digging

A Grand Day Out

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:32:00 +0000

Almost our last day so a la Wallace and Grommet we decided to have day out instead of being sensible and starting the packing. We have been promising ourselves a visit to the Chateau Colombier near Rodez; so after breakfast in St Antonin off we went. It was an amazing experience. They have a Medieval zoo and the Chateau itself looks like a film set inside and out. According to the information it has been in the same family for 30 generations and at least since the 12th century. A lot of work has gone into making it a fascinating place to visit.

The Kitchen has been reconstructed and there were all kinds of herbs and plants on display so the smell was headily wonderful. Look at that fireplace, just right for roasting a pig.

I definitely think this looks as if it should have come from the set of Lord of the Rings or similar.
Any minute now a trumpet will sound and someone will declare that their Lord is without. Without what? I can't help asking. There certainly is a lot of history round here even if it is rather modern. (Only a little Egyptologist's joke.)

This, however, was no joke. Have you ever been this close to a lion? Fortunately it was asleep, just like a great big Amelie. To be honest there was also a thick double pane of glass between us, still it was an impressive sight. We also saw bears, wolves, deer and other more domestic animals all associated with Medieval imagery. We especially liked the brown cows which come from this area. They still had their large and formidable looking horns and each one had a wonderful bongly bell with a different note.

It was obviously bears' snooze time. Never mind being a Medieval icon! Check out those paws.

Finally a view of the Chateau and the formal garden which contained a lot of medicinal plants as well as roses from Damascus which were originally brought to France in the Medieval period by returning crusaders. They had a wonderful scent. All I can say it that it was much better that rotten old packing. Tomorrow, however, we shall pay for our profligacy but not until we have been out to lunch. It's a tough life!

Showers and Lightning

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:26:00 +0000

One of Spike's favourite occupations is to fight the shower fairy. The plug hole makes a very compulsive gurgling sound and obviously whatever it is that causes it has to be captured and dealt with. The metal drain cover also makes a most appealing clanking noise especially on the tiled hall floor outside the bathroom. Yesterday morning he had to be evicted from the shower by four different people but that wasn't the end of his troubles.

A minute or two later the promised thunderstorm finally arrived with a bang, quite literally; causing Spike to arrive in our room at top speed and fluffed out like a bottle brush. The storm rolled around overhead and as you can see Spike was less than impressed. We were all a bit less than impressed a while after that, when there was a huge explosion with fizzling and a strong smell of ozone. It was pretty clear that something had been hit.

Unfortunately further investigation showed that it was the church spire which had taken a direct hit. Slates were scattered about all over the pavement.

The hole is pretty big but hopefully the insurance will cover repairs. Our house is insured against lightning strikes, I've always thought this was a bit of overkill but now I'm rather glad that it is. At least the storm has cooled the weather down. Yesterday morning there was a beautiful soft autumn mist and it was deliciously cool. Spike and Amelie both like it a lot more and there has been a lot of hurtling up and down the stairs. They like us will miss being here.

Random stuff from Verfeil

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:36:00 +0000

All sorts of things have been happening lately the most joyous being a long visit from our friends Joey and Richard. Lots of food has been eaten, wine drunk and games played amid a great deal of hilarity.

One vital aspect of most visits is trips to the local bakers for those all important breakfast croissants. The bakers in Verfeil is fantastic and sells the most delicious apple tart as well as all the bread type things you'd expect. They also stock groceries and other necessities. The sweet bakery smell takes me straight back to my childhood and I'm pleased to think that these small shops are still holding out in corners of rural France. Indeed they are important vectors for information. If there is a funeral to be held in the village there is always a notice up in the bakers telling you where and when. I also love the fact that they stock a fizzy lemonade which rejoices in the name of Pschitt. Not a comment on the quality but the sound the bottle makes when you open it!

Of course if you are a cat and it is 40 degrees, all this is irrelevant and all you want to do is kip.

And if you know who bashed into our car and drove off please let us know. It happened in the supermarket car park in Negrepelisse. Never mind the dynasty which runs the bakery also has a garage directly opposite the bakers shop and M. Guibert is going to do his thing to fix us up.

After all the aggro with the car here is a soothing picture of the waterfall at Salles La Source a stunning and soothing place to spend a few minutes.

