Oh Bloody Hell – is it really 4½ months since I last posted to this blog. How time flies when you’re having fun!! During that time, we returned to France for a couple of months then went back again to The Isle of Man for a couple of months. Now we are back in France again… must be Sunday!
We had an interesting summer on the Isle of Man with three lots of visitors from France. First of all there was Pierre and Claude who stayed with us for a week (and fitted in a year’s worth of sightseeing!). There are so many curiosities to see on The Isle of Man for the first time visitor. One that amused Pierre and Claude was the Great Union Camera Obscura on Douglas Head (opened in the 1890s and is one of only a tiny handful left in the British Isles.)… I’m the lazy one with his hands in his pockets!
Of course, food is never far from the minds of French people, so we introduced them to a typical British picnic (complete with table and chairs). This time, I’m the taller one with the wine in his hand!! Included in the picnic were such British delicacies as Scotch Egg, Melton Mowbray pork pie and also we served radishes as part of a salad, which is not in the French culture (they eat them on their own as a starter, with salt and butter). Surprisingly, we also discovered that your humble Heinz Salad Cream went down a treat, since there seems to be no equivalent in France – the nearest being mayonaisse.
We were also pleasantly surpised by the warm reception our guests gave to the local eating places. The French can be a little snooty about their food, so we weren’t quite sure what sort of reception basic British “grub” would get. Our minds were put at rest after a delightful lunch at The Harbour Lights in Port St. Mary (I’m the one examining what I eat before shovelling it down!)
Our next arrivals were M-D’s cousin, Anne-Marie, and her husband, Jean. They stopped with us for a little under one week since they were then heading off for a hiking holiday in Scotland. Again, they seemed to appreciate basic British “picnic grub” like the pork pie and Scotch egg, We also introduced them the delights of haggis neaps and tatties, before their Scottish visit, so they could decide whether or not they liked it (I think the jury is still out on that one!)
For Jean and Anne-Marie, I think the attraction of The Isle of Man was simply the delightful country cottages and quaint streets of the old fishing village of Peel. Naturally, they enjoyed seeing all the other natural attractions the island has to offer (like Loaghtan sheep and Manx cats) but, being lovers of fish (to eat, of course) they thoroughly enjoyed trying out the famous Manx Kippers which are smoked by Moore’s Manx Kippers less than a mile from where we live. Moore’s is the last of the traditional oak-smoked curing yards and the flavour just oozes out of their products.
Our final guests of the summer were M-D’s sister, Christine, and her younger son, Corentin. Christine has visited The Island before but, for Corentin, it was his first time, so we naturally did all the “tourist” bits like the electric trams, the Great Laxey Wheel, The Isle of Man Steam Railway. the horse trams, and everything else than contributes to making the Isle of Man a unique place to live and work.
During their stay, we celebrated Christine’s birthday with a visit to our favourite restaurant on the island, The Abbey whose food and attention to detail was, as always, immaculate. Regrettably, they had used up all their stock of 2004 Chateaux Lyonnat Saint Emilion but, fortunately, they had a slightly younger version of the same wine, and it was a dream! We also visited a couple of “regular” haunts like The Hop Garden (pictured above) which serves really good quality “pub grub” in delightful surroundings.
And finally, M-D and I had a couple of weeks to recouperate from a hectic schedule of sightseeing! After which, a couple of quick flights and we are back in France, for the winter. We’re lucky, because my brother Steve lives close to the house on the Isle of Man so keeps an eye on it for us while we’re away. Maybe, one day, we can persuade him to visit France where we can play host to some of the delights that France has to offer.
