A bird in the hand.............

We were just watching TV when we heard noises coming from the wood burner(now not in use thankfully). Taking a closer look we found this little chap behind the glass door. He left us fit and well flying off into the trees.

Another day another fete...............

Today we had the Fete des Fleurs et du Cheval in Cazals. We missed this last year as we were back in the UK. As it turned out the fete was not just a celebration of the flowers but also a horse show.......

We arrived just as the action was about to start in the horse training ring and in typical fashion the compere was loudly telling everyone to get close and come out of the shady areas...."what's the worst that can happen...........you get a sun tan", he said. A bloke with a nice red cape rode into the ring and proceeded to ride very fast round the ring while blowing his own trumpet, well horn.

He then got some beautiful black horses to run very fast round the ring while he rode alongside. Then he really started to show off by riding one of these horses bareback and jumping on and off the horses as it was moving.........he'd obviously done this sort of thing before. The show finished with him running around playing "catch me if you can" with a white horse and making it sit up for applause.

We found that there were also stalls selling locally produced cheeses and charcuterie. They had some wonderfully original decorations to go with the produce on the stalls.........mmm, I'm not sure...............

The sanglier looks a bit too real...............

On the way to see the flowers we met this horse trainer trying to get his pal to have a nice cool drink from the stream, he seemed to be content to soak his feet...............

The flowers at last. Today was also our son Adam's Birthday, he would have been 26 ...........We bought him a nice lavender that will sit in front of the small walled garden at the side of the house.

As you can see the flowers were beautiful and numerous and again it was a pleasure just to take your time, walking amongst the displays looking and making the occasional purchase.........

You have to allow plenty of time to get around these local events, not just to see all the flowers but to chat and meet friends on the way. It took us about half an hour to travel one stretch of about ten meters, without seeing any flowers! We had bought so much that we had to take it back to the car in two goes, stopping for a drink in Francette's in between trips.......it has to be done! Local economy and all that.

Fete des fleurs at L' Abbaye Nouvelle.........

Another fete today, May is full of them, this one was at the old abbey on the way to Gourdon. Specialist growers from around the region fill the grassed areas around the abbey with their plants......

roses , lavenders, herbs, vegetables, shrubs, climbing plants, plants for shade, plants for sun, plants for fun, they where all there.

We bought some Lavenders and a Salvia 'Royal Bumble' and some Begonias.

This is one way to get your plants back to the car!

Pizza night in Cazals.........

On Wednesday evening the takaway pizza van is in the square in Cazals.........order your pizza and take it to Francette's- sit outside with a drink..........what could be better!

La fete de la Victoire

Today is Victory Day in France when each village celebrates the end of World War Two and families visit the graves of relatives who lost their lives during the war. We were in our garden this afternoon and there was a stream of cars visiting the cemetery which lies about 100 meters from the house.

At midi in our local village there was a ceremony to remember those who lost their lives in World War Two. The Marseillaise was played with fervour by the local band and traffic was halted in the village square.

After lunch we travelled to another local village to visit an exhibition remembering the activities of the French Resistance. The exhibition was in two parts, one about the activities of the resistance in south west of France and the other part about Gilbert Renault, who was known during the french resistance as Colonel Remy and one of the most famous secret agents of occupied France during World War Two. We timed our visit perfectly and were very lucky to be shown around the exhibition by Gilbert Renault's son, who explained with obvious pride and emotion, the stories behind the photographs and other exhibits. A truly memorable afternoon. He asked us if we would sign and leave a comment in his visitors' book and we did so with pleasure.

Vive la fete du muguet......................

We returned from sunny UK on Sunday, mission accomplished- wedding outfit found and purchased, to torrential rain and the potager once again under much water- hope the pommes de terre that I planted a few weeks ago can swim. I also found that my laptop had passed away in my absence, hence the blog delay. I have had to wind up my old desk top and sort out problems with internet security! But what a difference a few days make, the sun shines again and the waters recede enough for a few tentative steps into the garden. And -yes it's good to be back home.

Today is 'la fete du travail' (workers day) and a public holiday here in France, and the sun has shone all day. It is also 'la fete du muguet'and the tradition is that people present loved ones and friends with a small posy of lily of the valley for happiness and good luck. This is a photograph of the posy that our neighbour Bernadette gave us this afternoon. It looks and smells wonderful.

The blossom is looking beautiful everywhere just now, and none more so than the lilac tree at the side of our house. Last year it produced very little in the way of flowers but this year it is superb, and smells wonderful, especially in the early evening.

Back in the UK...........

We are flying back to the UK later today to spend a few days with my brother Keith in Leeds. There were three of us but sadly we lost David to colon cancer about this time last year. David and Keith lived together for many years, so this has been Keith's first year on his own, a difficult time for him.
It will also give Linz the chance to continue the search for "the holy grail" that is her outfit for Matt and Bethan's wedding. September 5th is not so far away now and I think she would like to have it sorted, along, of course with the shoes and the bag.
I will be able to drink real beer again with Keith and recharge the batteries for a very busy time in the garden when we return.

Soiree at Francette's

Yesterday evening saw another soiree at Francette's. This is Francette in the photo, she is a wonderful host and very kind. She invited about seventy of her regular customers and gave us a four course meal with as much wine as we could drink as a thank you for supporting her business. I can't think of anywhere else this would happen.

Of course as the evening progressed there was much silly dancing and as you can see Bob doesn't necessarily need a partner to dance with.
Francette's is so small there is not much room to strut your stuff and you often finish a dance with a different partner!

This was one of the courses, a delicious couscous with chicken, veal and sausage.

This is the assembled company, a great mix of French, Dutch and English enjoying each others company. Martin was in charge of the music again, you can see him at back, underneath the lamp on the end of the bar.

