Lindsey, newsletter # 78
Nantes, Tuesday 2nd of May, 23-45.
After Biarritz we had a nice gentle week; Just Lindsey and I. Logistics was a key issue as I had to work. So we had girls coming in mornings and afternoons, making lunch. Every day I would write out some instructions and try to think things out in advance. Lindsey is much better, so things worked out very well.
On Friday (28th) we left for Fromentine, from which we took the boat to Port-Joinville « capital » of the island of Yeu.
L’île d’Yeu is 45 minutes by boat from the coast. It is one of the islands of the Atlantic. Possibly the most remote: no bridge, just the ferry. 4000 inhabitants in the winter, 40 000 in the summer.
L’île d’Yeu is (in)famous for having been the place where Pétain was kept prisoner after WW2. He entered prison at the age of 89, after having been the (legitimate/elected) President of France since 1940. Interestingly it is difficult to find passages of his presence in the Ile d’Yeu: his tomb is hard to find in the local cemetery and there is no mention when you visit the citadel where he was kept prisoner. At this moment where we are very worried about the possible success of Marine Le Pen which would be on par with the Brexit and Trump results, one has to wonder: the fact of hiding from the people the dark parts of their history must have something to do with the fact that when you appeal to their historical sense they fail to respond…
We had rented a house for 3 nights: once there, Luis, Corinne, Robin, Boris and Lali joined us.
On Saturday we managed to have a great walk on the north coast but had to get back early because we had a rendez-vous to go fishing in the afternoon. This fishing involved climbing down the cliffs, taking profit of the low tide. Those who went finished with bloody hands but a fantastic result. 
I then had no time to rest and had to join Vikki in the port. She had found a fisherman prepared to sell us a couple of lobsters. The lobsters were just enormous. The male was 3.1kg. The female 2.5. I have seen a lot of lobsters but never anything like that.
Back came the lobsters and the problems started. We had to cook them. And the pans in the house were not prepared to have them. Fabien brought one which seemed huge -I forgot to mention… more about Fabien and his family in a moment- but was still not huge enough. Oh yes, it needed 45 minutes to get the water to boil, but even like that, getting an animal of that size into the pot is quite a challenge.
The lobsters were only eaten on the Sunday. Showers and strong winds, but we managed to squeeze two great walks between these. And yes, the Lobsters tasted delicious.
On the Monday we again manages to have a fantastic walk. Yeu is a place to remember. You walk and pack as many images you can, to remember these on more dull days. We took the boat back on the evening. 
If we had a great time in Yeu, one reason was that Fabien (Vikki’s boyfriend) lent us a car (his mum’s). And having a car made a huge difference. Nobody brings cars into te island. Only the islanders have cars (tourists move around on bicycles). But in this case, even if Lindsey is very strong, cycling was not an option. So we had a car which was great to move us to trail heads and be able to walk from there.
Today, there were several news to celebrate: Saint-Boris for one, my Unesco chair being made official for two, and Lindsey having her nails painted for the first time ever (says she) for three.
Lindsey, newsletter # 79
Nantes, Sunday 14th of May, 19-00.
Too much going on. Keeping up is hard work!
The team of the week had Lali here who came back with us from the Ile d’Yeu and left on Friday. This enabled me to get some work done, and they had time to do a lot. Lali of course contributed to filling bin-bags with weeds from the garden. Lindsey spent time on looking after herself but also starting to share responsibilities in the kitchen.
They went to the market a couple of times, which enabled us to have some nice fish and meat in the evenings.
On Wednesday we saw the oncologist for our monthly visit. She was very happy with the progress made. We got the go-ahead to start the last scheduled session of chimio on Friday (5 days, like all the previous ones). The next time we see her it will be after the June MRI.
She also gave us grounds to start organizing the summer. Obviously we will not be going to the other side of the world, but we can move. Lindsey asked her if we could go in a boat; the oncologist pulled a funny face until I made her realize that Lindsey was not thinking about going sailing in a force 5 but rather just going for a canal boat trip like we have done in the past.
The different good news got Lindsey looking after herself: the nails and a trip to the hairdresser.
On Saturday 6th I flew off to Nice where I was picked up by Hugues and met up in Provence with Jacques and Thierry. This is what has been known for the past 25 years as the « week-end husbands ».
It was my first break since July. I suppose I really needed it. But it was not easy to let myself go ». I wasn’t nervous because not only Lali was with Lindsey, but Boris had come to Nantes to spend the week-end. It just didn’t feel right.
I will not publish pictures nor give details of the week-end order to let the reader maintain a reasonable good image of me.
There seems to be a competition at Cambronne’s tomb: whereas for weeks and weeks Lindsey has been the only person depositing an occasional flower, we found a large bouquet of flowers deposited there by some competing group!
Boxes of photographs have also been opened… I can’t resist publishing one special one.
Love.
Lindsey, newsletter # 80
Nantes, Thursday 25th of May, 16-00.
The trip to London
On Friday 19th started our trip to London. This had been a challenge we set up at the end of last year, when things were really not doing very well. The goal was to go to London for a few days, stay at Julie’s. Where Lindsey’s family would try to gather and meet up.
My essential contribution was to get myself invited at the London machine learning meet-up, which would provide me a chance to do some work during the stay (and steer out of Lindsey’s way).
So on Friday we left, by train to Lille; then in Lille we changed to the Eurostar. The trip being exceptional, I had booked first class and this meant that when we boarded the Eurostar we were rewarded with a meal. We got into London at 4-30, took the tube to Wood Green where Lindsey was picked up by July, Jill and Misty. I dashed back into town for a small meeting followed by a trip back which took longer than expected: some incident occurred ahead and it was declared that the Piccadilly line was suspended. Two buses later, I was back. Lindsey was clearly having fun. Great.
On Saturday we went out. The official reason was going to a Japanese shop. But bringing Misty for a walk seemed to be the real reason. Lindsey and I are not dog lovers (understatement). So it always seems curious that other reasonable people can be of a different opinion regarding dogs.
Anyhow, a nice walk, some shopping, a meal. I was half asleep after the meal when I heard a lot of laughs. I looked into the kitchen and found the 3 sisters dancing!
On Sunday we took a trip to the other side of London. Where we met Lindsey’s cousins (Howard and Carlo), their wives (Beth and Gaby) and children (Madeleine and Alba). A very nice meeting. Holding 8-month old Alba on her knees was obviously a highlight!
On Monday we wanted to go to a London market. Unsurprisingly Monday is not the best day for that. Portobello road did have a section open; enough for us to go around, try things on. Mid afternoon I left for my evening appointment, leaving behind me a crew of 4 who then decided to go to Covent Gardens for a drink.
My appointment was a thrilling event taking place next to London Bridge. I was invited to speak at the London Machine Learning Meet-up. A great crowd: I rarely get 250 people prepared to listen to me for nearly an hour!
We again did 2 groups on Thursday. I was not included in the shopping group and headed off to UCL instead. Then regrouped at Julie’s house after having made the mistake of going to Camden market. As suspected only French and Spanish is spoken there nowadays.
A curry that evening was a rewarding end to our London trip. I even found some meddlers (actually this is the first time I saw the word) and those were our desert.
Wednesday, the long and uneventful trip back: the most exciting was crossing Paris by rue Sainte-Anne and filling up our Japanese pantry.