MOT
2008 - to Thonnance les Moulins, Joinville,
France
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MOT
2008 - to Thonnance les Moulins, Joinville,
France
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| PREVIEW |
Click here for Jenny Ryder's rally review Click
here for the gallery of participants photos |
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| Thonnance les Moulins is a very small village set in the heavily wooded rolling hills of the Haute-Marne département of the Champagne-Ardenne region of northern France. |
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| Joinville, the nearest large town, is about 14kms to the west: it straddles the River Marne and the Canal de la Marne à la Saône, and has all the facilities you should need, including hypermarkets, banks, a Tourist Office, cafés, bars and restaurants. |
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The small town of Poissons,
with shops, cafés, bars and restaurants is just a short drive (4kms),
or a nice walk, from the campsite. |
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MOT2008 will be based at Camping
La Forge de Sainte Marie on the D427 between Noncourt sur le Rongeant
and Thonnance les Moulins, and nestles in the valley of the River Rongeant,
which passes through the campsite. It is owned and run by a Dutch man
and an English lady; the reception staff are fluent multi-lingual, and
information about the surrounding area's attractions is available in reception. |
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| Given that the campsite is not within strolling distance of the nearest 'civilisation', it would be expected that there are facilities to fulfill our needs, and so it is. Not necessarily in order of importance, they have a bar, a restaurant serving good quality set menus and 'à la carte' (for both adults and children and vegetarians) at reasonable prices, a take-away meal service, a small but reasonably well stocked shop where you can buy fresh milk and order bread, a bar terrace, an indoor swimming pool with its own terrace for sun bathing, games areas for children and larger persons, laundry facilities, cycle hire, oh, and I forgot to mention that they have 'happy hour' in the bar between 1600h and 1800h. |
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Apparently the river/étang boasts category A trout fishing, so those with piscatorial ambitions can dip their wigglers, fluff up their 'dog nobblers', or disentangle their creels, whatever; however, strictly speaking, a permit is required, which, ironically, is available from somewhere in Poissons. The permit will allow fishing in the surrounding rivers and lakes, and costs about €15. Whilst this is not particularly a tourist area, there are things to do and see. |
| There are some small
châteaux in the area, including the Château du Grand Jardin in Joinville. Whilst it doesn't appear that the interior of the 16th century château can be viewed, it is the gardens which are the draw, with the architecture the focal point. |
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Covering a considerable area,
and varied in its landscaping, the grounds will be well worth a visit. |
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More gardens to visit at Thonnance les Joinville; this one has an ancient mill. There are more architectural
delights at Chaumont, and at Cirry sur Blaise (see photo right), where
for 15 years that bright spark Voltaire made his ohm. I could say something
about the château being a joule set in a ground of green, but I re-fuse! For those who like their architecture somewhat older, and possibly in kit form, there is the town of Grand, famous for its Gallo-Roman amphitheatre, mosaics and subterranean galleries, which was only discovered in the 1960s. |
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2000 years of history
can be attributed to the fortified town of Langres. Yes, you've guessed it, the Romans thought the limestone promontory on which the town sits was worth defending, and everyone since has thought the same. Chock full of history, museums, churches, pretty houses and some fantastic views from the battlements, perhaps you should attempt your own invasion. |
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Although the region is Champagne-Ardenne, grapes are rather thin on the ground in Haute-Marne, so we may have to resort to drinking the product and imagining the rolling terroir. Shame!