Finally behold the handmade bunting care of the divinely talented Joey Ludbrook

All the neighbours were fascinated when it went up...what are the mad English up to now? They cried. But we explained that it was all the fashion in England and that we were celebrating the arrival of our dear friends so I think it was OK although John thinks they look a bit like knickers...Oh dear. I think they look great and you can see the plants doing well. The wisteria is also doing well especially now that Richard has helped John cut it back a bit, much to our neighbour Robert's delight.

Finally for your delectation all the excitement of Sunday's newspaper, La Depeche de Tarn et Garonne.

The nudist campsite has had less visitors this year than last, is this because the campers are becoming more sensitive to the cold?

The old peoples' club in Valence D'Agen will be dining out on vegetable soup, scallops and white fish in white wine sauce, roast chicken with onion marmalade, Provencal tomatoes, braised artichokes, cheese and finally pear tart. YUM.

There is a dog exhibition taking place all day in Lauzerte where there will also be a dog beauty contest.

Montauban Rugby club is in trouble, "stuffed again"!

And finally in Castelnaudary today is the tenth Cassoulet festival.

Fireworks

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:20:00 +0000

On Sunday evening it was the annual St Antonin fireworks display at the end of their summer festival. As usual it was a fantastic display and even the rather damp weather didn't deter people from coming along. In the end the rain stopped just in time and although it was rather damp sitting on the wall by the river it was worth it to see such a magnificent display. I love fireworks and the St Antonin ones are always good. They festoon the bridge with them and all the lights are reflected in the river. Each time there is an explosion the noise echoes around the river valley and bounces of the cliffs.

Culinary Activity

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:11:00 +0000

As you may know I'm addicted to French cookery magazines especially Cuisine Actuelle and Maxi Cuisine. They always seems to have such interesting and creative recipes like jelly of fresh Charentais melon with red fruit coulis, and savoury beef crumble with hazelnut topping and couscous with goats cheese and apple and courgette flowers stuffed with chicken mousse and fried in tempura batter and white bean soup spiced with cumin and vinegar and filo pastries stuffed with herbs garlic and goats cheese and... stop me now before I expire from hunger. Every time I get a magazine I end up cooking for days which is fun when you have time and wonderful ingredients. Anyway one of the recipes was for a quiche made with a commercially available fresh soup containing leeks and scallops. Here is the result made with olive oil pastry and I hope you'll agree that it looks pretty scrummy, it even looks a bit like the pic in the magazine so there you are. Admire and when I can find the magazine again I'll blog the recipe. I'm sure you could use any soup.

Operatic High

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:03:00 +0000

All through July and August there is wonderful music going on throughout the region. One of the best music festivals is the Offenbach Operetta held in the beautiful village of Bruniquel. Founded by a local man Frank T'Hezan it is a wonderful opportunity to hear world class singers having fun in a relaxed and lovely setting. M. Hezan is a highly accomplished and professional tenor who specialises in operetta and especially Offenbach. He gets some friends together and every year they perform an Offenbach operetta in the grounds of the castle at Bruniquel. Normally you'd have to go to opera houses like La Scala or the Opera Bastille or Sydney to hear these folks sing but this is their summer holiday and although they are completely professional there is a real sense of holiday joy about the proceedings. Learn more about the festival at http://www.bruniqueloff.com/

The first thing that usually happens is a concert in the near by town of Caussade. This kind of introduces the singers and lets them perform some party pieces. Its always amazing.

The concert was supposed to start at 6.30 and at 6.40 the man arrived to tune the piano. He did it with considerable aplomb in front of a full audience. Also we got to admire his legs.

By 7pm we were ready to begin with the wonderful Till Fechner, one of the top Rossini basses in the world. He sang from Faust and was a gorgeously devilish Mephistopheles.

John-Louis Meunier followed up, he's a tenor...can you tell? He's also a wonderful, talented singer and actor.

Philippe Ermelier sang General Boum's song from the Grand Duchess of Gerolstein which was this year's production. He has a fab baritone sound and is hilariously funny. I think you can see here that he was having a good time. The children are from a local music school and some are also the children of the performers they helped to form a chorus and were pretty good. Great to see children being involved.

The guy in the white is Frank T'Hezan the powerhouse behind it all, an all round star, singer, actor, comedian, producer of the show and a bout a zillion other things. Here with Maryline Fallot singing from La Perichole. She played the Grand Duchess and blimey she was good. The concert was very enjoyable with some fine singing and lots of fun. The next pix are from the show itself.

