digging

Espinas

2010-08-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

The priest who took the whole service in Occitan

Is this Wee Willy Winkie?

What a little angel, one of the servers at Mass

A quick rehearsal a lot like E. Harling on Sunday mornings!

A cast of thousands!

John, with Robert and Renee

Why is this man playing a cushion?

Actually he was very good.

A man of straw!

Make hay while the sun shines and boy did it shine.

It could be 1950 or even before apart form the wires and cars in the background.

Espinas, before you ask, is the name of the village up the hill and on Sunday we had a really lovely experience at their summer festival. Every year they try to recreate the village as it might have been in the past and this year it was especially well done. All the inhabitants dress up in costumes from the past and in the afternoon they do hay making using the old fashioned machines and animals. There are men with saws 10 ft long showing how whole trees were cut into floor boards, there are clog makers, oil and juice pressers, the school is set up as it would have been before the war, and there are models all over the village showing people undertaking various activities. It's always amazing.

First thing in the morning we got up and went out with our neighbours Mme. Renee and M. Robert Lafon (who have kind of adopted us). We went to mass in the open air and the whole thing was said in the local language Occitan. We could understand some bits but most was totally incomprehensible apart from the odd sentence which made complete sense, a very odd sensation to suddenly hear something you understand in a sea of stuff you don't. We managed a bit with Robert whispering translations into my ear and also with the crib sheet. We joined in valiantly with The Lord's Prayer which as you can see is quite recognisable if you know any French, Spanish, Italian or Latin, although saying it is another matter! Robert was sniggering at our efforts, shame.

Paire nòstre que siès dins lo cèl, que ton nom se santifique, que ton rènhe nos avenga, que ta volontat se faga sus la tèrra coma dins lo cèl. Dona-nos nòstre pan de cada jorn, perdona-nos nòstres deutes coma nosautres perdonam als nòstres debitors e fai que tombèm pas dins la tentacion mas deliura-nos del mal. Atal sia!

After mass which was really beautiful we had a few glasses of cold sangria and watched all the local people folk dancing. There was a man on the accordeon and another playing a set of pipes which looked rather like Northumbrian pipes rather than Scottish ones, the music was perfect for the whole setting and I felt quite emotional. We then went home and Renee announced that we were having lunch with them, which we did en famille sitting in their kitchen and enjoying a lovely family time together, I was very proud of John who can chat away in French like anything now. It was a really special and precious time and we feel privileged to be included in their family times.

We were included again later on when we headed up the hill to take part in the Espinas harvest supper, country soup, coarse pork pate with salad and gherkins, pork with a parsley and caper sauce, white beans, grilled lamb chops, grilled sausage, bread, bread, bread, and some bread, cheese, and peche melba, wine flowed at will and we all munched and sipped and slurped and chatted (although I was driving so chateau de la pompe was on the menu for me.) Coming home at 1am we couldn't imagine ever eating anything again! Also the temperature was 27 degrees at midnight, stap me vitals! It was a great day. An uncle of a day and a joy to live through.

Hello My Old China

2010-08-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

Ages ago I mentioned that we had made an amazing find at a brocante, a sort of attic sale. So, as promised here are some pix. Now most of you reading this will know that I am keen on pots so when I saw the cheeky gleam of gold in the bottom of a dusty box I was quick to investigate what proved to be some rather nifty gilding on some rather splendid plates. Had a quick butcher's underneath only to see the magic words Limoges and Porcelain. The old ticker started to bump a bit and a rough count up revealed about 30 plates and some serving dishes. On brushing the dust off a bit more we decided it was worth asking the price which turned out to be a measly €50 so we snapped them up and rushed off home where careful washing revealed 17 dinner plates, 6 smaller dessert plates, 6 pasta type dishes, a large serving platter, a large plate and a beautiful bowl. Blimey. Our neighbours reckon €50 was too much as no one want old stuff any more but I'm not so sure, I think we got a bargain and anyway I love them.

It's been a good week for Limoges (which is kind of the French Stoke On Trent) pottery as we were in another brocante, this time a shop, and I fell in love with a fabulous mortar and pestle, which also turned out to be Limoges by a designer called Robj. He's very interesting I googled him but it's too hot to write about him now, another time when my wrists are not sticking to the keyboard, nice image sorry. I think design decor and function come together perfectly in this piece and the fact that it was all shiny and gold had nothing whatsoever with my decision to buy it.

Also...I have finished all my French planning hahahaha so let the inspectors come and see if I care.

This used to be a blog about archaeology.

2010-08-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

This used to be a blog about the dig where I work in Egypt but in recent times it's been much more about our summers in France. However, I am a very proud Auntie today as my godson and de facto nephew Dan has been awarded a place to study at Lampeter and being a sensible type he is going to study ARCHAEOLOGY! Hooray.

