July: journeying on

July had begun to settle into a rhythm of swims, gardening, walks, gardening...and then we added spring cleaning. An opportunity had come up to rent the house out for a few weeks, as we would normally do when away each summer.

I had been considering a 'staycation' in any case. I recognised that, were I to stay at home all summer,lovely as it is, I would be spending much of my time catching up on the house and garden - particularly the garden - with no real chance to unwind. We couldn't easily go off the island without having to self-isolate for two weeks on our return: the prospect of travelling over to Covid-infested England wasn't appealing and there were no boats to France, so that, in our opinion, was that. The local campsite a couple of miles away in the Fauxquets Valley had been a happy stay last year, so, we decided to see about going away for a few nights. 

We spent a pleasant day, though, investigating the motorhome 'aire' at Beaucette Marina in the north of the island. Cycling up there and visiting friends on our travels gave us a happy 24 mile cycle ride. The motorhome parking could have been well-sited up at Beaucette, the former quarry filled with boats of all descriptions from barges to yachts, but its view of the back of the restaurant, complete with rubbish bins, held,  unsurprisingly, little appeal. 

There are two other campsites in the north: Vaugrat, next to our former house, was lovely and well-sited with just a short walk to the beach, but it does not accept dogs.Pity. The other, the Bailloterie, was where we spent two weeks on our arrival in Guernsey. A pleasant, sprawling site, but without the charm of the Fauxquets. Nor is wifi quite so easily accessible from the van there... So, the Fauxquets it would be.

Booking the Fauxquets online was not without its problems and had to be done in two chunks. When we called in on a ride one day to check that the booking was valid, it was somewhat disconcerting to be told that they don't like long-stay visitors of more than three weeks. The reason: the campers get 'complacent' and start inviting visitors - a strict no-no - and who can blame the owners for their no visitors policy. The swimming pool would be filled with half of Guernsey's children if they got the chance. It didn't exactly make us feel welcome, though, and left me with a determination to be on my best behaviour. I'm a little concerned that Pickle will not feel the same way...

So the last ten days of the month were spent arranging for the guests to come. It is, indeed, the most wonderful feeling to have cupboards cleaned and emptied, the freezer defrosted - a long-held aim - and the house absolutely immaculate. Despite Jonny and Adele's absence, I am loving the feel of the clean, empty entrance hall. Even the dog crate has been stowed away in the office...

There was still masses of time to catch up with friends for coffee, go swimming and cycling, or walk the dog. Lovely to see a lot of my dear neighbour and friend next door Nicky, always so much to chat about. We will miss being able to pop in quite so easily but it will be a good excuse to cycle up to say hello.

There were a couple of challenges. Although we met new friends, partly through newcomers coming to my ladies breakfast one Saturday morning, July saw our home group, which had met for 15 years, split into two as the groups 'multiplied'. It wasn't easy. 

Then, at the end of the month, Jonny and Adele left England for Tanzania. An anxious and prayer-filled 48 hours: one cancelled flight (nothing like turning up at the airport to find your flight to be conspicuously absent) and concerns that the next flight, with another airline, were also indicating that it was cancelled couple with Covid-related uncertainty about the paperwork required to enter Tanzania. Still, all was well and they returned home with only one slight delay en-route. Phew.

The end of the month saw me enjoying an evening swim down at Rocquaine. There were only a couple of other people there: it was grey and windy, with a little surf coming in on rough waves. As I bobbed about in the water, I watched people walk by behind the top of the high sea wall. I couldn't see very well, but it looked as if there was a goat walking along with them. Strange - it must be some sort of child's buggy, I decided.

It wasn't a buggy, though. It was a goat. A Golden Guernsey ram, magnificent horns soaring above its long golden hair. It was being led about on a lead, like a dog, in the courtyard of the Imperial Hotel at the end of the road. Only in Guernsey....

Jubilant July: part one...

Mid-July update:

July arrived with a bang in the middle of the last week of term, Jonny and Adele still teaching live lessons up to the last minute. It had been a long haul for them: they had been teaching and preparing lessons since their arrival at the end of March. Jonny would start his first lesson at 6.30am (8.30 am in Tanzania) and then spend the afternoon preparing lessons, only emerging at 6.30 or 7 in the evening. The pressure had eased off somewhat as the end of term approached – having worked all through the Easter holidays and most of half term, both J and A were ahead in their planning and preparation – and they were able to get out for a daily walk and/or, in Jonny’s case, run.

