83. On Rowing and Life

1st September 2010. We went for a ride up the Nive again this morning. We caught the river on the turn and there was no discernible current. Another 20kms..

I'd always remembered an old French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest (without knowing what it was called) that sounded as if it had an Arabic influence. It's a song that, to me, should have done better. I had to do a trawl through France's Eurovision entries on YouTube for the last 25 years or so before I found it. It came from the 1991 Eurovision (don't say we're not up to date here!) and it finished 2nd - so maybe not all that bad after all. So, today's Song du Jour is: Amina (& here in English) and "Le dernier qui a parlé" (The last one who spoke):

An interesting clip here on the techniques used to select the "best" eight oarsmen for a racing VIII. The strongest or fittest aren't necessarily the ones that combine best to make the fastest boat. There's read-across into the business model too. Here's a taster:

"There is an interesting parallel to this in corporate life. When asking managers to choose between the most competent and the most likeable candidate for a job, they often opt for the most competent. They’d be thought as unprofessional if they didn’t. However, in practice, they do very much the opposite, provided of course the likeable individual is sufficiently competent."

A thought-provoking comment from the clip: Pick your best VIII, not your eight best..

We took Chibby for a run along the grassy open spaces at Anglet beach this evening. At 7.45pm, it was still 31C.. and the sea was flat calm with the hills behind St Jean de Luz and on into Spain showing blue in the evening light..

Don't mention it to Madame but this has caught my eye..!

  

Hmm...

2nd September 2010. Aah, that's better - life is back to normal.. The July/August mass of holidaymakers have returned home and school has re-started for all 12 million schoolkids today.

I forgot to mention that we had another interesting visitor moored at the bottom of the avenue a couple of weeks ago..

Belem

This was the three masted barque Belem which offers experience under sail to all-comers. She was in transit from Lorient, stopping at Bayonne before heading further south to St Jean de Luz. She reminded me of one of the greatest accounts of life under sail ever written - "The Last Grain Race" by Eric Newby.

In this, Eric Newby's first book, he captured brilliantly all the salty tang of the dialogue of the largely Scandinavian crew on a deep sea voyage in Moshulu, a Finnish registered 4 masted steel barque en route from Belfast to Port Lincoln in Australia in 1939 and the return voyage via Cape Horn, laden with innumerable sacks of wheat. He was just 18 years old. An unforgettable and highly recommended read.

Very nice sortie in an VIII this evening.. 15km.. (Running total 122km)

The late Miriam Makeba exploded onto the scene in 1967 with this memorable record - Pata Pata:

82. Clock's ticking..

31st August 2010. I can't believe I started this blog a year ago.. I've decided I'm going make space for a daily Song of the Day. (I might do requests too!) This is the first one:

The clock is ticking faster than ever as far as the forthcoming commemorative march (English translation here) over the Pyrenees is concerned - it's now only 10 days away. This is the annual event that re-traces the actual trail over the Pyrenees (from Urrugne to Renteria) used by the Comet Line in helping escaping Allied aircrew en route to Spain. Its purpose is to honour and celebrate the memory of those brave men & women who supported the Comet Line (English translation here) - many of whom lost their lives in the process. It's a three day event - with vins d'honneur at town halls various, dinners in the evenings and of course the little matter of the marches over the hills!

1st September 2010. We have been in the Pays Basque three years today. Here's a song (a perennial favourite at weddings) that was made for the day..

81. The heat kicks in..

24th August 2010. Had a good outing in a double sculler (first time for me) this evening and finished up racing the VIII over the final 2km back to the clubhouse.. (we won!) 12km (Running total 78km). I'm still steaming!

25th August 2010. Today promises to be a hot one - the forecast is for 32°.. which is on the high side for the Pays Basque. This is as hot as I ever want it. This morning we drove down to the south of St Jean de Luz to pick up some tiles following which we headed for St Jean de Luz for lunch. We'd planned to go to our favourite cafe outside the indoor market and have some sardines. However, with it being August the world and his dog were already cruising for parking spaces which were at a premium.. We visited all our usual 'bankers' to no avail but then the Parking Gods smiled at us and we found a space up by the beach. The lapis lazuli sea in the bay was limpid and flat calm. By the time we got to the cafe, the only free table was unshaded. Looking back, we should really have gone home to try another day but we sat down and within minutes we both felt as if we were being slowly grilled.

