Settling in

Well folks here we are again. Sorry for the long silence but internet installation problems, and getting the house in order have kept us pretty much occupied for a while. Fortunately we found enough time to receive our first visitors, explore the beautiful countryside and to just enjoy being here. we've taken lots of few photos to record our day to day happenings– so here we go!

We arrived in Brantome on a rainy day but the sun was soon shining again and has done so mostly ever since.

Our goods from the US arrived a few days later in a huge 20 foot container – major overkill as it was less than half full and struggled to negotiate our narrow country lane and driveway. However, the guys who unloaded were great and we were soon surrounded once again by boxes. Then it was down to work unpacking, assessing what needed doing on the house, finding tradesmen, sorting paperwork to get us into the French medical system, shopping for electrical appliances and a used car, etc., etc. But, no, it was nothing like "A Year in Provence" because we've found the local people very helpful and welcoming, the tradesmen prompt and competent and everyone appreciative of our willingness to do our best to communicate in French – and our first visitors - French, English and American have all been delightful.

Yesterday we gave a Thanksgiving dinner for seven of our French friends. Jeanne cooked the tradition turkey dinner and Dan made apple and pumpkin pies. A good time was had by all as we ate heartily, drank good wine and conversed merrily in fractured French and broken English. And with just a little translation help from one of our guests, Dan even managed to tell his talking dog joke in French!!

Unexpected problems with the roof are being dealt with by a local English builder so our guest room is now watertight. The rest of the house is taking shape slowly but surely and we already have an attractive living room, a well functioning kitchen and a comfortable bedroom. Next week we begin work on refurbishing our offices– so maybe by the end of the year we will not only have attractive work spaces but also the time to get back to our writing.

Watch this space!

Our house

Sneak preview of house - front, back and view from bedroom

Nous sommes arrivees

Well folks, it's catch up time again! After ten nice days with Jeanne's daughter and granddaughter in sunny Eastbourne (but no access to wireless or dsl)we arrived "chez nous" in France to two days of rain. No internet at home for another two weeks or so but now limited access at local computer facility. Will put on more photos and news soon but at present snowed under with essential stuff - like unpacking boxes (yes all arrived safely) buying fridge, washing machine etc, and dealing with opening bank account, electric co, telephone, gaz supply etc ......However the sun is now shining, the countryside is beautiful, the French neighbours welcoming and helpful and the house much to our liking. There are of course the usual little snags and necessary improvements one always finds on moving in to a new place - but nothing the dynamic Jeanne and Dan duo can't deal with in time. So we are happy to be here.

Keep watching this space for more news and photos - Jeanne has now got her laptop set up on dsl at the computer facility so when we have a few spare moments (when!)we'll update more fully.

Catching up again

Despite planning to cover all contingencies with our computers we didn't anticipate cable connections with no phone line. So sorry folks no pictures again for a while.
But we can still write!!
We left DC for Virginia late in the evening. Our only time driving in the dark on the trip so far. In the middle of nowhere we were stopped by a highway patrolman - who eyed our loaded Jeep suspiciously, told us our rear licence plate light was out and asked to see our car documents. Well, we knew we had them somewhere, but where? We grovelled around between the seats for a while until Jeanne remebered they were safely stowed in the biggest suitcase. The officer watched patiently as we rifled through our well organised but bulky filing system from which we produced everything anybody could possibly want to know about the faithful Jeep. Satisfied, he sent us on our way with instructions to get the light fixed next day! We arrived at our friends late but relieved not to have got a ticket.
The next afternoon we were recovered enough for another book event, then had a couple of days being tourists again in the Virginia countryside.
Onwards through North Carolina - pausing to view the world's largest frying pan - to an overnight stop in South Carolina - accommodated for free in a resort hotel suite at Myrtle Beach, courtesy of an old school friend of Dan's. Unfortunately no time to enjoy the amenities other than the huge corner bath.
Next stop - Tybee Island, Georgia, where we spent an interesting and instructive few days with yet another of Dan's longtime friends. Highlights included a well attended book party, a tour of old Savannah and a couple of boat trips through the Tybee marshes. During one of the latter we were left stranded for an hour or so when the boat broke down, but fortunately were towed home before dark - and more importantly before the ebbing tide left us stranded all night. However, if we'd not got stuck we would have missed seeing the spectacular sight of a bald eagle flying back to it's nearby nest.
Next day we reached Florida and now here we are in Orlando. So, all you folks who doubted our old Jeep would make it can eat your words!! It's still going strong and we are passing it on to the friends who are hosting us here in their fifteenth floor downtown condo. We've stayed away from the tourist attractions and been content to be shown around the many attractive Orlando area neighbourhoods. The weather has been hot and humid but fortunately the threatened hurricane "Ernesto" has reduced to nothing worse than heavy rain here.
On Sunday we fly to the UK to stay with Jeanne's daughter, Juliet, and granddaughter, Iona, and hopefully also catch up with her son, Adam. Then on 14th Sept we fly to France to await the arrival of our belongings. They should be arriving in Le Havre on 21st - how long to clear customs we don't know - so we will be camping in the new house for a while and keeping our fingers crossed.

