I Am Thrilled By The Result

I am delighted to have woken up this morning to find the United Kingdom intact and our Scottish family still part of Great Britain.

And, whilst it is a disappointment that 38% of those eligible to vote, voted for independence, that still leaves a fairly hefty 62% who chose not to do so.

Which means that, hopefully, for the remainder of my days, our beautiful little Scottish grandchildren Rose and Melody will share our nationality. I want them to feel totally Scottish and to be part of that wonderful country but also to feel part of a United Kingdom and be able to share the culture and heritage of each and every one of the individual nations that make it so unique.

I feel a bit sorry for Alec Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. In all honesty they ran their campaign brilliantly and quietly without shouting until suddenly they found themselves in the surprise position of a YES vote becoming a real possibility. It was an exemplary example of how to run a political campaign and they managed to keep their dogs of war on a very tight leash until the polls showed the narrowest of gaps between the parties.

And then somehow, suddenly and inexplicably Jim Sillars and Tommy Sheridan slipped that leash and were all over the press spouting their opinions in the way that Salmond and Sturgeon had studiously spent two years trying to avoid. I imagine that Sillars appearance on BBC's Today Programme last week gave the NO campaign its biggest single boost in the last six months and slammed the brakes onto what was looking like an unstoppable Independence Bandwagon. The BBC was accused of bias. Had they shown Sillars and Sheridan on a 24 hour loop they could not have done the independence campaign more harm.

Once the firebrand fringe had shown its true colours with this sort of thing, the bandwagon came off the rails and I honestly believe that without this sort of negativity from the YES side, the outcome would have been much closer - a spectacular, but for me welcome, own goal.

As for Andy Murray and his now infamous tweet? Let's give the lad a break. He shared the view of almost two fifths of his compatriots. What's wrong with that? He wasn't aggressive in his opinion and, like all those who campaigned in a civilised manner on both sides of the argument, he should be congratulated on getting involved. Now that it's all over I will certainly continue to back him whenever he is playing and I hope that the rest of the UK gets behind him too. Anyone booing him on court should be swiftly shown the exit.

Now that it's all over and my worries of the last few weeks have subsided I feel certain that the referendum will prove to have been a good thing and have real beneficial effects for both Scotland and the UK as a whole.

Happy 80th Aunty Maureen

We've had a weekend away. On Saturday we drove to Rochester and spent a day with our lovely little granddaughter while her mum and dad had a well earned day to themselves. We had a great day - nothing beats the company of a bright and cheerful two-year-old.

Yesterday was a happy day tinged with a little sadness as we headed to North Sheen for Marion's Aunty Maureen (seated above's) 80th birthday party. It was good to see Maureen together with her brother Gerald and his wife Joan looking so well but sad to think of those who are no longer with us like Maureen's husband Arthur and Marion's mum and dad (Maureen's brother Dudley and his wife Flo). We stopped briefly at the crematorium en route to the party to spend a few moments thinking of them.  

Maureen's family did her proud and put on a fabulous spread which could have fed the eighty guests for a week. The Kew Park Rangers football pavilion was a perfect venue and everyone enjoyed catching up with family and friends some of whom they hadn't seen for a long time.

I can't remember how long it was since we last saw Marion's cousin Allison but we hope that we can catch up with her again next time we are in her home town of Edinburgh.

Marion's uncle is so like her dad.

And Marion's sister Sue looks more like their mum every time we see her.

Thank you to Lynne (right) and Sharon for inviting us. Don't forget to visit us in Suffolk.

We've a fairly quiet week ahead this week so we're taking advantage of the darker evenings and heading to the cinema tomorrow night for The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared at the Riverside in Woodbridge and Bicycling With Molieres at Ipswich Film Theatre Trust on Wednesday.

Wow...... Just Wow!

It's been many many years (55 to be precise) since I was last reduced to a quivering wreck at any event (apart from a couple of Liverpool performances). I was five years old and I can still remember leaving the screening of Old Yeller wailing because (spoiler alert) "that dog is dead". But fifty-five years later the same thing happened yesterday and my stiff upper lip disintegrated during the final moments of The Crucible at the Old Vic. I was not alone - during that final scene I scanned the faces of my fellow theatre goers and lost count of how many were distraught, clutching tissues or weeping openly in what was the most memorable piece of theatre I can remember.

