Gardening

The theme of the week has been catching up and keeping busy and today has been no exception. I took Juno to the woods before breakfast and then started on bits and pieces in the garden starting with the pond which has become overgrown with grass and reeds limiting the amount of water in the pond, especially open water. I took out a huge amount of the material at one end of the pond, the deep end, and have left it by the side of the pond for the little animals to be able to find their way back into the weater over the next few days.

The shallower end of the pond has become marshy, a perfect carpet for emergent amphibians and for the spiders and moths which seem to love the damp. 

From there I filled the bird feeders and oepned up the new ladder which I ordered after seeing an advert in the RHS magazine. It has an extra leg in the front which increases the stability of the ladder and means I don't have to lean into the hedge anymore. That matters even more when the hedges are full of brambles and hawthorn, the prickles being vicious in many places. I am very pleased with them with a major feature being the fact all three legs can be adjusted to ensure that even on steps, the ladder palform is stable. That is reassuring as I do often over stretch and put  myself at risk.

I did the hedge at the side of the back garden first and the new ladder was perfect. What a difference. Having cleared the cuttings, I then mowed the lawn again, this time with the intention of sweeping up the sharp leftovers from the lawn, the bits which just lie in the grass waiting to stab anyone passing by.

Juno and I then did a run, just over 3.5 miles with an aditional half mile of walking as warm down leaving us both tired out.

There was still time for some more hedge trimming but I did get to watch a bit of football too. I took a photo of the lavender as it is full of bees and has been for weeks now. Such a lovely sight from the kitchen window.

Shropshire tomorrow. 4 hours of driving I think and Juno's first time at Lyepole.
 

Stocking up

It may not look much from the first photo but I made the first blackberry jam of the year today after picking a kilo of berries from within a couple of hundred yards of the front door. Alison and I had got out with the dogs, we were dog-sitting Sandra's dog for the night, by 7am when we had a walk into the woods before I was off on my bike down to Verwood to bring home some white vinegar and some sugar with pectin for a busy morning in the kitchen.

The harvesting of the onions, shallots and garlic was done several weeks ago but I had decided to use a few of the smaller onions and some of the shallots for pickling which I did a couple of weeks ago. They look good enough and will be lovely over Christmas. I had then roasted the beetroot brought from the allotment yesterday and taken the skin off before simmering the vinegar with salt and sugar, as well as mustard seeds, a bit of chilli and some mixed spice. 

Then it was time for blackberrying and the result a few hours later is four lovely jars of jam. There wil be more to follow and I picked another smaller tub for Alison to use in making a blackberry and apple crumble. It's a tasty time of year. 

I did some more gardening and bird feeding before heading out for a run which took me off for 3.5 miles at a rapid pace for me these days in being well under 10 minutes per mile. There was still time to get Juno walked whilst I listened to Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy on audible. 

More catch up.

It's been another day of getting back on top of things starting as ever witha dog walk to the woods in the drizzle. Once back, I prepped some veg from the allotment and made some butternut squash soup before sorting out the washbasins and bath, using the plunger to remove any blockages slowing the emptying of them, fixing a small bit of flooring and getting things tidy.

Juno and I had another walk before I was back out again myself, this time to do some litter picking. Sadly I got a whole bag full of cans and bottles mainly, stopping for a while to have a chat with another old guy from the village who hasn't been well of late. It was then time for a run which took me out towards Mannington and a total of 3.5 miles.

After lunch I was in the car to the Wimborne allotment to do some work on the borders of the beds, strimming, harvesting and weeding, as well as remvoing plants which have gone over. I have a clear idea of what I want to do next and look forward to the autumn so I can make a start with the bigger jobs.

In the meantime I have brought home greens, chard and spinach, beans, French and runner, beetroor and raspberries. There are lots of potatoes to come too. Very pleased with the beetroot which has got to a good size and will be great for pickling. 

Busy day catching up

It's been quite a day with Alison and Maria setting off for a day trip to Brighton early whilst I have stayed behind to get on with catch up jobs. However, I started with a dog walk as usual and then a 5km run before riding down to the village hall where I was having a meeting to organise the cider press event in October.

From there it was a ride down to Verwood to cut the lawns, back and front, for Joy, the first cut for several weeks due to the lack of rain which has killed off a lot of the gras for the time being. The recent rain has helped rejuvenate it and so time to get mowing. I then sorted out the new telephone Joy has had delivered which was incorrectly set up. All sorted now.

The ride home was fine but I was feeling the effects of riding, running and gardening but Juno and I still made the effort to get off to the allotment at West Moors. On the way I noticed a sound outside the van which turned out to be the windscreen washer tank which has broken and was rubbing against the tyre of the front wheel. I pulled over and sorted that out, removing the tank, before continuing on. No real worries at this time of year and we don't really use the motorhome in the winter, so no urgency in getting it sorted. I will get it in the garage in the autumn to be renewed.

