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!