Into the Pyranees-Atlantic

Thurs.30^th May: 

Our stay in San Sebastian was brief as we were hoping to leave the rain in Spain. We returned to France and started our tour of the Pyrenees.  Unfortunately, the rain came with us.  The first stop was in Ascain, a lovely town where we wandered around, in and out of the church, down the main street, into the patisserie where a peach and custard tart was bought and into a newsagent to look at maps. 

A few kms up the road to col de St Ignace and the rack and pinion tourist railway to la Rhune,

the first summit in the Pyrenees which overlooks the Basque country from a height of 905 metres…i.e unless it’s raining and the mountain is covered in mist.  Although we’ve been in France for 3 weeks and know all about the custom of closing shop for a couple of hours from midday, we forgot the time and arrived just in time to miss the last train of the morning.  As we both were keen to go up the mountain, we decided we’d wait until 2pm for the next train and filled in the time by having a sandwich and coffee, and of course our previously bought tart, and wandering about in the rain.  By the time 2 o’clock rolled around, it was doubtful that we’d be able to see too much as the clouds had rolled in too but we went anyway!  The train was filled mostly with elderly French couples…must have been Seniors’ day out…who all tried to out talk each other but they seemed to enjoy the ride, even though the red and white striped canvas blinds at the windows did very little to keep out the wind and prevented one from seeing anything along the way. 

After stopping at the station, we bravely walked up to the summit…couldn’t see anything of the view because of the heavy mist and spent half an hour or so in the warm restaurant/shop where there was a big "jet"engine blower heater buntil it was time to return.

 

 

 The drive from there to St Pee sur Nivelle, our intended overnight stop, was spectacular, the scenery gorgeous but we didn’t stay as the park was not accessible so we drove another 14kms through a very windy road and more gorgeous scenery to Espelette, to an excellent ‘aires’ camp, with power and wifi. Jan  made a big pot of vegie soup for supper, and are about to settle down for the night.  The weather man says only ‘some showers’ for tomorrow, hope he’s right!

San Sebastien

Wed.29^th  May :

The respite from the rain yesterday didn’t last long, just long enough for us to walk into town to find a computer shop to do some emailing, blogging etc., buy a bagette to make a lunch and to get almost home.  After we’d eaten and cleaned up, we decided to move to a camping park with power…the park was opposite a beach which was wild and woolly and not one bit inviting.  Now and then the rain eased but unfortunately it didn’t actually stop, so the plan to venture into the Pyrenees this morning was changed and we are now in San Sebastian, crossing the France/Spain border right on 12 noon.  We drove through the city hoping to park and walk around but couldn’t find a place there to accommodate Boris, so headed out to the ‘aires’.  On the way out of the city we found a parking place close to the funicular, 

so we paid the 3euros each to ride to the peak where we had a magnificent view of San Sebastian and its surrounds…AND…as a rare treat the sun came out and shone done on us for a couple of hours! 

Sadly, it didn’t stay around and the rain came again.  It’s been on and off since, at times quite heavy.  We did go for a walk during one of the off periods, not into the city as it’s a bit far but just locally…there is a university nearby, it’s a quite attractive area with cafes and shops where we bought a Spanish to English dictionary. We just managed to get back to Boris as the rain came again. Steak and vegies for dinner and a game of scrabble. What will tomorrow bring?

Bordeaux to St Jean De Luz

24^th May

Leaving Bordeaux late morning, we headed about 50 kms to Arcachon and Dune du Pilat, a huge sand dune which is increasing in size each year, climbing to the top of the gazillion steps where we took photos of the fabulous views before we were almost blown away. 

We then zoomed down the fast road and were surprised when the autoroute suddenly became the toll motorway, obviously fairly recent work and not marked on our 2013 map but we paid the 2Euro60 toll (had no choice really) and continued on our way to our next overnight destination, St Paul les Dax, only to find that all 8 sites in the ‘aires’ were already occupied so we negotiated the heavy traffic to nearby Dax…also full so on to ‘Powerade’ (actually Peyrehorade), 24 kms away and a lovely drive with little traffic. After settling in and scoffing a bowl each of delicious minestrone soup bought from the nearby supermarket just before they closed, we walked through the interesting old town, almost deserted although it was only 9pm and still light, too early for the locals to be out and about…

they started to arrive as we went back to Boris for a good night’s sleep.