The allotment is doing well with french beans and runner beans, especially with good watering in the last 10 days. The tomatoes are star items too with lots to come. I also picked some greens before returning home for a rest. The first thing I am doing is prepping the french beans for freezing. They'll be lovely in the winter months. 

France part nine - Ste Mere Eglise to home

 

It may have been the final day of our French trip but we managed to pack an awful lot in with the ferry not leaving until after 6.00 in the evening. The first thing we did after leaving our campsite was to park up in the town or at least in the huge space provided for motorhomes in a convenient spot for us to walk in without having to jam up the centre of the town itself. The set up for visitors is so considerate of motorhomes and camper vans and it makes life so much easier.

The children enjoyed shopping for souvenirs and had pastries to celebrate the last day and we saw the paratrooper stuck on the church, a model of him anyway for which the town is famous. It's packed with American tourists who have likely got connections with family who were part of the Normandy landings and a lot of them lost their lives or were wounded in the fighting. I can understand th desire to visit and a nice thing to note was the number of flags honouring the men and the countries from which they came to help in the liberation of France and Europe. There was no shying away from acknowledging the debt  owed, just gratitude.

We drove on back to Cherbourg with plenty of time to spare and took a last minute decision to turn off at a roundabout where we found a brilliant beach and spent the afternoon enjoying more sunshine and the beauty of the coast. I was amazed it could be so lovely a stone's throw from the port.

There was another welcome treat awaiting us, a very calm crossing from Cherbourg back to Poole with a wonderful sunset. It capped off a fantastic fortnight, one which matched my hopes for the break and gave a real taste of motorhoming. It worked out as I hoped it would and the idea of chasing the sun worked too with plenty of seaside trips, pool fun and warm evenings and nights with good food and drink. The children loved it and did brilliantly. It really could not have been any better.

 

 

Harry’s Meadow camping

 

Our hectic summer continued with three nights at Harry's Meadow where we were joined by Joe and Kate and the girls, along with Chrissie and Lily. It was a brilliant weekend and we are all totally exhausted now. 

We arrived on Friday just after lunch and got settled in and did a fair bit of star gazing and bat watching as the sun disappeared on a late night. Saturday was warm and sunny and we joined Glen for a swim in the River Avon followed by another late night during which time a plan was hacthed to go for a ride along the river in our dinghy, an air bed and an inflatable doughnut. It was as crazy as it sounds and hard work too. The jounrey took something over two hours and ended with us leaving the river via someone's garden lugging the vessels and oars etc. 

Glen was in a wet suit and swam a lot of the way with Chrissie also in the water for a long period despite no wet suit, the same being true for Joe. Lily piled in too and they ended up on the air bed with the dog, Rag. It was quite a sight , very comical, seeing us drifting down river. 

The low water levels made it harder work due to the weeds and rushes which were in abundance in many places along the channels. The pasta feast afterwards was very welcome.

France part eight - Caen to Ste Mere Eglise

We left Caen early on the Sunday morning, our final full day in France, so that we could visit Bayeux to see the tapestry which is an item that is on the world heritage list from Unesco. It was a short journey and we arrived in time to get breakfast done and to get in to the exhibition early. Having been listening to the podcast mentioned previously, the tapestry is clearly a work of propaganda which has been the source of much of the understanding we have of the conquest in 1066 and it really is a fascinating artefact. All visitors have an audio recording which guides them round the scenes thus ensuring the crowds maintain a steady flow round the narrow corridors in dim lighting. It serves to ensure blockages don't occur by the most famous panels but it does take away the opportunity to simply stand are stare. 

The commentary did make me laugh out loud on occasion with the poor of the south of England a mere inconvenience as they were pillaged, as if that were fine and dandy with everyone.

Once outside we had a stroll around the town which is beautiful and worth a visit in itself before heading north to Ste Mere Eglise which we visited a few years earlier and remembered with affection. Obviously the D Day beaches and invasion points make this an incredibly interesting place to see and there were motorhomes everywhere.

We stayed at a campsite for the night in a lovely field and settled back for a last night on the continent.

France part seven - Saint Saturnin to Caen

 

This was the first time we had really gone into a city, having pretty much bypassed most of Le Mans the previous day. It meant we hit a bit of traffic but we hadn't had to travel far and we had consciously chosen the quieter roads as we drove which made for an enchanting journey through village after village each as picturesque as the last.

Our parking spot was a 12 euro spot to the north of side of the town but it was only a mile down into the middle of Caen where we had a terrific day in glorious sunshine, not quite as hot as it had been further south. One of the first places we headed to was the cathedral where William the Conqueror was buried, except the story is more complex than that after religious quarrels down the centuries and other violence meant his remains had been moved about a fair bit. However, it was nevertheless the site where his history comes together and, having been listening to the history podcasts dealing with the invasion and the slaughter accompanying it, he appears to have been another of history's complete villains, without mercy and paranoid to the point of allowing the most terrible acts to be carried out on and against anyone he perceived as having even slighted him. 