I thought I'd repossess the blog for archaeology just this one time and offer Dan and anyone else reading, a list of things which are very rarely found by archaeologists.

10-Dinosaur Bones

9-Mummies (errr actually as an Egyptologist...)

8-Precious Jewelry

7-Alien Artifacts

6-Treasure Chests

5-The Lost Tribes of Israel

4-Whole Pots (who wants whole ones?)

3-Secret Tunnels

2-Gold

1-A Steady Job!!!

Ha ha I've got a steady job although admittedly not as an archaeologist, however, I've always managed to keep involved and I'm really proud that Dan has chosen a similar path. Mind you he is interested in Romans and what have they ever done for us??

Things to be found in the country

2010-08-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

Why is everywhere always up hill? At least it's picturesque.

A butterfly with amazing camouflage

Wild honeysuckle

I think these might be cherries but we didn't eat them just in case.

A stone water cistern with very interesting corbelling (honestly)

Wouldn't mind living here

This is a bit more in our price range however. A shepherds hut, look at that amazing drystone construction! No mortar in sight. (And no that isn't the drystone shepherd).

These little shelters are all over the place to shelter the men who had to be out on the hills in all weather. Some are even tucked into the construction of walls. I've seen stone age dwelling built exactly like this. Hey ethnoarchaeology...get a grip girl you're on holiday.

While the chutney bubbles, the cats zizz and John reads the local paper dictionary in hand I'm about to blog again, it must be a record, well I need something to distract me from the vinegar fumes and the fact that I have managed to choose the hottest day of the year so far to make my annual batch of chutney. It is 8pm and still too hot to open the windows. Good thing we joined the cats for a zizz earlier. I'm glad I decided to attack the wisteria whilst it was cool this morning.

I've mentioned our walks which take us all over the region and allow us to get up close and personal with the wildlife and the countryside. Well the most recent one took us the the valley of the river Lot and we had a truly beautiful walk during which we encountered all kinds of fascinating things including a very shy deer who bounded off before we could photograph it. This is really just to share some of the things we saw. Better go, I can hear the chutney making ominous noises!

Millau pictures for your delectation

2010-08-21T03:58:00.001-07:00

I forgot to say that the height of the highest pylon makes the viaduct taller than the Eiffel Tower! There is a vid of the boat ride on my FB page too

Millau Viaduct

2010-08-21T03:42:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday we had a marathon day out to go and see the viaduct at Millau. I've been wanting to do this for ages and at last we had the chance. This viaduct is a road bridge which forms part of the A 75 motorway but it is not just any old bridge oh dear me no. Designed by the French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Norman Foster, it is the tallest bridge in the world, with one mast's summit at 343.0 metres (1,125 ft). It opened in December 2004 and you can see it by linking to the webcam http://www.leviaducdemillau.com/english/webcam.html

It costs €7.90 to cross and it is well known for being super busy during the holiday season. Last weekend was one of the busiest in the French calendar as everyone began to go home and they calculated that about 60,000 cars crossed it last Saturday alone.

I'm not big on numbers but here are some fairly staggering statistics:
2,460 m (8,071 ft): total length of the roadway.
7: number of piers
77 m (253 ft): height of Pier 7, the shortest
343 m (1,125 ft): height of Pier 2, the tallest (245 m/804 ft at the roadway's level)
87 m (285 ft): height of a mast
154: number of shrouds
270 m (886 ft): average height of the roadway
4.20 m (13 ft 9 in): thickness of the roadway
32.05 m (105 ft 2 in): width of the roadway
85,000 m3 (111,000 cu yd): total volume of concrete used
290,000 metric tons (320,000 short tons): total weight of the bridge
10,000–25,000 vehicles: estimated daily traffic
20 km (12 mi): horizontal radius of curvature of the road deck

It all makes for a huge impression on the viewer. We not only went over it but also under it by road and then, very excitingly by boat on the river Tarn thanks to Les Bateliers Du Viaduct. Add to that a picnic lunch under a convenient tree, with a good view of the viaduct and the presence of a friendly and hopeful local dog and you have the makings of a spiffing day out which is exactly what we had. I'm going to post pictures separately so please move onto the following post.

Memories

2010-08-21T03:25:00.000-07:00

Just a mini blog before the marathon tale of going to Millau. We drove a long away all the way across the department of the Aveyron on Tuesday to go and see the spectacular Millau viaduct. On the way I saw something that I had not seen for years, probably not since I was a child visiting France with my mum and dad, and that thing was a poster for a wine called Vin Fou made by a winery called Henri Maire.

The posters were very distinctive with red and green lettering and they all said Vin Fou (meaning crazy wine). Some them then said Henri Maire the name of the winemaker (the Henri seems to vanished here, couldn't find a better pic sorry. Others said Oh je l'aime which means Oh I like it, the wine that is... When I was little these posters were everywhere and we used to play a car game guessing which one it would be. If you got it right you got points and you got more points for an Oh je l'aime because they were less common.