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| The largest man-made lake in
Europe is about 30 miles away. Lac du Der Chantecoq is a nature reserve,
leisure and sports centre. Spend the day, swimming from the beaches, sailing,
jet skiing, or, if you like watching the fluttery feathery things, pack
your bird book and binoculars. With so much going on perhaps you should have a look at their website. |
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| RALLY
REVIEW by JENNY RYDER |
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For this year's MOT, Graham and I were travelling in our 1953 split screen "Cyril", and our son Chris was making his first solo overseas run in his 1967 4 door, "Bluey". (Photo by Sandy Hamilton using Graham and Jenny's camera) Friday 23 May. We set off around 3.20 pm with 'Cyril' leading, but we managed to lose Chris immediately in confusion over calling at the Post Office; fortunately we all met up again on the M42 heading south. After a fuel stop on the M40, we tootled along without a problem until we reached the M25, which was very slow moving round to Junction 11. Our next stop was for half an hour at Clacket Lane services which was busy with lorries 'holed up' awaiting the lifting of 'Operation Stack' (French fishermen were blockading the French ports complaining about fuel prices, so there were no ferries running). There were many lorries parked on the M20, but this didn't affect us as we were booked on the Channel tunnel and were able to by-pass 'Operation Stack' on the A20. Suddenly, we heard a strange noise, like a stone being thrown up under the car, then a much louder one so we pulled up on the hard shoulder. Investigation showed one of two bolts holding the starter motor in place had worked loose so the first noise must have been the nut being dislodged and the second must have been the bolt! Luckily it didn't fly up and hit Chris's car behind us. Chris had apparently not tightened the bolt enough in the pre-MOT preparations. We continued on to the Eurotunnel terminal and arrived in time to catch our designated 9.20 pm crossing. I rang my Mom, and sent daughter Amy a text before we left the UK. We were warned that it would be a bumpy ride as the train suspension had not been inflated - certainly the most queasy crossing I can recall. We had to move clocks and watches forward one hour during crossing, so it was 11 pm local time when we arrived in France. We found the right part of Calais for our pre-booked Formula One motel and could see it but missed the turning and ended up in some nighttime roadworks! We finally got round to the motel entrance, used the auto check- in, and crashed out for the night. Saturday 24 May We got up early, and were glad
that we had brought our own kettle to make a morning drink and fill flasks.
We set off, heading for Aire du Rely for our breakfast stop at 8.30 am.
We passed Nick and Angie Odell en route but they caught us up at Aire
d'Urvillers where we stopped at 10.30 am. While we chatted to a family
from Nottingham at a picnic table, several other Minors and a sports car
pulled in. We stopped there for an hour and then drove on to Aire de Champagne
Sud, just before leaving the autoroutes. Although we incurred tolls of
€21.20 for each car, it is far easier to stay on those roads so we could
keep together, particularly with Chris being on his own in 'Bluey'. We
spotted the Super U supermarket on the outskirts of Joinville so stopped
there for supplies. Realising we were English, someone at the supermarket
asked Graham to deliver a sack of potatoes to the campsite! The local
supermarkets are often meeting places for MOTers, and we spotted several,
including Martin and James Wallis. We collected hugs and kisses for Amy;
we did miss her terribly but knew she was right to stay and concentrate
on her final university degree work. |
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We helped set out the meeting hall which was to be used for the evening welcome drinks. This was a great barn of a room situated over the swimming pool. Although it is always hoped that we would get good weather it is always preferable to have shelter should it be required. (Photo right courtesy of John and Tonny Lemmens)
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| It was good to see everyone
safely there, except unfortunately Alan and Linda Boyce who had had a terrible
accident when their Series II convertible and caravan ended up, upside down
in a ditch when a vehicle caught the rear corner of their caravan and started
both caravan and car 'snaking'. The driver of the offending vehicle did
not stop! Linda was taken to hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries,
no pun intended, two of their three terrified dogs ran off, and were eventually
rounded up traumatised but thankfully, like Alan and Linda, relatively unharmed;
very lucky all the same. Alan was able to hire a car, and instead of going
home, as many of us would, drove on to the campsite where they were able
to rent a mobile home for a few days. Alan then went all the way back home
and fetched their huge campervan! They are the only couple who have attended
EVERY MOT and if that didn't stop them getting there, nothing will! Linda
sported a black eye for the week, but we were all so thankful that they
were OK. Their caravan is written off and probably the car also. The photos
Alan took made for interesting viewing, and it is a wonder that they were
able to get out of the car and walk away. Some folk had dropped out of MOT but Rick and Jenny Beardmore had "secretly" booked late on and arrived to "surprise" Rosie Hamilton and others. Several newcomers were very enthusiastic about the event which is great; one chap was already helping to put out the tables when we arrived, and his party volunteered to help with the raffle and tombola as well. |
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On our way to the campsite
we had passed Pete Coslett en route and could only see Emma and a friend
on board. When we had a chance to chat with Pete in the evening he said
Helen was attending an operatic event but was coming by train on Sunday.
Couldn't believe she would ever miss MOT!
