Tag Archives: crash out

Sunday 2nd July 2017 – I MIGHT HAVE SOLVED …

… one of the issues with this oven.

And it’s so simple that I could kick myself.

You may remember now that for the last two weeks I’ve been cooking other things in the oven – a pie two weeks ago and a rice pudding last week. But the tray at the bottom hasn’t been strong enough to support the casserole dish that I’ve been using and we’ve nearly had a couple of accidents.

So if it’s not there to use as another baking shelf, then what’s it for? If in doubt, take it out!

And so I did – and in 20 minutes (instead of the usual half an hour) my pizza wasn’t just cooked but overcooked.

So you learn something new every day. The trouble that I have though is that each time that I learn something new, it pushes something old out.

So how was my night last night? I’m sure that you want to know because, for the first time that I’ve been here, I have a curtain in the bedroom and it was nice and dark.

I was asleep early enough and with no alarm I was hoping for a decent lie in too. But after a while tossing and turning in the new dark, I hauled myself out of bed to find that it was a mere 06:50. Even earlier than the alarm.

Mind you, I’d been on my travels though. I was out shopping – shopping for shoes as it happens (and this is something that I need to do before I go to Canada) and ended up at a cheap market type of place (not where I’m likely to find what I want). However I did find a pair of shoes that I liked and as I went to pay for them I noticed something else that I liked too (and I can’t remember now what it was) so I picked that up too. On my way to the cash desk I noticed a third thing – and I immediatle recognised this as the power pack for my laptop (which it isn’t, but never mind) and which was just €4:99. So I asked the girl about it to make sure and she confirmed it so I added that to the pile too. She made some kind of remark – something like “you’re certainly finding some good stuff here!” and I thought that I was too, a power pack at just €4:99.

After breakfast and a little repose for half an hour I cracked on with the blog. I’ve had a really good day and reached early June 2012 (I’ve left off May though because this needs a good clear out seeing as it’s the period when I was in Canada.

Just another 202 entrie to do now and it will be up-to-date – a far cry from the well-over 350 that there were when I restarted this. When i’s done I can continue with the updating of the earlier stuff – which is likewise proceeding apace.

I had the baguette for lunch but ate in here because it was grey and miserable outside.

This afternoon I had a … errr … little repose – the strain of being awake so early is telling on me, and then I did the last of the washing. Now it’s all up-to-date for the next fortnight and that’s fine by me. I pushed on with a little more of the blog too.

So with the pizza out of the way, it’s another early night in the dark again tonight. Tomorrow I have a lot to do. Like booking some more stuff for my trip to Canada and deaing with an item of correspondence that has reared its ugly head.

Friday 30th June 2017 – I DIDN’T …

… buy myself a mini hi-fi today like I promised.

I stopped at BUT to have a good look around at all of the equipment that they had on offer, but there was nothing there that really tempted me all that much. And so I went on to LeClerc where I had seen some stuff before.

But having had a really good nosy around, I came away empty-handed.

My criteria are very simple –

CD player
USD port for data sticks
AM Radio (no point in having the live British football coverage on 5 Live from Jersey if I can’t pick it up
external data input (jack or RCA socket)
headphone socket
decent volume

And could I find one?

Not on your nelly I could.

So I went back to BUT to have a closer look, but it was now lunchtime and anyone who knows anything at all about France knows about the 2-hour lunch when the whole country grinds to a halt.

I’ve had a good browse on Amazon but with about 2,000 to choose from I’m pretty bogged down in a morass and my eyes have glazed over.

Last night was the worst night that I have had for a while. I was fidgeting for ages trying to find a comfortable position where I wouldn’t itch or womething, and it kept me awake for ever.

I must have dozed off though because it was the alarm that woke me up – and then I dozed off again until the repeater went off.

In that little fifteen-minute interval I went on a travel, to visit some kind of huge exhibition hall where there were just about half a dozen small stalls dotted here and there – rather like that famous supermarket in Poprad in Czechosolvakia (now Slovakia) when I took a coach out there when I worked for Shearings Holidays.

After breakfast I went, for the frst time, to LIDL here in Granville. No different than any LIDL anywhere else in the world, and the clientèle is the same too.

BUT was next, and then NOZ where I met the same clientèle that I’d left in LIDL. I bought some more spices (mainly for the jars that they come in) and a few other bits and pieces.

And here I struck gold.

Last time that I was in there they were selling some clothes airers. I’d seem them at €9:99 (which is an excellent price anyway) a while back and the last time they were reduced by 30%. I went to find them today (hopefully I’ll have my washing machine installed tomorrow) and there was just one left – reduced to a mere €2:00.

No prizes for guessing where that might now be found.

