My last day in the "sixty nine club" is celebrated with a stupendous party organised by Lucie. Brilliant!
- have a look at many of the photos by clicking on the album at the top of the left hand column of this page
Cartoon by Rob depicting the Body and Soul Brewery
What starts as my suggestion of "a few friends for dinner" turns out to be a much bigger bash all together. Sixty people descend upon Le Porte de Meilhan - Sunday Lunch from 1.00pm until an awful lot later. (1am for some!) We drink "Champagne" and taste Lucie's delicious canapees to start with and eat Fish and Chips from a very smart van ("Cod en Bleu" would you believe?) 60 portions of Cod and Chips with the various accompaniments - on the house! - Really first class quality and the best I have ever tasted. We finish off with homemade chocolate brownies with cream - of course.
I am aghast at the number of people who make the effort and comply so well to the 1920's dress code, as suggested, and so pleased to have my Sister Judy, Brother Rob, and daughter Amanda (Moo)(from Peterborough Dover and Barnard Castle respectively.) Numerous other friends turn up in ridiculous garb.
What an effort they make. Lovely telephone messages received and much appreciated from Jake in Vancouver and Clive in Colorado. .
My old friend, Simon Glover, with whom I am gloriously reunited after practically a "post-school lifetime"- arrives from Farnborough and is billeted in the Barge "Pezza" - a few feet away from "Body and Soul". We don't have much time to catch up - but promises to keep in touch are made between laughter and general party chat. I never seem to catch up with anything these days. Is there any hope of improvement? - I think not.
Lucie arranges all their accommodation impeccably. There is, naturally, a party on the Saturday night for those coming from so far and before the main "do". The weather forecast is of some concern but we are blessed on the day, although there are several moments when a trickle of drizzle causes a rush to cover up the band's electronic instruments with canvass sheeting. It's quite warm and pleasant otherwise.
More about the party later... must tell you about one of the many exciting presents I receive - a ticket for 35 minute flight on a "micro-light" shown here. I've just landed and have to tell someone how great it was!
Scroll up to the top left hand column of this page for the new album of party pictures and some more on the micro-flight.
Up in the sky I go with the pilot/instructor sitting in front of me. I am astride on a flying bicycle and feeling a bit like Harry Potter. The take- off run seems only 100 feet and the pilot deliberately swoops close over the heads of his colleagues and the huts which make up the airstrip offices. "He always does this" they tell me afterwards. We are high in the sky within a few breath-taking seconds. I hang on to the seat beneath me unnecessarily - call it "white knuckle syndrome" if you must. It's difficult, at first, to let my hands go free of it.
My instructor shows me how easy it is and soon I am applying both hands to the camera. There is a bit of vibration from the propeller, just inches behind me and photography is not easy. As requested we fly up the canal towards Meilhan so that I can take pictures of "Body and Soul".
The conditions are superb for flying and I don't want this to end. What a beautiful world this is! I take three or four pictures of the Porte De Meilhan and we soon turn for home, taking a circuitous route over towards Marmande.
More and more pictures.... then soon the home airstrip is already in sight.. Then comes the best bit. The pilot - with whom I have every respect - through my earphones - informs me that he is about to turn off the engine and to glide in to land from around 1000 ft. Glorious peace follows for what must have been 2 minutes as we gracefully swoop down, clipping the crop of maize at the edge of the airstrip and a safe landing. Wow! I am elated.
Now, back to the birthday celebrations....what a party we have! Music is created from the roof of Body and Soul by Rob and me playing the old standard jazz numbers with Colin Wilkes on double bass.
Then to the delight and surprise of all, including me, Moo joins in with a few unrehearsed songs. Frankly, I can't remember the order of events which followed - this, perhaps, a function of an excessive consumption of my own home brewed beer (housed for general consumption in the back of our van) or a surfeit of fish 'n chips - but we are all delighted to have Charlie Smith and his friend Antony who sing their young hearts out with such confidence and talent. We are all priviledged to be in their presence. I hope the "hat", passed round, made it all worthwhile. In between acts Lucie puts on carefully chosen 1920's background music. Perfect!
Anyway....more later given the chance....