(Photo by Graham and Jenny Ryder) |
| Sunday 25 May Graham spent the morning working on other peoples Minors, as always! This is usual on MOT - this time on Jay Le Huray's saloon, Mildred, which was using an awful lot of oil. Lots of raffle and tombola prizes were brought to our door which gave us a chance to chat to those who called. Some were left on the doorstep before we got up - like Santa had been! I spread them all out on tables and the settee to sort into similar values. Ended up with 29 small, 17 mid-size and 8 large prizes, plus a set of Doulton plates which Margaret Stockman had emailed us about, but we thought they should go in the raffle. Dave and Jackie Walker took charge of the Charity Auction donations and had some which were more suitable for the raffle/tombola, so we gained some more items. Andrew Salaman arrived on his own in a modern van towing his little caravan (his wife Claire was in America I think, visiting relatives). I got a spare gîte key for Chris so that he could come and go as he pleased which he usually does; he spent the week with the other MOT lads, they get taller each year! |
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We had decided to go to the
chateau where Voltaire had lived, but Chris stayed on site to watch the
Grand Prix and also went swimming. After lunch we set off in a group to drive the 24 miles (I thought they said it was 25 Km away!) There were too many of us to go round in one group so while we were waiting, and having had the foresight to take a flask, we had a drink, but then a different party went in for their visit. We were about to leave when the door opened again and we agreed to go in for a half hour quick tour. We were glad that we got inside as it was very interesting - the first room had a blue and yellow theme right down to the dog basket! (Photos courtesy of Eric Grey and Margaret Stockman) |
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| The dining room had cutlery
upside down with knives pointing dangerously to the table edge, and high
imitation desserts made of what looked like dyed pink sponge fingers and
macaroons all piled up! There was a gaming room, library, and an amazing
mini theatre in the attic! The basement kitchen had real fruit and vegetable
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We took the shortest route back
we could (5 miles shorter than going) to get back in time for the official
welcome evening with local Mayors. Jay Le Huray was decorating the line
up of cars with balloons spelling out MOT 2008. His daughter Demi had a
gorgeous bright pink outfit including pink wig which represented a character
on a children's TV programme, Stephanie from 'Lazy Town' - she's a star!
(Photo above courtesy of Jay Le Huray, and photo right by Ian Portsmouth) |
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| The speeches, by the Local Development
Minister, Angela (the campsite owner), and the two local 'commune' mayors
were quite good, and between them they presented veteran certificates to
those who had completed 3, 10, 15, and 20 MOTs, and of course a special
presentation to Alan and Linda Boyce for their 26 appearances. Some of our
young ladies presented gifts to the dignitaries. Drinks and nibbles were laid on. (Photos courtesy of Maurice Stewart, except bottom right - courtesy of Rosie Hamillton) |
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Monday 26 May Had a lazy day on site today
- Chris went swimming twice. We went to visit the Walkers to sort out
prize donations and chatted there all morning. Surprisingly this is only
their 4th MOT as they seem quite involved. |
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(Photos
above courtesy of Ash and Pam Holmes and Rosie Hamilton) Jay and Emm Le Huray, both
of whom are entertainers, did a very funny comedy magic trick which had
us all laughing - it was all to do with a banana, or was it a bandana
- you had to be there! Today was Le Drive, a tour round the countryside, finishing in a huge car park in a small village called Grand. |
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(Photos above courtesy of Jay LeHuray [top l & r and bottom l], John and Tonny Lemmens [middle l}, Ash and Pam Holmes [middle r} and Ian Portsmouth [bottom r])
We were supplied with a drink and some fancy cakes, and it was an ideal place for most people to eat their picnic lunch.
(Photo right courtesy of Rosie Hamilton) |
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Grand is famous for its marvellous
Roman Mosaic and Amphitheatre. Both have been restored and the combined
entry of group rate €1.50 was covered by MOT. |
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(Photos above courtesy of Steve Rose) The Cosletts had apparently been there the day before so already visited the Mosaic and had found a friendly bar, but we didn't see them. I suggested later they should have borrowed one of the MOT signs and placed it outside! Chris didn't bother with the ruins, so he came back on his own with his mates. We had given Laura, a trainee on the campsite, a lift as it was her day off, and she was keen to photograph the Minors. We had a good day with her and learned a lot about the Dutch education system and way of life. She lives near Amsterdam and is 22, like our daughter Amy. We whizzed down to Joinville after Le Drive to refuel and restock from Super U, and met Alan Boyce who had cycled down there, once their big campervan is on site it stays put! We offered to carry any large items for him but he didn't have any. It had taken him an hour to cycle there and took another an hour and half to cycle back, against the wind and uphill! |
| We met the Cosletts at the campsite
bar for a meal together. We were seated under the gazebos on the decking
by the lake which was lovely. The patio heater was lit when it turned chilly.