Here is Maryline Fallot with Frédéric Mazzotta another tenor, (another gorgeous voice.) He is playing Fritz the soldier whom the Grand Duchess fancies, and who is promoted from Private to General in about 2 minutes flat!

Maryline Fallot, giving it some welly on top of the wooden canon which formed a vital part of the set and which was made especially for the event.

Recognise these three? Philippe Ermelier, Jean-Louis Meunier and Frank T'Hezan plotting Fritz's downfall. That really is M. Meunier behind those glasses, he also affected an hilarious lisp for the occasion.

Voici le sabre de mon pere. Excuse my French but these words form a refrain which runs through the entire opera, here is my father's sabre. The duchess gives the sabre to Fritz (we all know why), as she sends him off to fight. It's one of the best known songs from the show, and is often heard in France in concerts of light music when we got to this bit some members of the audience were even trying to join in. Offenbach is a bit like G and S in France. Actually La Perichole was being played at a theatre in London where they needed a curtain raiser and a certain Trial By Jury was written to fulfill that role. It went on to become the first of a long Gilbert and Sullivan tradition and was more popular in England than La Perichole!

Fritz ends up in his undies, don't ask why, you know what opera plots are like. It was all highly amusing. We had a joyful and diverting evening and it was rounded off with a late supper at which all the singers, as if they hadn't already done enough, performed cabaret style party pieces. Even the conductor sang and he has a great voice. We came home dazed with fun and good humour which stayed with us for days. We didn't get home until 3am. What a privilege to be able to take part in such a great event.

Outrageously cute cat pix

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:49:00 +0000

Despite the heat the pussies have been enjoying their holiday...

Amelie seems to think that John needs some editorial advice.

But all that work is just too exhausting.

Spike and Amelie seem to think that they are in some kind of cuteness contest and to be honest and although I'm biased I can't help thinking that they might win. Just look at those little faces!

Digging Holes

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 10:15:00 +0000

This may not look much, but it is our first piece of Cretan pottery from the site. Good Huh?

Min of the Desert (Min being an Egyptian god and not a character from the Goon Show!)

Exciting news, you may remember that this blog was started as a way of letting friends know what was happening on the dig where I work in Egypt. Then last year we couldn't dig but I have just heard that we will be working in 2009-10 over the New Year period. Flights are booked and I'm really excited especially as we've been asked to put on an exhibition at the museum in Cairo so I am busy selecting photos and writing text. At the top of the blog is a photo of the replica of an ancient Egyptian seafaring ship, designed by a naval architect and nautical archaeologist Cheryl Ward (who worked with us in 2005-06 and will be with us again in 2009-10). It is based on representational evidence & ship remains from Wadi Gawasis. It was built in Alexandria and was successfully sailed on the Red Sea for a week in Dec.-Jan 2009. Isn't she beautiful? Name: Min of the Desert. It's amazing to think that vessels like this one were navigating the Red Sea and almost certainly further afield about 3500 years ago. We know they were visiting areas outside Egypt because at the site there is pottery from Yemen, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Nubia, The Levant and Crete (identified by guess who!?). All very exciting.

Missing Python

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:44:00 +0000

I just can't resist this headline in the local paper the Depeche du Midi.

"Un python bloque toutes mes locations"

Actually it's rather a worrying tale of a python which escaped it's tank during cleaning and is now living in the false walls and ceilings of an apartment block in the town of Montech. Periodically it appears and causes panic, although it is apparently harmless according to its owner. However, according to the paper it is spreading panic and frightening tout le monde. The poor man who owns the building has lost several tenants and you can't help feeling sorry for him but it's just such an arresting headline and not one you see every day.

The Depeche has great headlines and fantastic stories such as

St Sardos Hosts Giant Barbeque.

Hat Exhibition in Septfonds

Man Arrested For Driving Too Fast and Without A Licence

Punch Up At The Nirvana Nightclub (sounds like a good Raymond Chandler novel)

Aurelie and Guillaume On The Wings of Joy. (They got married)

Not to mention

Fireman Takes Pankcake Making Record! 2007 Pancakes in 11 Hours for Sergeant Garcia.

There's always something fascinating happening.

