Millennium Gallery - Life Drawing

Another Millennium Life Drawing session filled the morning. The added delight of these sessions is meeting people from all walks of life - not just arties.

I had a long, possibly predictable, conversation with a local magistrate about her experiences on the bench. Nowhere is free from the freeloader, petty crook and stupid. It has always been so and no amount of  hang-wringing or "education" will change the nature of the herd. As she said, it's no good twittering what a "you", assuming a sensible person, should-would do in their place, It just ain't that way ... book 'em, try 'em and "next!" ...

Drawing/painting wise it was an excellent session.

Well Dressings, Tea, Cakes and Ice Cream

A break in the wet and cold weather allowed us to have a very pleasant day in Derbyshire. The trusty 272 took us to Hathersage where we changed mounts and rode off to Tideswell and thence on to Litton.

One of the well dressings at Tideswell was surprising because it featured Lincoln Cathedral ... maybe because this year saw the proper recognition of the efforts of Bomber Command during WW2. Lincoln being the home city of one of the most famous squadrons ... 617, the "Dam Busters".

Remember that the Well Dressing is made mainly of flower petals pressed into a clay base which is supported by a wooden panel.

We did our part to support the efforts of several members of the Womens Institute by eating their cake and having tea. The sun shone on a very green and pleasant land which meant for some sort of celebration ... locally made and excellent ice cream. This latter was consumed in traditional stile ... a lazy wander through the village under verdant trees and whilst appreciating the historic, rustic cottages and flower filled, bursting gardens. Had there been a Brass Band I'm certain that we would have been mindfully singing, "And did those feet in ancient times ..."

Returning to the cottage, we were given a boisterous welcome by the boys who, rightly, expected a handful of treats ... which they got. More tea and conversation and the early evening drew to a close. We haven't got used to it being still light at 9.30 pm ...

Two buses later and we were home for a late but delicious traditional English dinner - shortcrust pastry, beef and kidney pie with proper new potatoes. Note to Ozers: "chats" are not proper new potatotes. Sometimes plain and simple really hits the spot!

A Portrait Day Out

Why Sheffield you often ask ...

I spent a full day at Tim's studio with five other arties doing some portrait painting. This was an excellent experience - no noise just the sound of brushes on canvas. The professional model was a very pleasant woman who had good conversation during the breaks and who sat, without comment, during the working periods - what a delight!

Lunch at the Mexican Canteen on Arundel Street provided both good food and good conversation.

An all round excellent day out; even the weather brightened up ...

Life At The Millennium

We got soaked on Thursday and Friday dawned wet and cold - where is the summer? Not to worry. I went to the life drawing at the Millennium Gallery in the morning. Sadly, the bean counters have reduced the sessions to AM only; much to the disgust of the artists. It was good to catch up with folk I know. Coffee at the cafe was acceptable. Despite the rain all was really enjoyable.

Two Days Hectic Resettling And More

We arrived on Monday and had moved in by lunch time Wednesday. That day being sunny we took a quick trip to Stanage and met up with our friends. After a pleasant walk up to the Mill Pond I went off to help gather sheep for one of the local farmers.

The sheep were grazing on a very steep moor which meant that the farmer and my friend with his two dogs had an exhausting time getting the sheep to come down to the fenced yard. I just stood by while the herd came down and eventually helped get them into the yard and gated up. Among the flock was one of the biggest rams I've seen; I kept well away from him.

As expected there were some less cooperative individuals who ran back down the field and over the beck so as to get back where they came from. After much effort the escapees were gathered. I ended up helping drag and carry a lamb and two awkward old ewes, one soaked from the beck, into to fold. The strength of an unwilling ewe has to be experienced to be believed - roast mutton came to mind more than once! The effort the local hill farmers have to put in to farm these sheep makes my knees weak just thinking about it ...

Back at the cottage we had tea and a great natter with our friends. The dogs, as always, expected biscuits and a stick/ball throwing game out on the fell next to the cottage. It is really great to be back again!

Seamless Travel - Paris to Sheffield

The shuttle from the hotel to CDG Terminal 2 was like the proverbial sardine can ... with a few extras!

Processing at CDG was slow and efficient. The small baguette that cost 9.50 euros was the most expensive bite I've had for some time ...

