Thursday 06th August

I got up at about eight and went down, released the hounds and started the morning, ant followed a little later on and we chatted for a bit, i then went online, hoping to catch mum to let her know what was going on, she hadn't come on for a bit so i decided to give her a call. I told her about our plans and was relieved she was really pleased. A couple of moments later aunt M phoned and we chatted to her, then ant disappeared outside, in a dressing gown and towel! to chat to Janine, she told us Madam Soyez, the old lady we bought the house from, was coming to the village and to our for a cup of tea. I had to do a shorted walk with Marte in order to get back and be prepared. I mowed the lawns and ant cleaned the windows.
We had a lovely time, Madam Soyez was accompanied by her son and daughter in law and a grandson, then had a good look round and we sat out in the garden with a cup of tea, they thanked us profusely for allowing them to see the place again and told us all sorts of information we didnt know, apparently there is a cellar and a well in the outbuildings. After they left we relaxed a bit, ant went for a nap and i read.
At around five Maggie and her husband Mike arrived, ant went out to chat with Mike as i accompanied Maggie round the house, she gave a list of suggestions for getting the place up to scratch and then gave us a valuation. Fortunately it was enough to give us a decent nest egg for the move and we should, if we can get it sold, have enough to buy outright in aus. After they left we headed out to feed the rabbits, made a quick stop at Martes to tell her we would not be going to Le Touquet with her on friday as we would have too much to do. Janinne was there as well so i let her know what was going on, she seemed quite sad but resigned to it. By the time we got sorted after the rabbits it was time to head off out to Rosie's for dinner.
We got to Rosies after a quick search for a Tabac, ant has been smoking like a chimney the last couple of days, and settled in to a lovely night of good food and hospitality, she made a really lovely menu and the chat was good. Ant got gently merry, i was very good and kept off the sauce due to the car. We got home about eleven thirty and cracked open a bottle of wine and chatted, about what we had to do in the house, with the dogs, looking for work, all the things we have to get done before starting our new life, and so to bed, two o'clock in the morning!!

Wednesday 05th August

We woke about about eight thirty and went down, i was hoping to catch mum online so went on the computer, but to no avail. Chatted to jacqui for a while, reassuring her her rabbits and fish were ok. At ten i went out with Marte for another walk, it was a nice morning and we went a different way, which was interesting, ant stayed at home and did housework. When we returned Marte came in for a coffee and a chat, the house looked really good.
Once Marte had left we headed out to Le Parq and then on to Carrefour to go shopping, we have four social events before monday so had to buy plenty of wine in. After shopping we stopped at David and Mark's for a coffee then headed home and set to work on the garden. It was quite a hot day so we did a little bit of work then threw it in and relaxed. We made a quick trip to the rabbits, they were fine, and then settled in to dinner and the tellevision. Ant had a good chat with gran, and we watched an interesting drama about the Spanish Flu, which was a little scary in the face of the swine flu issue. Then to bed, another day closer to monday.

Tuesday 04th August

Up at nine and off out for a walk with Marte at ten, did the usual two hours and left ant on the phone, he was still on it when i got back and was a bit upset due to the conversation he had had with his mum and brother, so we sat and chatted through some stuff and got things back to the happy equilibrium we normally experience. I had said i would take David into town with his cat as it needed to go to the vets, so set off for Le Parq at half one. Dropped in to say hello to Marrion and Maggie then dropped David back off at his and headed home. At three thirty Fen and Tally arrived then Ant and i headed off to Jackie and Tony's to drop off Jackies birthday present, a pair of Ugg boots.
We were at Tony and Jackies for about four hours sitting out in thier garden in the sun, ant drinking beer and me drinking shandy, chatting to Tony and Jackie and Paul and Ally about thier life in Melbourne and Australia in general, it was a very pleasant afternoon. By the time we got home ant was a little merrier than he had been, i set too making dinner then we sat and watched 'In Bruges' which was really good, thanks Tony for the loan. We headed off to bed by elleven as we were both a little tired, and lay and chatted for a while then gently fell asleep.

