Day 8: A bit disappointing really

The day started a bit better than forecast with some bright weather replacing the early rain.  P took the opportunity to get some washing done while Simon and Mop went to the boulangerie, Mop on his bike.  The roofers put up scaffolding at the front and replaced the front gutter.  So far so good, but as the day went on it got wetter and windier.  In the afternoon, the roofers were reduced to wearing coats!  Still the back was largely finished before they finished for the long bank holiday weekend.

Various plans for a trip out were discussed but nobody could really work up the enthusiasm.  Still it was to be duck legs for tea, so Simon opened a bottle of Beaumes de Venise but as he pulled the cork he detected a faint unpleasant odour, and sure enough it was corked.  Fortunately he had another bottle which proved to be drinkable.  With the sarter, Simon and P, and J were going to drink some Apremont, one of Simon’s favourites (P prefers Abymes – Abymes is from the valley and Apremont is from the hillside) but that too was corked!  Although Simon had another bottle, it was not chilled so they had a bottle of  Bourgogne Aligoté instead (not a bad substitute!).  Still 2 corked bottles in one night and both had traditional corks.  There is a lot to be said for the modern wine bottle closures.  It is very rare that a bottle with an artificial cork or a screw top goes off.

The weather closed in with lots of rain and wind, so much so that Simon put the heating on.  A bit disappointing really.

Day 7: The Fosse and the Fishes

One of the places Simon and P like to visit when they stay at La Maison Française is La Fosse Arthour.  There are several pleasant walks including a very gentle one around the lake.  Mop went in his buggy and Buster was largely off the lead.  In true dog style, Buster used this freedom to find something unpleasant to roll in, unaware that such actions have consequences!

On the far side of the lake, there are a couple of slides set into a little hillock.  Mop tried one but it was a little too steep and he ended up at the bottom – sat on his bottom in a muddy patch.  This had the advantage of slowing his progress on the other slide to an acceptable rate.  With P supervising at the top and Simon catching at the bottom, fun was had by all.

As they were in the area, Simon suggested going home by way of the Château de la Bière to buy some of their excellent beer.  However, the notice on the closed gate said that one had to telephone to arrange a visit, so Simon thought it would be easier to look for local shops that stocked the beers.

In the village there is an old lavoir that is now used as a fish pond.   Mop takes great delight in riding there on his bike with a tub of fish food.  The fish are very pleased with this development and join in the activity with great enthusiasm!  In the top cistern there are no fish but instead it is populated with tadpoles.  Mop gravely inspects their progress each day, as Simon and P have told him that they will turn into frogs or toads.

Mop has a bath before bed each evening, supervised by P.  Simon brings his milk upstairs and says goodnight etc.  Tonight Buster was surprised to be called to follow upstairs.  Perhaps he was going to be allowed to sleep at the bottom of Mop’s bed?  No – Buster was horrified to be taken into the bathroom and worse still, Mop’s bath water was still there.  But as Simon said, dogs who roll in fox poo shouldn’t be surprised when they are bathed!

It wouldn’t be right to finish this post without remarking on the date – 6th June 2019 – which is 75 years since the D-Day landings.  People living hereabouts still take the time to think about the sacrifice and bravery of allied forces that liberated France from a dark period of history.  There are the street names (La Maison Française is on Rue du 6 juin), the boulangerie has pictures of now and then (the village suffered significant damage – there are few old buildings), there is a memorial in front of the church, and today one house in the village was flying a French flag with the words “Thank you” written across it.

Day 6: To market, to market ….

Pancake

Wednesday is a special day in the village – the crêpe man comes!  Simon went out clutching his euros and purchased the breakfast of the gods for Mop … a Nutella pancake!  While he wasn’t sure about it at first, it soon disappeared!

Then it was to the market in Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët not to buy a fat pig but fish and fruit. With some cheese added to the list that was most of the market purchases made.  Anyone who has read earlier posts will know of Simon’s love of street/market food.  Not Italian fried fish on this occasion but sausage in bread, black pudding in galette, nutella crêpe, etc that are available at markets in Normandy.  The excellent market at Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët has two regular crêpe/galette stalls, a paella stall, a Chinese food stall and a particularly good sausage vendor.  Having already got Mop onside with the breakfast crêpe, he offered to buy some lunch.  However P said that the queues were long (an indication of quality in Simon’s opinion) and it was time to go to E. Leclerc’s so that was that!

A quite afternoon with an expedition to feed the fishes and see the tadpoles (more of this another time) before tea.  Mop had a firm favourite of sausage and beans with sweetcorn.  Everyone else had the fish cooked by J, washed down with a bottle of Entre-Deux-Mers which was very pleasant.

Day 5 The Roofers came …… and so did the rain

Simon and P were told that the roofers would start at about 08:00 on the Tuesday morning.  This being Normandy, Simon and P expected them about midday Wednesday!  Simon was up nice and early but it was still something of a shock when they arrived at 08:05 on Tuesday morning.

