Cora Celebrates 8 Bigs Ones - Happy Birthday!

Cora celebrated her 8th birthday this week with her friends and family here in the UK, including Umi and Papa and Aunt Helen! On Saturday the 17th she had several friends over for an afternoon of dress-up and general playing and a big cookie. Then on the 21st she was able to open more gifts with Umi and Papa. Finally, on her actual birthday she had pudding and blew out a candle. What a week of celebrations!

Cora enjoys cookie with friends.

Cora shows off her new shawl and hat from Umi.

Normandie Part IV - Offbeat Sites

While most of the locations in Normandy are straightforward - bunkers, museums, castles, abbies and the like - there are some interesting sights we came across during our visit. Some of these we photographed are shown below.



This new 'silver woman of peace' was erected by the people of France and China (?) in a small town just west of Point du Hoc. It now overshadows a smaller US National Guard memorial to a fallen Medal of Honor winner near the site.



We like to call this excited fellow 'the happiest German in Normandy'. He is actually the communications officer at the great bunker that now houses the Atlantic Wall museum near Sword beach. We are not sure what he is so pleased about but whatever it is we want some for ourselves!



Cora found this unicorn in the middle of St. Lo. We think it must represent the emergence of modern St. Lo from the ashes of WWII. Either that or folks around here like to see mythical animals on high street.

Normandie Part III - Tanks

One of my favorite sites to visit anywhere in Europe is any town or location where there is an old tank. Here are a few of the ones we found on our trip.



This Tiger I was left behind by the German Army outside of the town of Vitomiers near the Falaise Pocket where much of the army was destroyed during the campaign. This tank has stood beside the road outside town ever since.



The Churchill IV was the workhorse of the British Army in 1944. This Chruchill was immobilized soon after leaving Juno beach, close to the same location that Churchill himself visited in the weeks following the invasion.



The Sexton was a medium self-propelled artillery carrier used by Commonwealth forces during the Normandy campaign. This example shown here is located in the middle of Ver-Sur-Mer near Gold beach.

Guy Fawkes gets Burned Again!

Last night was the annual Guy Fawkes bonfire at the Lewis Farm and as always it was a great event. Sharon made some of the best chili was have had in years (an especially difficult feat for a native Englishperson!) and David put together a 'small' bonfire that lasted for several hours. Elizabeth provided lots of oohs and aaahs at the local fireworks shows we could see from the field while the children stayed busy jumping on and off the hay trailer, running around in the dark and playing with fire (!).



David holds a can of the official Belgian import of the 2007 Guy Kawkes bonfire.



Kids ready for a ride on the tractor.



The crowds huddle as the fire begins to wane.

Halloween Fun in Hatherly!

Despite the fact that Halloween is a 'new' holiday in the UK, this year was a busy one for tricker-treaters and treat-givers alike here in Hatherly. Our treat-seeking expedition here at 62 Redgrove included 10 TTers of various ages from little Aidan Boline to big Owen and his buddies. Costumes included the always popular 'Elf Pricncess' as well as various ghouls, kights and devils.




This was the young crowd including the Bolines and Cora's friends Rebecca, Harriet and Harriet's brother the 'little devil'.



A ghoul left over from the English Civil War was photgraphed here revealing his true identity.









This elf princess arrived earlier this week and managed to turn dad into a frog!

Normandie Part II - La Boulangerie House

We stayed the full week in a self-catering accommodation just north of St. Lo in the middle of what was the scene of vicious hedgerow fighting in June and July 1944. There is little sign of the fighting now, though, and much of the countryside is quiet and peaceful.

Our home in Normandie was a two bedroom, two story 17th Century bake house in a remote corner of a larger farm complex. We ate all of our meals at the house, each one a Normandie recipe served up by Elizabeth using meats and vegetables provided by trips to local markets. We even had an automatic dishwasher - yours truly!

Outside the old bake house on our 'private' drive.

Cooking up a Normandie specialty.

Getting ready for an evening snack by the hearth.

Normandie Part I - The Places

Hello all! We just arrived back from France at 6am this morning after a great trip. After eight days and seven nights in Calvados country we are a bit pooped but have nevertheless begun the always important 'trip documentation'. This is no small task as we shot over 500 photos during the week prior to any editing or deleting. We will try to post several series of photos here based on different themes.

