May was busy, enjoyable and varied as I spent time in France and the UK. There was a lot of rain and not much sun. Below are some photos of the Canal du Midi Port, Castelnaudary, at various times of the day and month. Do you have a favourite photo?

There were strikes on both sides of the Channel; French air controllers and British train networks conspired to make travel more of a challenge. I flew Carcassonne to Bournemouth and had another overnight stop by the sea. Feasting on fish and chips at Chez Fred in Westbourne was a delicious bonus!

I visited my sons in Reading, Berkshire. They treated me to a birthday lunch at one of my favourite riverside restaurants in the town, Comptoir Libonais. We started with a shared mezze, followed by a mixed grill for the ‘boys’, while I opted for a chicken kofta. I don’t think the image below does justice to the food!


We decided to take the scenic walk back, stopping to study the sculpture by local artist Stuart Melrose, pictured below. The Armoured Heart sculpture was installed in 2023, symbolising peace and hope. It is partly created from blades, handed in to knife amnesty bins across Reading and the rest of the Thames Valley. You can find out more about the Amnesty Art project here: Amnesty Art project.

The heart-shaped sculpture is two metres high and formed from multiple precision-cut stainless steel diamond shapes to represent armour plating.  The decorative feature at the top of the heart is made from weapons recovered by Thames Valley Police, melted down and used for this inspiring work of art.

My youngest son baked me an impressive and delicious birthday cake.

With Zeph, we often walk along the canal or around one of the lakes in the area. This month, we followed a circular trail in the local hills from a nearby village, Villeneuve-la-Comptal. It was a challenging hike but worth the climb for the views.

We went to an exhibition of photos focused on ‘Minimalism’ and a dog ‘event’!

There were a couple of ‘firsts’ in May. I encountered my first axolotl.

I also spotted my first CBD takeaway in France!

I hope the month of May was enjoyable for you, too!

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