… to all my readers!
usually in the past I’ve inserted some kind of reference to Crewe Bus Station in here but I stopped doing that a while back because everyone was becoming bored with the same old thing.
But these days, seeing as I have many new readers, especially from the other side of the Atlantic who wouldn’t understand the significance, I reckon I should tell it again.
The most significant place where I saw this written was on the wall of the public convenience in Crewe Bus Station, and I noticed it while I was admiring the … err … unusual artwork on the walls.
In fact it was studying the unusual artwork that helped me gain a good pass in my General Certificate in Education. It went into far more detail and was much more useful than anything I had ever learnt in Biology class at school.
It was also at the Public Conveniences in Crewe Bus Station where I dashed in one evening after a heavy night on the Boddington’s at the Lion and Swan.
“Phew!” I exclaimed. “Just made it!”.
The guy standing next to me had a quick glance and said “Blimey! Can you make me one like it?”
Yes, the old ones are the best, aren’t they?
Anyway, I hope that you had a very good Christmas and that Santa brought you everything that you deserve.
So where was I and what was I doing at midnight then?
The answer is “admiring the sluice out of the inner wet harbour in the port”. Yes, I did say that I was going for a prowl around the town at midnight to see what was happening there.
The tide was well out and as the harbour gates were closed, I walked over the footway on top to the other side of the harbour.
From the footway there was a good view of the boats in the harbour and many of our old friends are there tonight.
From left to right we have Granville and Victor Hugo, the two ferries that run the service to the Channel islands from here, then Aztec Lady in the centre, who we saw for weeks up on blocks in the Chantier Navale just recently.
Nearest the camera in the right foreground, wrapped up in her winter attire, is Charles-Marie.
There is the odd fishing boat or two thrown in for good measure.
My wanderings took me down alongside the harbour.
Across the other side of the water the rue du Port and the old Medieval walled city were looking quite nice.
It’s the kind of view that would make a really good picture postcard view if I could just get the colour balance right.
15 minutes I’d been out before I met my first human.
Walking along the rue Lecampion was I, taking a photo of the street lights, when someone came round the corner towards me. He rattled the handles of a couple of bars in the street (to no avail) and then disappeared up an alleyway and that was that.
As for me, I carried on along the way home and haf-way up the rue des Juifs I encountered my second and third people. As you can see, France is nothing like the UK on Christmas Eve.
Back here, I had an alcohol-free beer out of the stock and then changed the strings on the Ibanez acoustic bass. Happy Christmas to the bass – it could do with some new strings and it sounds so much better now.
On that … err … note I went to bed.
No alarm in the morning, so waking up at 04:00 was not part of the plan. Neither was waking up at 07:00. Or 09:30. 10:45 is a much more realistic time to haul myself out of bed on Christmas Day.
And despite the length of time that I was in the arms of Morpheus, I can only remember some guy standing in s stream having a water-fight with an elephant, and the elephant playfully knocking him over into the water with his trunk a few times. And then the guy walking off down along the stream.
At breakfast we had a crisis. I had my fig roll as an extra, but the jam – well, I hadn’t checked it for ages and it’s one of those jams that doesn’t have anything in it to preserve it once it’s opened.
So it went in the bin and I had to have my fig roll dry.
Once breakfast was over, I turned my attention to more exciting things.
Regular readers of this rubbish will recall that I’m changing things around in my life just now. I’ve stopped buying fizzy drinks in bottles and I’ve started to make my own soft drinks.
A couple of days ago I started to prepare a lemon and ginger drink and here it is, in the drinks dispenser that I bought the other day from LIDL.
Three lemons and a small ginger root peeled and sliced up really small, and then boiled up in water that just covers them and then an inch over.
After 10 minutes, set to simmer for an hour or so, and the moment it comes off the boil, a couple of tablespoons of honey added.
Left to chill for a coupe of days and then sieve to remove the lumps, add to the drinks dispenser and fill up with water.
Meanwhile, go through the process again with the lemon and ginger that was sieved out. That’ll be ready in a couple of days and after that I’ll try something else.
But it’s very refreshing – and very gingery too! Maybe somewhat less ginger next time.
For the rest of the day I didn’t do very much at all. Just chilled out and chatted to a few people on the internet. It was nice to catch up with friends.
No lunch either. A couple of slices of the fig and raisin bread and a nibble on stuff here and there.
And while I was mooching around, I came across one of our old Christmas Specials from the days when I used to run Radio Anglais.
Liz and I used to have a great laugh doing these and it’s a shame that my health can’t keep up with things now. I could dash off a programme like that in a couple of hours back in those days, but not now!
Somewhat later than usual, I went for my afternoon perambulation around the headland.
And while I was standing on the cliff overlooking the sea admiring the naval craft going by, I fell in with Xavier, one of the people from my new employers and we had a chat for a little while.
And then I pushed on – or pushed off, as the case may be.
The speedboat wasn’t the only thing out there this afternoon enjoying the weather.
Whilst there wasn’t much going on in the way of commercial traffic today, there was a fair bit of pleasure traffic. A couple of yachts, one of which was this one, were sailing around in the Baie de Mont St Michel.
They obligingly posed for me, which was nice of them.
Here’s something that I haven’t noticed before. Well, I have, but I’ve not paid it any attention until today.
At first glance it loks like a rock face, and not just a pretty rock face either. On closer inspection, it looks as if it’s the mouth of a tunnel that’s been bricked up.
And that’s got me all curious. I wonder what it was and where it went. I shall have to look into it.
I’d gone the long way round, in case you hadn’t realised, down the new bit of path and along the old road.
This route brings me out by the Chantier Navale where I could see Spirit of Conrad still stuck up on her ramps, with a fishing boat for company.
One thing that I was hoping to do was to have an update on the former and a description of the work to be carried out on the latter but as you might expect, there was no-one about.
My route took me right into town and then round a couple of back streets before making for home. And depressing as it is to recount, there was absolutely nothing going on at all in town. A few people about, but wandering aimlessly around, like me.
Back here, I carried on doing very little until tea time. And then I attacked the food.
First thing was to cut up some potatoes into cubes, coat them with olive oil and put them in the oven to roast.
Then a seitan slice with gravy put likewise in the oven.
Some veg, including leeks (I like to have a leek with my Christmas meal), and endive and some Brussels sprouts (not Lincolnshire sprouts of course, the sad, pathetic fools), and what is Christmas without Brussels sprouts, cooked properly?
And here you are, one Christmas dinner. Cooked to perfection.
And take my word for it. The meal really was delightful. I enjoyed it very much, as you might expect and I’ll be going back for more.
As for pudding, well of course it should have been Christmas pudding but I was running terribly late.
And in any case, I had something else planned. My Christmas present from Liz and Terry is, as always, a vegan Christmas cake. And so for pudding tonight I had a slice of that.
And that was just as good as it usually is.
It was cold and windy tonight on my somewhat late walk. And no-one around either. I didn’t see a soul.
No photos – it was too cold to go hunting for anything special to photograph – but I did manage my run, even if it was only just.
And with the fitbit showing 93%, I went and did another lap around to reach the 100% marker. At least it’s pushing me onwards, this fitbit.
It’s now 02:55 – no surprise seeing as I had a very long lie-in this morning. I’ve been doing nothing since I came back, and I’ve only just finished writing up my journal.
So now it’s bed time. I wonder what time I’ll wake up tomorrow.
And I hope that you had a good day today.
night old town port de granville harbour manche normandy france
night old town port de granville harbour manche normandy france
night old town port de granville harbour manche normandy france
yacht baie de mont st michel granville manche normandy france