You’re probably thinking that at that price it might not be much good and that surely I’d be better off buying stuff to last. While I don’t necessarily disagree with you, I would say

decent stuff might well last, but my medical prognosis is that I might not
With setting up a new house, I need so much stuff that I can’t afford to go out and buy everything at top quality. Buying a pile of cheap stuff just to set me off on the road means that I will have it all fairly quickly, and as it wears out or breaks down, I can replace it bit by bit

Shopping in the food part of LeClerc came next, and then we had the abortive return journey to BUT

After lunch – spent indoors because it was now raining – I crashed out for quite a while. I blame the sleepless night on that. And I cracked on with the blog too.

Tea was the final instalment of the curry and now it’s an early night.

Washing machine tomorrow, with a bit of luck.

Thursday 29th June 2017 – I’VE JUST DROPPED …

… half of my tea all over the floor.

Well, half of the curry anyway. So never mind – I have a couple of small tins of mushrooms and so one of them went into what was left and it didn’t end up too bad.

Mind you – I’m not surprised that that happened. I’ve been half-asleep all afternoon what with one thing and another.

Sleeping on the sofa might be comfortable, but it’s regrettably not as comfortable as my big new bed and while Rosemary said that she had the best sleep that she’s had for ages (so much so that she’s going to buy a new bed as soon as she returns home) I was tossing and turning for much of the night.

The alarm was programmed to go off at 06:00 and I was up and about long before then. But women take their time of course and it was 06:55 before we hit the road. Rosemary has a long way yet to go and not much time to do it either, and this wasn’t really the time to be hanging about.

I led her out to the edge of town and from there she was off on her own. I stopped to pick up a baguette and then came back for breakfast.

For most of the morning I was working on the blog. I’m into March 2012 right now, and the modernisations to the earlier modernisations are proceeding apace too. But the more that I do, the harder it’s going to become because I’ve been doing the easy stuff first.

After lunch on my wall, I went into town again. The Bank had told me that my bank cards are ready to be picked up and so I went to fetch them. I need them for shopping tomorrow.

I went to look at the Marité (she’s back) and to make a few enquiries about potential voyages. The girl at the reception desk didn’t know too much about the voyages so she referred me to the website.

One thing is for sure, though. And that is that they don’t go to anywhere exciting. I was hoping for a trip to the Roaring Forties and maybe a lap o two around Cape Horn. But I’m told that I would be lucky if I had a trip around the bay here.

Somehow it’s not the same.

One thing that did catch my eye on the quayside was a huge pile of scrap metal. All old cookers, fridges, a few engines and – an Iveco lorry that had been cut into bits.

The writing on the fridges was in English – and then I noticed that the lorry was a right-hand drive vehicle. So this pile of scrap has come in from a British possession somewhere, and I seemed to have missed the ship that brought it in.

That is, unless it was the load brought in by the Whatsit the other week and has yet to be moved.

Armed with the bank cards – and a citron sorbet fom the ice-cream shop I walked back up here for a rest – and, as I said earlier, a kind-of drift in between sleeping and waking.

And then I dropped my curry.

So a good sleep tonight (I hope) back in my bed and then shopping tomorrow. Now that I have access to my cash I’m going to buy a little hi-fi. I know that I said that I wouldn’t spend very much before I went to Canada, but I’m missing my music.

Wednesday 28th June 2017 – PHEW!

Just as I was going to bed last night, I had a message “how do you fancy a visitor tomorrow? I’m on the road”.

Well, since I’ve had my new place and can actually accommodate people these days, why not?

And so this morning, after a night of tossing and turning, I was up with the cock. And quite early too because it wasn’t long after 06:00 that I saw the light of day.

I’m not as fit as I used to be and so cleaning the apartment took all day. But then it was 20 minutes here and a sit-down for an hour to recover my strength, and then 20 minutes there and a sit-down etc etc.

The least that can be said about visitors is that their potential arrival shakes me out of my lethargy and obliges me to clean up the place. So the more visitors, the merrier.

I stopped for lunch but I wasn’t intending to go outside because we were having yet another rainstorm. The weather has indeed broken here. And then back into the cleaning routine. Followed by a shower, a shave and a change of clothes (I have to look my best) and a little … err … repose.

At 17:30 I had a phone call
“I think I’ve missed the turning and I’m not sure where I am now”
“What can you see around you?”
“I’m opposite the hospital”
“OK. Stay there. I’ll come and fetch you” (and I made a mental note that a dashcam video of the route might be a good idea)

What impressed me was that last night I’d asked for a rough ETA. And my visitor replied “between 17:00 and 18:00 I reckon”. It was now exactly 17:30. Spot on!

