A Christmas in England

For the first time since we moved to France, we've returned to the UK for Christmas and New Year.  Last time we came in winter, for; Ben's birth three years ago, the weather turned really cold in our absence and killed plants on the terrace, so we needed to Take Precautions before leaving.  Half the living room has therefore become a greenhouse for 2 citrus trees and a huge jade plant (flowering, amazingly, for the second year running).  A living room for plants in fact, since humans and dogs are temporarily absent!

Evie, safely tucked into her travel box, we drove north on the A75, and as we quite often do crossed the wonderful Millau viaduct on our way across the Massif Central.  On the way you pass a village called Saint Chély d'Apcher which we had good reason to remember because I was stranded there when the car broke down in the blazing heat of summer 2003, then Mary had to cut short her stay in Béziers to collect the repaired car.  She arrived in this remote spot on the slow train to Paris, via a single track railway which amazingly still runs - for how much longer...?  Then on in the intermittently wet and blustery day past Clermont Ferrand, Orleans, Chartres and Rouen to arrive in Dieppe in the early evening.  Mary had a splendid mug of vin chaud in a bar near the hotel, then early to bed.

  

Our ferry left at 7 and was amost empty.  It's easy to take animals to England now if they are microchipped and passported (though we had a scare when the passport was temporarily lost down the side of the car seat) so Evie could come with us though she had to stay in the car.  Going to Sardinia in Feb she and Trudy were able to come in our cabin with us, but for only 4 hours this time she was quite OK.  Then we drove on to Brighton to see John and Mary in their flat on the seafront - a great location.  On Wed we travelled on to Nottingham to stay with Al, and yesterday after a visit to an extraordinary exhibition of Haitian Voodoo art we came on to Derbyshire and to Jeff and Fi's house in Mayfield, where we'll be for 10 days.  The driving in England has been difficult on the way up because of rain and glaring lights, but today it was dry and we loved seeing again the beautiful viewsx on the way from Ashbourne to Wirksworth, where we caught up with several old friends.  It feels really good to be here!