Although that final scene was made unforgettable by Richard Armitage as John Proctor, this was not just a virtuoso performance. Each and every member of the cast was nothing less than outstanding in a play that drew its audience into its heart and held them mesmerised for over three hours.

We were exceptionally fortunate to have front row seats. And front row at The Old Vic is FRONT ROW as, if this photo had been taken during yesterday's show, my foot would be visible bottom left as I cowered whilst the young "witches" trembled together in front of me. It's easy to jump on the superlative bandwagon as all the critics have given this production five stars but, if you are a regular visitor to this blog, you'll know that we went to Simon Russell Beale's Lear at The National a few months ago, a piece of theatre that was similarly acclaimed, and I hated it. 

Like Thursday's visit to Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, in The Crucible we saw another allegorical piece but in the film I saw the injustice - in the play I felt it. Absolutely wonderful. 

When the play finished and we pulled ourselves together from the emotional wringer that we had been through I asked the iPhone to recommend the best London restaurant that doesn't take bookings. It came up with 10 Greek St in Soho so we headed straight there. The play was a matinee so it was only about 6.30 when we arrived in Greek St and we were shown straight to a table - very lucky as those who came after us were put on a waiting list. It was a very very young place and we certainly felt our age but the service was great, the food delicious and the atmosphere buzzing - a great way to recover from our most extraordinary afternoon.

Visiting The FLO In Bury St Edmunds

I went to see Andrew, the local FLO (finds liaison officer) at the archaeology office in Bury St Edmunds yesterday. I took him all the recent finds that I've been blogging about for recording on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database. I used to record my own finds in Lancashire but the Suffolk unit insists on doing it for us which, though understandable (we aren't as knowledgeable and can make mistakes), does involve a couple of hours drive and a wait of six months before getting the finds back which must discourage some detector users from bothering to record.

Being retired, the trip to Bury is not too onerous and Andrew confirmed my identification of around sixty items and took them for recording. There were three bits that I hadn't been sure of and he identified these for me. 

This is medieval and probably a casket fitting

I suggested a medieval vessel handle - it's a medieval vessel leg

I wondered if this could be a Roman coin but it's a post medieval medallion

So, with only three uncertain identifications out of sixty plus items I could have saved the FLO a lot of work.

To make sure that it wasn't a wasted journey to Bury, Marion joined me and we had a good couple of hours looking around the town. We've been before but not for long - it really is a great place to visit with amazing Cathedral and Abbey grounds, plenty of shops and a great selection of places to eat and drink.

We had a coffee and sandwich at an old fashioned cafe with this view of the ancient church buildings and, after a good look around the old and new shopping areas, we went for a refreshing cold drink at the beautiful Angel Hotel.

We'll have to go for another visit when I've had a few more trips out with the detector.

Back In Scotland

Less than a week after arriving back in Framlingham from France we were back on the road heading up north to Scotland to see our daughter Sarah and partner Duncan and granddaughters Rose and Melody. It wasn’t the best timing but Sarah and Rose have birthdays this week and there is no way that we wanted to miss them.

Before heading off we managed another visit to Snape Maltings on Saturday morning for a concert by the excellent Arcanto Quartet. This quartet of highly talented musicians Is made up of two violins, a viola and a cello and they played some beautiful pieces by Brahms and Mozart. It was truly lovely stuff but, in one section of the concert, piano virtuoso Pierre-Laurant Aimard joined each of the musicians for a series of (thankfully short) duets. I’m beginning to think that I’m either tone deaf, a Philistine or both as these pieces were universally dreadful for me and sounded like cats mating. Much to the obvious displeasure of the woman in the seat next to me I couldn’t bring myself to applaud these duets however finely they were performed technically. She and most of the others in the audience applauded wildly with shouts and whistles and cries of “bravo” – I just thought of the story of the King’s New Clothes.

Snape is a fabulous setting for a concert hall but the organisers of classical concerts like this must worry a little about their audiences. We went to two concerts last week and, despite being retired, we were amongst the youngest in the audiences for both performances. The average age must have been seventy plus. Without new audiences the future outlook for the concerts looks bleak.

