AND WE'RE OFF...

-
We finally managed to find a van that fitted our requirement; affordable. And it does go, but not always at the first turn of the key, which we discovered to our peril. It cost us £800 so we really just want it to get us as far as the south of France and then anything from there on we will see as a providential bonus.

Over the final days at the farm we packed up the van trying to squeeze everything we can in along with just enough health and safety to remain responsible parents and celebrated Ira's first Birthday. We didn't expect to still be in Somerset but it was a beautiful place to be and, too stressed to start baking amongst the chaos, we set a candle on top a pile of raspberries and strawberries from my Mum's polytunnel. Despite the pressure to start the renovation (so by the time the cold weather comes biting we are no longer in the tent) I tried to accept what is beyond our control and enjoy the unexpected prolonged stay in England and Ira's Birthday tea on the lawn with family was something to treasure.


 
 
 


We left early on the Saturday morning to fit in a quick trip to Bournemouth to see some of our most beloved friends before catching the ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg. There was a lot of tension in the air as we hoped fervently that the van would in fact drive and despite the weight of all our tools and other essentials in the back manage to climb hills. Which it did and we were happy.


After a perfect morning with our friends, leaving the beach in Bournemouth the van decided not to start. No apparent reason, just turning over nicely but not starting. Half an hour of repeatedly turning the key (I think we were too stressed to think of anything else to do) it finally fired up and we were away. We caught the ferry with barely minutes to spare. I think the adrenaline of the previous hour pushed aside any feelings of sadness as we watched the south coast recede behind us. The sheer relief of not having to spend more money on anything else associated with a vehicle overshadowed any other feelings. It felt like we had overcome the impossible by catching the ferry and we celebrated by sitting down.











Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHEN FRIENDS ARE FAR AWAY...

-
Image
We've lived here for three months (and half of that was in a tent in some woodland out of the village) so I know rationally that it is fine not to have made friends yet. I know that just because I have not made friends so far, that it doesn't mean I will never make friends here. However, who considers these things rationally when they are missing their friends from home and life as a family of four needs some serious fresh air ? I am prone to emotional responses to most things in life, it's what led me sob whilst listening Nadya Hussein on Desert Island Discs a few weeks ago, as if I had forever forfeited the opportunity to bake cakes or reminisce about the Backstreet Boys with friends simply by moving to France. It was perhaps also the repetitive task of chipping plaster off a beam combined with a lunch of tinned mackerel that led to the emotional outburst but the bottom line is, if there's an opportunity for teary melodrama, I generally take it. When we first ...
Read more

SNOW AND SCHOOL

-
Image
Snow was forecast for the beginning of the month but it didn't fall here in the village. We tried to head to one of the nearest places to ski for some snow shoeing but roads weren't accessible without snow tyres or chains. I'd naively imagined that the roads toward a ski resort would be gritted but apparently that doesn't always happen. We were so painfully aware of how we are definitely still tourists, as we chugged along an icey road, gratefully following the municipal snow plough. The bus got us far enough to play in some snow which made the girls very happy until they were very unhappy! Despite my best efforts to layer them up so much that I thought it impossible to get cold I think the freezing gusts of wind penetrated the gloves and their hands got them before they had chance to sledge. The drive was incredibly beautiful. The Plateau de Sault, as it's name suggests, is a large flat expanse, quite bare and surrounded by hills and mountains. There was a strong...
Read more

TWO WHOLE YEARS OF FRANCE

-
Image
Spring this year has been a collection of storms and showers, swollen rivers and lush green. Everyone is waiting for summer’s heat to burst from the sky and the perpetual damp to steam heavenward. The house is filled with wet washing and waterproofs and wellies stuffed with newspaper after over enthusiastic river wading or splashing in the streams that race down our road when a thunder storm hits. This month Little I turned three. Our funny, happy, loving, energetic baby girl. I carry her less and less, more and more I find myself holding the hands of two little girls walking by my sides with no one in my arms, listening to the chatter reaching upwards. It’s a new phase of motherhood and all at once it is liberating and yet it feels as if time has slipped through my fingers and in the blink of an eye my babies are big. We bought ingredients for Little I’s birthday cake, lots of chocolate, and as we walked back along the road we looked up to see somebo...
Read more