STUCK BETWEEN A ROCK AND A CURRENT

It's not all plain sailing navigating the French canals. Speeding down the Somme canal/river we decided that the combination of a 'very' twisty river, extremely narrow with overhanging trees and after torrential rain a huge current, this was not the time or the place for Soraya. 80 tonnes of steel drifting at quite a speed around blind corners does raise the heart rate with plastic boats potentially lurking behind the next overhanging tree. So a plan was decided upon to turn around at the next available point wide enough to spin Soraya's 24 metres.

In consulation with an eclusier whom we had got to know as he travels with you, well not acually with us but in a car going ahead to perpare the next lock or lifting bridge. We agreed to turn in front of the next lock which was slightly wider. We measured the canal (good old Disto) and at 25m it would be tight but doable. I asked the eclusier to flood the pound as much as possible to give us as much depth, he agreed. Round we went with a metre to spare noseing the bow in the recess between the sheet piling the stern spinning nicely then the stern hit a rock next to the bank. A bit of zest and around we carried on going then a sudden stop!! We were not going any further. Tried to go back, no luck, we were completely blocking the river.

La Somme est fermée

Fortunately there is always help on hand. A women walking passed said she would phone the mayor who was a friend. Call made, short wait with lots of conversation and Monsieur Le Maire arrived. No problem he'll organise a tractor. However it was just moving into the hallowed time zone of Sunday Lunch. We were told to do likewise and have a relaxed lunch 'in an unusual position on the Somme'!!

Just after 2pm a tractor and a 4 wheeled drive vehicle arrived. Rope attached to tractor and with the smallest of pulls we were out. Lots of hand shaking and bottles of red wine given to the assisting parties and we were turned. No stress. It's just great that no one was bothered no one expected to be paid, it's just part of life on the canal.

Reading between the lines they wanted to move us as they had a massive firework display that evening from the quay side just where we were and they did not want a large boat in the middle of the festivities.

One of many

THE CASE OF PIGS EARS AND VIRGIN SAUCE

It could have been 'Old Ladies in dressing gowns and Ducks' but more of that later. We decided to have a good meal so scoots to Albert for the Saturday morning market and wandering around into Les Halles found a great fish stall. Bought a beautiful Dover Sole and some Salicorne (Samphire), however he had other vegetation that we did not recognise. On enquiry we were told it was 'oreilles de cochons de la Baie de Somme' (pigs ears of The Somme Bay) or to give it another name Aster Maritime or it's botanical name Aster tripolium. Well what a treat I thought a new vegetable and couldn't let it pass by! So if you look at 'Le blog de Delices d'edith' you will get the recipe for L'épinard de mer à la creme or pigs ears in cream! One sells the other dosen't. But she is cheating by calling it spinach of the sea rather than pigs ears.

Pigs ears/L'épinard de mer/Aster maritime (or whatever you like to call it)

This together with the Dover Sole and the sauce vierge (virgin sauce) was sublime, well great and interesting meal. Yes the pigs ears were very good akin to crunchy spinach and quite salty. So it's onward to Amiens and stern gland fixed, so all good.

CHERRY PICKING ON LA SOMME

Many of us have images of the Somme from the First World War....Battle of the Somme, wet, muddy, trenches, damp, etc. But that was a long time ago. Today the Somme is very different. We arrived in Canal de la Somme a few days ago and it is very pretty and very green.  Haven't seen any mud yet but of course we didn't go to Glasto this year, although we did watch it in the middle of nowhere in France on Soraya. It was amazing! Think we'll have to go again next year!!  Back to La Somme....the canal is quite narrow and not very deep, so we have to keep fairly central to avoid grounding, no time to day-dream while steering.

La Somme

Lunch on La Somme

Along the Somme there are so many fruit trees. We found lots of cherry trees absolutely laden with cherries. Obviously the French birds don't like them, you'd never get a tree with that many ripe cherries in the UK.......so it was out with the ladder and start picking and we had fresh cherries, cherry jam, cherry pie.......and further along, pears and plum trees, but not ripe yet so we'll have to take our time. We've met lots of people doing the same as us. So many evenings spent drinking and chatting into the early hours. No one's in a hurry and when we leave a mooring we know we'll catch up with them somewhere along the river/canal in a few days time. It's a long village!!

My cherry picker