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Huge apologies lovely, I thought I replied to you but evidently not...🤷🏻‍♀️ it really was quite a journey, in a normal life it would have taken a good couple of days to recover! We had no choice but to continue though, that first morning we removed 12 bags of sticks and soot and dust from the chimney before we could even light the stove! thinking back, we must have been completely mad... 😂

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Haha... love makes us do things we never imagined, I've learnt much since then! 😉

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Nov 14, 2023Liked by Susie Mawhinney

can’t wait for the next installment! Alex x

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Many thanks Alex, for the restack too!🙏🏽 The next will be our journey from Ireland to France… not quite as filled with nerves but certainly, after the build up of the months prior, just as epic! Have a great day?. X

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What an incredible tale, brilliantly told! My nose is wrinkling at the smell of B&H!

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Many many thanks - I’m delighted you enjoyed it Barrie - We both smoked also at that time but after 100miles of B&H fumes neither one of us smoked another that day. I still feel queer when I smell one of those fags...

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I smoked a little at school - 36p for ten No6. I joined the RAF and started getting paid. I upgraded to B&H. Thank goodness my son was born when I was young. I gave up that night.

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My apologies Barrie, this comment somehow slipped through the net!

Haha, yes, I remember No 6 and at that price too, although I was never brave enough to buy any so pinched my fathers Gitanes or Ducados instead, sadly both stunk so hugely I was caught in the act and didn't smoke again until I was older...

I still have the odd rollie now, although they are few and far between!

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There was a village shop run by the same folk who ran our school tuck shop. They had a bell wired to the cigarette machine so it was quite the art to escape without being spotted. They must have made a fortune with the 2 x 2p coins we abandoned!

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Ah but I’m quite certain you mastered this art with as much finesse as you do everything else Barrie...!

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Too kind. The old ‘school jacket over the head’ trick was as clever as it got!

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Thanks for the mention Susie! And great post. I'm glad you found your dream house. I went with family to Ireland when I was about 16 or 17. What must that have been, 1999? I remember reaching the west coast, Skellig Michael. A windswept campsite and a community centre full of music and life.

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You’re so very welcome, I actually feel as though I let you down here Simon, I curdled my brain trying to edit this down to a manageable size, so much so, I had not a drop of anything sparkly left. So really, no thanks needed, I just hope it helped reach that magical number! 🤞🏽

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Don't apologise! Only two away!

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Fantastic! I’ll put the champagne on ice in readiness..!

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1,004 🍾

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Fantastic.....!! I shall do a happy dance as soon as I’ve left history class..!! 🎉

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Nov 14, 2023Liked by Susie Mawhinney

Wow, what an amazing journey full of “trials and tribulations” as the the old saying goes. Absolutely remarkable story Sweet Susie 🥰

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It was the journey of a lifetime darling... unforgettable in every way! And this is the edited version too! 🙈😂Hugs and love sweet soul xxxx

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Beautifully written. I felt I was there.

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Many many thanks Matthew, I was hoping that I could really convey that feeling..! You’ve made my day..!🙏🏽

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I love a good prequel! This was absolutely lovely to read, Susie.

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I’m glad you enjoyed it Lisha... it was certainly a day to remember..! Thank you so much..!🙏🏽♥️xx

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Good lord Susie, I thought some of our moves had been ‘challenging’ but they were a walk in the park by comparison! You are clearly made of Teflon and I’m looking forward to the next instalment!

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Haha, I don’t think my nerves have ever felt as jangled either before or since that day Vanessa... I think I trembles my way through the entire journey! And then we did it again... 🙈xx

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tubular bells

and new friends

💚

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An unforgettable mix !

Peace to you always Darren. 🕊

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So glad to have found your Substack Susie, many similarities in our stories....and you might be psychically closest as we are in the Morvan....deeply enjoyed this adventure...moved to tears.

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Thank you Bertus, I think only another who has undertaken the adventure of moving from one country to another, could even vaguely understand/appreciate the intricacies and coordination necessary of such an immense undertaking, especially with a non existent budget... the emotions are quite another thing altogether!

I too am delighted to find another lover of all that is French here on Substack, in fact I have been trying to gather us all together to form a kind of French support group, although rather unsuccessfully so far, but one more makes my day.

I was just checking the exact location of Morvan, in fact became a little lost in the beauty of a department I know little about, you chose well!

I am looking forward to reading of your own adventures as soon as I leave work!

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