As far as I know my mum and dad had been spotting the posters since they first came to France on a tandem in 1948! I was really excited to see an extremely rare Vin Fou as we returned home on Tuesday and immediately reverted to being 5, screaming, "Vin Fou, Henri Maire" at the top of my lungs to the consternation of John Mike and Sue. Anyway once they understood, photos were taken for your delight and I was thrilled to find that Henri Maire is still going and still producing Vin Fou in the Jura region. http://www.henri-maire.fr/accueil/

So I think a little purchase might just be coming on in honour of two outstanding parents who gave me more than I could ever thank them for, without me even realising it.

Sir Lunchalot

2010-08-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

We have just waved good bye to our last wave of guests the lovely Mike and Sue (sniff) and now we are peaceful and there is time to slob on the sofa and blog. We have had a lovely time going off here there and everywhere and eating lunch at every possible opportunity. We took Mike and Sue to lunch the moment their plane touched down, then had lunch in Albi, and Septfonds and two picnics one at Millau and the other near Rodez it's a tough life, no wonder John calls himself Sir Lunchalot.

After lunch in Salles La Source we decided to have a walk so off we went to look at the wonderful Mediaeval village (almost inevitably) at the top of the hill. It certainly helped the lunch to go down and there was a certain amount of horsing around involving John, that gentle, affable soul, trying to kick me on the bottom. This is not as bad as it sound as he has such long legs that he can do it quite easily whilst walking along side me just by bending his knee up and to the side. I thought his knees were supposed to be dodgy but he seems to manage. In order to retaliate which of course is de rigeur, I have to give a little jump which looks pretty stupid especially from behind. Anyway the resulting photos are amusing (thank you Sue), but, I realise, they do actually show yours truly (even if it is from the back) which is a rare occurrence and wonder of wonders I am not wearing black AT ALL! Mike and John also appear to be pulling some funny faces although we are not sure why. Sue was probably deciding to buy one of the many houses which she identified as having potential and Mike and John are being entertained by the potential cost, although probably for different reasons!

Random jottings from Verfeil

2010-08-16T00:17:00.000-07:00

Hello out there I'm blogging a bit to record what has been happening although to be honest the answer is not a lot. On Wednesday we had a great walk in the department of the Lot. 5.5 km most of which seemed to be up hill! I can never understand why a walk that begins by going uphill can also manage to go up hill almost all the way and then end by yes, you've guessd it going uphill. Grrrr. We ended up by looking at the outside of the Chateau de Cenervieres which had a gratifying and requisite number of pepper pot towers making it look like a child's drawing of a castle.

On Thursday we headed for Rodez and collected our friends Sue and Mike who arrived just in time for lunch! We took the off to Salles La Source where the service was much faster and we ate a yummy lunch finishing off with a rare treat for me... milk and white chocolate mousse which was the best ever honestly. We've mostly done our fave touristy things like Cordes and the market, St Antonin and today we are going to Caussade then to Septfonds for lunch. They have this amazing lunchtime deal at Septfonds, three courses and wine included for €15. The cooking is thoughtful and a bit unusual with a strong Moroccan influence and we always love going there.

Aside from this there isn't much to report apart from having to post a recorded delivery letter to the UK which to our horror cost €44. We could have had lunch for that much!!! John is writing, Amelie's paws are on the mend and we think her allergy is to packet cat food so they are both back on tuna! I am covered in teeth marks from dosing her, and Spike thinks we are all a bit strange.

St Igne The Photos....

2010-08-10T03:03:00.000-07:00

Here are the pix.

I'm having trouble uploading the video but will try FB

The table after it has been trashed,

Rambo, in the white shirt, looks as if he's had a good time.

The barbecue gets underway

Pass the aligot

Look at that aligot stretch!

Things get underway yummmmmmmm

The redoubtable M. Robert Lafon in his trendy new glasses.

All quiet and neat to begin with, just wait until later.

This is where it all happens,

a C road is so tiny that you can't even see it on most maps.

The Sausage Festival

2010-08-10T02:30:00.000-07:00

OK I promised to write about St Igne and here it is. I assure you that you have never lived until you have sat in a field full of drunken French people and stuffed your face with delicious country food and wine. This is what happens every year at St Igne which is a tiny village high in the hills above Verfeil. There is something magical about how it all happens as there appears to be nothing at all in St Igne apart form this field filled with long wooden tables. They also conjure up a dance floor, a band and food for about 300 people. It is especially wonderful for us to go as members of the extended Lafon family. Renne and Robert have the house opposite us in Verfeil and they have kind of adopted us so we get to indulge in a lot of hellos and cheek kissing that we would miss if we were just that mad English couple.

