We had an inch of snow and managed to make a mini snowman, which fascinated Shannon.
The kingfisher has
returned, but he only stayed for one day.
There are several coots
living near to us, here in Roanne. They seem to like it here.
The ice by the slipway
is now quite thick, as all movement of water in the port pushes it in
here.
Ice now surrounds The
Puzzler, and there is a light covering of snow too.
The covering of snow
makes the port of Roanne look vast!
Some boys came on to
the ice beside The Puzzler. They first wrote Bonjour in the snow, and
then Aurevoir before they left, coming over to the boat to make sure
that we had seen it!
Later on, once dark had
fallen, some young men went right out into the middle of the port on
the ice. We were really worried when they started to jump up and
down, but fortunately the ice held, and no-one fell through!
There were a lot of
seagulls on the ice yesterday, but I think the rest of them are
camera-shy today. There is not much ice left either.
The ducks, however, are
enjoying sitting on this frozen raft.
Meanwhile, this
white-headed gannet is drying his wings, on Alouette's mooring buoy.
At the end of January
we were off to the Château
de Champlon again. We were here in December for the Bridge Club de
Roannais Christmas dinner, when we had a splendid meal.
This time it was for an
inter-club bridge competition, which was held in the same annex to
the Château de Champlon.
Sadly we did not win!
However we had a most
enjoyable afternoon in this delightful setting.
After the prize-giving,
there was unlimited champagne and also delicious casse-croutes (nibbles).
