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Post by tyrednexited on Jul 12, 2020 18:49:07 GMT
Sure of course, I do get that, but. I was being opportunistically literal. Every time I have to go to London, it seems kind of exciting, but I'm never sorry to leave. Know what you mean though, keep making memories and so on. Still, ever so slightly, apt to just book an imminent French run... Either that, or recreate the key elements here. Loads of barbecues, wine, garlic sausage, weird crisps etc... 😉 ...smell of drains, dog shit, odd toilets..... Yes, it was a sort of "do exciting things, and don't regret anything - (except Veronica, of course)" so you can keep looking back, even to the near past, with fond memories. (If you've got a bad back, I wouldn't fancy a drive to the S of France.)
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Post by Humph on Jul 12, 2020 18:56:02 GMT
Thing is, my son and his gf have said that if we do go, they'd love to come with us. Christ knows why, they're both only 20, but we all seem to rub along ok. I'd go in a heartbeat, as would Mrs H, but his gf is a shielder ( chronic asthma unfortunately ) and there's a not insubstantial part of me that wouldn't want to be instrumental in creating or enabling a scenario where she was in greater danger of exposure to the virus.
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Post by tyrednexited on Jul 12, 2020 19:09:36 GMT
...... and there's a not insubstantial part of me that wouldn't want to be instrumental in creating or enabling a scenario where she was in greater danger of exposure to the virus. Al's probably in a good position to advise you that a full week spent on the Périphérique is just about as good as shielding....
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Post by Humph on Jul 12, 2020 19:14:12 GMT
Aye, you might be right, did you see that thing ( think it was Dixi who posted it ) but that thing about horrendous traffic in France yesterday?
Long drive anyway for someone not used to that sort of thing. Long drive for anyone actually. Hope he's ok.
We've been caught in mega jams in France and indeed at Dover at this time of year before now. Not great fun.
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Deleted
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Jul 12, 2020 20:52:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2020 20:52:56 GMT
Al doesn't give a monkey's. He's in no t'interweb land, no noise, BBQ in motion, kids in the pool. He'll be back online tomorrow when the cement mixers kick in and he's stuck in Les MaccyD's working out what to do while L'escargot 'work'. Only joking, he'll be living la Vida local (spelling intentional), en Francais. Good luck to him, bon vacance.
Humph, have you thought about a vacation this year ? 😋 What's the worst that could happen with a four times round the planet four pot Merc ? Play it safe, stock up on midge spray and head for Ardgartan.
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Post by tyrednexited on Jul 12, 2020 21:19:45 GMT
Al doesn't give a monkey's. He's in no t'interweb land, ...nah, the advert for that villa flags "wireless internet"; he's either still on the A7 in a traffic jam (having ignored le Bison Futé) or he is parked on the forecourt of Jacques Bonhomme, Agences Honda, Saint Amand Montrond, having been recovered there by the contractual dépannage for the autoroute, waiting for Monday opening (and "malheureusement nous n'avons pas de pièces pour les voitures RHD"). (Or he's still trying to get his card to work contactless at the SuperU pickup)
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Post by tyrednexited on Jul 12, 2020 21:21:54 GMT
Play it safe, stock up on midge spray and head for Ardgartan. He probably won't mind the midgies, but he'll draw the line at the Weegies...........
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jul 12, 2020 21:29:57 GMT
Long drive anyway for someone not used to that sort of thing. Long drive for anyone actually. Vić’s used to drives that take a long time. 😈
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Avant
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Post by Avant on Jul 12, 2020 22:51:16 GMT
I think there's one particular day when the French all go off on holiday at the same time. Al seems to have picked that one day.
Last time I drove in France it was August and they'd all gone back to work. With a similar population to the UK but three times the geographical area, there usually isn't a problem outside the cities.
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Jul 13, 2020 4:50:01 GMT
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Post by dixinormus on Jul 13, 2020 4:50:01 GMT
The French have 4 mega weekends in summer when the roads are to be avoided:
The weekend of or just before the 14th July fete nationale - everyone flees the cities for the hols;
The last weekend in July, for those people who haven’t left yet but prefer to take the calendar month of August off;
The weekend nearest to the public holiday of 15th August (when lots of folks return to the cities;
The final weekend of August, when the remainder of the country come back home in time to start work again on 1st September.
Unfortunately Al’s trip has coincided with 2 of these weekends 😳. He probably reached his villa at around midnight and is still sleeping off the marathon journey!
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jul 13, 2020 6:23:38 GMT
It’s quite a sight. We went early last year, thanks to exams ending both school years in June. We drove north up the Rhône valley on Saturday 13 July, moving easily while the southbound carriageway was nose-to-tail for over 50 miles.
This year we’re ending the last weekend in August. Somehow I doubt we’ll see the like on the roads away from Wrexham.
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Post by tyrednexited on Jul 13, 2020 6:54:28 GMT
Somehow I doubt we’ll see the like on the roads away from Wrexham. The queues to leave Wrexham are always long.......... (attractive it isn't)
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Post by Humph on Jul 13, 2020 7:26:02 GMT
Play it safe, stock up on midge spray and head for Ardgartan. He probably won't mind the midgies, but he'll draw the line at the Weegies........... It's looking increasingly phonetically similar. I suspect we'll end up in Oorgairden 😕
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Post by Humph on Jul 13, 2020 7:50:59 GMT
It’s quite a sight. We went early last year, thanks to exams ending both school years in June. We drove north up the Rhône valley on Saturday 13 July, moving easily while the southbound carriageway was nose-to-tail for over 50 miles. This year we’re ending the last weekend in August. Somehow I doubt we’ll see the like on the roads away from Wrexham. We were driving south on that same Saturday last year. Got a ferry to Calais that docked about 05.00 and just hit it all the way down to the Languedoc. There were some jams here and there but nothing too tragic. Arrived about 19.00 Saturday evening. Worst bit was getting through Dover port, about 2.5 hours delay. 24 hours door to door from our home in Cheshire.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jul 13, 2020 7:53:44 GMT
The queues to leave Wrexham are always long.......... (attractive it isn't) Is it a tide that goes in as well as out, or is everyone just leaving, all the time? (We’re not actually going to Wrexham; it’s just the nearest large town to where we’ll be.)
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