Festive Season

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John bought a house in France to be next to his best customers

Jingle Bells, curry and custard

December 2007

And so we all get to wonder where yet another year disappeared to. JJ and I were away in Canada coming back to JJ's training course down in Beauvais. He has settled in fairly well and suggests that he is working hard. We managed to get him a place at Sandra and Peter's old BigMat DIY centre and so every few weeks he comes home for a couple of weeks work experience.

In November he was down in Paris to see the Rap artist: 50 Cent at the Bercy Stadium. It was obviously very good because we can't part him from his 50 Cent ID tag. JJ has bling bling. Just hope he doesn't have the revolver that goes with it. Judging from the skin tone of almost all the others attending the concert I am surprised that he wasn't mistaken for a certain almost white singer.

Why, Master Peter, that's you Peter

Sandra and Peter have finally cut all their ties with Avondance having at last sold No 11 off. If you have nothing to do for a couple of hours and want some colourful English ask Peter about French Estate Agents and Notaires.

I have been spending quite a lot of time in the past year taking people out onto the battlefields or getting photos. It has brought me into contact with some really nice people.

In June our Canadian friend Vern was back to revisit the Vimy countryside prior to the opening night of his play in October. It has been a resounding success judging from the critics - and the fact that it was sold out.

The coming year will see the 90th Anniversary of the Armistice so it is going to be yet another big year out on the battlefields - more dead people to go and seek out !

Sadly I reached the end of one era in November when my friends; the Lefebvres from the Café Victor Hugo in Boulogne decided to retire. We think that I had been going there for about eighteen years as I passed through France on my holidays or afterwards just simply happened to be in the town. By one of those coincidences in life, M Lefebvre was born and raised in the village next to the house here.

They don't live far away so we will still get to see each other from time to time and the tradition of providing the pudding every December will continue.

All in all, we appear to have had a good holiday. My family had its two pre season shopping trips. One in this direction for them to get in all the French goodies and one for me to stay with Anton and Debbie to pick up important things like curry and exchange all the gifts.

I bet mum wouldn't do real bowling

My nephew Simon is not long back from Japan where he got caught up in the Language College: Nova going bust. He spent a couple of months out there without finances trying to get home. He has since given the BBC an interview about it all for their Working Lunch programme.

Whilst I was there he had an American friend: Lacey over for a few days before she headed back to the far east and the winter festivals. She works for a rival company and thus has lots of work in front of her as Nova's clients search for new training programmes.

Mum and dad entertained on Boxing Day and it looks as though the singing was melodious and the tin pin bowling (courtesy of Alex and Hannah's Wii) entertaining.

Anton, Debbie and Simon were back over on the 5th January to stay the night and celebrate the Russian christmas - as you do. The following morning Sandra and Peter arrived at the crack of dawn and we all set off for the Cat and Custard Pot for lunch.

It might seem a bit drastic to have to change country for lunch but with the pathetic state of the Pound compared against the Euro it is getting to the stage of being cheaper to go to England to do the shopping.

The sun came out and we had a really good day out - Anton and Debs were obviously going home because the rain had stopped. I keep assuring them that it doesn't rain here all the time - that was Ireland.