Fair Stands the Wind for France

I am one of the most fortunate of individuals, I don't have lots of friends, but those I do, I tend to keep, the man in this case is Dave..I've known him for well over 50 years, and I believe the first time we met was at a Scout Camp in Ayr, where as callow youths we delighted in raiding each others tents, and rubbing boot polish into unsuspecting sleeping youths...So much so that Dave, had to leave camp early and ended up with a nasty case of impetigo... Ahh such are the rocks on which friendship is built.. well early this year the Serene Lady Margaret and I met Dave & his wife Jan, in Edinburgh, a chance to go visit our home capital, but without the siren call of family and elderly relatives, which had for years meant any visit was limited and the chance to explore was limited in the extreme. So a weekend away, Trains and Hotels, Restaurants and "Culcher"..It was great, but an unexpected side turn happened on our visit to Embra Castle.. specifically to the War Memorial, a fabulous building, serene, austere and quite moving. Jan mentioned her Great Uncle had died in France during the Great War, so we suggested she ask someone... Well the effect was magical, the person she asked took all teh information she had, and within a few minutes they had a graveyard and a precise position, Te guys at Commonwealth War Graves Commission were wonderful, courteous and helpful... It was wonderfully moving and poignant for us too

So it will come as NO surprise that we got a phone call this week, from Jam asking if we wanted to join them on a trip to Northern France, to visit said graveyard, and the other fabulous memorial's to mans nobility, bravery and utter stupidity, followed by a leisurely drive across the North of France to Normandy, to gorge on Cheese & Calvados.. Also , perhaps a visit to the D-Day beaches.

We're booked into a nice hotel in Arras for a couple of days to visit the Great War sites, and then a couple of hundred miles across to Bayeux in Normandy to visit the D Day sites. I suspect we will be imbibing our own body weight in red wind & Camembert, but, to my chagrin I find the French have sent their famous tapestry in entirely the opposite directions (The swine). we'll be staying in an Air BnB in Bayeaux, and very nice it looks too. The itinerary is more or less finished..and me, being me has set up an app for that (No, you can't access it..rood!) but I'll give you a quick sneak peak.

Day 1 Is Home to the Channel tunnel, an early start, and then we meet up with Dave & Jan, and head through to Calais... The Channel tunnel is a wonderous, marvellous bit of engineering that shows what can be done when we work together with the Europeans. Then on to Uncle Roberts grave and then Vimy which is the memorial to the Canadians who answered the mother countries call, and a great many never went home. I will add blog posts later when we've done it. Finally a bit of an side trip, to visit a German cemetery. It may be an unpopular view, but they were just as scared, just as hungry and just as young as the men on the allied side. And now, Just as dead.

Day 2 Is a big day of WW1 battlefields and memorials, Wellington mines in Arras, the Australian memorial at the Windmill (Earlier comments about the Canadians apply equally to the Aussies). Also that day is Thiepval, I have seen it before, and it is mind blowing, incredibly moving, and darkly beautiful. Lochnagar crater..a result of miners digging under the Germans trenches, and then stuffing them chock full of TNT... The bag was heard in Brighton I believe. Add in the Newfoundlanders Elk, the 51st Highland Regiment memorial (Uncle Roberts regiment) and its a busy old day.

Day 3 is driving to Bayeaux..Its about 4-5 hours, so we wont rush, but from there on its Cidre, Camembert and Calvados... And the scene shifts to D-Day & WW2..More to follow