Monday 3rd August

Just one week until we head off to aus!! Woke and did the morning coffee, then i decided i would give mum a phone and let her know about the hotel change, this was the first time i had phoned her and was a little nervy but it all went fine, until we lost internet connection. Then we chatted on skype for a bit, ant commandeered the conversation a little bit but that's ok. At eleven i headed off out for a walk with Marte again, another nice long walk with the dogs.
I got back to find ant had done all sorts of housework bits whilst i had been out, he had even been and checked on the rabbits!! We had a little lunch then he headed off to bed for his afternoon nap. I went online for a while and eventually work him just before six. I noticed ruby was scratching away like mad so made another inspection to find she was crawling with flees, typical, poor little thing always gets stuff, even though they had an inoculation that's supposed to last for a year. We rushed down to town and got some shampoo and some front line, got back and bathed them both, fumigated the beds and then gave them frontline treatments.
I made a Thai Red curry for dinner, which was very tasty, and we had a few beers and sat and chatted about our future all night, we decided to have the dogs in with us for the night as their bedding was still a little damp, not a wise thing to do really since they were flea ridden, ah well! And so to bed, the whole Richardson-Rigg family on one bed, quite snug it was too. It has been quite an eventful day, we have made some major decisions about our future and the timescale it will take and i feel we have made some real progress, only the future will tell.

catch you sson

Sunday 02 August

I woke at about nine thirty this morning, did the morning routine, took the dogs for a walk then decided i would go to the feté at Wamin, i called round a couple of friends to see who would be going and arranged to meet Tony and Jackie at midday for a beer. I got to the fetè and it was very large and very busy, unfortunately there is little we need so i did not feel tempted to buy much. I did buy three books for a euro, Paul Theroux's Hotel Honolulu, A Town Like Alice, and Porterhouse Blue, so that should keep me in books for a while. I met up with Jackie and her son Paul and his partner Ally, Tony was missing in action looking at the stalls. Maggie and Mike were also there and Marion made a brief appearance. We all sat with a beer and chatted for a good while, i grilled Paul about life in aus for a bit, then decided it was time i got home to start the housework.
When i got back to the house i could not find the umph to get going on the house so i procrastinated a bit, chatted to Mandy on the phone, then gran, then fell asleep for a bit on the sofa. Eventually i got going and started. I managed to get done what i needed to then went online for a bit before heading out to pick ant up at Lille, a very late return. He arrived on time at ten in the evening and we headed home, we were both quite hungry so decided to stop at Mcdonalds for something to eat on the way back, it was not very pleasant but filled a need. When we got home ant opened his Aladdin's cave bags and out poured a new pair of glasses with reactors lenses, a new pair of normal crocs, a pair of crocs like deck shoes and two shirts for me and a whole host of things for him. So we are all set now for our week off before heading across the world.
Ant told me that BA had changed the hotel we were due to stay in, typical!! so i though i will have to call mum and let her know asap. All in all an interesting day, but plagued by such lethargy due to the beer in the middle of the day, still at least the holiday has begun, i have decreed that ant must use the time to get completely relaxed and refreshed before we head off on our journey, i think this may have scuppered all sorts of plans for work around the house but i don't care, it is important for him to relax a bit over the next few days.

Saturday 01 August

An early morning this morning, up at eight in readiness for a walk with Marte at nine, we did the same walk as Friday but in reverse, and chatted away about all sorts of things, mainly in french, so it is doing good for both my language and body. Stopped over for a lemonade at her place then came home. I had decided to go to the British Legion Garden Party a try so headed off to that, with a quick detour to Hesdin and a chat with Marion and Maggie. The garden party was not up to much but i did buy three books, one of which was an aussie joke book, so i shall look forward to having a look through that, and a jar of green tomato chutney, which was moldy when i got it home. I treated myself to an 'English Tea' which was a little disappointing but not unpleasant, then decided i would head off, i had been there fifteen minutes. It was full of older English people that i had no desire to get to know. As i was about to leave i spotted Dave, the owner of Fen and Tally, i said hi then said i was off, perhaps a little rude but i had had enough.

