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I went on a day-trip to France with my friend Julian Curtin. I met Julian many years ago in the army when I was working as a waiter/chef at the Castle in Cape Town. Julian and I went to the same school in Johannesburg, KES, although he only joined the school after I left for Cape Town and Rondebosch Boys High School - so I never met him at school.
This was my second such trip to France in as many weeks. The first was on my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I had been wanting to do this for a long time. So, as my birthday approached, I searched the Internet for the best ferry deals from Dover to Calais. I discovered that you really can get a return from Dover to Calais for as little as £19 on MyferryLink.com (the remains of SeaFrance.) This compares to about £70 or £80 on the channel tunnel from Ashford in Kent. The journey is 90 minutes by ferry, and about 25 minutes on the channel tunnel, according to Julian.
The first trip, on my birthday, was more of an exploratory experience – just to check things out, so to speak. But, it gave me the desire to do it again soon - and Julian was free and up for it.
I chose a Wednesday, because Wednesday is Market Day in Boulogne-sur-mer – some 35km from Calais. My idea was to buy lots of cheese and charcuterie from small independent sellers at the market. This is what it's like at Portuguese town markets - but it wasn't really like that.The French markets are far more focused on fresh produce. The market had the most dizzying array of colourful fruits and vegetables - five different types of plum, the most fragrant lemons, and more variations of peppers and tomatoes than I care to count.
It was fun. The first stop was at a restaurant on Place Dalton coincidentally called “Chez Jules” for a reviving coffee on the market square. As for shopping at the market, we only bought some melons and plums – we did the real shopping much later at the huge Carrefour hypermarket in Calais.
You can mostly follow the rest of our day in pictures.
First, we strolled around the old city and the ramparts of the ancient walls, followed by lunch in the Old Town Square.
Then we drove back towards Calais along the Coast Road, stopping at anything that grabbed our attention.
Our first stop was at the immaculately manicured Terlincthun British War Cemetery just outside Boulogne-sur-mer. Too many of the graves were dedicated to soldiers only “Known Unto God”.
Next was a fortified artillery position that formed part of the “Atlantic Wall” built by the Germans during WW2 to defend against the anticipated invasion from England. Now it's covered in graffiti and used for raves and musical concerts. That really appeals to my sense of cosmic justice.
Next stop was Cap Gris Nez – or, in English, Cape Grey Nose. It's the closest point to England on the French coast and is littered with old machine gun bunkers, now tipping forward under their own weight in the soft sand.
Our final destination was the huge shopping centre next to the channel tunnel terminal at Sangatte, just outside Calais. The Carrefour Hypermarket there has a dizzying array of goods and produce. Without a written shopping, list it was difficult to decide what to buy and what not to buy. We ended up buying plenty of chacuterie and cheese …. and lots, and lots, and lots of beer and spirits. Alcohol is a vastly cheaper in France. Let me put it this way – Gordon’s Gin, Lucia's favourite tipple, costs about £20 per litre in England. But, in France it's more like £14 per litre. By four of those and you’ve just paid for your ferry fare.. It's even cheaper in Belgium.
Anyway, shopping done, we headed back to the ferry port at Calais for our journey home. We joined the ferry as the sun was setting on the most beautifully calm and peaceful evening. We didn't have any asylum seekers riding in the boot of my car, so far as I know.
This link link is a short visual story of Lucia’s and my day-trip to France and Belgium on my birthday.
The link directs you to something that Google does without specifically being asked to. Specifically, I use Google auto backup for my pictures - which are also all geo-tagged. But, I also use Google location tracking on my mobile phone – a great idea if your phone is ever stolen. Google then somehow uses your pictures and your location history to create a visual story. I suppose it is quite freaky, but I do find the technology absolutely mind blowing. Besides, my mobile service provider, my credit card supplier, my bank, GCHQ, the NSA and, probably, the KGB, know where I am anyway – at least Google offers me some real value in return.
It's been over six months since I put any pictures up on the web. They are there – I just haven't shared them yet. I wanted to share the link with some commentary of our life in London which I haven't done for so long. I will get around to it.
I hope you enjoy these links to my pictures.
Love, light & peace
Llewellyn
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