La Garangeoire – The Vendee – 2010

What can I say ! We just cannot stop coming here.
Voted one of the top 10 European sites and lives up to it every time. Just coming to the end of the stay here and moving on to Normandy and the ferry home. Sad to leave really because this is the place to chill out with plenty of sun, temps usually in the 21c – 26c area for most of September.
 
The staff on the site are first class and speak both French and English. You can not stay here without treating yourself to a meal in the excellent Restaurant, we had 2.

They even do a meet the chef (free) morning once a week which Lesley went on and came back with nothing but praise the kitchen area was spotlessly clean and the chef explained about how he made the pate de foie gras for the Restaurant and the macaroons which every one on the tour had a go at piping.

Wish I had gone round also but missed it.   

For a good walk, followed by a 1200hrs meal, Lac Jaunay (Lake) is about 10 mins drive from the site. The L’Auberge du Jaunay couldn’t be better. The bar – creperie – Restaurant sits high on the northern bank with stunning views across the lake whilst tucking into some good French food and of course some good wine.

Wild life on the lake abounds. This was one of the many large green lizards we came across basking in the sun. This was the one day I never bothered to put the long lens on, sods law as they say but it came out quite well.

It is also a good place to relax with your own picnic at the many places on the surrounding banks.  Pictures are worth a thousand words as they say so here are a few more of the areas we travelled to this time round.

My Wife is a stamper!!!

Things I’ve Learned as a Stamper's Spouse By Jon Van Bruggen My wife is a stamper. By stamper, I mean a paper-crafting, blog-hopping, creativity-oozing stamper. She’s not a crafter and she’s definitely not a scrap booker. She’s a stamper.  Perhaps you’re also an involuntary member of this unique and growing collection of people I like to simply call Spouses of Stamper’s… or SS’s.  By having been an SS for the past few years I’ve learned a thing or two about the stamping sub-culture. And even though I’m armed with this knowledge, the various quirks and expectations of stamper’s are still hard to manage at times. Perhaps you’re an SS and you think you’re the only one experiencing these things. Know that you’re not alone! We’re in this together! And so, for all of the SSs out there, I submit to you the top 10 things I’ve learned as an SS: Delete “scrap booker” from your vocabulary and then empty your recycle bin. Remember...she's a stamper!   The outside of a greeting card is one hundred times more meaningful to a recipient than the words written on the inside. Or at least the outside of the card takes one hundred times longer to complete. Organza and Grosgrain have nothing to do with anything organic or wheat-based. They’re ribbons. When your wife says “I just want to change one thing about this card,” you better cancel your dinner reservations because you’re not going anywhere for a very long time. What looks like the aftermath of a tornado is really just a uniquely organized stamp room. Never, ever, ever say “Don’t you already have paper like that?” Trust me. It’s not the same paper. Redeeming the weekly 40% off coupon at Michaels trumps having milk in the refrigerator and clean socks to wear. Seriously, are your personal health and hygiene that important? I didn’t think so. The primary purpose of making cards is not to send them to others. It's to create space for that new die-cut machine. Much like the sun, you can’t turn off your wife’s creativity. As an SS, just give in already and prepare for many more dinner conversations about the latest blog-hop or stamp-a-thon.

Château de Chambord.

The royal Château de Chambord at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinct French Renaissance architecture that blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Italian structures.

Chambord is the largest castle in the Loire Valley, but was built to serve only as a hunting lodge for François I.

We spend the best part of a day here and the Chateau was stunning.

A short walk across the grass behind where this picture was taken from is a very nice bar. We arrived here late in the day but on our next visit we will certainly drop in for lunch at 12:00hrs

Conkers

Our first trip out in the van was to Conkers not far from Swadlincote weekend of 12th March.  The weather was some what chilly and the wind blew across the site.  We had brilliant fish and chips cooked to order on the Friday night from the mobile fish and chip van that visited the site.

Saturday morning/afternoon we took a walk round to Conkers to have a look – it looks brilliant from the outside and we will certainly be returning to take a look on the inside.

Out of the wind on Saturday it was really warm in the sun,but true to form the weather changed on the Sunday and it became over cast and damp

Today we mourn the passing on of Common Sense.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;

I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

New Background Layout

 

For some weird reason my background layout “NoteBook” stopped working yesterday, not sure why, but anyway I’ve now changed it to this blue one. Looks quite good I thought. Business as usual again. 

Pictures from 2009

January Granny ( Nita ) Christmas 2008/09 Sadly no longer with us but we love and think of her every day. xx --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

February Snow ! Real snow in the back garden. But 2 days earlier we had a visit from the local Fox! British weather you’ve just got to love it. Lol --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

March Testing out the new shed at Broadway CC. Weather was glorious. --- Met up with Carol and Mark to test out the on site bar facilities and also, the off site facilities. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April Cameron round for the day. Warm and snug and watching Thomas, he’s nuts on Thomas the Tank Engine --- Chapel Lane CC Travelled to Birmingham Canal District from Chapel Lane, first visit to Birmingham in years and I mean years ! Lock Keepers House, now a bar. Well, we had to find a bar somewhere for light refreshment and to rest our feet. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May The sun came out in May so now it was time to introduce our grandchildren, Cameron and Emily to the joys of water. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June Well its that time of year again so off to France. This time Samantha and Ashley came with us to see what all the fuss was about when we talk of France and the campsites. We took the usual ferry across, Portsmouth to St Malo, this leaves Pompy at about 20:30hrs it has a cabaret lounge and bar and is a nice leisurely crossing. You have to book a cabin for this crossing for £50.00 but its well worth it. Plus your not kicked off the ferry at 06:00hrs (Caen Ferry), so don’t have a wooly head when you leave the ship at 07:30hrs in the morning. Trust me a clear head for the first 20mins is essential when adjusting to driving on the RT hand side of the road and towing a shed! But after that the French roads are a dream to drive on with traffic jams and road works very few and far between. On this trip we headed off to the Vendee to a campsite called “Camping Le Pin Parasol”. The site was excellent, very large pitches, middle of the country side and high above a lake “Lac du Jaunay” where there is a crêperie overlooking the lake. Will do a whole post on this site and area. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

July This was a quiet and sad month as Granny Nita, Lesley's lovely mum passed away. We will all remember the good times we had with Nita, also know affectionately as the mad Australian.:-) No, she wasn’t mad but made us all laugh with some of the things she sometimes came out with. She came to these shores as a war bride in 1946 and never lost her aussie accent. She loved her family and was very proud of all her great grandchildren. We miss you Nita, ‘Good on yer’ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

August A quiet month also but managed to have a good day out at the zoo with the family. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

September Lesley gets her NHS long service award. And then its off the France again. South Brittany to start off with then worked our way back to Caen via St Malo and Mont Saint Michel. Separate blog post for whole trip with pic’s. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October CC Site near Belper (very tight little site!) Then off to Critch Tramway Museum with Grandchildren and Family. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

November Ventured off to France again but without the shed and car this time. Ryan Air took ourselves, Carol and Mark for a few days in Carcassonne . Lesley and Carol plan the day and a view of the Castle from the old town bridge. Would have had more pictures but the camera battery failed and we had not packed the charger – doe ! I got the blame anyway, thats how it goes. The town within the Castle walls, or at least a bit of it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

December Christmas. Grandchildren, mince pies and Santa Claus. Not much more we can say about December. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------