25^th May

Before we left ‘Powerade, Mike found and bought a bike that he liked, from the Carrefour supermarket behind our parking spot and we drove west to Anglet, 2kms north of Biarritz on the coast.  We parked up, chatted to neighbours Paula and Dick from Wiltshire, had lunch and ventured out and about on the bikes.  The wind was blowing but the sun was shining, a lovely place to be but after the dune climb the afternoon before, the old legs were a bit weary, so I headed back home and Mike rode to the lighthouse at Biarritz.  We stayed at Anglet for two nights…Sunday was gorgeous, sunshine, blue sky, the Atlantic looked inviting and we considered going swimming but after a ride to one of the other beaches nearby, opted for a very pleasant afternoon in the sunshine enjoying the company of our neighbours. 

This morning when we woke at around 6am, the eastern sky showed great promise of another warm, sunny day.  Bloody rain!!  By the time we were on the road after a drive through Biarritz and a stop at the lighthouse to admire the view, it was raining…heavily.  We did have a successful stop though at Bricolage, France’s equivalent of our Bunnings, with Mike finding a few little bits and pieces he’d been looking for but on reaching our intended overnight stop at Bidart, just 15kms down the road, we were told that the sites available were not suitable for motorhomes because the heavy rain had rendered them too boggy.  On then to St Jean de Luz, which is where we are now.  It was still raining heavily when we arrived but by the time we’d parked and had lunch, the sky had lightened and the rain had stopped so we donned the walking shoes and investigated the town.  A lovely place with narrow streets, some cobbled, interesting architecture and inviting beaches

…not quite warm enough for the swim in the Atlantic we had hoped for but the sun was shining and looked promising for the morning.

28^th May

It’s Tuesday morning and it has been raining steadily all night.  We’ve had breakfast and next time the rain eases, which it has done a couple of times so far, we’ll walk the short distance into the town…there is a covered food market there, open in the mornings, which we decided yesterday to visit before we leave.  That won’t be today, no point in driving in this inclement weather so our plan to venture into the Pyrenees will wait another day, at least.  We can see the Pyrenees, not too far away though shrouded in cloud.  We’re keeping our fingers crossed!  Although this camping car site is situated on a main road with the railway line directly behind us, it was reasonably quiet last night…it was the rain that woke us through the night, not the traffic. We’ve seen several TGV trains from our ‘kitchen’ window, only feet away as Boris is backed up to the railway fence.

The rain has stopped and the sky seems to be getting lighter so we’re away down town!

Travelling South to Bordeaux

Tuesday 21^st May:  After leaving our camp site at St Jean de Monte in the rain, we drove on into the town for a wander before driving along the Esplanade to see the longest beach on the west coast of France. 

 It was very quiet but judging by the size of said beach, the length of the Esplanade, the shops and restaurants (most of which were closed) along the way and the number of car parks there, it’s not hard to imagine how packed it would be in the height of summer.  We decided to go inland then, on a fast road for a while until we reached Apremont where there is a very impressive chateau…closed of course but we wandered around and admired it from the outside and took many photos.  On then to a nearby lake where we had lunch…lovely, peaceful.  Our overnight stop was in a little town called Maillevais, which boasts an Abbey, closed as usual but we were able to look inside the church. They hire out small punts like these.

to explore the river system

Wed.22^nd May:  Sunshine!  The country sideis fairly flat with farming the main activity so we travelled mostly on the fast roads today, back to the coast and then south to Royan where we caught the car ferry to le Verdon sur Mer, a 25 minute journey  (47 euros)

and are now settled in at our overnight stop at Vertheuil, about 50 kms north of Bordeaux.  This is Bordeaux vineyard country and is very nice around here but the scenery along the way was not as attractive as we have seen elsewhere on our travels. We are camped in the car park of  a winery called “Chateaux Ferre” (Haut-Medoc cru Artisan).

Thursday 23rd May
A hppy face brekky

Boris is being a little bit naughty lately! The indicator light for the ABS braking system is coming on along with the handbrake light while we a travelling. There seems to be nothing abnormal about his operation but we did take him to the Fiat service place in Bordeaux today (60km) for a check up. They didn't have the part required and said that it is "operating ok - so carry on."
While he was in the shop we caught the light rail tram into the centre of Bordeaux and were really pleasantly surprised. We hadn't originally planned to come here as we usually try to avoid the really big cities - but what a nice place. The tram system is great with one every 6 miutes and one euro forty anywhere in town for an hour. We visited here in '69 but not surprisingly we could not remember anything.

