Brakes

With much help from Keith, Landy got new brakes. I love how solid all the parts look

Toile on Toile

Dorset

We spent some time in Dorset, Neil's home county

Nanna's 90th (Great-Nanna to Lucius) celebration!

Smile please Mademoiselle Lucius...

Ava presented her gift to Lucius, her newest cousin: an amazing hand knit blanket of colour

Aunty Melanie gave out hugs

Wrapped up for beach walks
(in another lovely handknit sweater from Nanna Baker)

Great Nanna's birthday lunch at the Red Lion in the New Forest after a visit to Spinners Nursery and purchasing of ferns for all

And then Lymington harbor in the afternoon (but no ice cream available after 4. Ridiculous)

More summer pub lunching, at the World's End, after some reclamation hunting in Bere Regis for the maison

Birthday lunch for Mum Baker outside at the beautiful Bankes Arms, with a stroll afters to Old Harry Rocks and the sea. With sun milk

And a lovely stroll back through the woods

We're back.

We've been on our jollies, starting with a couple of lovely days in Bordeaux before driving north for a ferry across the channel to merry old England. Here's the Bordeaux part

Our fine chariot seen through the gates of our hotel, La Maison Bord'eaux, courtyard

A stroll(er) through the Jardin Public, and a lovely lunch of grandness on the patio behind

Dinner at Moshi Moshi, one of the best Japanese restaurants either of us have ever had the pleasure of. Including those in Japan

The lightest tempura batter ever

Old town backstreets

Afternoon drinks on a plaza

Historic churches

And this grand dame hostess who offered to hold Lil' L for us whilst we ate in her restaurant. Service indeed

Jardin cont...

The veg garden is planted. Note the lovely rustic supports for the runner beans, courgettes and peas. We're using found or foraged materials wherever possible

Salads are on their way

Tomatoes

Everything is lovingly marked out

The potato plants are bursting through the soil after only a few days

LX6

Le jardin de legumes

Yesterday, we laid out the vegetable beds in the blazing sunshine. They're still awaiting a nice surround of woodchip mulch to keep the slugs away and a border of logs to keep everything in order

We reused old fence posts to keep the 5 beds organised and tidy

So far we've planted early potatoes, main crop potatoes, summer cabbage, mizuna, bugetti, watercress, fine curly cress, wild rocket, rocket, buttercrunch, marvel of four seasons, spring onions and endive. There's way to go, but a good start. We're looking to finish this week

Lucius laid under the shade of a canopy in one of the cherry trees and happily chatted to herself and the birds all afternoon

We've planned out two plantings, and left plenty of room to expand if we outgrow it. The garden should be small enough for us to manage, but large enough to help supplement our groceries

Summer eve

Good food and great views on balmy nights, that'll do nicely

In training

Look and learn love, look and learn

Pau Classic Car Grand Prix

Every year Pau hosts a WTCC race, a classic car race and a Formula 3 race across 3 different weekends. It was the first city in France to hold motor races on its streets. We visited the classic car race

Everyone on best behavior for their day out. Ice creams were awarded

Concourse left

Concourse right

Color & details galore

An older, better Peugeot

A perfect Morgan in British Racing Green

Lavish beyond

More my cuppa tea

50's & 60's

This mini should've won a trophy for effort. He nearly binned it every lap, even on a yellow flag

Would you race it?

This Lotus 11 looked like an old aircraft, all metal and rivets

Mum found her next part exchange

Color

Here's exactly who should be racing this car. Golden

Correct

Strapped together as an old suitcase

Last dash to the line, Pre War race

And ending in the 70's

Sling the trophy in the passenger seat and bugger off to the champers tent, as one should

Pickle enjoyed her first race (even though she was officially at Assen Moto GP inside mum's tummy)