Up in Scotland it’s great to see Rose and Melody growing up. We’ve done some helping out around their house in preparation for Rose’s birthday party and we’ve also been able to bring Rose back to play on the caravan site playground.

Yesterday Melody got her first pair of shoes. She’s not walking yet but she’s not far off.

And I had the chance to get out on the bike for an hour. After all the cycling in France I thought that I might fly up the local hills around St Andrews but no, I managed them competently but they are still quite a struggle.

Such A Perfect Day

Yesterday was the sort of day that Lou Reed was thinking about when he wrote that song. The sun finally decided to return to Bonnieux so we were up at the crack of dawn and ready to depart on our final cycling trip of the holiday. The air was still fresh as we headed out from the villa so Marion wore a cardigan for the first part of the journey as we headed downhill to Lacoste.

We're quite fit after so much cycling so we even rode some of the way under our own steam with the power switched off. We stopped for a well earned breakfast at a bistro in the tiny hamlet of St Pantaleon. Cycling means that pain au chocolat - the perfect French breakfast -is not off limits.

From St Pantaleon we headed to Gordes. Clinging to the mountainside, Gordes has to be the most spectacular town in Provence and consequently it's spectacularly busy so, apart from the customary photo courtesy of some Chinese tourists, we gave it a miss. 

We did, however, find the near deserted historic village of bories (dry stone dwellings) nearby. This is a fascinating historic site and well worth the 3.5km detour.

From Gordes we took a steep climb towards the famous and spectacular Abbaye de Senanque. Even with electric bikes this was a difficult ascent. Conventional cyclists were barely inching up the road and it was fun to pass these bent double and super fit but struggling athletes sitting upright as if on a trip to the shops and giving them a friendly wave and a few words of explanation in French "Nos velos sont electrique mais nous avons soixante ans".

The ride down from the summit towards the abbey was incredible - even using both brakes we were travelling at dangerous speeds. The abbey has famous lavender fields in front of it but we could see that the lavender wasn't in bloom yet and there were a couple of coaches outside so we gave it a miss and took another steep climb to Murs. By now it was time for lunch but Murs looked pretty deserted and the only restaurant was empty so we decided to journey on and look for somewhere en route.

What a great decision that was as, about fifteen minutes later we saw a sign to Le Mas Des Herbes Blanches together with five stars and a Relais & Chateau sign. Although a little dusty from our cycling we were welcomed into the beautiful restaurant with panoramic views across the Luberon and enjoyed a delicious three course meal with fantastic service. We only paid twenty or thirty euros more than we've been paying for our usual lunches and this was very special - so great value for money.

From the Mas it was time to cycle on to Roussillon, the famous red town. It's another lovely place and, despite the mass of tourists, we made a stop to change the bike batteries in a central cafe and had a look at the amazing views.

It was all downhill from Roussillon as we returned to Bonnieux via the ancient Roman bridge Pont St Julien. We were sad to hand the bikes back to Sun E Bikes - hiring those bikes was the best decision of the week in Bonnieux. We rode over 70 kilometres yesterday but it was easy.

As the sun went down we enjoyed some fruit and a glass of wine on one of the villa's terraces -  a perfect end to a perfect day.

Now It's The Tour De Luberon

I know I shouldn't grumble but it's Sod's Law that we book a cycle tour and ride in temperatures approaching forty centigrade in the shade and then book a luxury villa with swimming pool for the remainder of the holiday and the temperatures drop by twenty degrees. So, with the swimming pool merely something that makes a pretty photo, we were left with the question of what to do here in pretty Bonnieux.

There are no prizes for guessing what we came up with and yesterday we set out on our rented bikes. There's a slight difference this time, Bonnieux is in a very hilly region so we have given ourselves a bit of a break and gone for electric bikes. You can still peddle them (they won't go if you don't) but climbing hills is a breeze and we take great pleasure in flying past real cyclists as they puff and pant their way to the summit.

And they really have been summits. We've climbed until our ears have popped and we've ridden along a ridge that has clear views down to the Mediterranean coast.