Our first series will be 'places' - some photos of the spots visited, especially when we actually have someone in the picture. We were all over the Normandie region over the week from Dieppe in the east, where our ferry deposited us last week, to St. Malo and its great walls to the west. We traveled as far north as Cherbourg at the end of the Contentin peninsula to Vire and Argentan on Normandie's southern border.


Elizabeth and the kids at Mont St. Michel.


















Cora and Owen at Longes Battery near Arromanches.









Cora and Dad in the 1000+ year old market in Caen.

Cora's Drums are a Hit

Not only Cora has enjoyed the new drum set she acquired this summer. Several other suspicous characters have been spotted giving it a go on the drums recently at 62 Redgrove. Maybe you can help identify them-

This yob has also been spotted at the Hatherly local after hours and is considered an ASBO threat.

The 'mature' drummer seen here drove these children to fits of epilepsy. The poor children....

This confused drummer, trying to play a piano with these sticks, is believed to be a distant relative of Posh-Spice.

Elizabeth's Birthday Bash

The crowd was not huge for Elizabeth's birthday but it was a rowdy one! The Lewis family attended (a bit late we might add) and several Valez boys were seen running around the house at several points. Elizabeth certainly enjoyed her gifts and the entertainment provided throughout the evening, especially from Mix-master Dave and Man-Skirt Jason.


Elizabeth, David and Sharon prepare to enjoy the triple chocolate cake baked by Owen.

Lucky for us all the Brazilian group 'Ketchup' stopped by to bust some dance moves.

The Valez boys graciously offered to help finish the cake and ice cream.

Back to School

Here is the long awaited first day picture. Enjoy!

Windsurfing Croft Farm

This past weekend Jason cashed in his birthday gift from the Lewis's and hit the water at Croft Farm. Even Elizabeth got out on a board and Cora received some instruction from her brother. Owen currently owns the title for best windsurfer in the family.





John, Owen and Cora share a laugh.











Cora on her board.











The kids own the lake.

The Wet Isle of Eire (2)

The highlight of our entire trip was the day-long excursion we took to the Island of Inis Mor, the largest of the Aran Islands, off the west coast of Ireland. The island is surrounded by rocky cliffs and battered by rough seas and dotted with ancient ringforts and old farmers' fields. To the left Cora sits on the cliffs near the neolithic ringfort at Dun Aonghasa.

No cars are permitted on Inis Mor other than for local residents so we all rented bikes for the day. We rode over rocks, hills, wind and rain and the only serious casualty was one of my tires which went flat 3km away from town. Cora and Owen both had some excellent mountain biking experiences as we rode over 2km of rocky trails back to port. We all had a great day.

The Wet Isle of Eire

Hello friends! We have made it back from our 11 day journey through Ireland a little wetter, a lot wiser, and very glad to be home. It was an excellent trip filled with visits to ruins of all kinds, a lot of driving and great encounters (generally) with folks from the McMahan homeland. Our major visits included Killarney, Dingle, Longford, Sligo, Derry, and Dublin. We will try to post several pictures here in order to document the trip and bring youb a bit closer to our experience there.

On Saturday in between showers we visited various spots along the coast of Northern Ireland including the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge which spans a 80 meter deep ravine along the coast. We all made it across and back without too much vertigo although Mom described it as "not my favorite stop on the trip".

On the same day we visited Londonderry (or Derry as it is known in Ireland and among Catholics) where in 1972 over a dozen protesters were killed by British soldiers, signalling the beginning of the Troubles. Just south of Derry in Bogside, shown here, there are several murals painted on terraced homes depicting events during the Troubles in the 1970's and 1980's. Derry has only recently recovered from these events.

Elizabeth takes the Field!

We had a historic re-enactment at Llandeilo, Wales this weekend. Elizabeth suited up and joined the battle as a water carrier during the battle on the second day. Elizabeth survived the battle unscathed but unfortunately may have suffered a mild case of de-hydration and car-sickness on the way home after the battle. She soldiered on, though, and we all made it home in a clean car. Jason was not so lucky as some unknown Royalist inflicted a bloody eye wound that knocked him out of the battle for health and safety reasons. While frustrating, this precluded further embarrassment as Birches pike block of generously 'lanky' Roundheads was regularly smothered by their more numerous and 'well-fed' Royalist opponents.