At first it is all very calm and mellow as families arrive and jockey for position on the long wooden benches. Renne of course has arrive early and staked our claim in a prime position.The barbecue fires are lit and the smell of woodsmoke starts to scent the air as the sun goes down. It is like a scene from Jean de Florette! After an hour or so of chit chat the real business begins and food is served. The menu is always the same and always delicious. We begin with salty crisps and ice cold kir made from blackcurrant liqueur and local white wine, this give the perfect balance of salty and tangy sweetness to pique your appetite for the starter of juicy sweet Quercy melon and salty smoky meaty local ham. As this arrives the wine begins to flow and it just keeps coming, rich ruby red in ill assorted and unmarked bottles filled from a huge barrel. By now the full complement of Lafons and friend has arrived and we have been hugged half to death. Everyone has their Laguiole pocket knives out ready to do battle with the food.

Now the highlight of the evening arrives, the aligot, a fabulous smooth puree of buttery potatoes and melted mountain cheese with a hint of garlic. The better the aligot the more it stretches because the stretchiness depends on the quality and quantity of cheese. Our aligot was very stretchy and they lifted it up high with a special paddle just to prove it. The aligot is served by a chain of willing volunteers and is accompanied by wonderful meaty grilled sausage and more wine. Of course there is also unlimited country bread and at this stage you start to think that you'll never eat anything again. By now the tidiness of the tables has also started to disintegrate somewhat, with crusts, the odd melon rind, sundry serviettes etc all over the place.

But...We have not finished yet, a wonderful aroma of barbecued meat heralds the arrival of grilled lamb raised out here on the hills and tasting of wood smoke and the wild grasses and herbs that formed its diet. It is mouth watering. Bones fly in all directions as the last morsels of meat are sought out. By now the tables are a scene of carnage and the arrival of ice cream cones and coffee add the the melee. The once tidy table tops have disintegrated into a total mess.

Now the real fun begins as the music starts up. One of the things that I love about St Igne is that they always play traditional French music first and everyone joins in with folk dances, and waltzes and surprisingly perhaps tangos and paso dobles, although we are only a short distance from the Spanish border. Grandads dance with grand daughters and the young learn the traditional dances from the old. Even John and I have been known to indulge in the odd waltz, sometimes very odd, depending on the amount of wine consumed! All around is laughter and fun and the sight and sound of people really letting their hair down. One man staggers drunkenly towards the bushes for a pee, only just managing to co-ordinate his legs to overcome the obstacle of the gate into the field. This causes much hilarity.

Eventually the traditional songs give way to disco music and people begin to drift away about 1am. It is a magical time and I am going to post some photos and video clips separately so you can share a little of the magic.
Bissous a tous

A busy weekend

2010-08-10T02:02:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks

We have certainly had a weekend full of excitement. First off was the Offenbach Festival at Bruniquel. Didn't get to bed till 4am but it was amazing. Look at http://www.bruniqueloff.com/ for an idea about how much fun it was. Then there was the sausage and aligot feast at St Igne of which more in a sec, Sunday took us first to the Brocante (antique and bric a brac fair) at Laguepie where we made an amazing find soon to feature in this very blog; then to St Antonin for the firework display which was so fab it made me weep, (pathetic I know but there are lots of memories associated with this particular event, such as watching it for the first time ever with John the during summer that we decided to get married, ahhhhhhhhhhhh).

We ended up the weekend on Monday (shameful but pleasant) by going to the market in Caussade where we bought beautiful French net curtain material for The Old Dairy, the net curtains there, let's face it, being a disgrace. Joey advice needed about the sewing up! We also had to buy a new hoover as the old one expired on Saturday with a bang, a cloud of dust, cat fur and smoke. Erk. Other purchases included a new shower head and a bag of cat litter, we really know how to live it up!

We then repaired to Septfonds and our favourite restaurant where we ate an amazingly delicious salad, pink melting slices of lamb roasted with garlic and ginger, buttery pasta, fresh strawberries, (John had cake and cream with his), half a litre of rose Gaillac wine and an espresso for 15 Euros each, can we stay here please?? The food in this particular place always has such incredible flavour and the cooking is really intelligent.

I promised to mention St Igne but I think that might need another post, and I have jobs to do, wash the floor, do the laundry, post post cards, book restaurant for arriving guests, hoover with new natty rechargeable dust buster thingy, replace shower head, brush cats, make plum jam, look at French folders for school, (might put that one off), get lunch ready, phew being a french house wife really takes it out of you. Mind you there must be something in the water here that keeps people fit and healthy, here are Mesdames Dazol and Viguier both over 90 both close neighbours and as hail and hearty as anything. You should see them both eat. When asked by John what breed of dog she had Mme. Viguier replied "il est un petit batard!" Tell it like it is girls.

