Afloat on Cezanne: visit to the UK and Windsor.

I had obtained a list of the remembrance services & events to be held on various days during the weeks before & after the 1st of July, which was the 95th Anniversary of the commencement of the battle of The Somme. We would have to hire a car & didn't have enough days spare to warrant doing that, so I decided to give the papers to an English couple who were in the Port at Sillery with us as we had decided we would move on that day. They said that they were going that day--{the 1st July to the Franco-British memorial at Thiepval, where a special service was being held,} in their car, but didn't know the time until I told them. We were asked to go with them & accepted but to be there in time we had to leave within 1/2 an hour. We arrived just as the service was beginning. There were many people there, bands etc. The memorial is 45M high & can be seen from miles around. It is the memorial to 73,367 missing British & Sth Africans who fell between July 1915 & March 1918 & have no known grave. Their names are inscribed on the 16 pillars making up the base of the monument. The other countries who participated in WW1 in the Somme area have memorials in villages nearby. The New Zealand memorial is at Longueval.

We continued to Châlons-en-Champagne where we spent time with French friends, then caught the Eurostar to London & stayed at a B & B in Windsor, owned by Zin Zan Brook & his wife. It was a 10 minute walk to Windsor Castle, which is well kept, covers a large area & is very interesting. We also spent time with Lindsay, an English friend. She was going to Hampton Court Flower Show on Friday 8th, the day we were returning to France, so I joined her for the morning & had an enjoyable time looking at the different exhibits & various ideas which people dream up to make gardens interesting. Hampton Court say they have the biggest flower show in the world. Barry went to a nearby pub, read a book & quenched his thirst with some ale. We had several pub meals & I did enjoy the cider, which I can drink without any problems!

Back on Cezanne, at Châlons en Campangne we had lots of shopping & washing to do before saying farewell to our friends there & departing for the canal de la Marne à Saône. At the market we bought some delicious apricots, peaches & nectarines. Yesterday it was raining. We were visited by friends from St. Dizier for lunch. Tonight we are at Chaumont.