Wild Day Out

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:14:00 +0000

Isn't this this funkiest building you've ever seen? Especially as it is half way up a mountain and framing the mouth of the cave of Niaux. It certainly took our breath away. Inside the cave are some amazing paintings. The cave is world famous for its prehistoric paintings of bison antelope and horses from the Magdalénien era. That makes them about 12-13 thousand years old, that really is old! What I want to know is why is archaeology always so difficult to get to? Mind you a car park in a cave half way up a mountain is quite a sight to behold.

Here is my lovely waiting to go inside. Visits are strictly limited
so we booked onto tour. We had to make our way over the cave floor
for about half an hour using hand held lamps, (there is no lighting
in the cave). I have to admit I was starting to wonder what on earth
we were doing especially as I hate dark enclosed spaces.
Finally we arrived in what is known as the salon noir. The guide put
all the lights out, (John's hand is still bruised from where I grabbed
hold). Then she turned on her lamp and I could see why we
had bothered. There were amazing living drawings of animals.
Drawn with obvious skill and passion. They were breath taking
especially when you consider that someone had had to climb deep
inside the cave with only a flickering lamp. Whatever the reason
for making the paintings it must have been a powerful one.

Earlier in the day we climbed up to the castle of Montsegur, famous location of many a Grail legend. (Read Kate Mosse's book Labyrinth for a good idea of what might have happened here.) This is me at the top proving that I really made it, although it nearly killed me.

The climb was worth it for the view alone.

The inside was also pretty spectacular. Who is that perched on a rock thinking about life? Actually I think he's trying to get his breath back.

Here you can begin to appreciate just why were were so exhausted and what a challenge the climb was. You can just see the path setting off up the hillside and that was the easy part let me tell you. Kindly note the completely unshaded and totally vertical section at the top. I was very glad I was wearing my boots. Whose stupid idea was this? Err.. actually I think it was mine. Anyway it was definitely worth it.

Nowadays Montsegur is a small village famous for its spectacular castle but in March 1244 about 220 Cathars were burned alive here at the foot of the steep part of the hill. They were judged to be heretics by the Catholic church, although some believe that their faith represents a much moreaccurate picture of what the earliest Christian church was like. The Cathars had been persecuted throughout the Middle Ages because their beliefs about living a simple life free from worldly possessions had brought them into conflict with the Catholic church and the Kings of France. Montsegur became their last stronghold and it was heavily besieged at the end of the Albigensian Crusade which was basically a campaign against the Cathars. When the castle finally fell the remaining inhabitants were led out and burned at the stake. Legend has it that many went bravely and joyfully and that they sang hymnsand praise as they were tied to the stakes. Legend also has it that a few of them slipped away safely before the castle fell, carrying with them a great treasure, maybe even the Grail itself. Montsegur has often been associated with Grail legends and it certainly feels like a mysterious and special place. Walking back down the hill it was hard not to imagine the last Cathars being led to their death and to wonder why I was making such a fuss about the climb on a safe, sunny, 21st century afternoon. Prayers were said.

Driving away from the site it becomes almost impossible to imagine that people lived here, practicing their faith sincerely and courageously. The hill is so steep that the castle looks like a toy on top of the mound and although the buildings which are there now are of much later date the whole site has a presence which is hard to forget.

The whole day had quite an effect on me, and made me think a lot about what we believe and why, and the lengths we will go to to express our beliefs.

Today's walk

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:17:00 +0000

After a busily domestic morning of laundry and waxing the kitchen table we went for a little walk. It is a beautiful day, not too hot, very clear and bright with a brilliant blue sky and lots of puffy white clouds. We strolled around the village checking things out and it made us realise what a lot of very wild wildlife there is in this area including lots of lizards, butterflies and many other insects. In particular we saw a number of stunning blue and black dragonflies like the one in my photo. They seem to be quite common in this area and every time I see one I think of a sonnet by Rossetti which was set to music by Vaughan Williams

Silent Noon (Sonnet XIX)
Your hands lie open in the long fresh grass,-
The finger-points look through, like rosy blooms:
Your eyes smile peace. The pasture gleams and glooms
'Neath billowing skies that scatter and amass.
All round our nest far, as the eye can pass
Are golden kingcup fields with silver edge
Where the cow-parsley skirts the hawthorn-hedge
'Tis visible silence, still as the hour-glass.
Deep in the sun searched groves, a dragon-fly
Hangs, like a blue thread loosened from the sky:-
So this winged hour is dropt to us from above.
Oh! clasp we to our hearts, for deathless dower
This close-companioned inarticulate hour
When twofold silence was the song of love.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti

FAO Albi Cathedral

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:47:00 +0000

See I told you, a big pink building.

