The voyage of the Ark.

   Well, friends, the Ark has shifted its moorings some 500 miles further to the North and is
now located at Plymouth, Devon.  This emergency transfer was in response to grave health problems of our daaughter, Alyson, who was rushed into Derriford Hospital a few days ago, with problems arrising from a bleed  in the brain. She has been operated  on and seems to be making good progress but of course needs her mother and perhaps myself to care for her in hospital and when she eventually comes out. It seems likely to be a long job...
  Of course, with the time of year and current weather condition in France and the UK, this journy was always going to be difficult. The first problem is that Brittany Ferries doesn't operate their service from Roscoff to Plymouth in January, so we had to travel via St Malo. This town is actually slightly nearer home than Roscoff, but lands us in the UK at Portsmouth, some 4 hours drive from Plymouth. That is, of course, 4 hours under normal conditions not with snow and ice as is now current!
   In fact, the journey in France went quite well, there were no significant road or traffic problems, and the route to St Malo was identical to the  way to Roscoff as far as Rennes. Anyway, Angelique, our GPS guided us as usual. We had one fright, when a strange noise from the wheels began to make itself heard. Investigation traced this to an under-inflated rear tyre--a slow puncture. We topped it up at a garage and it did not worry us after that.It has now been repaired--a cross-headed screw was the culprit!
   We arrived at St Malo, clocked in at Brittany ferries and had a quick explore of the town. It's most picturesque with narrow cobbled streets and the inner town is completely enclosed by the town walls. Not looking at its best on a grey, cold winter's day, perhaps we'll come back in happier times...
  We boarded the Pont Aven ferry, enormous but comfortable. The dogs had to go in the special kennels on a top deck, normally they travel in the car but this does, at least, give them more room. Laika was surprised at being unceremoniously bundled into a head-high cage! We could then find our cabin and get some dinner before the ferry eased away from the dock. She was extremely quiet and smooth so we got a reasonable night,s sleep before arriving in Portsmouth at 8 next morning.
  Britain's roads were more affected by the weather, though we were not delayed until 10 miles short of Honiton, where we were in a queue for an hour or so due to snowy and icy conditions which had led to a crash on the bends approaching Honiton town. After clearing that we had no further road problems and arrived in Plymouth early afternoon, going straight to Derriford Hospital to see Alyson.
  She seems to be doing reasonably well although very weak and a little confused in her short-term memory. She is still suffering severe head-aches, however. The hospital is doing all sorts of scans and tests ,which have not revealed anything alarming, which is good news. We shall have to be patient and see how things go. She was VERY pleased to see her Mum! Kim will be staying in the UK for a while to look after her and has asked me to delay my return to France until next Saturday. Our friends Ian and Sarah have agreed to look after the French Ark's passengers a little longer together with Charley Bear, their VERY large Alsation--we shall be forever grateful. Ian, I have at least got the earth-sleeving you wanted...The kitten and Toffee will have to be patient a little while longer with their kind carers Agnes and Jacquie.
   Right, well I think I will comit this saga to the net before it disappears, perhaps I will return to the high-lights of our trip when I have mastered Alyson's computer. Bye for now from Noah in exile...