France, June 2018 - Getting There.

“France may one day exist no more, but the Dordogne will live on just as dreams live on and nourish the souls of men.”

In June of last year I flew to Bergerac to enjoy a week of guitar playing and tuition at La Perdrix in the small town of St. Martin de Riberac. I had an absolutely brilliant trip and decided at the end of the week that next time I would drive and make much more of it.

I left Edinburgh on the morning of Wednesday 6th of June and had arranged to stay with friends in Cobham for a couple of days before taking the crossing to France. Usually, I take the A702, M74 and M6 when I am driving south, but this time I decided to go via the A1 and the A1/M. I’m glad I did as the drive was far less stressed and congestion free particularly in comparison to the delays, anxiety and dysphoria that a drive around Stafford and Birmingham brings.

Cobham

Cobham, an affluent village to the SW of London just inside the M25, “Prime Suburbia” just a 40 minute commute from London. It is probably familiar to some as the home of the Chelsea FC training ground. There’s a gate at the railway station which leads directly into the ground – of course locked most of the time and guarded when it is open. I spent a couple of nights with my friends Sue and Chris and enjoyed a great trip to Brooklands with Chris on Thursday. As well as the famous motor museum and old race track, there is an aircraft museum and just over the fence “Mercedes Benz World”. I was struck by the brutal design of the main building at Mercedes and the famous three-pointed star turning around on top forced me into a double-take.

I had booked a mid-morning tunnel crossing for Friday and expecting the M25 to be busy, I left Cobham early. Fortunately, there were no accidents and no hold-ups and I arrived in plenty of time. So much so that I was able to catch an earlier train and reached France a whole hour earlier. The tunnel was a new experience for me and whilst it was excruciatingly boring is was quick with loading and unloading handled extremely efficiently and I was on the French motorways within 10 minutes of arrival.

I had bought a Télépéage tag before leaving the UK so I could use the toll roads without having to get out to pay or clamour across the passenger seat to reach the machine. I was a little apprehensive approaching the first toll and fully expected to be fumbling around for change or credit card with a queue of irate French tooting and gesticulating, but I needn’t have worried. The tag beeped and the barrier went up as it did at every other toll gate. Incidentally, it cost me just over €90 to use the tolls there and back.

I had used booking.com to make all my reservations and my overnight stop was at Fresnay-Sur-Sarthe, a small village, unsurprisingly on the banks of the River Sarthe to the NW of Le Mans. I had chosen here partly down to cost and partly to proximity to the toll roads. As it turned out, it was a very pretty little place. The Hotel Ronsin was a little run-down but more than adequate and the owner extremely helpful. He was eager to tell me about the village and gave me a small map of walks and before dinner I set off for a stroll to take some photographs and work up an appetite. The main street was adorned with parapluies – an “Umbrellas in the skies” project. The owner had told me that there were some very interesting buildings built into the rock-face down by the river so I wandered down and as I was taking photographs a local, who was gardening, started talking to me. It turned out that he had been on a school exchange to Paisley (?) many years ago. He told me that he had a grotto at the back of his house where he thought some prehistoric remains might be and he invited me into his house to see it. He had converted part of the cave, which was wonderfully cool, into a sitting room complete with sofa, table, chairs and a large stove/cooker. He was rightly very proud of it. As we were making our way back down to his home he invited me to join him for a beer and we enjoyed the last of the evening sunshine in his garden.

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France, June 2018 - The Journey Home

I had booked a ferry from Dunkirk for my return journey and on the way I planned to stop off at The Duhallow ADS Cemetery to visit the grave of my Great Uncle Robert. He was an acting corporal in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders when he was killed at Ypres on January 9th 1918.

It was a beautiful sunny day and I programmed the sat-nav to avoid the main routes and take me through the country roads across the NE of France and into Belgium. It was a sobering thought knowing that thousands had been killed in this beautiful, quiet, rural part of France and Belgium.

The War Graves are looked after by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and they are immaculately maintained. Every gravestone has its own flowering plant or bush in addition to the memorials left by relations. The Duhallow Cemetery has around 1400 graves and I had past half a dozen on the way and there are around 20 in the area. I wasn’t sure how the visit would affect me but seeing hundreds of graves of soldiers, many just boys, and the senseless killing, really did make me feel humble and brought a tear or two to my eyes. Unlike my uncle - I made it home.

I had looked up the location of my Great Uncle’s plot before I left and it was easy to find. I spent a while wandering around the cemetery and chatting to the gardeners and maintenance people working there.

