Jumping back in time

We have a mountain of video clips and I have been technophobic about doing anything with them. However, courtesy of Callum's rugby victory, I had to learn how to handle these film clips and do something with them. In the last few days I have cut together a rugby final DVD and now I am trawling back through the last two years' worth of memories.
Anyway, I thought this little clip was worthy of the blog just as it is - in its pure state.
It is a clip of our bedroom porthole being washed by the English Channel /La Manche as we crossed from the UK to France in June 2010.

Victorious

The French junior rugby season is still going. And there are still more tournaments ahead. But last Sunday we drove to Lons le Saunier for one of the biggest junior tournaments. Callum plays for Genlis under 9s.

It was a superb day and after several resounding wins they made it to the final against the host team. It was a tense match and the stands were full of home supporters who cheered and booed the teams accordingly. A noisy affair but the Genlis team kept their cool and, despite two sendings-off for high tackles, they were victorious.

...though the trophy was a bit odd.

(A clip of Callum scoring a try in one of the group matches earlier in the day)

Printing Museum at Louhans

Another day, another school trip. This time I went with Callum's class to Louhans (in Bresse) to visit the Printing Museum. The tiny street entrance did not look promising, but inside this Aladdin's Cave we discovered the beating heart of the former local daily newspaper and we were rewarded with a busy day spent in the print workshop.
The workshop had it all : linotype machines, rotary presses, typewriters, sounds, looks and smells. Better still, the children were able to take part in the entire process of print. They had written a poem which they composited fastidiously by placing each individual letter in a frame. They watched as the machines' rollers were inked and then took turns to press, stamp and powder their results.
It was an excellent day out. And as far as I know, we even came back with the correct number of little fingers.

(For lovers of machinery and percussion everywhere)

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Birthday and a BBQ

This year, as luck should have it, my birthday coincided with a BBQ get-together for the residents at the Old Lock. Super Dan worked very hard at making it an extra special evening by enlisting the help of our good neighbours John and Sandy. Sandy made a delicious cake which thankfully lacked the full complement of candles. And John duetted with Dan in an accordion/guitar rendition of Happy Birthday. And John, (after a tiny bit of persuasion), graced us with the first ever Old Lock accordion stripp-o-gram. Brave, considering the free range geese meandering about...

Hot dog anyone?

Latest News from the Barging Baileys

The boys have a very full timetable and there is rarely a dull moment.
In April they both took part in the inter-schools cross country run. Callum had to run 1 mile; Dan had to run 2 miles. The course was fairly dull and involved running after a man on a bike who cycled around two football grounds. However, it did mean that as a spectator you could see what was going on.
Cal was the first to run and had a sticky start where he got caught up in the pack. However, he worked his way through and surged into first position and finished with a comfortable 50metre lead.

Dan had a really tough race and got a very respectable time and 6th place overall. And, independent of his school, he also raised over £60 in sponsorship for UNICEF. Many thanks to all the family and friends who supported him.
There were no medals, no certificates and no further mention of the day. So unlike school in the UK where every achievement and ounce of participation is celebrated and encouraged. Interestingly enough the boys did not miss this element at all, and were just happy to have taken part.

They have really enjoyed their time in French school and learnt so much about themselves.

Callum in his school courtyard

The race to get out of school starts here!

And Dan has been lucky enough to go on a school day trip to Paris. Better still, I was one of the lucky parents who got to go too. We had a very long, hot, Paris filled day with a whistle stop tour of the Louvre, a picnic in the glorious Tuilerie Gardens, a boat trip through Paris and a march down the Champs Elyssees.