The English Armchair Abroad

The kindness of neighbours and the antics of dogs

I live in a very male dominated household.  One husband, three sons, two male dogs and until recently a male parrot.  The only other female is Tosca, my gorgeous Bearded Collie dog.  As a result I am well used to male chauvanist jokes, to finding the loo seat constantly up and constant reminders that the Alpha Male is infinitely more intelligent than the female of the species.  Needless to say, Tosca and I have been fighting this stereotype relentlessly for quite a while.

Tosca (with Tickle) - she doesn't like cameras much!

At Christmas we spent five days away and our very kind neighbours came over twice a day to feed and entertain the dogs.  Stick throwing and stuff.  When we came back we couldn't understand why Tosca was so clean and her coat so silky (not the norm as I never manage to brush her enough!)

As the neighbour appears the dogs charge towards the bridge and jump up at her to tell her how wonderful she is and how welcome.  On Christmas morning she appeared and only the two dogs greeted her.  So she called Tosca who was clearly keeping warm (sensible in my opinion) in the barn.  Tosca came bounding out, charged across the yard and onto the bridge and jumped up, from a distance, to greet Francoise.  Unfortunately she missed.  More unfortunate still, once she was mid-air she couldn't stop and went flying over the wall of the bridge.  According to Francoise, one second Tosca was there, the next she had vanished into thin air.  It was only when she heard a bark that she realised where she was.

The wall concerned is the one on the right - bear in mind it's about two feet high on the other side

Needless to say, whilst the moat is easily accessible from 90% of its banks, there is a good five feet from the top of the wall to the water.  Francoise was all alone and the temperature was around freezing - although there was no ice.  She decided there was no time to find help and leant over the bridge until she could reach Tosca who was then lifted unceremoniously out of the water.  I'm glad to report that both survived their ordeal with nothing worse than cold moat water to deal with. 

We laughed and laughed when we heard this story but it wasn't long before all the jokes started coming, thick and fast!

Let the train take the strain...

Last Saturday Max took our eldest son to the station at Le Mans from where he caught a train to the French Alps.  He would arrive at about 1.30pm.  I went into the village with his girlfriend and got back to the house at about 12.30pm saying, as we arrived, that Guy would be arriving quite soon...lucky thing!

As we went into the house we were met by our middle son who looked up from his bowl of cereal (don't ask) and casually, but very seriously, said, "Hi Mum;  I don't know if you've spoken to Dad.  Guy's fine but it was his train that caught fire!"

Total silence and a feeling of non-reality.  It was a while before I realised the door was still open (sub zero outside and this is not normal for me!).  I asked Hugh to repeat what he'd said but by that time Sara was already texting (something I wouldn't think to do as I don't have a mobile).

Basically it was just that - the engine in the middle of the carriages had caught fire and the train came to a dramatic halt.  All 550 passengers got off safely and, after minor cuts and bruises had been dealt with by the pompiers, were taken to a nearby sports hall where they were given tea/coffee/hot chocolate and biscuits, free of charge and bought to the hall by the mayor of the village himself.

Guy got home this evening and related his side of the story which was actually not very dramatic.  However, he did say one thing that stuck in my mind.  He was describing how they all got out of the windows because some of the doors wouldn't open.  We've all seen those red handles with "only in emergency" written next to them.  Well, Guy decided this was probably an emergency.

"Basically", he said, "You pull one red handle with one hand, and a second red handle with the other hand. And nothing happens!"  In the end someone managed to get the hammer out of the box and with the slightest of taps the window shattered.

The most remarkable thing of all was that from the moment they left the train they were looked after by SNCF.  Needless to say this was hours later than planned and after the last timetabled bus left to take train passengers up the mountain to the resort were Guy was staying.  However, at every station along the way a bus had been arranged to take passengers to their final destination.  He arrived weary and tired but in good spirits and enjoyed a fantastic week skiing with his friends.

A Happy New Year to you all!

The past few weeks have passed in a whirl.  The Christmas holidays are always slightly chaotic and this time round was no exception.  We spent four days in England staying with my brother and ALL my family were there making a total of 23 and a lot of work for my sister-in-law who was amazing!  It was only the second occasion when my mother has had all her children and grandchildren with her at once.  Quite a gathering and a really happy few days.

Back home in time for New Year and a quietish celebration with our youngest son and some of his friends.  Max and I were totally exhausted by New Year's Eve so midnight and the New Year were welcomed with relief that we could go to bed at last!

This last week has been so cold that we feel as though we are constantly bringing in wood for the fires and just trying to keep the house above the outside temperature - yesterday it was -9 celsius outside and only +9 inside.  In fact, when we woke up there was ice on the inside of our bedroom window.  Today is warmer but we are still having to break the ice on the moat for the ducks and geese - we really don't want another grim visit from Mr Fox.

And of course I've been knitting.  It's extraordinary how this has developed from "Why on earth are you knitting socks?"  To:  "Oooh, can you knit me a pair please?" 

I gave in to my eldest son who was the first to ask.  I still have plenty of red wool so a new pair of bedsocks has been handed over

You can't see the twist very well but I was very pleased with them.  He got lucky because I gave him and his girlfriend each a wooly hat for Christmas from home spun wool.  Quick and easy and really warm.

And finally my own socks and another pair of fingerless gloves from leftover sock yarn:

I dare say the knitting bug won't last for ever - it can't as I don't have enough time to keep going at this rate!  However, I have one more pair of socks on the go which should be finished by tomorrow night.  People who have worn home made socks know this already but for those of you who haven't I can only say that these are the most comfortable socks I have EVER worn.  It isn't just sentiment - I wore a pair of M&S socks yesterday and my feet felt as though there was nothing between the skin and the shoe. 

And now I raise a glass to all my loyal readers and wish you all a very happy New Year!