And so I arrived at the hospital and there was Rosemary in her new car. She was off for a quick aller-retour to the UK and there is more than one way to skin a cat. Going via Granville is as good a way as any. And she had brought the sun with her because it was now brightening up

Luckily there was plenty of curry left over from yesterday so rustling up a meal didn’t take me too long. And then we sat for a couple of hours and put the world to rights.

But my first overnight visitor! And I can accommodate someone here too – much more than ever could be said for back in the Auvergne.

Sunday 25th June 2017 – WITH IT BEING …

… Sunday, that calls for a lie-in.

And quite right, too.

So having had a rather late-ish night to ensure that I would be well away with the fairies, and having lain in bed until I couldn’t possibly lie there any longer, it was all of … errr … 08:05 when I finally arose.

Some lie-in, hey?

So after breakfast I vegetated for a short while and then hit the streets. The depot de pain here is closed today and the boulangerie down at the bottom of the hill is closed for holidays, and so this meant something of a trek. And it was a nice day for it too – not too warm and not too sunny either.

First of all though, I had to find some salad dressing. In the LeClerc, it all has milk in it. The Carrefour does not, but there’s another supermarket called Coccinelle. That was open and they came up with the business. Cheap and basic, but with no milk, and I can add herbs and spices and some mustard to it. I’m sure that I can make something of it if I try.

And the guy in the shop said how much he liked my accent. While that’s a compliment, it’s no good in my scheme to passer inaperçu – “pass by unnoticed”.

I’d bought a lovely baguette or two last Sunday from the big boulangerie near the Tourist Information place and the queue outside the door showed me that I was not the only one to like their bread. So I queued.

it was the right choice too, because sitting on the wall overlooking the harbour at lunchtime, I remarked to myself just how nice this baguette was. It’s a shame that it’s such a hike down to fetch it, otherwise I would be down there every day.

As for tea tonight, it’s pizza night of course. And with the oven, while I might not have a pie to bake I went for the rice pudding option. I’ve tasted better, which is no surprise as you can’t buy dessert rice around here, but I’ve also tasted worse too. And there’s enough for another two nights.

I want to get the most that I possibly can out of this oven while it’s running.

And what’s been the plan for today then?

Not a lot, seeing as it’s Sunday. We’ve had the usual crash-out this afternoon, which is a shame, but we’ve had a really good session on the blog. Just a few more days and January 2012 will be complete. And with this new speed-editing facility that I discovered, attacking the modernisation of what I modernised when I first started the modernisation procedure has proceeded apace too.

But tomorrow I have one or two urgent things to do so I need to be on top form.

Early night, anyone?

Saturday 24th June 2017 – I WAS UP …

… a good 10 minutes before the alarm this morning. And had I been bothered to leave my stinking pit, I could have been up a good hour before it too.

I’d been on my travels too, not sure where, but I ended up dating one of the nurses (I wish that I could remember which one) who had treated me while I had been in hospital. She was considerably younger than me (well, let’s face it – almost everyone in the world is these days!) and this excited a great deal of comment from all sorts of people.

Which of course just goes to show – I can still chase after the women, even if I can’t remember why.

We had the usual trip for the baguette and the lunchtime sitting-on-the-wall-overlooking-the-harbour too. The weather wasn’t quite as warm as it has been, but still too hot to be out there for long. And the tide is now almost fully-out which means that we aren’t going to be having any ships passing by for a while.

Even the Marité is conspicuous by her absence. She seems to have departed into the ether – Ships That Pass In The Night and all of that.

Tea was another attack on the European Tinned Food Mountain and with the addition of a few herbs and spices it was quite tasty. Just goes to show the difference that a few simple things can make.

So what have I been doing today then?

Some tidying up. Not much, but if I do a little every day (or nearly every day) it will slowly all go together nicely. And some cleaning too. I need to make an effort.

I had a phone call too from the maintenance people about the fridge. So I told them that it was now back working again so they hung up. And now it’s stopped again, hasn’t it?

I’ve also had a very unwelcome letter from the Treasury of that hospital in Verdun. It seems that once again my insurers are dragging their heels about paying (which they usually do) and I’ve been lumbered yet again. I’ll need to sort them out properly in early course.

Ingrid was on the phone too and we had a lengthy chat. Her health issues are finally moving, although in which direction it’s hard to tell. She’ll know more in early course. But it’s a good job that she rang, because I was … errr … resting at the time.

But most of the day has been organising the blog. I’ve finished November, done a few of December, skipped the rest because there’s a lot in there that needs editing, and now I’m well into January 2012. Only 289 entries to go before this cycle of amendments is completed. And then I’ll need to go back over it again to bring the earlier entries up to the current standard as well as tackling some of the more complicated entries.