The Flybe flight to Manchester was on time and faultless. Train from Manchester to Sheffield was on time and CLEAN and quiet. Hoorah for progress! Coffee and baguettes at Sheffield rail station equaled what we've come to expect in France ... don't faint ...

The Premier Inn Hotel is, as always, excellent.

Andrew's cafe served a good afternoon tea and  he and the staff were as sociable as  ever.

Marks and Spark provided an excellent selection of  high quality inner nourishment for dinner and the London Ale wiped me out ... cheap drunk that I am.

What could a traveler want other tha a good night's sleep?

French Reflections

Overall we really enjoyed our time in France.

Only two complaints:

• The general unpleasant attitude of Parisians ... I suppose most of the French population, ex-Paris, feel the same.
• Dog excrement! Had we not been experienced dancers and had the odd bout of Hasbro's Twister, I'm sure that wandering the streets would have proved to be a very sticky experience.

Where will we visit next in France? Too many lovely places to list ...

Amiens to Paris CDG ... Excellent Rail Travel

The Intercity train from Amiens to Paris Gare du Nord was on time both times .... a fast and quiet trip. The Maze of Death proved to be un-deathlike so that we got to Line B, down two levels, with little or no problem. The only problem was pain-in-the-six young Arab chap who tried to flim-flam us at the ticket machine. I politely told him to depart swiftly ... which he eventually, after a bit of insistence, did. Beggars can sometime be crafty little ferrets!

The train to CDG airport was packed ... as always. We thought for few minutes that we had been transported through some sort of Star Gate to North Africa but, no. We reminded ourselves that we in Paris again and that civilized, well mannered behaviuor was not to be expected from the denizens of the City of Lights. That comment applied well to the taxi driver at the airport ... "Me no speekee inguish mister ... etc etc"; what avoisdupois mon petit chou!

The Millenium Hotel CDG is fine.

Abbeville - A Trip In The Sun

The train from Amiens to Abbeville took us quickly and quietly to the start of an interesting, rain-free and sunny day's trip. The WW2 history of the town is horrible and the rebuilding of the place a testament to the resilience of  the survivors.

On May 20 1940, Guderian's blitzkrieg broke though the Allied forces at Abbeville and so reached the channel. Just before the arrival of the German Forces, twenty-two Belgian Right-Wing political leaders were shot by the French Police in a public park which resulted in hundreds of the victims followers joining the Waffen SS. The "Abbeville Boys" were one of the most famous German fighter squadrons. In December 1943 the RAF carried out two bombing raids (47 and 51 aircraft) on flying-bomb sites located between Abbeville and Amiens, The Lancasters were from 617 Squadron of Dambusters Fame based north of Lincoln.

Enough of that ...

The church of St Vulfran was badly damaged but, has been brilliantly rebuilt/restored. This church is really worth visiting; a peacefully plain and calm interior with many interesting objects.

Lunch ... you would have loved the almond tartlet and the millefleur ...

The church of St Sepulcre was also badly damaged and has been rebuild/restored. The modern stained glass, designed by Manessier, is spectacular. We were blessed with brilliant sunshine which showed the windows at their best.

The museum in town had an excellent exhibition of Manessier's designs.

Back to Amiens by express train.

A beer and Pernod plus a coffee while watching the passing crowd ended an excellent and thought provoking day.

Amiens ... Without So Much Rain

Not so cold and rain-ridden today.

The Notre-Dame cathedral took most of our time today. The front is magnificant. There dosen't seem to be a missing statue in any of the nooks and the only heads that aren't attached to shoulders are held in the hands of the respective owners. A good indication that Olly Cromewell's lads were a bunch of  vandals in dear old England ... which they were. Give Amiens was in the thick of The Hundred Days Offensive (Battle of Amiens) in 1918 it's amazing that any of the building still stands. That is even more surprising when you consider the Battle of the Somme in 1940. Much of the city was destroyed during these excusions so that rebuilding has produced some spectactular modern developments.

Back to Amiens cathedral ...

