256. It is the month of June..*

30th June. The humidity grew heavier and heavier this afternoon and early evening until there were numerous rolls of thunder (just enough warning to take the chairs and the umbrella in) and then - sploosh! - the Mother Of All Downpours arrived like 1000 fire hoses pointing straight down.. 

We took Nutty along to another meeting of the "Naughty Boys Club" (aka Obedience Class) this morning. I think the centime is slowly starting to drop with him.. The best part of it takes place in the first 10 minutes or so when they're all let off their leads and after the introductions have been made - mutual sniffings etc - it ends up in a mass brawl / lick-a-thon / love in / battle for dominance.

For those planning on visiting France by car in the next few weeks, you should be aware that as from 1st July, the national speed limit on secondary roads (without a central separator - so dual carriageways should not be affected) will be 80km/h (50mph) instead of 90km/h (56mph). This change affects about 400,000 km of the nation's roads and as you may imagine, this traffic calming measure designed to reduce road fatalities has caused a storm of protest.

What do I think? To be honest, this new limit should make driving on these classic French D roads - like the one below - a far more pleasurable experience and it might just discourage any budding Romain Grosjeans out there from trying to overtake where perhaps they shouldn't.   Might...

29th June. We'll be celebrating another marital milestone today.. Where have the years gone? (Wish we could rewind and do it all again!) We went to one of our long-standing favourites - the traditional Basque Hotel Arraya (a former 16th century former hospice) at Sare - and enjoyed lunch on their shaded terrace. (Look at the photos here) 

 Here's a John Denver piece that fits the bill!
 *.. the month of leaves and roses, When pleasant sights salute the eyes and pleasant scents the noses.

Nathaniel Parker Willis

19th June. In a perfect world, the above quote would be true. However, read on, dear Reader!

Things have been hectic here in the Pays Basque this month. We were away at Lake Annecy (just to the west of Mont Blanc) for the first week (still haven't had time to download the photos) and then with only a day or two's break, we were honoured to host three generations of an American family who had come all the way from Columbus, Ga, on a sentimental journey. I'll explain later.. 

First though, to the pale green waters of Lake Annecy. Having deposited Nutty at the kennel (he's not to be trusted in company at the moment) we set off, aiming to break the journey at this hotel near Le Mont-Dore, about 6,000 feet up in the Auvergne. It was here that we made the mistake of ordering truffade.. a heavy cheesy potato dish (here's the description). If you'd spent the day digging ditches - or were planning on doing so - then this would provide the ideal way of replacing those lost calories. As it was, we both felt as if we'd been depth-charged and we lurched off to our room, both riding very low in the water for a disturbed night's sleep.  

The next day we headed east for Annecy. This involved a circumnavigation of Lyon - and it was here that I discovered (the hard way) that it might have been a good idea to have updated the car's GPS software prior to leaving home - as we found ourselves adrift on roads that, according to the GPS, didn't exist!

Once we put Lyon behind us, we soon arrived at Annecy - and I have to say that the lake looked stunningly beautiful, its impossibly pale green waters dotted with sailing boats against a backdrop of towering mountains. It was noticeably less humid there than in the Pays Basque. While I could dream of passing my days sailing/rowing on the sublime waters of Lac d'Annecy (I've included a selection of images here), the reality is that (in my opinion) the lake is all - the town has a very picturesque old centre that's aimed squarely at the tourist trade - and it's surrounded by a less picturesque and more modern town composed of anonymous looking blocks. We found that the prices were high for day-to-day items.. such as 2 coffees - 8.80€. These are Parisian prices. A quick look at property prices (old habits die hard!) nipped in the bud any thoughts we might have had for finding a house there. 

(Mar 2020. Edited to add: Annecy was recently voted the best town (>2,000 inhabitants) in which to live in France. (Bayonne was number 2)

Wondering how Nutty is? He's taken to stationing himself by open windows to survey 'his' territory.. This was him (above) yesterday evening..

The "Rocade"

All too soon it was time to head back to the south west. We had initially planned on doing the return journey in one go - but as Nutty's kennel closed at 6.30pm, it was too much of a risk to plan on a trouble-free and speedy passage around the Rocade - Bordeaux's notorious ring road that's prone to mammoth tailbacks. 

