I didn’t know I had such influence (see my Last Post of 12th September: I thought for one moment I’d ‘sorted it’). Not quite as good as I’d hoped, but ONE WEEK LATER, “Updated announcements” were rolled out across the country by the Department for Transport, to ‘capitalise on the success of what has become a national earworm’.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-look-same-message-see-it-say-it-sorted
In celebration of the Aston Martin drive JD experienced in Edinburgh, I made an Alfa-Romeo cocktail. I couldn’t find a recipe for Aston Martin, if I’d been thinking I’d have created one, I don’t know why I look so smug here. Take one part bitters, two parts maraschino liqueur (or, as I did, maraschino from a bottle of the cherries), three parts rose vermouth and twelve parts gin (a lot of gin) plus a pinch of salt. Shake well and grin.
Our second half of 2025 continued to cause travel delays. We went to the Goodwood Revival with our pals Barry and Jarrod. We had to be at Victoria station for 0820 to catch the special Pullman train, which would take us to Chichester, where a coach would take us to Goodwood. Except we were diverted to Havant so faced a longer train journey then a longer coach journey. Luckily we’d not planned to be there at the start, although we did miss some things we’d like to have seen.
We had a Bellini to greet us before a very tasty breakfast, followed by another Bellini. Our carriage was designed by Wes Anderson and was real period elegance, including the floor to the toilet. You’ll not find that on modern British trains.
https://www.belmond.com/stories/reimagining-a-british-icon-wes-anderson
We overheard a chap saying he’d made the most of the extra hour on the train and had drunk ten Bellinis. I’m amazed he was still standing! We arrived in time for the Jim Clark tribute. For those who might not know, he was a British (Scottish) racing driver in the 1960’s, dying in a crash on the German track in 1968. He was also a sheep farmer. We arrived just as they were attempting to remove the sheep from the race course. The dry weather had eventually broken across the UK and the ground was sodden. Mud everywhere, which I’m sure didn’t help.
The event is (to quote the Goodwood website) ‘the world’s most spectacular historic motor racing event’. As well as old cars (see a few shots above), everyone had made a real effort to fit in. It really created a grand atmosphere. We even saw a few huge old prams with the babies dressed appropriately. Reminded me of when I was young, can I say that as the baby saw whoever was pushing them, I’m sure it helped bonding.
A week later we headed off to Bordeaux for a river cruise, joining Maeve and Adrian once again, this time definitely no sails. The flight from LGW was uneventful but much too early, we had to check in around six am. Arriving in Bordeaux, we walked to the coaches the long way round: we saw a long row of coaches but went behind all of them then along to the one at the front. Getting my daily steps in before lunch! We had a slight delay whilst two extra passengers were located and thrown off our bus. We suspected stowaways but it was only a case of splitting us up for the lunchtime restaurants. After a typical French lunch (egg in red wine, duck breast with French fries, chocolate cake) we headed back to the coaches and a short trip to the boat. We had to passage through / over one boat to get to ours. As we were early, we all sat in the lounge bar (no wine yet) and met a few more people. Remembering names is the part I find hardest, especially when they appear the next day wearing different clothes. (We managed to meet up with Maeve and Adrian for the evening so at least two names I don’t have to worry about forgetting). Once checked into our cabins, we had a quick turnaround for the safety briefing and dinner. For once, no fitting on of the life jackets, although we were told that we will have a practice at some time during the week with no warning, just like the real thing.
The next day was an early start (especially considering the time difference), onto a coach for a trip to Arcachon. We took our lives into our hands crossing from the boat to the coaches as there is a lovely wide boulevard along the quay which is used by cyclists going to work, in both directions. A few minutes after setting off, a minor accident where a cyclist ran into our bus! Luckily she was just bruised and battered so we were able to get on with the journey.
Bordeaux was voted the most beautiful city in France (Europe?) and is growing rapidly as Parisians moved there after Covid, realising they could work remotely and enjoy the coast. The city is also a UNESCO world heritage site due to its 18th century architecture. It was also, at one time, the second biggest port in Europe, after London.