La Maison D'Amour ooh la la.

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:13:00 +0000

Now don't get all excited, it's the name of a medieval house in the village of St Antonin, so called because as you can see there is a very sweet kissy kissy couple carved over the door. I think they are adorable. Now what else has been happening, well Spike nearly ate a hornet and had to be rescued and then we spent all day yesterday working and had to go out for pizza to recover. By about 9pm it had cooled down to a polar 26 centigrade, I don't even want to think about the temp at lunch time, let's just say that working in your undies is not all the fun you might think especially when there is a hornet on the loose. Anyway by 9pm it was beautiful and we sat outside, we had great pizza cooked in the wood fired oven. It was wonderful.

On Tuesday we worked in the morning. I am delighted to say that my French planning for next year IS FINISHED. Hooray hooray thankyou fans it means I'll be much more sorted about teaching lovely French and so will be much calmer and less panic stricken next term (honestly). In order to celebrate we went to Albi to the Brasserie Vigan for lunch. We had terrine de poissons maison avec basilic et salad de poivrons ( no I'm not going to translate it; practice with your dictionaries) puis saute de canard aux olives, vin et cafe for the magnificent sum of 35 Euros. Then we pottered around the shops and the cathedral because we love Albi and I have been having lunch at the Vigan and pottering around the shops in Albi since I was about 5. We went into our favourite kitchen shop and lusted after all the beautiful things and funky gadgets then normality reasserted itself and we went to the Supermarket which was less exciting but very necessary as we were out of cat litter...lovely.

The cathedral in Albi is, like most of the important buildings and major towns in this area, made of pink brick. It is huge and sits there in the valley of the river Tarn looking like a rather lost ocean liner. Inside is a riot of coloured painting including a rather nasty Medieval depiction of heaven and hell, all rather interesting but a bit scary. Makes you wonder what some of those Medieval guys were on.

Anyway having walked about 300 miles today because we got lost on our ramble, I'm going to give this up now and have a nice hot bath in our fancy schmancy bathtub, especially installed for days when you have walked 300 miles through impenetrable woods and been pursued by mad animals of various varieties... of which more anon!

Random Jottings from Verfeil

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:53:00 +0000

Market Day

Where's Asterix?

Ye famous sunflowers!

Lots of people having a good time in a barn, it was very noisy.

Err. Have another pint of wine dear.

It's official St Ant is one of the best.

Let me out!

It's too hot

Well, it hardly seems like a week since we arrived but quite a lot has happened, so where shall I begin? We had a quiet and uneventful journey although the cats were not too impressed with being in their cage for so long, but they we pretty good and only yelled to come out a few times.

It was horribly hot and stormy when we arrived and we had a huge code orange thunderstorm on the second night. It was so warm and humid no one knew what to do with themselves especially poor Spike who conked out on the rug. After the storm it was much better and we have had beautiful weather since then.

On Saturday night we went to our first feast in a field only because of the weather it had to be in a huge barn. You haven't lived until you've eaten yourself silly on salad and melon and ham and lamb chops and sausages and cheese and ice cream and bread in a tin barn filled with 400 very drunken people all singing and dancing and throwing ice-cream cartons. We sang the napkin waving song which we seem to sing at every summer feast and which obviously rouses great emotion but we have no idea at all what it's about! Still we enjoyed it and John waves a mean napkin! We were with our adopted family the Lafons and very entertaining it was.

The next excitement was the market in St Antonin, officially one of the best markets in France according to an article in this month's Cuisine Actuelle (a bit like Good Housekeeping). I thought the photo looked a bit familiar and it was! We bought lots of yummy stuff and the sunflowers were out in force.

Today we had our first walk, well more of a scramble up the side of a mountain really! Blimey, but we made it even though it was hard to tell where the path started and finished. We saw the remains of a Gaulish fortified village but there was no sign of Asterix! Altogether its been a busy week. Sorry the photos are in no particular order at the top. I was ina hurry!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Hi

A post in the middle of term how rare and amazing but I have to put this on my blog, I think it is the funniest thing I've seen for ages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUX5Bdkn_P8

The fabulous Bill Bailey and the William Tell Overture in full cockney glory. I fell off the sofa laughing, so enjoy!