Flood Update - Still No Water!!

It is day 8 of the great Gloucestershire water crisis and we remain without running water. Thanks to rainwater, SUSLOL handouts and conservation, though, we continue to be hydrated if a bit smelly around the edges here in Redgrove Park.


Since water supplies have failed, many local citizens have turned to local water bousers for their daily hydrolic requirements. However, as demonstrated by these street urchins here, many bousers remain empty.

A view north from Churchdown Hill. The large flood in the distance is close to the Lewis Farm but they report that water levels have dropped there and their cows and pigs remain safe.

A Taster of the Wall

Just a few pictures of Hadrian's Wall to serve as a taster to those who will be joining us there in April 2008. It was a beautil day there last Sunday, although rain did develop. No telling what the weather might be next year!.

Looking west from about mile 30 on the wall.

The same mile castle looking west toward Wallham Crag.

Clan McMahan bravely faces historic floods

After a wet spring and a driving rainstorm last week the Severn and Avon Rivers have burst their banks and the McMahans, along with the rest of the residents of Gloucestershire, are facing historic rising flood waters. As this article is being written we are hurridly stocking water supplies as local reserves dwindle and hope that the power remains on for a few more hours. Local groceries have already been cleaned out as residents prepare for the worst. Jason is off from work until further notice and the family is pondering at what point they will become desperate and hungry enough for a Mr. Chips casserole (just kidding buddy). We hope to have the Delisles off first thing tomorrow so that we may preserve the remaining stocks of drinking water and are preparing to see how we may pitch in and help in the crisis or as an alternative take a multi-day vacation to Dover and Canterbury.





To the left is Tewkesbury Abbey, site of the War of the Roses battle and more importantly the site of several Jim McMahan hikes. The town, about 8 miles from us, is surrounded by water, the unhappy result of being situated between two rivers and a canal. After careful analysis we are certain that the floods were caused either by global warming or Dick Cheney.

We'll keep you updated with news as it breaks.

McMahans and Delisles Survive downpours in York

The combined McMahan/Delisle clan survived a wet four days touring Yorkshire and the border regions near Hadrian's Wall this past weekend. The families spent two nights out camping at the Home Farm, braving both stubborn cattle and drenching rains the second night. Alas, the 3rd night of the trip was spent at the Travel Inn at Sunderland due to extremely wet gear and half drowned children. All survived the trip intac, though, and the Delisles were treated to the amazing sites of the ancient city of York and Hadrian's Wall.

Here is the crew gathered for a breakfast on day two of our trip at the Home Farm in Yorkshire before the rains arrived.

Here is one of our last pictures taken at Hadrian's Wall before the long trip back to Cheltenham.

Battle of Shugborough

As requested by Gramps here are some pictures from this weekend's rainy engagement at Shugborough.

The Army of Parliament is arrayed and ready for battle despite a chilling July rain. Prepare for shot!

Here is Birches and Skiptons engaged in a pike push with Rupert's Royalist battalion. Just to the left of center Jason is being crushed!

A pikeman's greatest enemy - massed artillery. Watch them run when the cavalry charge!

Delisles arrive for Battle at Shugborough

Our friends from Sykesville, the Delisles, arrived this weekend after several days in London. We spent our first day with them at Shugborough Hall at a major re-enactment event. Here are Aidan, Owen's best friend, Owen, and Aidan's brother Griffin brandishing their weapons at the event.







After a long and wet day at the Shugborough re-enactment we all retired to Redgrove Park for dinner and libations, including the honey meade we are toasting with here provided by Carol and Renni. It was the perfect ending to a long but extremely fun day (as Cora and the boys will attest to) despite the rain.

Owen McMahan Achieves Honors in Science and Art

On Tuesday July 10 Owen attended Presentation Day at St. Edward's Junior School. Owen received awards for Art Attainment and Science Attainment (top student in his year for each subject). Owen was quite pleased as were his parents! Even Cora said he did a great job. His awards included books on Art techniques and science topics. Owen is off to St. Edward's Senior School in September.

Owen and Friends moving to Senior School

Here is a picture of Owen, Rowan and John from last week. All attended the Year 6 Leaving Disco at St. Ed's where, rumor has it, someone had their first slow dance!