Dear Milli
mmm... orange juice, and a croissant, courtesy of Soph'...
followed by table wine.
Costume time! Kirst cut out the CSI stencils I had printed out, and filled them in on the back of each CSI suit, with marker pen. I struggled a little (sleep deprivation) to write STANDON underneath. We cordoned off our camping area with the tape & hopped into our costumes. It proved a little difficult drinking, while wearing masks. Determination reigned within our group, and through sunshine & torrential downpours, we stood our ground - this time in front of the main stage... for hours, while we waited for the verdict on best costume. Yeah - we didn't win, but we were blatantly great, and posed for many a picture.
Uli and I clambered back up the hill to cook some pesto pasta in Ambi. Uli even toasted pine nuts and tossed them in. Yum!
Danced a little more & then headed to bed at 1.30am. Brian had worked out that I'd been awake for 41 hours. Time to crash!!!!
Dear Milli
Caught up with an old Geordie friend, and lay on the grass, chatting and munching, while enjoying a pint. Glorious weather. Spent a lot of the afternoon hanging out in an old 70's tent, sitting on a sofa, drinking Bacardi & Red Bull, and trying to save a ladybird from a chewing gum incident, while listening to obscure tunes being strummed away on a Spanish guitar.
The early hours were spent in the Cow Shed nightclub, and the padded cell. Met some weird & wonderful folk, from all walks of life. Many hugs and compliments were shared around. Met an American dude who looked remarkably like Woody Harrelson*. I lent him my bear hat, that was sweated on profusely... but hey, it looked good on him.
So, there was much dancing to be done... but bed time slowly came around at about 5am... but could I sleep? No chance! I could hear the music all night, so tried to stay as still as poss., so Uli could at least get 40 winks.
* Did you know that his full name is Woodrow. Is that a reasonably common name in the States? And... he's only 5'9" - I thought he seemed taller.
Dear Milli
Arrived at Standon. Just managed to find the last remaining decent spot for Ambi - superbly flat, with a great panoramic view of the festival. Ours neighbours seemed pretty sound. We were a little disappointed to see that we weren't the only ones with CSI tape (although, at least ours was official!)
Was a bit of a mission getting the tents & gazebos up - we found a plot near the toilets & tepee showers. Cracked open the beers, and a few bottles of white to help us stay sane. A couple of randoms came to join our festivities... but I decided to retreat back to Ambi for an early night at 1.30am. zzZ
Dear Milli
Some poor person had rolled their car on the motorway, so we were diverted down back roads for 1.5hrs. We could see the Pont de Millau tantalising us in the distance, but we were lucky enough to drive through some lovely, scenic villages on the detour.
Finally arrived in Sete, and drove through the centre of town, past the fishing port and found a beachfront parking space for Ambi on La Corniche. Had some scrummy scallops (Coquilles St Jacques)
at the beachfront bar, 20 metres from Ambi. Obviously Uli didn't have any - he's still a bit scared of seafood. He did, however, share a mighty fine bottle of local vin blanc with me.We tried hailing down a cab to take us to the festie. Little did we know that they have to be pre-booked. A lovely couple stopped, and laughing, offered us a lift. Aparently it was obvious where we were from, as only Londoners hail cabs. Uli had to sit on the fitted kid's seat. The festivities on the harbour front were wild, and Laurent Garnier played a set. Met some sound people... and talked campervans with an Australian, who hires them out too.Danced through the night & on the way back to Ambi, stopped off for a swim - in the sea, at 5.30am. WOW!
Dear Milli
So far, so good. Uli got ferry times wrong, so arrived 10mins late. Luckily for us, the good 'ol ferry was running seriously late.
Finding diesel in the vicinity of Dunkirk, with a loaned Tom-Tom, proved to be a little tiresome - could be something to do with the fact we had no idea how to work it. Eventually we pulled up to a teeny place on the pavement. A lady filled Ambi up - €87.00
Stopped for dinner next to the palace in Versailles. Proved a bit of a nuisance winding our way through the narrow streets without such a beast of a van - but we managed... and found FREE PARKING! The food wasn't anything special. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
A gargantuan storm broke out. We decided to chase it down past Orleans, and parked up in an Aire with stunning views across the Auverge volcanoes. Used a lorry to protect us from the wind and rain.
Dear Milli
Packed up & rearing to go.
Caught up with a few friends (for a haircut in Covent Garden - it's going to be hot in the South of France) to say farewell. Brian's been given two sets of keys. Yay for Brian! The Panther's going to be seriously chuffed with her new flatmate.
Dear Milli
Leisure battery replaced. Time to get prepared for our adventures in France. Uli's got most of the route planned. He's having to work late most nights to make sure everything's handed over efficiently.
WHO'S GOING TO LOOK AFTER PANTHER?
Been looking into getting a cat sitter for an hour a day - apparently they'll even water the plants. 17 days @ min £10 = £170. Ouch. This holibob's getting more & more expensive by the day. Oh well - it's a one-off! Uli's going to ask Brian before I book these cat sitters in. It may be nice for him to be closer to work & have a place to himself with a crazy little cat.
