News for November 2007
The month of November started with a pre planned trip to England followed by a more impromptu trip mid month to purchase a second hand car so for the first time since April 2005 we have 'wheels'. A search on internet helped to identify an appropriate vehicle and with the help of some friends and family, plus what turned out to be a very reliable car salesman, everything went very smoothly. The return ferry trip, Hull - Zeebrugge bought lots of memories flooding back. In between times we have settled well into our winter moorings in the big park area, Les Pres du Hem, 120 hectares and fairly close to the town centre. At the moment the park is very quiet as it is closed to the public from November until the end of February although there are some occasional weekend events. However we have full access to the grounds as the port is situated in the park and so on a sunny day can enjoy a walk around the lake and a visit to the small farm, mainly for children. Alan, a friend from Birmingham who spent a week with us, and Diane went for a couple of walks around the park and could not resist feeding the goats. There also seems to be an abundance of rabbits scampering across the paths. When Diane and Paul were here in May 2005 there was the regular sight of a young man working on a model of a black and white cow near the harbourmasters office but what purpose this model would have was not clear. Now all is revealed, the cow has pride of place to advertise the farm. The lake in the park is used by a sailing school which has a very good reputation. Not only has the park become more and more familiar, the town has as well.
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Map of the park
The town hall and the Belfry has pride of place in the town square. It was built after the first world war in Flemish Renaissance style. The belfry is 67 metres high and is an impressive sight. The delightful carillon sound from the tower clock every quarter of an hour has become very familiar when walking into the town to buy newspapers and bread. Our purchases are greater on a Friday morning when we visit the market and our regular market stalls. The commercial people in the town together with the town council have been busy organising Christmas decorations. There is a contest to award a prize for the best decorated shop window so it will be interesting to see how things develop.
In the port there have been boaters, not spending winter on boats, organising and closing up their boats for the months ahead. There is company though as there are perhaps twelve of us who are 'live aboards' and the occasional meetings and conversations make us feel as if we are part of a community. We have had 'phone calls too from French people that we have met whilst boating which always give us a lot of pleasure. The Christmas market at Lille is now open and so there will be visits there especially with visitors that we are looking forward to having with us during December.