We're on our second day of bike hire at the moment as, at 60 Euros a day, seven days would have been an extravagance but it's been well worth it and we've done two rides totaling about 90 km. Today we rode through a forest on a ridge that separated the Luberon from the south. Sadly it was grey and cold but yesterday was mild and sunny and the route that the rental company gave us took us through some fabulous scenery.

The last stop on yesterday's route was Oppede Le Vieux a deserted medieval town high on a hillside. It was a beautiful place and we stopped for lunch in the restaurant.

We has a fabulous lunch in a stunning setting.

The public WC was far from stunning and it amazes me how many of these hole in the

ground loos remain in France - it's the one time that constipation is welcome. We're in the 21st century now!

We saw some absolutely beautiful places including the lovely Menerbes made famous by Peter Mayle. It's certainly a beautiful little town but even today,many years after the book's heyday, it's very busy with visitors. We also rode to Lacoste. Much of this super medieval village including its castle has been bought by Pierre Cardin who has done it up to an amazing standard (nor quite The Mowbrays).It's a magnificently photogenic place but it somehow feels sterile as if Cardin has sucked all the life out of it and left us with a manicured film set. Tomorrow we're off on our final bike ride - at 70 kilometers it should be a fitting last day but two to the end of the holiday. I'll finish today with some of the very pretty places we've cycled to.

Le Tour De Provence Est Finis

That's right, it's all over bar the shouting (although one of the tour members is a Holland fan and they're playing tonight so there may well be some shouting).

 Here are the men from our team of Nations at last night's hotel Mas De Oulivie near Les Beaux. From left to right it's South African Mark, American Tim, South African Steve, me and English tour organiser Gary. 

And here are our wives Therese from Arizona, Wendy from Durban, Marion and Carin from Durban.

The eight of us plus Gary and his assistant Martin have cycled about 50 kilometers daily. Sometimes it's been flat like this but there have also been some steep climbs and (thankfully) some equally steep descents. The weather has been fantastic although not perfect for cycling when it hits 39 degrees in the afternoon. The hotels have all been lovely and the group got on very well together.

Now the end is fast approaching and we're here in the beautiful five star Hotel Particulier in Arles. It's a beautiful old hotel and a very fitting end to our cycle tour - Deluxe Cycle Tours has certainly lived up to its name.

Settling Into Bonnieux

                                         
After five days of early mornings it was strange to have a lie in on Saturday at Hotel Particulier in Arles. We were lucky to have a fabulous room for our last night. Tour leader Gary explained that all the hotels have a few superior rooms and he tries to share these evenly throughout the week. 

Marion looked stunning as we headed out to dinner with our fellow cyclists for the last time. We celebrated our last evening with champagne at the hotel before heading to a restaurant in Arles for our last meal together. As always the meal was a fun affair and we will miss the conversation. Food and wine have been major features of the cycling week and I was able to eat like a king without worrying about my weight.

                                               

Sadly I won't be able to eat like this at lunchtime again unless I want to put on a couple of stones.

From Arles we headed to Avignon by taxi to pick up our car from Hotel D'Europe. And from there we drove here to a fabulous villa that we've rented in Bonnieux. The weather has cooled down and we've had a bit of rain but we're set for a relaxing time.

We will miss the characters we met on our cycle. There was the extremely modest  Steve - a very successful businessman with tremendous leadership qualities, his lovely wife Carin a devoted mum and fellow writer, the super fit Tim who, despite being a few years older than me managed to be first man to the top of every hill. Tim is a truly nice guy who recently retired from an executive role in one of the world's biggest chemical corporations. I said he was first man to the summits as his wife Therese, whose rendition of Chantilly Lace was one of the week's highlights, was often there before him - Therese is an amazing athlete and also an artist in glass. Our final couple were Mark , who works with Steve, and his wife Wendy. Mark has a fabulous sense of humour and gave us all plenty of laughs. Wendy works out almost every day and, coped brilliantly with all the climbs. It's hard to believe that the eldest of her three kids has almost completed university.

We hope that social media will allow us to follow their futures and we hope that they enjoy the rest of their holidays and have good return journeys to South Africa and the USA.