Cathy's Birthday Bash

browsing
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

"Minutes from the center of Meze,"it say's here, "... with it's numerous shops and restaurants blah blah blah, the gites are situated in a peaceful position amongst the pines & vines. After a day at the nearby beaches you can chill out by the pool or under the pines, light your barbecue and sip the local wines, listening to the cicadas. All along the coast, an enormous golden-sand beach stretches out for twelve long kilometres, uniting sea and sun ; a gentle slope of pale yellow sand against a blue sky."
"Too good to be true?"
"There's only one way to find out..".
"I'll nip down there!"

In a vineyard?

voila and vines
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

There are 4 separate spacious gites to choose from, three sleeping six to eight and the large one sleeps eight to ten which the Oxford and Isle of Wight 'chapters' plus any additions will be booked into.
It consists of living room / Kitchen : 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with WC's, one with a bath and one with a big shower.
Outside is a terrace with barbecue, table chairs and parasol. Swimming pool covered and heated in winter.

Too good to be true?

Through the square window
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

In fact the large gite is the upper floor of this building accessed from a terrace to the rear. Below is a 6-8 gite on one level suitable for toddlers..no stairs! CLICK (to see Michel's website in English).
All the gites have built-in kitchen, fully equipped with dishwasher, oven and hob, big fridge freezer and extractor hood.
There's also a washing machine, TV DVD player, air conditioning, and a wood burning stove for winter

Nearby is theEtang de Thau and the port of Sete (also known as the Venice of Languedoc), and it's magnificent beaches.

stairs

stairs
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

open plan stairs

open plan stairs
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

fully equipped

fully equiped
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

dining area

dining area
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

dvd and woodburner

dvd and woodburner
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

Courtyard

CLICK to see website in English.
The photos above were all taken by me and I think we ought to book it.
We want to be there from Saturday 22nd July and it's 850 Euros (£576.39p) per week. €1000 for the big one.

Who's coming then?

Get your 30% deposits ready for the next instalment

love from Steve

Many Thanks

Thank you for your birthday wishes, I'm sure if you are anything like me and use your immediate family's particulars for passwords, you will have remembered my birthday, thank you.

I was at work yesterday but woke up to find a brand new bicycle in the house! wow. Never happened to me before. No stabelisers or anything, big nobbly tyres and thousand of gears for all those mountain tracks we have. Actually, Jen and I are thinking of making some changes and spending more time venturing into Malaysia with the kids. We have bought a large Honda CRV with sort of 4 wheel drive and much better for touring. Big enough to get the bikes in.

Last night Jen took me out for dinner, a Japanese barbeque with fantastic beef you grill at your table. Next wednesday, to cap things off we are going to the Esplanade, Singapore's answer to the Sydney Opera House, to see a performance by the Vienna Boys Choir.

Still playing golf, got addicted to pokemon cards, (all Jens fault) . Heard on Capital Radio it was really warm in London on my Birthday. We now subscribe to BBC Prime so get to see all those re-runs of Black Adder and the like.

Hope you are all well, Mum feeling much better, Dad enjoying the clean mountain air. Steve, thank you for the call, we will look into scype but I must warn you all, when I would be scyping, it'll be 2pm in England, so not really sure of the advantage.

Dad, can you let me know Auntie June's tel. number and I will give her a call.


Love to all,

Squashed Tomatoes and Stew

..and I wanted to be retired by the time I was 30!

Happy Birthday Nic love from skypey Steve.... (45 blimey) Big Party at yours in 2010, by which time, we'll all be miW-YONaires

Happy Birthday Nic

Hi Nic, have a good day. Mum and Dad wish you a very happy day too. They are having a good time here and mum seems to be feeling better daily. It must be the winter sun. Looking forward to seeing you next year perhaps

Pete

All is well(ish)

Dear all,

Mum and Dad arrived more than a week ago and are well established in our room with Jan and myself upstairs in the lounge on the sofa bad (very comfortable to be truthful). The weather has been fantastic in the last few days and we have seen bright sunny days well up in the twenties. It´s cool at night and mum got a stiff neck sitting out on the balcony the other evening but she has a cream to rub in now so is more comfortable. She seems to be very well considering she has had an operation but of course she tires easily so we have to treat her kindly. The stairs are a concern what with no bannisters and being made of concrete but she is coping admirably. It is a real pleasure to see her getting the giggles. We have had a few laughs and last night some culture by going to a concert by a Birmingham based choir who were doing a charity gala night.

