47. Trick or treat

ILE DE RÉ - FRANCE

Two months on the road, time for a haircut.  Audrey and Fyfe were keen so, with a pair of scissors each the task was completed, with a minimum of faffing about.  After all, who cares, its not like anybody will see me as I'm the bloke behind the camera.  As my saltnpepper locks fell around me (surely those aren't mine?) I remembered that there is one person arriving next week who might care.  Hoping that the old saying the only difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is a week has substance.  Were I to criticise, I would mention that I do seem to be a little thin on top.

Audrey talking to Jacqueline

Audrey and my projects started

Jacqueline phoned and for the first time since she left on her OE to the southern hemisphere we all had a good old chat for a few hours.  Took a bit of setting up as I had to balance my phone on top of the awning then chat via bluetooth headphones.  Worked well though I do tend to pace around outside, in small circles when not tethered.

After lunch Audrey tackled the pumpkin and I prepped and painted the timbers used for getting the dinghy, now named Teasel, on and off the car.  Have ordered sign writing online for the new name (previous name unknown), delivery to EnT, Holyport.

Fyfe has to re-inflate his rear tyre daily

Hunter gatherers

The children spent much of the afternoon raiding stands of bamboo for hut building, discretely hiding the evidence (leaves etc).  Bamboo does well here.  Most of the trees are old man Macrocarpa and with the sand underfoot it really reminds me of the New Brighton campground, a favourite summer campsite for my Dad's family as a kid in the nineteen fifties.

Audrey and my projects were successful and as I write hers is shining out, in front of our caravan, and will be seen by ..... absolutely no-one, apart from you dear reader, it being low season and we have put ourselves at the far end, not under trees but in full sun.  It is further from services but has given us a large area for ourselves.  Apart from the American tac in the shops I have seen no evidence of Halloween here.

My, now painted, boat ladder system will provide inspiration and envy for generations to come.

46. A Paradigm Shift

ILE DE RÉ - FRANCE

Again the day started abruptly but this time with Fyfe bursting through the door "you said we could get up at seven thirty and it's now eight thirty!" Looked at my phone - seven thirty on the dot.  Ha, daylight saving.  Have decided not to change the clocks. Dug Iris out at nine (eight), breakfast and all that involves by ten (nine).  Had a fit when the movie tonight ran to nine (eight), Chivied the children into bed as "you are now an hour late" by nine thirty (eight thirty target met).  Reminds me of friends, years ago who promised their children they could get up to see the new year in, put all the clocks forward by two hours, children rose, celebrated midnight and then everybody was in bed by ten thirty. 

Today we biked to St-Martin-de-Ré.  The day was cool but sunny with a reasonably serious head wind on the way there.  Roman refused to use a gear lower than fourth (the gear that he likes) as, apparently, on a previous occasion, I told him the first three gears are for hills.  I attempted to explain that a head wind is like a hill that you never get to the top of, however he reasoned that that was because there is no hill, anybody can see that! #whatdodadsknowanyway?  Reciprocal the previous argument on the way home when higher gears could have been deployed downwind,

Foreground - our children
Background - St-Martin-de-Ré city walls
Middle - Rastafarian donkeys

speed limited by his desire for a comfortable cadence in fourth gear. Cue the gnashing teeth of older siblings behind Roman having to brake to keep in the imposed order of youngest to eldest, excluding me.

Once you have seen one of these port towns you have seen them all, except that they are absolutely fabulous, charming, beautiful and stylish and I intend to explore as many of them as I can. 

St-Martin-de-Ré sports the worlds only shop entirely devoted to Tintin, Mille Sabords à La Rochelle.  It was closed for lunch, for another hour when we arrived so we poked around and explored the port. Iris, being a teenager, was appalled when she realised that she had been wearing her bike helmet, sans bike, for the last half hour.  A cuttle fish would have been shamed by the speed in which she changed colour.  Told the children that they could have a café lunch (a reoccurring, tedious campaign theme) and buy whatever they wanted but it was coming out of their Mathsbuddy earnings. I dimly recall, thirty five years ago a lecturer attempting to explain the expression paradigm shift. Something about judging people without full information and then seeing things completely differently.... Well, children declared that there was no way they were wasting their money on a café and they would go without until the supermarket on the way home - an outstanding example of a paradigm shift. 

The Tintin shop duly opened and was entered with high expectations....... however everything was in French and the prices appeared to be in lira. A little keyring figurine of Tintin €25; a six inch high Milou soft toy that Roman liked €45. The shop was bustling and busy, the sales cashier was not.

