Summer holidays (II)

After Tony's funeral Piet, Mary, Lars and Dorien returned to the house in France, and Paula went on a hike in the Pyrenees, with some friends from her rowing club. This turned out as a typical Lambregts family holiday; we did some cycling, hiking, horse riding and work around the house. After a week Dorien and Lars returned to The Netherlands, as Lars was starting his new job in Shell, and Paula and Jasper came to replace them. The only change was the addition of rock climbing as activity.

Piet and Mary made a small trip to celebrate their 25 year wedding anniversary, and visited the famous Palais Ideal in Hauterives, did a hike around the Hermitage vineyards and finished the day off in the excellent La Cachette restaurant in Valence. The next day a planned hike in the Vercors fell into the water, as it rained most of the day. But this downpour was quite welcome, as it had been warm and very dry the whole month of July.

Hiking between St Christophe and Les Deux Alpes

Lars, Dorien and Piet above the Veneon valley

Ready for a ride

Paula and Jasper made it up Alpe d'Huez

Cooling down in the Sarenne

 Palais Ideal

Sad news

About 6 months ago Mary's brother Tony was diagnosed with a complicated illness in his lungs. The initial treatment resulted in a partial recovery, but he had to give up his work as owner of a professional cleaning company, and was re-adjusting his life. In July Tony had a relapse, and his health quickly deteriorated. In the end he passed away peacefully in his own house.

Mary returned from France to be with him and the family, which was a great support for them. We all managed to be present for the condolence session and funeral. This was an impressive farewell, also due to the presence of Tony's motorclub, who accompanied the procession, and lined up for a noisy 'row of honour' before the start of the remembrance session.
Although Tony looked tough on the outside he had a heart of gold; he was always ready to help anybody who needed it, and found it difficult to sit still. His passion was his motorbike, but also any other motorised vehicle. Despite our years abroad we have kept in touch, and Tony and family visited us in Norway, Malaysia, Egypt and France. He will be truly missed.

Tony Gijsen (1959-2019)