Tillers and Tastebuds

Beer making made simple on board Body and Soul

 

Please note; photos are to be added to the following text.

I have commissioned myself or any other family member who is willing to contribute - or to write a commentary on how this beer is made. Hopefully you will find it amusing and instructive especially if  planning home-brewing as a possible hobby (recommended!)

To understand the background to this task which was initially proposed by Skya (Yeatts-Walker) - just one of my (much loved) grand children - during one of many conversations using "whatsapp". Probably she became frustrated by my frequent  absence  from work - at  "The Lock-Inn Brewery"  not fifty yards upstream of Body and Soul, moored on the Canal de Ille et Rance at Quai NO: 6 in the town of Evran, France.

This hobby is firstly an indulgence of my friend Paul McDonnell who, having found  a fellow enthusiastic brewer with some valuable experience like mine, decided to build a bespoke wooden cabin for a brewery in the grounds of his wife's lovely, recently acquired, cottage in the port of Evran.  My role in this partnership idea was for him to learn from me how to make English Ale with the equipment he was to buy for his brewery and with my varied experience as a semi-professional brewer. 

The whole project was off the ground within a few months of its inception.  An amazing feat by any measure, and we are now, at the time  of writing, in the process of  brewing our 11th Brew  ("Brew Eleven") in Paul's Lock-Inn brewery, situated at the bottom of his garden:

Our  equipment is large enough to brew 57 litres at a time. (15 Gals ) The normal brew volume for home brewers is 40 pints or 5 gallons, for which you will need, for your first brew, a 5 + gallon, food-grade plastic dustbin preferably with a screw top airtight lid  - easily available from your local hardwear store or, better still, your nearest home-brew shop who will sell you a 5 gallon container with a convenienient tap at its base. (recommended). 

Most brewers will buy their malted barley from Maltsters, already milled to their specification - that's what Maltsers do in their Maltings which are special buildings designed and built for this purpose. Basically the maltster buys his barley from the farmer or from a grain  market.

At the maltings

Barley kernels are uniquely suited for brewing because their structure and enzyme levels can quickly and easily break down starches into more fermentable sugars. Specific strains of cultivated barley have tended to stay in narrow geographic regions for thousands of years, and there is very little genetic change over time.

Raw barley grain is heat-treated on special floors where it is carefully turned over repeatedly for several days at the correct temperatures and humidity until the exact moment the grain has reached the point of maximum sugar content and any particular roast flavour and colouring. (ie each seed kernal is about to sprout)

Milling

The next stage is to separate the sweet flour. from the husks by milling it to the required mix of flour and husk which is slowly stirred into carefully prepared hot water starting at around 80 degrees in a large insulated container called a mashtun. The mash is allowed to settle at approx. 65 degrees for an hour. That is why the mashtun is well insulated.

In the Mashtun the brewer (or who-ever) is dissolving the sugar into liquid form as a syrup -The husks, an important part  of the remainng mix, acts as a filter bed which removes the larger particles of the liquid before any further processes need take place. The resultant liquid from the mashtun is now called "Wort" - but this mashing process takes place for as long as it takes to dissolve out as much sugar as possible using techniques which circulate the hot liquor several times at 65 C  - for at least an hour- this is called sparging.

The Boil.

From the mashtun the wort is boiled with hops, normally kept separated in a porous bag of muslin. The boil will last for about an hour with various quantities of hops added at various times according to recipe and the syle required. You will come to love the smell....keep up a rolling  boil which converts your sugar (starch) to a more fermentable type. By boiling, you are inverting one type of sugar (starch) into another .

The Fermenter To avoid infection and to aid clarification the boiling liquid must be cooled as fast as possible - there  are many ways to achieve this.

Crash cooling, the altimate in beer making, involves various ingenious methods to achieve nervana. But as long as the liquid is kept covered or airtight, even 12 hours should be safe enough. One hour would be much safer! The rule is that the faster the cooling, the clearer  your resultant liquor (called "wort")

Pitching the Yeast

Fermentation will last for approximately  8/10 days  at the high end of these temperatures above.

During fermentation the brewer can expect to measure the original specific gravity (the "sweetness" at the start OG) and after some ten days, the final gravity when fermentation has ceased FG. 

OG minus FG say OG 1.063 - FG 1.019 = 0.044/0.0075 = 5.86 abv

The brewer, at this stage, may wish to lower the pre dicted abv by adding treated water. https://tillersandtastebuds.typepad.com/tillers_and _tastebuds/training-notes-for-real-ale-service-and-care.html 

Maturation

https://tillersandtastebuds.typepad.com/tillers_and_tastebuds/training-notes-for-real-ale-service-and-care.html

The liquid that you have in your fermenter can now be called beer but it is immature and not ready for drinking before a period of maturation has  taken place. A minimum of three weeks will see a remarkable change take place both in taste and mouth feel  and its future depends upon what storage system is best suited for its purpose. It is ready for bottling or kegging, either way must ensure that air is not allowed to affect its storage life.

Corking, capping or spiling activity and the addition of sugar to encourage secondary fermentation and dry hopping become important actions, as does the cleaning and sterilisation of all vessels involved.

Serving/dispensing

So often left out of the whole process however, the importance of pouring beer into a glass properly can seriously affect  the pleasure and reputation of those who serve it and the pleasure of those who are about to drink it.

The traditional hand-pull pump has the advantage of giving the server control over the speed that the beer enters a glass - this rightly assumes that the beer, being a live product, will vary from day to day in terms of the amount of CO2 dissolved within it, and to be knocked out of it as it enters the glass - creating what most people call "a head" or "condition."

To understand the background to this task which was initially proposed by Skya (Yeatts-Walker) - just one of my (much loved) grand children - during one of many conversations using "whatsapp". Probably she became frustrated by my frequent  absence  from work - at  "The Lock-Inn Brewery"  not fifty yards upstream of Body and Soul, moored on the Canal de Ille et Rance at Quai NO: 6 in the town of Evran, France.

This hobby is firstly an indulgence of my friend Paul McDonnell who, having found  a fellow enthusiastic brewer with some valuable experience like mine, decided to build a bespoke wooden cabin for a brewery in the grounds of his wife's lovely, recently acquired, cottage in the port of Evran.  My role in this partnership idea was for him to learn from me how to make English Ale with the equipment he was to buy for his brewery and with my varied experience as a semi-professional brewer. 

The whole project was off the ground within a few months of its inception.  An amazing feat by any measure, and we are now, at the time  of writing, in the process of  brewing our 11th Brew  ("Brew Eleven") in Paul's Lock-Inn brewery, situated at the bottom of his garden:

Our  equipment is large enough to brew 57 litres at a time. (15 Gals ) The normal brew volume for home brewers is 40 pints or 5 gallons, for which you will need, for your first brew, a 5 + gallon, food-grade plastic dustbin preferably with a screw top airtight lid  - easily available from your local hardwear store or, better still, your nearest home-brew shop who will sell you a 5 gallon container with a convenienient tap at its base. (recommended). 

Most brewers will buy their malted barley from Maltsters, already milled to their specification - that's what Maltsers do in their Maltings which are special buildings designed and built for this purpose. Basically the maltster buys his barley from the farmer or from a grain  market.

At the maltings

Barley kernels are uniquely suited for brewing because their structure and enzyme levels can quickly and easily break down starches into more fermentable sugars. Specific strains of cultivated barley have tended to stay in narrow geographic regions for thousands of years, and there is very little genetic change over time.

Raw barley grain is heat-treated on special floors where it is carefully turned over repeatedly for several days at the correct temperatures and humidity until the exact moment the grain has reached the point of maximum sugar content and any particular roast flavour and colouring. (ie each seed kernal is about to sprout)

Milling

The next stage is to separate the sweet flour. from the husks by milling it to the required mix of flour and husk which is slowly stirred into carefully prepared hot water starting at around 80 degrees in a large insulated container called a mashtun. The mash is allowed to settle at approx. 65 degrees for an hour. That is why the mashtun is well insulated.

In the Mashtun the brewer (or who-ever) is dissolving the sugar into liquid form as a syrup -The husks, an important part  of the remainng mix, acts as a filter bed which removes the larger particles of the liquid before any further processes need take place. The resultant liquid from the mashtun is now called "Wort" - but this mashing process takes place for as long as it takes to dissolve out as much sugar as possible using techniques which circulate the hot liquor several times at 65 C  - for at least an hour- this is called sparging.

The Boil.

From the mashtun the wort is boiled with hops, normally kept separated in a porous bag of muslin. The boil will last for about an hour with various quantities of hops added at various times according to recipe and the syle required. You will come to love the smell....keep up a rolling  boil which converts your sugar (starch) to a more fermentable type. By boiling, you are inverting one type of sugar (starch) into another .

The Fermenter To avoid infection and to aid clarification the boiling liquid must be cooled as fast as possible - there  are many ways to achieve this.

Crash cooling, the altimate in beer making, involves various ingenious methods to achieve nervana. But as long as the liquid is kept covered or airtight, even 12 hours should be safe enough. One hour would be much safer! The rule is that the faster the cooling, the clearer  your resultant liquor (called "wort")

Pitching the Yeast

Fermentation will last for approximately  8/10 days  at the high end of these temperatures above.

During fermentation the brewer can expect to measure the original specific gravity (the "sweetness" at the start OG) and after some ten days, the final gravity when fermentation has ceased FG. 

OG minus FG say OG 1.063 - FG 1.019 = 0.044/0.0075 = 5.86 abv

The brewer, at this stage, may wish to lower the pre dicted abv by adding treated water. https://tillersandtastebuds.typepad.com/tillers_and _tastebuds/training-notes-for-real-ale-service-and-care.html 

Maturation

https://tillersandtastebuds.typepad.com/tillers_and_tastebuds/training-notes-for-real-ale-service-and-care.html

The liquid that you have in your fermenter can now be called beer but it is immature and not ready for drinking before a period of maturation has  taken place. A minimum of three weeks will see a remarkable change take place both in taste and mouth feel  and its future depends upon what storage system is best suited for its purpose. It is ready for bottling or kegging, either way must ensure that air is not allowed to affect its storage life.

Corking, capping or spiling activity and the addition of sugar to encourage secondary fermentation and dry hopping become important actions, as does the cleaning and sterilisation of all vessels involved.

Serving/dispensing

So often left out of the whole process however, the importance of pouring beer into a glass properly can seriously affect  the pleasure and reputation of those who serve it and the pleasure of those who are about to drink it.

The traditional hand-pull pump has the advantage of giving the server control over the speed that the beer enters a glass - this rightly assumes that the beer, being a live product, will vary from day to day in terms of the amount of CO2 dissolved within it, and to be knocked out of it as it enters the glass - creating what most people call "a head" or "condition."

Twelth Night (It isn't all plain sailing, y'know - part 87 )

 

The Christmas lights are still ablaze

In Evran Town, for the past 12 days 

"What heathen practice is this" I cry.

In France ? with more faithful than first meets the eye?

 

The answer to this question is now being told

As pagan history is seen to unfold

"Real" Christians count twelve from boxing day night

after which these lights must be out of sight

 

 I need more input for my research

probably from people who go to church

But breaking news has just been aired

(I trust your patience can still be spared)

about all these 12th nights and strange traditions

confusing the real message of their missions

 

Ukraneans, on the 6th, eat one course per apostle

(with twelve, the bill must be colossal !)

 We eat "les Gallettes des Rois" (it's made of frangipan)

  hoping to find a holy star? that's if we can.

  

None of us is born a Christian, Moslem, Hindu or Jew

We can choose a belief from a list of quite a few  

Or we can learn it all from other sources

like doing right or wrong, whatever the cause is.

So just when one's life seems to be in tatters

when nothing seems to solve these matters

it brings me to my central point

Stand tall, enjoy it all - stub out that lousy joint!.

 

 

 

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A restless night? (It isn't all plain sailing ye know! part 86))

 

 

My tea-bag contemplation in the middle of the night.

 

1.

I'm just a simple tea bag with others in a pile

waiting for that chance in life

to help someone smile

2.

That chance can come at any time,  morning noon or night

when others maybe fast asleep 

or when dawn is just in sight

3.

How good it is to do no harm but to always help instead

just by having boiling water

poured upon one's head.

mulkypomes.com

 

The aftermath and just before it (It isn't all plain sailing, ye know ! page 85)

Yes, well we're still here, happily moored, in the Port at Evran. waiting for the proper  arrival of Spring....and the official opening of this lovely new wash-house facility!

.....yes I did offer to 'stand in' for the Queen at the opening ceremony on the 8th April but didn't want to upstage the Mairie, so had to turn it down!

 

The above picture should not be confused with......

The Lock-Inn Brewery ...you see here, my friend Paul's concrete brewery foundations with access to power, water and drainage.

The housing arrives next week. Then I apply my brewing and training skills to the full, with many  tasting pleasures to come...not to mention jolly good company.

I'm just finishing the inside plan for a '60 litre brew' house. I'm so excited. Plans will be published next.

We plan to have two fermenting vessels which will enable us to brew two varieties on the same 'brew day'. There will be no bottling needed. All beer brewed will be cooled and stored "live" in "Cornelius kegs" and served using hand pumps and/or gravity.

 

Grinding to a halt in 2021? (it ain't all plain sailing y'know, part 84)

To  our families and  other readers (?) a very prosperous and

Happy new year !

