Well dear reader,

As you can tell from the entry dates of this blog i have not been very good at keeping things up to date.

Anyroadup........Just returned from a four day stay at Chavasse House with six other like minded chaps. Left home at around midnight on Monday 17th and had a nice quiet mini bus (Ford Toureno) ride down to the Chunnel.

As you can imagine we arrived nice and early so instead of the 08:20 crossing we got onto a much earlier departure, thus giving us even more time in France.

Once across (under) the channel it was full steam ahead to Vimy Ridge, a place I had not been to before. Impressive monument and with one of our party having a relative named on the walls we spent a fair amount of time there. We also took the underground tunnel tour which was most informative and gave us all an insight into the underground conflict.

As we had to wait until about 1500 hrs to get into Chavasse we indulged in our first taste of French food......Yes it was into Alberts Maccy D's for a Grande Mac and Frites, then a wizz down the road to the Super U supermache for supplies (read beer & BBQ meats)

Up to Chavasse and bag a bedroom........Now, knowing what a bunch of snorers we had I managed to sort the larger of the ground floor double bedrooms to myself. Made up the bed, put on the kettle and made a brew. It was then time for the BBQ to get fired up and a few bottles of beer to get quaffed. Off to bed at about midnight. Day one over.

Day two..........Up at about at just after 07:30, breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausage and baguette...(The bread van arrives at Chavasse at about 0800) Out and about by 10:00 and off to Thiepval and Ulster Tower......Did a quick look at the cemeteries ext to Ulster Tower and booked a tour of the woods with the new 'tenants' Don & Maureen (who we named Rapunzel, cos she loved living in the tower)

We met Don for the walk and were joined by a coupe of other guys, one wearing sunnies and a baseball cap and the other a quite tall guy, they were clearly together but I took no particular notice of either.

Anyway after a fantastic tour by Don (I have done similar with Teddy, but this was even better) one of our group said "That's Alexi Sayle in the baseball cap" Well courage was drawn and an approach made. Guess what Mr Sayle was very good had his picture took with our group and chewed the fat back at the Tower. Funny but 'Rapunzel' was serving behind the counter and never even knew he had been a visitor.

A quick tramp to the Popes nose observation point, a field walk that gave up a live 303 round (left where it was) then back on the bus to travel the short distance to Pozieres and the tank memorial and the windmill site. By now we had also visited a fair few cemeteries along the way and it was almost 17:00 hrs so a blast back to Chavasse for scoff and an evening of shooting the sh*te in the Rum Ration bar. at about 00:30 it was the end of day two.....

Day three....Up again at 0730 quick 3 S routine and breaky was a repeat of day two.....Out again by 10:00 and off to visit Sunken Lane, Hawthorn Crater and Redan Ridge number 1 cemetery where 'we' had a local boy buried. I always find sunken lane such an atmospheric place, quite spooky to be where those lads were asking "are we in the right place?" Up to Hawthorn Crater and a couple of lads go down inside to have a loser look while I did a bit of a field walk. (nowt found) We then went up to Redan Ridge and traced cemetery number 1, where a local lad (from Swindon Nr Dudley) is laid to rest. Private 689 Sidney Henry Garston was in the Royal Fusiliers and died on 14th November 1916 aged 23. He has a grave in Swindon that states he died at Beaumont Hammel.

From there it was a trip to see the Sheffield Pals memorial and Railway cutting cemetery etc. As we were then moving back past Ulster Tower one of our party uttered the fateful words "I wonder what Iain Mchenry is doing now" The van driver then uttered the fateful phrase " Goodness me (or similar) there he is in the front of that coach" The coach came to a halt at the Tower and we were duly re-united with Iain who's services we had hired some years before when we were on the Salient. So it was time for a brew and sarny at the Tower and a rejoining with Don, Rapunzel and Iain. To close the day we drove to Peronne and visited the museum. From there we re-stocked on essentials and returned to the Rum Ration and another BBQ......We adjourned back into Chavasse House at about 23:30 and just had to drink the rest of the beer/wine as we couldn't bring it back home.. So a late night was had, got to bed at about 0100 ...End of day three.....

Day four....Up again at 0730 (bit knackered) the 3S's and brekky, packed up and left the house at 10:00 for a quick trip to Corcelette (sp?) where the guy who had a relative remembered at Vimy also had a relly remembered here. Then we went off to Delville Wood and made a trip around the South African memorial. Fantastic place.

Back on the minibus and off to Lochnagar crater and a drive past the site of the dig at La Boiselle then back towards the Chunnel...Got there early and again took advantage of an early crossing. Back in Blighty at 15:30 but due to crashes/roadworks or whatever the problem was we didn't get back 'home' till 2200. Grrrrrrrr....

Well that's the trip for another year, so where next for 2013?