July 2nd

Before we get to July 2nd, a retrospective on a lovely granny and her grandkids.

This is Matthew with a gingerbread man. He has the second name of Freddie (after Flintoff), and in the extended period of  cricket in the back yard, he informed me that, as a bowler, he was known as "Whispering Death". A lovely young man, very like Erik, who intends to make a career in professional darts.

Tommy. Very like Oskar, and about the same age. As you can see, he likes hot dogs.

Joshua, still heavily into milk and mush. Didn't say much, but got his message across when needed.

London is plastered with signs of how to get to Wimbledon, and which roads will be closed for tghe Olympics.

Breakfast at St Pancras. Claire and John off to work. Val, Cathy and Paul for France.

We caught the 8.04 to Brussels and promised the man that we would get off in Lille.

Two inveterate travellers.

Paul further up the gangplank.

On board Eurostar - the fastest way to get to France.

Time exposure of the English countryside during the 3 hour delay while they fixed the brakes. In the end they couldn't, so we crawled to Ashford Station and trans-trained.

Here we are in Lille station. Our 2.5 hour wait between trains has evaporated, and we're waiting for the 4.06 to Avignon.

Cathy, a Lille

France at 300 km/hr

Almost to Provence

I put this photo in to enrage Peter O'Loughlin. It is a Newkular power station.

This might enrage Peter even more - first sighting of Mt Ventoux

The Rhone river

Avignon - Palace du Papes in the distance.

At last, the Hotel La Reine Jeanne in St Remy de Provence, looking from our room into the dining courtyard