The down side is that the Mac is still failing to start and so Dad has no way to post to you all. I´m doing this from school having just recovered my password because I´d forgotten it (having automatic connections by my Mac). I´m going to try to get the machine to Alicante to a Mac dealer there to see if he can buzz it with whatever it needs. Unlikely to be this week though so I´ll wait for the salvage discs to arrive to see if it will start up from them Steve. Not looking good at the minute, I must admit.

Off home now to see how they are all getting on.

Love to you all

Pete

Let us Prey..

(ing Mantis)
Let us Prey(ing Mantis).JPG
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

Decent shot of the local wildlife..

Here's one for Ruth

we laughted and laughted at this hotel in Carpentras and thought of you Ruth!
cockard
Originally uploaded by ezappy.

french think this is hard!!!

Thankyou for my present....

merci a toute le monde qui m'a envoy les Birthday messages.
Yesterday while the artist was working, I set to work in le petit toilette, and stripped off the tiles with Julian's power-hammer, much to Manon's chagrin!
(It was a blowy grey day and she'd taken refuge on Ruth and Julian's bed only to have her afternoon nap somewhat disturbed by yours truly. A desperate scratching on the bedroom door prompted me to open it, which was followed by a brief and swift flash of grey fur as she fled down the stairs.
We are forgiven now I think, as a peace offering in the form of a live doormouse was presented to Julian in the middle of the night to the sound of "Grrrrrrr....", presumably in time for him to have it gift wrapped pour moi?!
However J thought better to release the stunned creature into the vines whereupon it hopped off into the night.)

Anyway.. zut alors, I got to patching up the loo area with some light weight terracotta blocks and packed about 50 litres of Chavre, the revolutionary organic concrete mix behind making the whole wall secure and solid.

Ruth has kindly telephoned M. Michel and we will view the Gite on Tuesday afternoon next week. Perhaps if we have a think about next July we can firm up the reservation for Cathy's 50th in Sete.

Hi Everybody

Nic. after removing from heat, stir in sugar and then the flakes until they are well coated. -- sorry about that. Love to the children - wet kisses all round.
According to my calendar it is only 12 days to your birthday so, as we are starting our holiday TODAY by travelling to Southampton - there to stay the night at the Express Holiday Inn, before catching the 0835 Flybe to Alicante in the morning (Sunday) Happy birthday for the 27th. What is that? - 45.? Takes me back to my days in the bank at Aylesbury.
Yesterday I went to the dentist in Ventnor where he relieved me of two teeth 3 & 4 top right. Having previously taken impressions of the 'before' and sent them to the dental mech to prepare, he just slotted in the improved plate and bob's your uncle. Trouble is, this morning the gum is sore where he injected it prior to taking out the teeth and I cannot yet wear the plate. I look like the wicked witch in Snowhite!. Time will heal, I hope.
Mum is improving and with the ?warm sun of Spain and nothing to worry her, I hope she will improve quicker.
Pete tells me that his Mac is u/s at the moment so when we can read the blogger or write to you all again will depend on if he can get it fixed.
Love to all in Provence and Wales (if John's computer is working). (Cathy has invited us to LLanddewi for Christmas. Will we be seeing you thereSteve?) Pete's phone is 0034966896368 where we will be until 7th November. Cheers Dad and Mum

Corn Flakes

Dad, I throw the caster sugar in the bin or i mix it in with the syrup and the marg'?

Nic

Birthday Wishes

Steve, happy birthday again, rang you on 13th at 8-9 am your time then hung up because I thought you may have been driving all night still. Forgot you were probably hung over on wine. Chateau Julien appears to need a fair bit of work, how long were you planning on staying? You could always pick up 2CV down there when you are done, then head off on the silk road from nothern Italy, and come pay us a vist via Central Asia, Vietnam (good place to get your froggy car serviced).

Lots of love and big wet kisses from Daniel (he's good at them), Claire, me and Jen.

DAD, thanks for the recipe, we'll give that a go. Love to Mum and you

Nic and the team,

Recipes for Choc Flakes and porridge

Nic - this is the recipe that Mum uses: 50g of corn flakes, 25g of cocoa, 25g caster sugar; 50g golden syrup; 25g margarine. Melt margerine and syrup slowly in a saucepan - do not boil! Add the cocoa. Remove from heat and add the cornflakes until they are well coated. Spoon into 9 or 10 portions in pastry cases or ice cream scoop, and leave to cool. Eh Voila. Of course you can use any other breakfast cereal like rice crispies or puffed rice as a change! Double the amount requires double the ingredients, I suppose.