They carried ladders and plank up the garden hill and, ever safety conscious, looked at how they could erect suitable scaffolding:

Scaffolding

The support on the right is worthy of special mention – two pieces of wood nailed together:

Scaffolding

Simon and P thought that the best thing to do was to leave the roofers to it and carry on as normal and indeed the roofers mad excellent progress until their lunch break.  Simon had moved, re-inflated, and topped up the paddling pool so it was no surprise when the heavens opened and rain stopped work for the day!

Day 4: I had a Good Day

After a bit of a lie in for Mop and a quiet morning, it was down the hill for a BBQ tea at our friends’, I&D (and H the dog), house.  P, J and Mop went down in the car while Simon and Buster decided to walk.  It was a pleasant walk and on the road Simon and Buster met the postman, who gave them the mail to take to I&D.

Great fun was had by all with Mop running round the garden so that he could be chased by alternately Pop-pop and D (who refreshed themselves with Adnams Ghost Ship from a mini keg).  Mop stopped too, from time to time to make a fuss of the dogs, H & Buster.

After a very pleasant BBQ there was great excitement because a tractor appeared towing a bailer.  Mop was delighted to watch the hay being gathered up and bailed.  Excitement knew no bounds when the farmers came round to try a bit of the Ghost Ship.  It’s thirsty work driving a tractor.  Well with a shinny John Deere tractor in the drive, there was only one thing to do.  A shy Mop asked if he could sit in the cab!  Of course he could – and even though it was a long way up – and that is what he did!

Well, all good things come to an end, so Simon and P, J, Mop and Buster went back up the hill.  As a tired Mop yawned while being carried up the garden, he said,”I’ve had a good day!”

 

Day 3: Some cats have to be told repeatedly

Buster takes his duties seriously and nothing is more important than protecting his humans from the feline menace.  Every day he has to patrol regularly to ensure that no cat has breached the perimeter.  This is something as a problem, as there isn’t a year round canine presence, so some of the local cats think that Buster’s garden is THEIRS.

When Buster sees a cat at the far end of the garden he starts off at a canter.  Usually the cat runs away through the gate – job done.  Some cats, particularly That White Cat, don’t leave with the required urgency, so Buster accelerates into a full run and the cat vanishes through the gate at about mach 1 – again job done.  Or so one would think.

Today That White Cat was at the bottom of the garden, so Buster started to canter.  The White Cat nonchalantly jogged towards the gate, so Buster went up through the gears.  The White Cat, got the idea and ran through the gate just ahead of Buster, stopping when she reached safety.  Buster secure in the knowledge that he had once again saved civilisation from feline catastrophe, started back up the slope.  Halfway back to the house, Buster glanced round to that That White Cat had SNEAKED BACK INTO THE GARDEN!  This time he went straight to top speed and That White Cat saw the error of her ways and fled from the charging dog.

While the fate of the world had been in the balance, Simon and P, Mop and J were messing around with gardening and paddling pools – it’s a good job that that they have such a dedicated hound!

Day 2: Jungle Taming and BBQ food

Simon and Buster were up early-ish leaving everyone else to have a lie-in.  Buster quickly started on his daily duties – Breakfast, a full anti-feline perimeter check and so was ready to supervise P drinking her morning cuppa in bed.

Simon had made a start on tackling the jungle the previous evening – spending 2 hours addressing the undergrowth with the stimmer.  After a leisurely breakfast and some coffee, Simon started raking up and bagging the grass before taking it to the tip.  Warm work in the sun, but finished in time to have a coffee with friends at midday.

All caught up on the  village news, Simon got out the lawnmower only to find that the fuel pipe had perished.  He discovered this by the simple method of filling the petrol tank and seeing the fuel pour out of the holes in the pipe!  P came to the rescue with the gaffer tape, cutting suitable strips after Simon had turned the mower on its side (P’s suggestion) and removed the pipe.  Gaffer tape is wonderful stuff and made a good job of a stopgap repair to the pipe.  Simon refitted the pipe, righted the mower and prepared himself to battle with starting the mower – no need as it started first time!

With the mower now working, Simon set to and was making good progress when the roofer came to call.  The roof has needed some work since Simon and P bought the house but with one thing and another it has never happened.  Anyway there is now a firm-ish date for the work to start.  Anyway, two hours pushing the lawn mower up and the garden and it was time for another trip to the tip but by now the garden was looking a bit less like a jungle.  Now that we had a place to BBQ it was off to St-Hilaire-du-Harcouët to buy supplies.  Mop was excited to try the DVD player that he had been lent and to his delight, he could watch Fireman Sam in the car!

P fired up the BBQ and while she was preparing a delicious tea of pork chops, sausages and courgettes,  Simon thought that he would have a go at removing some of the bindweed from the border.  This is a slow and frustrating job of gently forking up the plants and trying to get all the root out.  While he was hard at work he realised that he was being closely watched:

Toad in the Hole anyone?

