The incredible journey - part II

Gregoire and Jacques arrived at garage safely. Have spent the last hour trying to negotiate release of Evasion. Things have got complicated. What a surprise. Meanwhile I sit at home sans voiture, sans nouvelles.

The incredible journey - part I

Sunday evening - and the car saga continues. The hire car has to be returned to the garage in Montreuil sur Mer (near Le Touquet) Monday. Jacques the dairyman wants to buy (very broken, very sad) Evasion for 300 euros. Gregoire finds another French man (scary scary SCARY man in the back of beyond white trash hinterlands yonder Ceauce way ) with big trailer who offers free use of his (barely legal) car transporter trailer in return for whisky and pastis. Shudder shudder. Gregoire was sure he heard banjos playing in the background while he negotiated deal. Gregoire picks up trailer, drops it off chez Jacques and arranges meet with Jacques at 5.45am Monday morning. Update on their journey will continue tomorrow evening. Meanwhile, Elvis the 2CV has sold, so we will definitely be carless by Wednesday. Hmmm.

cars

The Evasion is still in a garage in Montreuil sur Mer. The hire car gets returned Monday. The 2CV has (almost) been sold. The Chrysler Voyager is looking set to be our interim vehicle. So now we have to :

• organise with a transporter friend to pick up the now dead Evasion and bring it back. We have someone who is interested in buying it - gearbox or not.
• collect the old Voyager and take it for a Controle Technique. Can't say Voyager without thinking of Star Trek so no doubt there will be endless jokes.
• Show various potential buyers the 2CV and try not to spend the money on aforementioned cars. The 2CV money is meant to go towards repairing the DS and the 2 bikes.
• find a way to get back from Montreuil sur Mer once the hire car is dropped off on Monday.

meanwhile work is busy so we no longer really have time for this...but then when do you ever have time to deal with this sort of stuff?

Amsterdam and gearboxes

Zipped over to Amsterdam Sunday to see Sietske and Gerry - and to escape the madcap fury of the first round of the elections (though we ended up following it all night anyway - despite being 2 countries away). Arrived first thing in the morning in glorious sunshine and despite a funny metal grinding noise from the car everything was fine. The nasty noise stopped whilst negotiating one of the (many) speed bumps in Amsterdam Centrum so all seemed well. Spent 24 great hours with Gerry, Sietske, Dirk, Dinie, Niko, Arjan etc ....hung out in the Tisfris, shopped for shoes, soaked up the sun and had a very unusual but very good bouillabaisse on Sunday evening. Followed the elections, breathed a sigh of relief that Sergo got through (even though she won't win at least she made the 2nd round and the fascist didn't), Scarlet fell asleep on the settee and we slept like logs in the lovely comfy girl-influenced flat (Arjan has new petite amie ...touches of femininity creeping in like scatter cushions and a throw or two :)) Return journey uneventful until somewhere around Le Touquet and then BANG. The gearbox on the Evasion imploded mid-downhill on a fast motorway. Lordy lordy. Fortunately the hard shoulder was gravel covered so this could be used as a braking aid. Called using the emergency services telephone and awaited transport. Ended up in a little town called Montreuil sur Mer in a very nice garage (Garage Christian) - after 2 hours of to-ing and fro-ing with the insurer we took away a hire car (from same garage) and left our poor smoking sad Evasion with them. Arrived back in St Fraimbault some 6 hours later than anticipated and felt rather shell shocked and battered. Scarlet had a ball the entire time and thinks we deliberately gave her a super exciting ride home. Adrenalin kid. Gregoire will return forthwith and pay a hugely hefty bill for the new gear box. Still. All's well that ends well eh? Now have a very nippy little sporty Peugeout 206 - finger tip radio CD controls and lovely little turbo punch, but oh 'eck does it feel small or what? Monday (hopefully) Gregoire will return to Montreuil sur Mer (only 450 kms away) and collect the newly repaired Evasion. Fingers crossed.

..partez à la chasse aux œufs

This afternoon the children of the primary and infant schools in the area all had a big Easter egg hunt. The weather was hot and sticky, so most of the little eggs - hidden around the lake and in the playground - were slightly soft and melted ..this didn't seem to bother the children as they emerged from bushes smeared with chocolate and covered in leaves and twigs. It looked like an army training bootcamp for kids. Afterwards a general 'gouter' was had by parents and children alike (coffee and cake and more chocolate) then les enfants played and played until it was time to sweep up and return home. An extended Easter. What a good idea.

work in progress..

Some of the projects currently being worked on by the good man himself. All engine related.

1. Elvis the 2CV ....just been through its controle technique so now up for sale. So many things have been replaced on this car it is amazing it still looks like a 2CV really, but what do I know?
2. The Honda VF 750 F - a bike that is in two parts - or is that 2 bikes that will eventually make one? Either way, for now it is just a lot of frame and wires and oily screws and pistons ..apparently, one day soon it will be a sleek mean riding machine ....this outcome depends on sale of Elvis.

3. the DS. Our beautiful black DS 23 Pallas. Currently sitting undercover in a friend's garage in Gorron. Doesn't need much to get it going, but will then need much tlc and body rubbing down and general admiration. Restoration of this also depends on sale of Elvis.

Whoever said that Elvis was dead eh?

Galop 1 - suite

phew. She passed. Relief all round. Now I can start the weekend properly. Many punters due at Papillon ce weekend. And someone has removed all 4 wheels of a small Renault Clio parked on the church square and left the car looking slightly quirky and a bit forlorn. Ooh la la....

Le Galop 1...

Scarlet takes her first riding exam this afternoon - le galop 1. Below is the content of the exam according to the French riding federation.....

"Après avoir pansé et amené sa monture en main sur le terrain,être capable de se déplacer au pas et au trot.

1. Equitation :

Au pas : - rechercher son équilibre assis - s'arrêter - partir au pas - entretenir le pas - conduire sur des courbes larges

Au trot : - découvrir son équilibre- partir au trot- entretenir le trot - revenir au pas

Au galop : - découvrir son équilibre

2. Soins :

- aborder, mettre un licol, attacher - effectuer un pansage élémentaire - amener sa monture en filet en main sur le terrain - débrider, desseller

3. Connaissances :

- les parties principales de l'extérieur de sa monture - les robes - notions des différentes activités équestres - règles élémentaires de sécurité - le matériel du pansage élémentaire"

Oh lordy, lordy ...I pick her up in an hour - and am so nervous I am just pacing around not knowing what to do (hence this little blog note...). Wish her luck.