Out and About

2010-08-07T07:51:00.001-07:00

When we have visitors it is an ideal time to do some nice, relaxing touristy things and see a bit of our beautiful region of France. Here we are on the tourist trail with Janet, Philip, Lucy and Steve Moule. Philip was pleased to see that Rugby was a part of the experience even if it did mean going into Serge Blanco's shop in Albi. Food was a big part of our experience too, everyone should have cake for breakfast at least once in their life! We did this at the lovely bakers in Cordes before visiting the market and struggling up the almighty hill. I've included a beautiful view of our village Verfeil Sur Seye and no visit to Albi would be complete without an ice cream! Swimming in the river is highly recommended as a way to cool off and obviously buying haircare products in the supermarket is a very serious business. We had such a lovely time sharing our love of this area with dear friends. Thanks for coming guys.

A visit to Rodez

2010-08-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

During the last week we have had the lovely Moule family as our guests. We managed to have an amazing time and Spike especially loved being cuddled and hugged by Lucy. Other highlights included swimming in the river Aveyron, playing endless silly games and eating far too much. It was sad when it came to Thursday and we had to wave them off at Rodez airport. There were, however, a few saving graces to make up for having to say goodbye.

First of all we went to Salle La Source for lunch, this is an amazingly beautiful Medieval village with a stunning waterfall. There is also an excellent restaurant in easy driving distance of the airport. It makes a lovely treat for those on afternoon flights to have a final, delicious lunch. Sadly on this occasion there was a crisis in the kitchen and we ended up waiting for over an hour for our main course. Oh dear we were not happy but the patron obviously realised and gave us out puddings by way of compensation. The food was really good too with a special mention going to the chocolate mousse.

On the way home we got to admire the magnificent Tour de France cows made of straw bales. The Tour passed through Rodez this year and we were filled with admiration for this awe inspiring public tribute. We also had a great view of Rodez cathedral in the distance, flanked by some wind turbines. I actually quite like turbines I think they are kind of magnificent and modern looking and quite exciting. Perhaps I don't get out enough but I think they emphasise the beauty and age of the cathedral rather than detracting from it and anything which gives us cleaner energy is a good thing. I'll get off my soapbox now and have my siesta. What a tough life.

Excitement at the supermarket

2010-08-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

Now I don't want you to get over excited at the title of this blog. Let's face it supermarkets are not usually that exciting although I must admit that I am a bit addicted to going into them in different parts of the world mainly to see what the local food is like and to see what people are eating. Ive fossicked in freezers from Arran to Zumpango (Mexico...yes really) learning a lot in the process. French supermarkets are usually repositories of everything good and I can't wait to get in there and admire the exotic range of goodies on offer, not least the wide range of intestines and other fascinating body parts!

Well the most exciting news on the old supermarche front in deepest south western France is that there is a brand spanking new Leclerc supermarket on the outskirts of Villefranche de Rouergue which is the town where we do our weekly shopping. Normally we are to be found in Aldi just up the road which is cheap and has all our basic needs at good prices. Going to Leclerc is a bit like going to Waitrose and probably equally expensive but the siren call of the aisles was hard to resist and in we went!

This proved to be something of a mistake as we came out a short time later considerably impoverished but laden with goodies and having had a variety of thrills. Where to star....hmmmm.....well perhaps I should mention the dishy man on the fish counter, sort of a fishy dishy I suppose (sorry!), he was quite easy on the eye and I bought more piscatorial products than strictly necessary!!!! The wonderful choice of fish did help to encourage me!Following that there was the steak mincing machine, for a mere 9 Euros I bought a kilo of steak and.... he cut it off a real joint of virtually fat free meant and minced it right in front of my eyes coooo.

However the most thrilling thing was the vegetable counters honest honest no kidding. They have these amazing funky chilled counters which blow a cooling misty vapour all over the veg and now I come to think of it the fish too in order to keep it calm and chilled whilst it awaits its inevitable fate. I was fascinated, never seen anything like it in all my life. Mind... I think the man who was watching me photograph the veg thought I was a bit funny!

Going off to play cards now and inevitably to get beaten. I'll try to photograph the fishy dishy for your delectation next time.

Random stuff from Verfeil

2010-08-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

Well, what's been happening lately? First of all my chum Kathryn arrived from Boston Mass. and we had a fun week going off here and there. She is a professor of Egyptian archaeology at Boston University so she was very excited to go to Figeac and see the house where Jean Francois Champollion was born. He was the man who worked out how to read Egyptian hieroglyphs. She was even more excited however, by the chocolate mouse/mousse cakes which we had at Cordes one morning. Chocolate before Egyptology that's what I say.

Then we took her back to Toulouse airport and then immediately dashed across to Rodez airport to collect our good friends the Moule family from East Harling. Of course another visit to the cake shop in Cordes was indicated yummmmmmmmmmmm.