Some observations on France from the Fossil.

There are a lot of French people here.

It is a much better country than I remember and expected.

They REALLY know how to make F.A. cream cakes and they are cheap.

Eating out is not too expensive away from the main tourist areas.

Petrol stations are closed on Sundays, so beware!

A large number of shops and tourist stuff is closed at lunchtime for a couple or three hours.

The sun doesn’t go down til late. Currently about 10pm.

There must be millions of motor homes (called “Camping-Cars”) on the move at any one time.

There are many, many free (or nearly free) stops for Camping-Cars complete with black and grey water disposal points and drinking water supplied.

Therefore Camping-Car travels are cheap and highly recommended.

Their gas bottles for motorhomes are different to those from UK so new bottle and regulator required. Also have heard they are different in Italy etc. Time will tell.

Driving on the right seems somehow right.

Drivers are very courteous (generally).

Their road signs are shit.

A Weekend In Brittany

Sat.18^th and Sun.19^th May.

We’re getting into the swing of things here…no early starts as we’re well and truly into holiday mode now and as it’s still light at 10pm, we don’t eat till late…i.e. later than we do at home.

On a visit to the Carrefour market after leaving le Conleau at Vannes, we bought a bicycle for moi (they didn’t have one suitable for Mike so we’ll have to keep looking) then we drove to Port Navalo on the Gulf of Morbihan, parked Boris and had a wander around the fabulous little fishing/boating harbour town before moving on to St Gildas deRhuys where we stopped to have lunch overlooking the Bay of Quiberon, enjoying the view and the sunshine.  Our overnight stop was at Piriac sur Mer which we reached via the fast road part way, then narrow slow roads.  By the time we arrived, the weather had turned and light rain was falling though not too much for a short walk to the beach before dinner and a small excursion on the bike.

Our plans for today (Sun.) were changed early on by necessity.  Boris was running low on fuel and being Sunday, the only open service station we could find would not accept our credit card, there was no attendant there (they don’t work on Sundays) so we had no alternative but to stay here…here being Guerande, as we didn’t want to risk running out and being stranded.  It turned out to be an absolute bonus! 

When we’d parked up and had lunch, we walked the 1.5kms into the walled medieval village which was absolutely fabulous and we enjoyed a happy couple of hours or more wandering around the cobbled streets, into the magnificent church (even though we’re not religious, we share an interest in churches of all denominations) and checked out the chocolate shops and cafes etc.  The rest of the afternoon was spent playing UNO…it has been raining on and off all day but a great day.  We drove all of 26kms today…at this rate we’ll be here until 2113!!

Monday dawned, still raining and cold.  Newsflash…today is Pentecost and a public holiday in France so the nearby service station is not open at all, as Mike found out by riding ‘our’ bike there to check it out, but he did come back with a baguette and some small cakes from the boulangerie which was open!  Last night’s plans were quickly changed and we decided to go the 10 or so kms to Batz-sur-Mer and stay there till tomorrow morning, when we should be able to get the necessary fuel to continue on our journey…but…it must be our lucky day as only a few kms down the road, we came across an open service station so swooped in, filled up and continued on to lovely le Croisic, another gorgeous seaside village.  We spent an hour or two strolling through the cobbled streets and inspecting the impressive church of Notre Dame de Pitie before continuing on as originally planned down the coast to St Jean de Monts, stopping at St Brevin for lunch after crossing the massive bridge over le Loire Estuary at St Nazaire.  A side trip to Noirmoutier-en-I’lle was cancelled when we found the short cut we were taking was flooded by the high tide and as low tide wasn’t due for another 5 hours, we retraced our steps and carried on to our destination.  We’re just outside St Jean de Monts at a camp 4kms from the town and as it’s too wet and cold to walk or ride, we will investigate it in the morning.

The main idea of this trip is to more or less recreate the ride we did in 1969 on our little motor bikes, there are no concrete plans other than to meet friends D. & K. in Paris in July to watch the final day of le Tour de France.  So far, we have been planning a day’s adventure the night before and often the plan changes through the course of the day.  We have stumbled into surprising towns and villages and through gorgeous scenery, and we’re enjoying ourselves immensely, in spite of the weather.  Vive la France!