 

Keeping in touch with topical French humour

Putting a positive slant on 2021 is difficult but there are some bright moments to remember (some photo moments below)  and we are grateful to report that all our close relatives, in both our families, seem to have survived the pandemic so far and have been drawn closer together, helped by the miracle of the world wide web but, more importantly,  from a series of 'family' visits to us throughout the spring and summer months, despite horrendous travel complications and additional expense caused by 'Covid'.

(Visits from the Falshaws - Moo, Alan, Lois, Harry,  Jake and Rosemary Walker with Emily, then son Clive and Aileen Walker from California, then Lucie's Sophie Blair, then brother Robert Walker with Di. and then co Narrow boat friend, Alex Melville with Sue - all  were locally accommodated)   

 Harry, an eager student of beer making - wistfully sitting by my fermenter with an empty mug.

My eightieth year has been a year to remember- and I have to say - mostly for the wrong reasons. If we are to believe all the dismal reports from the media,  'homo-sapiens' seems to have lost the plot and is diving into a grubby pond of self destruction, taking with it all other living things. It's enough to make us all join the ranks of Jehovah Witnesses 'en mass'. Armageddon is surely just round the corner !

What the hell is going on? or is it just me having a bad day?

Well no ! - we are happily moored, back in le Port d'Evran - now bedecked with Christmas fairy lights -  after 5  weeks enforced exile 5 kilometres upstream  at St. Domineuc, allowing the canal maintenance people to drain our pound dry - and to repair a lock gate. We did not enjoy being away - the autumnal starboard view across the canal was lovely but being double-parked against a rather sick looking narrow boat (widebeam) darkened our port side as well as our mood.

In June, after  a routine colonoscopy  I was informed that there was a tumour in my colon.. I have  had scans and MRIs and 18 weeks of chemo treatment. The medical team is very pleased with progress and I will learn this week, the date of an operation to remove the 50% that's left of the nasty bit.

In our 18th year of  retirement on board 'Body and Soul'  we are naturally somewhat limited in activity whilst  both dealing with  unwanted health afflictions and the  inevitable encroachment of old age. My birthday bash had to be cancelled (postponed) until next year, or whenever. Actually we were quite relieved to  celebrate quietly with just a few local friends and drop-ins.

 

..and now back to Christmas - but click here for Carols from Kings to cheer up even the most hardened atheist !

More photos of visits from family needed for this posting!

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

So it goes on at Evran (It isn't all plain sailing y'know - part 83)

 

 For welcome to new readers, click here

My Poem of thanks

I've been hanging on aged 79

for as long as I can and that's just fine

but, I'm naturally a bit partial to having fun !

and important matters have been left undone

Sadly - the 12th September has long passed

and upon reading my calendar I am somewhat aghast !

 

So I've dedicated this late poem to all Walker family ties

Too many souls to name here - for sore eyes

But thanks to all my 'rellies' and just to be PC

to the Rytinas, Blairs, Baileys, Balmes, Ridouts and Yeatts-Walkers

and the Crawfords, Mcbrides and Diamonds we can all agree

from the Chadwicks to the Falshaws - so much talent they expose

and to my Lucie without whom little happens? heaven knows !

 

Our weekly pension comes in, then out it goes

Like the sand at Saint Lunaire - between the toes.

But in my eighty first year, we've entertained a lot on board

helped by glasses of home-brewed beer and wine - that's all we can afford

 

But there are faces in this video, I confess, I've rarely seen

Who now live in lots of places where I have never been

Sending in kind wishes and singing that bloody song

whilst I appreciate the sentiment, it can be a bit too long

Upon hearing it in Lithuanian, and even in Chinese –

We may well have left the EU - but in France, life's still a breeze

 

Anyway, we are not complaining?

After sixteen years of entertaining

and we've survived this pandemic so far.

And one can never forget the people we've met

on Body and Soul – 'la peniche' with a bar

 

Be that as it may and suffice it to say

On board, life goes on whilst one's healthy

and through thick 'n thin if you havn't been

You are welcome whether sick, poor or wealthy

 

What matters in life, as our mummies would say

Is what gifts you can bring to others

- in monetary terms you've given nothing away

clearly advice well taken from your mothers

 

But for sending in messages and presents of all sorts

- and the fact that you have given me your sweetest of thoughts

and your artistic contributions to this epic CD

your good-will and talents laid bare to see

In thought and sincerity –you've been generous but snappy

and you've certainly kept this old man happy.

 

Thankyou

 

A view of our mooring (on the left-side of the canal)

click to enlarge

Our new port facility, now complete, to be formally opened 8th April 2022

Has washing machines, showering and other toilet requirements the public who haven't got their own on board and for campers.

Sewage disposal ? We'll see!

A loo, just in time? (it ain't all plain sailing y' know part 82)

The old loo - the day it came down, a tearful farewell?.

 

We were all very fond of it but...

The Port de Evran will be opening, formally, the new building  with its showers, loo and washing facilities in November - just in time for my return from a ten-day break in hospital - doubtless I'll be pleased to be amongst the first to use it but, it won't all be plain sailing y'know!

Maybe they might ask me to open it, formally, representing the Queen ? 'fraid not!

 

 

Its a good start

I'm beginning to get the hang of it.

and now for the zinc roof...

  some more plaster and the fosse sceptique to come - job done!

Just like "they said on the tin"... well almost ?

Away with the Birds ! (it isn't all plain sailing y'know - part 80)

 

I have started a bird-watching post under the heading "My Rantings" to be found in the left hand column, here's the first effort. Please join in if you have some 'twitching' sightings of interest for me to include. (by email attachment please ([email protected])

Just a few Mute swans and others from David Rothery's Facebook page - thanks David

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spotted in our bird box (seen below - without the tree creepers, which are too small and quick for me - it took me 5 minutes to find my camera !) - the box, previously unoccupied, a pair of Tree Creepers - maybe there will be  more 'good news' soon....up to 9 eggs perhaps? We will never know ! But perhaps in  two weeks or more .....? Then our 'nasty' pair of cats will no doubt be 'waiting' for them at the bottom of the tree with their mouths open. Grrrr!

 

View of the box from our barge

 

Gosh!   'Birdgirl'

Read  all about Mya-Rose Craig (and support)  'Birdgirl'  Her  'nature' and VME activities - and so young! She deserves continued public support. She makes me feel very small indeed.  Go on -  click on it, but don't worry, I'm probably feeling even 'smaller' than you!

'A blog by a young birder, birdwatcher, twitcher, naturalist, environmentalist & writer about birds, wildlife, nature, conservation & ringing (banding) who is an Ambassador for Survival International and a Charter Champion for The Charter for Woods, Trees and People'

'Birdgirl'

Some enthusiastic canal history

Talking of natural phenomena, one  expects that the maximum height of water-level in a canal would be limited by the height of the nearest lock gate, over which the excess water flows whatever 'pound' one might be in. But this year the rainfall and volume of water became so great that the level in our 'pound' rose above the quay side so that, at its peak, I feared  that Body & Soul would float off on to the 'hard' where we would find ourselves stranded when the waters eventually subsided. Thankfully, this was not to be, but we did have a couple of sleepless nights.

In our 16th year of retirement on Body & Soul, I am often reminded of the wonders of past engineering feats which allow us the privilege to float in these calm waters, tamed by man-made trenches, bridges, locks, pounds, lakes, feeders and sluices-gates, much of it banked high up from the normal river levels below.

We remember our four years in Meilhan, (in Aquitaine) where we were moored on a canalized section of the river Garonne,  we were able to look down upon a section of the  great river Garonne rushing past, (now completely bereft of Sturgeon and its caviar, by the way!)  low down and to starboard of us - a sight to behold.

Less dramatically, we are now moored at the Port Evran, (Brittany)- roughly three quarters of the way from Rennes to St. Malo on the canalized section of the Ille et Rance rivers - this is a considerably smaller waterway allowing most  of its flow through the system of locks and strategically placed sluice gates which spread flood waters over wasteland and unfortunately some farmland, when in flood. 

A  new port facility for bikers to help with  repairs

The Canal D'Ille et Rance, naturally flows Northwards to the English Channel becoming the Rance Maritime (ie an estuary subject to tidal flows), having reversed its flow from the heights of the Hede-Bazouge feeder lakes and the famous 'Onze Ecluses' (Eleven locks) from where it now flows south to Rennes  meeting the river Vilaine and  continuing  towards Redon where it 'crosses' the Nantes-a-Brest canal and onward  to the Atlantic at Arzal.

 

We are surely living a dream created for us by the heroic efforts of   generations of engineers and workmen who must have had no idea as to how long a period of time their remarkable achievements were to remain economically viable as a service to industry and to transport in general. Our canal is now around 200 years old and today serves a completely different role to that which it was originally intended -  now it is all about leisure, tourism and the management of water for agriculture.

Was 'nature' ever considered in those days? Probably not - and how do canals  continue to affect the environment? The birds, trees, flora, fish, water quality and all other living things, how did they suffer as vast trenches were being dug throughout the land?.... that is a good question. Easy to answer but impossible to measure.

The Damage to the environment from canal construction must pale into insignificance when measured against the harm caused from the arrival of the motor car; the building of roads and rail networks, which  harbored their inevitable decline.

 

The days of wine and roses..click to play.

 

 

 

 We feel gratitude for the awe inspiring work and sacrifices made in building these canals but also feel part of the effort, through our own tiny  contributions and presence, to keep them  thriving for the sake of generations to come. One fears for their future viability, given the current rate of return from 'water craft tourism' which could not possibly  cover the costs of their annual maintenance.

Canals are like historic buildings, churches and castles, but more important; they are more worthy of preservation and deserving of state funds. It was the French who lead the way to the canal era which spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world,  heralding the industrial revolution which changed everything. Neglecting this enormous asset would be unthinkable.

History – A canal across Brittany from the Rance estuary to the Vilaine at Rennes was suggested in the 17th century, but the first serious plans were drawn up in 1736. They were incorporated in a project for three canals in the Province, but nothing was done until Napoleon ordered implementation of all three schemes in 1804. Works started, but were interrupted after his defeat. A private company took up the concession to build the canal and started work in 1822. The canal was opened in 1834.

The impacts of the Rance Barrage on the environment

The above link gives an insight into the 55 year history of the world's first tidal power station and leads to all that is entailed in its continued importance  and its affect on the environment.

and it certainly wasn't all plain sailing, y'know !

Our visit to the beautiful Plage de la Passagere a real graveyard where all the old wrecks end up, I thought we should leave as soon as possible !!

 

 

 

Even in Evran ! (it ain't all plain sailing, y'know - part 79)

It's February 28th 2021. Spring chases winter away in Evran with cherry tree blossom and this week's glorious sunshine. But Covid 19 rages on -  with transmission rising in specific areas such as Nice and up north around Dunkirk,  where lock-down is re-imposed and new cases are still rising.

Today, for the record, France has 23,996 and the UK has 7,434 new cases recorded over the last 24 hours. The UK lies 23rd, internationally, in  cases found per 1 million of her population and 16th amongst all European countries (not just those in the EU).  Rarely, if ever, do we find this relatively better performance, compared with other nations, reported by the media. -  One is tempted to ask, who needs a parliamentary opposition party when one has Sky News and the BBC ? ( these are figures taken from the United Nations Geoscheme -  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brewer's notes: This top fermented ale, called 'Spitfire bitter' - was brewed from  malted barley grain, imported from the Uk, - supplied by BrewUk Ltd to the 'Body and Soul' Brewery (a Narrow Boat - wide-beam - currently moored at Port D'Evran, France,  bringing relief to all aboard her. Any similarities to ale brewed by Shepperd Neame, of the same name, is purely incidental.

Thanks to the generosity of Clive (my son in  California) who has provided me with the means to preserve, mature and serve this tasty, 'throat opening', home-brewed ale without the need for bottling - and all the mess that is involved -  the above pictures are from the  'Spitfire Ale' recipe (yes you're right, "no Focker  can touch 'em!" - the slogan stolen from Shepherd Neame). See the dispensing tank on the right above,  with its tap, ready to serve. That's the one - delicious!

But it ain't all plain sailing, y'know....

 

Our old port public loo - Soon to be replaced with a brand new building

!

 

 

Cherry - blossom time at Evran

Click on each thumbnail to enlarge  

 

 

 

 

Right click to enlarge this one, 

Beaches la Fourberie near St Lunaire and 4 Vaulx after Dinard

 

Moles and other animals (it ain't all plain sailing , y'know part 78)

For welcome to new readers, click here

Don't get me wrong, we love animals and  the natural world within which we try to play our part as best we can. We realize how little we actually know about it and  are often surprised by its wondrous ramifications - I can't believe that I got 'A'level  Zoology at school,  anyway we are all for saving the planet.

Be that as it may....

Take this invasion of moles (les taupes) for instance, their molehills multiply daily on the strip of grass bank along the canal-side that we call our own - why did they choose us, one asks?....

I counted ten hills this morning - alongside Body & Soul (see picture) - and that doesn't include the piles of earth that I have already cleared up yesterday and the day before. The molehills provide ideal soil for an  outside toilet facility for cats - another example of inter-animalia(l) mutual aid. (symbiosis?)

Details on Moles click here

With a powerful combination of advisors - Prince William,  Sir David Attenborough, Google and Wikipedia - to help me, I hasten to do research which deserves the gratitude of posterity and partly to paint a picture of how we fit in to it all - or not - as we float  in happy retirement at Evran, on this muddy old canalized river, called L'Ille et Rance - in Brittany - For moles again, click here

and again from the opposite angle

But here's another thing; learning from our previous successful experience with 'fat balls' and bird seed for tits and the rest, we have brought our 'hanging' bird table, from our previous mooring at Tinteniac, expecting similar success in Port  Evran - so far without much luck. There don't seem to be  many 'thin tits' flying about here. The same fat balls are turning black and the bird seeds remain UN-pecked. It is true that we are surrounded by mature hazel nut trees - after all, who needs smelly fat balls when deliciously fresh hazel nuts  cover the  ground beneath?

