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FRANCE - May - June 2008
The first couple of days were spent getting the garden back under control. The warm, moist weather since the last visit had transformed what were weed free flower beds into jungles, and short grass to knee high on the lower level. And all in a matter of three weeks or so !
Tony was doing a gig ( guitar/vocal ) at a local bar - The Red Lion, in Desertines - on the first Saturday night. It was an excellent do, going on until the wee small hours. The girls also sang on some numbers.
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Sue and Pete missed a
good night at The Red Lion. They turned up on the Sunday
for a couple of nights - we visited Sara and Tony for
lunch at La Petite Reigniere. Monday saw a quick trip to Mayenne then a relaxing afternoon for Sue, whilst Pete and I sauntered down to the River Varenne. |
After they left, I carried on finishing off the extractor trunking, and making a ballustrade for the upper landing with some of the remaining spindles. All this forms a safety feature, protecting the stair well.
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I kept an eye on the tennis - starting with the French Open ( Roland Garros ) and later, the Artois Championships .... ( I returned home after the first day of Wimbledon ).
Although the yellow climbing roses at the front door were almost finished ( some 200 or so ), the warm weather soon encouraged many of the other summer plants into full flower.
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The grapes look promising ...... and local hedge rows were also bright with foxgloves and other flowers. There were buzzards around in the daytime and owls in the evening.
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More tiling was done in the shower area ( started four years or more ago ! ), and a ceiling fixed. An extractor grill was also added to help ventilate the shower area. |
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A start was also made on the main lounge ceiling ... whilst outside some cement work was carried out, to re position the dustbin, and modify a rainwater drain... eventually to provide a sitting area. |  |
I met up with Bob and Iris ( Sagazone contacts ) who have a place nearby, at Passais, for fish and chips at Le Local, in Couemes-Vaucy, one Wednesday evening.
I also paid visits to various concerts in the area to see, and hear Sara and the girls, playing or singing. |
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The last social event before returning home was to the Gorron Saltimbanque - Music Festival evening - where Sara, Megan and Bethany were playing at various times.
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Two of the street groups playing at the Saltimbanque
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The stilt performers ...........
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