Back to Blighty

A spot of rain on the way to the UK

Having my head stuck in the clouds, I often find that my idea of something is nothing like what it really is. Take the idea of fish and chips: I think of big crisp chips splashed with malt vinegar, light crisp batter, chunks of delicious white fish, and a crunchy gherkin or two. What do you get in reality? A yellow soggy mess. Same with my idea of England: I think of cosy fires in pubs selling delicious beer, hearty simple meals, rolling green country, little winding rivers, etc, etc. Drove back to the UK last week, and was suprised at just how crowded it is, and how unlike my idea of it it really is - there were cars bumper to bumper from the Eurostar terminal to Lewes, solid. Compared with France it was like a termite mound. Also, all the houses are squeezed together right next to huge open spaces, roads are everywhere, and people look so unhealthy. The food is cheap and looks it, shops are everywhere selling nothing of quality, adverts shout at you from every available space, noise everywhere. Serves me right for going into Brighton!

Anyway, we saw our friends, had the British Food Trinity (fish & chips, sunday roast, curry), drank a lot of beer -which was a bit sugary to be honest- and looked in shops which didn't sell what I wanted. We then loaded up the removal lorry, and set off to the Tunnel because the thought of an overnight ferry journey in force 11 gales didn't appeal. Got to Mesle the next day, unloaded everything into the gite (except Pachypodium which went somewhere warmer), and came back to Bubry.

Three days of cleaning and sorting the house out here, then we're in. Two beams to replace in the gite, gas pipes to replace in the house, bit of a clean, unpack, and get on with it.