Tuesday 21 June 2011

A special family weekend in Normandy


This past weekend my sister, BIL, two nephews and step - mum came to vist us here at the Presbytere, it was the first time we had been together in twelve months, and so we had a lot to catch up on.
The weather was awful! Their ferry on Friday afternoon was delayed because of it and the crossing itself was quite an adventure, luckily no one was seasick although many other passengers around them were unwell.
Saturday it poured with rain but we entertained ourselves playing golf with Tiger Woods on the Wii, Nicholas (aged 10) scored a hole in one! Not bad for a beginner.
When the rain eased off the boys and their Dad went with Uncle Roger & the dogs for a long walk whilst my sister, step mom and I chatted by the fire.
Yes, that's right, a log fire in June, incroyable!
Sunday dawned bright and clear which was a relief as the main reason for the family visit was so that BIL, Andrew, could take part in the 24th Marathon de la Liberté.
From the official website:
"Rooted in the French Top 10 marathons since its inception in 1988, the Marathon de la Liberté, sometimes called Marathon D-Day beaches, often chosen as the Marathon of Caen, has one of the most beautiful courses in France.
Coasting on the mythical places 42.195 km Landing (D Day Beaches, Casino de Ouistreham, Pegasus Bridge ...), the maritime and rural means something different and makes the marathon more than usual, full of symbols and emotions. "


Some facts and figures..........................
3000 runners began the marathon at 9.00 am from the port at Courselles sur Mer -  only 842 crossed the finishing line.

The first person across the line, Desta Morkana from Ethiopia, ran the race in 2 hours 15 minutes and 54 seconds.
There were 21 U.K. runners taking part.
Andrew's time of 4 hours 19 minutes and 49 seconds made him the 14th Brit to finish!
This was his first marathon and we are all very proud of his acheivement.
Whilst we were standing at the finish line we noticed that children were running up the road, towards the marathon runners.
We soon realised that the race organisers were allowing them to run and meet their mother or father as they came in, so that's what our boys Alex & Nicholas did too.


It came as a surprise to Andrew when they finished the race together but he was pleased to have them with him as he cooled down.
All to soon it was Monday morning and time for them to head back to the U.K. but not before I took one last shot of our Marathon Man and his medal!

12 comments:

  1. Maggie,
    What a nice visit. I think Jackie is visiting with you tomorrow. Wish I could be there.
    Happy Birthday!
    Carol

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  2. Thank you Carol for your birthday wishes.
    Yes, Jackie & Phil will be here with us tomorrow and we'll be touring the Chateau at Balleroy with them. Should be great fun!

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  3. What a nice visit and after such a lengthy absence. Looks like you had a fun time even with a fire in June!!!

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  4. Hey, looks like Andrew had a fabulous race - well done to him, those boys must have been so very proud of dad!

    Sounds like you have a birthday - congrats. and many happy returns Maggie dear.

    I can't find your village on the Normandy map Eric gave us - but if you're only 30 mins. from the chevrerie that sounds fabulous. (Are you N,S,E or W from St. Hilaire-Petitville?). Definitely hope to get over next year, only problem is we have a lot of trips already scheduled so it's going to have to be in mid-Summer if we come! We'll see what we can work out.

    Sending you some of our 90+ degrees from NC - it's so very hot again this week.

    Hugs - Mary

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  5. What a fun family weekend! So glad the weather cleared in time for the race. Congratulations to your BIL!!

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  6. You certainly had a good reason to celebrate - that's quite an accomplishment for your BIL on his first marathon. Lovely mosaics of what was, obviously, a happy family time.

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  7. How lovely to spend time with family. The weather report surprised me - I thought Europe was having an unusually warm season. But things change quickly.

    Enjoy your day!

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  8. Thanks for a fabulous weekend and for sharing it with all your friends. Happy birthday for tomorrow Big Sis xx KE

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  9. Congratulations to Andrew! Quite an accomplishment! I'm glad you had a good time, and I wish you a happy birthday.
    I have posted about the gifts you sent me here: http://beyondthegardengate-beth.blogspot.com/2011/06/package-from-normandy.html

    I am enjoying them all!
    God bless you, Beth

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  10. Any time we get to be together with our family is special. Your photos will always be a terrific memory.

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  11. I can't believe you built a fire in June! *amazing* I am so happy y'all enjoyed your visit with family.

    *~*~*~*~*~*HAPPY BIRTHDAY*~*~*~*~*~*

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  12. Hi Maggie, Happy Birthday, I hope you have a lovely day with Jackie.

    Congratulations to your BIL, He did very well. It sounds like your weekend was wonderful. Hope the trip back to UK was a bit calmer. Lovely photos.
    Sue

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Thanks for stopping by, your visit just made my day!