Our front path with molehills and hazel nuts.

Do we fish?

No we don't; but "fish"  feature highly in our  diet and on Lucie's shopping lists.

Last week, one of the many canal fishermen, who spend hours at this noble pastime  on either side of the canal, caught a large pike (un brochet)- about 10lbs - just off the stern of Body & Soul. I offered him untold riches in order to acquire  this tasty beast for eating (for recipe click here), but apparently French custom requires fishermen to put their catch back in the water alive and, after what seemed to be far too long, this pike was indeed allowed to slip away surprisingly unharmed. It is certainly comforting to know that fresh water fish thrive  in muddy canal waters; just like  French people can drink cloudy beer - Surprising, but 'Enuff sed'!

Did you know?

A pike can eat a prey item up to half its own body weight, even taking moorhens or young ducks. (Maybe that's why we don't have many mallards (ducks) here in Evran! ed.). Because of its size and predatory nature there are many stories about very large pike. The largest specimen caught in the UK so far was found in 1992 in a lake in Wales: it weighed in at just over 21kg - over a third of the weight of an average British woman. Larger fish have been caught abroad and there are stories of huge pike possibly weighing up to 42kg.

We also see  Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) regularly feeding in the port which is a good sign of healthy waters. For obvious reasons, fishermen don't like them... but we do... seeing them almost daily, flying, diving for fish and swimming almost within touching distance from our poop deck. It is a real treat. We especially love to see them hanging out their wings to dry in the sun; so unlike any other water fowl.

The Cormorant

 

 

Vitamin D, how it works (It ain't all plain sailing, y'know! part 78)

Dr. David Grimes has this diagram on his most recent blog posting which certainly helped me understand the process of Vitamin D, from the Cholecalciferol vitamin D state,  through the liver becoming Calcifediol - the latter taking immediate effect in boosting the immune system against Covid 19 (and others)

In summary

Cholecalciferol is fine but, because it has to be converted by the liver to Calcifediol, the effect on Vitamin D levels in the blood takes longer.

In other words, for an immediate boost to Vitamin D levels, Calcifediol should be taken.

Seasonal wishes (it ain't all plain sailing y'know - part 76)

New readers Click here for our Blog welcome

Wishing all relatives and friends - good cheer for Christmas and for 2021.

Have a good one!

We're in our 16th  year living on board "Body & Soul"  (for Google map link click Here) and we are  spending the winter months at Evran.  

Bateau Body & Soul

Place No: 6

Quai de Port  Evran

22630 Evran

Brittany

France

As you see from the photo below, Lucie is looking good - taking her tablets and injections bravely - keeping PMR and  GCA  at bay - Her greatest friend Anita, quite by  coincidence  and good fortune, has moved into a delightful rented cottage within spitting distance from our mooring - A happy state of affairs for us all - not 30m away! 

But it ain't all plain sailing, as you can imagine !

Thankfully, I am fit and well but all my brewery equipment has had to be moved  back on board Body & Soul.  I will miss the Old Mill at Hede - now too far away - and the company of Mick and Shelly too who kindly allowed me to make use of their premises.

We've got a 60 litre brew of English ale already bubbling away on the  poop deck - wrapped in an electric blanket - to be bottled in time for the 2021 celebrations -  an added temptation to my annual "dry January" resolution perhaps? - but on the other hand, the brew will  improve a lot in the bottle and I look forward to a less dreary February after a full 4 week period of maturation. 

Clive'n Aileen have generously sent me some more supplies (another beer kit from the UK, for making 23 litres of "Spitfire' ale) to keep us quenched in the hard times ahead.

 

 

At Port Evran mooring looking south

 

Lucie in control of  PMR and GCA

 

 

New neighbour and old friend Anita

Being old and retired has its advantages. At last one has the time to tease out the data which swamps the media regarding covid 19, Brexit, Trade talks, parliament etc - both political and scientific - to support our opinions.

Additionally we are more restricted in our normal activities - being confined to little else outside our boat. Our excellent WiFi connection is ever more important to our daily lives and we are grateful for the Evran authorities for this provision, 'free' of charge. We are pleased to respond to these benefits by spending our weekly pensions back into the local economy through the local shops, the pub, the log man and a reasonable mooring charge which includes the provision of unlimited electricity and water. We are close to Dinan for any cultural needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cooking with Jazz

Click the above for the jazz accompaniment

Marmalade from our own oranges

Asparagus & Prawns

Pasta Dish

Chicken Curry

Black pudding & trimmings

Spicy chicken burger

 

 

 

 

 

 Click pictures to enlarge

Sumptuous pork

Antipasti

Buying houses to let (It ain't all plain sailing, y'know part 77)

Our new neighbour has been plagued by a nest of 'Stone Martens' in her attic (click for a full description)  They are  nocturnal animals and they have chosen to be active, give birth, defecate and to nest directly above her bedroom.  Pest control is needed and the expense, as described by the lease, is covered by the landlord (who lives in UK) along with a serious plumbing problem of a long standing nature, involving digging and the laying of new ground pipework. Then of course, there is what one might describe as "normal maintenance". Cuh!

Now, as half expected, with the new arrangements caused by Brexit, tax on profits is to rise from 7.5% to 17.5%. Then there is the distraction of Covid 19 which is currently causing havoc with all commerce ...customers are just not coming.

Now, a dear friend has taken a years' renewable lease on a beautiful furnished cottage on the side of the canal.

Finding  a suitable property and agreeing a  rent is rarely, if ever, simple in terms of the rights of Landlords (owners) and tenants. By default we were soon appraised of French Laws which are very clear about the protection of both and how this law is enforced.

However, there must often be circumstances - perhaps because of the unavoidable distance between the protagonists - unforeseen danger lurks when important matters of detail, demanded of the law, are 'brushed-over' in the understandable desire of both parties to seal the deal in the most friendly and efficacious manner - either on the phone, a hand-shake or even email or text perhaps.

When called to sign what one thinks one has agreed to - now seen in writing, it may not comply with what one thought one had agreed 'verbally'. The document you are being asked to sign may not even comply with the law in which case it becomes 'null and void' and offers no protection to either side if later there is a dispute.

The temptation to start moving in - 'sorting things out' if there are any problems later -  may soon  lead to unhappy relations between the parties and could end up with huge legal fees and bad feeling.

Whilst the onus lies with the Landlord to ensure that a full inventory of contents and defects are agreed and signed off by the new tenant,  it is unwise for the tenant to move in until this has been done. No deposit need be paid until it is. This is often inconvenient. With furnished properties such stock taking will take  a day or two to be completed, with every teaspoon and gadget and fault having to be included.

I am neither a Lawyer, a landlord nor am I a Professional House Agent, but given the  realities described above, I  realize how important they are to both parties.

To be a landlord, It just ain't all plain sailing y'know - I'll just stick with our barge, keep making beer, and happily float away. 

 

"Covid 19" another pantomime ? (It ain't all plain sailing, y'know! part 75)

We are all wearing masks - outside the Barge that is - keeping some spares in the car lest we forget the dress code when going out. Beyond this minor inconvenience and the gloomy forecasts of dangers lurking ahead, there is nothing much to get excited about in our otherwise  happy life of retirement.....However.....

Dr. David Grimes has caused me to think with much more clarity,  by his recent  posting on Covid 19.

"Physical methods of protection against the virus are very damaging and not very effective. To prepare for the end of lockdown we must protect ourselves by optimising our internal immunity by taking Vitamin D 4,000 units daily. So we must correct our Vitamin D deficiency!"

"Bottom Line:

The safe upper limit of intake is set at 4000 IU/day. Intake in the range of 40,000–100,000 IU/day (10-25 times the recommended upper limit) has been linked with toxicity in humans."

That aside, much to our collective disappointment, the pantomime group, "Creme Anglaise" has had to cancel this year's show because of the pandemic. This would have been three full performances of "Aladin". (Last year's two performances of 'Cinderella' were a great success)  However, not to be beaten, our highly esteemed chair-lady, Kim, and her very democratically led committee called together all members to the town hall car park - grouped  together in a large circle, - with the correct safe distance between us all - we all agreed what we could do to hold the group together this Christmas season.

A Dinner Party preceded by a very small version of the  pantomime, (using the theatre stage facilities for perhaps just one hour) - this to be followed by a dinner put together by some skilled foodies within our midst,  and then by a choral sing-song/cabaret, arranged by me (I was Volunteered !)

The "choir idea" was first mooted last year when certain enthusiastic group members were heard lustily singing carols  in the streets of Evran at the annual Christmas market. Happily, there  seems to be much initial enthusiasm to develop this idea which would, apart from the joy of singing, become a conduit for panto singing parts and stars of the future.

Thus I am to form and train a new "Creme Anglaise"  choir. We have a mere 8 weeks to get it together.  Zut alors!

Moving on.....You will remember from my last post that although most of our re-painting is complete,  Body & Soul has a rather patchy, rusty, roof,  now half repainted, (18 x 3 meters, de-rusted, filled, undercoated, top coated x 2)  but the weather has finally gone wrong, making the whole thing look a bit of a mess. This project is at the stage when I half-wish I had never started. We're hoping for a late  'Indian summer', in order to get the other half of the job done.

Twenty paces up the canal from Body & Soul is our friend Anita's fully furnished "Canal Cottage" complete with sizeable garden and useful tool shed including a lawn mower....yes you've guessed...but hopefully my services are only needed once more this season  -  It is 'good exercise' they say.

About Kate Gilbert's book Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PGA) and Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) The book is written by this remarkable lady to support poor sufferers of these two conditions. PGA is often is followed by GCA but GCA  (Giant Cell Arteritis) is much more dangerous if not treated early in its inception because it can lead to irreparable blindness.

Deservedly, this book has excellent references from fellow sufferers....

"5tars are not enough for this wonderful book. I believe every PMR-GCA sufferer and their family, friends and work colleagues would gain a full understanding of our issues by reading the book."

"The author writes with great clarity and, while she doesn't blind us with science, she nevertheless gives us the most recent findings by clinical researchers which hold out hope that there are discoveries just around the corner..."

"This is so clear and informative I so wish it had been available in the early days of my PMR diagnosis."

If you are unable to order the book from Amazon yourself, please write to [email protected] to order via PMRGCAuk.

So, at the moment, It really isn't all plain sailing, y'know - is it?

.

 

 

Some cause for optimistic thought

We are all wearing masks - outside the Barge that is - keeping some spares in the car lest we forget the dress code when going out. Beyond this minor inconvenience and the gloomy forecasts of dangers lurking ahead, there is nothing much to get excited about in our otherwise  happy life of retirement.....However.....

Dr. David Grimes has given me some cause for optimism from his blog

Dr. David Grimes - Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologist

Click on the above line for all you need to know about Covid 19 and some  fresh ideas

Also Read a comment from the insightful Peter Skerritt:

 

"We, as humans, do not learn from history and are therefore doomed to repeat it. The Spanish flu lasted for 2 years. ( Lasting from February 1918 to April 1920 ? ED)

 

The second wave killed far more people than the first, and in total there were 4 waves. It killed somewhere between 20 million to 50 million people. Citizens were ordered to wear masks, and everywhere was shut down - boarded up schools, movie theatres, and business etc. Mail distribution stopped, as did garbage collection. Many people had to dig graves for their own family members.

 

Here we are 100 years later, and what have we learned?

 

Half the people do not want to wear masks because they think it is a hoax/it is not that bad/the government is lying - insert insane right-wing conspiracy theory rhetoric here.

 

People want to prioritise their own narcissistic desires and privileges over other human beings’ lives.

 

What did they have in 1918? - No TV. No internet, not a lot of food supply.

 

What do we have? TV, internet, movies that can be watched from home, UberEATS...you name it. And yet we are a world full of entitled and selfish people who lack human empathy and act oppressed when given any minute sense of responsibility.

Travel is not a necessity. Movie theatres are not a necessity. Throwing parties is not a necessity.

 

Being a decent human being should not be a revolutionary act....it should be common sense."

 

(and of course, "don't be a dick"! ED)

Our introduction

 

Welcome to our blog

We are in retirement on our barge called "Body and Soul",  on the waterways of France -  since 2005 - with "Coco Chanel" and "Minky"  our two cats.

 For a good description of all French Waterways, Click here

Click below for musical accompaniment as you scroll down for more ! ?

Body n' Soul

 

 

Body & Soul - 60ft British  Narrow Boat (widebeam)

Our mooring at Evran Autumn 2020

 

Lucie, my Wife, is a brilliant cook. She speaks French fluently and without accent,         ( I am so glad she agreed to come with me!) . 

Her interests are expressed by including photos of her delicious recipes

Most of my postings contain some family news and/or, descriptions of where we have been on "Body and Soul", but if you are not a family member just click on the line below for something more entertaining:

 “It isn’t all plain sailing, y’know!” 

• One cannot possibly travel thousands of Kilometres on these waterways without incident - good, bad or funny - it is these I try to describe. We hope you will enjoy them too.

Please Note:

• On the left hand column of each posting, there are many photo albums.
• The left hand column is also the home of - "My Rantings"  where you will read comments, views and topics of information which have caught my eye.  
  