So it was that we decided to give ourselves a treat on the way home by having a stop-over at a Logis Hotel at Perrier, in the Auvergne (It was called la Cour Carrée). The owners had converted an old farm with a courtyard into a small "Designer" hotel with 3 bedrooms. Wherever we looked, there was evidence that someone with excellent taste and a keen eye for design had been at work. It was run by a couple - and the cooking was wonderful..(step through the photos here) If you ever find yourself south of Clermont-Ferrand and in need of a great place to stay, look no further. (Edited in 2023 to add: now permanently closed)

Long-suffering readers of this blog might recall that I'm involved with an association concerned with commemorating a WWII evasion network (the Comet Line) set up to repatriate Allied airmen shot-down in northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. They were taken in charge, housed, fed, clothed, issued with false papers and guided down to the Pays Basque from where they would be led over the Pyrenees to freedom. Some 288 Allied airmen (and others) passed through the Pays Basque and only two lost their lives while in Comet's care.

On the night of 23rd December 1943, a 10-strong group of guides and evaders (four of whom were B-17 Flying Fortress aircrew) attempted to cross the river Bidassoa, the river that separates France from Spain. Due to a number of cumulative factors, 2nd Lt James F Burch, USAAF, and Count Antoine d'Ursel (former head of Comet in Belgium) were carried away by the strong current and were assumed drowned. Their bodies were recovered the following day but then the Germans took them away and their remains have never been found to this day.  

A memorial to Count d'Ursel had been put in place by his widow after the war but the site had become unstable and so we decided to relocate it to a new site in a peaceful glade (above) further downstream. We thought it fitting that Jim Burch should be commemorated as well and so a memorial to him was set up next to that of Count d'Ursel's high on the banks of the Bidassoa 2 years ago.  

2nd Lt Lloyd Stanford, USAAF

2nd Lt Lloyd Stanford's
photo taken for his false
ID card while he was
'on the run'

One evader who did manage to make a successful river crossing that night was 2nd Lt Lloyd Albert Stanford, USAAF (right).

Prior to the inauguration of the riverside memorial, I spent hours online in a nugatory search for any of his descendants in the hope that they might be able to attend the ceremony. Imagine my surprise when, out of the blue a few months ago, I was contacted by Martha, his daughter, 75 years after the events of that tragic night. After exchanging a few emails, I was delighted to hear that she had decided to bring a 10-strong group comprising three generations of family from Columbus, Georgia all the way to the Pays Basque to follow in the footsteps of the pater familias. (And, in the ultimate irony, she told me that she had actually been in France on holiday when we had the inauguration ceremony of the memorial in April 2016!).

We in the association put a programme together that would show the family as much as we could of the father's passage through the Pays Basque in the time available. Unfortunately, we hadn't counted on Mother Nature! (more of which later)

Mr Michel Hiriart,
Mayor of Biriatou

The Memorial site

We met the genial Mayor of Biriatou (right) for introductions at the Town Hall, after which we drove slowly along the 4 kilometers of winding track that wraps itself around the valley sides that became narrower and narrower and ran perilously close to steep drop-offs as it approached the well-hidden memorial site (left) - where we had a very moving ceremony of remembrance. There is always something about this location that speaks to me and the playing of the "Star Spangled Banner" and the "Marseillaise" there brought the goose bumps out in spades - I don't think I was the only one either!

The plan for the following two days was that we would walk over the same route across the mountains that the evaders had taken that fateful night and on the following day we would show them the inland route that was developed in 1943 following a wave of arrests.

Enter Mother Nature..! For the next 2 days we had rain in all its guises - from light showers through straightforward downpours to monsoon-like conditions. Plan B was quickly dusted off (code for 'made up on the spot'!) and away we went. At one point, the family found themselves standing in the cellar of the 'safe' house - in the very place where the father had hidden himself in 1943.. an emotional moment as can be imagined. Despite the wet weather, I think Martha and her family went away having seen as much as the conditions allowed. We had hoped to have them take part in a river crossing but the river Bidassoa was raging in full spate with standing waves and a strong current and so reluctantly it was not to be.

It was a wonderful few days, full of laughter, emotion, songs and memories and a powerful reminder, if one were needed, of the strong ties that unite our countries.

As they say in Scotland - haste ye back!

Meanwhile, back in today's world: I forgot to mention that Nutty's usual exercise area - the grassy area behind the Plage des Cavaliers at Anglet has been illegally occupied since 17th June by 120 caravans belonging to a group of travelling people (aka gypsies) - masquerading as an evangelical organisation. The local council has tried to have them evicted without any luck so far.