In that vein, we are going pretty well too. I’ve done some more ad-hoc editing, removing unwanted tags, editing a couple of others, merging one or two as well and it’s not been taking me as long as I thought, especially as I’ve found a quick way of doing it.

So now I’m having a relax before bed-time. And I reckon that I deserve it too. It’s hard work, this sitting around doing not very much.

Friday 23rd June 2017 – I’VE BEEN SPENDING …

… my money again today.

I’ve decided, with a great deal of reluctance, that the second instalment of furniture from IKEA can wait – and wait until I come back from Canada too.

I’m going to Canada for two months and I intend to have something of a good time while I’m there – hence the decision to be careful about what I spend in the meantime. Consequently there are a few things that I need that are very important around here that can’t wait until IKEA.

Like a wok (I bought a new one a while back as you might remember, but it doesn’t work on my induction hob), a dressing mirror for the bedroom, a laundry basket – stuff like that.

GIFI Was having a sale and so I blitzed round there this morning and acquired a laundry basket, a big dressing mirror that hangs on the back of the door, a waste bin for the bathroom, a large set of plastic drawers for the office, a chalk board and some chalk.

I went to NOZ too. And here my luck was in. NOZ is a chain of shops in France that sells bankrupt stock lines, overstocks and all that kind of thing, and is always worth a browse. Today, they were selling inter alia a variety of herbs and spices in those nice little octagonal jars that look so good. All at €0:99 each. And so i stocked up on the herbs and spices that I need and next week I’ll go back for more (if there are any) because the jars, when they are empty, will be ideal for refilling with other herbs and spices.

As for a new wok, a couple of weeks ago I’d seen one that I liked. Aluminium isn’t good for the health and these coated non-stick pans – the coating comes off them far too easily. But they had a range of these ceramic pans in the Auchan. Quite expensive, really heavy, and guaranteed for years.

I enjoy cooking very much, but doing it in sub-standard conditions with sub-standard equipment always gets me down.

And so I but the bullet and invested in the aforementioned. I’m fed up of frying stuff in a saucepan.

While I was there in the Auchan I bought some frozen peas and carrots too. Let’s hope the fridge keeps going until I can buy a freezer. Then I’ll be moving onwards and upwards.

But with the late night last night it was quite something to try to crawl out of bed. But a shower soon brought me round (well, almost) and a shave and clean clothes made me feel much better. The new washing basket is full now, so that will be another trip to the launderette some time soon.

On the car park at the Auchan, we had an exciting moment as some woman reversing out of a car parking space as I was walking past took my trolley with her. Had I been half a second later and she would have taken me with her too. And in the confusion that followed, I became separated from my baguette, and one or two other things too I suspect.

So it was a pretty thin lunch that I had today – and this afternoon I crashed out until … errr … 18:15. Heaven alone knows why. I reckon that it was about three hours that I was away.

There was one more slice of pie in the fridge and so I finished off that with my mash, peas and carrots done in the little steamer. We had mint and garlic in the spuds and rosemary on the veg and it improved everything considerably. I even remembered to make the gravy.

But the pie was delicious – I have to say that. And I’ll be baking another one in the near future. With the herbs and spices that I bought today, it should be even more so.

All in all, my diet is definitely improving and I’m glad about that.

Tuesday 20th June 2017 – I’M GLAD …

… that I bought that fan blower yesterday.

It went on at about 07:30 after breakfast and it’s still going around even now as we speak. And I’m not surprised as we’re having another scorching day.

It took ages to go to sleep in the heat last night, and I was flat out until the alarm went off. But I’d been on a few travels too, including one where I was back at the farm at Les Guis (although it wasn’t that particular building) with the rain pouring in through the roof every time that it rained.. I’d had to take a party of tourists around to show them the sights, but there aren’t any sights round there so it was something of a rather pointless ramble. We ended up eventually at the cross-roads on the hill where the road from Le Quartier to Ars-les-Favets crosses the road from Virlet to Montaigut-en-Combrailles, looking down on everywhere and not knowing where to go to next.

After breakfast I had a relax, and then hit the streets for town. In the heat.

First stop was to see that big sailing ship that we noticed in the harbour on our return from Leuven. She’s called the Marité and is a three-masted goelette built in the early 1920s. She actually took part in the Grand Banks fisheries off Newfoundland until 1929 and then around the various fishing areas of the North Atlantic until the 1960s when it took to general tramping.

Having already been saved a couple of times from scrapping, she was put up for sale in 1999 when she was bought for preservation. The restoration finished in 2009 and here we are.

it’s possible to go for a sail on her, and I shall be looking out for the trips.

