Better late than never, right? It has taken me ages to get these photos online because of constant travel, and because of the delay I can’t recall all the witty anecdotes that went along with these photos.

That’s not a total loss, because Neil tells me he only logs onto my website to check out the pictures. So no need to waste time writing up memories if he is only going to look at the picture, right?

In any case, these are a few pictures from our first visit to Canterbury since leaving. We celebrated Aude’s birthday with friends on Saturday evening, then met up with some others at the Goods Shed on Sunday morning for brunch, which is where these shots were taken.

Matt and Aude having brunch at the Goods Shed in Canterbury

MG

Sandro tells a story…

And a photo of Neil, since he mostly likes to look at himself. 😉

I’ve finally unpacked my laptop at home and had time to go through the last few shots of Canterbury. My uncle was in town for a few days on business the week before we moved and came down to spend the weekend with us, squeezed in among the moving boxes. What some people will put up with for a pint or two of decent beer!

Having met my aunt at the wedding, Anne-Laure and Neil were keen to meet the other half of the pairing, so we arranged a Sunday roast…

Anne-Laure can’t believe what Neil is saying!

No, she really can’t believe what he’s saying…

Bob, looking surprisingly fresh for having just arrived off a trans-Atlantic flight

Daisy, unimpressed with the entire affair

Matt and Aude pose for the camera

Neil horsing around? Never!

Now it’s Bob’s turn to pose

Obligatory family photo

Matt is very comfortable

A sad sight at Ashford International station. In a case of a sad self-perpetuating cycle, reduced train services at Ashford mean lower passenger volumes at Ashford – leading to fewer services at Ashford. The station was a ghost town. The newsagent was shut, the business class lounge was shut, and the security screeners had to be dragged away from their evening activity of “watching the city lights come on” to run our bags through the x-ray machine. In total, there were about 12 passengers who boarded the train at Ashford.

The deserted Eurostar terminal at Ashford International

It’s not as bad as the new station at Ebbsfleet, though. What idiot designs a world-class international station, then neglects to open the domestic capacity for more than a year? That’s right – you can catch the fastest train to Paris from Ebbsfleet, but there’s absolutely no way to get to the station by rail until 2009. Only in Britain.

Another evening of gluttony is over, although a malfunctioning oven meant that some last minute jiggery-pokery with the microwave was required to make sure that we all got fed (and the veggies were still a little on the ‘al dente’ side). Nevertheless, we managed to make a good dent into the roast beef and traditional trimmings.

Matthew presents the roast beef

Teaching Aude’s parents how to play backgammon. I promise I’m not making up the rules as I go along.