France - July 2014 .....

On the way down to Ambrieres les Vallees I stopped off at Portbail to see where Tone's boat is now moored. Portbail is a very pleasant coastal village, and the mooring was not far from the pontoon, which was very convenient for working on the boat - with water and electricity supplied. An advantage of Portbail is that there is more opportunity to use the boat - especially as dredging is taking place.

As a consequence I arrived much later at my final destination - but plenty of time, with light nights, to unload the car and open up the house again. On the Thursday I cut both the top and bottom grass, after going to Mayenne shopping ! In fact Sara, Tone and the girls arrived back on the Thursday. I called in on the Friday on the way to Gorron, shopping again for items I had forgotten.

As with the last trip there were many sporting events to watch on TV - Wimbledon, the FIFA world Cup, and the Silverstone Grand Prix. But with fine, hot weather at first, much time was spent in the garden - netting the fruit, pruning etc.. The house leek on the wall to the lower garden was again a mass of flowers.

Then, despite some heavy rain showers, visits were made to the Marché Nocturne at the Parc de Vaux, and on the Sunday to the Ambrieres Vide Grenier, which was more or less rained off, before going to watch the Silverstone Grand Prix after lunch at Sara and Tone's place.

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Some plastering and filling was done, and a shelf fitted to the stair area.

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The fruit has done reasonably well ( Pics ), about six well formed peaches and plenty of pears to come ( I hope ). Although the grapes are doing well, in parts they are shrivelling and going brown - the next trip will reveal all. The strawberries were eaten mainly by the birds and have not done well despite many flowers.

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A visit to the Gorron concert was disappointing although there were many attractions for children and plenty of beer etc. being sold. One of the groups could not play - due to technical difficulties. With rain threatening Sara and I left early before the fireworks ( reported on in previous years ). We were not far from the car when we heard the strains of music starting.

This year I did not go to any 14th July celebrations either, but on the Tuesday I went for a lunchtime meal at the Moulin de Beslay in Cigné ( see Advertisements ).

A very pleasant BBQ and swim at Sara and Tone's place on the Wednesday enabled one to cool down in the soaring temperatures, and I went to Domfront at Le Barius on the Thursday before the last weekend to see Chris play, since he was now back in France. It had become very hot, and sometimes humid - with the occasional thunderstorm.

After shopping in Gorron for another lawn mower ( to deal with the grass at home in the UK ) the German Grand Prix filled much of the weekend. Hamilton had brake failure early in qualifying having achieved second on the grid at that stage. In the Grand Prix itself, starting from 20th on the grid he eventually reached 3rd place, and was on the podium..

Monday was spent grass cutting, peach picking and packing for return to the UK on Tuesday.

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