bank the replaced cheque so I won't have the just-in-case money for the holiday, and 2) The collectors of the sun-dried tomato have not turned up to collect the car as arranged, so now I have to leave the car key with a neighbour and they have to arrange for it to be collected next week.
Ho-hum...Sailing kit...check...RYA certificate...check....Planisphere...check... lots of Books....check...Harley docs...check...Scrabble...check...Body board... check...juggling stuff...check...CAMERA!...check, right then, that's it, I'm off...
We have this packing down to a fine art now, I'm the gatherer and he packs the trailer, and n'er the twain shall meet. It works every time, it's an advantage of having been together for over 14 years now, and it sure makes for peaceful stress-free packing.
I was going to post some pictures of today but I somehow managed to fry the memory card, so then I had to make a special trip into Kingston to get another one, better to find out now, I guess. At least I know I've got one in there, (unlike Greavsie recently), now I just have to remember to take the camera, (the card is definitely in there).
Longlegs is on his level 2 course down at SWAC this weekend. Apparently there was not much wind today and it was very hot, so the conditions didn't really test his reactions very much. Wasn't I lucky to have the wind last weekend.
Despite all my efforts at sorting this car business out, 1) I couldn't bank the cheque they sent me because it wasn't made payable to anyone, and now I won't be here to bank the replaced cheque so I won't have the just-in-case money for the holiday, and 2) The collectors of the sun-dried tomato have not turned up to collect the car as arranged, so now I have to leave the car key with a neighbour and they have to arrange for it to be collected next week.
Ho-hum...Sailing kit...check...RYA certificate...check....Planisphere...check... lots of Books....check...Harley docs...check...Scrabble...check...Body board... check...juggling stuff...check...CAMERA!...check, right then, that's it, I'm off...
Thursday, August 03, 2006
The sun-dried tomato
Ooops! I pranged my car last week.
Not done that before.
Hit someone up the rear on a roundabout.
Obviously my fault, but I will rant a bit. Yes, just about those plonkers that approach a roundabout, and brake correctly, no problem there, then they look to the right and on seeing that the way is clear, take their foot off the brake and move on, (as does the car in the outside lane), then suddenly decide that in fact they will wait for that car coming from the right in the distance after all, and slam on the anchors again! (The car in the outside lane carried on - there was stacks of time).
The result being that their car had minimal rear damage, and my car is an insurance write-off because it's 10 years old and the parts would cost more than the value of the car.
Thank goodness I took out comprehensive insurance and have therefore been able to have a courtesy car for 2 weeks.
Yes, they have given me a sun-dried tomato to use. Or should it be a roasted red pepper.
Sounds like a suffocated lawn-mower, really it does, but what the heck, it's only for a short time, 'cos on Sunday the Gadgets are off to Cap Frehel in Brittany for 3 weeks.
So if you see a black V8 trike towing half of a black Renault-extra van as a trailer loaded with bikes and bodyboards, and a black Harley, somewhere between London and Portsmouth on Sunday afternoon, then the chances are that it's probably us, off on our camping hols....
Not done that before.
Hit someone up the rear on a roundabout.
Obviously my fault, but I will rant a bit. Yes, just about those plonkers that approach a roundabout, and brake correctly, no problem there, then they look to the right and on seeing that the way is clear, take their foot off the brake and move on, (as does the car in the outside lane), then suddenly decide that in fact they will wait for that car coming from the right in the distance after all, and slam on the anchors again! (The car in the outside lane carried on - there was stacks of time).
The result being that their car had minimal rear damage, and my car is an insurance write-off because it's 10 years old and the parts would cost more than the value of the car.
Thank goodness I took out comprehensive insurance and have therefore been able to have a courtesy car for 2 weeks.
Yes, they have given me a sun-dried tomato to use. Or should it be a roasted red pepper.
Sounds like a suffocated lawn-mower, really it does, but what the heck, it's only for a short time, 'cos on Sunday the Gadgets are off to Cap Frehel in Brittany for 3 weeks.
So if you see a black V8 trike towing half of a black Renault-extra van as a trailer loaded with bikes and bodyboards, and a black Harley, somewhere between London and Portsmouth on Sunday afternoon, then the chances are that it's probably us, off on our camping hols....
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