297. Once more unto the breach..

14th May. Here's one of those pieces that I, and I suspect many others, never tire of listening to. It's the Queensland Symphony Orchestra with Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations:

      

29th April. We were lucky enough to have been present when Gautier Capuçon gave a free (outdoor) concert at Anglet during the Covid lockdown a few years ago. I thought the full rich sound of his 300+ year old cello (made by Matteo Goffriller in 1701) was a revelation. (More here) Here he is again, this time with the London Symphony Orchestra playing the Adagio from Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85.. with that same very special instrument (filmed at the Barbican Centre, London):

      

25th April. It really feels like the first day of Spring here - cloudless blue skies, with a forecast of 22°C this afternoon - and the garden has a hustle on!

    

This cartoon becomes more relevant with every year that passes!😀

22nd April. On Easter Sunday we had lunch at the Auberge Hiribarren, situated in the heart of the beautiful Basque village of Biriatou, overlooking the Bidassoa, the river that separates Spain from France. All I'll say is that we're looking forward to our next visit.

Biriatou

My favourite of all Basque villages, Biriatou is unique in that its centre, comprising the four essential elements of Basque village life - the church of Saint Martin, the town hall, the Auberge and the fronton - could not be in closer proximity. Another plus is that there's no through traffic..     

12th April. Some may welcome a rift in the relationship between the peoples of Europe and those of the United States following the recent trade tariffs announced by President Trump, but, regardless of the current tensions, his presidency will end in 2029, and I believe any strain in transatlantic relations, such as they might be, will be short-lived.

We forget at our peril the turbulent years marked by honour, commitment, and courage that led us to victory in both World War II and the Cold War. Countless lives were lost in the defence and restoration of liberty and democracy. The deep bonds and shared values that unite us were forged in the fires of those battles — against fascism, communism, and global terror — and they will endure long after today’s political disputes fade into history.

What brings us together is far stronger than anything that might divide us — and long may it remain so. Reflect on this as you listen to the choir of the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis with their moving rendition of that great naval hymn "Eternal Father, strong to save":

  

1st April. Spring is on the move down here - the first blooms of wisteria are out, everything in the garden seems to be in bud, I've just mowed the lawn and put away the all-weather cover of the table on the terrace - and the sound of scurrying feet on garden walls tells me that the local lizards have woken up. 

Soon it will be time to alert those neighbours of a nervous disposition that my shorts are in imminent danger of making their first public appearance in 2025.

In other news, I had a final rendez-vous with a urologist at the hospital this morning to finish up the work of removing the 13mm (½") stone that had taken up residence in my r/h kidney. Phew - glad that's done and dusted.  

Nutty*, our 4x4 English cocker spaniel, has also been in the wars. Unknown to us, he'd eaten one of Madame's sockettes/popsocks and it had caused the MOAJ (Mother of all Jams) in his plumbing. We had to take him to a 24hr vet in the wee small hours on two occasions as he was very distressed. I thought for a few days that we might lose him. The surgeon at the vets found a blockage in his intestines and he had to remove a 20cm section as it was impossible to extract the tangled mass. Nutty lost 2½kg (5½lbs) in a week and he was quite subdued when we brought him home again. Now, however, he seems to have rediscovered his former zest for life and he now sports a 15cm (6") scar on his tum. He's a lucky lad. He's been put on a new regime - his previous daily rations have been split into 8 mini portions that he receives at 1½ hourly intervals. He had to keep that plastic collar on for two weeks - and I think we were all glad when those two weeks were up! (He's now on a 4 small meals a day regime.. until he's fully healed)   

* aka Jimmy Sniff - which makes him sound like a Teamster or a Mob enforcer..

16th March. France emerged as winners of the 2025 6 Nations rugby tournament with a good win by over the 'Porridge Wogs' - as the Scots were affectionately known in the RAF a few decades ago. A resurgent England were a close second - one point behind France. Full results table here.

I make no apology for including this next video of yesterday's 6 Nations rugby match between Wales and England at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. This was a result that was long overdue in my view. England has suffered over the years at the hands of the Welsh - so think of this result as payback with interest!