Pete.-Porridge is simply 1. weigh out 100g of rolled oats, a large pinch of salt, add 1 pint of water and stir. 2. Put in microwave (high) for three minutes, 3. remove and stir to remove any lumps, 4. put back in m/w and cook for a further two minutes. Should be done. Depending on whether you like it runny or stodgy, add or reduce oats or water. To make it more milky you can add milk at the final cooking. Let cooked porridge rest for a minute before serving. To make double the amount double the amount of oats and water and cook for same times. You can always adjust times from 4 above and use either honey or syrup to sweeten it. Dad

! Happy Birthday Dad!

Lots of love and a big kiss on the head fromWill & Gem. Saw Will yesterday evening and he couldn't stop smiling (yesterday was his last day at Borders). He is having a leaving do on Saturday night.

See you soon! Birthday presents to follow!! love Gem & Will, Clive (& Kenny & Louis)...off to work (boo) but 2 days to holiday (yeah).

Gem xxxx

Happy Birthday to Steve

I am sitting here on my way to bed and can see that it is Your Birthday Steve and can imagine you all sitting in the lounge trying to finish off the last three or four Cotes de Rhone/Gigonda/Vayqueras/Chateau Neuf ot whatever.
Mum has just gone up and to be truthful, she is looking better than she has done for a few days now. I have got to keep her interested in travelling. She spoke to Pete while I was at the dentist and she seems better for that. Perhaps you could spare her a few words!
Well, lovely boy, it seems more than a year since we were all at Le Manoir, but no doubt you are having a good time in the sun. God Bess you all and lots of love from us here.

Celia's Birthday Today

so we went over to Sandown to wish her a happy 71 (50years after). Considering the cards she has been dealt she is marvellous. She sits in her wheel chair laughing at Richard as he tries to make us some tea. He is not much better, but he too keeps wonderfully cheerful They are going round to Eddies for a birthday tea followed by a bevy or two. We had a lovely Sunday beef roast at a garden centre in Lake, noted for its food and we are now home. Lovely to see the sunshine with Mont Ventoux forming the horizon. It looks as if you are plastering in the kitchen. Plenty of spaces to fil!! LOL Dad and Mum

ezappy

sitting in the sun after a coffee waiting for plasterers inspiration... getting sweaty doing nothing yet, well it is Dimanche!

Whats my name?

Courtesy of Mandy

"Follow the instructions to find your new name.
The following is an excerpt from a children's book, "Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants" by Dave Pilkey. The evil
Professor forces everyone to assume new names......

Use the third letter of your first name to determine your new first name:
a = poopsie b = lumpy c = buttercup
d = gadget e = crusty f = greasy
g = fluffy h = cheeseball i = chim-chim
j = stinky k = flunky l = boobie
m = pinky n = zippy o = goober
p = doofus q = slimy r = loopy
s = snotty t = tootie u = dorkey
v = squeezit w = oprah x = skipper
y = dinky z = zsa-zsa

Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:
a = apple b = toilet c = giggle
d = burger e = girdle f = barf
g = lizard h = waffle i = cootie
j = monkey k = potty l = liver
m = banana n = rhino o = bubble
p = hamster q = toad r = gizzard
s = pizza t = gerbil u = chicken
v = pickle w = chuckle x = tofu
y = gorilla z = stinker

Use the fourth letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:
a = head b = mouth c = face
d = nose e = tush f = breath
g = pants h = shorts i = lips
j = honker k = butt l = brain
m = tushie n = chunks o = hiney
p = biscuits q = toes r = buns
s = fanny t = sniffer u = sprinkles
v = kisser w = squirt x = humperdinck
y = brains z = juice

builders are in

quiet night as all exhausted.
Mont Ventoux yesterday went a bit stormy in the afternoon but back to gorgeous today.and I've got all plaster in me hair!

So can I

Holding both forefingers in front of your face make the right finger describe a circle clockwise i.e. towards you and the other finger a circle anti-clockwise (going away from you). Both circles should be made at the same time. I think 20 circles in 20 seconds is about par for the course. Steve did you watch the speed drumming competition the other day. Richard and Judy's man hit the pad with two sticks, 950 times in one minute. The record (Not Buddy Rich) is held by an American (who else) with 1020 beats in 1 minute. All done on a timed pad! Dad. Steve - where are you?? Wot no blogs

Doh!

You're not supposed to be able to do it...urm...perhaps its the other leg and other arm??

Said in the papers this morning that the creator of Merrow-Smith kids favourite 'Mr Benn' admits to being on magic mushrooms when he came up with the stories...and then the shopkeeper appeared. What next - 'Bagpuss' was on dope and 'Ivor the Engine' was on speed - get it?