The cathedral dates from 1288 and is magnificant in all respects. The nave soars to a great height (42 m) and the rest of the building follows suit. There are six massive relief carved screens which have polychrome figures (1490-1530)... these are the best I have had the pleasure to see. The two Rose Windows look fantasic both from a size and colour point of view. The massive stained glass windows in the Lady chapel and the adjacent chapels fill that end of the nave with a kaleidoscope of light. These chapels also have painted walls.

We also put in some foot hours wandering along the banks of the Somme enjoying the quiet of the allotments and gardens called des Hortillonnages.

Note to Ozzers: We should chip in to buy a new flag for the lads that died in the wars ... the one in the cathedral is tatty.

Autocar Means Normal Bus

It wasn't until we got to the SNCF station that we realised that the "train" was a bus - not a long distance coach but, a bus. There was a notice telling passengers that the 10.18AM train to Amiens was changed to a bus - just for this week ...

We decided to wait for the next train - 4 hours - and it was worth it. An excellent fast and quiet trip through brilliant green farmland and forests. Obviously la Manche isn't wide enough - the country side in Normandy and Picardy is exactly like the UK ... beautiful.

After a quick wander around the shopping area next to the rail station and excellent help form the Tourist Office next to the cathedral we had our bearings. Time for dinner and a quick Monopix ...

Rouen ... Not So Rain Ridden

A cold but, not so wet day.

The Parliament of Normandy, Court House is an wonder of renovated Gothic splendor. The front and part of the side of the immense building has been cleaned but, none of the war-time damage has been repaired. This attest to the violence of the allied bombing that the city underwent when the city was liberated in 1944.

The modern Saint-Joan of Arc church look really odd from the outside - its integration with the market adds to the odd nature of the structure. The inside is absolutely splendid; the architecture and construction; the use of the Renaissance stained glass from the former church of S. Vincent. A beautiful space!

Lunch: Delicious baguettes and coffee in a quiet and busy cafe.

The Museum of Fine Art s, Rouen is extensive and well worth the merge 5 euros. An excellent place to spend a wet afternoon.

That took care of the second day in Rouen. Dinner at Flunch recharged or foot hour batteries.

Rouen ... Endless Medieval Buildings

A cold and wet day did not prevent us from 5 foot hours of wandering around the old city centre of Rouen.

We started with Rouen cathedral and spent a wowing few hours oogling and oohing at the building both inside and out. While the light level is quite low inside it does not detract from the amazing architectural structure. The space is magnificent. It took several visits during the day between rain showers to get a full impression of the outside of the cathedral.

Walking some of the small streets brought us to Aitre Saint-Maclou which is the central courtyard of a house. The space was used during the Great Plague of 1348 as a necropolis. The carvings on the wooden structure are decorated with motifs that evoke death. The buildings are now the Regional School of Fine Arts. This has to be the best example of a medieval courtyard we've seen to date.

After a quick lunch we moved on to Saint-Ouen Abbey Church. This was a Benedictine monastery during the 14th and 16th C. The present city hall abuts the church and is built on the former monks' dormitory and cloisters. The building is very well lit by 80 stained glass windows and the height of the nave is almost too much for the neck to cope with! The height has the effect of creating a really impressive building inside. Outside the flying buttresses emphasize the height of the nave.

No matter where you roam the are medieval buildings and, most important, they are in use today.

An excellent day! Monoprix for dinner and rest ...

Caen to Rouen by Rail

An excellent journey - so quiet even with a reasonably full train. Clean carriages - even the loo - UKers look to your laurels.

The Hotel des Carmes on first impression looked a bit iffy - TOTALLY WRONG! Clean and comfortable and the room is bright and airy with windows onto the Place de Carmes. Location wise the hotel couldn't be more convenient. The cathedral and other sights are just a couple of streets away - as is the most important Monoprix. The area is packed with cafes and Flunch is just around the corner ... bon appetit!

The hotelier's wife is an artist ... one of those trained in the academy and who can draw well. The hotels is awash with her work which is really good. I'm looking forward to meeting her tomorrow.

We wandered for a mere 4 foot hours while the room was being readied. Even a brief look inside the cathedral took our breath away ... the height of the building is astonishing.

A leisurely coffee at the cafe around the corner and a eye-boggling shopping session for dinner brought the day to a close. You really should have seen the choice of hams and cheeses at the deli ... pass the drool tray Jeeves ...

