What new things did we ‘just do’ this time?  Whilst most of our time was spent doing the things we normally do or have done before – we did have some new and unusual experiences along the way. Read on to find out what happened on the canal boat, the 80^th anniversary of D-Day commemorations, and how we partied hard with French farmers.

Mid-May was time for the canal boat trip with friend Gail and her dog Oren. This time to do The Stourport Ring which includes the famous Tardebigge lock flight.  It’s the longest in Britain with 30 locks spread over two-and-a-quarter miles and it enables boats to ascend or descend 67 metres. On a good day it takes just over 4hrs but if it’s busy or you are behind somebody slow it can take all day.  Fortunately, we had a good day and it was dry.   

However, the trip was not without the incident which we have managed to avoid in all our years of boating.  It was a drizzly, dank day and it was slippery underfoot.   We were just leaving a lock and Gail and Cheryl were making their way down the lock steps to board.  There was an enormous splash as Gail took off and ended up in the canal along with Oren!  It was something of a shock but as Neil pointed out it could have been a lot worse.  She could have landed on her back on the steps and done herself some serious damage.  At least the water was a soft landing although it was quite undignified.

The weather picked up and we were able to enjoy the rest of the trip without any further incidents.

In Seaton we’ve been volunteering in Tourist Information and at The Gateway.  We had tributes to Madness and Nina Simone both of which were excellent and allowed us have fun behind the bar.  It’s especially good when the theme is the 80^th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings.  Many people dressed up and no surprises that we did our bit and ended up in the local newspaper. 

As part of the D-Day commemorations, the Royal British Legion held ceremonies at the town’s war memorial both in the morning and the evening which were well attended and moving.  Seaton currently has an unusual focal point on the seafront, a 50m high crane which has been installed to build the new apartments overlooking the beach.  The driver hung a Union Jack and played his bag pipes from the top of his perch in the crane.  The sound carried all across the town and seafront.  It was a beautiful way to commemorate those that sacrificed so much on June 6^th 1944 and the following months until Europe was made safe once again.

Shortly after we headed off to Normandy, where it all happened on June 6^th  1944, for our biannual twinning visit.  This time it proved impossible to find a coach company at a sensible cost so all participants travelled separately.  That gave us the opportunity to extend our trip to see a little bit of Brittany as well as Normandy.  The overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo was a nice relaxed journey allowing us to have dinner before enjoying the cabaret, a good old fashioned clown, who had us both on stage to assist.  He was very funny and we got to bed much later than planned having consumed way too much wine.

We stayed in an apartment right in the centre of Dinan, a really picturesque town, for 3 nights.  The walls date back to the 14thC and it has a port on the river which is accessed down a stunning cobbled road.  Whilst the port is no longer a trading port it is now home to some very expensive boats that can access the sea by travelling down the river. 

Our journey through Brittany into Normandy was very pleasant, driving in France is a pleasure with very little traffic.  Despite visiting Thury Harcourt two years ago we hadn’t really explored the town so we arrived in time for lunch and spent the afternoon walking around the town and the river.  Normandy has always celebrated the D-Day landings and took hold of the 80^th commemoration in a big, big way.  Virtually all the shops in every town had D-Day themed artwork in the  shop windows and street lights carried banners with the names and pictures of soldiers.  It was just amazing.

We met our twinning hosts for the weekend in the town and taken to their lovely old farmhouse in Saint Martin-de-Sallen which is a pretty and sleepy village 5km from Thury.  That evening we attended a reception in the Town Hall before arriving home late that night for Jean-Philippe to bring out his customary excellent bottles of red.

The next day we met up with everyone else and boarded a coach to a farm about a 30 minute drive away.  We were given a tour and an explanation on how they operate and how they intend to use their own milk to make a local cheese called Pont L’Eveque.  We were then treated to a cheese tasting before having our own picnic in the barn as there was a biting cold wind.  Of course, Chantal had brought a bottle of champagne as well as plenty of wine!

We then travelled to the nearby town of Fleur to visit the chateau and have a look around the town before returning home to freshen up for our customary group dinner in a restaurant.  The food was great and the entertainment on our table afterwards was just plain silly.  How many ways can you wear a napkin?  Then it was home for more red wine!

Next day was something of a surprise.  We were told by J-P and Chantal that we would be going for a walk in the morning and exploring the disused railway line which is now a leisure facility and then having lunch and a game of boule at a farm owned by one of their friends.  Well, the walk did happen and we saw people climbing, abseiling, zip lining, cycling and so the list goes on. 