We had a good meal and not too slow service - apparently on the first night
they were a bit flummoxed by all the MOTers turning up at the same time,
but they seemed to be a bit more organised that evening. Pete and Helen
came back for coffee/beer/tea while Chris stayed at the table with Pete
and Helen's daughter Emma and her friend Alex. (Photo courtesy of Maurice Stewart) |
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Wednesday
28 May Early start today to get to a Champagne House an hour away for a guided tour and tasting! We left site just before nine, with me still eating pain au chocolat and drinking coffee! |
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| (Photos above courtesy of Steve Rose and Ash and Pam Holmes) |
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We were near the back of the line and lost sight of the others but fortunately I had worked out the route on the map. It was in the same direction as Château Cirey where we had been on Sunday. We just squeezed all the cars on to the car park at Charles Clement and had a very technically detailed tour led by a small efficient French woman. Fortunately we had Bill Reed, an excellent translator with us, and he was given a well-deserved round of applause when he translated the sentence about all the pneumatic equipment! After the tour there was a free taste of one variety "assuming there would be some sales…" We settled on a bottle of rosé Champagne in a lovely gold gift bag for our new great-niece Abigail's christening! (Photo
courtesy of Steve Rose) |
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After coffee from our trusty
flask we drove up the Charles de Gaulle memorial. Apparently he lived in
nearby Colombey des Deux Eglises and there was a memorial and his modest
home to view in the village. A combined ticket was just €6 group rate. (Photo by Graham and Jenny Ryder) |
| However, the memorial was about to close for lunch (12.30 - 2 pm) when we and a few others arrived so we ate our picnic and had a little walk and chat till it reopened. It didn't take long to view but we learned a lot; the memorial was a huge cross with two cross-members representing the Cross of Lorraine which was adopted as the symbol for the Free French. I got a miniature one for my hat, and later one on a chain from the house where de Gaulle lived. We felt very ignorant of the de Gaulle history and there was nothing obviously available in English to help us. A new building was due to open in June and the Champagne House we had visited that morning was extending their Reception area in anticipation of the extra passing trade! We drove down to the village, by which time it was getting quite warm. I found a postcard in a shop of a poster I had seen at the memorial which I thought would appeal to Amy as it is in the Swiss graphic style (her Degree dissertation subject). After visiting La Boisserie, de Gaulle's home (where you could only view three rooms, and we spent most of the time trying to answer the French guide's questions about our trip!) |  |
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we found there was an English text but you had to ask for it! We looked at the church and cemetery where de Gaulle family are buried. The house had a bit of a "Gone with the Wind" history as the Germans had taken it over during the war and part of it was destroyed by fire before de Gaulle's son Phillip returned after the war. The family restored the house and de Gaulle died there in 1970 of an aneurysm while writing his memoirs. The famous "Appeal" to the French to "resist" the invasion was delivered from London on 18 June 1940, so the memorial was unveiled by Madame de Gaulle on 18 June 1972. They expected the new building to be opened on 18 June 2008. De Gaulle was born on 22 Nov 1890 which is coincidentally the same date as the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. (Photos - top, courtesy of Rosie Hamilton, bottom, courtesy of Steve Rose)
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The Auctioneer was Ian Portsmouth,
ably assisted by Dave Walker and Albert.