The running amazed us. We dropped him off one afternoon at Jerbourg Point in St Martins. He ran the length of the cliffs all the way to Pleinmont and then walked and jogged home – a distance of well over 25 kilometres. As Adele commented, he would run and not even look tired afterwards. Incredible. (But then he had won a high-altitude trail half-marathon a few months earlier, running at 14,000 metres asl across the rugged terrain of Mount Kilimanjaro.)

My last week was full of practices for the class play performance, an abbreviated version because of lockdown; while the children practised, I got to know some of the Year 5 children who would be in my class in September while their teacher conducted rehearsals. Then it was tidying up and preparing for the holidays before a tea party for the parents and the farewells of the last day.

And it was a good ending to the term. The children had grown and matured and, importantly, the parents had appreciated everything we had done together to help the children have a successful year. One parent had organised the others to collect for a generous voucher gift and, while that is very much appreciated, what I really loved were the thankful cards and emails. It was wonderfully satisfying to be able to celebrate the children's progress and know that they were well prepared for the Adventure of Secondary Education.

Then it was Holiday Time!  J and A made the most of their last week with us. We went on walks and cycle rides, enjoying summer on the island. Our first outing was to Hauteville House, Victor Hugo’s home. It is like being inside an amazing art installation – the young guide was highly knowledgeable, explaining the provenance of various artefacts and giving a fascinating insight into Victor Hugo’s life and work. We even had a tour of the beautiful walled garden afterwards.

HuThe tides enabled us to walk over the causeway to Lihou, exploring the Venus pool and watching gannets and a myriad of other seabirds diving for fish.

We took a picnic to Herm on the hottest day: we had the beach at the northern end of the island to ourselves, but Shell Beach and Belvoir Bay were crowded, as was the boat, where we met several friends and acquaintances all making the most of their Guernsey ‘staycation’. One particular delight was seeing a sparrow hawk catch its prey just a few metres away from us before it perched on a rock to eat. I had never had such a good view before.

We did bike rides together; had a fun meal next door with Nicky and Richard; and a last walk to Pleinmont the morning they left.

Then it was over. The last three and a half months with them here have been wonderful. I never for a moment found myself wishing I had the house to myself and we all thoroughly enjoyed our time together. Still, we were glad they were going off to spend time with Adele’s family before returning to Tanzania... ten days up with Phil and Judy and then going down to Falmouth to Adele’s sister Jenny and family. We pray that they will all remain Covid-free...

As for us: well, a flurry of activity has kept us somewhat distracted. Intent on not returning to an empty house, we went shopping for geraniums for the garden and replenishing groceries before we dared return home to a somewhat bemused dog. Pickle sat and stared at the car in puzzlement and, indeed, spent the first couple of days staring through the glass door to the hallway where Adele had usually been sitting, teaching lessons or working on craft projects.

The weekend was full. Ladies’ breakfast for nine, meeting new women, then tea with Kareena. Sunday was hectic – church@home, then a wonderful, relaxed shared lunch with the usual ‘gang’ of seven families together – such good friends – before we came home for a glass of wine with dear Martin and Sarah who cycled up from Le Gouffre.

The week saw Richard embark on a project to install a drip irrigation system for the pot plants scattered around the house while I managed to prune and cut back the diseased, dead wood in several of the huge camellia bushes we have. Satisfying, and long overdue.

These ten days have been tinged with sadness, though. First, on the first Monday of the holidays, was Stan’s memorial service. It was live-streamed, so we could join in. I wept my way through the wonderful talks, reminisces and songs. So, so sad to have lost him so quickly.

Then there was dealing with the repercussions of a decision to ‘multiply’ our home group. We started this group over fifteen years ago with four friends, learning to trust each other and live life together. The group had grown and shrunk over the years but was now composed of 15 wonderful people – too large, though. Although we had long recognised the need to divide, it nevertheless came as a shock and the division turned out, in the end, to be so unequal that two groups were not viable and so, reluctantly, we find ourselves without the prospect of our regular Thursday evening meetings. Watch this space...

In all of the visits and socializing, I ended up with a houseful of all kinds of cut flowers... sunflowers splashy bright and elegant roses, with sweet peas and lilies spreading their perfume. So kind. A consolation in the midst of just a little grief.

So that was the first half of July. Phew. What a rollercoaster of a fortnight....