Southwards to Vannes

Mont St Michel to Taden

Wed. 15^th May:  Sunshine!!  There is still a chill in the air but the sun has actually shown through at last.  We both woke early this morning, earlier than we’d have liked as we’re still feeling the effects of yesterday’s tour de Mont St Michel…it takes us longer to recover from these outings than it did for our younger selves!

Even though we were awake, showered and breakfasted early, we were otherwise slow to get moving, not leaving the camping park until 11ish, though some of our time was spent happilychatting to new friends, our Kiwi neighbours who we hope to ‘bump’ into again along the way.

Our journey today took us first to Mont Dol where we parked Boris in the town and walked up the narrow, very steep road to the Notre Dame de l’Esperance, a large, white statue which stands at the top of a spiralled staircased tower.  It’s awesome and though the old legs complained at every step, the view from the top was gorgeous, worth suffering for!  It rained briefly during our visit but then the sun reappeared…a lovely day.

Our lunch stop was at a lookout overlooking Cancale and the Bay of Mont-st-Michel,

still a bit chilly outside so we sat inside to make and eat lunch before driving down to the port, through the town and on to nearby Pointe du Grouin.  Boris stayed in the car park and rested while we walked to the point, sitting on the rocks for a while to take in the beautiful scenery, the shimmering blue water, blue sky, fishing boats and the view across the bay to Mont St Michel…fabulous!  A lovely drive then along the Emerald Coast to St Malo but once again we had the problem of not finding a place for Boris to park while we went off rubbernecking so we didn’t stay but continued on to our overnight camp, a freebie at Taden.

The Hunt for les Chateaux!

Thurs. 16^th May:  We left Taden after breakfasting outside in the sunshine and a drive to the nearby River la Rance, where we watched a cruise boat making its way to Dinan, waving to the passengers on board.  After driving to Port Dinan (pictured)

and a wander through the streets, the plan was to then spend some time in the Rance Valley checking out a few of the chateaux marked on our map.  Easier said than done as we drove through many little towns, occasionally seeing a sign pointing the way to a chateau but never actually finding one.  We went around in circles and went through the town of Evran about four times! We did come across a peaceful lake at St-Andres-des-Eaux complete with ruined church and made that our lunch stop.  Then…a final try to find a chateau and just before Boris gave up, we found one!   We drove on through pleasant farming country and settled on an overnight stop at Mauron. (no smart comments thanks). After parking up, we went for a walk through the village, which was quite pleasant until the rain came – and then turned into hail. It was only a small cloud but it decided to sit right over the top of us.

The hunt for Chateaux will continue tomorrow!

PS the day did not pass without us finding a FA cream cake shop

This is the take away box.

Friday 17^th May:  Glorious sunshine! Between breakfast and departure from Mauron, we decided to take another walk through the town…just as well we did as we then discovered that Mike’s wallet was missing.  After searching every nook and cranny, including the rubbish bin, it was thought…hoped…that said wallet had been left at the boulangerie the previous evening when we bought our daily bread.  Armed with MM’s trusty French dictionary, we were able to ask the shopkeeper if it had been left there and she triumphantly produced the guilty wallet from her till…what a relief!!  We stopped then at the markets and bought some fresh veges before returning to Boris for a delayed departure.

On then to Paimpont Forest, visiting

la Joie Notre Dame, a 20^th century monastery

where we bought eucalyptus drops (big spenders)

and continued on to Vannes, making a small detour to the Maquis de la Nouette monument, arriving at Camping de Conleau at about 12.30pm, only to find that the office was closed until 2.30pm so we sat in the parking area and made a sandwich for lunch while we waited.  We find the French habit of closing businesses for a couple of hours in the middle of the day just a little bit different but I guess we’ll get used to it eventually. After we’d settled in, we decided to have an afternoon off and sat outside in the brilliant sunshine and did nothing! Mike even donned shorts and cooked chicken on MM's BBQ!

Tomorrow we’ll be back into tourist mode and heading further south towards Spain.. 