Finally: to find a list of all postings since 2006, click on the word “Archives” 

Our email address is: [email protected]

or

simply click here on OPEN to go to the main pages 

Here's A short video of our trip out to sea and towards St. Malo

taken by friend Guillaume St. James in his Zodiac - June 2020

At Evran - lots to do (It ain't all plain sailing , you know! part 74)

More explanations later with photos etc....but currently enjoying the sunshine in Evran and under the satisfying glow of having done a good job in the docks at Saint Malo.....yes, all but painting the roof, the stern deck and finishing the steps project and restoring the 'bimini' ... and so on....it's like the Fourth Bridge really.....one just has to keep on top of it.

I'm bound to say that if we live another six years, making me nearly 85 and Lucie 80 - we'll have to get someone else to do this job! .......and yet, it was so much fun and took us 15 days on the "hard"...... but it really wasn't all plain sailing y'know?

 

Our friends, the Saint-James's from Hede, let us make use of their daughter's talents. Here is April with patience and skill, re-doing the sign writing

We had been worried about the six years that had mysteriously passed without ever seeing the condition of our hull - lying idle in Hede (2 yrs) and then in Tinteniac for four more; not quite knowing how bad the problem was with rust and our dodgy rudder. We have managed  in the past to have her inspected and re-blacked every 3 to 4 years, but for one reason or another, we had allowed this discipline to lapse.

However, we were  pleasantly surprised by the condition of the hull which had less rust than  expected after such neglect and I was pleased to be able to re-enforce the rudder with a larger replacement steel bolt - 'borrowed' from 'Fred' (the 'godsend' who works at the Bassin) together with his large drill bit, which I broke trying to make a bigger hole to put this bolt in - Lucie went to great lengths buying a replacement - one musn't upset the natives, they were all very helpful.

 

An OMG moment but not so bad after all !

(click to enlarge!)

 Maybe, because of some advice we took from an electrician when we were last in Toulouse Dry Dock six years ago the rust was less than expected,. He recommended  a really good 'galvanic isolater' replacing the tiny and obviously ineffective one that came with the boat when new.... its replacement has protected us from the rust caused by electrolysis. Proof positive!

Clearly these fishermen believe in the power of zinc sacrificial anodes at sea, they should know - look at all these!!

 Another 'Fred' came to weld on 6 large magnesium anodes (skilled labour @60E) which we had already bought at the local yacht co-operative . The old ones showed just how important they had been during this period of neglect and I - already handy with my angle grinder - cut off the remnants of 15 years of sacrificial activity with ease.

Grinders must be the cause of many DIY accidents - they are so very dangerous - but so far, like Basil Fawlty, " I seem to have got away with it."

 

At sea - On our way to St. Malo

With paying guest crew? A One night stop at Evran, Elizabeth from Auray on the way to Lahon.

An evening at our new mooring - Evran - note the new straight cut to the old wavy Bimini now fully restored

A better view than we had at Tinteniac -  ie no multiple motor homes, just the church, the village  and a couple of pleasure boats

Now Pointing in direction Rennes (south)

With the Admiral's Barge in front of us - (ex (Old) Ark Royal - Royal Navy - no less!)

More photos

        

 

For the video of us going out to sea. Click this!

Back at le Cale de Taden (it ain't all plain sailing, y'know? part 73)

 

Showing the Bassin Jaques Cartier - the centre of the other Bassins

 

Above - our 'sea trips' to and from the  EDF BARRAGE and, in the distance, St. Malo and the four Bassins . The EDF Barrage lock can just be seen on the left end of the barrage.

 

 Above, we enter the St. Malo - Bassin Jaques Cartier - through the lock shown in the above chart, marked 'ferry terminal', then straight under the lifted road bridge into the bassin. ('our'  Bassin is in the middle of the four) 

Thursday 8th July, after a marvelous and exciting trip back from the Bassin Jaques Cartier, with everything done that ought to have been done to our hull and the blue stripe just above the water line we are more than ready to take a break at one of our favourite spots, Le Cale de Taden.

More later...after a break! Details of works done at St.Malo to be found on the left hand column of this page. But here's a summary in pictures before and after?

It all seems good now, but believe me, it was never going to be plain sailing y'know

 

OMG!

OMG again!

 

Ready for work

 

Port side, ready for lifting back in

 

Starboard side now ready

All looks OK -just don't get too close!

A closer look.....

Port side, who's a clever girl then? Introducing  April Saint-James who is currently studying art in Paris. She's done a beautiful job renovating our 'Body and Soul' panels, both sides.

Avez vous vu ma chatte? (it ain't all plain sailing y'know part 72)

Considering all that was going on with this disruption to their otherwise peaceful life, moored at Tinteniac,  it was no surprise to get into trouble with either Coco or Minky (or both our cats)  who were suddenly given to explore several different and exciting new territories. We had to 'box clever' when faced with the timing of our departure to coincide with their presence. 'Time and tide' (and weather!) truly waits for no man - (or in our case) - Cats. 

Coco, the elder and a 'farm cat stray' from our time on the Garonne was  quite happy to remain on board for the most part but little Minky (the local stray from Hede) found it all too exciting and tempting - and she disappeared into the unknown for several days at a time, both whilst at Taden and more alarmingly when we were parked high up on blocks after being lifted out in the Bassin Jaques Cartier. So far, she has returned unharmed after each adventure - seemingly pleased to see us.

We feared that she might have been frightened by the monstrous size and noise of our lift out....but no.. she is stimulated as never before, .... we believe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sea trip to Bassin Jaques Cartier

 

Just a few to get on with....."'you mean there's more?"' ......'fraid so! 

 

 Spotted at sea doing 1400 revs per minute = circa 3 mph!

In sheltered waters...phew!

 

What's going on?

 

Leaving Taden to the Chatelier Ecluse- all is calm and we're on our way.

 

 

       

     

Left: Pointing out to sea and our destiny?                                                                                                                                                                                  

Arriving at the Port of St. Malo with the lock in sight.

 

Lovely job this launch, British Built

She'd really like this 'ere launch for her birthday

To Taden from Tinteniac (It isn't all plain sailing y'know part 71)

Treverien port was completely full, mostly with old wrecks, which seemingly were dumped on the town when the pound at Evran (downstream) was emptied for repairs earlier this year. We tied up reluctantly against two of them. Our  cats seemed quite sanguine about the whole move  - quite excited in fact, with lots to climb on -  this first night, we all woke up quite late and with a leisurely breakfast  set off around 11am for Evran - 

Frankly, we were glad to leave Treverien but sad for the town. It is such a pretty port and village with a lot to offer - if one can squeeze in between the wrecks.

Evran - not only the town with our annual pantomime group members (I'm the piano player, for my sins, Lucie turns the pages!) but   also a lovely little port, with useful shops, electrics and water. Nice friends took Lucie back to Tinteniac to collect our car. A whole 18kms from home, normally 20 mins by car!  (click on photos to enlarge)

We  feel we have been away a long time already ! These slow cruises mess with your mind.  A very 'freeing' style of travel. We are enjoying the beauty around us with all the new Mod Cons  available this year.. a very smart Port is Evran, attracting smart boats - but the Mairie would do well to take charge of the youth on motor bikes who have been setting off fireworks and zooming about - noisily and illegally - since late afternoon today

Maybe it's just a one off - but  a reputation can  be tarnished by such easily policed nuisances - Very irritating after so many improvements have been made  at great expense to the local tax payer.

Today (Wednesday 17th June) - boy! has it rained! But now, with our lovely old Peugeot 406 we take the opportunity to go by road further down-stream to Taden, through Dinan, to check on the availability of a mooring space. It is here that we plan to tie up until we are sure of the Chatelier Lock opening times, published each Friday. We find that a new 'borne', complete with  4 electricity points and water is installed.   Through this lock we enter La Rance Maritime and into tidal waters.

Our leisurely trip to St Malo from Tinteniac is summarised below:

(approx. 58km and 17 locks)

Tinteniac - Quebriac -Treverien - Evran - Taden - Le Chatelier Ecluse at Livet - Le Barrage de la Rance Ecluse - The Port of St. Malo Ecluse - Le Bassin Jaques Cartier (Dry dock lift out)

Friday 19th June. After a couple of nights moored in the lovely port of Evran catching up with friends and making new ones. We left, almost reluctantly, this morning for our favourite summer mooring at Taden.

Lucky to find a space and newly installed water and electrics - allowing us 2 hours power before automatically switching off. Restoring power is simple but requires us to physically reset it each 2 hrs. (a simple gadget preventing owners from plugging-in long term. It is a free service from the local Mairie and gratefully appreciated.)

I'm glad to say that our new batteries are serving us well and keep the fridge and freezer going all night, without the help of  shore power or solar. We have bought the same as last time, 6 years ago - 4 x 6v 'Trojan' 225ah - and as before I linked them in series and parallel to give us 12volts. Boy! were they heavy for an old man like me? Those discarded, in fact, could have lasted longer if only we had not had an accidental burn-up when they cut the shore power unexpectedly. Two of them were perfectly OK and gratefully received by our lovely neighbours - as spares.

Thanks for your comment (lady (D) in orange?) Can only read some of it for some reason, but will try to fix this.

The trip from Evran to Taden (9.30am - 1.00pm) is one of our most beautiful and memorable with the weather warm and windless. It was completely free of other boats and very few tourists until we passed through Dinan Port where we were received with some cheers and glasses raised in appreciation from those few just tucking-in to their lunch. Dinan Port is always full of tied up yachts worth millions but rarely used, it seems, by their owners - but they do look good!.

Our plans may continue changing because of possible weather variations, but the current plan is to exit Taden on Tuesday 23rd to reach the Chatalier ecluse (Lock) at Livet, at around 9.30am for 10am opening. Our friend Guillaume St. James will meet us in his speedy boat, ready to accompany us down the Rance Estuary, through the Barrage ecluse and for the short but hazardous hour or so 'out to sea' and into the safety of Port St. Malo and the Bassin Jaques Cartier.

So far, the weather forecast looks good to go. For those of you still fond of the Salcombe Estuary (Devon) - as indeed I am - the trip we are about to make, is also full of similar beauty but is much bigger, wider and longer. It will indeed be another real treat.

Guillaume's boat will give us protection should our slightly 'wonky' rudder finally break, or our engine fails for some reason, leaving us without steerage or power at sea. We hope this will not happen of course but his presence will be reassuring.

We also have increased insurance cover just for this trip from the Barrage as indeed we did when we made the reverse journey 5 years ago. We have of course,  once again, sort useful advice from Louis, the Capitaine, at St. Malo Capitainerie as to tides and times, so with all this help and guidance 'gung-ho' is only a mildly appropriate criticism ! 

Wish us luck because it isn't going to be plain sailing y'know

(you can click all these photos to enlarge)

Lucie relaxing at Taden

Off to St. Malo June 2020 (It isn't all plain sailing part 70)

First day of cruise (15th June 2020)to St Malo. Tinteniac to Treverien with lunchtime stop at beautiful Quebriac to catch up with our friend Jean Luc who is booked for some brilliant carpentry for our 'back steps' project. Mixed weather including heavy downpours, thunder storms and very low lock-bridges  were challenging but overcome. Lovely to be on the move anyway. Going on holiday is so simple when your home comes with you! Food  and booze in the fridge, no packing of clothes just 'off and away'

More text and photos to follow but in the meantime we've got the  Barrage to cross! Wooah! - all set to go as of Tuesday 23rd!

In charge at last!

Quebriac lock at Jean-Luc's

The Queen's seat?

                                          

OMG We only just get through...

Cutting Brazillian Weed!?

Beats cutting the lawn.

Evran views various

Evran Lock and mooring

Another posh neighbour

Evran Lock

Evran mooring

We'd love to moor here!

 

Our Evran mooring

 

 

What can I say

Passing the Abbey

Our view at Taden

I could not resist including  this creation of Lucie's

Lovely memories of 'Floyd on France' BBC 2 1985

 

Floyd on France BBC 2

Lock Down TV - Lucie and I have been thoroughly enjoying a virtual foodie tour of France linked to all regions of gastronomic fame and history.

• Keith Floyd really was a great food/cookery entertainer, Cookery writer, chef and travel writer, sadly missed and irreplaceable. His series, 'Floyd on France' was first broadcast in 1985! They don't make them like this anymore!...he died on September 14 2009 aged 65 after a heart attack and a very turbulent life it seems.
• In the early 1980's (In my Royal Crescent Hotel days!)  he was so impressed with the 'Hole in the Wall' Restaurant on George Street,  Bath - then run by its owner George Perry-Smith - that he  put his name to it as a template. (Details of this deal are not fully understood)  Regrettably I never met him.
  

 

Thanks to Keith Floyd for making food and French Cookery such an entertaining and interesting  subject, especially for us "foodies' during the 'Lock Down' in Tinteniac ( he probably never visited the town, although there are several notable restaurants not far from here which he would have loved).

Places we have loved so far:

Le Genty Home Restaurant

Le Vieux Moulin Hotel and Restaurant

Le Colvert

Le Petite Port   23 Place de la Mairie, 35630 Hédé-Bazouges, France (nearest thing to a British pub with great food cooked on the  chimney fire place. 

 

It's a Siskin

My friend Alex Melville (and Sue) says that the bird we saw on our bird table, which I thought might be a Yellow hammer is in fact a Siskin

Here is  photo of  Juvenile Siskins.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Siskin+juvenile

I suppose he's right, although others have suggested it's a goldfinch.... this could  go viral!

