France

Hello

Well I am back from my French 'adventure'. To include pictures I am going to spread it out over a couple of entries. One of the problems of having an incurable disease is getting travel insurance but fortunately as my bank provides free travel insurance I was able to convince them that I was fit enough to travel and give me cover.

The outward journey went very well, at least until Calais station. On SNCF (French Railways) you have to 'composte' your ticket before boarding your train. In reality this means you have to insert your ticket into a machine to date and validate your ticket but the instructions are slightly less than clear. When you walk onto the platform you are greeted with a big sign that says All tickets must be composted. After a bit of head scratching I worked out how to do it and probably just as important why. French rail tickets are valid for one month as opposed to the British system of a specific date and to prevent fraudulant use the stamp indicates the specific date of travel.

The journey from Calais to Etaple Le Touquet took less than an hour and was very comfortable, in fact nearly as comfortable as what I consider to be one of the best British trains the class 375 Electrostars used on Southeastern but that would be a biased opinion!

After a short taxi ride to the Hotel Windsor it was time for a quick wash and brush up and than lunch..... more about that next time.

On the subject of health I have an appointment with the oncologist on Tuesday afternoon to get the result of the latest scan. It is now a year since I had any treatment and I still feel very well in myself so fingers crossed.

Bus from Dover station to ferry terminal

White Cliffs of Dover as seen from the P&O ferry Pride of Kent

Double deck train at Calais Ville station

Journeys End Etaples Le Touquet station

Andy

Please please its far to early!

Its September now not December!!

Drove past the Wateringbury Hotel today and guess what? They had two fully decorated Christmas Trees!!!! I realise that people have to arrange functions etc in advance but surely this is far far to early.

As my Mother used to say 'You know when its Christmas, the Easter Eggs are in the shops'!

I have just returned from a couple of days staying with friends in Dorset and had a great time and found the peace and sanity I needed to make some important decisions. I now know what I have to do and why I have to do it.

On a more positive note if you are ever in West Dorset and feel hungry visit the Weld Arms in East Lulworth the food is out of this world and the portions are huge. By huge I mean huge, imagine a plate 12 inches by 12 inches with one third of it taken up by chips another third with salad and the final bit a home made burger topped with bacon and Mozarella cheese. You will be pleased to know that I managed it but I felt the weight going on!

The name Weld Arms is nothing to do with welding but Weld is the family name of the people who own the Lulworth Estate.

On Monday I am off to France on Monday for a week, Le Touquet to be precise. I was going to fly from Lydd but there was no availability on the dates I wanted and the price at £149 was rather prohibitive so I am going to get a train to Dover, ferry to Calais than a local train to Le Touquet for a total return price of £12. There is some advantage of being a railwayman!

Andy

Worlds Largest Coffee Morning

September 24th is the date for this years largest coffee morning organised by Macmillan for cancer research.

May I ask you to support this worthy cause as cancer affects more than one person in three and I know from my personal experience what wonders the medics can now do but they still need all our support.

Thank you

Andy