Just received my Christmas 'cabas' from the village Maire. Biscuits, terrines, bottle of red and chocolates.

Eight in the morning and it is still dark outside 😕 Just a few more days and we'll be at the solstice. 😊 Longer days and we're on our way back to the beach 🏖️ Off to Kent on Friday, so no snow in view makes for grey but easier driving 😊

Portée par la députée socialiste Colette Capdevielle, la mesure entend répondre à une «injustice criante» liée à l’explosion des délais d’instruction pour les renouvellements de titres de séjour de longue durée et des cartes de résident, alors que plus de 99% des demandes sont accordées.

From my walk on Thursday. Got this far ; saw the rainbow and thought, INCOMING! Time to turn around and head home.

What a crap day. It has out weathered my weather app. Rain will stop at 9h. When it didn't it became 11h. That passed and, ah yes, probably at 13h. Well, it's nearly 14h and still pissing down. Bored of it. Anyway off to the Marché de Noël in Arras later. Vin chaud, here I come 😍

Having finished binding the 2026 family calendars, I have the table free again. Time to get back to modelling. I have the Italieri Pegasus Bridge 1:72 set. The main pieces are done. Now a base. Going to be a big one.

I have visited the Maison Blanche site and the quality (let alone the quantity) of inscriptions is amazing. The site was used by the 15th Bn (48th Highlanders) immediately prior to their assault on Vimy Ridge. Our cross is at Écurie just up the road. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Don't know this one. Named after the weapon used at Kortrijk to defeat the French in 1302.

Well that's my Boulonnais pudding mix made up. Suet is tricky to find but I had some Atora (veggie) left over from last year's batch. Fruit has been sitting in Rhum for 2 weeks 😋 Tomorrow I can start steaming. Should be enough for 5 small ones. The pack is for one 2.5 kg pudding 😳

Drove down to Luxembourg on Saturday morning with my neighbour, Victor. It was wet, but held off a bit whilst we visited the town. Yesterday drove back up to Ciney for Europe's largest militaria fair. This is one of the 2 show rooms. An interesting experience. Victor spent all his money 😊

Je me demande si les Français devront bientôt s'inspirer de Jeanne d'Arc et à nouveau, bouter les Anglais hors de France. Je m'explique. La vague anti migrants est en train d'enfler au Royaume-Uni. Elle ne concerne pas seulement les demandeurs d'asile. Les migrants légaux sont également attaqués.

That is not nice out there, this morning.

Don't use the Leclerc at Attin very often but popped in this afternoon. Car park is a bit of a mess as they install solar panels over it. They did this at my usual Leclerc at Herlin. Great for wet or hot weather.

Oh look. It's that time of the year for me to prove to DWP that I'm still alive. Good thing they caught me before I go swimming. 🏊🤣🤣

I'm not really into theology, but it does occur to me, following posts from Americans I know on FB (and here), to pose the question : Can you be a martyr to a cause, if it can be demonstrably shown that your death had nothing to do with the cause, for which you are being hailed as a martyr.?

Good thing the glass has the name. My newer bottles do now have a small étiquette. Westvleteren 12. This one must be at least a year old. It's not as though I get up their shop very often. @homeindouai.bsky.social

As recommended by @homeindouai.bsky.social but with my Peak bière tankard 😍

Farage in the media all the time, RW press running the show, and here we are, with what little other press there is, trying to make something negative about the Gov saying "it will apply the rules". This is the attitude of the, anti 90/180 days brigade, who think it shouldn't apply to Brits.

Enough of Pils, time for something with taste. Luxembourg is lovely. Will come back again.

Not a great pils lover, but when in Diekirch 😊

Today's lunch was brought to me by Peak Beers. They say it's the highest brewery in Belgium. This is how the Scotch ale arrived 😍😍

This evening I've found this on promo in the bar. What's even better is that planning for tomorrow was to visit Liège station, modern and impressive. The brewery is all but opposite.

Lunchtime at the Brasserie Lupulus

At the Abbey at Stavelot. Museum to the local auto circuit (Belgian Grand Prix)

Today starts at the Abbaye de Stavelot

Memorial to BE POWs who died in Stalag 1A. Bodies never recovered because the Soviets refused. Chaudfontaine.

I'm starting this trip the way I intend to continue it. First stop Rochefort

Last weekend I had some Canadians with me doing the whole Arras thing. They'd come out from Paris for the day and were telling me how they'd simply queued for Notre Dame. Went down with family on Tuesday and gave it a go. Looked bad, out onto the bridge, but, kept moving. 20 mins and we were in.

Getting our five fruits in. Bingsu for lunch

In writing a reply to another thread I mentioned that Trump would bring back slavery if he could. That raises the question : as slaves are an imported 'item' would there be tariffs on them ?

Driving across the hill this evening, admiring the ears of corn in the fields, I suddenly realised that two of the ears had a nose as well 😁 🦌

Will have to wait and see if this has any great effect.

Last year on my way to Liège I stooped to visit the Hitler Command Post at Brûly de Pesche in the Ardennes.

Tonight I'm reading Page 24 again. Just in case I missed something 📖😊

When their Panzer 38(t) broke down near Abbeville this seemed like the perfect place to have a momentary pause.

Victor turned up with beers. I could get used to being old. Even got a free ticket to the cinema 🎫😁

Of course he's not an immigrant. Why else would it be an ICE theater (note American spelling). 🎭

Watching the fireworks in Boulogne this evening as an armed patrol of military wandered past. Made me think how that in France, that was for our protection. In the States they'd have been looking for anybody that had a tan deeper than orange.

Fireworks get fired from the cliff top. From down here you see everything

On the beach at Boulogne.

Azincourt, The Twelfth, 2025 How to get Mr Birdie to hop from one head to the next :-)

Excellent afternoon spent at Azincourt. Very hot and we weren't wearing armour 😀 It's on again tomorrow. Worth the 8€ entry, which is pretty much the price for visiting the centre anyway.

I think that my chances of ever being allowed into the USA are less than zero. I can live with that.

Up early as I'm off to Paris this morning. My friend Vern Thiessen is in town for a few days before he heads down to, somewhere near Avignon, where his play 'Shakespeare's Will' is being performed (in French 😊).

Fête médiévale d'Azincourt les 12 et 13 juillet 2025 Fireworks show on the Saturday evening - but you need to book. Details on their site. azincourt1415.com/presentation...

As my final pair of Nike were all but worn through I've bagged them up for recycling and this morning tried my new Adidas for my morning walk. You don't realise just how faded and leaden your trainers have got until you put new ones on. Bouncy, bouncy. 😁😁 Not faster, just easier on the legs. 🚶🚶

From yesterday at Montreuil sur Mer #tourdefrance

À long wait and then whoosh. All over

Wasn't sure about the weather, roads or parking. Took the easy option. On the way to Montreuil by train. Tour de France arriving in a few hours. If it keeps raining at least there are cafés there.

This new JD Vance bill (as casting vote, Trump will make him own it) reminds me of Brexit. Something very long, very complicated and pushed to a haphazard, unnecessary deadline for the sake of vanity. None of these people have read or understand it. That includes Vance, Trump and beautiful Bill 😁