But as an aside, she’s a ship of just over 200 tonnes, which you light think is pretty small for braving a North Atlantic winter. But that’s four times bigger than Columbus’s Santa Maria, and hos other two ships, the Nina and the Pinta, were smaller still.

At the bank, yes, my accounts are transferred over. And they gave me the cheque book. But where are the cards? “Ohh dear” blushed my conseilleuse and dashed off to do some hasty manipulations. “They’ll be here next week” she said two minutes later.

Forgotten to request them, have we?

I picked up some spuds and a baguette, and bumped into someone with whom I’d been having a good chat at the Marité.

Back here, I had Rosemary on the ‘phone. She’s had a bit of a disaster back home in the UK and I do feel sorry for her. WHat with her health and all of that, this is the last thing that she needs.

Lunch on the wall overlooking the harbour didn’t last too long. It was far too hot to stay out there very long. I came back here and … errr … went away with the fairies for all of three hours. Astonishing! I even ended up going on a skiing trip around the promontory here in the deep snow with Hannah and her friend.

And the pie?

Delicious. That worked well. And with a dollop of mash, peas, carrots (cooked in the steam cooker which I have now resurrected from the grave) and gravy it was even better.

I shall have to do this again.

Sunday 18th June 2017 – LIZ CAME ROUND …

… while I was busy chatting to Krys (with whom I haven’t spoken for quite a while) so sorry if cut you off, Krys.

With Sunday being a day of rest and a cause for a lie-in, I was determined not to leave my stinking pit when I awoke. But finding it impossible to stay in bed any longer, I arose to find that it was … errrr … 06:55. Quite.

So after an early breakfast and a bit of a relax, I headed off to the magasin de presse for my baguette – and he was closed.

But no worries – down the hill to the boulangerie opposite the casino – and closed for holidays.

I ended up in the early morning heat (and believe me, it was hot) tramping around the town until I found a boulangerie that was open. And I’m glad that I found that one because the bread proved to be delicious.

Back up the hill I staggered (I was exhausted and boiling hot by now) and came back to do the rest of the tidying up and have a nice good shower to see me right for the rest of the year. And a chat to Krys of course and another one of my friends – the one who has been described on these pages on various occasions as “The One That Got Away”.

Liz and I had a coffee and put the world to rights, and then made our butties (I’d bought two baguettes). Once that was organised we headed off into the sun and found a spot right down at the end of the promontory by the lighthouse where was had lunch. Liz produced some sliced pineapple for pudding.

Later on after a few hours in the sun we found a cafe on the roof of the aquatic museum near here – and there was a splendid view over the harbour from up there. And much to my delight a close inspection of Liz’s ice cream disclosed that it was in fact a vegan sorbet. Now I really am in my elephant!

Liz went off home and I came back here and … errr … closed my eyes for a little. Well, it really was hot.

Pizza tonight was delicious, but as for the pie that I baked, I don’t make mistakes, I just learn a lot of lessons, such as the fact that I have bought the wrong pastry for a start. The lentils were nice though – done all day in the slow cooker, but the mix was far too wet and there was far too much of it (a pile went in the freezer for another time).

After I’ve finished the curry tomorrow, I’ll start o the pie on Tuesday. If it ends up in the bin, don’t be surprised. You have to pay to learn.

And I’ve made it into November 2011 with my blog revision. By my calculations, only another 300 – 350 entries to go. But the further I go, the more difficult it becomes and there’s a pile of stuff that is going to need some complicated unravelling

Friday 16th June 2017 – I’VE BEEN SPENDING …

… my money again.

As I might have hinted just now, this place is beginning to look as if someone has been living here for over 6 weeks and not bothered to clean it. I’ve a brush and a mop and bucket, that sort of thing, and that’s clearly inefficient, so seeing as how LeClerc had a cheap bagless vacuum cleaner on sale at just €29:00, that has now joined the assembled multitudes. And I’ll be using it tomorrow too if it all goes according to plan.

It’s Friday and Friday is of course shopping day. And it nearly wasn’t because we had one of those days where I struggled to leave the stinking pit that is my bed. David Bowie had to wake me up again, and it was something of a disorganised stagger to the bathroom.

But the mug of coffee soon brought me round and 10 minutes under a nice warm shower did the rest. I’ve shaved about a month’s growth of beard off too and now I look almost human.

I spent about 90 minutes in LeClerc this morning and actually found everything that I needed (including a vacuum cleaner). And to give you some idea of how the decadent life here in a seaside resort is transforming me into a member of the bourgeoisie, today’s shopping came to not €20:00 or €25:00 as it would in the Auvergne, but €46:71 (and that’s not including the vacuum cleaner either).