Arriving Home

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:49:00 +0000

In spite of French fishermen we are home all in one piece.

Visit to Penne

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:48:00 +0000

Yesterday was a wonderful sunny day almost like summer. We went to an amazing place, the village of Penne in the Tarn departement. Actually it is not far from us but the border of the Tarn and the Tarn et Garonne winds about a bit in the area. Penne has an amazing ruined castle which looks like a fantastic stage set from an Arthurian fable but is actually quite genuine. It was first built about 560 (No I have not missed the first 1 off!), In the thirteenth century it was used a refuge by the Cathars who were a Christian sect much persecuted during the Albigensian Crusade. Next it was occupied by the English and it was dismantled in 1586 by Henry IV who used the stone to build up the surrounding village. It certainly makes for a breathtaking sight.

We walked all around the village and as we were coming back to the car I noticed that we were parked right next to the memorial for the First World War. Every village in France has a memorial which is absolutely covered with names and what always strikes me about the one in Verfeil is that all the names on the memorial are the same as the one s in today's phone book. I'm sure it is the same at Penne and all over France, and I would guess many villages in England probably including East Harling. It really brings home to me how many families lost not one but two three sometimes four members. For tiny villages like Penne and Verfeil every family would have been affected. It makes me think how important it is to remember.

Two walks

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:48:00 +0000

The weather has been beautiful, although it is raining today. We have been making the most of it by walking through the countryside on some of the way marked paths. We also took the cats for a walk. Amelie was perfect and trotted along happily,

with John whilst I dragged Spike with me until he lay down and refused to go any further so I ended up carrying him. Walking makes you realise how many amazing wild flowers are blooming at present. We really enjoyed walking alongside the river Bonnette and seeing the Cascade Petrifiante

or petrifying waterfall. (Actually it's not that scary ha ha). The paths are usually quite easy to follow being clearly marked with red and white blobs for the main walking routes or Grandes Randonees or yellow blobs and numbers for the smaller one or petites randonees.

After all that walking, lunch was indicated and we had wonderful seafood tabbouleh followed by milk fed pork and fresh strawberries with a quarter litre of wine and also with coffee all for 15 euros. Here are some pics so you can feel part of it all. I love the cowslips and violets, the cats were less impressed by the flowers,

and had to have a siesta in order to recover from their exertions!

Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:20:00 +0000

What a beautiful day it has been. Spring has really arrived as you will see from the pictures of the pansies and the blossom which is everywhere. All the fruit trees are covered in white blossom and it reminds me of Robert Bridges' poem Spring Goeth All In White.

Spring goeth all in white,

Crowned with milk-white may:

In fleecy flocks of light

O'er heaven the white clouds stray:

White butterflies in the air;

White daisies prank the ground:

The cherry and hoary pear

Scatter their snow around.

I like to think that when we are next here the blossom will have transformed into cherries plums and apricots with pears and apples to follow. In the meantime it looks wonderful.

We have been making the most of warm weather and had a trip out to Cordes today. This is an incredibly beautiful hill top town a few kilometres from us. It is like a mini Carcassonne and is often very busy with tourists but at this time of year it is still rather quiet and very pretty. The hike up the hill is a bit heavy going but worth it for the view. It was market day and the beauty of the aubergines and peppers made me feel inspired to make ratatouille. This evening it is carnavale in Verfeil so I expect the music will go on into the night. At present there is a steady trickle of visitors arriving and an expectant air especially amongst the children who are in fancy dress. As I was writing this the samba band arrived and it was all very jolly and colourful, especially the lady in the flowery hat! Spike is adding to the general excitement by chasing flies and crunching them and trying to break into the new box of cat biscuits. He has also contributed to the white theme by opening and destroying a whole packet of cotton wool! Enjoy the pictures and the video.

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:59:00 +0000

Well we haven't been here since September and although a few things are different its good to see that a lot of things remain the same.

They are busy making the bridge in St Antonin all smart with a new railing but the lovely view of the river and the bridge is still the same and all the soft spring colours are beautiful in the warm sunlight.

There is a lot of evidence of damage done by the big storm in January. Many trees have come down and obviously a lot has been swept down the river as you can see from all the debris that has collected around the bridge supports.

All the animals are waking up and liking the spring warmth, this little dog was sitting happily in his window at lunchtime and loving the warm air.

