Craménil was our
home for five days. We stayed with Claude and Denise Roussel
in their beautiful house, enjoying their food and wine and meeting
just a few of their many friends. This is our chance to say "Thank
you, thank you, thank you" for our wonderful holiday. We met M de Malglaive, President of the Communauté and Mme de Malglaive, President of the local history society, Les Amis du Houlme, when they came to dinner. They visited Bramber, England in 1999 and it was a pleasure to meet them again in Craménil. Denise produced a meal that we will never forget. Rainer and Kerstin Janetzko
from Germany, who are living and working in Normandy for a while,
also came to dinner. We had only met by email until then and
it was a lovely surprise to spend an evening together. The conversation
in French, German and English was very entertaining. This is Claude on his terrace
in Summer. The house stands on an
ancient site which still has standing stones as evidence of its
occupation from pre-history to the present day. Claude keeps sheep in the
garden, an attractive breed from Hampshire. This is where the sheep
spend the night. Lucky sheep! This is the view from Claude
and Denise's front drive. The terrible storm last year destroyed
up to half the trees in the area and many buildings were badly
damaged. This is the view from our
bedroom window. Sometimes you can look across a Norman landscape
and imagine that little has changed since medieval times.
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© Lynda Denyer, Steyning,
2000 |