Life without marmite (It ain't all plain sailing y'know - part 69)

  I am at  risk of sounding 'Jokey', at the height of this terrible pandemic, 'Covit 19', and whilst it appears that all might  be lost for Homo Sapiens  -  with our fellow humans dying in droves throughout the world - It might seem insensitive even to try looking for something cheerful to raise a smile. It really should not be done.

 We are well into the eighth decade of our life and now in retirement  - Like it or not, we are in the "at risk" population  with the additional risk of Lucie being back on steroids  which compromise her immune system. 

We do feel  a little  helpless by this necessary  confinement, the dependence on others and the guilt at not being able to do our bit to help. So,  running out of marmite is just a trivial example, perhaps one of many, which can be allowed to fill the empty spaces, if we are not careful.

On the bright side, provided that our state pension drops into our account every Monday and drops out of the wall on demand, it's hard to complain  - we just keep taking the tablets and  being ever more grateful for our lives when others, much more deserving, are losing theirs.

In fact, spring weather is upon us - bright blue, vapour-free skies are above us, the trees get greener by the day - the bird-song is louder,  traffic noise is silent, the air is fresher, there's no-one about to disturb the peace and our neighbours save us the cost of petrol by insisting on doing our shopping. We have much for which to be thankful.

(As I expect of any lager, the tin shown on the left does the job but is far too strong at 8% by volume - it has to be sipped rather than swallowed - better to take wine? The tin on the right is devoid of any taste or 'throat opening' quality what-so-ever. It just takes up fridge space... Better to drink water)

I am looking forward to reopening our little brewery and making real beer at the Old Mill, just outside the village of 'Hede' - but this is not possible because of the crisis....but hey....

 

 This visitor to our new bird table -  is definitely a fledgling - could it be a little Golden Oriole? or is  that wishful thinking? ... its breast plumage is a soft yellow colour. It seems woefully unaware of our presence and the danger it is in with our cats. Below is a 'google' picture of a 'Yellow Hammer'.  

It's spring and we are preparing for our epic journey to the Bassin Jacques Cartier in St.Malo where we hope to repaint and do some minor repairs to Body and Soul...So far the canal remains closed to all traffic - Perhaps  the 1st of June is  a bit ambitious.  But this year it's never going to be plain sailing y'know.....

 

For A Yellow Hammer - click here

It's all very well but..(it ain't all plain sailing y'know - part 68)

We are keeping to the French  rules of 'social distancing'  with increased vigor, mainly caused by a relapse in Lucie's Hortons disease which has put her back on steroids (20mg/day) and self administered weekly injections of Tocillizumab.

That, as you can imagine, is a step backwards for Lucie, although she is relieved by the continued exceptional attention given to her by the medical establishment who are concerned, although not surprised by, this relapse. It is apparently quite a common feature of the disease. But her latest 'PET scan' showed a bad result. 

'Google' our goose with his (her?) inseparable friend, the Duck (Quackflix?)

 

The problem is that the taking of both steroids and tocillizumab, as we understand them, compromise her immune system thus making it imperative  to keep Lucie away from all infections and especially the bloody Corona 19 virus. Hence our zealous attention, not just to the French rules but attention to the detail of our life-style in all sorts of ways.

  The Golden Oreol/Oriole - My favorite song-bird, seasonal immigrant,  heard but rarely seen,  found in the south of France and particularly high in the poplar trees of Aquitaine - the Golden Oreol/Oriole  - I miss its lovely, unique and fruity sound.

click this line for the song

Having said that, the sun is  shining at last - Spring is really with us now (see  pictures) and we heard our first cuckoo this morning (8th April)  Our lovely neighbours have been absolutely fabulous in their kind attention to our every need. This comes in the form of shopping for food, the gift of fire wood or by the collection of medical supplies as well as lots of distant chats. There are no other shops open.

Thankfully, this department in France, - L'Ille et Villaine (which includes the city of Rennes )- has had very few Corona cases, (if any - at least locally induced ones) and even our lovely local GP says she has been unusually quiet since the beginning of this ghastly business. We are both trying to get 'Body and Soul' together, ready for the great trip to St Malo and reparations on 'the hard'. Currently all the Locks are  closed by decree until at least 1st of May. We are hoping to set off mid-May, although all the winter works draining some lock pounds  on the canal between here and St. Malo, may have to be carried out - this  will delay cruising until who knows when.? 

Meantime, we are not 'allowed out' unless in a crisis, although I still go to the 'Parcours' for my daily exercise with the ubiquitous 'Document d'attestation' in my track-suit pocket - And, I  have been forced to drink tins of LAGER 'sacre bleu!'. (My brewery has had to be closed)

 

(our bird table)

 

 

 

 

 

'Made in Dagenham' The musical, produced during lock-down by Barnard Castle School with our Lois (year 10?) in a star role. Click on link below

Lois's star role  

 

Our corona 19 - stories (It ain't all plain sailing y'know!) part 67

I went out this morning to tie up my gym shoes on the public bench just by the Barge (as one does). A police car stopped as it was leaving a visit to our neighbour's boat  - he got out of his police car and asked what I was doing....was I on holiday?

In perfect French, I was able to assure him that I was merely tying up my shoes and that 'I live on this 'ere barge behind me'. ( I said pointing) and that I was 'doing my daily exercise'. He said that I should have a 'document of attestation' and that for exercise reasons I must limit my distance from home to 500 meters. I duly produced the document (thanks to Lucie's righteous insistence). I asked about my usual walk to the 'Parcore' (where I go each day to make use of the outside gym equipment) - he did not seem to know where this was but repeated the 500 meters limit. He went away - I thought, just slightly disappointed,  after checking the document. So there! ,.... that's breaking news in France, Tinteniac, Friday 20th March 2020.

This is what we are up against. Yesterday (Sat) I went to the SuperU super market (with my attestation document) and we were queuing for 300 meters before being allowed in. ie one out for one in. I then went to another supermarket within walking distance and got in without waiting at all. I Don't get it.

Being the age I am (78+) I could have gone straight in as a priority - I found this out after the long wait!

.....but is the UK managing to flatten the curve? Let's face it, we are all at risk of catching it for some time yet and until a useful vaccine is produced, it is just a matter of flattening the curve so's the NHS can manage it whilst the disease continues. I notice that home-schooling is becoming much more popular ! Well done Nick, you dun good!

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

The above link shows current corona 19 progress world wide and is constantly being updated. The UK (amongst certain others) seems to be slow at entering its latest figures. To get 'yesterday's figures, click 'Yesterday' on tgop of this chart LHS.

Some interesting research on current statistics compiled by an eminent Swiss Virologist and updated  26/03/2020 (Noticed on facebook by Lucie)

The above link could be described as controversial but cannot be ignored if it is true. It is well worth viewing, especially if you were on the verge of panic or a nervous breakdown !

Zut alors! (it ain't all plain sailing, y'know part 66)

Here in France, in Brittany, moored in Tinteniac on Body and Soul, we are facing up to the Corona Virus with great fortitude and common sense.

With our doors wide open and the sun streaming through the windows - the wild goose (named Google!), a Duck (named Netflix) and, just today,  a newly arrived cormorant and a signet Swan,  together, sharing  breakfast - one could be forgiven for feeling  lucky to be alive and in  good health - looking forward to plans for the coming spring and summer.

But the news and social media brings us doom and gloom in abundance. A lot of 'state applied'  restrictions (decrees)  to our lives, have become hard to ignore.

For instance, going out for my morning routine exercise or for any reason at all, requires that I am forced to produce a document called an 'attestation de deplacement' showing to the police just what I am doing and why I am doing it -  which can only include - getting medicine, shopping for food, exercising (on your own), going to work (if unable to work from home) emergency visits to elderly relatives - the fines for contravention are from 130E upwards  including an arrest for serious or repeated contraventions.

The above form is available on line, but if one has no printer (like us) a written version is OK but it has to be current to the activity and dated.

All shops, including coffee shops and bars are closed, with the exception of food providers. D.I.Y shops are included of course which puts a lot of home alterations and maintenance on hold. Not good.

We are fine thanks!  luckier than most - please keep our UK pensions coming in. We have some really attentive neighbours and friends who visit us daily - checking our welfare. - See below, showing how we keep in touch with them now. It beats the ubiquitous double kissing....maybe this virus shambles will teach the world something about true values. The air is already much fresher ....perhaps it is a new beginning? We really really hope so.

Violette, Anne-Claire, me, Marie (Loo is behind with her bike) doing our bit  taken from 'Body and Soul' .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings! but It certainly isn't all plain sailing y'know! (part 65)

Body and Soul, moored at the Port of Tinteniac d'Ille et Rance

We send best seasonal wishes to our family - to old and new friends. 

Looking back on 2019  as the year ends -  much of it is sprinkled with matters of ill-health . (Click here for nasty details!)    In truth, we are happy to be alive and living a busy life moored in Tinteniac making full use of the great facilities available to us and coping well with all that aged-life throws at us.

The hot summer months brought us joy with several family/friends to stay with us and we were able to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a trip to Pont Aven in the far west coast of Brittany. Our close neighbours lent us their house whilst they were away which, as last year, became a popular and favoured  choice of accommodation for visitors.

We are now grumbling a lot about the weather which has been appalling this Autumn and early winter. We have never experienced such protracted, dull and wet weather. We are tempted to buy a barometer in order to be prepared for any lowering of atmospheric pressures and 'first in' with the paracetemol. Lucie is particularly sensitive in this regard. But Here's an on-line barometer site that we find just as useful. 

On a much happier note.....over the last three months we have  been  busy with the Creme Anglaise Pantomime 'Am Dram' which is centred in the Town  of Evran (15 k downstream) and who's many members, both French and English, with incredible enthusiasm and team spirit,  produce an English style pantomime each year. Video links for this blog may be forthcoming.  Their production of Cinderella has kept our minds, talents, time and energy engaged and we have made lots of new friends within the group.

Unfortunatelyr latest photos, taken on our Iphone were dropped in the canal !

  Our extra-ordinary cat Snoopy who takes me for a walk each day

Sadly, 2019 has been a year which we would rather forget - not just because of the weather, the divisions over 'Brexit' (now happily resolved?) and our various health problems - as if they were not enough to depress anyone - but I  highlight just a few of the other incidences which have tried to prick our otherwise perfect 'retirement bubble' on board Body and Soul.

A string of maintenance failures have upset our happy daily lives. Problems with the loo mechanism and broken seat. (spares only from the UK!) Access to the plumbing is a nightmare ! Then  a blockage to the 'poo-tank' extract macerator pump - a really filthy job - requiring one to lie face down in the bowels of the boat in order to reach essential nuts, valves and tubes - taking the damn thing to pieces to unblock the same - cleaning up and refitting it. (bleach, antiseptic sprays etc)  Then the bathroom basin springs a serious leak from the drain hole which needs replacing with completely new - The 'Mastic' sealing too! is another skill learned.......not to mention lots of other horrors

We are in the middle of a serious and expensive change to the back steps (up to the poop deck and out) which is shown below, half finished. The boxes on the left of the steps are temporarily full of 'stuff' which will eventually be stored in the newly commissioned chest of drawers. (left of steps below) - all made by a fellow bargee and cabinet maker who we have got to know. He is conveniently moored down-stream  a couple of kilometers at Quebriac. The new steps 'project' will improve access for us oldies - both in and out of our home whilst providing more storage space.

 

Don't miss the next exciting  episodes -

"How to crash your car without moving it"

"what to do when your ignition key is jammed on"

and

 

"Plans for scrubbing  our bottom in May 2020 in St Malo"

and that really isn't going to be all plain sailing y'know!

 

 

 

My new brewery premises (it ain't all plain sailing y'know, part 64)

I feel remorseful (to you, dear reader)  for not keeping up with this blog and indeed I have been punished statistically by a fall in readership to below seven (6.86) 'hits' per day since 2005. Oh horror!  

I am asking myself  - Is it 'writer's block'? or 'lack of enthusiasm'? or 'lack of material?' 'no time'? or all of these? - anyway my apologies to both of you!

It has taken us about four years  to get integrated thus far,  into this  community and to the normal commercial benefits  of shops and medical facilities that we find in Tinteniac; I note that the Google Map, (latest edition 2019) to be found by clicking on the link below,  shows a 'bird's eye' view of 'Body and Soul'  at our current mooring - seen as the  fourth boat from the left-hand (South) end of the line of neighbouring boats, somewhat concealed by a large tree. The two black solar panels you will see on our poop deck canopy, give us away!

 

Tinteniac, click here for more info. including  a Google map.

 

 

The New - Old Mill Brewery?

The mill house 5 floors high including the basement

Clean and ready for the off

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have recently got to know Mick and Shelley Smith who own an old redundant Water Mill (above), situated in between the two Hede villages and roughly ten minutes drive from our mooring in Tinteniac. And guess what?....after some modest persuasion, Mick and Shelley have agreed to house my brewery in what amounts to being a  small corner of this ancient and historic building.   There are records of the mill's location dating back to the 15th Century, and I plan to learn more about it ...... whilst brewing beer, of course.

An order for supplies ( for 120 litres of Yorkshire bitter) from the UK is, 'as we speak', ploughing its way across the channel, courtesy of Tony, our immediate neighbour and owner of the barge 'Rosetta'.

Mick (a latent real-ale enthusiast) and I, have swept out the proposed brewing room that he has offered me. This is one of two large rooms on the first floor of the mill and, catching on to the whole idea, Mick says that he would like to learn the home-brewing lark as well as tasting its produce. I have promised to help him on both counts. This joint enthusiasm will drive us two blokes towards greater things...me thinks...although Shelley says she hates the smell of hops... oh dear. How could she?

