Softball 2014

Well that's pretty much it for another year. All but the last guests have left and slowly but surely the devastation is being cleared. We must have set a new recycling record for the year having done 3 trailer loads. It seems we had numerous vodka drinkers as there were 6 large bottles that I recall just in one trailer.
Every year I say that improving on the previous year will be hard work but, once again, we have done it with some style. I wasn't initially kean on the idea of pirates and dressing up but, looking at the pictures of me in my costume, I know it was the right thing to do. Big thumbs up to Dave for making it happen by rallying the votes. Contemplating heroes and villains for next year as Dave will be able to come as a pirate again.
This years tournament kicked off earlier than any previous ones with the first proper influx on the Tuesday night when the Holland posse rolled up at dusk with music blaring and rocking the valley.(this could have been Wednesday night but I may have been drunk.) I'd had an inkling that a sight seeing tour might lose out in a battle against a few extra days here but I certainly hadn't expected such an early kick off. Party night 1 was under way.
Rob, Adam and Jenny also joined us Tuesday along with 3 kegs of ale, a new computer and Norman, the most exceptional suit of armour. What can one say? other than I was blown away. Seeing Norman on parade on Sunday night bought tears to my eyes and has made many happy memories for the people who were here. I hope that he enjoys his new home here and continues to bring pleasure to the masses. Cheers uncle Bob.
Wednesday (which may have been Thursday) saw the arrival of the second half of the Honey badger pirate tour with Dave & Kirsty aand Khim, Tim and Caitlyn joining the bash. Later that evening the party monsters arrived complete with beer having walked from the ferry port. Felix and Florian you should be very proud of your achievement and it means there are less excuses for any future visits you plan to make.
In the back ground of arriving guests, Jane was organising operation "Saving private Bailey". With his international roaming not working on his phone, Jakes mission to cycle from Calais to here had gone pear shaped and he was cut off from the whole planet. Fortunately he was bright enough to phone here and a rescue mission was sorted which resulted in Jules also getting a few extra days to party with the mob.
The pictures just keep getting posted, each and every one helping to remind me what an amazing event we have just pulled off. I must thank all the budding photographers for their efforts and I shall keep my fingers crossed that perhaps Flora will produce another video for us. Big thumbs up for Christian for being a great sport and letting me give him a mohawk and also for his great job at etching plastic cups.
Possibily the greatest wind up of the weekend was on Monday night when the Gendarmes turned up. Although it wasn't taken with my usual humourous spirit, looking back it was most excellent so big thumbs up to Adam and Rob for pulling it off.
Plenty more to write but don't want to bore too many peeps with my ramblings. Big thanks to everyone for chipping in and making the event what it was. Special big thanks and loads of love to Jane for letting me have a few friends over to play again.
Next year is closed doors to newbies unless sponsored by one of the existing mob.
Now it's time to sleep, night all.

Considering I don't have a job, you'd think I'd have all the time in the world to keep on top of my blog. Turns out that isn't the case as I turn my back for a few moments and another couple of months have slipped past. Apologies as always blog fans.

I'm sad to say that, after losing Sasha at the beginning of the year to a stroke, we have now also lost Zorro who had a huge tumour behind his eye that was un-operable. He has joined Sasha down the garden now and Luna is keeping guard. She's even barked a couple of times since we got her.

Yesterday was our 18th wedding anniversary so we had a few friends over for a 5 hour lunch feast. It was almost a complete vegetarian affair which left Josh a tad depressed but all the food was great and the Pollock turned out exceptional with it's huge white flakes of flesh.

The garden continues to grow faster than I can stay on top of. Presently mowing the lawn every 6 days in between the numerous downpours that have plagued the last 8 weeks. At the beginning of the month I was brave enough to take the plants out of the green house and, touch wood, we've been frost free so far.

I will confess that the roulotte has sort of ground to a halt. I'm at the stage of first fix electrics and plumbing before I can clad the internal walls and lay the floor. Generally the ideas flow in to my head and then I turn them into reality but at present everything is just a little cloudy.