We had yummy prawns for lunch one day and guess who immediately came out in a fabulous all over pink rash usually only associated (for me anyway) with crayfish. Erk one bottle of witch hazel later I'm still like a strawberry milkshake all over, including in my hair, but at least I don't itch any more! I'm hoping that it was because the prawns had been touching crayfish on the supermarket counter and that I won't have to give up prawns...a potential major disaster!

The cats as usual are unmoved by all this and remain dozy and restful for most of the day and manic and excited during the night when their two favourite games, chase up the stairs, and scratch the fluffy wall paper, can become a little trying at 4 am! John enjoys his beer and lets everything (except the beer hahaha) wash over him! Even the man we saw in Albi who was celebrating his stag night by dressing up as a willy! What more can I add to that!?

Enjoy the pix.

Petit Randonee a Septfonds

2010-07-27T02:44:00.000-07:00

A few days ago we managed to have our first walk of the year. Mercifully, the weather has been much cooler than we we expecting and there has been a gentle breeze and even a suggestion of rain. This makes it very pleasant to walk and we did about 7km all around the village of Septfonds. We were hoping to see ye famous old dolmens and amazingly we actually found one, the tomb of the giant. It was really fascinating and as you can see the countryside was looking fresh and beautiful. I love walking because you get to see all the butterflies and plants which you just don't see from a vehicle. The little bees were having a lovely time in the teazles.

2010-07-22T00:06:00.000-07:00

Here in Verfeil it is weeing down with rain which is actually rather lovely, as everything is green and fresh and feels cool. The whole village smells of green, wet vegetation. Spike is fascinated by the rain drops; as he is, by and large, an indoor cat he's hardly ever seen rain close up but here when the screen door is up he is virtually outside. It's hilarious watching him as he tries to follow the falling drops. He can't keep up with the speed and it looks as if he is nodding furiously.

Rain aside we have had some good days so far with a combination of productive work and little trips to keep us busy. We've sorted out all the sheets and ordered some more ready for the coming influx of guests, John has been working on his play and Ive been sorting out the WG pottery report. Yesterday we had a trip into St Antonin. It's such a beautiful drive and it always makes us nostalgic because it was the route we took when we first came to see the house in 2003. Verfeil is completely screen by trees as you approach it from the road ans we couldn't see any sign of the house or village until we were here whereupon we fell in love!

St Antonin is the home of the most wonderful soap shop. My dearest friend Joey jokes that I have shares in it because we always take visitors there and because at home in East Harling the bathroom looks like an outpost of the shop. Anyway, as you will see from the pictures the shop is the most marvellous Aladdin's cave filled with glorious scents and colours and as the soap is made with all natural ingredients it does not make me itch! Orders now being taken for such delights as coffee, vanilla, lychee, rose, orange blossom and tutti frutti, all of which smell heavenly and come as liquid or bars. The bathroom has never smelt better!

2010-07-20T05:23:00.000-07:00

Spike supervising the process

All finished I wonder how long it'll last?

Mmmmmmmmmm or in French Miaaammmmmmmm

All ready to go into pots

Boiling it all up was hot work

Hurrah Hurrah we've arrived, so far I've slept for two and a half days and with the other half day I made jam. The strawberries which grow in this area are amazing. They have an intense and perfumed flavour which actually makes you go mmmmmmm strawberry.

I made 3lb of wonderful deep red deliciousness ready for immediate consumption and hopefully also to take home. Now, those of you who know me will be saying "jam, jam, she doesn't eat sugar so why is she making jam?" Well fyo I made it with fructose, proper pure fruit sugar, none of that nasty glucose fructose syrup malarkey but low GI fruit sugar using 3kg of strawberries and only 500g of fructose, (kindly not the use of European friendly weights!). I added lemon juice and because the fructose is very sweet it really works although you need to keep open pots in the fridge. One teaspoon of this now and again is fine for me so cheers cheers. The kitchen smelt heavenly and Spike only tried to help one, narrowly avoiding a nasty jam burn. Silly boy.

Anyway these very special strawbwrries are called Mara des Bois and they are a cross between a culitvated stawberry and a wild one so they are quite small and quite expenseive, but the nice strawberry man on the ,markewt in St Antonin gave me a good deal on some less than perfect specimens meant for the purposes of jam making. Merci mon brave.

All this french houswifery which has also included washing and waxing the floors...don't ask, attacking the wisteria which has gone mad and defending John and Spike from a hornet has all taken its toll with a touch of Verfeil backache so Im going to lie down now. More anon.

Mystery of the black pot!

2010-01-09T22:20:00.000-08:00

Hello campers and Hi de Hi. Sorry about that we have been watching Maplins on the computer and it seems to have rubbed off. Still having difficulty uploading pix so I think you'll have to wait unti we get home. In the meantime we have discovered a mysterious black pot which is wheel made and burnished and definitely not Egyptian. It was inside the new cave which which is now open but so full of sand it is hard to tell what might be in there. It is a big mystery but it might be Aegean or Near Eastern. Hmmm the big problem is that it is in about two zillion bits so guess who has to try to stick it back together and then draw it. We are working hard on all the rest of the pottery and think we might have found a bit more from Crete which is exciting. They also have masses of bits of wood from ships and we found a wooden spoon and a sandal, both perfectly preserved.