 - it ain't all plain sailing, as y'know.

PS See brewery diary page - click here!

 

 

Spring, sprung in Tinteniac (ain't all plain sailing, y'know - part 63)

 

 

 

 

Click on any photo to enlarge

 Lucie's health problem over the past year has, naturally, changed our priorities and, in certain respects, our outlook on life - but thankfully, her current disease prognosis is good. She is cooking as well as ever - Click here for a Steak and Guinness pie recipe.

According to her specialist at Rennes (CHU) (the University hospital) her treatment for the Giant Cell Arteritis (Horton's disease) is working to plan. She  swallows a daily handful of pills and has to bravely inject herself each Monday with some other stuff which does nothing for her mood - but she is well served by the local nurse for regular  blood tests and it is from these results and from a series of x-rays and scans that the medics make their deductions.  She has to endure a two year period of treatments and regular assessments. Our frequent hospital visits to Rennes, a city which we are growing to love, are often combined with shopping for stuff which we cannot obtain locally... so that's alright then. Here's  another of her  recipes: Sicilian Panelle - street food.

Apparently, the down-side of long term steroid treatment is the osteoporosis which it  induces and Lucie is  suffering continuous pain from this side-effect in her hips and spine. Steroids also compromise the body's ability to resist infections, consequently, she has to be  careful physically, to avoid bone fractures and, where possible, infections from other sources.

This last point may seem a little counter-intuitive since kissing people in France, on both cheeks, whenever one greets or says goodbye -  is 'de rigueur'......and we continue to kiss everyone with gay abandon - including  all our  neighbours with their lovely but  'snotty' children.....  so far, no harm done - but we  have also joined the local choir of over thirty choristers, practicing every Tuesday  throughout the year. This means, roughly speaking,  greeting AND saying goodbye to each choir member - that is, for Lucie alone, 120 kisses every  practice! Extending this conjecture still further, for the whole choir, that's 3600  points of cross-contamination at each gathering, .... 'zut alors!' I hope we stay healthy enough to sing the Lords Prayer as brilliantly as this choir - click below:

 ' Otche Nash'  the Lords Prayer - click here

or here for 'UBI Cavitas'

Tuesday's practice

Our choral activity at Bazouges-Hede (not to be confused with nearby Hede-Bazouges, where we were moored for 2 years)  brings  us opportunities to mix with a splendid and multi-cultural bunch of friends, based in this highly active community just three  kilometres from our mooring in Tinteniac.  We have found a base from which many other activities spring - some, but not all, being social.

The village population is small but  young and  family orientated and, through a fortunate civic decision to combine the two 'Hedes' into one Commune, they have been 'given' the Old Mairie building to create into a village club-house for social and artistic purposes. All facilities and activities, which includes a bar and meeting rooms, are organized and over-seen by a properly elected and  highly energetic committee with an excellent constitution. A modern village hall is right next door and there is a  small weekly organic food market and  free parking. Lucie, with her fluent French, has become involved already with the organization and we are both  paid-up members.

 

Nick, Laura, Archie and Skya on holiday in Cromer

 

Below, a few dishes from Lucie's kitchen. Click to enlarge!

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who's a lucky boy then?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our wishes for a trouble free Christmas and the year 2019

 

 

From Malcolm and Lucie to all friends and relatives

Click here for " Now thank we all our god"

and/or

Click here for "Hark the Herald Angels sing"

Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

“Cheers to the new year and another chance for us to get it right.” – Oprah Winfrey

 

 

 

At Home in Tinteniac

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Lois

Happy  Birthday Lois

For music click here. Happy birthday!

for the 8th December

cheers, still hoping to hear from you sometime soon

with much love from

Grandad and Lucie Walker

Bateau Body and Soul

1 Quai de Listernac (Post Box)

Quai de Canal d'Ille et Rance (If arriving by Road)

Tinteniac

France 35190

Tel No: 0033(0)640733849

Email: [email protected]

 

 

Our Snail Mail address

 

 Happy  Birthday Moo

for the 19th September

Malcolm and Lucie Walker

Bateau Body and Soul

1 Quai de Listernac (Post Box)

Quai de Canal d'Ille et Rance (If coming by Road)

Tinteniac

France 35190

Tel No: 0033(0)640733849

Email: [email protected]

 

What we've been doing - May to August (It ain't all plain sailing y'know - part 62)

 

 

    

July 15th 2018 - Brother Rob Walker's 80th Birthday Party at their house in Walmer - showing the birthday boy holding a glass of Yorkshire Bitter, made by me, in France at my Pigstye Brewery. It was  indeed a brilliant party with all Rob's direct family in attendance. Lucie, as ever, played her part doing much of the cooking - pre-prepared in Body and Soul and transported to the UK in the back of our car. She and Di Bailey (Rob's lovely partner) were a good team producing several delicious meals for 14 people each time.

There was much home-grown music and laughter and everyone played their part. Simply memorable! Here are the Birthday song lyrics; sung rather badly by Lucie, Judy and me (on piano) to the tune of HMS Pinafore - Gilbert and Sullivan.

Soon after Rob's 80th came the brilliant news that Emily (Jake and Rosemary's eldest) had been awarded a First Class Honours Degree in Ophthalmology, by Sheffield University. She has since landed a good job, which she richly deserves for her hard work and dedication....she is now a registered "orthoptist". She also won the prize for "best pathology essay" about "uveal melanoma" and will get it published in a text book at some point in the near future, by all accounts. Gosh!

 

Sadly my Pigstye "Just a Pub" brewery has had to be closed for "re-developement" - there is a joke there somewhere! We have plans to move it all to a site in Tinteniac, yet to be disclosed but it may well be back on board Body and Soul on the Poop Deck - at least, if we cannot find another suitable site.

 

 

 Talking of medical matters, I have been suffering from what I assume to be some sort of rheumatoid arthritis in both hands for about five years now and it seems to have become progressively worse. Unkindly, some say my piano playing has improved because of it, but there you go! 

My Symptoms. I have a bent middle finger in my left hand which does not hurt but looks very ugly. My right hand is always tender and swollen at the knuckle of the index finger and can be extremely painful if squeezed or accidentally knocked. Quite by chance and coincidentally,  Lucie and I have started drinking Goat's milk and making Goat's yoghurt and avoiding cow's milk dairy products and Cow meat for reasons that I need not explain but - believe it or not, scoring pain levels from 1 (low)to 10 (high), I can honestly say that the pain level and swelling has dropped quite dramatically over the past week or so from 10 to level 2. In fact both my hands have become noticeably more supple.

Spurred on by Google to research this matter for the benefit of other sufferers, I came across this letter from a long time dairy farmer written to a Mr Cohen.

To read it click here. 

 

But as readers (both of them!)  will be aware   It ain't all plain sailing y'know - and it may well be just a fluke.... we will see.

  

Summer has been full of good things. Life on board has been quite relaxing as we have necessarily decided to stay in one place this year whilst  Lucie can concentrate on recovery - there's good access to the local GP who is in charge of her treatment by Rennes Hospital. We have both enjoyed a lovely weekend exploring St Malo on her 71st birthday...all organised by her, of course....

 

  Her treatment is going to plan and she is on good form. Her blood is tested regularly by the local nurse, on board before 9am and the results are made available by 12 noon, each time on line. Fantastic!

Our recently found friends (Fred, Anne-Claire and family) suggested that we could use their house for any visiting  family whilst they went on holiday. The house is situated less than 50 yards from our mooring and has a Cat (Hercule) to be cared for by the incumbent.

 

Five days with Nick, Laura, Skya and Archie who were delighted to take up the offer,  resulted in a very energetic time including, amongst other things, two visits to the Beaches,  on the Brittany coast to the west of Dinard, complete with picnics made by Lucie, and with brilliant weather.

 

                        

( you can click on  any photograph to enlarge)

  A day trip on Body and Soul to Hede, four locks there and back, for an ice-cream or so with our friends Guillaume and Catherine who live in the lock house there. It was fun getting our old boat "back on the road", as it were - no problems there - she managed without a hitch.

Maintenance is now all important as the summer comes to an end and Lucie and I are wizzing about with paint brushes and cleaning tools trying to keep Body and Soul in good order.

Yesterday we managed to remove and replace all four internal radiators in order to flush them out, (click here for a good video on this task) in readiness for winter central heating.

The problem with that is that we have yet to afford a replacement to the Eberspacher. So far we haven't decided whether or not to change to a "Kabola" or something else. Either way, we have our Jotul wood burner and electric radiators to keep us warm. We have been given a friendly neighbour's small microwave oven which is surprisingly useful for heating small amounts of water - enough for a shave- and for cooking vegetables.

As August ends with less stable weather, pidgeons continue to flap lustful  wings on the boughs of beautiful birch and pine trees  above us, showering wind blown seeds and  bits of sticky resin (and worse) onto the barge  and our car; but, like "Brexit", it is a  costly, but natural and essential inconvenience  - well worth the trouble in the overall scheme of things - taking the longer view. 

 ( you can click on  any photograph to enlarge)

Breaking News

It was lovely to hear from Charles and Pam Biggs who we befriended at Vias on the Midi whilst  waiting for our lift-out at Agde and for our great journey up to Brittany where we are now..

Click on the line below for their Blog or, alternatively, on the link at the top of this posting in the left hand column

  www.xeniaboatlog.wordpress.com.

 

Breaking news from "Family Blair" and other Walkers not yet included.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              I try to keep up with the technology....patience please; it never is plain sailing!

Remember one can enlarge most of these photos by clicking on them.

 

 

 

  

...and it's about time I caught up (It ain't all plain sailing y'know (part 61))

  We are happily moored at Tinteniac - about 45 klms South of St. Malo and 25 klms North of Rennes. We have great neighbours - 'live-aboards' with their families, pets, and a growing number of local home owners. All important facilities are within easy walking distance and our fourth-hand VW Golf appears able to take us to the beach or wherever needed - so far, without breaking down.

 

Frankly, the whole of spring was dismal, weather- wise - Neither of us can remember being subjected to so much continuous rain anywhere before. Last week, however, the promised heatwave arrived and Brittany is green, lush and warm again at last - just right for the French holiday season, July and August.  

Lucie is under excellent treatment for her Horton's disease and we regularly visit two of Rennes' hospitals for its continuation. The steroid dose has been slowly reduced because of the known negative effects upon the body's immune system and calcium levels. There is going to be a long but careful recovery period - maybe up to two years, apparently.

We have regular, sometimes daily, visits by the local nurses (lovely ladies) who administer various blood tests and blood thinning injections, whilst acting as the link between the GP and the hospital's specialist department. The medical care service is indeed as good as it sounds and we are both impressed and reassured. There is further encouragement felt as the wheel-chair and the zimmer frame are returned to the local pharmacy - restoring space in the back of the car. So things are on the way up. My plans for the installation of a 'Stenna' lift for our back stairs are on hold - for the time being!

 

Staying where we are for this summer and winter 2018/19 is allowing us time to pay more attention to our own well-being and to long term maintenance matters in Body and Soul. There is merit in having a secure shore power source and access to water as opposed to moving from port to port, or having to use our generator as we "wild-moor" - but we will miss, for the time-being, the excitement  of travelling as experienced  during the last 13 years on canals. We have, perhaps belatedly, understood the impact of age-related ill-health and are moving accordingly.

Our 12 volt system and Trojan batteries, are kept healthy, fully charged and lightly  used. Our 70hp Isutzu engine is run, under load, at least twice a week for half an hour keeping in great running condition whilst also giving us hot water.

Our Eberspacher water heater is permanently defunct -  now a familiar blow to our creature comforts; but we 'make do' with kettles and our engine. (and we have since been given a small microwave oven) We are trying hard  "to think out of the box" and  devise  a system- using either gas or electricity, (both of which we have) solely for hot water. to replace the Eberspacher (or similar machine, 'Wabasto', 'Kabola'). Our four radiators and towel rail, however, stand empty, cold and probably unnecessary as we have our Jotul Wood burner and a couple of oil-filled electric radiators to keep us warm in the cold months.

The question is,  would we endanger the value of our asset by too much 'out of the box thinking': Should we dig deep and bare the cost in order to preserve the status quo? Answers please....because it ain't all plain sailing y'know!

Next post  - don't miss more about what we have been doing and where we are going and what's brewing at the Pigstye Brewery! News of various friends and families, Bro' Robert's eightieth birthday party (planned for the 15th July, at their home in Walmer) - close rellies only - so hear all about it  - only on this site! 

This and that (It ain't all plain sailing, y'know - part 60)

We are having to put any plans we may have had "on hold" for the time being; Lucie and I still dwell on the possibility of returning to the UK for a final fling in our old age - but her problems with:

"polymyalgia" or (PMR) and "Horton's disease"(Giant Cell Arteritis or GCA)

and the excellent medical care she receives for it here, has meant that we stay where we are for the foreseeable future and count ourselves lucky. So we are moored in little old Tinteniac ; We may well take short trips up and down the canal this summer and we are  being quite positive about our lot on board Body and Soul.

Spring is upon us, our pile of winter's logs for the Jotul is no more; the exceptionally wet, cold and windy winter seems conveniently at an end. I notice the first signs of a dawn chorus this morning and we celebrate a warm spring day (11th March) by taking a sunny trip to the coast at Saint Malo where the tide is half in; most of France and their dogs join us on a Sunday beach walk and we take a "roof-top coffee" at the hotel Des Ambassadeurs.  Highly recommended !