Mind you, those melons and those peaches really did look far too nice to leave on the shelves. And I’ve bought stuff to make a tofu and potato pie – to which I shall be setting my hand some time in midweek when the mushroom curry has expired.

Lunch was up on the cliffs overlooking the harbour in the sunshine, and I was there for a good couple of hours with my book. Fatigue drove me inside where, once again, I … errr … relaxed for a while.

But what have I been doing for the rest of the day?

I have in fact been making plans for a-voyaging. My next hospital appointment is sometime round about 14th August, and on the 15th I’m heading for Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. No prizes where I’m going, of course. And I’m not going on a bucket-shop airline either but on a flagship carrier – the Luftwaffe … errr … I mean Lufthansa. High time that I had a really decent and comfortable flight across the Atlantic and I’m not still fighting World War II like most Brits seem to be.

I will however see if we can make a diversion to do a bombing run over Drowning Street and Westminster.

What is sad is that there is no longer a direct flight from Brussels to Montreal (at least, ther emight be but when we started getting into the “well into four figures” prices I gave up looking). I could fly via, of all places, Nice, and I might have been tempted seeing as it was actually a cheap option, but it didn’t arrive in Nice until 22:35 and that’s precious little time to organise a hotel and the like

So tomorrow, there’s all the rest to do. Hotels, trains and buses, because I’m going to be there for 2 months. 2 months between each hospital visit and I intend to make the most of it.

Thursday 15th June 2017 – I BEAT …

… David Bowie into the bathroom by 35 seconds this morning (I know – I counted them) and so by the time he started to croon “Wake Up Little Sleepy Head” I was already riding the porcelain horse.

Breakfast saw me demolish the last of the muesli (I had some supplies and so I made some more) and by 07:35 I was sitting on the sofa with the laptop on my knee.

This morning I spent part of the time dealing with correspondence. It’s backing up rather, and I had a rude reminder from someone about a form that I needed to fill in relating to Caliburn’s accident. And so I did that, bunged it all in some of those prepaid envelopes (I bought a supply of those) and posted it all in the post box opposite the magasin de presse – the newspaper shop where I buy my baguette.

Lunchtime was spent sitting on the clifftop overlooking the harbour entrance. It was cooler today and slightly windier so I stayed out there with my book for quite a while. In fact, it was after 15:00 when I came back here. And seeing how nice and comfortable I had been, I … errrr … closed my eyes for a while – in fact a darn while longer than I expected.

Tea was a mega-curry night. Onions and garlic fried in a saucepan, with a tin of mixed vegetable, a tin of mushrooms, a pile of peanuts, s bucket-load of bulghour and a selection of spices. Add to that a gallon of gravy browning and we had a meal fit for a King. Four Kings in fact, because there’s enough for three more days so that’s sealed in the vacuum jars in the fridge.

And apart from that, what else have I been up to?

Well, you know this 3D animation program that I’m messing around with? It’s quite good but its models are not transferable over to other 3D sites (but then it’s free, and not a couple of thousand quid so that’s understandable) and models from other sites are not transferable to it. But there is a program for building models and props from design primitives, and the finished products may be exported into *.cr2 format.

This program is likewise free and I downloaded it years ago, but it was so complicated that I abandoned it after several weeks of going nowhere. Its controls do not correspond in any way whatever with normal mouse controls and keyboard short-cuts and has no logical sense whatsoever (for example – to “Ring” the edges of the polygons that make up the design primitives, its CNTRL + … errr … K. What’s the logic behind that?).

Anyway, during one of my lengthy searches on the internet, I came across a series of no less than 24 videos that give a basic introduction to the program. And as the narrator freely states “this is only a basic introduction – there’s much more that you can find out about it elsewhere”. Yes, 24 videos as a “basic introduction”!

And so I’ve been gallantly working my way through them all. 8 videos so far, and I’m still on “control manoeuvres” – we haven’t actually done anything yet.

I have a feeling that this is going to be yet another long hard slog.

Tuesday 13th June 2017 – SO HAVING SLEPT …

… the Sleep Of The Dead until all of about 05:00, I was quickly up and about and under the shower for a good soaking. And having finally attacked the half-baguette and the jam that I had bought the other day, I was ready for anything.

Yes, quite!

Packing was exciting. I’m sure that I’m taking back more than I went out with, not including the two pairs of trousers. And so ramming it into the rucksack and the shopping bag was … errr … exciting. I wish that I had brought a larger bag with me now.

I was out early to the station because there’s a supermarket at the back where I was going to buy some lunch stuff (no tomatoes unfortunately because Bane of Britain seems to have forgotten to bring the sharp knife that lives in his rucksack pocket) but the presence of an express direct to Brussels-Midi on the platform prompted me to change my mind, and I legged it up the stairs mucho-el-rapido.

