Guess you'd been wondering what I've been up to since the new year.... okay, maybe not...
Al's just got back from a holiday with Sandy to Gran Canaria, where Sandy kept escaping by donning a scuba set and flippers (okay okay 'fins'), knowing that Al is banned from diving on account of his ears!
But now Al and I are off to french France (yay). Off at the crack of dawn, okay 7am but it's still dark. Sandy's made me a crash helmet for this trip. er yes we're on the bike! We're travelling light, no room for a hair dryer, but with the length of Al's hair he might regret this - scruffy so and so!
We head off south, being chased by the weather. It's still summery but the wind rain and autumn chase us down the A1; catching us a few times before we outran it as we approached the M25. It's still 20 deg C which is brill for this time of year - but the changes are coming.
Onto the train and it's so quiet, hardly anyone travelling. We met up with our newbies joining the 'Wander' - Allan, Richard and Andy - they seem like a great bunch, but with interesting differences of character and backgrounds. Wapping joins us later, he's arriving late 'cos he wanted to watch a rugby match.
Al's been having a bit of grief with his sat. nag, so it's touch and go as to whether we'll make it to the Blockhouse or not. His first route would have had us going over fields and streams, so I was glad to find the second attempt was more successful.
The Blockhouse (Le Blockhuis I think they call it here) was interesting and HUGE! Considering the Germans built this in 6 months it's amazing, though it cost the lives of a third of their 6,000 strong slave workforce it seems. The Brits hit it hard with their bombs and the evidence is still here to see. I can only begin to imaging the scene when they dropped over 500 bombs in 55 minutes to achieve their intention of creating a mini-earthquake - it must have made the most extreme film set look tame by comparison.
The bit that was targeted for the bombs was the back where the 100+ rockets were stored.
From here we headed to the Ibis budget hotel in St Omer. It was fine and I took an early kip in the bunk bed, whilst Al went out for a Margarita pizza (that well known international vegetarian dish that you can find anywhere and recognise in any menu language - ha so adventurous our Al isn't he?)
Early night tonight as we're off easily tomorrow and we've lost an hour because the French put it somewhere and can't find it apparently...
I bag the top bunk (of course!)
Al looks in the mirror (he's always doing this). I had told him, but now he can see it for himself, his left eye is completely bloodshot.
I hear him muttering about this serves him right, he missed his reflexology session this morning. He goes on muttering about "'xxxxx' Garmins, all day to load maps, failed, had to do it again...nightmare to plan routes etc etc" .....but by now I'd fallen asleep... zzzzzzzz
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