MY oh MY

My, oh MY, it is about a year ago that I tried to reinstate myself as a blogger.  I became too overwhelmed with ongoing challenges to return my thoughts to regular presentation of life in word and image.

I have had another super wonderful day, since I stayed in UK for all of January and February 2019 doing a variety of things successfully and not successfully.  Loads I intended to do but DID NOT as I was trying to help someone else.  Today was Productive, finding more information to those problems which are beyond my reach to solve.  

I made a little more progress in my garden and courtyard. Hanging baskets and toughs were prepped for front of road.  No geraniums wintered over.   I love feeling the soft warm earth and getting dirt under the fingernails, then having a hot bath to soak away the evidence!

Photos coming later...


Hey... I heard the cuckoo today ....oh ecstasy... I am overjoyed.... I wish to tell the world from the beautiful space one the planet where I live.   Cuckoo it called unmistakably several times whilst I pottered in my courtyard ...  there it 'twas ... sounding across to the north west as clear as a bell ... woops...as clear as a cuckoo... early afternoon not later!  Oh happy me!

Here is one of the four songs we are learning for the BRIGADE... 
It is the oldest canon known.

Sumer is icumen in, lhude sing cuccu

Groweth sed and bloweth med and spring the wude nu. Sing cuccu.

Ahway  bleteth after lomme lhouth after calvé cu

Bulluck sterteth, bucker verteth, murie sing cuccu

Cuccu, cuccu, wel singethu cuccu, ne swik thu navé nu.

Three others are from the TSIGANES of Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia:   for example Jag Bari

In between excursions to the sunshine in the outside world I stay indoors to write up final cope of the Serbian, Bulgarian, Romanian languages into my own phonetic language, so that I can pronounce and learn speedily,  as I missed two months of practice in the group! I have been in ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!! and did those feet ..... 
 I digress in song....
Absolutely sure now of the melody after three weeks and can mostly sing without hiccup reading the words but In wish to go the extra mile when I have never ever been able to learn by rote!

Will try to update as my life feels so full all of a sudden .... but maybe i need to write.....
bises xxxx

Owning property is never labour free

MAY 1st... Labour Day!
Muguet has not flouished in the last year of dormancy; it has mostly died when it had been good for several years. There is just a little of the Lily of the Valley surviving and one flower stem.

A few days ago we went to the LOFT cinema in Chatellerault to see the Australian film of the memoirs "TRACKS"... after the novel of the memoirs of the Camel Lady who crossed the desert in 1975.

I really enjoyed it.. One needs the BIG screen.  However, i thought the actress never looked sufficiently dishevelled!   Brave woman in reality!   Inspiring and motivating . No, I could not do that!

I had been bored with blogging but feel an urge to write and publish once again!
I also feel a need to get 'out and about in real life', on real adventures, however small, like that of yesterday, but it helps to have company some of the time!

A few more pics of the port

24 and 26 December 2014 Ars-en-Ré

Ars-en-Ré won her heart yet again! She discovered a thriving market selling products from sea and land.  Shops were open on 26th December. She had walked along the sea wall and dunes into town and enjoyed Breton Far and Jasmine tea for a late breakfast lunch at La Tour de Senechal with the church opposite.

On Christmas Eve this was her first view of the sea when she crossed the road from her hotel.  The building is a douanier, also used by fishermen. The sea wall acts as protection against the Atlantic forces. Beneath the tide are 'les écluses". Further along this coast the sea wall is being reinforced.. a long task!

Christmas Day Menu 2014

 Breakfast at Z'Adore, La Couarde

Déjeuner at Le Belem, St Martin-en-Ré 

The 35e menu was served with a red Sancerre and water

Médaillon de thon mariné aux épices douces

Filet de bar rôti, sauce beuure blanc, étuvée de légumes frais

Gros macaron au caramel et aux pommes followed by coffee and brandy

Christmas Eve and Day

Christmas Eve and Christmas day, she stayed in a Hotel on the Île de Ré
All by herself with no tent to erect, an impromptu decision made her think "What the heck!"
No time for much planning, no cycle to ride, she thought she would wing it and later decide
where to dine, what to eat, where to walk, where to treat herself when not in a bedroom suite.