 

4th March. Ireland welcomes France to Dublin this coming Saturday afternoon - and the encounter at the Aviva Stadium, Lansdowne Road, promises to be the highlight of this year's 6 Nations Rugby tournament. Both sides are renowned for their quick thinking under pressure and the ability to raise their game and play with passion. Ireland has always been my second favourite team (after England) when it comes to rugby.. they've had some marvellous players over the years. However, in Antoine Dupont, France has the ultimate game changer - a mercurial player who seemingly can do it all - plus Thomas Ramos to kick the points. An impossible match to forecast. More here.   

For some reason, I was reminded a few minutes ago of an unplanned lunch stop we once made at a 13th century thatched pub/restaurant on Exmoor way back around 2003. The Masons Arms at Knowstone (above) was a real find - I explained to mine host that we hadn't booked - but the genial owner said that he had two sea bream left - and we could have the last vacant table on his sunlit terrace that overlooked the verdant Devonshire countryside. Whooosh! 

We had one of those lunches that linger long in the memory - and as we settled up later, I asked him for a card. His name on the card was followed by the post-nominals UAA and CRAFT. I had to ask what they stood for - he said "Unencumbered by Academic Achievement - and Can't Remember A Flipping Thing".. or near enough!😀. As is the way of things, he sold up shortly afterwards and it's now a Michelin starred restaurant. The memory lives on though.     

3rd March. I just noticed that Jack Vettriano has died.. I'm sure many of us will have admired his quirky and very commercial paintings of Thirties-era couples dancing on sea shores attended by a butler with an umbrella.. (I know, we've all been there!☺) If I show you one picture, you'll know exactly who I'm referring to.. (or should that be to whom I'm referring..?) 

More here.

1st March. I heard a piano piece on the radio a few days ago that rang a few bells with me. Unfortunately I was in the car at the time and due to my unfamiliarity with the touch screen menu, I was unable to find out its name in time - all I knew was that it was a piece that my father used to play. I convinced myself it was Schubert - so once back home, I started wading through endless compilations on YouTube - until I struck gold.. Here it is: Nikolay Lugansky with Schubert's 4 Impromptus, Op. 142, D. 935: No. 2 in A-Flat Major. Allegretto:    

 

9th February. Yesterday saw England and France collide (no other word for it) at Twickenham in the long-awaited/feared (delete as applicable) match in the 6 Nations rugby tournament. The last time this fixture was played at Twickenham in 2023, France demolished England 10-53. So it was with no little foreboding that we welcomed our French friends A and V to sit around the fire with us and watch the match. A used to play for Bordeaux-Bègles - so he has a good understanding of the rules. Without giving too much away, the match turned into one of the most enthralling 6N encounters of recent memory - and A and I are still on speaking terms! 

     

1st February. The 2025 6 Nations rugby tournament opened with a bang last night as Wales were put to the sword 43-0 by a rampant France. All I'll say is that the result was not unexpected as Wales are rebuilding. France are going to take some stopping this year.

      

Update on new driving licence: it appears that a replacement should be issued within 2 weeks.

Here's one to get your heart started on a cold February morning.. It starts off raunchily - before morphing into a spaghetti western soundtrack:

   

29th January. Just back from a visit to an outpost of the Town Hall across the river known as France Services to request a new driving licence. Prior to Covid, routine administrative requests were handled by the Sub-Prefecture.. where the large waiting room was probably ideal for the transmission of bugs. As can be seen from the above link, many of these functions have now been transferred from the Sub-Prefecture to this new office. 

My request was handled with great efficiency (and friendliness) and once my identity had been cross-checked, the request was launched into the great administrative system that runs France. In a sign of the times, not a single paper form had to be completed.. the whole process being carried out online. All that was needed was access to my Ameli account, my identity card, a recent bill showing my name and address, my old driving licence.. plus two colour photos. It seems that I will receive a provisional acknowledgement of my request in a week or two and this will enable me to take to the road again. Phew!   

