Fine Whine

Is that to pick up one of those gorgeous smelling burgers in the B&Q car park Ed? With a helping of fried onions for good measure.....

Scaffolding has been erected by the stern doors Tony, and there was a rather large crane on the dock, looked as though it was about to be unfurled. Apart from that not a lot going on but I'll enquire at the BF desk in the terminal tomorrow.... Chris

Maybe I slipped one in for luck Ed.... And I may partake in a glass or three after work this evening.... Chris

I popped down to the port this lunchtime, a couple of photos of Armorique to prove she’s there - photos courtesy of Fine Whine’s IPhone, ok Jim ...? 🤣 Chris

There does appear to be very little logic applied on some arrivals, especially at Portsmouth. High season weekends can be horrendous, especially evenings when there are full BF arrivals from Cherbourg, Caen and Le Havre within the space of an hour and you find only half of the Border Force booths working. Conversely I arrived last Friday morning from Caen at 06h45 on Normandie, no more than 70 - 80 cars on board and it was a full house, an officer in every one! I was the second vehicle off so maybe there was an Intelligence led operation behind me, but I was home in Emsworth before 7 to initiate making the morning cuppa... Chris

Portsmouth -Caen is not as bad as it used to be, from memory the Duc de Normandie was rostered to leave Portsmouth at 23h15 to arrive in Ouistreham at 06h30, not nice but we all took it for granted. But still not as bad as the Stena Normandy from Southampton, high season departure was 23h59 arriving at 06h00 the following morning so wake up time was 04h00 British time - yuk! And they charged full whack for cabins too.... Chris

She's in a hurry, currently racing along at almost 25 knots. I'll try to pop down this week for a few photos and find out what work is being carried out. Chris

Ken, This is the artist's impression of how it will look once finished, I believe the actual locks will remain untouched but the additional piles form a funnel to allow wider vessels to enter safely. As far as I'm aware the work necessary to allow Honfleur to tie up have been concluded, she was expected this summer after all. The turning area has been dredged already, all we now need is for Honfleur to finally turn up.... Chris

Not wishing to go off topic Paully I'll PM you shortly - but yes we stay with friends in Franschhoek, about an hour's drive from Cape Town and try to do it twice a year. I can completely unwind in their house on a whine estate that has one of the most spectacular views you could ever wish for. I'm already online looking to book October half-term 2020, £500 per return ticket if I catch the early bird deals (February 2020 in the bag 7 months ago..) And of course a few glasses of Pinot - Hermitage were dispatched last week although watching that prestigious game of rugby on Sunday morning with a house full of South Africans wasn't ideal, but we did of course share a massive hangover...! Chris

Actually not bad at all Paully but we landed very early at Heathrow yesterday morning back from the Western Cape, dropped off Mrs FW at college to work, up to London again to collect our 2 dogs, tidy the house, mow the lawn, cook supper before heading to PIP, I would have slept quite happily in the engine room and noticed nothing... zzz Chris

Fake news.... I was on her last night, only 30 minutes late into Portsmouth and she unloaded quickly but that still meant 30 minutes less sleep time Chris

To be honest at this time of the year it makes very little difference, it's not as though there are hundreds of vehicles travelling at the moment (22 came off Barfleur yesterday) and there will be at least one car (me!) on her this evening. It seems that whatever happens up to the 31st October they will get slated, either too little space if everything goes pear-shaped or you've changed my crossing again... Chris

Great minds think alike 5SBs! Chris

Note to mods - until all the facts are fully known I think this thread should be closed immediately as I don’t believe we should be commenting on such a tragic event. Chris

To all us French speakers that sounds a load of gobbledygook Jonno - but I reckon you must have had a degree in gobbledygook somewhere along the line...😂🤣 Chris