We had a mini trip to Cairo last week and ended up volunteering (err being volunteered) to collect some special chemicals which our conservation specialist needed. These turned out to be metal cans full of white powder. Not good when you are flying. Nevertheless, armed with a letter from the Italian Embassy and a whole rash of official looking seals and stuff we presented ourselves at check in, smiled sweetly, explained the situation and brandished our letters and bingo we were in. The bag was covered with stamps and stickers and that was it. Phew.

Aside from that it has been around 30 degrees here the last two days and I managed to sunburn my arm yesterday. The first time I have ever been burned in Egypt. Stupid girl. However, our plant and botany specialist soon came to my aid. Identifying one of the local desert plants as an aloe she chopped a bit off it (rather a prickly looking bit I might add) and started rubbing my arm with great enthusiasm. I must admit I was a bit worried at this point but apart form turning rather green and slimy my arm soon looked and felt better. It just goes to show how useful it can be to travel with a botanist!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=171772&id=532473012&l=6a617ec8a2

2010-01-02T23:22:00.000-08:00

Just a quick blog to say that you can see me and my bits of pot at my face book account the address is the title for this blog. Its very slow to upload anything so make the most of this. NB Facebook account is Sally Swain. We have begun to clear the entrance to the cave and its is sealed with mud brick so everyone is keen to know what is inside. Yesterday the stele was cleaned and uncovered and joy of joys it is a royal inscription of Sesostris II who was king of Egypt in the 12th dynasty around 4000 years ago. We have deck planks and other ship timbers including bits of oars and also a wooden mallet. Even better the inscription on the stele mentions the famous land of PUNT, so we know the expedition set off from here to go to Punt. Its wonderful, a bit like finding an inscription that mentions Atlantis! As the stele was cleared we all stood and watched. The Hieroglyph of the sun god had colour left on it. You can imagine the excitement as the royal name was revealed.

2010-01-01T00:14:00.001-08:00

Hi I'm having another go at adding some pictures but the connection is very slow so this might be another pictureless blog.Work is going well and all the pottery is behaving as it should which is a relief. Work is going on to clear the entrance to the cave and the stele which marked the cave entrance was lifted yesterday. It is covered in sand and can't be uncovered until it has stabilised a bit so we don't know what it says yet but the hieroglyph specialist arrives tonight so we might find out soon. Its so exciting. It's a really big stele and you can see that it has writing on it but without brushing more sand away it is impossible to see what it says. Happy New Year to you all. Try looking at Facebook and I'll see if it's any easier to put pictures there.

What have we ear?

2009-12-30T03:09:00.001-08:00

Well we have arrived and almost immediately the excitement has begun with lots of bits of interesting pottery from all over the place including South Arabia and Nubia as well as Egypt. Our wood specialist has found some ebony fragments and most exciting of all we have a new and apparently un opened cave! COOOOO. Apprently it smells very musty!

In my little ceramic corner of the world I have thousands of bits of big storage jar and also this very odd looking thing which might come from a jar called a Bes vase showing the face of the god Bes. He was popular with ordinary people and though to ward off evil. Mind you I only have one this bit which might or might not be an ear...erk.

Lots of other interesting little problems are occupying me so this is all for now, but as you can see the weather is great and the sky is blue watch this space for more about the cave. It could be very exciting. It takes ages to upload pictures so please be patient if there aren't many.

2009-12-26T11:28:00.000-08:00

A new post hmmm. This blog seems to be a lot about France and not much about Egypt so here is an update just in case you were wondering what had happened to the archaeology. Season opens on 28th December and will run for about three weeks. We will begin by processing the buckets left over from 2007. These are likely to contain a lot of big bits of storage jar but I am holding out hope that there might be a bit more Cretan cup lurking in the bottom of a bucket. Well, we will see what transpires. How exciting. Our Cretan pottery is one of the oldest pieces ever found in Egypt...hoorah.

As for the picture, well I hope to be doing a bit of snorkeling and diving in my time off. At a balmy 28 Celsius it should be just right for a bit of relaxation after work.

A Grand Day Out

2009-08-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-23T03:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-11T08:20:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-07T01:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-05T04:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-03T07:49:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-01T03:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-25T04:17:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-23T09:47:00.001-07:00

See I told you, a big pink building.

La Maison D'Amour ooh la la.

2009-07-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-16T06:49:00.000-07:00

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

Visit to Penne

2009-04-10T01:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-07T01:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-04-02T05:59:00.001-07:00

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

2008-08-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-21T00:37:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-08T05:49:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-07T05:29:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-30T02:36:00.000-07:00

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.