28th January 2025. Back with you again.. We made it through Christmas, the New Year, the 'Burning of the Clavie'* and Burns Suppers (remember'd) - and here we are again with acres of white space in front of me gleaming in the gloaming - all ready to be filled in.

This next story will come as no surprise to some of you - but here goes. Back in 2016, I changed my UK driving licence for its French equivalent and I tucked the new card straight into my wallet - assuming (uh-oh) that it would run for 10 years. In 2019, I was granted French citizenship (there is a link). Over the last few days we've been test driving various cars as the time has come to replace our MINI Countryman. Before the test drive, I handed over a number of documents to the salesman for him to check - one of which was my French drivers' licence. This was followed by an audible sucking of teeth as he read out its expiry date.. 2021. It appears that I've been blithely driving around here for 4+ years without a valid licence. I think I'd only been given a 5 year licence (instead of the usual 10 years) because I was a foreigner. 

Long story short - I think it will be April before I'll have a replacement licence in my hands. This is going to take some managing.

In other news, I'm told that I have a stone squatting somewhere in one of my kidneys. I have to present myself at the hospital in a few weeks time to hear what will be the preferred method of removing it. I'll draw the line at using a Large Hadron Collider..   

* No help for you here with this - you'll have to find this one out for yourselves.  

More regarding the title of this post.

280. Summer's here (almost)

30th June. We were out this evening at Saint-Jean-de-Luz to celebrate the passing of a major marital milestone - and we'd booked a table outside at Zoko Moko - a chic restaurant discreetly tucked away in a quiet street away from the hullabaloo of the nearby Place Louis XIV.. Zoko Moko is not somewhere to go to if your fancy is for a large steak that overhangs the plate with a mountain of pommes frites balanced precariously all around.. (although there is a time and a place for that!). No, the cuisine is of a refinement rarely seen. To single one dish out - we had lotte (monk fish) at one stage - it had been roasted crisp on one side and yet the inside was perfection. 

Terraced vines at the Domaine Mourguy, Ispoure

I must mention the red Irouléguy that I had - it was a name new to me - Domaine Mourguy - from Ispoure (outside Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port). This was liquid velvet on the tongue. I don't think it will be too long before we visit the farm. It left our usual Gorri d'Ansa Irouléguy in the shade. Domaine Mourguy is run by the brother and sister duo Pierre and Florence Mourguy at Ispoure.. congratulations to them! More on wines from the South West here (the name of Alain Brumont is one to remember for Madiran) 

    

28th June. The village of Biriatou is often neglected by visitors to the Pays Basque - and even by some of those who have lived in the area all their lives. It's said that if you find yourself in Biriatou, you either live there - or you're lost. It sits high up on the bluffs overlooking the Bidassoa river that separates France from Spain - and while the village could be described as a ribbon development along the river for some 4km, its actual centre is the Pays Basque in microcosm. 

In close proximity - all within a few yards - are all the elements necessary for a Basque village - a church (Saint-Martin), a Town Hall, a restaurant (Auberge Hiribarren*) and a fronton (for Pelote). It's a charming village with much to commend it. 

                 

* I'm pleased to be able to announce that the Auberge Hiribarren has re-opened under new management - and from all accounts it's better than ever (reviews here). Its central location couldn't be bettered and the views across the Bidassoa into Spain are exceptional.    

26th June.. We were invited for lunch yesterday by our neighbours in Bayonne - but it wasn't here, it was to be at their other house in the country set high up in the hills, through the Pas du Roland, outside Itxassou, and then up and up on a winding single track lane (complete with hairpin bends). It finished here at their stunning Basque farmhouse - with views - as estate agents are wont to say - to die for. The house was in an idyllic position high up on a valley side with a 180° view of a slice of forested Basque mountainside - with one only other farm visible high in the distance at the end of the valley.  

There were eight of us for lunch and we were sat outside in a small stone barn that had two walls removed so we had experience of eating al fresco - plus shelter if it rained.. They were such generous hosts - the bateau was well and truly pushed out.. I think we left at 5.30pm replete, with every nook and cranny filled, riding very low in the water with our thirsts totally assuaged - and still not hungry 18 hours later!      