The cats are pleased to be here although they look a bit cross here because the kettle was whistling and they really hate it.

We went for a walk by the river and saw this wonderful heron. It is lovely to be back and we feel so lucky to have the chance to live this second life.

Feast at Espinas

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:20:00 +0000

One of the final and most enjoyable events of the summer happened a couple of days ago we went to a big village feast at a place called Espinas which is just up the hill from us. Us and about 500 hungry French people all stuffing our faces. We were all together with the Lafon family who are our neighbours and have become like a family to us.

Here is a little video of us all enjoying ourselves. The singing lady is Sylvie who is a great person, always full of fun. The accordion music is very traditional.

Just so that you can enjoy the menu along with us here are some pictures of the food. We were stuffed.

We started with soup with beans and vegetables. It also had bread in it which seemed unusual to us but it is very traditional here. Then we moved on to pate, salad, stewed pork with capers, grilled sausage and lamb chops, white beans, cheese and ice cream followed by coffee and eau de vie. The wine was flowing like water and a great time was had by all.

The soup

Mirelle serves the salad.

Terrine not for the faint hearted!

Chops anyone?

Pass the wine!

Chin chin Mme Lafon et Mme Wallace-Jones

M. Lafon attacks the saussice

What a great evening!

Wine Tasting

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:37:00 +0000

Yesterday we went to the Domaine De Bouscaillous which is a great vineyard in the Gaillac region. We were royally welcomed by Mme. Causse the owner. She is half the attraction of a visit to this wonderful place because of her warm and charming welcome. She speaks English although we usually try to use French and her knowledge and detailed explanations of the grapes and the process of wine making help you to really understand how the wine tastes so good.

Here are the chais where zillions of gallons of wine ferment making a wonderful musty winey smell and Mme. doing her stuff.

Just a few of the bottles for sale, they include a sweet fruity white dessert wine, a deep rich red, a nutty spicy white aged in oak barrels and a light crisp white called perle which has just a hint of sparkle to it. They usually have a sparkling white too in a champagne style. We celebrated our wedding with it but sadly they have sold out for this year.

And of course they win lots of of awards.

Here is john doing his stuff, our dear friends Heather and Gus enjoying a sip, and a couple of sample bottles.

Check out more details here
http://www.chateaubouscaillous.fr/

and try to visit if you can.

Country Walk

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:49:00 +0000

This morning John and I had a wonderful country walk. We set off on a thankfully cool damp morning and walked about 12km all around Verfeil. It was beautiful and we had some amazing views of the village as we climbed higher and higher. "It's only a small hill" John trilled happily disappearing like a ferret up a trouser leg. About 2o minutes later uphill all the way we arrived at the top of the hill, well John arrived there and I was still puffing my way up. It was worth it though and there we were miles from anywhere in the middle of France. The views of the village were fantastic although it did look a long way way!

We have some amazing fields of sunflowers around the village and as we walked we saw lots of beautiful wild flowers and some quite varied wildlife including many butterflies a lot of weird red and black bugs and a scary looking spider. Walking is the very best way to enjoy the landscape and you certainly get up close and personal with the insects as my bites testify.

We also got a good look at the Seye which is the little river as in Verfeil Sur Seye.

The cows didn't seem to mind our presence and happily there was no sign of a bull. Phew

My trusty boots were very welcome as the path was steep and very slippery in places and I got terribly thirsty so the wild plums we found along the way were very welcome and refreshing.

We felt as if we had walked along way when suddenly the path vanished and we had to back track and hack through the undergrowth until we finally heard traffic and scrambled down to a little road.

We were glad to see the sign post pointing to Verfeil

and the cold Perrier was more welcome than you could believe. So far we've done three walks totalling about 30 kms cor, maybe I will go for that half marathon after all.

Albi, Bezique and being a French housewife

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:29:00 +0000

First of all Albi which is a stunning town and the Prefecture of the Tarn departement. It is about 30 miles from us which makes it our nearest town of any size and we love it. I have been visiting it since I was a small girl and have happy memories of sitting outside with my mum at a lovely tea shop in the Cathedral square and eating delicious strawberry tart. Its a really bustling university town with fabulous shops and an incredible cathedral. The enormous cathedral is dedicated to St Cecilia the patron saint of music and it has a very scary painting of the medieval idea of heaven and hell with all the sinners being punished in all kinds of nasty ways. Visit Albi here.

http://www.albi-tourisme.com/us/pagesEditos.asp?id=8D9CB513&idpage=133

We sat in the Brasserie Du Vigan and had lunch, wonderful salad and rose wine, whilst watching the children run through the fountain in the square. It was incredibly hot and they were having a wonderful time jumping in and out of the jets of water which squirt straight out of the paving.

