Apartment

32 Rue Jacques Cartier.

Dear David and Jo,

Nearly 3 years since we left Las Palmas so a little reflection about the last year and a ‘hello’ to you.

We split our time between Sarah’s house in Muswelll Hill, North London, mine in Dorset and the place in Dinard. Plus a few trips to visit family and friends. Jane and Simon live in a rather grand house in Poole and a lovely apartment in Palma de Majorca which we visit now and again.

Mark is living his dream of music in Shoreditch, East London with his lovely girlfriend, Ellie, but no fortune yet! Alice is enjoying her ST4 year and is set to do the next 2 years in Barnet General, north London. She has moved in with her boyfriend, Rob, a lawyer and they are to marry next year in Florence, Tuscany. They are very happy together and Alice is thriving.

Sarah became a grandmother to Juno in April and is slowing down her teaching job at the College of Fine Arts in Hampstead. I have no wish to return to work but am doing a little with Bournemouth Uni where I have an honorary post trying to make links with a new uni in North Uganda at Lira. Hard work. I have just returned from a visit and am hoping to stimulate a few projects between the institutions.  Sarah’s oldest son, Luke (36) lives in Hackney with his Australian wife, Shae and her youngest son, Jamie with Harri (mother of Juno) just down the road. So we meet up quite often.

After a rather cold and murky new year in Dinard and the prospect of 3 months of gloom we rented a house on Bequai, part of St Vincent and the Grenadines in the West Indies. I had fallen in love with the little island when I sailed there in 2016. Long trip form London ending on the morning ferry across the nine miles from Kingstown to the lazy, colourful chaos that is Bequai.  We had fallen in love with the idea of a few weeks in the tropical climes and Sarah had spotted a house in the eccentric community of ‘Moonhole’ at the far south of the island well away from the tourist hotels, although there are not many of them. We hired a 1964 mini moke to get around and settled into a lazy lifestyle in this extraordinary open plan house built in the 80s at the top of a col with 102 steps to climb. All made out of local rocks and sculptured into the hillside. Open to the wind and rain with bats flying through at night and iguanas visiting by day. Lovely views to St Vincent one one side and towards Mustique the other. Self catering but a local, Marva, came in to cook some evenings. Jane and Simon joined us for 2 weeks and we beach combed, ate with the locals, watched some of the six nation rugby with a group of expats and generally chilled. We took a day trip on and old schooner, the Friendship Rose, that had been built on the beach at Port Elizabeth and Sarah and I hopped over to St Vincent in the moke for some air conditioned luxury and a hairy trip up into the mountains. Five weeks was probably too long as we got a bit bored by the end but it certainly took the edge of winter.

We had a short sojourn in Andalusia, Spain to visit one of Sarah’s nieces and family. They live in a, very comfortable but rather mad, cave house in the hills in, ‘Los Badlands’. A few days with them and a few in a little B & B in Granada to see the sights and La Alhambra on top of the hill.

In June we sailed down from my new mooring at Castle Cove Sailing Club in Portland via Alderney, Guernsey, Sark, Jersey and St Malo and spent a few days at the apartment in Dinard for a memorable 60th party for Florence who I have known since she was 10! Our parents were good friends. We sailed back in Pisces via St Cast de Guido, Jersey, Carteret and Dielette having a great sail up the Alderney Race at 8 knots with sausage and egg butties all over the place.

Summer slipped by with some swimming along the Jurassic coast and walks in London which is almost empty in August (apart from the tourists). A few days with Penny and Rob, old friends from med school in their lovely house near Malaga, Spain and with Alice and Rob to the Film Festival in Dinard at the end of September.

We are now settling down for the run up the Christmas which is getting incredibly complicated then we start all over again.

We are in the early throes of planning a trip to Oz probably in October/November 2019. Let us know your plan and thoughts.

it would be great to hear your news also. Looking forward to hearing from you in due course.

Best wishes and love from us both.

Paul and Sarah.