More DC pics

Washington DC

After a day at leisure in in Wiliamstown we scooted down to DC for another book talk (this time a well attended house party) and a few days being tourists. There seemed to be security alerts wherever we went. Massive turnout of police, ambulances, firetrucks, hazmat teams and even FBI for a "suspect package" at Union Station and an almost equally impressive show of how well we are protected from terrorists when someone became trapped in a metro elevator in the more leafy suburbs where we were staying. A large group of police motorcyclists however were having a great time over by the Capitol showing off their skills in a competition based on riding around traffic cones and tossing footballs into cardboard boxes!
We walked our feet off seeing the sights - the photos are a summary of what we saw.

Williamstown MA

Dan had a well attended signing here - for film buffs. We also had time to wander around the rather English feeling town and visit this amazing museum exhibit by Zhan Wang - a Bejing landscape created from shiny metal kitchen pots!

Here we go again

Jeanne's computer back on track so here we go again.

Williamstown, MA

Well, SORRY, FOLKS, but though Jeanne's patience didn't run out her computer connection acquired a sudden GLITCH. So, more as soon as we can have that attended to. . . we hope!

Rockville CT

A fun reading and showing of excerpts from Turnabout video in Rockville at the home of Brian, George and Jim. A interested audience and dinner by the pool afterwards.

Catching up on photos

Able to download photos at last so here we go! All the way from Connecticutt to Georgia if Jeanne's patience doesn't give out.

WE HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN . . .

. . . just haven't had the right computer hookup available to post photos since early August, but we'll get to it soon. To briefly update: last time we posted we were heading for New England (from Pennsylvania). Well, we made it to Danbury, Connecticut, visited cousins there, then had a great talk at a private home near Hartford. After that, on to Williamstown, Mass for another well attended talk (mostly by Dan) at a local cinema. Then straight down to Washington, DC and one more house party talk, and we did a LOT of walking around the city. After that, another talk at the home of good friends in Virginia, a night's stay by the ocean in Little River, South Carolina - and now we've arrived for a few days at Tybee Island, GA, where we have yet another talk on Saturday August 19.

Pictures and comments on same to follow. . . stay tuned.

Aaah Bliss!

PA Jeanne Cooling Off

PA Dan Chilling Out

PA country church

PA Small Town Americana

Above the Delaware looking toward NJ

Hershey PA - chocolate town.

Overtaken by a swimming pool

Maryland Picnic stop

SWEATING IT OUT MISSOURI TO CONNECTICUT

Everyone thought we were crazy to go cross country in a 1987 Jeep Cherokee - well here we are having passed over the past few days through Kentucky, West Virginia, quick detour into Ohio (just for Jeanne to check off another state), along the top of Maryland, long stretch through Pennsyvania and now in Connecticut and the old bus is still going strong. Mostly we've tootled along at around 55 mph to save on gas - have you ever been overtaken by a swimming pool? We have! (see photo to prove it). The crazy part is that the Jeep has no AC and we've been hitting record temperatures every day. Travelling up to six or seven hours a day in 100 plus degrees has not been the fun part. But we're surviving and still having fun. Lots of water, wound down windows and stops at Dairy Queens has helped - and we've also splashed out (ha! ha!)a couple of time on hotels with swimming pools. No time for sightseeing so the photos are just glimpses of what we saw on the way.

Meet us in St. Louis

More visiting with relatives. We visited the Botanical Gardens where the plants were augmented by a display of glass sculptures. The visit was cut short by record high temperatures and sweat dripping humidity and we sought out the cooler climate of a wonderful Benjamin Franklin exhibition.

Blue Lupin Press - business as usual!

Still in Aurora, Dan spent the day fretting that a new supply of Turnabaout DVDs would arrive before we had to leave. Here he is scurrying to meet the UPS brown van at the end of the road to the farm.
And as you can see after that he needed a break.

Down on the farm in Missouri

The reason we dropped down to Missouri was to visit Dan's sister Eva and her husband Wes, seen here along with son Colin at a family dinner. The weather remained hot and now humid but we enjoyed chilling out together and a trip around the farm.

At this point our camera pooped out

. . . so we have no photos of our long journey across North Dakota, where we visited with Dan's son Joe, daughter-in-law Rebecca, and Dan's delightful twin grandchildren, Alex and Katie. Sorry. . .

Montana sunset

Part of the elk herd on the Bowman ranch

You'll have to look closely, but they ARE there. About 75 of them roam the 5000 acres. Used to be a private hunting preserve, but Montana outlawed such enterprises a while back.

Lynn Bowman's 5000 acres

... ok, just a section of them. That's Lynn on the right, author of our latest book, Who's My Enemy? about his experiences during the Vietnam War. (Dan's on the left.)

Great Falls

Yep, we're still in Montana, folks (it's a BIIIIGGGGG state). They wouldn't recognize it, but this is one of the places that Lewis and Clark described in their journals.

Onwards across beautiful Montana

Mountains then more mountains, before it eventually becomes quite flat.