I headed home via Carrefore, where i treated myself to some wine and some lamb for dinner, got home and went online. Another episode in the life of mum, as usual an interesting read, so i sent back an email, then i started to worry she would be offended i had called her a fag hag in it, since she had had a very close relationship with a gay man. I don't know whether fag hag is a positive term but in my mind it is a term of great affection as i have had some very close relationships with female friends during my life and am still very close to my first fag hag even though we hardly ever see each other these days. I moved on to looking into transportable homes, i remember seeing a tv show with Billy Connolly where he toured aus on a motor bike, and stopped at a place where you could buy these second hand homes and have them transported to where ever, just a big yard full of homes on stilts waiting to be bought. So i had a good look at second hand ones and new ones and it seems such a cheep way of getting a home, though i think there must be a twist some where.
After this i headed out and checked the rabbits, they were fine as usual, then headed back and set too on the dinner, roasted lamb, perhaps my favorite of all roasted meats, with a red wine sauce and roasted baby potatoes from the garden. I had also treated myself to one of the lovely little french cakes you can buy in the supermarket, for a treat later, actually it was two and i was going to save one for ant on Sunday but some how it got eaten, i will just have to make it up to him. Another night a front the telly, same as last week, Total Wipeout then Top Gear. Just the same as last week this got me ranting at the telly again, same formula, Clarkeson rates a new car, only twenty odd thousand pounds this week so well within the reach of your average person on the street, then a challenge, the only reason i watched it this week was because this was to be centered round classic cars. Unfortunately this ended up aggravating me even more, as May had a Citroen Ami, a highly acclaimed classic, distinctive, beautiful in its own way and mechanically forward thinking for the time, as per it was laughed at, ah well since it wasn't British or a sports car what can you expect. Then a film treat, V for Vendetta, i have this on dvd but decided to watch it again because it is a good film, and i enjoyed it immensely. So to bed, no reading tonight due to the bottle of wine i had sunk, on my own, which is unusual for me but it was Saturday night so why not. Ant is home on Sunday so its a day of cleaning again.

catch you soon

Friday 31st July

I woke about nine this morning, i had arranged to go for a walk with Marte, so i got myself organized and ready for the off at ten, Marte phoned at ten to say she would be about half an hour late, which is quite normal in France, so at ten thirty we set off, i was unsure exactly how far we would go but had nothing special planned so it didn't matter. In the end we walked for two hours, from Noyelles les Humieres to Oeuf en Ternois, then to Humieres then back to Noyelles, probably about six miles in all, it felt good to get back into it and maybe i can trim down a little before heading over to aus. There is a lovely view on the road to Oeuf that looks back towards the village and gives a nice uninterupted view of the house, i am not sure you can see it so well in the photo, but it looks better in real life. After the walk Marte and i sat in her garden and had a drink of blackcurrant juice then i headed home. Fortunately the dogs were worn out and just lolled about the house for the rest of the afternoon.

I spent some time online, as per, and then did some reading, then later i headed out into the garden with the dogs, the cows were in the feild next to us so i took some pictures of them and the dogs, and the fruit and veg in the garden, the pumpkins are looking quite impressive if i say so myself. After this is decided to relax for a bit, the headed off to check on the rabbits before starting dinner, sausage, chips and eggs, not very healthy i know but very enjoyable. A night in front of the telly again, nothing much of interest apart from a history of Jaguar on classic gear, which was quite good, then off to bed and Mr Hughes again, two hours reading later i turned in. One interesting thing i noticed on my online session, it was an aussie obsessive day, is how similar some of the houses in south australia are to our house, i was looking at property for sale and saw many that could have been designed by the same architect, the same basic design but generally with some veranda shading. Anyway thats all for today, hope you enjoy the pictures, catch you soon.