LOST IN fRANCE (NEARLY)

After the last post, in the carpark at St Cecile beach where we rocked and rolled in the blustery, freezing wind, we made our way down the road a bit and booked in to a camping park in Etaples-sur-Mer, a large park but quiet, and spent a comfortable night there.  The next morning, Sunday 12^th May was Mothers’ Day back home and I received text messages from the family in Sydney which made my day.  Our first stop was just next door at the Etaples War Cemetery, where servicemen from all parts of the British Commonwealth are buried.  It was an emotional experience for us to see the thousands of gravestones in what is a beautifully maintained cemetery.

About sixteen kms down the road, we were blown away at Merlimont Beach before continuing on down the coast to St Valery-sur-Somme.  We drove into the town, hoping to park and spend some time rubber necking but…it is a town of narrow streets, some cobbled and there were huge markets in progress, hundreds of cars and even more people.  There was nowhere for Boris to rest while we went off being tourists so, after bumping along the cobbles and negotiating the crowds and the roads, we left, somewhat disappointed as we’d have liked to wander around the medieval city within the town.  Just a little further on we called into Cayeux-sur-Mer, another seaside town, which is no doubt very popular in summer.  It possesses a large pebbled beach and dozens of beach huts, plus a kiosk where we bought a bag of freshly cooked chips each and sat in the sunshine to eat them, protected from the gale force wind by the kiosk itself.  Another 12 kms down the road is Ault, different from the other coastal towns we’d visited in that it is hilly rather than flat, and has white cliffs!

A decision was made then to leave the coast and take the A28 autoroute inland to the outskirts of Rouen, following the river Seine for a short while, bypassing Evreux and heading west along “D” roads through small villages to our overnight stop at a farm in le Noyer-en-Ouche, such a lovely, lovely place with hundreds of apple trees, peaceful, quiet and there was no one else there.

Monday 13^th….my birthday and a perfect start to the day.  Gorgeous views, happy birthday  text messages from family and a lovely card with matching bookmark from Marion & Mike, a cup of tea in bed and then…..whoosh….the floor was flooded with water from the storage tank…clean water thankfully, not black water!  The next couple of hours were spent mopping (me) and investigating and fixing the problem (Mike) which was…the hot water hose from the flick mixer tap in the bathroom came off and consequently the water just spilled all over the floor.  It was quite tricky and there is a very small area available to work in but all is fine now.

After that little drama was sorted, we headed south then west, to Mont St Michel, passing through many towns and stopping at a few along the way, one being Ducey where we visited a boulangerie to by a couple of f.a. cream cakes and a loaf of bread, visited a chateau which was being renovated (not sure it was open to the public but we wandered through anyway) and walked around the narrow streets before finishing our day’s journey, booking into Camping Aux Pommiers for the night.  Mike took me to dinner at a nearby restaurant to celebrate my birthday and we fell into bed, exhausted after what was a long and tiring day.  Our next door neighbours here are a Kiwi couple who have given us quite a few helpful hints on motorhoming in Europe as they’re old hands at it and are living the dream. 

Today (Tues.14^th May) was the day I finally managed to do some washing before catching the bus to Mont St Michel where we climbed a zillion steps to and through the abbey. 

We wore ourselves out but it was worth it! We caught the local bus back to camp and had a few drinks with our KoneWone neighbours and had a BBQ for dinner. A great day. Of to St Marlo tomorrow and to investigate a few chateaux we have found on the map.

BON JOUR MON AMIS!

Oui…we are now in France, but more about that later.  Last Monday (6^th May) was a bank holiday in England…Boris took M & M and us two on a picnic, first to Kilve Beach where the car park was so crowded there was no room for us, then to the most

Westerly point in the Quantock Hills with the most magnificent views over St Audries and the Bristol Channel across to the south coast of Wales. We spent a leisurely few hours basking in the warm sunshine and enjoying the company and the views before

Packing up and heading off.   The weather for the whole bank holiday long weekend

was wonderful, Monday being the warmest day we’ve had.

Tuesday dawned bright and sunny and we set off on the next part of our adventure,

Heading east towards London….though our travel plans changed after a couple of

stops for supplies for Boris and we proceeded through Cheddar gorge, Bath and on

To the M4 as far as Maidenhead where we exited for the Amerden Caravan Park, Taplow, booking in for a one night’s stay.  A top park, though close to the motorway and traffic noise, which didn’t really bother us, it was just a hum in the background.  After our evening meal we walked to the nearby towpath alongside the Thames, crossed the River by the motorway bridge and into the Hinds Head Inn at Bray.  Judging by the cars parked at the pub, and the houses we passed on the way, we guessed that Bray might be a village for the affluent!