(Photos by Ian Portsmouth) |
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Thursday 29 May There was a heavy storm during last night with one terrifically loud thunderclap (which Graham didn't hear) and spectacular lightning - Chris slept through the lot! Despite the appalling weather the walkers were still keen to go on Le Walk led by Eric Grey and Margaret Stockman. They had gotten up early and had walked the route to ensure that there were no impassable places on the route - that's dedication.  (Photo courtesy of Rosie Hamilton) |
| We set off donned in wet weather gear and sporting brollies, but no sooner had we got going than the rain blew over, and as we started to climb the layers started peeling off; it was a very good walk lasting about two hours. |
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above courtesy of Eric Grey and Margaret Stockman) There were some ups and downs, and some very muddy parts where I was slithering quite a lot in my ordinary shoes. I was cross that I hadn't packed my walking boots (though I'm sure that I did suggest that Chris did) but managed by wearing thick socks with my "Hotter" shoes, so I avoided blisters. Back on site I had my second shower of the day and we had lunch on the patio, then sat by the pool and caught the sun. There was an artificial grassed area with sunbeds outside the indoor pool. I had a quick dip in the pool which was lovely. It looked like there could be a Jacuzzi in the corner but unfortunately it was boarded over. No cooking tonight as this was the evening of Le Meal - a BBQ at the Hall. We set up the raffle prizes on display and Graham achieved his aim to sell out of tickets and take €1000 in total! |
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| The BBQ was a bit late being
served but my meal was good. Others got less food, so not so good, and the
fruit salad had run out by the time we went for dessert. Apparently more
appeared later but I'd had plenty of fruit in the lovely Sangria! We sat
with the two Essex couples who'd had a great time. Then it was time to draw
the raffle. (Photos above and below by Ian Portsmouth) |
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| I tried to note down all the
raffle winners in order to inform the sponsors of who will be redeeming
the vouchers but I got a bit lost towards the end. Prize giving time. |
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Winners of best cars in class:
The car voted for by the site owner Angela as the one she would most like to keep on site was Alan and Caroline Knight's striking red Convertible, TUF 822. (Photos courtesy of Maurice Stewart) |
One traditional part of MOT is the awarding of MOT car numbers plates (MOT2008) for various 'interesting' things that happened during the event. These were awarded to: Alan & Linda Boyce for persevering in getting to the rally despite their nasty accident, and to Alan and Caroline Knight, David Authers and Lorna Moggridge for helping them out. Eric and Margaret for walking Le Walk route before the official one to ensure storm hadn't caused any problems. Tony Chalkley for providing a much needed spare part (bottom engine pulley!); Jonathan Fletcher for the drawings which were the prizes for the nicest Minors. Chris Bush for rescuing his wife when she got stuck in "the facilities". There was some good, short comedy entertainment from Stephen Card, (excerpt from PCC minutes), someone else, Nick Mason I think (1066 tale), and Brian Marshall (ode to MOT). |
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There were only three entries
for the Fancy Dress - Rick & Jenny Beardmore, and James Wallis - he was
voted the winner on the 'clapometer'.
(Photo courtesy of Maurice Stewart and Ian Portsmouth) |
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Gifts for the site owner included
a framed photo Ash had taken of Minors outside campsite Reception, with
logos and captions added. A magnum from the Champagne House in an ice bucket were presented by Rosie Hamilton to Pam and Ash from all the MOTers. |
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Friday 30 May We used Chris's car today to go down to market in Joinville where we picked up a ready cooked spit-roasted chicken for tea. This at least got Chris off the campsite for a change! Graham drove there and Chris drove back. We met loads of other MOTers in town, before returning for lunch outside our gîte as usual, and for any necessary work on the cars before return journey tomorrow. I had a last lie on sun deck by the pool after doing paperwork. Ash and Pam came round with a framed copy of the photo outside Reception for us as a thank you for fundraising; that was kind. We got chips from the bar to have with the roast chicken from the market, which made a good meal with grated cheese and the last of the coleslaw and bread. We finished up in the hall for final drinks and farewells. Lots of interest in where to go on future MOTs - the map of France was inspired, and generated such positive thinking - not "shall we go next year?" but "where shall we go?"! Saturday 31 May Finally got off
site around 10 am and made the journey back to Calais. Stopped at St Omer
late in the afternoon to stretch our legs, during which time my Mom phoned
to say they were safely aboard the Independence of the Seas about to start
their Diamond Wedding cruise! Had hoped to find somewhere to eat en route
but ended up right in Calais, so we parked up near the Town Hall (a red
brick building with a tower reminiscent of Birmingham University and buildings
in Venice). Had a good meal before returning to the Formula One motel
we had used only a week before. Sunday 1 June Early start for the return Eurotunnel crossing. Stopped at my brother Paul's for coffee and got home in good time with no mechanical problems. Another lovely MOT over, but already looking forward to 2009, when daughter Amy should be able to join us. |
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The following was raised for the trip's two charities: Quiz - £190 Giving a total of £3,001 which has been divided equally between Leuka, and The British Heart Foundation. (Click on names to view receipt) Apparently Chris Ryder has raised a further £230 in sponsorship. Ash and Pam would like to thank
all those who gave of their valuable time and also those whose generosity
raised such a wonderful total. |
| Gallery of Photos |
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MOT 2008 by Brian Marshall And now MOT is nearly over The tinkerers were all there |