Nice one England - but we've scraped a win against Austria this afternoon at Old Trafford...How come these spanish refs keep picking on our Becks?

G x

I can do it!!!

and Mr "Spud" the-mousy-finger-bob can do it too! Been building today but it's not finished so no picture yet. This IS a potato by ze way!

Here's one for you....

Sitting in a chair, hold your left leg out and make circles with your leg moving clockwise. Then with your right hand write the number 6 in the air...can you do it with out your leg changing direction?

No I can't either!

Gem x

I said, particularly nasty weather...

Yes, sorry to hear that we have lost Ronnie Barker. Porridge was a real hit with me as a kid. But on the subject of porridge I am delighted to find mum and dad are due a visit. Maybe Grandad can show our little family how real porridge should be made. I have never managed to capture the 'je ne c'est quoi' element that dad always brought to Saturday mornings when, as I have now learned to understand, finances were a bit tight!

Looking forward to the visit. Hopefully we will have sorted out some wheels by then. It should be fun as the weather has been quite warm again recently and it may be still possible to eat outside from time to time.

We are on the look-out for a good paella restaurant....

See you folks soon.

We are going to La Nucia

Call me stupid, but Pete has been asking us to come to La Nucia, so in one of my mad moments I booked a Flybe flight from Southampton, leaving on 16th October and arriving in Alicante at 12 noon..
Trust me to make a pig's ear out of it as that is the night on which Jan's sister Pam is spending with them. Husband and wife, three girls, Auntie from Wantage? Grandma and Granddad - all in one small house _ I must be mad. Perhaps I can find a cheap hotel in Alicante for a couple of days - or even in Benidorm, where there should be plenty of places to stay.
Flight leaves at 0835 in the morning from S'oton airport, so we will have to find somewhere to stay near the airport. (or catch the early boat and get a taxi). We did last time but I have had no reply to my enquiries,yet.
Mum feels that she will be fine by next week , so here's hoping??
I have used most of my Airmile points to hire an Opel Corsa for the fortnight of our proposed stay, to make things easier for Mum - OK for trips into Beniorm. I'll keep you posted. Hope you arrived in Provence OK steve LOL dad

Four candles?

Sorry to hear about your sore neck & shoulder Grandma. I have a sore right shoulder that goes down my back and gets worse when stressed or sat at a desk/PC for too long, even lying down too long so Saturday morning lie-ins don't always help. It has been relieved by swimming and only having one pillow. Sounds like you are in good care though with Dr Christine.

Sympathy goes out to others with car trouble. Close contest though Pete between my Uno and yours! My Uno is D reg and rattled it way past 96,000 but I do like the sound of your paint effect. After we topped her up with oil (actually there was hardly any in it and the oil lamp still hadn't come), now the oil lamp comes on when i slow down/dip the clutch and the whole electrical comes on /off whenever feels like it though if you don't ask too much of it like no radio or fan then shes fine. Topped off wit a blowy exhaust I'm quite the thing about town. If only I could cyle up Hinksey Hill in the winter months and she was worth getting down to Spain in then I'd gladly give her to you. My first car was Datsun Sunny and that was great. I had no problems with that apart from the rust that was weirdly just down one side. I even followed a Black VW Scirocco back from work the other day Nic - flashback?

As a result of the house party thrown by new neighbours down the road last Saturday night I discovered Bianca (all girls have to name their cars don't they?) on Monday morning and can only conclude she must have joined in the birthday celebrations. There is what appears (and hopes) to be sticky lager stains down one side and ciggie butts left on the windscreen & surrounded by half empty Fosters cans - urk. All she was missing was the party hat. Dad- Did the BMW escape the same fate?

Sorry to hear about your scare with Daniel too Jen & Nic.

Today we sadly heard that Ronnie Barker has died at age of 76. See bbc.co.uk website for glorious tributes as well as classic video footage of his best bits...hose? plugs?? You know the rest...

love Gem xxx

Mum has had the Doctor

Last Saturday Mum discovered a 'pain in the neck'. Trouble is this pain went all over her shoulder and down her right arm. By Monday things had deteriorated and so I rang our pretty young doctor (Christine) who gave her some jollop, some tabbys and some penicillin. Come and see me again on 10th she says. Mum took the medisin and for three or four days suffered the discomfort, nay pain, in her neck until Sunday when she couldn't get out of bed to go to church and I cooked something she could eat without much strain and this morning I rang Dr. Avril who agreed to do a home visit (just as I was having fried bread, eggs, bacon, tomatoes and mushies) She is such a lovely person and she soon made Mum feel better, even arranging for her to visit a fisio. She also recommended putting a warm scarf around her neck. It is so hot in the front room that here I am stripped down to t-shirt and shorts, while Mum is in what I consider is a dry Turkish bath.