Cone ice creams were next on the schedule.  I was quite excited as it has been a long time since I have only had to pay for one in order to get one.  Discussion ensued amongst the twenty first century babies when they realised that the cheapest offering was seven Mathsbuddy lessons each.  Options were considered and I suggested that a pack of four Magnum's at the Intermarche Super on the way home would be less than two Mathsbuddy lessons each and that all four could have ice creams for less than the price of one waterfront offering.... we were on the road with a minimum of fuss, Roman in fourth gear.

Roman self censoring a kiss in tonights movie Pay it Forward

45. Beginners luck

ILE DE RÉ - FRANCE

Mosquito at night

During the early hours I was woken by the distinctive noise of a Mosquito at high rpm, very close, which, considering our current location had the same result as had it occurred seventy years earlier. Anti aviation weapons were commissioned and I do not know whether it was scared off or hit but we were not disturbed again. The new programme of getting to bed on time means that, finally, everyone is getting up earlier.  Audrey rose and was enraged to discover that she had been hit in the palm of the hand during the night time raid and no fewer than seven body hits, none proved to be fatal but it was touch and go.  I thought it wise not to mention that I had forgotten to commission sky-net* before going to bed.

Monetisation of maths homework has created academic monsters.  Fifty cents is the negotiated rate per lesson passed with a grade greater than eighty percent.  The elder three have done four and a half hours straight today with Fyfe yielding a fraction over one euro per hour.  I have deployed various ineffective strategies to escape this punitive contract including, no homework allowed until the following are completed:

1. Breakfast eaten and plate in the sink
2. Bed made
3. Dressed
4. Teeth cleaned

I'm not sure what else might distract them but I hear that a Playstation would be very effective in such  a situation.

Dismantling, failed part just above his hand

Reassembly

"Say cheese"

Roman has not done any homework today as we only have three laptops (Jacqueline bringing two more) and as he is only a private gets to hurry up and wait.  Roman took it upon himself to fix his camera which I bought cheaply for him as a Christmas present a couple of years ago and then paid twice as much for the physically huge Smartmedia card.  The rotary switch on the back failed six months ago and was stuck on "PC Mode" so the camera was unserviceable.  When he appeared with screwdrivers and announced that he was going to "fix" his camera I thought, oh well, it is broken anyway.  He set himself up with a tray on our bed and removed a claimed eleven screws, played with micro switches, popped various bits out of clips in the chassis, unplugged the PCBs and worked out that he could power it up dismantled if he held the door micro switches down with his fingers.  I took a couple of snaps as I was impressed by his industry.  While making lunch he appeared with his camera, said "say cheese" and took my photo!  On enquiry "the turney knob couldn't turn to the right bit cause there was a plastic circle behind it that stopped kids turning the knob the wrong way so I pulled the plastic circle out because it was broken and I don't need it cause I know how to use cameras. #beginnersluck #whatdodadsknowanyway?

Job done

Pully fitted

I tackled the mast and, as always, was impressed by the longevity of mahogany. The new pin was half a millimetre bigger than my largest bit so I made the difference with rolled up sandpaper, time not being of the essence.  Thank you Paul for your sandpaper that I scored packing out of Blenheim Palace.

*Skynet - skylights open and have blackout blinds and fly screens, or nothing, as was the case last night.

44. Coast to Coast

ILE DE RÉ - FRANCE

Day started with a jolt at five thirty in the morning with lots of shouting in the near distance. It is amazing what must be in the back of my mind, tsunami? fire? Sitting bolt upright in bed I was able to discern laughing amongst all the other noise so in my muddled state I closed the skylights to reduce noise and assured the children that it was All Saints Day* and people were getting ready to go down to the beach to celebrate the dearly departed.  This reasoning was good enough for me and I collapsed back into bed, unconscious till nine thirty, as did the children.  Where do I get my material from?

Found that balancing my phone in the top of the awning, reasonable three bar 3G could be received and so the children threw themselves into more online maths though Fyfe did help me blow out the heat pump filter with compressed air (me on the awning inflation hand pump).

Yousician, online lessons - brilliant

Slot widened, repair drying

While homework was progressing I tackled the mast, more specifically, the halyard pulley that was causing me grief and more-so, embarrassment when it unjammed in front of Jennifer, after I had been extolling the virtues go gaff rigs (do ask me sometime) and the whole lot came crashing down, snapping the burgee mast in the process.  The existing pulley was old and brittle causing it to loose its shoulders letting the halyard derail and jam if the gaff was even slightly off centre, raising and lowering. I secured a wider, larger block with a larger pin. Changing the pulley and widening the hole to accommodate it, in normal circumstances, would be no great challenge but with the meagre tools I have with me it entertained me for many hours and did not end up with a trip to A&E you will be disappointed to read.  Currently I am waiting till tomorrow for the glue to dry.