The ferry terminal was just a short drive from Ypres and I arrived in plenty of time to find the huge car-park practically empty. There were eight cars in the queue when I arrived and even when we were ready to board this had only increased to around 50. However, I am certain that it is impossibly busy at the height of the school holidays in England. I had about half an hour to wait before boarding and so I walked over to the terminal building in search of a café. The place was cavernous and completely deserted. To my disappointment there were no cafés or shops just a few vending machines. What an utterly depressing place. Considering the volume of traffic and the prices they charge surely the ferry companies could provide a bit more than this. I bought a vending machine coffee and a bottle of water and headed back to the car. At least there was free wireless internet available and I spent the time catching up on emails and messages.

With so few vehicles, boarding took very little time and I soon found a nice seat in the restaurant at the front of the ferry. I was still connected to the DFDS internet and was glad that I read the message they had sent me. Whilst connection was free in the terminal it could would have cost me around £10 for the duration if the crossing. I disconnected and went to get something to eat.

After my mediocre and expensive tea, I went for a walk around the deck to get some fresh air and stretch my legs. I had seen an older couple in the car-park doing some stretching exercises against their camper van and when I saw them on deck I started chatting to them. They were setting off on a tour of Britain in their van as due to Brexit it might be the last chance they would be able to do it in a relatively straightforward way.

The crossing was smooth and uneventful and again arriving at Calais with so few cars, getting off and on to my final destination was pretty quick. I had arranged to spend a few days with a good friend and his wife in Canterbury. Brandon and Lauren had recently moved there from Edinburgh, Lauren to take up a post in the Philosophy Department of at the University of Kent and Brandon a post in finance. I met them both through UkeHoot and we have become good friends. I had a fantastic couple of days in their company in glorious weather. 

France, June 2018 - Rouen

I had booked an Ibis Budget Hotel in Rouen for my final stop in France and arrived in late afternoon on what must have been one of the hottest days so far.

I always have a look at Google Street View before I set off just so that I have a rough idea of what my destination looks like. Unfortunately the area around the hotel was undergoing  massive redevelopment and there was construction and road works everywhere. I could see the hotel on the opposite side of the road but it wasn’t immediately apparent how I was going to get there. After passing three or four times I could see that it would be possible to enter the car park by crossing a bit of the road construction and this being my only choice, I went for it. I arrived at the reception door with my bags and guitar only to discover that it was one of those unmanned self-entry things and I would need my booking reference to get in. By this time I was getting a wee bit tetchy and just as I was looking up the document on my phone, it rang and it was one of those “I understand you’ve had an accident…” calls. Unfortunately, the caller got the full force of my tetchiness as I ranted down the phone at them, the locals must have wondered what was up. I eventually got in and found my room – basic but fine for a couple of days. I decided to wait a couple of hours for the temperature to cool down before I went out to look for a place to for my tea. 

The following day I walked down the hill towards the tram stop and took a tram to the centre of the city. Rouen is a great mixture of modern, Gothic and medieval architecture and I wandered around the city centre stopping off at cafés and soaking up the atmosphere. The city was particularly busy and many artists and musicians were rehearsing for the Fête de la Musique which, unfortunately for me, was taking place the following day. Before I left the Guitar Retreat I had a chat with Jean who had lived in Rouen and he recommended a couple of things I should see. Rouen Cathedral, painted many times by Claude Monet, was impressive and I saw more of Monet in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen. 

I walked back toward the hotel, crossing the Seine and wandering through the University part of the city. The previous night I had passed a local bar not far from the hotel and I made my way here for a drink and something to eat. I spent part of the evening with the locals watching the France vs Peru game - they were very happy.

France, June 2018 - Tours

Quelle différence!!! After the calm of the Dordogne, Tours is a vibrant bustling city. My accommodation is fine but definitely in the grittier part of town. I arrived early in the evening after having driven from Sarlat and stopping off at Chateau Milandes and Brantôme.

Chateau Milandes is a 15th century castle with magnificent Gothic features and is a great example of Renaissance architecture. It has become known worldwide thanks to Joséphine Baker the American-born French entertainer, activist, and French Resistance agent. Josephine travelled to France in 1925 and she became an instant success with Parisians for her erotic dancing, and for appearing practically nude onstage in her show “Revue Nègre”.

France, June 2018 - Sarlat

At last year’s Guitar Retreat in France I remembered just how much I like France in general and the Dordogne Region in particular. I thought that I might spend time after the Retreat doing a wee road trip around the region and then working my way north towards Belgium where I planned to visit the war grave of a relative who was killed at Ypres during the First World War.

