March winds

The south of France is often blown by winds with delightful names. Everyone has heard of the Mistral of Provence. The Languedoc France has the Cers, Tramontane, Maron, Sirocco and the one which reaches as far as us, the Autan. IT BLOWS! Described as a warm wind it doesn't really chill but it does batter the brains. ( I do remember how a windy playtime always spelt trouble on the playground - I think I know why now!).

On Saturday it was carrying rain and we had a rare day sheltering indoors all day. It made us reflect on the wage slave days when a wet weekend meant so much in terms of frustrated plans. For us it meant a day getting lots of little left over jobs done indoors before a nice meal and a bottle of wine ( yes we do drink wine on other days but usually it comes out of the box). I had thought I'd get some reading done but once again no time!


There was a lull yesterday but today it was back , this time dry but very gusty. The meteo gave the wind speed as 35kph with gusts of 65. Not really the day for erecting fences then but when did the weather ever stop us?




before

awakenings

No eyesore needing concealment, no overlooking neighbours, no prevailing wind needing to be fended off, no useful shade cover, no shortage of other trees struggling to compete, no room to manouevre in the drive - in fact no excuse whatsoever for huge, ugly, hacked about leylandii That's if there could ever be an excuse for Leylandii). There were five specimens lining the drive up to the house, cut back at the bottom to allow cars to pass and growing thick and dense - they HAD to go. It has been a mammoth task as we were determined not to be left with another mountain of leylandii debris as we had successfully cleared one of those left behind by the previous residents at Segala. A six day bonfire and much chainsawing later we now have a stack of logs and a lovely clear view across the fields. We can almost hear the smaller trees left behind breathing sighs of relief as they feel the sun.




I have planted daffodils along the line of the fence which hopefully will spread and in the summer we will sow a flower mixture along the edge of the drive.

Elsewhere in the garden things are starting to wake in response to some warm sunny days and some gentle February rain. Watching a garden wake up where I don't know every plant in the garden because I put it there is a strange experience. I have started sowing and planting myself so by this time next year I shall know what to look forward to - for now each day brings new and beautiful discoveries and some welcome tiny splashes of colour.







There is a time of huge disruption ahead as we have the installation of the pool to "look forward" to and the terassier has already warned of devastation and it is time to retrieve plants destined for destruction by hole and trench digging machinery and replant them elsewhere. This is good as with each replanting bit by bit the garden is changing shape and by next year will feel more mine own.

the cat sat on the mat

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder - well it has certainly worked regarding the little feral kitten we were trying to "adopt " before we went away for two weeks. Previously she was very nervous when we opened the door and did not like coming inside the house to eat ( even to escape the chickens who were always after her food) and certainly hated it if we closed the door on her escape route. An absence of two weeks has worked wonders and we now have a quite different little cat who follows me around the garden playing and climbing trees, comes inside to eat and has started to explore the downstairs rooms - maybe one day she will even sit on my lap!

Our trip to England was a great success. Combe Martin folk club was a gem and TCs performance was needless to say brilliant. We had a lovely time and enjoyed being back as part of the English folk music scene. North Devon too was delightful and we loved the scenery and being beside the sea.

During the following week we spent happy times with family, availed ourselves of retail opportunities before a stay in North Staffordshire for our "leaving party". The celidh was just brilliant and all that we had hoped it would be. There were over 100 people ( including our children who had travelled from Coventry and Norwich to be there), many reunions, great music and lots of dancing. We were showered with presents, there were cake and balloons (which stayed in the window of the car for our return journey and are still decorating our dining room) and we generally had an evening to remember.



During the evening I was able to clog again with Leopard spot which was great ( especially good to know I can still remember how ) and we also introduced the assembled throng to the sardane which we have learnt at our dancing classes her in France. TC had sent the music to the band in advance and they had made it their own! It was good fun even if only a few people danced a recognisable sardane( I blame the teacher). Next month we are due to teach some English tunes and dances at a folk event here - all round I think this could be trickier!

