Queueing for the ferry at 7:50am (after a 5:20am start)
A Day Trip to Calais, France - 11th August 2004
Realising that it was time to stock up on cheese, "big Al" sorts out a day-trip to Calais. DH and Phil pile in with Nosher; Claire and Paul go with Al. There's around 8 hours in France: enough time for a trip to L'Hypermarché, Le Wine et Beer Warehouse, Wimmereax (along the coast towards Bolougne) and an old German gun emplacement - part of the Batterie Todt - on Cap Gris Nez (probably the Grosser Kurfürst Battery). More about these batteries can be found here. It's a very strange experience creeping around in the almost-total dark, seeing wartime graffiti with charicatures of Churchill and Nazi slogans on the walls, picked out by the light of a small Maglite torch.
next album: Shottisham Camping Weekend 13th - 15th August 2004
previous album: Mark Joseph plays at Revolution Records - 9th August 2004
Claire and Al do the whole 'ferry breakfast fry-up' thing
The boys peer over the side of the ferry
Ferry decks
DH and The Boy Phil prepare the 'beer carriers'
DH inspects some cheese
More cheese action
Phil, Al and DH hang around with their booty
Phil and DH eat French stick and cheese out of the boot of Nosher's car
Nosher in the car park of Auchan in Coquelles, near Calais
Phil and DH with some absurdly-strong Leffe
Claire and Al
In a Wine'n'beer warehouse, Phil scopes out more beer
On the promenade at Wimmereaux (pretending not look at the girls)
The sea-front at Wimmereaux
DH, Phil and Paul
Claire, Paul, DH and Al cruise the Croisette (well, at least the prom)
Wimmereaux wanderings
Claire and Paul by a very bright green building
Later, we park up and explore an interesting-looking derelict gun emplacement near Cap Gris Nez
Finding a way in
Exploring the heavily-graffitoed interior of the gun emplacement
Inside the gun emplacement - it used to house four 28cm guns that would lob shells at Kent
The remains of a light switch - 'licht', indeed
1940s German graffiti
'...gegen Engeland' means 'against England'
The Nazi eagle and a Swastika
Charicature of Churchill, with a board saying 'England + Russia = Victory'
Another cartoon of Winston Churchill, with his trademark cigar popping out of his mouth in shock
A load of swastikas
Phil and DH stare out across the channel, in the direction where the guns would have fired
DH (armed with a French stick) and Phil
The Bauhaus-esque exterior of the battery
The back end of the the battery
Phil, DH and Nosher have a ham, cheese and stick picnic
The ferry leaves Calais
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Queueing for the ferry at 7:50am (after a 5:20am start)