Lunch however, was the surprise.    We arrived at the farm which was huge, with a beautiful old farmhouse and many barns including one with at least a £1m worth of tractors parked up.  We were ushered into a barn conversion at the back of the house which had a bar and a long table set for lunch for…………..32 people!  It looked absolutely fabulous.

We were introduced to the host, Gilbert and his son Gerard.  Not much English was spoken so we did our best with Franglais.  Then other farmers started to arrive with their families.  Traditionally, these farmers would have celebrated a Harvest Festival in the Autumn but now they have found themselves working longer into the year and so decided this year to have a Pre-Harvest Festival and Gilbert was very quick to extend an invitation to us two.  We are so glad he did.

It wasn’t long before the very good Champagne arrived along with canapes.  Then Gilbert came around again  topping people up.  Not long after Gerard came around and so it went on, and on, and on.  This was seriously good bubbly!   Finally, we were invited to sit down for food.  Earlier, we had seen caterers arrive and set up across the yard.  Lunch was steak and frites.  Not just steak but an enormous slab of meat so we decided to have half each.  Then the frites came around again, oh, nearly forgot, wine to go with the meal.  By now we were floating after so much fizzy and red wine, boy can these people party.  Then there was desert with more wine and finally the food was done.  But not the drink!  Gilbert brought around his farmhouse cider followed by his own Calvados which is not to everyone’s taste.  J-P suggested to Gilbert that Neil was a fan so suddenly an enormous glass was poured.  There was dancing and Chantal was keen to get Neil on the dance floor.

The term ‘floating’ was an understatement.  Thankfully, someone suggested we go for a walk which was a great idea, anything to get us away from Gilbert and Gerard who, by now, had just about most people covering their glasses with one hand and shouting ‘non!’  The walk was a blur but going by the step counter on our phones it was quite long.  When we got back some of the children became more comfortable with the two British guests and bravely wanted to try out their school English.  Then Romain decided that we should have a tour of the farm which was really interesting and another good opportunity to avoid the hospitality of Gilbert and Gerard.

After the tour we returned to the party as they were about to sit down for dinner.  It was nearly 9pm and J-P recognised that we were now struggling so asked us if we would like to travel home, we did!  It had been a truly momentous day with unbelievable hospitality shown to us by complete strangers.  Back at the house we had a supper of charcuterie, J-P opened red wine for himself and Calvados for Neil.  Cheryl talked about Francoise Hardy, a famous French singer who had died recently and Chantal played some of her music and she sang along really beautifully.   It had been an amazing day.

Needless to say we were late arriving for the farewells the next morning in the town and even missed being in the group farewell photo although we’re not sure that anyone noticed. 

After lots of kissing, hugging and hand shaking we set off for Baron-sur-Odon, a small village about 20 minutes away.   We went to visit Jean-Marc and Collette who Neil hadn’t seen for about 30 years.  When Neil was introduced to his first twinning experience whilst living in North Devon they were his very first hosts.  We had coffee with them and looked at photos that Neil had brought with him and that they had taken too.  We talked about what the children are doing now, grandkids and so on.  Neil’s children would have been about 4 or 5 and they have 3 who would have been 4-6 years older.

Then it was off for the hour long drive to Bayeux.  We had booked a B&B about a 20 minute walk from the centre and it was the prefect base as parking in Bayeux is not easy.  We arrived in time to visit the tapestry before a beer and dinner.  The next 2 days were spent visiting the Normandy Beaches, memorials and cemeteries.  80 years since the landings but still so many people visiting to pay their respects.  To see so many graves of so many young men and women is heartbreaking.  The new British memorial was stunning, with the amazing art installation called Walking with Giants.

Back home and the next few days were pretty hectic with the U3A wine club meeting, sibling lunch in The Cotswolds with June, Roy, Bill and Sue, tourist information on the Sunday plus Cheryl worked behind the bar for our local candidates hustings for the upcoming election. 

Cheryl spent a few days in London to see Freddy, Alex and Luke and help whilst Freddy was away for a stag weekend.  Luke enjoyed his trip to The Transport Museum and also gave Nana heart failure when he disappeared in the empty play park when she turned her back for 10 seconds to get his ball.  Fortunately he was soon discovered happily exploring the baseball court at the back – phew!  Just losing a grandson is not something she wishes to repeat.

We have some very exciting news as there is one huge ‘Just Do It’ which Neil has wanted to do, but you will just have to wait until next time to find out just what it is.

We will leave you with a few images of the wonderful food we enjoyed on our trip – bon appetit!