We had a trip out to see the oyster nurseries (basically, lots of sticks sticking up out of the water) and the Isle d’Oiseau in the Arcachon bay, then an hour to explore the town before lunch. When we arrived at the restaurant, there were no spare places in the area set aside for our party, so we ended up with our own table for two in a different room. Very romantic! JD was more than happy with his (and my) oysters.
Off to see the Dune du Pilat (the highest sand dune in Europe) from inland after lunch, through a large pine forest, which suffered a huge fire in 2022, but not obviously noticeable to us casual visitors.
Some of our party walked up the dune while some of us stayed at the bar and had a glass of rose. I’ll leave you to guess what we both did.
In the bay we saw a pinasse or two: traditional fishing boats used by the oyster men, built of pine and flat bottomed. They are now rare, costing around 100,000 euros to buy.
We sailed overnight up the river and moored at Fort Medoc, another UNESCO site, built under orders of Louis XIV to protect the area. Later many locals took stones to build their homes, so there’s not a great deal left to see.
https://www.margaux-medoc-tourisme.com/en/discover/heritage/fort-medoc/
After walking over a long pier, we headed off by coach for an early morning tour of the Medoc region and wine tasting. Our guide Bruno (very proud to be from Gascony, not France!) was very entertaining and knowledgeable. He was proud to tell us he met King Charles in 2023: out of 1000 participants at the event in Bordeaux, he managed to get the King’s attention by wearing a (traditional Gascony?) kilt. The tasting was at Ch. Maucaillou (caillou means stone, the vineyards have stones under the vines to regulate the temperature).
https://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/tasting/chateau-maucaillou.html
Returning to the boat, we had lunch on board then the safety drill, where we had to put on our life jackets and congregate on the sundeck. After an hour or so free time (much needed) we had the first wine lecture, by David Hunter, about the Left Bank (Médoc region) of Bordeaux, followed by a brief presentation on cognac, as we were close. I didn’t try any on this trip but looking at others drinking them after dinner, it would appear that quadruple measures were being served. We spent the night in the harbour of Royan.
This was a holiday? We were up at 0600 to get a coach just after sunrise. A quick breakfast then off to Rochefort. The botanist Michel Begon (1638 – 1710), was from Rochefort and the plants begonias and bougainvillea were named in his honour,
https://www.rochefort-ocean.com/en/begonia-conservatory
On the way we passed a most odd bridge built over the river, to move cattle from one side to the other. Somewhere on this website you can see a picture of tourists demonstrating the technique.
https://www.pont-transbordeur.fr/
In Royan, also on the way, oyster farming is the main industry. It all started by accident when a Portuguese boat lost its cargo in a storm. Prior to that, salt was the most important product. The area is very marshy with many oyster shacks and fishing huts. Much of Royan was destroyed in WW2 and rebuilt in the 1950’s. It was one of the big tourist areas along with Biarritz and Deauville and for some time Picasso lived there.
In Rochefort we went to see the Corderie Royal, the rope factory. The walk from the coach to the museum was over rather bumpy cobbles then around the garden and up and down steps. By the time we arrived, my Rollator decided it had had enough and collapsed. The good thing about visiting a rope museum is that the gift shop sells rope! The sailor did some running repairs and off we went again.
The Corderie Royal is 300 metres long, which was needed to make the ropes for the navy. It lasted 200 hundred years before being decommissioned and falling into disrepair. The building was rescued and reopened in the last few years, but regrettably only the first third or so is the museum, so we couldn’t get a sense of its scale from inside. (The remaining two thirds are a library and research for students of naval history etc). One part they could have renewed was the disabled toilets, not a patch on the one in the train to Goodwood.
This was still the morning, thanks to our early start, so we went to La Rochelle for lunch and a wander. Somehow, you will be astonished to hear, JD and I were last into the restaurant on the top floor of the Aquarium, and there was no room at the communal tables. Instead, we managed to snag a table just outside ‘our’ area, from which the staff tried to move us (the only way this could have been accomplished was to pick up our table and walk). We were joined by our guest speaker David and his wife Fiona. The meal was chicken, which JD considered unsuitable for a seaside resort, so we headed off to try and find an oyster bar. Or maybe an ice cream as we’d not had one yet. We were unsuccessful on both counts, but did enjoy a glass of beer (rose wine for me) overlooking the marina with a couple of others from the boat.