YES! 

On Tuesday, R, a friend (a former Coldstreamer) from the Gers (just over 2 hours inland from here) came over with his two dogs. We'd met by chance at a small ceremony at the Cimetière des Anglais (more here) in 2019 and he and his wife had joined us for our annual Comet Line commemorative weekend later in the year. The small cemetery marked one of the two sites where an unnecessary night encounter had taken place (Napoleon having already abdicated) on 14th April 1814 between General Thouvenot's garrison of Bayonne and the Allied forces under the command of Lieutenant General John Hope, and in particular, the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards and 1st Battalion, 3rd Foot Guards. This night battle saw the kind of close quarter hand-to-hand fighting of the kind that doesn't bear thinking about. More here from the association "Bayonne 1814". 

Maintenance of these two British military cemeteries (the oldest known to be in existence) is surprisingly provided by support from Regimental funds. I would have thought that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) should have been charged with that small task - but sadly its remit is confined to those "men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the First and Second World Wars."    

Rupert Brooke's poem - "The Soldier" - could have been written with these two small cemeteries in mind.  

  

R and I had a good day out - after walking the dogs we went to the headland by the lighthouse at Biarritz and had a picnic lunch in some marginal shade under a hot sun! One glass of rosé each was all we could manage in the heat. Afterwards, we drove to the 2 cemetery sites to check on their condition. This is prime growing season for weeds - what with hot sun and rain showers. 

19th June. Politicians love to pretend that someone or something really belongs to us if they tag it the Peoples' whatever. Curiously, this affectation started in the 1930s when Hitler caused the VW Beetle (or Bug in the US) to come into being via a colossal scam that rivalled one of Victor Lustig's.. (aka the man who sold the Eiffel Tower - twice!). The German public were exhorted to make monthly payments towards a new Beetle - which many did - but none were ever delivered to the public before WWII came along. Anyway, be that as it may, Volkswagen = People's Car.      

Then there's the People's Republic of China. Not my flavour of the month right now. Wouldn't Republic of China been sufficient?

Princess Diana morphed swiftly into the People's Princess after her death in 1997 following a typically gushing tribute by Tony Blair, the then PM. 

Instead of asking for a second Brexit Referendum in an attempt to reverse the Parliamentary logjam caused by the outcome of the first one, those asking for a second vote demanded a People's Vote. It implies that the "man in the street" could make a more enlightened decision than those paid to do so at Westminster - plus a People's Vote no longer sounds like a second referendum (if you are hard of thinking).  

The latest example of this outbreak of cosiness comes from who else but the BBC with its podcast series entitled "Spitfire: The People's Plane". I wouldn't advise anyone with an interest in aviation to listen to this as it's tosh of the first water. Somehow the BBC has achieved the impossible - it's managed to turn the story of an inspirational aeroplane from solid gold into the purest of dross. The Spitfire made it into RAF service by the skin of its teeth (it had its detractors) - and then once in service, it outshone the more workmanlike Hurricane by its sheer presence and charisma. 

In this podcast, the Spitfire pilots take a back seat to typists and the like as Tuppence Middleton (her name tells you everything about her you need to know!) explains repeatedly that it was the "best fighter in the world". At various points in WWII, it may have been - but there were several contenders for that title - chief of which was the R-R Merlin-powered P-51D Mustang. This aircraft was undoubtedly in a class of its own. The rate of technological advance - especially in aircraft performance - was staggering in WWII and it should be remembered that the Spitfire first flew in March 1936 whereas the P-51D arrived in theatre some 8 years later in Spring 1944. 

If you know of any more People's Whatevers - please let me know. 

Back to the Pays Basque! (who said "At last.."?) 

17th June. Tomorrow, I'm off to a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of General de Gaulle's broadcast to France on 18th June 1940. 

          

There's a new word that's come into common currency in the UK - particularly on BBC radio (home of political correctness) - and that's "nuanced". It seems that everything now is nuanced.. as it implies that their reporters have considered all the various shades of grey between the - gasp - black and white extremes. If only..  