We also went around the castle which was free to enter and to explore and housed some really interesting sculptures and exhibitions. With so much destruction suffered during WW2 and the liberation of the country from occupation, the views of the city were incredible in the context of what had survived and what had been rebuilt in keeping with the past, alongside innovation and modern transport such as trams and so on. The cafe culture was alive and well and why not in such warmth and in a city which appeared cared for.

I'm off again but in comparison with home, it was relaxed, the shops were full catering for all kinds of interests, transport was excellent, it was clean and we didn't feel we were getting ripped off e.g. the castle being free to visit, the tomb of William being free to enter and then finding vegan food which was reasonably priced in a most welcoming cafe. At the risk of sounding ludicrous and as if I am seeing what I wanted to see, the people themselves appeared happier, more stylish and healthier. There was none of the tension that I associate with crowds of people or built up areas. I can sit in Bournemouth gardens and have a great time. There is so much to see and it's fascinating people watching but there can be underlying concerns around homelessness which is very visible, drunks on stag dos, large groups of young holiday makers intent on themselves first and foremost. Nothing outrageous but unaware of their impact on others which is why we have moved away from the pier when we go to the beach, further along to Durley Chine. Caen, like other places we visited in France, was an entirely positive experience including the provision of a fantastic aire reasonably priced and well located with facilities which made our visit possible.

France part six - Domaine de l'Oiseliere to Le Mans and Saint Saturnin

This was a day when we'd planned to go into Le Mans and to find a supermarket to stock up on fresh food and to take in a trip to a cinema to watch one of the summer blockbusters. However, we found that all of the films were in French having been dubbed which took away the incentive to spend on tickets. However, we did find a huge shopping centre which included a massive supermarket which seemed to suply everything including Death on the Nile, a DVD we got for our evening's viewing instead of the cinema. 

Once sorted we drove on a few kilometres to stay overnight at Saint Saturnin where there was a public toilet which was essentially automated, the flush going when the door was opened when you entered and left. There was no need to touch anything and it was in excellent order. The short trip there provided the most tricky driving moment of the entire holiday. We took a slip road which led us on to a road where there was a low bridge. We would have hit it but fortunately in France they seem to have these wires with plastic tubes hanging down to indicate the coming hazard, hitting the tubes being no problem compared to ramming the bridge!! I was able to back up slightly and get back onto the other road without causing too much of a hold up and we were back on track. It could have been so much worse!!

Saint Saturnin was the same as everywhere else, spotless, full of planting and a pleasure to walk around. There was a lake which we walked around and saw plenty of ducks and even a mink which was swimming happily close to us without a care. The photos capture a sense of how lovely even this small town was, including another of the many lizards we saw on the holiday.

France - part 5 La Flotte to Domaine de l'Oiseliere

The return leg of our journey saw us with 4 nights to travel north before taking the ferry home and we wanted to avoid following the same route back as we had when journeying south a week earlier, so that we would have the opportunity to see more of the country. At the same time I was very aware it might all seem something of an anti-climax after the great time we'd had at La Flotte and on the anticipatory voyage to get there. It's one thing to look forward to an exciting holiday and another when you might just want to get home as quickly and easily as possible.

To that end I thought it might be worth re-visiting our previous location given how beautiful it was and knowing it had the pool and great pitches. I don't get many decisions right but this was one that proved the exception as we rolled up in the heat of early afternoon with the prospect of another wonderful evening and night after the pool, use of the bikes which were provided free of charge and enjoyment of some very French live music. With the accordion and the incredibly effusive hand gestures, the sound and mannerisms of the trio were just perfect for the setting.

The sunset was incredible and everyone enjoyed being back in such lovely surroundings. The atmosphere was just so welcoming with children roaming freely but safely and adults prepared to look out for other children, even when they weren't their own. A dad went in goal for Joseph when he saw that he was playing football by himself and very soon there was a whole crowd of them joining in. We found that sort of 'old-fashioned' behaviour everywhere we went. 

 

Le Bel Air Camping La Flotte

A few photos from our week at La Flotte. They are mainly of the campsite and La Flotte but we did get out a couple of times to enjoy a beach on the other side of the island which was absolutely enormous, Plage des Gollandieres, as well as the town of St Martin de Re which left us pleased we'd chosen to go to La Flotte. Nothing wrong with it but just very busy and less intimate than our site. 

It was nice seeing more of the island and there were plenty of donkeys and thousands of cyclists. It is a paradise for bike riding and everyone seems to have a bike getting them round in the sunshine. 

There were plenty of opportunities for enjoying ice cream and crepes, as well as other foods and drink. There's something so relaxing about drinking a cold beer watching the crowds go by in the warmth of the summer sun. I would happily to do it every day.