Back on board we had the second of our four lectures by David, an introduction to the different areas of French vineyards. I have an appalling memory so can never remember which grape goes with which region. Thus, it was all new to me (and already forgotten so it’ll be just as exciting next time).
Yet another early start the next day, off to St Emilion for a wander and wine tasting. The boat left Bourg at 0600 for Libourne, where we caught our coaches. As there were too many of us for a single wine tasting, we were divided onto three coaches to head to different chateaux. I really don’t know how we do it, but initially it looked as though JD and I would have coach number three to ourselves. A few people were bumped off the other two but we were still a select group of twelve. The region is basically just vines for mile after mile, with the odd building thrown in. St Emilion, for those of you who don’t know, is a UNESCO world heritage site, pretty hilly and mostly cobbled streets. Thank goodness for the rope repair.
We visited the ‘underground’ monolithic church. As you can see in the photo, it’s not all underground. However, the canny constructors realised that digging down into the limestone would be easier and allow them to sell the stone they dug out. It is now private, so no photos inside were allowed, but as it was sparsely lit I don’t think they’d have come out anyway. Look at the link below for an inside sight.
Cracks in the ceiling were discovered in the 1990’s, assumed to be due to the weight of the bell tower, and over 30 concrete pillars were put in to stop the collapse. However, they didn’t help and it was realised that the limestone, being porous, was the problem. Massive metal braces were placed around the walls, looking rather like an art installation, and the concrete removed.
Our group then went off to chateau Haut-Veyrac, a small wine producer of ten hectares. They only make one wine so cannot afford any problems in the vineyard or production, or the year is lost. They use Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes (in contrast to the Medoc area we visited earlier in the week, which uses mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with smaller percentages of Merlot and Cabernet Franc). We tasted the 2014 and 2018 vintages, both very drinkable but with quite different flavours, partly due to their age and partly to the first being a ‘good’ year and the second an ‘excellent’ year.
Back on board we enjoyed the lecture on the Right Bank (St Emilion, Pomerol and Fronsac regions mainly). The classification system was interestingly different from that of other Bordeaux regions and a few chateaux have opted out altogether, preferring to rely on their name and reputation rather than the definition of Premier Cru Classe, for example.
Before dinner we were serenaded by a local guitar player then a local oyster producer from Arcachon announced that as a special treat he’d brought along oysters for us all to try. On our table of eight, one of our group said she’d never had one so she’d try it. Her conclusion was ‘a mouthful of seawater with something slimy inside’. Another six of us knew we didn’t like them or they didn’t like us. This left JD, who couldn’t let our table disgrace ourselves, so he downed the remaining fifteen. Followed by the three-course meal he’d ordered, of course. This included the intriguing dessert ‘crusted peer’. Rather disappointingly, it turned out to be pear and custard.
On our final day, I decided my Rollator and I deserved a rest, so we skipped the Friday morning tour of Cadillac, Chateau Roquetaillade and the wine tasting at Chateau Simon. This was not the great sacrifice you might imagine as the ‘house’ wines were from Chateau Simon, so I considered I’d tasted them enough. No photos were allowed inside so I’d have been frustrated if I had gone. JD did go, I’ll see if I can get him to write something about it. Here, meanwhile, is the link if you want to learn about it.
Before we had to be at the airport, we had the next morning in Bordeaux. Last time we were there the Cite du Vin (wine museum) was in the process of being built. This time we were able to visit. I thoroughly recommend it, a real immersive experience. Here is JD crushing grapes the clean way.
The final (so far) disruption to the second half of 2025 came at the airport when trying to leave France and fly back to the UK. I have (and have always had) an Irish passport, thanks to having been born there. On leaving France, I was asked to show my work permit allowing me to live in the UK. After about fifteen minutes we were able to persuade them that I was not an illegal immigrant (I wasn’t even going back by boat) and I was perfectly legitimate. I can only assume Brexit is to blame. Or maybe they don’t consider cocktail-making to be a necessary occupation. Here I am celebrating my return with a mezcal sour, using basil syrup instead of agave. Mix 50 ml mezcal, 22.5 ml lime juice, 15 ml basil syrup (hence the green colour), 15 ml ‘Veggwhite’ (an egg white substitute) and a pinch of salt.
George and John's boating trip no longer 