Iconic has had its time in the sun.. Surely the time has come for it finally to be put to sleep? (along with eponymous)

15th June. Yesterday we were out reasonably early to go down to the Grande Plage at Biarritz to have a ringside seat in front of the ocean. It seemed a long time since we'd been to the Bleu Café there - and thinking about it, we worked out it must have been about 8-9 months ago. The usual waiter was there and he recognised us even with our masks on..

 

Afterwards, we decided to find a restaurant for lunch - somewhere with a terrace preferably and I thought of the Auberge d'Achtal at Arcangues. We sat out of the sun under the platanes and had a rare average lunch. I'd ordered pipérade with jambon de Bayonne. Apart from being unrecognisable as a pipérade (Madame's is the benchmark), it was so salty that I couldn't eat it. Sadly, I can't see us returning there.  

13th June. Louis de Funès was one of France's funniest comedians.. Here he is trying to teach a few gendarmes (one of whom is an officer) 'ow to spik Angliche:

10th June. I've mentioned the Place des Vosges here before as one of Paris's greatest hidden* attractions. If you haven't visited it, if it's still on your "to do" list, then one look at this video should be enough to convince you to go there. Before you do though, book a table for lunch or dinner (19.90€ for 2 course lunch or 33€ for 3 course dinner) at nearby Bofinger, the oldest brasserie in Paris. You can pay more and you can pay less - but I don't think it's possible to eat in such style at these prices anywhere else in Paris. (Dress accordingly.) The beauty of it is that after your lunch or your dinner, you can enjoy a leisurely stroll with your companion around the incomparable surroundings of the Place des Vosges.. only a couple of minutes away. A more romantic setting doesn't exist (in my view). 

It's advisable to make a reservation and when booking a table, ask to be seated under the dome - it's by far the best place. If it's your first time there, ask to see the set menu and when the waiter returns to take your order, if you are choosing from the fixed price menu, make sure he knows. (there's more about Bofinger in the restaurant map in the left hand column) If you arrive late, without having reserved a table, don't be surprised if you find yourself seated upstairs. 

* = hidden as in hidden in broad daylight.

         

7th June. I was down at the usual beach this morning with the hound and the car park was thick with cars.. and people changing into wetsuits. The surf community have their own social networks to alert each other of good surfing conditions - so once the essential order of business had been accomplished, we wandered down to the coastal path to see what was going on. I think there must have been 60 surfers in the water and the waves were of a height that I hadn't seen for months. Perhaps 3 metres high? Difficult to tell. There were groups of people on the beach warming up with the kind of movements associated with footballers..

    

.. and there were people arriving with surf boards on bicycles, motor scooters and I even saw a Renault Clio (a small car) with a surf board inside! And with all the windows closed too.   

2nd June. Gary Larson is one of my favourite cartoonists - and here's why:

Very few makers of videos about Biarritz manage to escape the sea front - but here's one who starts with a relaxed stroll about the Place Clemenceau before moving down to the Plage de la Côte des Basques and continuing on to the Plage du Port Vieux - then on around the coast to the Rocher de la Vierge. The walkway to the statue is usually closed off when there's major storm brewing as the seas here can be quite spectacular. At 23:25, the golden expanse of the Grande Plage is revealed.. with the supremely elegant terracotta shape of the Hotel du Palais in the hazy distance. Our favourite café (Bleu Café) shows up at 27:56 - where you have a grandstand view of the waves. The viewpoint then walks around the seaward side of the Hotel du Palais to arrive at the Plage du Miramar. After which follows the jewel in the crown - a visit to the Hotel du Palais at 32:17. 

As evening falls, the softly lit Hotel du Palais makes you believe that anything is possible. The tour resumes at the foot of the Rue Gambetta.. an area dotted with wine bars, cafés, restaurants, individual shops and the ever-present real estate agents - plus the indoor market - and Bar Jean.. another of our favourites. It appears that this was filmed during the last week of July as people - dressed in white and red and hot to trot - are boarding buses to travel to nearby Bayonne to take part in the Fêtes de Bayonne.. 

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.