Although we had had a great time and it was lovely catching up with friends and family we were very happy to be home - and yes, here really is home already. This week we have signed the contract for the installation of our swimming pool ( our last grand project), we have painted our big bedroom ready for the carpet to be fitted and we are starting to plan the rest of our garden projects for the summer. We are looking forward to welcoming more visitors over the summer months and the last few days the weather has been just glorious during the day full of promise of an imminent Spring.

If TC can shake off the very English cough and cold he brought back with him without passing it on to me I shall be extremely grateful as I have a lot planned for this week!

unexpected callers

the lake across the field in front of our house

"Autre fois" (as we call our life before moving here) we had very few callers at our front door even though we lived in a fairly ordinary suburban area. When the doorbell went more often than not it was our next door neighbour telling us they were off on holiday for a few days. Now we live in splendid almost isolation an unexpected knock at the door is certainly a surprise! Last week it happened twice. The first occasion I opened the door to find a man I didn't recognise talking extremely fast and very heavily accented French at me - I managed to catch the words "voisin" and "apero" and realised it was the neighbouring farmer ( we had met him briefly to introduce ourselves when we moved in but I hadn't recognised him) inviting us for a drink. I summoned TC who appeared out of the shed a whiter shade of pale covered from head to toe in white dust as he had been busy sanding a ceiling ready for painting - he looked like the ghost of old father time. A quick change and dust off and off we went up the lane and spent a pleasant (if linguistically challenging) hour or so over a bottle of champagne with Alain and his wife.

Just a couple of days later more callers - this time the daughter of another nearby farmer and her partner. She was keen to practise her already good English so conversation was easier. She also told us about a biligual conversation group which meets weekly in nearby Limogne. Its good to feel that our neighbours getting to know us a bit even though they are a few fields away and probably think we are very strange!



Its been another busy week, lunches with friends, dancing ( another "bal" tonight), more reshaping of the garden in preparation for Spring, painting the new bedroom and after a couple of dull drizzly days some welcome winter sunshine gave us the opportunity to enjoy being outside. We have also taken the plunge ( sorry) into the deep and chilly waters of the world of swimming pools and await the quote in the next few days.



site for the pool







We are also preparing for our trip back to England on Wednesday, we have found someone who is willing to "borrow" the chickens which is a relief. I have been practising my clog dancing so that I can join in at the celidh- its been good to discover I haven't forgotten everything.

Bonne année

Our first French Christmas and New Year is over and the decorations will soon be packed away for next year.

It was certainly different this year - the first Christmas in 30 years when I haven't cooked Christmas dinner for a houseful! We had a good time though despite missing family and friends.We were uncharacteristically sociable, met new people, enjoyed good food and company, went for a wonderful Boxing day walk in the snow and even had to turn down an invite for New Years Eve as we had already booked to go to the local salle des fetes for the bal with some friends.

TC retired officially on the first day of 2010 and the months which followed had rather more ups and downs than we thought strictly necessary although as it turns out all those people who said there was a reason were right ( don't you just hate it when other people are right?). In this case they were right as this house was definitely the one for us. Thanks to all those whose encouragement kept us going even when it all seemed hopeless and we were ready to give up.

We have loved our first few months living as French residents and have no regrets about our decision to come here. We were very content and comfortable in England and had a good social life and many friends but retirement offered us an opportunity to have an adventure and follow a dream. This weekend we will have been in our new house for three months - it seems much longer we feel so much "at home". Getting to know other English people has been easy - there are plenty around and it is nice to be able to relax and have a conversation in English after a day struggling to master French. It is harder to get to know French people ( although those we meet are all very friendly to us). We are so pleased that our traditional dancing classes have worked out so well as they have brought us into contact with lots of people and provided us with regular social events ( we could easily go to a dance every week).