Early in Brussels, I went to see if I could change my TGV ticket for one on the earlier train. For some reason, the SNCF on-line booking doesn’t recognise the 10:13 TGV and instead books me on the 11:13. That just gives me an hour or so to perform the Traversée de Paris and that’s pretty tight, especially when I don’t have Bourvil to carry my suitcases for me.

Luckily there was a place on the earlier train. One day there won’t be, and that will be the day that there will be perturbations on the Metro or the TGV will run late.

There was still a few minutes to spare so I popped to the Carrefour on the station and bought a baguette, a couple of pears and a bottle of water. It’s going to be a long, hot day.

The train pulled in a couple of minutes early and much to my surprise the door to my carriage was exactly where I was standing, so I was second on board.

And heaving – there wasn’t room to swing a cat, and the poor moggy that was in the carry-basket of the person in front of me had to stay cooped up.

We did have a moment of excitement though, when my baguette slid off the overhead rail and almost fell down the cleavage of the woman in front. She stuck it back on the rack, and bent it too for good measure.

But what’s all this about cleavages just now?

It didn’t take long to cross Paris on the metro, which it never does when you allow plenty of time, and it gave me a good opportunity to go for a little exploration.

There’s a bus from Paris-Montparnasse directly to Charles de Gaulle airport, so I tracked that down and made “certain enquiries”, and the SNCF also has a suitcase collection and delivery service, and that can be extremely advantageous as my health declines. I made “certain enquiries” about that, too.

My luck was in over at our side of the railway station. Here parked up at of the terminus platforms was a nez cassé, or “broken nose”.

These are the typical French SNCF electric locomotives built in the 1970s as part of the modernisation plans of the SNCF. They took the French railways to a new level, tanking along at a good 100 miles per hour without even drawing breath and despite being supplanted by the TGVs and being over 40 years old, most of them are still in service.

But it’s rare to find them over here. Their usual stamping ground is in the North-East of the country. That’s why I was so surprised to see one.

Nothing over 40 years old about our conveyance to Granville though. Not even 40 months old, these things.

It was totally heaving too, at least as far as Avranches, and for some reason I couldn’t make myself comfortable which is a change. And I was drifting in and out of sleep all the way up here. I’m not as young as I was. I didn’t do any work of any description, which is not like me as you all know.

But I was glad for the bottle of water because it really was a hot afternoon in the crowded train.

Bang on time we arrived, and so nice was the afternoon that instead of waiting for the bus, I set off to walk home.

Climbing the hill out of town was a struggle so I stopped for five minutes or so to admire the view. And this gorgeous sailing boat is in here today.

No idea of her name, but she seems to be registered in Granville so I shall have to make some further enquiries. But what wouldn’t I give for a lap around the bay in her?

And this reminds me of the story of the sea captain who bought the land at the bottom of a shallow bay in order to create a colony. But while only a mere handful of people expressed an interest, no-one would board his ship.

They all thought that his barque was worse than his bight.

Back here, I crashed out for a while and then made a quick tea out of tins. I wasn’t going to hang about because I really was tired. It took a lot out of me, these three days.

But at least on the train I can do it in three days. Not a chance of that if I were to drive. And it cost me just €195 for the trip. Diesel would have cost me €160, and then we have the autoroute tolls, a hotel each way at the mid-point and all of the stress.

No, going on the train is the way to go without a doubt.

Monday 12th June 2017 – BACK …

… in 8 weeks.

It seems that my blood count has gone down from 9.8 to 9.5. It’s not down enough to bother them that much and they don’t intend to do anything about it, so having arrived at 10:30 I was out of the door and down the road by 12:30.

Down the road as far as the café anyway, where I watched the woman sitting opposite me drop half the contents of her butty down her more-than-ample cleavage. And gentleman that I am, I would ordinarily have offered to help her remove it, and indeed so would I, had she been 19 instead of 90. At that age, people would have worked out how to do it for themselves.

Sleeping here wasn’t too bad, and I was awake fairly early. After my tea last night I didn’t feel much like breakfast and even held out over a coffee until the hospital. It’s a brief walk from here to the bus stop and the buses are every 12 minutes so I didn’t have to wait long.

Leaving the hospital, I had to try several different chemists until I could assemble all of the pills that I needed, and then went off for some vegan cheese and a couple of pairs of the trousers that I like to wear. Still on special offer too!

And that coconut sorbet that I tried? Delicious!

Back here I crashed out for an hour or so and then headed off to meet Alison. The vegan restaurant had a special offer meal available so I treated her to it ad then we went for a coffee and to put the world to rights.

