Apparently “Lifers get less!” according to Catering (a bit rude, I thought)

So approximately 31 years ago we spent a night in Chateau d’Audrieu in Normandy, land of apples, cider and calvados; we were on our honeymoon. I thought it would be nice to revisit and so on the final leg of our 2023 RWC Tour of France we stopped off to celebrate a) still being here and b) still being here together. I was worried it would have changed, that the passing of time had idealised my memory of it, but no, there it was a very pretty chateau, close to Bayeux and the Normandy beaches, still sitting quietly in the middle of nowhere.

Last time we turned up we were in our 20s, in a Jaguar XJS Catering had borrowed from his boss (that definitely wouldn’t happen today) and we brought down the average age quite considerably. This time we fit the age demographic perfectly, however the BBT caused something of a stir.

Not sure this will make the final edit of their promotional brochure

My room with a view – I got very excited about the deer on the lawn until I realised it was a sculpture.

Still standing after all this time. Definitely older, the jury’s out about wiser

So it was on to Calais and our return Shuttle, via a last minute Carrefour supermarket sweep, because we clearly hadn’t got enough rosé in the BBT already. It was a stress free journey, once we’d navigated our way from the supermarket to the Shuttle (the Sat Nav was very unhappy with the number of new roads under construction and kept trying to take us through a Service Vehicles Only entrance), which is probably more than can be said for the Ferrari driver who embarked immediately ahead of us. I think he was probably a little uncomfortable with the close proximity of the BBT to his bumper.

How did that get popped in with the high and wide vehicles I wonder

Keep coming, keep coming and… STOP!

So Catering consumed his last Paul’s Mixte in the Tunnel, while I amused him with a lively game of “I Spy…” Apparently something beginning with F was not at all amusing, not the 1st time and not the 10th time either. And just like that it was all over. 18 months of planning, 5 weeks, 8 matches and 15 different places to stay all done and dusted. It was FAB-U-LOUS! So Rugby World Cup, all things being equal, we’ll see you in 2027.

DOWN UNDER.