We are now busy preparing for a two week trip back to England where TC has a booking to perform at a folk club giving us an opportunity to visit family and also have our "leaving party" in Stoke. We had always planned to have a grand farewell celidh but our eventual sudden departure prevented it. Our old folk club traditionally has a January celidh so we have decided to sponsor that as our leaving bash. It will be great to see everyone and I am sure we are going to have a great time but I am also sure that we will be glad to get "home"- Spring will be just around the corner and we have so many plans and projects lined up.




The year ahead will see some significant birthdays and anniversaries - I look forward to celebrating them in the French sunshine.

Poussière

Its always good to think that I have learnt a new French word or useful phrase each day. Today it was the word for dust ( and plenty of it).

Having warned us that it would probably be February before he could fit in fixing our bedroom floor we got back from a walk yesterday ( fabulous by the way) to find a massive oak beam in the drive a certain clue that the work was more imminent.

At 8 oclock this morning sharp a team of workers duly arrived and proceeded to produce huge quantities of poussière. ( Haven't you heard that gris de poussière is all the rage for Christmas decorations? - if only I hadn't been so keen to get festive!).





By lunchtime the beam to support the sagging ceiling beams in the salon below the main bedroom was in place and we used the lunchbreak to take down the decorations and remove remaining ornaments and the morning's poussière




Some of the bedroom floor is already down this evening and is impressively flat and immobile - a brilliant job!



Once again we are so impressed with French workmanship and energy. No coffee breaks all morning, one hour for lunch and then back to work without a break till home time. Its no wonder the job is almost finished in one day. The end result in the bedroom is going to be better than we had dared to hope for. Once the beam is stained to match the old ones we will tell ourselves it was always there and anyway anything is better than the ceiling caving in!

Now the problem is finding somewhere to sit this evening after eating - it may be an early night is called for or we may end up fighting over the computer.

A night to remember.

Auberge Lou Bourdie presided over by the wonderful cook and hostess Monique Valette was a great discovery. We were introduced to it by friends and have returned many times. Jamie Oliver discovered it too and it was featured in one of his TV series. Whenever we have visitors we try to take them there - try is the word as we have been dissappointed by it being fully booked before now. Even at this time of the year when all of the tourists have departed it is always full which is not surprising when the food is so good and such good value.

During a recent visit, thanks to the intervention of TC's sister( never backward at coming forward) a conversation about music and musicians resulted in us somehow wangling an invitation to a special soiree in honour of les vins nouveaux ( Beaujolias, Gamay and Gaillac) on 18th November, and TC would be able to play as well!

We duly went along a couple of days later not really knowing what sort of event to expect and feeling somewhat apprenhensive as to what we had let ourselves in for. But what a night we had!

When we arrived TC was introduced to the band and invited to show what he could do with his instrument and the usual musicians mutual admiration exchanges took place. The room was filling up around us and we were not sure what do next when we were introduced to a Belgian couple who were on their own and told to sit on what turned out to be the table where members of Monique's family would sit. People kept pouring in until the two rooms were packed, the mayor came in and did a tour of the tables and we got to know our fellow diners.

We were then served a fabulous meal of soup, confit duck. cheese and gateaux to accompany the vin nouveau of our choice. As the meal progressed the music started and so did the dancing - no dance floor just gaps between the tables. By the time we had finished eating the room next door was still being served and great trays of confit duck were being carried perilously through the dancers. On their return to the kitchen the waitresses would stop to join in the dancing in their aprons. Every so often Monique herself would come out of the kitchen and join in ( also still in her apron) on one occasion pulling me up to dance with her. During one dance another partner danced me straight into the kitchen! The music was fabulous, and TC did a "turn" too which went down well, the French clapping along to the Irish jigs with no problem.

It was a brilliant evening and the highlight of our time in France so far. To round the evening off on our way home we saw two sangliers (wild boar) at the side of the road. Unfortunately I had forgotten to take my camera so there are no pictures to share.


We went for lunch at the auberge again this week and Monique was effusive with her welcome as always and full of praise for TC's musical talent hoping that we will go again next year - just try and stop us! Lunch of course was delicious as always. We have promised ourselves to indulge in the "menu de Truffe" at some point over the winter truffle season.