In the morning, after the overnight rain had cleared, we strolled down to the river again, this time to look at the lock…there was a boat about to go through so we stopped to watch and talk to the lock keepers and an ex policeman cyclist who told us about nearby Dorney Court, where some scenes from Midsomer Murders are filmed.  He said it was well worth a visit, so we packed up and drove to the place, to find it didn’t open to visitors until 1.30pm.  As it was only just 12 noon, we didn’t think we wanted to wait so took off for nearby Windsor instead.  We could only find a car park for 1 hour so had a wander around the town, down to the river and through a gorgeous park before continuing our journey to Petham, 4.5 miles south of Canterbury, staying at the Yew Tree Park. 

Because we arrived there late in the afternoon, we decided to have a light meal at the Chequers Inn, just around the corner. 

On Thursday morning, we caught a bus into Canterbury which was absolutely chokkers with tourists, (mainly European students) so we didn’t bother to queue to get into the cathedral but were content to stroll around the town, catching the 12.45pm bus back to Petham. 

We left Petham shortly after 9am on Friday (10^th) drove to Dover, caught the 11.15am ferry to Calais.  The channel crossing was relatively smooth though the wind was very strong…we couldn’t stay out on the open deck for too long or we’d have been icicles!  From Calais we drove about 40 kms south to Le Portel, a seaside town, where we stayed the night in an almost free (3 Euros) camping car park.  After settling in, we walked along the headland in the blustery wind, managing to not get blown away, and into the town and back, stopping at a patisserie to buy two enormous almond coated apple cakes for 1.50 Euros each…yum! 

It’s Saturday (11^th) and we’re currently sitting in a beach car park where we are able to get WiFi, having just had lunch and washed up…it hasn’t rained for a while and the sky looks a little clearer but the wind is still rocking poor old Boris around a lot.  We ventured the few yards down to the beach when we first arrived, rugged up with jumpers and jackets and beanies and gloves and scarves….it was freezing!  It’s supposed to be warm and sunny!!!  Never mind…it can only get better. Gotta go and find a place to stay for the night so that’s all for now.

PS I tried loading photos but the link is slow and I only haveone hour of usage .

Last day in Stogursey

We are leaving Mike's house in Somerset tomorrow morning and heading towards London.We think we might stay in this caravan park.
http://www.amerdencaravanpark.webs.com/
It is close to Wndsor, just west of London. After that the next camp will probably be somewhere between there and Dover and then on the ferry to France.
Lunch yesterday was at the "Friendly Spirit" with M&M. Three roast meats and all the trimmings washed down by a couple of pints of " Doom Bar"  http://www.sharpsbrewery.co.uk/our-beers/doombar/ which I was introduced to by big Dave Bluck at the Shurton Inn. (To be reopened shortly as the Babbling Brook http://thebabblingbrookinn.co.uk/

Today Boris has invited the four of us to a picnic lunch at Kilve (Also famous for the Hood" pub - well known by Robyn and Laurie). The sun is out and I had shorts on yesterday (briefly) but rain forcast for the next few days..
Last time with free wifi so not sure when we are going to be back on the air.
TTFN

Boris has landed

Yipee! We are now the pround owners of our Hymer named Boris.

We drove down to Plymouth yesterday and completed the deal including paying road tax  and drove him back to Mike's at Stogursey.

He behaved nicely, even though he did get lost temporarily, and tootled along the motorway quite happily at 100 kph.

We now are off to drop the hire car back at Hertz and pick up supplies at the supermarket and then we are off. Only problem is we don't know which way!

Just go where the wind takes us I guess.

I must let you all know about two Pomms we know.

Marion and Mike have been absolutely fantastic to us and with out them I doubt whether we would have been able to achieve what we have so far and in the time frame. It seems longer, but it has been only two weeks to the day that we landed in UK and we are all sorted. Mike's cooking is worthy of another one of those dreaded reality tv chef shows. We have never eaten as well (or as much) and we can't  thank him enough.

Thanks also to Marion for the gift basket of goodies (including Vegemite) that she made up for us as a starter kit for Boris. Will come in very handy.

All for now

Fossil