OFF TO FRANCE AND THE CROWN IS UP FOR GRABS

Great news in the village the local pub the Crown is up for sale, it's been a long haul waiting for this and hopefully we'll have a pleasant village local with cleanliness, no snarling dogs and landlady or of course it could join the list of restaurant cum public houses. Oh to have something like the Union Inn at Mortownhampstead on Dartmoor. I couldn't sleep last night, my knee was having just one of those nights so in the end to keep our sanity I took another of the sleeping pills which I've been very sparing with as they are of course addictive and the doc doesn't like dishing them out. Thus it was that we finally emerged at nearly 10am and I tried to get an appointment with my own doctor who has been off ill herself, hopefully she will ring Tuesday if not this evening. I also need a sick note to take me through to the end of next week which will then meet up with my retirement.

I did get the first volume of the Dutch archives completed last night and the cover made today. I then started on the Amsterdam archives which include a few in the old blue livery then it is through the grey and then yellow periods both history now. I whittled it down as much was taken in poor winter weather so I've got Amsterdam down to the one volume of an hour. That will leave me with Den Haag, Rotterdam and Utrecht. Last night I gave some links to Netherlands past, tonight my own versions from the first volume which is now on our shop. We leave early tomorrow so the next post date for orders will be Tuesday. I did a little bit of tidying up in the garden. I failed on a couple of EBay bids for films particularly Malta / Aden in the 1930's but it went over £40 and that's more than I would want to risk. I've several hundred reels awaiting copying now and that is my main winter task. We'll see what the weather has in store for us next week. Hopefully a nice spread between filming buses and trucks.

Meanwhile my uploads on Youtube last night for The Netherlands

Next blogs on the road from France.