It was the Bank Holiday weekend; we had spent Saturday exploring the area and so decided that today we would stay at the cottage and just have a ‘chilled out’ day!

In the afternoon we decided to go out for a walk and took Billy the Boxer dog out with us.  It had been a typical day for weather in Wales, one minute overcast and dull and the next sunny and bright.   For the first part of the walk we were shaded by the tall, pre-historic trees which formed a canopy over the road, on one side of us was the river and Billy had already enjoyed a splash and a paddle in its clear water.  As we watched the water rush and foam over the rocks we joked about panning for gold and wondered if we should bring the kitchen sieve along later to try our luck!!  This led to a discussion of how gold is formed; we knew diamonds were made from compacted coal but were ashamed to admit we had no clue about gold……….later when I researched this I was amazed to read about supernova’s and meteorites and volcanoes taking place on earth billions of years ago!

Billy was a delight to walk, his happy nature and enthusiasm lifted my daily, solitary stroll to an altogether more enjoyable experience.  As we followed little tracks up out of the valley the landscape became more open and we found ourselves in high hedged, sun trapped lanes.  I started to become anxious about Billy, his tongue was hanging out and his breathing had turned into heavy and noisy panting.  He kept turning to look at us, as if to ask how much longer we were going to be out in this heat.  Because we didn’t really know where we were, or, if we were heading in the right direction for home my anxiety levels shot up (not difficult for me, I worry about most things!!).   Thankfully we soon reached some shade and with it the recognition of where we were,  walking a little way past the cottage, again, with looks from Billy as if to say ‘really, we’re walking some more’, we found a place where we could walk into the stream and Billy paddled and drank his fill.  On our return I researched the boxer breed and  the first sentence I read about these lovely dogs was, ‘ these dogs should not become overheated’.

We have now spent several weeks here in Wales and I have slowly got used to the way of life; it is very laid back and calm, the days are quiet, mostly all we can hear from our cottage is the running water of the stream below us and the different bird songs and calls.  Last night we watched a buzzard circling above the trees, obviously looking for its supper.  We have been eating our dinner on the decking most evenings and, with a glass of wine, watch the sun go down; as soon as the sun starts its quick descent behind the trees the atmosphere changes and we go from the soft warmth of the early evening to a sudden chill of night time.  Within the space of two or three minutes  the trees become grey and the birds stop their calls, it reminds me of the solar eclipse in 2009 when we all gathered with our special glasses to watch the moon cover the sun.  This is our cue to leave the balcony and head inside.

One of the things we agreed to when giving up the shop was to accept and follow any opportunities that came our way and so when N was offered a few weeks work in Wales we decided to just go with it!!  Our decision was helped with the knowledge that France is experiencing an incredible heatwave (we both suffered in the heat on our last trip) and with the poor pounds to Euros exchange rate it seemed a timely offer.

Never having been to Wales before I wasn’t sure what to expect; crossing the Severn Bridge was an exciting start!!  We are in a very rural area of Wales; in a small hamlet called Cym Morgan, I think there are about 7 other houses here!

There are trees all around us and the roads leading to the cottage are very tiny. more like farm tracks really!

Early one morning when we were in Northern France in the Somme region, we decided to visit the war memorial at Arras.  At 7.30 am we were the only people there and, although it is situated right on a main road, once inside the memorial the atmosphere immediately became quiet and respectful.

The names of all the fallen soldiers were carved into the white stone walls and it was truly a humbling experience to see how many young men had lost their lives and how many families the death had impacted; it made us both think of our family at home.

We had been told that N’s great Grandfather had died at Arras and although it seemed improbable we set about trying to find his name.  After working out which regiment he would have fought with it was completely amazing to see his name, carved at eye level, right in front of us. A really moving and thought provoking way to start this next part of our adventure.

We have now completed two trips to France; the first one for two weeks and the second for three; it has been a steep learning curve in lots of ways!  We have had to learn about living in ‘Winnie’; making sure we have water, gas and emptying all the dirty water (and, of course, the toilet).  We have had to learn about the country; first impressions, how vast it is, the roads and fields go on forever……..I became a bit obsessed with taking photographs of the road ahead as well as French houses, doors, gates, shutters…………!

The simple task of filling up with fuel can be a challenge for us, Winnie is so big that often we can’t fit underneath the canopy at lots of fuel stations.  On one occasion the path was so narrow to get out we couldn’t make the turn and had to reverse back out of the garage for fear that we were going to take the little payment hut with us.

French Markets and Brocantes have also given us challenges; working out prices can often take a while; although sometimes this slowness has worked to our advantage, we can be stood counting on our fingers to work out a price and the seller thinks we are deliberating whether to buy the item or not, he then says in his best English,”ok, give me 20 euros” when the original price was 25!

After a  year of talking and planning we have finally left for our first trip to France.   N and I are travelling in a 7.5 ton horsebox (which my sister has affectionately named Winnie after a soft toy horse mascot she gave us for Christmas!).  We have modernised the living quarters so travelling and living are comfortable and spacious, although we are causing quite a stir in some of the smaller French villages because of the size of the lorry!

The ferry crossing with P&O was easy and trouble free; we were able to turn up at Dover without booking and were put on the next cross channel ferry; we sat in amazement as we watched truck after truck being put on the ship; our lorry was small in comparison, but we did have the added bonus of tickets to the drivers lounge, a huge breakfast for only £3.99 with free drinks for the journey; highly recommended!!

Tomorrow is our first Brocante, we are very excited and looking forward to what we will find.  Will update you with our treasures.