I had decided that AirBnB was the route to take and I booked a couple of night’s accommodation in Sarlat, Tours and Rouen. My first stop in Sarlat was just a short drive from St. Martin de Riberac and after a quick lunch with Johnny and the others left at La Perdrix I said my goodbyes and set off. Being in no particular hurry, I took the back roads to Sarlat and arrived around 5pm. There’s a market held each Sunday in Sarlat and I was hoping that any congestion would have died down by the time I arrived. The apartment was right in the centre of the city and as most of the medieval part of the town is pedestrianised I would have to use one of the many car-parks which are just outside the centre. Fortunately, there was one about 50 metres from the flat and I didn’t have far to carry my bags and guitar case. The apartment was fantastic with everything I needed – well almost, I had hoped there would be a washing machine. It was located to the south of the main part of the town and directly opposite a wonderful little restaurant “Le Tourney” and the Tourist Information Office. I took a stroll around the town and found a café in the town square where I sat and had a beer before returning to “Le Tourney” restaurant for my tea!

The following day I left early to visit the castle at Castelnaud-la-Chapelle and then on to the Musée National de Préhistoire in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac. The medieval village of Castelnaud-la-Chapelle sits above the Dordogne River and is dominated by its magnificent castle. The castle was founded in the 12th century and as well as being a magnificent structure in itself, it also houses a great collection of weapons, armour and siege machines. The houses of the village are in beautiful perigordine style with stone walls, large deeply-sloping roofs of terracotta tile and wooden shutters, arched gateways, half-timber houses and wonderful displays of roses and vines. After spending the morning in the castle and wandering around the village, I had lunch in one of the many cafés and drove to Les Eyzies-de-Tayac. The museum was very interesting and told the story of Dordogne’s pre-history and the caves at Lascaux. On the way back to Sarlat I had a wonderful drive through the French countryside along The Vezere Valley to Abri de la Madeleine, a prehistoric site on the banks of the River Vezere where I spent a couple of hours.

I spent the evening joining some locals in a bar just off the main drag - brilliant!

The English Riviera

A Long Weekend in Paignton

I have been going to Guitar Retreat weekends and holidays for many years and over that time I've met many great people. I have kept in touch with a a few of them and last weekend we met up in Paignton.

I flew to Exeter airport and Brian was there to meet me and take me to Paignton. Brian runs a couple of businesses, amongst them a holiday letting. Friends were travelling from Cobham in Surrey and Bude in Cornwall and they were to spend the weekend in his apartment. I was staying with him and his wife in their home. He lives in the Goodrington area of Paignton which has fantastic views across Torbay to Torquay.

Brian and I walked down to the town for a couple of pints at The Inn on The Quay. After dinner we played (or should I say attempted to play) some music in his wonderful downstairs lounge.

Sharon and Stu arrived from Bude in the afternoon and were staying in the apartment. After they settled in we ate from a wonderful buffet prepared by Paula, Brian's wife. Sue and Chris were arriving a little later and they would meet up with us later. During dinner Brian and Paula announced that they had bought a property in France and were planning to move there permanently in August to start a B&B business. Their new property looks very impressive, they have great plans for it and I hope they are successful. Perhaps the next time we all meet up again it will be in their new French home!

Brian had negotiated for us to play in The Blue Anchor Pub that evening. The pub is in Brixham, just down the coast from Paignton and we decided to take the ferry. Paula had kindly offered to take all our gear to the venue so Sharon, Stu, Brian and me walked down to the harbour at Paignton where we would catch the ferry. We were the only passengers on the last trip across. Whilst Saturday had been a glorious warm sunny day, Sunday was very misty and the crossing a bit chilly. We arrived and walked round the harbour from the jetty passing a replica of The Golden Hind on the way. Brian told us it had recently been purchased by a coupe he knew. It looked very much a money pit to me and if you look closely at the photograph you'll see that there are gaping holes in the hull below the waterline where planks have popped or rotted. It must fill with water each time the tide comes in.

The pub was rammed full of imbibing locals many of whom looked as though they had been there since opening time that morning. There was a guitarist playing when we arrived (oddly also playing a large kick drum) and we were on after him. Paula had arrived with the gear and we started to bring it in. As we were doing this Paul and his wife Heather arrived. Paul is a proper musician and he was playing a gig at a gallery in Torquay on Monday evening where we were all going to see him. We all performed and many local also joined in including Ted Turner the brother of Wishbone Ash founder member Martin. Ted played. We were also treated to one very drunk Glaswegian who fell out with everyone because they weren't listening to him.