I have been downloading some of my favourite classic rock numbers from Limewire. How nice to be able to plan one's own CD with all the tunes that I like. When I have a decent CD I will send you one for Christmas, Pete.

Good that you can get some decent oldies on your radio, Nic. Programmes are so poor (except if you are a Soapy) that I spend most of my TV time watching old films, old comedies and History programmes. Sad, isn't it?

I have completed my self inflicted task of shaving off the tops of the sticking doors and, although I bought a belt sander to do the job, I managed better with a sharpened plane, finishing off with the sander. All is now complete and none of the doors stick any more.

Glad you appreciated the funny lettered words, Nic - I too was able to read the words quite quickly. Funny innit?
Pete - I have sent off the parcel for the third time. If it comes back I will personally bring it over on my next trip.
I am resisting the urge to vaccuum the floor as it may wke Mum up ! ! Hey ho, we are off to see Mum's Urologist tomorrow
I hope she can manage to see him. LOL Dad

From Singapore

Hi Dad, Mum, all. Love the bit on the order of the letters, fantastic. Yes Daniel can usually pull up the locks but with the outside temparature at 30 degrees and probably 45 degree plus inside, perhaps his finger tips were a bit slippy, also he was strapped in to his baby chair so his reach was a bit impared. I saw him reach for the lock this morning and had to remind him of the incident. He remembers.

We had a great leisurely weekend and celebrated "childrens day" on Saturday with lots of chocolate goodies from M&S. We now have BBC Prime at home too so can watch some of those old sit coms, Open All Hours and the like.

Have a good week,

Nic

Fwd: FW: Ever have a day like this ?

no real reason, it's a way to blow off steam. hep hem

Happy Sunday to you all

Sun shining after a bit of rain yesterday. It is "October Cold" today, with promises of a bit warmer when the sun gets higher. Mum is improving, but unfortunately she is suffering from a stiff neck and right shoulder. Trouble is when she has anything like that her voice goes down to a whisper and I am blamed for being deff. She really is feeling a lot better and would have been better stil without the pain in her neck. Her ?last? consultation is on Tuesday with her pet Nigerian Urologist. I hope he gives her a clean 'bill of health'. Thanks for the note re flights, Pete. We are looking forward to coming to see you when things clear up - Mumwise. We prefer to fly from S'oton as it is only a £2 bus ride from Southampton Town Quay to the airport as opposed to an £80 trip to Gatwick. I'll have to search through the Sunday papers for the best return flights. Have a good trip to Provence on Thursday, Steve - I am sure there will be plenty to talk about.


How about this - can you read it`/ I cdnuol't blveiee that I cloud uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pwoer of the hamun mind aoccdmrnig to rscheearch at Cmabbrigde Uinervtisy, is taht it deosn't matear in waht odrer the letrets in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt thnig is taht the frist and lsat ltertes be in the rgiht plcae. The rset can be a ttoal mses and you can stlil raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bceasue the hmuan mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wohel. Amzanig, inst't it? Fnacy, I was alyaws tuhagt at shocol taht selpilng was ipmorantt.
There is a lot more but it is harder to type than to read. Get Jess or Beth to send a letter in that style!!

Well, I have bought a new belt sander and a new battery powered screwdriver so that I can remove and ease off some of our bedroom doors, so I will now get on with it. Love to you all - ? question - why did it need a fresh set of keys to open the car door. If it is like mine all that is necessary is to lift up the lock, but then I am older than Daniel!! Well done Mary.

Break out..

Ah now, Jen. The problem is your car is too new. The good thing about having a twelve year old Fiat Uno worth thirty quid is that if you lock your kids in the car your can just put your fingers into the gap between the top of the door and the roof and pull. The top of the door peels back like a ring pull. Your then slip your hand in, pop the lock, open up and release the afore-mentioned prisoners. Returning the door to its original state requires reversal of said process by pulling the door back straight when it is in the open position. Risks include flaking the paint at the stress points and cracking the window, but these are mere cosmetic issues and on a twelve year old motor that looks like it has been sand blasted instead of water washed, who can tell the difference? Alas, the car is likely not to return from the garage as it has blown piston rings on three or possibly all four cylinders and it's cheaper to buy another one than fix it. Anyone got a Fiat Uno for sale? If not, a Datsun Sunny or a Triumph Herald will do...