Helena, Montana - We sold a book!

...more than one, actually. And the bookshop liked our work well enough to purchase several copies of each.

Missoula, Montana

We had a signing at this bookstore but nobody came. A very hot Monday evening so we don't blame them if they went out on the river instead.

On the road again

No chance to update until now. Too much driving, spotty computer access and broken down camera. But now we're back in business - so here goes with some catch up photos.

And finally a grown up geoduck. Exciting isn't it?! Well we had fun anyway.

Down on the farm

Transport to the farm was rather basic - not to mention bone shaking.

These are baby geoducks. Thousands of them ready to be "seeded" down on the tidelands farm.

Bet you're curious to see a geoduck. So was Dan.

Blue lupins in Washington's Olympic Mountains

TRAVELS IN WASHINGTON STATE

Very GREEN up here. Lovely land of trees and water. A book talk party at the home of Dan's distant cousin Robin Downey and husband Peter. About 35 people. Then we tromped across the beaches to explore their geoduck (pronounced GOOEY-Duck) farm; gigantic clams that take 4 to 5 years to grow before harvesting.

In Bellingham we stayed with a kind couple we found on line, through a hosting group called Hospitalityclub.org. Lovely town, small group at Village Books. After that, to a talk in Seattle before a group of film buffs who seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. And time out for an excellent Indian meal.

Stay tuned for more, as we off to explore Seattle - then, tomorrow on to Montana!

HELENA MONTANA ARTICLE

This very nice story appeared in the Helena, Montana Independent Record for July 6. Any comments?

A COUPLE OF WRITERS

By EMILY DONAHOE, IR Staff Writer - 07/06/2006

They met on the Internet. He was a Hollywood screenwriter, producer and cartoonist; she was a counselor in a men’s prison — in the UK.

Since then, couple Dan Bessie and Jeanne Johnson have each written books, started up a small publishing enterprise and are set to tour the country in support of them — and then they’re moving to France.

The couple will be in Helena at the Montana Book Company 12-2 p.m. on Saturday, July 15, for a reading and book signing.

“Well, we were both looking for someone,” says Bessie, who found Johnson’s profile on a site featuring English women. “There’s nothing wrong with American women; I’ve just always had a fondness for English women.” Johnson and Bessie began e-mailing to get a sense of each other’s personality and genuineness. Because, according to Bessie, they had both “been around the block” they each were completely honest about who they were and what they were looking for from the get go.

“We asked all the questions,” says Johnson. “Whether it would be more than that I didn’t know until we met.” After writing back and forth for nearly four months, Bessie and Johnson felt comfortable enough to take the next step; Bessie invited Johnson to come to California for a visit.

At best, he told Johnson, this could be the beginning of a wonderful romance; at worst, you’ll have a nice vacation.


Johnson knew enough about Bessie that she was pretty sure he’d be a really nice guy — even if they didn’t hit it off romantically — and accepted.

“I thought, well — what have I got to lose?” she says.

In the San Francisco airport, Bessie leapt out from behind a pillar with a red rose; sparks flew.

“I think we were more bowled over than we expected to be,” says Johnson.

After a very successful visit, the relationship progressed long distance over the next several months. It was important for Johnson to spend time with Bessie in her hometown, so he flew to see her in the fall.

“I liked him just as much in England as I liked him in California!” Johnson says with a laugh.

The next February, Johnson moved to California and the couple was married.

Bessie’s book, “Reeling through Hollywood: How I Spent 40 Fabulous Years in Hollywood and Never Made a Nickel” is an account of his time in the business — from drawing the cartoon “Tom and Jerry” to directing and producing — and also a sort of how to for those considering a career in the arts.

For so many people, says Bessie, making it in media means nothing less than fame and fortune. Unfortunately, that isn’t the norm.

With “Reeling Through Hollywood,” Bessie promotes learning to appreciate the process of creativity and other ways to enjoy a successful and fulfilling life in the arts — whether your name is on the marquee or not.

Johnson’s book, “Starlings in the Park,” is a collection of 18 short stories about people in crisis who come to a point of change.

“People fascinate me,” says Johnson. “I guess you write about what you know. In a way, I’ve been in a very privileged position of hearing so many stories.” “I had written a couple of stories but I hadn’t thought of myself as a writer,” adds Johnson. “I showed Dan my stories and he said: ‘You’re a writer!’ So I was just encouraged.” “She’s a better writer than I am, I gotta tell ya,” says Bessie, who amends that to “a different writer” a moment later.

“It’s because she has a very very deep understanding of human nature,” says Bessie. “The stories she writes are very rich.” “People need to know that they’re not alone,” says Johnson, who hopes that people will relate to the characters of “Starlings.” Even as writers, the couple work well together.

“We basically run everything we’ve done in front of each other,” says Johnson “... it works very very well because our styles are very different.” //Meet the authors When: 12-2 p.m., Saturday, July 15 Where: Montana Book Company Call: 443-0260

Mendicino Botanical Garden

Port Orford Beach

Gold Beach Books Evening Fun