Still in recovery mode, we had a quiet few nights before our trip. We got up early on Wed and drove to Villebois where we left the car at Lee and Richard’s. We had a mostly pleasant journey, although our Eurostar train was delayed an hour due to a strike in Belgium. Despite this, we arrived at Anne & Andrew’s around 6:30pm where we were greeted by Will’s family, plus Jerry, Maaike and their two kids who were visiting from Greece. We had an apero before heading out to a local Turkish restaurant for dinner to celebrate on Anne’s actual birthday. The food was all very good, and nearly everyone had three courses including mezze, kebabs and baklava. The place is Anne and Andrew’s local favourite, but sadly, it’s soon moving to a larger town.
We returned home after dinner for a drink or two, and then Jerry and family went off to their nearby hotel. We had an early night after our long day of travel, and slept fairly well. Anne and Dave had to work that day, so they were both off early that morning. Jerry, Maike and the kids joined us for breakfast that Jerry prepared, and then they headed off to visit some friends who live somewhere up north. They’d spent xmas and new years in the Netherlands, catching up with Maaike’s family, making it a three week trip. They are both well, and doing ok despite the still struggling Greek economy. Their kids are 6 and 4, and both of them are on track to be trilingual (Dutch, English and Greek). Maaike speaks Dutch to them, making this their primary language; Jerry speaks to them in English; and they learn Greek in school. It’s an odd mix of languages, and it’s fascinating to watch them switch effortlessly between them.
After breakfast, Will and I wandered down to the bus stop in the pouring rain. Of course, it stopped just as we got there, and then was mostly dry for the rest of our trip. The bus ride to the shopping centre was a bit nostalgic for Will, who used to take it to visit friends in the neighbouring towns. The shopping centre was not at all crowded, and we had a largely successful visit. Will bought some new trackies, plus a new jumper from Fat Face, his new favourite shop. We also got a wall calendar at a big discount, and had lunch: toasted sandwich for Will, and sushi for me. I also got my glasses adjusted and did a bit of browsing for a new watch. After catching the bus back home, we had a leisurely afternoon before Anne returned home from work, when we had a nice dinner with the folks. Andrew made a chicken and tarragon pie, served with his homemade bread, which he has now perfected. This was followed by cheese and dessert. We played cards for a bit before another early night for all of us.
On Friday morning, Will paid a visit to Nan, and then an old school friend who lives nearby while I hung out at home. Andrew made us his version of a Port 80 sarnie on his homemade bread, and then the three of us did a bit of work in the afternoon. We’ll be doing another upgrade of his web site, which will allow clients to purchase standard products on line immediately. Will took some pictures of the various items, and we discussed how the new version of the site should function. That evening was the big party for Anne’s birthday, held at the Robin Hood pub in a nearby village. In attendance were a mix of friends and family, around 40 in total. There were a number of people that we hadn’t seen in a while, including Dean and Chris who used to live in Greece. I also met Andrew’s brother Dean and his family for the first time.
There was a nice buffet of salads, tarts and roasted meats, including a whole salmon. We all drank a fair bit, including some shots towards the end of the evening. Nearly everyone had at least one, including the birthday girl, and Nan! Andrew arranged for a minivan to ferry people back to their place, mostly close family and friends. We carried on drinking, and played music for dancing until nearly 4, when the last of the die hards headed home. We even had a visit from both neighbours, at the same time, complaining about the noise.
Dave and Amy stayed over, and all six of us awoke the next morning with sore heads. Will and I didn’t feel too badly, especially compared to Dave which was good, since we had plans for the pub that day. Around 2, Will and I headed out to meet Anna and Bev, grabbing a sandwich along the way. Bev is Anna’s new partner, and this was the first time we’d met her. She was a policewoman, and recently retired. Anna is recently out of a job, since the local counsel took away the main income source that her non-profit depended on. They are planning to open some sort of business, potentially a deli in the nearby town where Anna lives. The two of them are very serious, and are already taking marriage later this year. It was great to see them so happy.
We had a quiet meal with the folks that night, which was leftovers, topped with a mushroom cream sauce that was very tasty, followed by cheese, and grilled pineapple with ginger for dessert. We played cards for a bit, but called it an early night since Will and I had an early start the next day. The party had been planned for Saturday night, but due to a mix up with dates, it ended up being on Friday. This was fortunate for us, since we wouldn’t have coped with a day of travel on a few hours sleep with a hangover. As it turned out, it was a long but largely stress-free journey, although we left the house at 8:15, much like on the way there. The Lille to Angouleme bit only took 4 hrs there, but was 5 hrs on the way back, being Sunday and making more stops. Lee and Richard picked us up at the station, and we drove back from their place, arriving home just before 9.
Smeagol was there to greet us, but Louis was out so we didn’t see him for another hour. It rained the whole time we were away, so they probably didn’t go out much, evidenced by Smeagol’s even larger belly. It’s been stormy today, with high winds and some hail. This will continue for another few days, and then turn colder, with highs/lows around 3C/-3C. We both have a bit of work, including some new small clients. I could really use a big project, so I’m looking into local English-owned companies for prospects. It’s also back to our weekly activities this week, including choir and conversation for me, and band practice for us on Friday.
Today’s upsetting news is the death of David Bowie, Will’s personal god. It was a harsh shock to wake up and read the news and Will is very sad. We’ve had a number of friends call or write messages of condolences, which is a comfort. The radio stations have been playing tributes all day, but being nostalgic is a bit too depressing for now. I’m sure Will will have much to say about it in his next post.