(Click on each to enlarge)                                                                                                                                                                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lucie spent most of February doing a "house sitting" job for friends near Salisbury; Just escaping the horrors of Putin's alledged crimes which have since dominated world news.

 

Being near to her daughter's family at Steeple Ashton she was well able to use her time with them and other west- country friends.

Back home on board Body and Soul, the job of angle-grinding a large square hole/ panel in the tiled  wall behind the toilet - would not have been conducive to normal home life to which we have become accustomed and, as it turned out, the mess seemed apocalyptic for a week whilst I bravely handled my very dangerous angle grinder - complete with face mask, ear muffs et al  - whilst trying to reach the hitherto inaccessible plumbing and machinery, which had operated our loo for the last thirteen years - alas no longer. ..... Is life plain sailing? No.

Matters were made much worse when  the initial, unanticipated, vibration caused a glass shelf to crash down onto the  basin, along with everything that was on it, including some valuable glass trinkets and bottles together with their expensive perfume contents. Thank goodness Lucie was away but my subsequent cringeing telephoned admission was not pleasant, as you can imagine.....all is well now but we are saving up for a new floor for the wet room and possibly a super glass shower curtain.... Is life plain sailing? double no.

My pigstye brewery at Hede, 3 klm up the canal and 5 mins by road, is still very cold.

This means that any brewing activities have to be done with this in mind. I am making 23 litres at a time, from the grain - bringing each batch back, after the boil, to Body and Soul for the fermentation period in the warmth of our sitting room, where it bubbles through a water trap for around ten days. Then I decant it to another vessel using gelatine as a clearing agent;  returning it to the brewery for bottling. I'd love to spend a lot more money on dispensing equipment in order to avoid the time-consuming bottling process. We will be saving money, for this purpose, from our Club members over a period of several meetings where they are charged, voluntarily,  for what they drink. (2E per 75cl of ale)

  As at 22nd March 2018; it is worth noting that we have a full house of bottled Yorkshire Bitter (the favourite), Christmas Ale, Strong Mild ale, and Normal mild, ready for our next meeting - less, of course, what I have personally drunk already! mmm...Delicious!

Clive....especially, I hope you are watching this. Pity you can't be here. Cheers! Must go now.

...but it ain't all plain sailing y'know!

Incredibly, it is now 25th March. It is still raining; very cloudy and cold. How long can this depressing weather last?

Our canal (Canal d'llle et Rance) officially re-opens on the 1st of April. We are far from being ready. Lucie's food is the answer!

 

Sending wishes for seasonal merriment, to all friends and rellies

Now let's see. How was our 2017? Well, we are still alive. How was yours?

One must'nt complain but....

Firstly the good things - there are some worthy of a mention. But one has to wonder, just  sometimes, whether it's the encroachment of old age or just another stage in life, now reached, when our "boaty" dream is coming to an end and that we should be sensible and make plans for down-sizing....what was that?     

DOWN-SIZING? 

Yeah right!

We are very happily moored for the winter at Tinteniac. (click this for a google map) a small town about 45 klm South of St. Malo which looks across the Channel at the head of the Estuary of the two rivers, the Ille and the Rance. For more about Brittany and its five regions click here for the W/pedia info. It is very detailed.

Tintiniac has many advantages, the first being that our lovely lady doctor, Madame Le Prise (with an accent ecute on the 'e'), is within five minutes walk.

For every-day living, everything is within a short walk, including two supermarkets, the weekly market and 'Cafe Chez Tonton', the town square and the Boulangerie. There are lovely open recreational spaces and a library, the town hall, the Mairie - still flying the Union Jack flag (amongst other world visitors) and the music school.

The town provides us with water and electricity (120E per month which might seem a lot!) We have several lovely  'live aboard' neighbours and their families and also get a free wifi connection from another neighbouring family.

Happy memories of little Hede-Bazouges upstream 3klms (situated at the third of the eleven lock staircase), where we happily spent two previous winters and where "my" Pigstye brewery is located, are still close to us, with our friends still there - the St.Jame's  family, who live in the lock house at the Petite Madelaine Ecluse - fondly remembered and continuing as friends do.

Alain and Me outside his Pigstye, now the "Justapub" brewery - with wild hops around the door...

But here in Tinteniac we don't depend on a car - that's a big advantage to being in Hede-Bazouges where the village itself is two klms up hill from the port. I still occasionally play the piano at La Petite Porte pub there, for drinks and a free meal....(It still hasn't closed, Mike! Give it time.) and we try to use the village shop when passing.

We had plenty of visitors whilst in Taden, including brother Rob n'Di and sister Judy. Lucie found a very good 'gite' just opposite the Taden village pub for their 5 day stay - and within walking distance of 'Body and Soul'. We all had 'a blast' as they say.

Jake and Rosemary 'en famille' arrived towing their new caravan and we had great time visiting places and catching up.

Clive and Aileen, all the way from San Francisco, stayed on board but their short visit was marred by Lucie's urgent visit to Dinan Hospital. Several  hospital visits were the order of the day and thay had to put up with my cooking. We were full of admiration for their energy in what must have been a really busy time, apparently 'doing' Europe - seeking out their various relatives. It  can't have been an easy trip and I imagine they were glad to be back home where they have jointly become very seriously bitten by the dreaded yachting bug.

Nick, Laura, Gabby, Skya and Archie are often in touch on Skype and I have enjoyed a couple of visits to the Lincoln/Peterborough area both to see them and sister Judy who lives nearby. Nick and I helped her clear her garage in September which was a lot of fun. I'm glad they are upgrading the Peterborough rubbish dump quite near Judy's house. It is horrible at the moment.

It would be nice to hear or even see Amanda, Alan, Harry and Lois this year, and we wish them a very happy Christmas and hope to see them sometime, whatever, in the next year. I live in hope. Ann's horrible condition worsens every hour. At least we know she is in safe hands, but that is of little comfort to her torment.

 Now just a few happenings this year which proves that life is never plain sailing by its very nature,  Lucie says I'm just getting grumpy.

Our annual UK jaunt for ten days was very enjoyable - we were looked after so well by two sets of friends to whom we owe many thanks especially as we left both couples with our horrible coughs. They are still talking to us. That makes them real friends!

However, our much loved Peugeot 406 unfortunately failed its MOT with no time left to repair it and it is now awaiting its fate near Salisbury. This decision depends upon our being confident of the VW Golf that we've bought in its place ! I try not to think about it, but it has already had to have all its brakes repaired despite passing its MOT. Cuh! 

Then we had an appointment with a firm called Kruger, agents for our troublesome Eberspacher - the water heater and central heating machine on board. We have had to 'let it go' after the testing proved that we'd have to buy a new one. Cuh x 2!

 Here's 'Body and Soul' moored in the leafy Port of Tinteniac.... showing our winter conservatory "extension" which acts both as an insulator and a garden shed where we protect our potted plants from frost.. 

- Lucie has had to contend with certain unpleasant health matters over the past 5 years or so, with painful shoulders and knees which were assumed to have been age related arthritis and some kind of persistant blood infection which failed to be cleared with the usual prescribed oral antibiotics.

After three separate 10 day visits to various hospitals (Marmande, Dinan, Rennes) and numerous blood tests over this long period, she remained in 'arthritic' pain but was also diagnosed as having diverticulisis and, cleared of the bacterial infection by antibiotic drip. In the third hospital, this October, the University Hospital in Rennes diagnosed suspected "Horton's" disease. (Click on this for details of this nasty condition). Her assumed and incurable arthiritis in her joints, apparently,  is not that at all but, instead, has been diagnosed as polymyalgia  - part of Hortons - and she is on a strong dose of steroids which will be, all being well,  slowly reduced over a period of up to two years. The steroidal way forward, so far, has had a remarkably successful outcome and Lucie now has no pain in her joints at all. Bingo!

It has to be said that Lucie's treatment by the French medical establishment and at these three hospitals has been exceptional. It is not until one has to experience the French  system that one realises how good it is. It is a system based upon the prevention and early detection, diagnosis and early treatment of medical conditions. As I see it, blood tests are fundamental to their whole approach. To this end, they depend upon a network of "laboratoires d'analyses" one of which can be found in every reasonably sized town - including for instance - little 'ole Tintiniac.

As just one example; with a prescription from a GP (general practitioner) Lucie has her blood sample tested at 8.30am when the laboratory opens. She takes a coded document away with her, confirming that her blood is being tested for whatever is suspected by her GP. Incredibly,  sometimes by noon or by three pm the same day, clearly depending upon what time is needed when difficult cultures may have to be grown, her 'results' are immediately posted on the internet, accessible by her at home using the code given. A copy of the results are sent direct to the GP through the internet. The patient  (Lucie) is then referred back to her GP, usually by phone if urgent, after consideration by the GP. QED!

Her treatment in all three hospitals, at which she has always been given a single room with private bathroom, has been impeccable - serviced by highly competant, clean and pleasant nursing staff. Because her condition is deemed 'long term', all treatment of her condition is free and this, as you can imagine, is of great help to our finances.

 Horton's disease is quite rare, slow to develop and was spotted finally by a lady doctor at Rennes Hospital, where presumably it had become more apparent over quite a long period of time.

Lucie's  treatment is now on-going and, so far, very successful. We are looking forward to a restful and delicious Christmas at home thanks largely to the French health system - on board with Coco and Minky (our cats).

Steven, Sophie and Lucie's  granchildren, Charlie and Max, continue to be of great pride, joy and comfort to Lucie in their support and as they grow in health and vigour. We have almost daily contact with them and will certainly be in touch on Christmas Day. That's alright then.

As the Tintiniac church bells ring out on Christmas eve- I'm signing off at last, so......

I trust that all readers of this blog and even those that don't read it....have a wonderful time too, with the prospects of a happy and healthy 2018 to come.

 

                                                                

 

 

 

 

 

  

The pros. & Cons. of wild mooring (It isn't all plain sailing, y'know (part 59)

We've  been at the Cale  at Taden since the 8th of June (click here for photos) and are thoroughly enjoying it - there's lots to do and to see all around us. We have our old Peugeot 406 which has proved an amazing buy, thanks to friends Rob and Karo. It is British registered and has had only very small, easily fixed, problems so far, costing relatively little. (133E for a geer cable and some anti-freeze from a very good Peugeot garage!)

 The north coast of Brittany is near at hand for extra sunny days - with a choice of beautiful beaches - and the ancient town of Dinan is not 2 kilometers by boat or car. The village of Taden is a delight but has just a pub and a church as well as a huge but unabtrusive caravan/camping site. Our friends Rose and Hubert Eychenne have a lovely house there. So that's all good on the social side and I have already played the piano at the pub three times for the 'Hat money ' and for beer. (It still hasn't had to close!!)

So is it all plain sailing? 'Fraid not! There are some additional costs to wild mooring which we would not have had if we had stayed in Tinteniac, plugged into the mains electricity and water supply for which there is no charge from May to the end of October; whereas here at Taden there are no services nor additional charges at all but we have to rely upon solar panels and our petrol generator to maintain our batteries - and the problem with that is, although it is easy enough to get to the 'absorbtion' stage - ie around 97% full - the 100% full (nervana) can only be reached with an additional 3 hours of running the generator. That is where it becomes expensive on petrol. We reckon on spending about 20E per week on petrol including an unknown but small amount of engine diesel when we take Body and Soul downstream to the Port of Lyvet once a week, to fill up with water. It is beautiful but just an hour's trip all done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is true that in order to get supplies we have to use our car a bit more than we would like, but then we are much closer to the beaches and the wonderful places and events going on all the time in the holiday period - July, August and September. That is our choice and it has already been great to offer visiting guests, so many things to do and to see.

Son Jake and family arrived at very short notice, in their new van with caravan on tow complete with gifts of beer and the like. We had a splended few days visiting places, beaches and the annual 14th July firework festival, marking Bastille Day. Unfortunately they just missed the annual jousting competition at Dinan which we loved. Perhaps next year? Below is a description of the Cale de taden, where we are moored.

Our new 'Tender'  (we call her 'Tenderly' after the famous Song Tenderly Eb)took it upon herself to untie her own mooring rope and disappear into the unknown; for three days she was missing - either an escapee and of her own accord, or perhaps she was stolen - but we found her neatly folded and tied on the deck of a cruiser tied up at Dinan with her oars safely stowed away inside the cabin.

I was able to identify her by the plastic 'collers' which I had used to repair one of her side ropes; thus the friendly and efficient 'Port Capitaine' was able to negotiate her return with the people who had found her. She now has an indelable name written on her side to help prevent further problems; I should have done that before...but there you go...

The use of the generator (A Honda EU20i) is not just a matter of using expensive fuel. There are several domestic appliances which require as much wattage as the poor thing can give without making it overload and cut out.  For instance, Lucie's hair drier has to be plugged in to the generator alone, with the fast setting switched on. This applies also to the Kartcher vacuum cleaner and the washing machine.

I'm really not sure about the benefits of the three solar panels which we have on our roof. I believe they are each 60 watts and that I have wired them in parallel to give me 180 watts at 20 volts in maximum sunlight.....but there is something I haven't got right about this calculation which, in my book, should make  9 amps available. Someone please tell me if this is correct! But then, of course, the panels do nothing for us during the night which is when we can't use the generator (because of the noise) and have to rely on the batteries through the inverter to run pumps, fridge, computer, amplifier, coffee capucino milk frothing - machine and lighting. We try to use oil lamps and candles which does a lot for romance but not a lot else......