In the afternoon we set off on bikes for La Flotte, the town on the other side of the island.  Again Google maps cycle route failed me and we ended up dragging bikes through ankle deep dry sand on what could be best described as horse trails. We are now using CoPilot GPS app.  It has been a great success getting the Giantavan around without getting jammed and it proved equally useful today enabling me to avoid enraging the kids.

La Flotte is quaint and groomed to within an inch, absolutely beautiful and totally without the crass commercialism that plagues New Zealand's scenic spots.  The ride is about fourteen km in total so Roman did well as he has taken a while to get into cycling for transport.  The local patisserie revived flagging spirits. 

* All Saints Day is next Wednesday, Nov 1. I have absolutely no idea how the French celebrate the day, if at all.

43. Going bush

ILE DE RÉ - FRANCE

After the battles with expensive campsite wifi last night I returned the voucher to the office and explained that it did not work for us. Whether or not we are charged the twenty euro will be interesting on check out.

A famous Mum, and Roman

Headed for the local supermarket via the main cycle route. In the UK I have been impressed with Google Maps for cycling, keeping us off the main highways. We were diverted off the main cycle drag by road works and ended up picking our way through a forest when the mapped routes petered out in reality. All good fun, we were in no rush and the weather was favourable.

Found that a thin, two bar, 3G signal could be obtained by poking my phone out the skylight and then using it as a wifi hot point. Finally some online maths homework was completed, sweetened by a deal of fifty cents per module passed, paid on completion of the whole module. I think this will work out at about €3–4/week each if they work at it. It will also stop them obsessing on getting one hundred percent and then getting bored with redoing every exercise till it is error free. I have set the pass bar at eighty percent.  Audrey is gutted that her pedantic perfectionism is not being rewarded (my words, not hers)

Jacqueline is bringing two more MacBook Air laptops with her from NZ giving us one each so that will test the data.  We are taking some care and have yet to hit any data limits.  We are not downloading movies to that helps and talking books are only about 160mb.

Lots to explore here by bike, everything is beautiful. Yet to start the Disco though cleaned it today.  Hoping to do all the exploring / shopping by bike.  I think we will stay here a bit longer.

42. Winding back a season

ILE DE RÉ - FRANCE

Was the day for it

Patchy 3G forced me onto paid wifi today. Twenty Euro in fact, the blighters! ... and it only works on one device at a time so the children can't do their homework together, at the same time. Looking forward to Jacqueline bringing the new wifi hub (just spent an hour trying to reconnect).

Sunny and warm day so a couple of loads of washing was in order then down to the beach for a look. Didn't disappoint, with fantastic flat shelf rock at low tide.

180º degree panorama so need to open and pan

Local hound that leans on you

Rock pools, endless entertainment

We were going to bike into Sainte-Marie-de-Ré today which is an easy three km bike ride in order to explore and visit a supermarket however the children were aching to get back to the beach and I am a sucker for lying, beached on the sand, so the beach won.

As to be expected, the beach ate up the afternoon so the plan tomorrow is to start by cycling into Sainte-Marie-de-Ré and then over the next few days exploring by cycling further afield.

Audrey is gutted that the extensive pool here at the campsite is closed. I am gutted as this pathetic / expensive wifi has mucked me around for two hours trying to post this up!

Managed to finally find some suitable rowlock plates online as currently the rowlocks are in drilled holes in the wood and said holes are getting longer every time we use the dinghy. Yet more stuff for Jac to bring with her from the UK.

Made vichyssoise for dinner.  The kids scoffed it, coming back for thirds, then toast, all while watching the Peanuts movie.  I had toast.

180º panorama

41. Tim's Favourite

Ile de Ré - France

Announced to the children during dinner last night that we wouldn’t be moving on today as I had a board meeting, starting at nine thirty that would take me into the wee hours and that they weren’t to disturb me in the morning. As it happened, I woke at the normal time, keen to move on which was no small feat as even the boat was still to be loaded. It all went smoothly, thanks to a passer by giving me a lift and we were on the road in a timely manor travelling for about three hours with stops to Tim’s highly recommended Ile-De-Re.

Just before leaving Peter Duck was downloaded, being the third in the Swallows and Amazons Series. As always makes for smooth travel, and in some aspects normalises what we are doing as a family.

Tim's recommended Ile-de-Ré in part due to the one hundred kilometres of dedicated cycleways.  Arriving over the impressive three kilometre bridge I was amazed at both the immediate improvement in climate, sunny and at twenty two degrees, felt like summer and secondly the number of people, including families, cycling around, off the road on well prepared trails.

Again we were invited to find our own site and found a lovely sunny sheltered corner for the Giantavan.  On arrival was tempted to lie down in the sun for a snooze but fat chance.  I note that to date I have not done any uke or reading to date as there is always too much to be done just keeping the show on the road.