Lisieux - A Day Out By Train

Here we go again using that little known Ozer mode of transport - the train.

After spotting the Basilica - Sanctuaire Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux on the way from Paris to Caen we decided to visit Lisieux. A fast 30 min run for a short 8 euros got us to the bottom of the hill where the basilica is situated. A steepish walk and there we were. The first comment was, "It's huge!" The basilica began in 1929 and consecration was in 1954. Since a mass was in full swing we took the time to sit and get our breaths while looking at the interior. God bothering finished we wandered around including the crypt.

Wandering down into the village brought us to the Cathedral of S. Pierre which was awash with post first-communionites and their doting families. I bet some of the lads will cringe when they are in their teens and mother shows the photos to the girlfriend ... The cathedral, to me, seemed to have a more pleasing atmosphere than the basilica; less McDonnald's wizz-bang, more reverently quiet; maybe because it dates from the 12th and 13th centuries.

Up to this time the rain had relented so we thought we'd quite while we were dry. We stopped to buy a couple of filled baguettes and legged it back to to rail station just in time to catch the train back to Caen - and more rain.

Cool Caen

It may be June but, the weather is more autumn than summer. A very cold wind cooled us down as we wandered around Caen.

The Eglise S. Jean is visible from our bedroom windows so we decided to visit it first. It's a testament to survival a midst total destruction.

In the centre of the town is Eglise S. Pierre. Some of the outside of the building has either been cleaned or totally restored and it looks fantastic.

Down the Rue S. Pierre is the Eglise S. Sauveur which is notable for the huge space created by what seems to be a double nave. The arch that opens the space looks impossibly light in construction. The stained glass is unusual and impressive.

Wandering past the Palais Justice and down the Rue Guillaume-le-Conquerant got us to the Abbatiale S Etienne or the Abbaye-aux-Hommes. The convent is now the Caen City Hall.

After a coffee and lunch we trekked across town to the Abbaye-aux-Dames. A plain interior which is still impressive. The convent is now the HQ of the Regional Council of Lower Normandy.

We rounded the day of by wandering over and through Caen Castle or Chateau de Caen.

That made for about six foot hours and enough for the day.

Paris to Caen By Intercity

Time to move on. A taxis to the Gare du Lyon proved to be the best idea. The women driver was most helpful and got us to the Metro with little effort. Travelling on Line 14 to Gare Saint Lazare went without hitch ... no lectures from an intellectual to spice the trip. The Intercity was 10 mins late leaving due to a technical fault but, the journey, at what seem to be breakneck speed, was excellent. Note to Ozers: Get a proper rail system!!!

The Hotel du Havre is delightful and the patron helpful and charming. We wandered the town getting our bearings and found the Monoprix supermarket ... OMG! Where do you begin to choose what's for dinner?

A quick pre-dinner wander in a bitingly cold wind made the dinner taste even more delicious.

Caen seems to be a very interesting place and reminds us of so many places in the UK. I suppose that Will the Bastard had more effect on UK than we UKers sometimes like to admit.

Metro Menace

An easy metro to the Gare Saint-Lazare to get tickets for Caen started a cool Paris day - cool weather that is. The RER person gave us the best route to avoid millions of steps for our exit from Paris with the baggage. Line 14 to the Gare de Lyon was highlighted by a cultural exchange with one of the ubiquitous Parisien Posures - snooty attitude, nose slightly raised as though avoiding the smell of the common herd and the pretence of reading a weighty tome on one of: politics, philosophy or, most common, one of Satre's exposition on the meaning of travelling on the metro. This dear lady gave me a lecture on how to hang-on when the train lurched into life. I was hanging-on for dear life whilst trying to support a women who had the misfortune to fall, unsupported, onto me. This woman apologised and, to my delight, quietly informed our intellectual what was afoot. Said intellectual found more gall and lectured me further. I quietly but, firmly as only a northern UK fellow can, told her she was mistaken and should be better advised to look to her own behaviour - oops, not at all to her liking. The fallen woman turn out to be a charming, mid-fifties person who spoke near perfect English so that we had a delightful conversation for the few minutes left of the trip. Note to self: note all Parisiens are snotty wankers ...