After lunch we went to Eurodif which is kind of French Woolworths and we mooched around without really wanting to buy anything until....John saw that they were selling green felt by the metre so we bought two metres to transform our dining table into a great card playing surface. We've been looking for some for ages which may seem odd but there is a good reason!

We are hooked on a game called Bezique which seems complicated when you begin which is really enjoyable and addictive. You have to collect groups of cards like four aces which are worth 100 points, 4 Kings for 80 and so on a Bezique is a combination of either the queen of spades and the jack of hearts or the queen of clubs and the jack of diamonds and is worth 50 points unless you have a double Bezique which is two queens and two jacks. Oh I forgot to say that you play with two packs mixed using the cards from 7 upwards. A double Bezique is worth 500 points and Ive only ever had one. It was cause for much excitement. Anyhow the table looked great with its new green cover and we felt very swish, it also stopped the cards for whizzing in all directions especially as the fan had to be on full because it went on being hot. Here we are making like card sharps on our newly acquired felt.

After all the excitement of the Bezique... time for the real world again. Housework! A friend once told me that a real French housewife should spend all her time either at the market, in the kitchen or cleaning her house. I am trying to aspire to this ideal although our lovely neighbour Renee, aka Madame Lafon is trying to train me up the in correct ways and times to do things but she sometimes despairs of ever making me into a proper French housewife, I just can't manage to get lunch on the table on the dot of midday everyday and our shutters are never open the correct amount for the time of day. On the up side I have today cooked lunch, (home made aubergine fritters with spicy tomato sauce), changed the bed and hung the quilt out of the window, mopped and waxed the lounge and kitchen-diner floors, scrubbed the table, cleaned the sink, and done the washing.

This week I've also managed to hoover, clean the cooker, unblock the drain in the bathroom and I got up early twice to make lunch before the sun got too hot. I've also been market shopping, made soup from the leftover chicken and emptied the bins, taking the rubbish and the bottles down to the communal bins. In all these endeavours I have been assisted by John the wonder husband who has to clean the cat tray and is a dab hand with the ironing as you can see.

As far as holidays go to be honest it's all been a bit full on and you can't get any feline help. All they do is sleep because it's been so hot, see? Then theywake up and want to play in the middle of the night.

Happily it is much cooler today so I'm off to do some more chores before the temperature rises again. Maybe one day I'll make Renee proud of me. In the meantime, wine costs 1 euro a litre, our speech and drama results were great well done to all and thanks to John's hard work, I'm ahead at Bezique and I'm planning green apple and goat cheese couscous for supper so life is pretty good.

Market Day

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs WJ) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:36:00 +0000

Sunday is market day in the pretty medieval village of St Antonin which is about 13 km from us. It is a fantastic market and it has become something of a tradition to get up early and head off for breakfast at the cafe in the main square. From this vantage point you can see and be seen and enjoy the atmosphere which is bustling to say the least.

Under the Halle activity is intense. In August it becomes quite manic with crowds of visitors eager to take part in the excitement. The village is crammed with good things to eat and the piles of jewel toned courgettes, peppers, tomatoes and aubergines beg you to buy and cook, whilst all around are heaps of cheeses, sausage, hams and other goodies to feed your imagination and make your tummy rumble.

The aligot man sells his speciality of smooth mashed potato enriched with cheese. You can tell if the aligot is good by how stretchy it is and he lifts it high in the air so that strings of cheese and potato hang enticingly from the spoon in fragrant loops. The smell of warm cheesy potato drifts enticingly across the square mingling with the scent from the hot roast chicken van. The tiny, blood red Mara des Bois strawberries are piled high on another stall and release a sweet and long forgotten summer sweetness.

With all this wonderful produce cooking is an essential activity although making chutney on the day it managed to reach 40 degrees was probably a mistake. I was as crimson as the plums which went into the spicy concoction! However the chocolate and blackberry mousse, green apple and goats' cheese couscous and chilled leek and potato soup have all gone down well this week. I hope the photos make your mouth water.