Unexpected encounters

PART ONE:
Herein lies a strange tale...where at this town square, a story evolved, where someone met another one, and a third one met the two ... oh no! oh ho! Funnily enough it wasn't that funny at the time, although I didn't know how to stop laughing.  I had to control myself for fear of ridiculing the situation. A flare-up would have been totally unnecessary.  However, I didn't know what to think, feel or do!  If I did this then that .... If I did that then this ... to retreat and leave the restaurant entirely? to sit down as invited? or to sit elsewhere? A few days later we laughed at the odds against such a rendezvous in France! An extreme experience!  
I am obliged to conduct discretion!  There was a sense of the ridiculousness in the distance that some people might go in order to meet others and / or feed from clandestine liaison; a ridiculousness in being furtive, in being not open! What does secrecy and deception achieve?  Lies, hidden truths, in its many forms, including being economical with the truth will result in being discovered.  I am not being high-minded! What goes around comes around!
The event happened because there were coincidences, circumstantial changes, changes of venue, changes of days, times, changes, changes, changes. Factors conspired to converge into making a story worthy as part of a novel:

1. Travel on Monday was altered to travel on Sunday.
2. Monday postal delivery arrived on Saturday.
3. Saturday energy levels were low. Sunday surged with energy, anticipation, excitement.  No reason to delay!
4. Admin and household tasks were completed on Saturday.
5. On Saturday lawns were mowed and a good weather forecast meant they wouldn't need a cut for ten days. A rarity this year!
6. A week earlier, there was a desperation for sights, sounds and smells of the sea but I couldn't find a cat sitter or else I would have been on that isle earlier than the invitation.  Alone, is perfect but company always welcomed.  Then, Saturday late afternoon, a window of opportunity emerged as a cat sitter WAS available.
7. Monday lunch was altered to Sunday supper but not to include me!
8. La Rochelle was altered to Île de Ré but not to include me!
9. I arrived. I wasn't going to 'eat out' but changed my mind.  I'd eaten my dessert on the beach and a can of mackerel and oat biscuits was to be my evening meal!  BUT, AS I was on holiday and could please my very own Self, unafraid of dining alone, an impulsive choice was made!
10. 'Dress up' was in mind, but I 'dressed down' because I only dress to please myself.  When I dine out I always, always 'dress up' and sometimes am 'over-dressed',  so I wondered what it was that made me change into faded blue, not such clean shorts and a favourite pretty top wearing THE summer hat?  I'd taken off the pretty blue double spotted summer dress that I had travelled in that afternoon.  In the suitcase were two other black dresses and a black classy jacket but nope I did not wear them!  I splashed on perfume which I always do every day!  IN FACT, I had no intention of meeting anyone!   I think that is why I dressed down! 
11. A favourite restaurant exists in the town of that particular campsite where three converged.
12.  One cannot rely upon seemingly instant internet communication being received and read!

PART TWO:
The following day a different encounter ensued. Last September a charming, attractive English speaking French man chatted to me on the beach whilst I ate my peach. We wrote. In Springtime I ended correspondence because  despite his romantic compliments and invitations it wasn't going anywhere.  
This September: with a backdrop of yachts in the harbour and stripey coloured awnings, oh my goodness, he came into view, but 2 metres from me!!!! We greeted, we chatted about his health, his travels to Spain and France in his camper-van, and how he had downsized his van from last year. We didn't discuss me.  As I indicated that it was time to get on my bike, he inched a step toward me, I stepped a step away, repeatedly, eventually stepping over the boardwalk chain.  It happened in the way that some people step into personal space.  It happened in that way that says, "I like you".  Time to travel!  I felt compassion and rather sad, a little guilty, but not responsible for being a heart-breaker!  It was how he described me in the Spring when I said I didn't wish to have a relationship! 
Later, I sat with companion one.  We agreed it was 'Touché' and laughed, but in my case this wasn't an intended or wished for rendezvous!
Strange and not so funny when so many people of my age live solo.  One rarely is aware of single people out and about. In France I rarely see them. Should we singles all wear a badge?
Not so funny when all of us have basic needs for a companion, mutual support, appreciation and respect from others and to care for others who are able to share emotional competency and well-being.

It may sound bizaare, but it is a true experience.  I have never crashed on someone's date before! 

From Ré to Oléron

It is about 90 miles from Central Ile de Ré to the furthest parts of the Ile d'Oléron; almost a full circle!  I was surprised at the distance and shall not be island hopping the two again!  Others expressed surprise as they too drove or cycled through the spinal towns of Ile d'Oléron.  When would commerce cease? It was great to reach the 'almost wilderness' around La Brée-les-Bains and the Atlantic Ocean.
One cycle day was to St Denis, onwards to the lighthouse where amazing écluses hug the tip of the isle, along the south coast through wooded areas and across a lagooned region to St Georges and back to camp! Meandering, exploring, gently cycling.
Another day was down the northern coast to Boyardville, returning along the same but slightly different route to St Georges and back to camp. This required more energy and concentration on the roadway as cycle paths were bumpy and slowed speed.
A third day to St Denis to the market, to sit and harbour gaze, to write, to ponder, to observe, to enjoy.
A fourth day driving to St Denis market and stocking up on fresh fish at good prices, then to motor down through Boyardville along the northern length of the isle to the Chateau for which I needed more time.  It was fascinating. The oyster culture region reminded me of Walberswick estuary, marshes, dykes and fishing paraphernalia.  It felt kind of homely, and although I haven't scratched the surface of the isle, it's not where I wish to be. The light was overwhelming as I drove through places not yet cycled, I prefer the blissfulness of cycling on the Ile de Ré. 