26th August 2010. The forecast today is for 35.. We're off to the beach early this morning for a couple of hours before it gets too hot. Rowing this evening could prove interesting..!

14km on the river in a coxless quad sculler this evening (including a head-on with a double sculler..!) 92km total. It was as forecast today - 35 in St Jean de Luz this morning.. and it's very warm and muggy this evening..

28th August 2010. Had a reasonably solid outing in an VIII this morning.. did 15km. (Running total: 107km) Think it would be a good idea and helpful to all if the club produced coaching notes (with pictures) so that we're all singing from the same hymn sheet. People would then know what's expected of them. I'll have to see if I can suggest it tactfully.

The things you find out - in addition to all the other facilities (like a Top 14 rugby club, an excellent restaurant, champagne bar et al) the club has its own TV channel..! Last weekend there was an Open Day on the Sunday for all those interested in taking up rowing. The boats used for this are known as yolettes and, being fairly heavy and beamy, are only really for beginners.

There will be those "out there" who'd say that a Welsh male voice choir is at least a match for the sonority and resonance of a Basque choir and this view will be amply supported by this clip of the Morriston Orpheus Choir and "Myfanwy":

I believe that the above images are from the Gower Peninsula in South Wales which provided the inspiration for many of the lyrical poems of Dylan Thomas.

29th August 2010. It's a long time since Chibby, our cocker spaniel, has featured and so here he is , in his favourite position yesterday, putting his feet up on a warm Sunday afternoon:

Think he deserves another shot at global fame (!) so here he is again in perhaps a more recognisable pose!

30th August 2010. We went for a bike ride up the Nive this morning. Perfect morning.. apart from my chain coming off again.. Did 20km up to the footbridge at Villefranque.    

80. Biarritz behind the beaches

21st August 2010. Did 15km on the river this morning in a quad sculler.. (Running total: 66km)

Each time we make the short trip to Biarritz (10-15 mins away) we thank our lucky stars that we actually live down here. We were there just a couple of days ago and as we approached the sea front the light became dazzling as it reflected off the white painted Art Deco buildings. We tried to think of other towns that are similar but we weren't able to come up with one. It has its own unique distinctive style and atmosphere. Biarritz is alive and well all round the year..

To give you an idea of what the town behind the beaches looks like, I've raided the web to try and find some images that capture the life of the town.. I've also included some houses in Biarritz - just to look at as the prices there are wince-making. Ease the pain with this stirring Basque choir while you're looking at the pics. Now I don't know if you appreciate male voice choirs but if this singing doesn't send a shiver through you, I suggest you should check your pulse! (to make sure you've still got one!) Beautiful singing and harmonies.. 

The former station - la gare du Midi

Here's a familiar view of the town centre (from just above the Casino), showing the Galeries Lafayette department store (or Biarritz-Bonheur as it's known locally):

Avenue Edouard VII (for mega-bucks shopping!)

Rue Mazagran

Casino Municipal 

centre de congrès, la place Bellevue, Biarritz

22nd August 2010. We went for a bike ride up the Adour as far as Villefranque (~20km altogether) this morning before the sun climbed too high.. Lots of people out jogging, cycling, roller-blading, walking. At one point the chain on my bike came off and wedged itself firmly between the frame and the nearest gear-wheel. I was looking at it and trying to work out a way of freeing it that would minimise the transfer of oil & gunge to my hands when a French couple out on their bikes stopped. She asked if her husband could help? Quick as a flash, he reached down, took hold of the chain, heaved it out of the jam it was in and put it back where it should be.. Voilà! What a gent..!   

Some bijou residences..

This evening the thermometer on the terrace showed 33°C in the shade at 7.30pm.. Phew..!

The centre of Bayonne has been reverberating and echoing all weekend with the sound of multiple Ferrari V-12s running around town.. What magic do Ferrari work on their engines to make them sound so musical?

While I was waiting to cross the road by the Place des Basques, a young lad on a Solex moped next to me was looking wistfully at the pack of Ferraris across the road - none of them taller than a dining table - and he asked me what it was all about.

I told him it was 25€ for a ride in one.

He said, "How long do they let you drive it for..?"

He looked downcast when I explained it was a ride in the passenger seat only..