I have just been watching hardy kite surfers from the hotel window, see headline picture, which confirms I have reached the channel ready for tomorrow morning’s crossing back to Portsmouth. It has been a pretty easy day but Sunday seems popular with Tesla drivers as the chargers in Le Mans and Ouistreham had applied restrictions due to the high rate of usage. A maximum recharge to 80% unless you need more. Not a problem for most people and akin to the Scottish and Irish networks where in general you are restricted to 45 minutes, which I notice applies to some non-Tesla charger here in France. Fair shares for all is a policy I support. The end of the day was pretty much what I had planned for next Saturday, visiting the new British Normandy Memorial, officially at Ver-sur-Mer, with lots going for the 80th anniversary of D-Day this June. It is very well done and well situated and I do not grudge the €3.50 parking fee. The walk from the carpark is interrupted by large stone tablets covering the stages in the over two months it took to break out. (I am sure it only took 2 or 3 hours in the “Longest Day” but, of course, they had the Duke in the film). Each tablet has that stage in English on one side and French on the other. The monument has a strong sculpture and the structure is supported by pillars listing the names of those that were lost. I saw people clearly searching for names. The whole site is covered with steel cutout figures representing the servicemen and women and in the woods civilians and resistance fighters. Very effective and very moving. The site looks down on the British and Canadian landing beaches and a little to the west the temporary harbour at Arramanches. Very well chosen and acceptably busy. I had planned to drop into Courseulles-sur-Mer on my way back east to Ouistreham having spent a lovely afternoon and evening here possible 30 years ago. Oh dear. We humans, or the developers among us, have a lot to answer for. The fishing boats are gone from the harbour which is now surrounded by apartments, restaurants and bars and is full of yachts and cruisers. No Deauville but not great. No attempt has been made to give them a flavour of Normandy. This is also where Generale de Gaulle came home to declare that he had single-handedly defeated the might of Hitler, with a little occasional help from those who pretended to be his friends. (A little historical licence here, I accept). Here are a few snaps starting at Poitiers where I was surrounded by V8 Ford Mustangs (7 count them), A tiny Supermarché in Le Mans and the memorial I just described.