This time via a new city. A layover for a couple of days which for the most part is being used to deal with the fatigue of flying, which should not be that bad, and the previous days poor sleep.
Yesterday we slipped in a trip to Chinatown and some street food. Noodles followed by coconut ice-cream. Today a trip to the Grand Palace and temples. Low key for us, not too long, but a good view of part of the culture. Despite our limited time it is clear that this is a busy and huge city.
The men are here to fit the replacement ‘french’ windows and kitchen door, plus have done some work to sort out insulation and wall by one of the bedrooms.
The fifth worst PM in UK history- all of the last five PMs- is back.
The place is in such a bad position that we are boring holes in the bottom of the barrel.
It seems Sunak is finally getting rid of the total crap in his cabinet. Braverman has gone as weeks of agitation and stirring division and encouraging violent right wing action.
David Cameron returns to UK government as foreign secretary
Former PM makes surprise comeback as part of reshuffle in which Suella Braverman replaced by James Cleverly as home secretary
Kiran Stacey Political correspondentMon 13 Nov 2023 10.01 GMTLast modified on Mon 13 Nov 2023 14.34 GMT
David Cameron has returned to government as UK foreign secretary, in a stunning comeback for the former prime minister that highlighted Rishi Sunak’s willingness to take risks as he looks to revive his political fortunes.
Downing Street announced on Monday that Cameron would join the government, accepting a peerage in order to do so, as part of a wider reshuffle in which Suella Braverman was sacked as home secretary and replaced by the foreign secretary, James Cleverly.
The man who brought you Brexit, fucked up, legged it, took sly money but now id back to save Rish!
After five visits and quotes, and often telling me how difficult the work is, SebMan has started. He was delays because of Storm Ciaren and then the power cuts.
He has made a start- the old poele à bois has been removed and then are new holes in walls and the chimney is partially filled with boarding.
A weekend trip to See IQ and EQ before our trip to NZ.
A nice time had, including a trip see see the Glasgow Warriors v the Stormers for me and EQ and a trip to a comedy show for IQ and Shaz.
Plus there was the trip to the tasting restaurant, lunch and the chance to watch a 3 and half hour film. Killers of the Flower Moon has fine reviews and was a good film to watch with a very disturbing an true story. For me somewhat of a marathon.
The light show at the botanical gardens, across the road from our accomodation.
We returned to Brittany after a trip to Glasgow to the after effects of Storm Ciaran.
We had left by ferry just before it struck – taking an earlier ferry to Portsmouth than originally booked to avoid the cancellation.
On our return the house still lacked power , along with our neighbours, as our small sub-section of the network was less priority. The power came back today after eight days-though only two directly for us. A relief all the same.
A nice walk along the road yesterday evening to enjoy the hum of all the working generators in the neighbouring houses.
I have been following the early kick-off game on the BBC website. Another win, against the dominance of possession, amazing outcome.
SAT 28 OCT 2023PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea0 Brentford2
Pinnock (58’minutes),
Mbeumo (90’+6minutes)
Chelsea 0-2 Brentford: Ethan Pinnock and Bryan Mbeumo score for Bees
By Joe RindlBBC Sport
Last updated on4 minutes ago4 minutes ago.From the sectionPremier League523
Ethan Pinnock’s last Brentford goal came in a 1-0 win over Manchester City on the final day of last season
Brentford held on for their third Premier League win of the season as goals from Ethan Pinnock and Bryan Mbeumo sank a wasteful Chelsea in the West London derby at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues, who missed several chances, were punished through Pinnock’s thumping header from Mbeumo’s wicked cross.
With Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez up the field for a late corner, Neal Maupay led a Brentford counter-attack and set up Mbeumo for the second.
Chelsea, who went closest in the first half when Noni Madueke struck the woodwork, slipped to a ninth home defeat this year thanks to some poor finishing.
Brentford keeper Mark Flekken was never truly stretched and the visitors defended resolutely before hitting Chelsea on the break.
The World Cup is still going on. Last week was the QF round. Some disappointments in that.
But we were in Lyon for the groups stages, seeing Namibia v Uruguay and NZ v Italy.
The game between the two lesser teams was good entertainment- particularly for the first 60 minutes- until a spate of yellow/ red cards ruined the balance and momentum of the match.
The big game lacked surprise and competition. It was an All Black walkover. However, the atmosphere was good with lots of Kiwis and many Italians. Being close to Italy, Lyon has a strong Italian community related to previous migration. Also, the French locals sang their anthem powerfully.
Thanks to Raphael for picking us up after the the ABs game.
The house in France continues to change though it is hard to keep track of it. It is easy to forget how things looked a few months ago let alone last year.
So here are some photos to show the new hedge that we planted yesterday. The grass area has been cleared progressively in the last few months. More area ‘reclaimed’ hopefully with the grass gaining presence over the nettles and the ‘wld celery’.
And the lastest for the pond which has had some lining added to help control the growth of weeds. I don’t think it will help with maintaing the level of the water. Mores stones added to the edge too.
And we have news trees- two pear trees which I hope with cope with the nature of the soil, grow and give fruit at some point.
