Winter

The winter is coming and the weather getting cooler. We are seeing a little frost in the morning but most days it is around 16/18c by mid-day. Still it is necessary to get ready for the winter and for Christmas. Today we had wood delivered for the log fire, even though we have gas central heating it is so pleasant to have a log fire burning in the evening.
It was a family affair with my in laws helping to stack the newly arrived logs, delivered on the back of a lorry and put next to our log store by a crane.
In the kitchen Gaynor is making mince pies and chopped liver pate for our drinks party on Sunday, when we will have the opportunity to entertain 30 of our friends. Must get the Christmas tree up!!
Mr.L. 10/12/09

Friends and Family

One thing that is necessary in life as with Golf is friends to hang out with! (and play golf)
My soul mate is Mark, though why we “click” I have no idea as we are complete opposites in nearly all respects! But it works so don’t knock it!
Yesterday I was blessed to play a round with Chris, who has retired from an interesting job in the House of Parliament, and Colin who had a strong connection with golf and golf clubs in the UK, before settling in the area on retirement.
Normally I play most often with Henri, a French friend that currently lives in a villa overlooking the golf course and he is my usual partner. He is a retired French businessman who has worked in UK and Africa and is very stimulating to play with as well as amusing. He has a lovely wife Nadine who my wife, Gaynor, also spends time with.
Obviously Mark Wallace joins us as often as he is free, just to show us how we should play the game!
My point is that without friends, wherever you are, your life is pretty empty no matter what lovely place you live in.
I still hanker after my other friends and family from the UK, Holland and Switzerland but they do visit in the summer.
I have put a picture of my 72 year old sister taking a drive when she visited recently. I really love this as she has such verve for life and I love having her visit.

Mr. L. 2/12/09

As I drive around the area I see all the towns and villages preparing for Christmas. The illuminations are being put up by the Marie staff and the ice rinks are being prepared. The door bell has started ringing with the bin men and Pompiere coming around to bring our annual calendars and to collect their Christmas money.
Last year we stayed in France for Christmas and had friends around. The highlight was going into St Tropez to see Father Christmas (Papa Noel) drift into the harbor atop an iceberg to the accompaniment of music and a firework display. This is really popular and the town was buzzing in contrast to its normal sleepy winter state.
I love this time of year in the area as, though it is cold morning and evening, the rest of the day can be around 18c and sunny.
The one thing I miss is having my children and grandchildren with me; however I look forward to being with them early in the New Year.
Mark is having a big family Christmas at his mother in laws in Sannery and I know how much he loves having his family around him, though his daughter Rebecca will be absent as she is working over Christmas in Switzerland.

Mr. L. 26/11/09

We are back in France

We are now safely back in France after 3 weeks in the UK when we had one full day of sun and 20 days when it rained!

As we crossed the channel into France we felt a particular relief for our dog, who suddenly had the freedom to join us for dinner in the hotels we stayed at en route. In the UK we had to leave her at home when we went out for a meal. Then there was our freedom from traffic jams. In the UK, one could never calculate the length of journeys due to the continuous road works, speed cameras and minor accidents which seemed to necessitate most of the motorway being closed down for Health and Safety reasons.

On our first morning back in Grimaud the sky is blue and the sun is shining! Wonderful!

Tomorrow, back to the golf course and coffee with Mark. What freedom.

On the way home we stayed at two great hotels. One just south of Calais and the other in Beaune. I would recommend either and have put the links at the bottom of this message.



Mr.L. 21/11/09

http://www.chateau-cocove-calais.federal-hotel.com/page_en_1.html

http://www.lecedre-beaune.com/




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Speke Hall

Yesterday we had a sunny morning before a storm in the afternoon and took the advantage of the break in the rain to visit the Tudor mansion which is surrounded by woods and beutiful walks. This is a National Trust property that is just outside Liverpool. Our trip to the UK continues with visits to the cinema and shopping at bargain prices! Next weekend we go to London to spend time with the children and grandchildren and then back to France around the 24th.

And back to Golf!!

Mr. L. Friday 13th! /09

We have now been in UK for 10 days and have finally had a sunny day! We took the opportunity of going to the Trough of Bowland, a little known area East of Preston with villages reminiscent of The Cotswolds. The villages are pretty with lovely pubs and beautiful landscapes. On our walk we met with a guy who was building a dry stone wall and were given a lesson in his art.
We lunched in a small local pub, where are dog Micha was welcomed. It was lovely to have a steak and ale pie. Why cannot the French copy this type of pub food and at a price of an entrée in France.
The village, Waddington, had a lovely stream running through it and all the grass verges well tended and had flowers in them. Very pretty.
This is the idyllic view of the UK that we all hold. Such a pity that in fact most of the UK is covered in concrete and overpopulated!
Of course I love the UK but I also love my life in France where the culture is very different and certainly in the South where we have more sun and the pace is slower.
Mr.L. 8/11/09

I'm not macho

Sorry ladies, but I am one of those men that just can't stand supermarket shopping. So when I discovered that the Casino super market in Fréjus now offers free Wifi in their cafeteria I was over the Moon, surfing the internet on my lap top is more my thing. The good news is that Michele loves it here too, great selection of products, competitive prices and of course not having her husband over her shoulder asking, "have we done yet?" is priceless!
In fact when she pops her head around the corner to tell me she has finished I’m almost sorry to leave:)

Mark W

Damp UK

Mr. L. 5/11/09 ( Firework Night!)

We have been in the UK now for 5 days and it shows no sign of the rain stopping! We have done the usual shopping in M&S, Tesco and Cosco and are sitting in the house busy in our household living. Me,working on the computer, and my wife doing the household chores.


The dog is enjoying chasing the ball in the garden and has trained the staff to play with her. She really enjoys the open fields around us and runs in large circles with the delight of freedom. She takes no notice of the many pheasants in the woods and fields and even ignores them in the garden.

We are catching up with friends and relaxing in front of the coal fire.

Hopefully, if the sun arrives, we will spend some time in the Lake District next week and hope to travel to the Cotswolds later in the stay.

Praying for dry weather to play golf!

Will keep you updated.

Pat, Mark's sister

There is nothing Mark loves better than when his sister visits. They are very close and it is a pleasure to see Mark’s face light up when she is around.
This week Pat joined his classes to get rid of the bad golf habits she had picked up in the UK. This was every morning for a week. I noticed this week that he had a bevy of beauties to teach and one gentleman. This must have been heaven for him!
We managed a round with Pat and the picture above was taken on the 16th hole with the sun shining and the tops of the mountains in the far distance covered with their first snow even though it was 23 degrees on the course. What bliss!

Mr. L. 30/10/09

Mr Mr L is off for a couple of weeks

Mr L is off for a couple of weeks back to the UK so I will take over the role as blog master in his absense. I am sure he will keep us posted about his trip. Hurry back mate:)


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone