And Clive is my first visitor

Clive was expected to visit and I can see from the excerpt of my letter that I am worried about the detail of when he was due to arrive. The years before cellphones and social media are difficult to recall - I had just popped out to the post office to check for mail!

I was so excited to have my first visitors at Marly le Roi.

Our Christmas plans for that year were also being finalised and we were due to join Henk and Janet in the UK, at Marlow-on-Thames. I was chatting to Shawni this morning, she and Craig are travelling around the Christchurch area of South Island in New Zealand for Christmas and then onto Australia to see Inel and family for their New Year summer beach holiday north of Sydney. I can see from this letter that I was just as driven as Shawni is, to experience both France as well as Europe and the two babies did not hold me back at all.

My Dad had a few good years in public office, Mom would send me photos and newspaper cuttings of all their invites and activities. He was proud of these times in his life. I was teasing her about one of these newspaper cuttings that failed to mention Clive and me.




My letters have changed in tone, they are freer, more relaxed, I am getting about, going to French lessons, dropping the kids at the Halte Garderie, planning, organising and just generally sounding happier. Also dieting. Still harvesting, I had made apple jam, 'next step is to do some pie-apple and deep freeze some apple tarts for when we have people. 'This domestication seems to be persisting - oh dear.'

In parallel to me settling into a rhythm, Fred is not settling at Telemecanique, his job is poorly defined, his mentor nowhere to be seen, he is planning a business trip to Dublin and America. In passing I mention that he had a 'small mishap on his bike this morning going to work. He apparently had to swerve quickly to avoid an oncoming car in the wrong lane.' I seem more concerned about the ripped sleeve of his lovely grey windbreaker.

Front entrance to our home in Les Ombrage, with mirabelle trees

I don't give the detail of Clive's visit as I am assuming in the letter that Mom got it first hand. We popped into Paris and 'showed them around' and also took a trip to the Loire Valley for some chateau viewing, these are the photos I popped in the envelop with the letter, so we had visited Chenonceaux.

This letter also mentions that Flora had phoned Fred and she and Hans were also coming to Europe for their December holiday.

Our 'busy' season at the house had started.

First visitors and travelling to the Loire Valley, September 1986

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