I headed back to the Isle of Man on my own towards the end of June because I had some work to do in our bedroom, so it was easier having the place to myself and not disrupting Marie-Danielle too. When we bought the house on the island, the builder who had renovated it had generally done a good job but, on a couple of things, he had taken shortcuts. One of these shortcuts was that there was water penetration on the top storey and damp was coming through the walls into our bedroom. The builder had tried to hide this by adding a couple of false stud walls with a 4″ (100mm) gap to the outside wall. Naturally, this was just a short-term cover-up and, In August last year (2013) we had scaffolding erected and roofers arrived to resolve the situation. So now it was time to rip out the false wall and let the original wall breathe.

DIY tip #153
Before storing your furniture under the loft access while you do repair work to the bedroom, be sure to get the sander (stored in the attic) that you will need to finish the work !!!

A week of work and the place was as good as new (or better!). Then, when M-D arrived, she came with her sister, Christine, who lives in Lille in Northern France. Christine has been over to the island before and she enjoys it’s beauty and tranquility. So, while she was here, we invited our friends Bruno and Jill to join us for an evening meal. Bruno is also French and I think he enjoyed an opportunity to relax and hold a conversation in his native language.

When I travelled over, I had brought with me several duck breasts (Magre de Canard) which are taken from the ducks that are used to produce foie gras so are really plump and succulent. These seemed to be well appreciated so, a few weeks later, we asked two sets of our near neighbours over and repeated the excercise. Such was the success that Julie (our actual next-door neighbour) asked us to bring her back some Magre when we plan to return in December with the car.

While Christine was over, we did a few walks and a bit of casual sightseeing. The location in the photo on the left is in the south of the island and, on that day, we could clearly see Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland from that spot. It makes you realise how central The Isle of Man is in the British Isles and Ireland.

We also visited a few of the local restaurants (as you do!). Christine loves the food at The Majestic Restaurant on Onchan Head, overlooking Douglas Bay and, indeed, it is an excellent Chinese restaurant. We also like The Boat Yard on the quayside in Peel, so naturally, we went there too! Oh, and let’s not forget The Swiss House at Glen Helen who do an awesome “surf and turf”!

Then, in August, we housed a couple of French visitors for a week. Twice a year, the Isle of Man becomes home to bikers from all over the world. In June, they come for the Isle of Man TT and in August they come for the Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling (used to be called The Manx Grand Prix). During thoise times, the population of the island doubles so, local people help out by offering rooms to bikers at a sensible price. It’s fun and it helps the island economy.

We got to meet and greet Mimie Champseix-Léonard and her husband, Serge. A real nice couple from Tarnac in the Limousin region of France. Though they seemed to enjoy exploring the various watering holes on the island, I think they were quite pleased when we asked them to have dinner with us on their final night before heading back to France!

So that’s another summer gone! I don’t know how we stand the pace, sometimes. Oh well, back to France and see what’s going on over there!