40. Days and Forty Nights

SAINT-PHILBERT-DE-GRAND-LIEU, FRANCE

Giantavan from the village

Autumn has definitely caught us up, the trees are turning and we kick our way through leaves walking around the campsite. Trees are a feature of French campsites, one of the first things they list in the camp site descriptions.  My guess is due to the summer heat in this part of the world. At this time of year they do make things a little dank. Luckily, we are not relying on our solar panel. Loving having the Giantavan backed up to the river.

Went for a row today in the other direction for about an hour. Absolutely lovely, with low banks so we could see the surrounding countryside. The river is about twenty metres wide, very slow with men fishing with long poles, no reels and bright floats.

This morning was the eighth day and due (yesterday) for stitches out. Went to the local medical practice which was very quiet and after a short wait was ushered in by a very well presented doctor. All went smoothly and I was surprised that he had a Eftpos on his desk.  Unfortunately was not working and luckily I happened to have the twenty five euro, which he popped into the top drawer of his desk.  According to my mate Charles M, for the French payer l'impôt c'est ne pas être un homme.

Dropped Jennifer at Nantes Atlantic Airport mid afternoon,  lovely visit.

Board meeting tonight from nine thirty so it will be a late one for me. Don't think I will try and move on tomorrow. Have positioned the Disco close to the office for Wifi.

Ordered a flash wifi aerial and hotspot so hoping that will sort things as in this campsite even the mobile signal is dodgy. Jacqueline to bring it from the UK on her return.

39. Island life

SAINT-PHILBERT-DE-GRAND-LIEU, FRANCE

Stock photo

Day trip out to the offshore island of Ile de Noirmoutier, famous for its low tide seabed road, till 1971 its only access by car.  Unfortunately, we weren't organised enough to use the seabed road but drove to what appeared to be a slipway with marker poles every few hundred metres leading out into a very turbulent sea - impressive.  Driving four and a half kilometres on seabed would have been impressive.

Had a walk around in the lovely town up in the top bit and I was able to purchase a new halyard pulley and pin to replace the narrow one on the dinghy that is too narrow and lets the halyard derail and jam.  Roman got asked to leave for playing with the rope measuring machine.  Apparently French children would never do such a thing.

38. Back on the Water

SAINT-PHILBERT-DE-GRAND-LIEU, FRANCE

Rain thundered through the night waking us at intervals.  Must say, caravan wins over tent hands down when weather inclement. Morning shower was a endurance exercise as the mornings seem to be about twelve degrees with only tepid water raining down.

Fyfe's photos from the caravan

Jennifer translating Asterix

Anyways, its been six days since I self harmed and the doctor said keep it dry for seven so, I think I've  done pretty well, for me.... and.... look at that water.  The site was very relaxed about giving me a key to the water gate, the wind was promising, kids were entertaining the import (Jennifer) so off I went.  By the time I was set up, the wind was perfect however it was one in the afternoon and people need feeding, as do I.  Chicken soup (yesterdays roast), with veggies added, cooked for six hours, fantastic.  Back out again at about two thirty and .... complete calm.  Bugger.  Sails down and off for a row with Roman steering and Audrey doing a lot of the rowing. Turns out much of the water is really shallow but it was lovely.

Camp playground

By the time we were done there was some wind, now from the North so Jennifer and I went for a sail which was good fun, with the trees the wind was gusting and swinging up to ninety degrees and the lake is very shallow in places with a lot of debris.  In what can best be described as a roll tack (possibly forgot to release the jib and may have tripped on the hiking straps*) we dipped the gunwale however all was saved by Jennifer's bottom preventing too much water entering the boat.  Possibly would have been preferable had she been not wearing the only trousers she brought for the weekend.

Children enjoying the campsite, Audrey mapping the territory, doctoring the camp map, the water we were sailing on now named Saflement River which the natives (and Google) call La Boulogne.

Audrey's Map

* haven't sailed a boat with these for about thirty years

37. Birthday import

Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu, France

Inching our way south, though mostly east.  From here we can go south.  The shift went well as we wanted to be set up in time to meet Jennifer at Nantes Atlantique half an hour north of here.

We set up in record time, got a chicken on to roast, the children made cards and a whiteboard welcome banner and dashed off to met Jennifer whose flight from Heathrow had taken her via Munich.  An eleven hundred mile trip when the direct line is about three hundred.  Fun to have her here for her birthday and dinner was great fun, rounded off with Magnums and Darling Buds of May - Perfec.

We have backed up to the river and can see it out the three rear windows though the rain was pelting, so much so that we had to pause DBoM for a bit though it did give the chance for teeth to be cleaned.