Day 1: Babyccino to the Jungle

It’s been some time since Simon & P wrote about their travels.  They have been enjoying their holidays making frequent trips to La Maison Française.  Well they are off again to the house, this time with their grandson (Mop), Simon’s mum (J), and Buster the dog.

After the traditional pre-travel chinese takeaway with Mop’s mummy and daddy, every one grabbed a few short hours sleep before starting off at 01:15 for Portsmouth, picking up J on the way.  The idea had been that by travelling through the night, Simon and P would miss the traffic and Mop would happily sleep the journey away.  Well one out of two isn’t bad – the traffic was light but Mop kept up a happy stream of requests between short naps.  At Simon’s preferred stop at Warwick services, Mop came with Simon “to use the facilities” and to go to Starbucks with Simon.  Suitably fortified with a double espresso and a babyccino (they’re ‘licious according to Mop and they’re free!!!!) the rest of the journey flew by.  Mop finally fell asleep just as the party arrived at the ferry port.

Still a power-nap  is just the thing to set up a young man for a busy few hours in the play area.  Mop amused P and J with his antics while Simon slept the journey away in the cabin.  Mop helpfully woke Simon up in time for lunch on the boat.  Although there were plenty of people and vehicles coming for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, it was fairly quick through passport control and onto La Maison Française but it was too long for Mop who had been very patient but had now had enough time in the car!

Everyone was happy to get there and open up the house.

The jungle

Raising the kitchen shutters revealed that back garden had been replaced by a jungle!  Still Buster did a full anti-cat patrol to ensure the safety of his humans and Mop joyfully ran around while Simon set to making some sort of order out of the garden.

A make do tea of pasta and sauce before Mop went off for bath and bed (fortified by a square of chocolate).  The grownups managed some bread and cheese to finish off the wine, crosswords and chocolate before bed.  Buster went with the flow and consented to sleep upstairs in Simon and P’s room

 

 

Tired boy in a big boy’s bed

Day 11 – It’s MON so it must be MONT ST MICHEL

We had all wanted to see this iconic island and weather forecast was favourable together with low tide in the middle of the day. It is about a hour’s drive from Juvigny-le-Tertre .  We set off in good time after B had made his appointment with the vet to get the required worming treatment before going home.

When we arrived at Mont we were guided  into the biggest car park ever seen. There were free shuttles across the causeway to the base of the buildings. Dogs were not allowed so P and B walked over the causeway.  Walking takes about the same time as queueing for the bus, so everyone arrived at about the same time. It is claimed that there are 900 steps to the top which is about 60 stories. Simon’s dad did not know how he would cope but took his time and made it all the way.

Unaccountably dogs are not allowed in the abbey so Simon and P and B explored the town  while Simon’s mum and dad went round the abbey.  Simon bought a ham and cheese sandwich for Simon and P to share, a fanta for P and a bottle of water for Simon and B to share.  Simon carefully poured the water into his had for B to drink.  B carefully licked all of the rim of the bottle.  Simon decided he wasn’t thirsty and let B have the water to himself.

There were even more steps in the abbey but it was well  worth it. To be honest the main church was a little disappointing as there was little decoration but when you’ve seen all the rooms you get a sense of the splendour of the architecture. The cloisters were graceful with the thin staggered columns and the refectory with hidden windows and the crypt with its powerful supports . After meeting up we found a way down via the narrowest street only shoulder wide.

Simon’s parents took the shuttle while Simon and P and B walked.  As it is holiday time Simon was after an ice cream and recommended Cancale but it was actually the centre for huitres and moules. There were only two ice cream shops selling sundaes so Simon settled for a crepe. B was able to practice his ball recovery skills on the beach leaping across small streams and valiantly killing the new ball.

P drove the scenic route home via the coast road seeing many converted windmills.

Pictures courtesy of Simon’s dad

Day 10 – The Enchanted Village

As is the tradition on Sundays, Simon and B walked up the hill to the house.  Simon did a few jobs until P drove up with Simon’s parents to go to Mortain for 11 am mass.  B stayed to guard the house/sleep.  No sacramental programme this week and the delivery of the sermon was faster and harder to follow.  After a detour to pick up the guard dog (who may have been caught snoozing) it was home for lunch.

On the main road to Mortain there are brown signs to Le Village enchanté Bellefontaine.  That must be a charming Normandy village with picturesque buildings thought Simon.  He was wrong.  Fortunately the theme park was a bit like Southport – closed.

Where to next – well off to the Cascades in Mortain.  Should we go to the Grande Cascade or the Petite Cascade asked P.  The Petite Cascade first said Simon – you don’t want to peak to early and you’ve got to leave some room for “awe and wonder”.  After P had parked the car, everyone set off on the route with B leading the way.  The cascade was nice enough but not overly impressive.  P went to pick up the car and bought cakes for pudding on the way.