Monday 15th April, Hèrouvillette 79510

Back Again! Well, it’s been a while since my last post and there’s a lot to catch up on. Thursday 11th I left the last campsite to go and pick Raychel up from Caen, and Ollie and I turned up a little early. Just as well because the ferry got in half an hour early. I was lovely to see Raychel, and be able to converse with someone in English, and we headed to the Aire in Herouville where I had stayed before (and lost Ollie) so we could catch up and settle in. There was a slight problem in that the only bridge over the canal for miles was closed, so we had to travel miles to cross it and then head to the Aire. When we finally arrived, we set about settling in. Friday 12th Disaster, we went for a walk to the supermarket, and tabac, and when we got back, I couldn’t find the keys to the van. Panic! I retraced my steps, and no joy. I went to the Tabac and asked if anyone had handed them in, no joy. But the supermarket was closed. I retraced my steps back to the van, and met Raychel and Ollie, headed the other way. No joy. Bugger. The keys have the key to the top box, the key to my bike lock, and worst of all a remote for the alarm on the van ☹. The bike is padlocked to the front of the van by the tow loop, so until we get that off, we can’t go anywhere. Luckily we have 2 sets of keys, but unluckily the second set were in the van ☹ so I had to break in (no damage), so we could at least have somewhere to sleep. Saturday 13th Got up, retraced my steps and asked in the Tabac again, the supermarket, and the Boulangerie . Nope ☹ Bought beer and crisps and went back to the Aire in time to watch the rugby (Gloucester vs Bath) and try to forget about the predicament. (Difficult). Sunday 14th Got up late and headed to the Pegasus Bridge Museum. What a fantastic place. They have the original bridge, numerous excellent displays, including interactive displays. They also have a reconstruction of one of the gliders that was used in the initial attack to secure the bridgehead. The first soldier to die on D day was at Pegasus Bridge. The French people are very reverential to the Allied troops who fought to drive back the German troops and liberate France, and this is shown at this memorial museum. We grabbed some food at a café, and then wandered back. We were all absolutely knackered. Monday 15th Woke up, went back to sleep, woke up and prepared to head back into town to see if the keys have been handed in, and if not, plan what we are going to do. We’ve already stayed longer than the 48 hours that we’re allowed, so we have to at least make some effort to do something. The plan, should the keys not turn up, is to see if I can get something to cut the cable on the bike lock. At least then we can drive somewhere to get replacement keys and locks. We will also have to get another remote for the alarm, and get the top box lock cut and replaced. AAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!! Tuesday 16th After a restless night’s sleep running through how I was going to approach asking at the garage, I got up early and went to Garage Michel to see if I could borrow a hacksaw or a set of bolt cutters to cut the padlocks off the bike and the top box. 3.5 mile round trip before breakfast!! Ollie loved it. With a bit of google translate magic, I left the garage with a hacksaw and minus my wallet for security. Once back at the van, I tried to cut the padlock on my bike. Now I know what ‘hardened’ actually means on padlocks! No chance. I sawed through the cable in a few minutes and then the hasp on the top box and removed both padlocks. We’re able to move again!! Bloody brilliant. We needed petrol, and the garage was on it’s 2 hour lunch break, so we went to the British war graves cemetery in Ranville. It doesn’t matter how many times I go to places like that, I am shocked into silence looking at the endless rows of graves, some labelled ‘A Soldier’ or ‘A Sailor’. There were numerous German graves there as well. Definitely a somber but peaceful place. It always brings home the futility of war, and the fact that we should never let anything like that happen again. Looking at the ages of these poor kids, I couldn’t help but think that they had very short lives, so that I can be where I am today, doing what I’m doing. I have total respect and awe at the bravery of these young men who made the ultimate sacrifice. We decided to head back to the camp site in Bayeux where I had stayed before so that we could gather ourselves, shower and do some washing. We also want to see the tapestry. Cooked the lovely pork chop that Raychel had bought for me for dinner, and had a couple of glasses of red wine (I’m sure that the French keep all the good wine for themselves!) before going to sleep. I’ll do some washing in the morning. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday stayed at a 4 Euro per night car park in Bayeux. Visited the tapestry and got interviewed by an Austrian reporter, drank some beer, visited the market on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon we headed for Arramanche where there is the remains of a German Battery that was taken out by the navy, and then the personnel were captured by the British army. I'm going to stop there, and try to keep up from tomorrow :-)