History Camp

Camping le Soleil

Next week there will be millions of people shifting themselves from one place to another over the long Ascension weekend, having taken the pont, natch. How do I know? Because every time I try to book a room in a stunning place or a large mobile home in a swish and comfy campsite, there's nothing available. Everywhere is full.

Which makes me think that the roads are going to be heaving next Thursday. Do I want to be in the midst of such a throng too? Could it be worth it? Seeing as we're having winter temperatures and a howling gale for the next 5 days, I'm none too sure.

These are some of the places I tried which are full:

Hôtel**** Restaurant Château de la Caze  near Ste Enemie (this was actually just wishful thinking) 
Hotel La Remise on the RL Stevenson route at Le Bleymard, near Bagnols-les-Bains, note the motobike tours link...
Les Criques de Porteils, near Racou beach and Collioure, voted one of the most beautiful campsites in France. I wanted to rent a mobile home here. No chance.

Never mind, I think we might have found a cosy spot in a 'pieds dans l'eau' campsite at Argeles-sur-Mer where, in the summer, 50K people crowd into a bonanza of sites crammed with tents, mobile homes and camper-vans. However bad it gets next weekend, it could never reach mid-July levels. There will be room in the heated pool, the walk to the beach won't be a queue, and the discos will be silent. 


I will be contemplating the 350th anniversary of the return of the British monarchy, the Brits having got fed up with a killjoy who cancelled Christmas and closed the theatres, and celebrate the fact that "The people of Britain chose pleasure over godliness; they chose the King whom they understood over the Republic that they didn’t". Frankly, looking at your average republic, one can but marvel at their judgement and foresight.

They got a monarch as head of state but with parliament retaining the legal mandate of the people. It established the constitutional monarchy we have today and did away with the 'divine right of kings'. No wonder they were ringing the church bells, drinking themselves silly, setting up maypoles and lighting bonfires all over the place. Maybe we should be emulating them and recreating the Restoration in street parties up and down the queendom.

The message then as now was 'religious nutters, we don't want you, go away' and of course many did, to the US where they could be as radical as they like, cancel Christmas all they wanted, and no one else had to take any notice. There is a message there, for today's religious nutters I feel - the rest of us are not interested, please do not disturb.