Margate - we’ve arrived

We’ve upped sticks, and left Lavausseau for Margate in England. We’d been living there for 9 years, and decided that we missed England too much. We started just looking around the County of Kent, with no particular place in mind. We found a house we liked in Margate, a coastal town. This photo below is taken from the Turner Gallery there, and the picturesque view shows the area is a superb place for us to land up. I’ll be putting more pictures of the area in this blog in the future.

We sold our house to a French family, and hope they will enjoy living there as much as we did.

We are moving

We're selling the house, and moving back to England. We are leaving on the 29th April. It has been 9 years in this delightful house. I'll be continuing this blog from our new home in Margate, Kent.

Daily visits

These splendid ducks live with our neighbours, and visit on a daily basis. they are a delight to see, and are quite unconcerned by our proximity when we greet them.

Mielle at rest

A typical posture, spent every morning, alongside her little friend.

Autumn has arrived

Before the rains come with a vengeance, the river is still low. The grass has a brilliant greenness, as the sun has been absent for most of the last few weeks. The fish are there if you look hard for them. They are not as abundant as in past years.

Isn't life grand!

This is Keiko enjoying his morning nap.

It had to happen

 

Without any warning this branch, that had been hanging over our river, finally collapsed and fell off. Fortunately there was no-one around at the time.

Tangled web

A very typical spot in our garden. Not manicured, but luscious.

Blooming flowers

 

 

 

 

These flowers follow a colour theme.

Poitiers street view

I rather like the decor of this restaurant. I've not eaten there, but it certainly looks inviting.

Spring is finally with us in Lavausseau

Bad news turns into good when the weather develops to this level. Well, it certainly lifts my spirits. I've even opened the swimming pool from its Winter slumber. Of course, it will now require daily attention to keep it clean and topped up.

Tony's birthday celebration

An 86th birthday celebration. And with a cake to match.

Ducks visit Bas Etang

These ducks live in our neighbours' garden, and they make regular daily forays around our land. They are very welcome, and add rurality to the land that we adore.

Daily visitors

These white ducks are our neighbours, living with the people who have put up a Yurt on the property next door. They come most days, and spend a couple of hours preening themselves at either end of the bridge. It was thought that they might disappear over Xmas, but they have survived. Hopefully, they are well regarded pets, and will be local residents for some time to come.

The rains have come

We've got used to this happening now. As you can see, to forestall the bridge being swept away, it is now tied to a nearby tree.

The USA election

Today's election of the President in America is a make or break day for the country. As a Mormon, Mitt Romney will have a hard time convincing the Americans (as well as the non voting foreigners) that he is fit for the job. It will be interesting to see, if he wins, whether he will constantly espouse Mormanesque principles to the people. Will he give Starbucks and Las Vegas a hard time, for instance?

A problem with the Swimming Pool

During the Summer I noticed that the water level was descending faster than usual. Normally, with evaporation I only had to top it up fortnightly. But I noticed that I was losing that much in 2 days. I have not stopped the leak yet, but I assume that the egress is occurring through the underwater light assembly. During the Winter I will monitor the level to see to where it descends. The problem with a pool is that the side walls are weakened without water, and there is always a possibility that the structure will collapse.

Keiko at rest

 

Our new cat, Keiko, has tken quite a liking to our keyboard. He doesn't work at it, but he's at rest.

Our magnificent Weeping Willow

 

Amanda reckons this tree is badly in need of pruning. Does anyone have a comment about this?

Trimming our Hedge

 

Our annual hedge trimming operation was done recently. Using a Stihl hedge trimming tool it took 6 hours. Needless to say, we engaged someone else to do it for us.