ARTICLE NINETEEN
Beginning of 2005
Arrival back in France. We departed Perth at 4.00pm on Easter Sunday for Singapore and then on to Paris, arriving at 7.00am on Monday 28 March for the transit to Gare Paris Nord and the 11.00 train to Douai and change for the rattler to Cambrai. Bob there to meet us and take us to Van Nelle which had survived easily over the four months of winter and showed no resentment for having been left in the cold.
Coming back was accompanied by a sense of relief for a number or reasons. I had been at the bedside of an old friend in Perth during her last hour of life, another friend, the father of a school friend had also been hospitalised with heart issues at 86, but happily had returned to his home and wife soon after I spent some time with him in his hospital room at SCGH. It was also a feeling of coming home. We had been given good seats on both flights and the sleeping pills given to us by Lisa had worked this time.
Only some of the crew from the Port Cantimpre were in residence, Bob of course since he was here for the whole winter, Bill and Sylvia having arrived back from their summer in South America. California and Florida, John and Valerie having arrived back some days earlier and Alastair having been here for a week or so. Tam and Di, John and Marietta and Bob and Bobby still being in England and one of the other owners, John having been diagnosed with cancer and having remained in the UK. That did not reduce the obligatory social occasions with a couple of dinners and drinks sessions immediately being arranged.
Several jobs to do on arrival. Half and hours worth of water had been put in the boat for our return by Bob Smalldon so another 3 2 hours worth was required and arranged for the first full day back, at the same time the decks needed urgent cleaning as the black gunk from traffic, dust and other sources had built up and the decks were very grubby. The dinghy had leapt off the cabin to during a wild wind storm so the repairs I had made to the damage sustained in Loosdrecht before we set sail for France in 2001 had come apart. That can wait... The engines needed to be returned to operation by priming the fresh water systems, replacing antifreeze with Holt=s block Soudure in the main engine and both it and the generator engine had to be serviced. A couple of days work followed and pretty soon things were looking a little more ship-shape.
Dutch friends, true to their work have sent us some charts to assist us in our voyage north to Rotterdam and Bill had a giant map of the entire waterways of Europe including the way to the Bosporus and into Russia so I photocopied that and spent some time studying and working out our best routes. The big question will be whether we can get into Belgique before being asked where our 2005 Peage (waterways tax certificate) is. Maybe I can get a one day ticket in Douai early in the week since as I write it is Sunday, April 3 and we depart here on Wednesday the 6th.
Before we leave, John and Valerie leave and since they are on the outside of us in the port we will need to turn the boats so we are able to depart. That will be Monday or Tuesday=s job I suspect. During this last couple of days we have a few local events to attend, a Salon Gourmandise (at which we bought wine, truffles, ham, foie gras, cakes and cheese, and an antique fair at which we bought nothing !
So, just a couple of days to go. Adventures ahead !!!!