Currently, our four 'Trojan' 6 volt batteries are wired in series and parallel to give us 12 volts. They are now three years old, are well watered and seem to be holding their own but they are only just good enough to maintain their voltage above 12v for one night during the hot weather. We have an anti- sulphation device fitted which is supposed to make them last longer and work better.

I am told that once batteries reach the absorption stage whilst being charged, they are 97% full. It then takes three hours of generation (factory set) to bring them up to fully charged state. That is a lot of petrol for such a little reward, but I am trying to do this once a week in order to keep them 'healthy'. That may or may not be correct practice, or indeed necessary. I am seeking advice on this.

Our Eberspacher, when it works, is the central water heating system. For each hour it delivers heating, if required, and enough hot water for domestic purposes. It runs on domestic diesel (pink) fuel which can be bought locally at around 80 cents a litre. One has to sign for this each time one fills up. It consumes about half a litre of this stuff per hour. Woe betied anyone who mixes even the smallest amount of the tax free pink stuff with the main engine fuel tank. We are very careful about this and since we have been in France I have devised a completely separate fuel system and tank.

So our life on board Body and Soul, whilst 'wild mooring', is very much about using fuels of one kind or another, as efficiently as possible. Listing them all gives me quite a fright!

1. Petrol for the generator and car,

2. Pink diesel for the Eberspacher (the central heating/hot water system)

3. Normal diesel for the boat's engine, (approx one litre per three kilometers)

4. Bottle gas for the cooker

5. Parafin for the oil lamps (and candles)

6. Logs for the Jotul wood burner. (weather dependent)

So the 'Annual Fuel Allowance' that we get from our government is very much appreciated !

But it's never all plain sailing, y'know, is it?

Summer activities at Taden. It ain't all plain sailing, y'know (part 58)

We plan to be in Taden for at least some of the summer season. Our friends Rosie and Hubert live in the village and are an important part of a group of other friends - and so on........Going south from our spot we reach the port of Dinan by barge in about 45 mins (10 mins by car) whereas if we go north from this same spot, towards St. Malo - downstream (30 mins by car) -  we come firstly to the small port of Lyvet - and the last lock (le Chatelier Ecluse at Lyvet) before getting into the estuary proper - which takes us a mere 30 mins by barge - this is where we can pick up fresh water, say once a week, depending upon how much we have washed.

There are no services at Taden (Click here to see photos) but.... oh how beautiful and interesting it is! We love it.

or here for details and photos of our JUSTAPUB brewery

Should I be changing our anodes to suit the slightly brackish water? We'll have to seek advice and probably hang some aluminium anodes over the side whilst moored here. (bright idea is to hang one of Lucie's aluminium pans over the side, connected electrically to the hull - does it work? we shall never know but that's what we've done anyway!)

Our three solar panels and our generator are put to good use and candles are a delightful essential "means of light" at night. How romantic is that?

By some enormous bit of incomprehensible technological brilliance, we can now get a wifi signal through our  Iphone by "internet sharing" to this computer and also to our Ipad.....that is ...as long as the telephone signal is strong enough and consistant enough to allow a  connection to the world at large. Some times this signal does fail us, for reasons which we cannot explain! But so far so good and here I am posting this blog to prove it!

Our newly acquired Zodiac, tender to Body and Soul, (named Tenderly after the song) is shown below from the moment we relaunch it. It was kindly given to us by friends  Rob and Karol who know better now, that it never is plain sailing...and have, wisely, gone back to life ashore. As you can see, I really haven't  got the hang of it yet!

  <Another birthday present for Lucie's 70th!

<We are here!

 

 

 

 

 

(vous etes ici)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and it never is plain sailing of course!

 

Catch up and excuses

As I write this blog posting (29/05/2017), we are moored at the small town of Tinteniac three kilometers downstream of our winter's mooring at Hede - Bazouges. Lucie's 70th birthday celebrations are already ongoing, having just returned from a marvellous five day break in and around Roscoff, all of which we found enchanting, especially in the sunshine and we had our fair share of that when it mattered most. Our group of special friends, which we somehow to have acquired during the two years we have been in Brittany, joined us in our delightful Airbnb Gite chosen by Lucie.

Friend Steve brought his guitar to entertain us on a splended musical soiree. I brought my piano. Even Lucie, albeit reluctantly, sang her funny song and all eight of us drank quite a lot of wine whilst singing very badly. I presented Lucie with my present of a Yukalalee. She is trying to learn how to play it, using this site.

Do we have the beginnings of a group band here?

Other activities including, restaurants, beaches, islands, pubs. Long walks were crammed in to the five day treat - all not to be forgotten. A long walk around the tidal island at Dossen.... Another special evening to remember, hosted by Steve and Christine, in their fabulous caravan on top of the cliffs overlooking the beach at Roguennic. Some of the sites like Rogennic near to our Gite. 

Isle de Batz - The exotic gardens

Our thanks to all 6 of our friends, Rose and Hubert, Alison and Gerard, Steve and Christine for all their generous contributions and lovely company. Lucie and I will certainly return for a closer look at Roscoff, soon.

My life as a Ships Cat - Coco Chanel

Hessian and Clay 

 

Message from Coco Chanel - our ships Cat

Chapter 6 now published !

Please look at the top of the  left hand column of this page and then click on the relevant chapter

or to chapter 1 click below.

For my story of Life on Board Body and Soul

New Years message

Ok, so it's the usual problem with the wifi box being switched off just when you need it most! but we are in the car park at Lidl's and Lucie is doing her weekly shop whilst I send this rather pathetic but well-meant message of goodwill to all friends and relatives and other lucky blog readers. I am using Lucie's IPad and not having a very successful time......anyway!

We hope you had a great Christmas and that you will have a wonderful year 2017.

We have had to buy another car because poor 'runner bean' the Corsar, failed its Mot by quite a large margin - but the new one - a Peugeot 406 - seems a good buy, although draining our pensions somewhat, as one would expect....It has powered steering and Central locking, and electric windows! Wow!

Have a "good one" and see you next year!

 

Scroll down for access to the life of Coco Chanel - our ships cat. 

 

Vote out! It will not all be plain sailing y'know - part 56....but

Why we vote Brexit

We must get our democracy back

If you are still undecided as to your voting preference, please click on the above link for a very detailed analysis of the arguments.

We are in favour of Brexit having carefully looked at the principle arguments involved. (click here for a summary)

It ain't at all going to be plain sailing y'know!

Here - from the "Spectator" By Toby Young Another convincing site

• and from the Wall St. Journal (25th June 2016) By Fraser Nelson (Spectator and Telegraph)
• A point of view BBC

 

 

A day of artistic inspiration (it ain't all plain sailing, y'know part 55)

I regret that I am hardly gifted in the so called "finer arts" and I am jealous of people who seem able to create beautiful shapes, paint pictures, draw cartoons, carve statues out of stone and so forth. I am shamefully ignorant of the history of art and can only express  the merits of  paintings or sculptures with a vocabluary strictly limited in its depth of feeling and appreciation.

It has therefore been  a surprise to me, that since being in Brittany - here at little 'ole Hede-Bazouges - we have become  involved with a crowd of people- mainly French -  who are bursting with talents and who love to share their enthusiasm with others.  I am indebted to Lucie who continues to facilitate the introductions! - Net-working is her special talent  - amongst a lot of others, of course.

We are so lucky too, to have made  friends with Guillaume and Catherina St. James who are our  neighbours and who's family home is the old Lock House, directly opposite to Body and Soul - across the lock.  Their home, shown below just behind B & S, is l'Ecluse de La Petite Madelaine and from there, we receive a free Wifi signal as well as their friendship.

Us with L'Ecluse de la Petite Madelaine

Guillaume is a professional musician ; an "all- rounder" with talents in every genre (not forgetting to mention his DIY responsibilities  for the business and the  home). Qualifying out of the Rennes School of Music and the Jazz Conservatoire in Paris, he writes his own "avant garde" but serious classical compositions and gets commissions to write music for anyone who will pay him. His particular bent and obvious pleasure is to play Jazz saxophone of all types - soprano, alto, tenor - and he has recently returned from a tour of the USA with his friend Chris Brubeck, a trombone player (yes! son of the late pianist Dave Brubeck!) Guillaume also plays a mean jazz piano  with great swing and enthusiasm. (Click on his name above and listen to his music)

Catherina is not only running their family "Glamping" business but also holds down an important full-time post promoting "Culture" in the region - besides which she is a loving mother to their three children and all that this entails.To describe her life as busy, is clearly an understatement. 

As I write this blog, I hear  Guillaume practicing his tenor sax from his floating office  opposite us. Surprisingly, he likes to accompany me on the piano at social occasions whenever our calenders collide.  We all enjoy each other's company and even Coco Chanel (our Cat) roams freely through their open house, much to the delight of their children. The international rugby matches add further grounds for a healthy relationship, albeit with a distinctly  competitive edge -  we often watch the series on their television "en famille".  

Guillaume is the founder and over-all organiser of the Annual Hede-Bazouges jazz festival, now preparing for its ninth year. (17th and 18th Sept) (make sure you click on the links at the very top of the front page for all the details and picture records)  This festival is not just about Jazz but also about art and the promotion of local talents in any of the art disciplines - both professional and amateur - even great cooks and professional clowns are included. Entry is free to the festival site with many services and entertainment to be enjoyed by the family - bookings for the main band events in the huge circus tent, however, must be reserved and paid for in advance. 

All the organisational activity is carried out by volunteers (the French word "benevoles") who include, in large part, a group of art lovers and talented locals,  over-seen by Vincent Brodin  a  delightfully modest professional in his own field as a sculptor/plasticien. Ten thousand people are expected over two days of the jazz festival, subject to good weather. Much needs to be done at this early stage. Click here for the facebook photographs from last year's event.

Another couple,  Alan and his wife Pascale Beauchamps - she is a sculptor of stone and cement and they live in a remarkable old family house, absolutely stacked full of interesting "objets d'art" at every turn, together with a large barn-like studio which they make  available for the jazz festival artists, the volunteers  and their paraphenalia.

Lucie is involved with the whole project - planning to run the "Cream Teas" tent again this year, served through the Houdini hatch from Body and Soul. She also goes for her weekly health-walk with Pascale. Good friends. 

 

Lunch al fresco at the house of the Beauchamps

 

Surprisingly, in view of my afore-mentioned lack of artistic talent - this Sunday, we are both  invited to a "creativity forum" for the 2016 Jazz Festival where talented art lovers, under Vincent's direction, help to create new display material - to be  hung up in trees and in strategic places - as objects of interest and beauty. This all takes place in the above mentioned Beauchamps' studio.

 On arrival at 10am, whilst Lucie goes off to do something useful,  Vincent sits me down at a table, seen below, suggesting that I might create something from a box of assorted drinking straws,  a piece of wire and some plastic off-cuts. He supervises the real talents that drift in and out throughout the day - each one making  great mobiles and chandeliers, seemingly within minutes - from absolute rubbish.

It isn't until nearly "midi" when - encouraged by the thought of  lunch -  I have an idea as to what I could make after considering the paucity  of the material  in front of me, without much hope.

 There is no photo of it, thank goodness, but I managed to cobble something  together by the end of the day which is certainly of no use to anyone - neither is it interesting and really it is quite ugly - even with the day-light shining through it ! - we laugh a lot and  I enjoy the day making it - especially the "apres art"  -  Lunch and Supper - prepared by Lucie and Pascale with Alain,  Anne, Olivier, Janique and Vincent - Friendship, food and wine ( or beer?) - these are the best creations of all.

Who'd 've thought it - me, a "plasticien"? 

Possibly, but it ain't all going to be plain sailing, y'know!

But how do you get this out of the door..?

 

Le Mont-Saint-Michel - incredible!

Words cannot really describe the wonder of this lovely ancient, island monument and Abbey. A history dating back from 709AD to today with scaffolding around it's highest pinnacle - the statue of Saint Michel now under repair. (this picture of the Saint-Michel pinnacle shows how it should look after reparations) 

Click on these unique photos for a better view. (My sister Judy and I are seen here listening to the excellent audio commentary, having been to the highest allowable point in the Abbey itself.)

We visit on the 25th April 2016, just after lunch - there were a tolerable number of fellow humans  sharing this experience but we shudder to think what it would be like during the high Summer season.

Click here for the official history and info.

 

Another day out...(edited from Lucie's facebook).

Tues 5th April 2016

 

Cry me a river Rob (I've recorded the base  "on top" of the piano, using my "Audacity app." - hope to improve) 

 The sun is out, the forecast for the rest of the week looks dubious. We decide to go to the Mont St Michel via lunch at Bistro Boris in Dol de Bretagne on the way. (plat du jour 7.90E). We drive, happily, across a spring-filled landscape, but we have overlooked the fact that French school holidays have only just begun. (oh the crowds!) 

There is a sea of cars in the vast car park with hoards of people queuing for the shuttle bus to the Mont  - which looks fantastic in the distance; but  not enough to persuade us to "grit our teeth" and join the madding crowd. A wordless look at each other and Malcolm turns the car towards the exit barrier. (another day for sure - but off-peak! ) ed.

We decide to head-off to the town of Fougeres and its memorable castle-  spied but not visited on a previous occasion. It seems clear of  huge crowds and we "sally forth" to the entrance of the castle. (17E for two, inclusive of the technology) 

Clutching brochures and personal audio guides (in English), we set off; it is spectacular, interesting and  well organised. There are so many historical facts to absorb; a second visit would not go amiss. We end with a cafe-creme, sun-drenched, on the terrace of a little brasserie in the small square outside the entrance to the castle - then; home to feed the Cat, Coco Chanel.

  Click on these to enlarge