Taking the cats for a walk

2008-07-26T04:08:00.000-07:00

The amazing countryside which surrounds us. Ideal for walking naughty cats.

We got up this morning to discover a scene of devastation in the kitchen including one of our favourite wine glasses broken on the floor. Monsieur Camille has far too much energy and because it was a cool damp morning we decided to take both him and Amelie on a walk around the village. They are getting very good at trotting along on their leads, although they do get tired and have to be carried sometimes. However it was an ideal morning with lots of interesting things for humans to look at and for cats to sniff and chase so we all had a lovely time.

The village of Verfeil is so beautiful and it is easy to take it all for granted when you are here for a long time. It is what is called a Bastide which means a Medieval town built on a grid plan with central market place or Halle and surrounded by defenses. Our Halle is still in place although the defensive walls are gone. However you can see that the village was built on a hilltop in a good position to see what was happening around it. That didn't stop it from being destroyed a few times during the Medieval period but a lot of the architecture has survived and we really enjoyed our walk around soaking up the history and the wonderful countryside.

The cats enjoyed it too, although we had to carry them the last bit! People are always fascinated to see cats on leads and we are often asked "what kind of dog is that?" What a terrible thing to say to a cat.

Tonight we are going the the mussels and chips evening arranged by the local rugby club. As many mussels as you can eat so they say..... will we live to regret it? Watch this space.

What shall I do next? Hmmmmm.....

John and Amelie a mutual appreciation society!

This is our village square and the war memorial.

Here is the church just off the square.

The Market or Halle in the centre of the village.

The bar, a very important feature with excellent meals cooked by Lydie

One of Verfeil's beautiful Medieval buildings.

Fancy making us walk all that way!

Photos of the house

2008-07-11T03:32:00.000-07:00

As promised I'm posting some pics of the house in France. The
cats are not allowed out here unless under supervision which means harnesses and leads. They don't think much of this and they spend a lot of time sitting in front of the windows looking hopefully at the pigeons. Camille is living on a diet of flies and chases them madly all over the house. As well as the house pics there are a couple of me doing the Race For Life in Cambridge last Sunday. It was a great day and we reckon that between us me and my mates Sam and Sandra have raised about £500. We are going to try to pick Nick up again this afternoon, hopefully he will be on the plane this time. Hope you like the house. We love it and think it is very French.

Widening my horizons

2008-07-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

I've decided to make my blog wider and share our experiences in France where we are at present. My best news is that I am going back to Wadi Gawasis in December to do more work in the pottery. I'm really excited. Need to say Hi to Joey Ludbrook who has encouraged me to make my blog wider. Hi Jo how's it going? Jo makes fantastic cushions and I'm proud to have two on my sofa at home. We arrived in our lovely village Verfeil Sur Seye on Tuesday evening where it is hot and beautiful and everything was fine although a bit dusty. The cats were very good on the journey and Camille has settled in well with Amelie to show him the ropes. Nick John's son was supposed to arrive last night but so far he has managed to miss his flight twice so hopefully he will get here on Friday afternoon! There will be piccies so check back later.

2007-12-29T10:53:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the bits drying in the sun. This is just a tiny fraction of what has been excavated in just a week's work. Erk. I'm glad Mr WJ is here to help.

2007-12-29T10:42:00.000-08:00

Here I am sorting out some of the bits. As you can see there are quite a lot. Its hard to put pictures on the blog but I'll try to add some more soon.

2007-12-29T10:11:00.000-08:00

Here is a 4000 year old bowl especially for Lettie, Milo, Sophie and of course Ari. We just found it isnt it amazing? Hope you like it.

2007-12-29T10:06:00.000-08:00

Well, its been a hot and busy day with about a zillion buckets of bits of pot to look at. Here are some pictures to show what I've been up to. I've looked at lots of storage jars and bowls and Mr WJ has been learning how to draw some of the things we have found. For a rest at coffee time we can have a walk by the Red Sea. Its very pretty.

Arrived Safe

2007-12-27T07:17:00.000-08:00

We arrived at Safaga last night and today I have begun my work on the pottery. It already looks very interesting and there are a lot of big jars and plates, all kinds of pots used for storing and transporting things and for cooking. The hole in the ground is already about 2 metres deep and I have spent all day washing the pottery which is very salty as it comes from right by the sea. Tomorrow we will begin to study and draw some of the broken bits. So far there is only one whole pot but it is amazing, about 4000 years old and it looks new. That's all for today.

2007-12-10T08:56:00.000-08:00

I am setting off on Boxing day to Mersa Gawasis on the Red Sea coast to help excavate a port which is about 4000 years old. I hope you will get in touch and let me know how things are at school.

2007-12-07T07:12:00.001-08:00

Hello there this is my blog. I've set it up so that you can keep up to date with the work I'm doing in Egypt.