Page 8 - Shining On Newsletter - Autumn 2022

One note of point, as I have experienced in similar tours of other war sites further east: you come away
from these places with mixed feelings, not sure whether you are meant to be enjoying the experience or
not, since you can feel what it must have been like for the brave service people who paid the ultimate
sacrifice. My thoughts are that because groups like ours continue to visit and remember the sacrifices
made, you can be allowed to both enjoy and respect the tour in equal measure.

After a delightful, dry and sunny day we finally (and mistakenly) set off back to our hotels via the
gridlocked N15, where after some interesting
filtering, my bike decided to cut out in the fast lane,
eeek. Somehow I’d managed to flip my kill switch
instead of cancelling my hazard lights, but once
spotted the engine fired back up immediately and
panic over.
That evening after a fabulous sunset on the beach
we dined in the Bar Du Six Juin, the sister
restaurant of the hotel we were staying in. Which is
where we dined for the rest of the stay, as the food
was spot on, as were the alcoholic beverages.
Bouef bourguignon, scallops, fruits de mer and so
on, the food was sublime. Finished off with a
French coffee (like Irish but with calvados). By the
way, we were also treated to an Irish whisky
nightcap each evening, courtesy of Barry’s
duty-free. (It’s someone else’s turn next time! Ba)

Day two: Longues sur Mer gun battery, Ponte du Hoc, American cemetery and Overlord museum
Today we visited Omaha and Juno
beaches, a full schedule covering
the American landings. Our first of
many stops was at the
Longues-sur-Mer gun battery. The
day was overcast and we had to
take shelter from sharp showers a
few times in the gun emplacements.
One gun looked as if it had taken a
direct hit, with the thick concrete
bunker blown out at the back and

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