The afternoon saw us wander over to a church on the Boulevard Voltaire.

As expected all cafes serve excellent coffee so that getting a reviving "fix" is all too simple.

Day ends with a Monoprix stop.

Back at the hotel I had a long and interesting conversation with the receptionist. He was of the opinion that the last Presidential Ellection was the first time that there was felt to be a palpable division in the population. Some of the protests were very violent and he was disgusted that the Army had to be used to control some of the protests. Cars being set alight not being uncommon.

The "Traveller's Cold" seems to be abating ... gasp, wheeze, cough ...

Heathrow to Paris

Terminal 5 at Heathrow was much better than expected. The building is a triumph of modern engineering design and I particularly like the internal skeleton of steel. processing of passenger was a breeze. The biggest shock was a fantastic Italian resuraunt ... sadly we only had time for an excellent coffee (hey, this is England where the coffee is usually like acrid dish water). The BA flight was a simple up-down job but, they still served "refreshements" ... what a waste of time.

CDG was quiet and the walk to the RER trains gave us a good excuse for a coffee. This was served by a woman who had obviously been to the Paris School for Advanced Arrogant Indifference and Anti-Social Interaction. But, wait I was forgetting, we're in Frog Ville where the locals confuse snooty bad manners for "chic".

My terrible French proved to be sufficient to get the tickets to Paris ... with a smile from the RER person ... OMG! The Train from CDG to the Gare du Nord got to be a sardine can full of snotty sardines but, that was to be expected. Then, we entered the laborinth. After several attenpts we eventually got to Level 3 of what I assume to be a game called "The Tomb of the Lost in the Gare du Nord". Lifts and escallators that didn't work, dead ends, hords of the Wandering Zombies of  Paris and seemingly endless ticket barriers labled "Sortie". That's where the secret of the Key To The Exit revealed itself - our tickets worked every time. Now I know why the RER ticket person smiled; he knew the secret!

We got a taxi to the Hotel; there was no way we were going to battle the hordes on the metro. Booking in was simple and the room up two flights of winding, narrow stairs - no lift its an old building. The room looks like it should be part of a brothel. It's clean and tidy with en suite but, its the wall paper that gives that impression. Carmine Red almost velvet fabric ... different, yes, appealing no.

Duly nested we walk around the corner to Monoprix and shopped for dinner. This sounds a bit mundane but, if you could see the huge choice of googies on offer, you'd understand why we shop and don't just eat at cafes and resturaunts. We get what we like, fresh and un-mauled by would-be chefs. A bit of this a taste of that ...

Back at the hotel the TV news was full of Aunty E's Do at St Paul's ... it's seems that even the Sons of the Revolution find the event of interest.

That's a days events and the reason why we love to travel.

JAL Does It Again

Fortunately it took only two days off to get over the cold - most spent either sleeping or eating! The U-City hotel in Narita was, as before, excellent.

We left Tokyo on time and landed at Heathrow 25 mins early. The economy class was over half empty so I had 3 seats to lay out on to have several snoozes during the flight of just under 12 hours. Four films wasted a good deal of the time.

The Premier Inn provided excellent accommodation and the "meal deal" more than adequate dinner and breakfast. After Japan the portions of the meals seemed huge not to mention the ability of overly stuffed UKers stuffing themselves even more - with lashings of pints of beer to wash the food down. Don't mention obesity - it's a national pastime ...

The TV provided us with a ring-side view of the Jubilee Concert held outside Buck House. The odd cut to the Royals were short and sweet which was sensible because they looked bored most of the time ... duty calls and all that. RW&B everywhere. People everywhere. Part of the show was a projection on Buck House - that really look great. There will be a service in St Paul's today but, we're off to Paris using BA ...

Shaking All Over ...

A day off ... not by choice. I seem to have caught another "traveler's cold". I always do at some point in the expedition. It could be the pollution which, sadly, is always there.

Late afternoon - a violent thunder storm and then the hotel shakes noticeably because of an earthquake.

Me, to the hotel manager, "Was that an earthquake?"
Him, "Yeh, don't worry about it. It was only a little one."
Me, "Can I use the lift?"
Him, "Yeh, I'll tell you if there is a problem."
Me, to myself, "Oh, shite!"