St Denis d'Oleron

 Then I think it was La Baudissiere

 I had tea and lunch at the boulangerie in Le Chateau

and in intense heat wandered on the edge of the citadelle, where all but the walls and the arsenal, the armoury, was destroyed in WWII.

and whilst the sea changes hue and blue, the bridge exists toll free now to carry us across and home to mainland France, for here is a home.  A home is where the heart is...hopefully Peace and not War!
It was lovely and yes, I would hope to return for there is much more to explore!

Ré-island

An island for a morning stroll along sand, where two hours pass unbelievably quickly as a half hour. Tide goes out.  Mesmerised by morning colour, light, pattern, form, people, events, she wandered along the sands dreaming blissful thoughts.
An island for a fashion shoot, where a woman moves this way, that way, as her ego is stroked by others who ré-position her clothes,  ré-preen her hair for the man who shoots the shots! People paid to perform! Narcissism!
BUT, She ré-turns for breakfast! She ré-turns to her inner isle to cycle! It's all Her réverie!

Wistfully, reluctantly, she departs this île, this last image first viewed 27 months ago. It is a memory.

Ré-turn

When I ré-turned to this fabulous, luminous Île I was immediately in Heaven, in Paradise, with all the angels singing without a cloud in the sky, without anxiety, without a care in the world!  I know because I wore that 'certain smile' all day and each day whilst on and off my bike, irregardless of whom I met or what I did! Age did not matter! Nothing mattered!  It stayed until I moved to Île d'Oléron, which was equally, if not more luminous.  However, it is absolutely truthful that the continuous blissfulness witnessed for four full days on each of those three visits, faded as I left that isle.  Maybe, ancestral roots of Saint-Onge call me to that region.  Although sitting on beaches for long is difficult, here the sand is soft, the water warm, with space to move to or away from people, to walk, cycle, read, paint, or water sport if one fancies but that latter is not for me. Like the Cancerian Crab that I am, a shoreline needs to be available to scuttle hear and there! September sunrise and sunset make this the most marvelous of beaches. I kid myself to believe that I could stay for ever... but when the tempests come, ... , I like everyone will find a different haven for safety and security.
After pitching tent before five pm, the beach beckoned me insistently, to paddle and to picnic on peaches and a mirabelle tart. A bottle of water to quench the thirst.

To the south

To the east

To the west

To the north

To my taste buds

heArt in sand

En Angleterre

It was rather hectic but I absolutely loved it.

I stayed a few days with my cousin's daughter and family and tried to support them in their latest angst. Then onto Sussex and the most delightful of cottages. I was lucky. It was a beautiful thatched cottage which I highly recommend to rent.  The owners were lovely and apart from a few mosquitoes I had a lovely time.....but then my own home is pestered with mosquitoes! Difference is I have a mosquito net!   I loved Arundel and Chichester.  So pretty, calm and assuringly steeped in history. I also visited Rye on my journey from Ashford to Littlehampton.  What an exquisite village.
Maybe I will tell you more about these villages in a later posting.

Apart from the prep for and clearing up of my son's wedding at which I did not help as much as I would have liked to .... (everyone did their bit)...  and apart of course from attending the lovely ceremony, I walked on a lovely SSI beach in Sussex. Then in Suffolk another SSI beach and how wonderful to be free from litter.

The next two weeks disappeared as quickly as the first two! Suffice it to say there was Englishness :

A day's journey to visit mother and brother
Barbecues and bunting 
Crabbing buckets with bacon
Dunwich 10 miles there and back
English scones and raspberry jam
Fish and chips, flying kites, flag on the sandcastles
Gigs in pubs
Hula hoops
Ice creams
James and Katie
Laughter as we climbed the lighthouse up and down the spiral staircase
Meals in pubs with Ad
Nams

Olympic torch flame carried past the cottage
Picnics in the dunes, paddling in the sea, promenade on the pier,
Questions from little ones and those who are so tall

Running along with wind in our hair
Shared meals
Tired people
Union Jack flags wherever we go
Umbrellas abandoned when rain stopped
Vicky and co aboard a river boat
Walks along beach to harbour, across common and marshes,

X,Y, Zee and Camarderie,

Thank you England and despite the weather I had a whale of a time and laughed for 4 weeks!