Bertie, Louis XIV (aka Tina Turner) and various statues - Wednesday 28th September
Monday evening at the Menin Gate, Ypres, was very moving. We did the 10 minute walk from the campsite, taking the pathway that ran along the city walls until we reached the monument. A small crowd had already gathered by 7.30 when we arrived there, to await the evening’s ceremony…and Richard and I spotted someone we knew! A lovely gentleman called Alan Reed, who is a historian with a vast knowledge of the battlefield sites of France and Belgium, was there with a group of people he was guiding. He, along with his colleague Andrew Hamilton, have written several books about World War 1 which, as some of you reading this may remember, I have had the pleasure of producing and publishing. If you are interested in looking, there is a website www.meetatdawnunarmed.co.uk which gives the background and more information on their very interesting and readable books (no dry historical tomes here!). Alan gave us the run-down on the evening’s itinerary which included several blind ex-servicemen laying wreaths.
If you have not experienced visiting the Menin Gate for the last post, then I can recommend doing so. It’s at 8pm every evening, come rain or shine. Lynn and I cried at the last post - the mournful music the bugles played was very moving.
After the ceremony we meandered into the beautiful town which was all lit up and quite lively and found a bar seemingly full of locals. There was a lovely, friendly atmosphere - and a paratrooper hanging from the ceiling (not life-size I hasten to add); we thought it was the first proper ‘bar’ we had been in since the start of our journey. We had a drink and people-watched for a while before heading back to the bobils.
Yesterday morning (Tuesday) we left Ypres and drove to Gravelines where we stopped last night on the quay by an estuary. Lovely and peaceful, 3 mins walk to the town centre where we had dinner in a warm and welcoming restaurant, ‘Baker Street’. It was here that we met Louis XIV, aka the Sun King, a gorgeous huuuuge poodle that we christened ‘Tina Turner’, or ‘Son of Bob Marley’! Richard thought his own hair gave Tina’s a run for the money as he feels it’s getting a bit fluffy now, after 7 weeks without a cut! 😂. John spotted a ‘local’ shop called ‘,.OK Bab’ which made him feel at home (see pic).
Camping was only €7.50 per 24 hours, payable at a machine - absolute bargain. This morning we walked back into the town to have an explore of a Star Fort which had the most lovely modern bronze statues of naked women….and the usual French workers with not so much as a nod to health and safety, mowing a bank over a very high drop into a moat, using a Flymo on a bit of string (looked like string to me anyway!).
Today we have moved on to Wissant which is on the coast and free for the night (no facilities), it’s 2.45 pm, we have just eaten lunch and are about to go for a walk on the beach. Lovely.
We are meeting up with Nick & Maggie Ives tomorrow at Le Walric at St Valery sur Somme. Better stock up with more wine then!
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