Back to normality, almost

Back in February I pointed out that we'd been suffering here with flu like symptoms. Well, there went 6 weeks of my life and although still not 100%, my mojo has returned and I have regained the ability to work.

The roulotte has stood patiently waiting for me where it shall remain until such time as I have the next load of materials to progress it forwards again. Instead my energies have been focused on felling trees, chopping logs and the never ending task of lawn mowing. Even though this work can get the better of you, I only need to glance around to remember why it's all worth while. The blossom on the trees, the wisteria in full bloom on the front of the house, chirping birds and gorgeous stripes in the lawn.

We're about to head into a manic fortnight of travelling. Jane has already kicked it off by heading to the UK for our nieces wedding then we have guests for Easter weekend and next weekend we're heading to Switzerland for the first time. Following on from our return to France I then get to head off to the UK for a softball weekend.

Rolling on with the roulotte

Well in between the numerous downpours of hail, sleet, snow and the usual rain, I have made quite a substantial bit of progress on the roulotte. The gale force winds made it very difficult to keep it covered up so on Sunday I had a super hard push to get the roof watertight. Although not finished completely, there is now a watertight membrane fixed to the top which will allow the interior woodwork to properly dry out.

Been feeling very sorry for the greater family back in the UK who have been suffering with the recent floods. Numerous houses have been flooded and I don't envy the clean up task that awaits them in the coming months. Give me a shout if there's anything I can do to assist.

I have been occupying a lot of time recently helping friends on roofs,it seems a thankless task but it has given me the opportunity to accumulate lots of left over materials that are all being put to good use. I'm grateful for the rest bite now though as I'd forgotten how tiring it can be actually working properly.

The whole household are suffering, apart from Josh, with cold and flu like symptoms that just keep lingering on and on. Kirsty is suffering worst though as she has also picked up an ear infection to boot. Luna is growing incredibly fast. At 8 weeks she was 4kg, 12 weeks she was 9.1kg and I think she is over 10 now. We're down to just a few puddles in the house now which is great and I've just started training her on the lead.

Happy 70th Grandma Nett

I think the images speak for themselves. Yummy scrummy cake made by Auntie Heather!!!

Roulotte progress

Although I've been hampered by some incredibly wet weather. Progress on the roulotte has been good and with every addition it becomes easier and easier to visualize the finished article. Presently I have run out of wood so it may be a week or two before I get going again. There is a lot of plywood to go in the interior which for some reason, in France,is extortionately expensive.

A friend for Zorro

Yesterday we picked up a new addition to the family. Luna Larcombe, a Saint Bernard/German Shepherd cross puppy, was born on 7th November 2013. At the moment Zorro is still very wary of this little fur ball chasing him round and round the kitchen but I'm sure it won't be long before they're best of friends.

Not the best start to a year

Believe it or not, those who've ever been here will, we have been partying hard since Christmas day peaking at 32 on New Years eve and now dropping back to just the one guest. It's probably no surprise that a fair amount of alcohol has been consumed in this time along with a few peeps being a little unwell. Reality returns to the Chateau on Monday when the kids return to school and we are guest free.

Sadly, on 2nd January, we lost our trusty hound, guard dog, friend and member of the family. Sasha suffered a major stroke leaving her unable to move properly and giving us no choice but to have her put down. There is a vast empty space in the house which will be very difficult to fill. How do you explain to a dog that he's lost his mother? Zorro knows something isn't right but he's making the most of all the affection he's been receiving in the mean time.

If the weather stays on our side, progress on the roulotte will hopefully up tempo some what in the coming weeks. With the help of the new years team, we managed to get the chassis painted and also progressed some of the wood work for the roof structure.

No new years resolutions this year but I shall continue making every effort to bring people together whenever possible to enjoy life to the max. We're only here once so we may as well make the most of it.