It was a brilliant, if somewhat odd evening in The Blue Anchor. I think we went down well and the manager invited us back - mind you, with the locals so drunk or high on drugs they probably never noticed us.

On Monday we visited Dartmouth. I walked down to Paignton and met Paul and Heather at the railway station to take a steam train. The others were driving and would meet us there. It was a beautiful sunny day and the journey was very picturesque. The train took us to Kingswear on the east side of the River Dart and we caught a foot ferry across the river where we met up with the others. During the journey, Paul told me that there was an Open Mic session before his set at the gallery that evening so a quick message to the others to see who wanted to perform!  

Dartmouth is really quite small and whilst not that busy, most of the cafes and restaurants around the harbour were quite full. We found a wee cafe down a back street where we all managed to get a seat. We wandered around the town and sat in Royal Avenue Gardens for a while before crossing back over the river to get the train back to Paignton. 

We all ate together that evening - a delicious Thai curry made by Paula - before making our way to Torquay to see Paul and hopefully do a couple of numbers ourselves. The gallery was quite small as was the audience (our group made up the bulk of it). Some of us performed, I did a couple on my uke, played the wonderful "Speed of Loneliness" with Chris and Stu and I performed our party piece "KIss".

On the way home we were listening to "Night Fever", singing at the top of our voices (difficult high notes!) with the windows and sunroof wide open. Sharon has promised to find white suits for me, Stu and Brian so we can perform a couple of numbers at the next Guitar Retreat! 

It was an absolutely wonderful weekend and great to see everyone again and I'll be meeting up with all these friend over the next few months at some time or other.

Blists Hill, Shropshire

I recently took up the post as Editor/Coordinator for the in-house magazine of the Moody Owners Association, more of an honorary than a paid position, but there is a small remuneration which will pay for a Guitar Retreat or so, another passion in my life alongside sailing . The magazine is published 3 times a year and sent to every member of the MOA. It's a good quality magazine packed with features and great information, I hope that my tenure won't drag that quality down.

I attended the AGM in Telford at the end of February. It was a great weekend and I met many MOA members from Scotland who I hope to meet up with during the coming sailing season. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to visit Blists Hill Victorian Town a recreation of a late 19th, early 20th century Shropshire Town. The open air museum attempts to recreate the sight, sounds and smells of a Victorian Town. Lots to see and do even during the winter season, although a number of the attractions only operate over the summer period.

Guitar Retreat - The Algarve

This is the first time I've visited Portugal and it may well become an annual feature.

Cobham

I've met many wonderful people over the years both whilst sailing and on my numerous ukulele or guitar breaks. I met Sue and Chris on a Guitar Retreat a few years ago and earlier this year when we were all on a Retreat on Tresco, I had arranged to take them sailing at the end of September. However, after a pretty decent summer's sailing, the weather around the middle of September became a bit more unpredictable. Neither of them has ever been sailing before so it was decided that whilst I might enjoy bobbing along in a force 5 in the rain, they might not. Instead I invited them to stay with me in Edinburgh and we spent a wonderful time walking around the city playing guitar and generally having a great time.

They knew that I would be in Ross-on-Wye at the beginning of November and they kindly invited me to stay with them at Sue's house in Cobham. I've been to London a number of times but this was my first visit to this part of Surrey.

A number of things struck me, it's a beautiful part of the country with some wonderful countryside, trees, parks and villages. It's also very busy. I drove from Ross-on-Wye and arrived in Cobham in beautiful sunshine. Cobham is a village in the Borough of Elmbridge and is a bustling wee place with many fine houses and a busy High Street. The Chelsea training ground is also close by, next to the railway station.

 We spent Monday walking around the magnificent Wisley Gardens and then a short time at Brooklands and the Bus Museum.  

Tuesday was a colder overcast day so we took the train to Hampton Court Palace. 

Americana Guitar Weekend - Ross-on-Wye

I've lost count of the number of Guitar Retreats I have been on over the years - must be about a dozen - and one thing that they have all had in common - apart from expert tuition from the likes of Paul Nicholas  - are the terrific venues. The venue for my most recent retreat in Ross-on-Wye was spectacular. Glewston Court is a beautiful 18th Century Country House set in the wonderful Hereford countryside. 

The weekend centred around Americana and the music of artists such as Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, The Eagles, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. The tuition from both Paul and Stu was to its usual high standard and the elegant surroundings of the house and grounds made this a truly memorable weekend. 

I came away with a fistful of new songs and techniques which I have been busily practsing since returning home and hope to have these perfected for my next Guitar Retreat in January - this time in Portugal!