So it’s early to bed as I need to be on my best form for tomorrow. It’s a long way back home again.

But before I drop off into the arms of Morpheus, I’ll leave you with a little photo.

As you know, we’ve been running a little feature entitled ‘Only in Belgium”. And here’s the latest photo for our collection – I’ve forgotten what number it might be.

But I’m sure that you don’t need a translation to be able to work it out. It is pretty self-explanatory. And to be fair, I have seen similar in other parts of the world too.

Sunday 11th June 2017 – THERE’S SOMETHING TO BE SAID …

… for this internal alarm clock thing that we are supposed to have. Here I was, due to get out of bed at 07:00 (and on a Sunday too!) and to be on the safe side I’d even set two alarms, and yet there I was, sitting bolt-upright in bed at 06:00 precisely.

Of course, that didn’t last too long and I was soon back under the covers until firstly David Bowie and secondly Billy Cotton did the business.

30 seconds under the shower was more-than-enough and then we had this urine performance thingy. And that’s a real performance when I can’t make the machine work. In the end, I had to empty away a half-bottle of tomato sauce and use that … "the bottle, not the sauce" – ed. That is really taking the p155.

I’d allowed myself an hour to walk to the station and so 20 minutes later, in the bright early morning sunshine, there I was. I’d even had time to stop to buy a baguette to eat with my couscous for lunch. I’m nothing if not prepared (although I do realise that I have forgotten my sponge bag, and I’ll probably realise that there are a few other things that I have forgotten by the time that we arrive in Leuven).

MY ticket from Granville to Paris for a journey of over three-hours costs me just €20:00 (eat your heart out, you Brits!) and this is the train that I take.

Probably not a year old, they are magnificent and I really enjoy the journey. But typing of a train as it’s clattering over the joints in the track is bollyd dficicltue, I’ll tell you.

Pulled into Paris bang on time (eat your heart … ditto) and the direct Metro to the Gare du Nord was open this time. Mind you, it was a hell of a hike to Line 4 and I don’t fancy that in August with Strawberry Moose in his suitcase.

And it was heaving too – and on a Sunday. Like sardines we were. But 40 minutes saw us at the Gare du Nord. I went outside to eat my baguette and couscous. And it was steaming out there too. It’s a long time since I’ve felt it so warm.

And while I was out there I was harassed by a couple of beggars and amused myself watching a pirate taxi driver try his best to tempt gullible tourists into his car. But I was impressed that the savoir-faire of tourists in the town has improved somewhat.

The TGV was packed to the gunwhales and it was stinking hot in there too despite the air-conditioning. You can’t really open the windows at 220 mph I suppose. And we arrived at Brussels-Midi just in time for me to leg it onto the 15:55 to Eupen, with the guard very kindly holding the door open for me.

I’m now installed in my cosy little room with very thin walls and a loud television next door. And Bane of Britain has done it again – forgetting that it’s Sunday and so he can’t go shopping and now he has no coffee, no water, no nothing.

But after a brief repose (because it’s 32°C here believe it or not) I went for a walk and found a shop open and that helped.

The walk did even more to wear me out and when I arrived back I crashed out definitively until … errrr … 20:40 too. And I have so much to do.

But I did manage to find food and so that’s not too bad, and now I’m going to crash out again.

But this thing about three hours or so to Paris on the SNCF does remind me of the story about the Texan in Ireland, looking at the small size of the fields.
“Do you know” he exclaimed. “I can get into my car and it would take me three days to drive across my field back in Texas”
“I know just what you mean” said an Irishman
“Do you really????” asked the Texan incredulously
“Ohh yes” replied the Irishman. “I used to have a car like that myself”.

Saturday 3rd June 2017 – AFTER MY NICE DAY OUT …

… and good long sleep yesterday, and my reasonably early night, it will come as no surprise to you to learn that I slept right through until the alarm went off this morning.

And furthermore, after having gone out for my baguette, I came back here, sat down and … errr … don’t remember a thing until someone phoned me up at 11:15. And had they not done that, I would probably still be flat out now because I was totally, completely and utterly dead to the world.

With a start to the day like that, you can bet that I haven’t accomplished much at all. I didn’t even go outside to eat my butties. Mind you, there was a reason for that. There was a big wedding party at the public rooms behind my building and there were hordes of people all over the place. The chances of finding a nice, quiet comfortable spot would have been about zero, I reckon.

As a result I’ve spent all day in here just working on the blog, bringing that more up-to-date and chatting to a couple of people whom I know. If I keep up the blog at this rate, I’ll probably finish it in about 5 years time, if it doesn’t finish me off before then

EPIC HALL

The Poisoned Pen (or Poisoned Chalice, more like) – or my relentless struggle against reality