The non-Eclipse of 1999
I say non-Eclipse of 1999, as despite being at the centre of it, I saw nothing, as it was overcast. At least it wasn’t raining, as we were in the middle of a ploughed field, when it went totally dark.
Hotel Mercure, Peronne-Assevillers
This is where I stayed on that trip and also where I stayed on Tuesday night. It hasn’t changed much, but then it is almost the only hotel actually on the motorway between Lille and Paris.
I still intend to see an eclipse of the sun.
Cambridge to Holland via Paris
I left Cambridge at 19:00 hours on Tuesday and took the Dover Dunkirk ferry, stopping overnight on the A1 to Paris. It was a crap Mercure and I’ll be posting something later on my blog about it and the non-Eclipse of 1999, where a Belgian weatherman told me to go to the wrong place. I don’t think they’ve given it a proper once-over since.
I then drove into the centre of Paris, did Montmatre, had a meeting and then left at 4:17, only to get stuck in traffic on the Periphique. I arrived at my destination five minutes over five hours later having done about 625 miles from Cambridge most of it at about 130 to 140 kph. How many 18 year old cars could do that? Most of it during the day was with the top down, which was perhaps a bit ambitious, but then top down is the only way to travel for safety, as the visibility is so much better.
The only problem was the peage, as to get the ticket, I had to get out. And I had a very irate Belgian behind me. They always seem to be in a hurry. And then around Lille and towards Gent, the Belgian road signs leave something to be desired. It’s called logic! Like the signs say follow Gent and then they call in Gand or even miss it off completely. They even manage to give Lille in France a completely different name!
Perhaps, I should write to that nice von Rumpy Pumpy, who heads the EU and complain about his country’s signage. On the other hand, perhaps the Belgians drive like lunatics all the time, as they are forever getting confused by their signs?
Sylvie Vartan
When we were at school doing French we sometimes had French newspapers to read. They were full of stories about Johnny Halliday and Sylvie Vartan, who married about that time.
It would appear that she is still performing.
Sylvie Vartan at L'Olympia, Paris
The details are here.
The Anonymous Widower 