We were back at Francette's this morning, with slightly sore heads! We had first been to the market, which is now starting to pick up again with more and more stalls each week. The vin et fromage fete turned out to be a bit disappointing, although the weather was much better than last year. There seemed to be fewer producers this year and only one cheese maker. Mind you I had spoilt myself for the wine tasting by drinking far too much at Francette's last night.

Rain, rain go away............

The rain that has fallen all Easter weekend stopped briefly this morning to allow us to venture into Cazals for the traditional Easter Monday brocante fair. There seemed to be fewer stalls and punters than last year........this might have had something to do with the weather but more,I think, to do with the economic climate.

A fair few French were in evidence but not many English.......except for the "locals" Mind you, the dealers must not be aware of the economic situation........some of the prices asked were outrageous. We soon retreated to Francette's bar, our local, for a few beers and to debate the silly prices.

Next week is the vin and fromage fete............hope the weather is better by then.......there is much tasting to be done! ........still researching wine for Matt and Bethan's wedding!

April Showers.............

April showers are upon us this Easter weekend so it's back to the blog. After returning from London with un rhume and mal de gorge and then having friends visit, the blog has been neglected. John and Norma's visit was a 60th Birthday present for John and it was so nice to see them again. It is wonderful for us to see all of our friends so obviously relaxed when they are here and enjoying the peace and slow pace of life, we owe them so much. We try not to drag them around the countryside too much and instead enjoy each others company the way the French do..........drinking good wine, eating good food and catching up.
As you can see we did find time to get into the potager and plant the first pommes de terre. Although according to Monsieur Dauriac, our farmer neighbour, we are too early and the potatoes should not be planted until quinze Avril precisely! Whenever I ask him when I should be planting various veg he is never vague as to the time and always includes the day and not just the month. Local knowledge and experience is a great advantage.......I check the weather on the internet, I don't suppose Monsieur does but he is always right. I say to him it's forecast to rain tomorrow and after a significant pause he will say peut-etre or on verra but never no it's not and invariably it doesn't rain. Maybe one day I will be able to do that....I think not.

Flying off

Later today we head off to London, just for two nights, but when we found cheap flights (20 euros return) it was too good an opportunity to miss as Matt and Bethan are over there and we can meet up. They have been finalising some arrangements in Wales at the venue seeing caterers etc. Bethan will have been serious shopping for 'the dress', having a lovely time with her Mum while Matt will have driven from Birmingham to Newcastle to have some serious drinking with friends - there may be a quick Moss Bros suits check involved, but I am sure the nights out will dominate - Mars and Venus again! Then we meet Jude, Bethan's Mum and the happy couple for a meal tonight - perhaps in Chinatown, I hit shops intensively tomorrow, while John meets up with Keith, his brother and probably Matt for more drinking sessions until we all gather for a meal tomorrow night with more family and friends - I can't wait. Excited about seeing my son and Bethan, meeting Jude and sharing food and drinks and of course being embraced by 'big shops' a rare treat. Sure we'll be a little shell shocked by the big city but it'll be fun!!! (Linz) for John

Marteen's Birthday

It was Marteen's 60th Birthday on Saturday. Marteen found us our house in France and has since become a very good friend along with his french partner, Myriam. Myriam organised a suprise party for Marteen at the salle de fete in Marminiac, where they live.

Marteen had no idea at all about the party or that his mother would be there having travelled down from Holland that day. It was a wonderful thing to see his face when he walked into the hall to see his friends and family gathered there.

It turned out to be one of those wonderful nights that we have grown to love here, good friends having a great time in each others company. Lots of food and wine and some very silly dancing.

This is a photo of Marteen and Myriam, together, as they are always, Marteen making a very moving thank you to all his friends and family.......life for Marteen has not been easy either.....but he has a very optimistic attitude to life which inspires everyone around him.

This is Marteen's brother and mother entering into the spirit of the evening with a sort of waltz invented after several glasses of vin rouge!

This is the wonderful Myriam, a very special person who has become a great friend, and along with Marteen has done so much to help us settle into our new life.

This is me eating raw herring, dutch style........it tasted better than it looks. A word about the braces....... we were asked to wear something red because it is Marteens favourite colour, the braces were all I had!!!

Marteen sings and plays guitar in a local band. He is the "Bob Dylan" of Marminiac.

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Everyone had their photo taken inside a picture frame........... a wonderful idea............the things people did with the frames!! It was a great night.

Foire d'arbres..........

Today saw the first plant fair of the season at St.Martial-Nabirat. The local Pepinieres set up stalls selling their young trees and shrubs.

Despite the rainy weather people from the surrounding villages still turned out to give their support, dragging away trees with huge root balls covered in hessian..........

then returning to mark their places for the" repas foire d'arbres "in the Salle de Fetes- a five course lunch with wine included for 20 euros.

Aujourdhui..........

Today was one of "those" days that happen from time to time, when the shutters come down and the day ahead looms long. So we decided to drive south for the day and, after removing ice from the windscreen of the car, we set off for Albi in the Lot et Garonne, a drive of about two hours.


By the time we arrived the temperature had risen to a very pleasant 15 degrees and we were able to walk around the old town with some warm sun on our back. Cathedral Sainte-Cecile is massive and sits at the top of an incline surrounded by the beautiful warm, pink toned buildings of the old town.

The one downside of the cathedral has nothing to do with the building itself but the fact that it appears to be in the middle of a roundabout, moreover one that is heavily disguised as a pedestrian precinct, which makes negotiating Place Sainte-Cecile a little difficult and dangerous at times.

The pink bricked buildings of the old town are now home to numerous bars, restaurants and shops and also the famous Henry de Toulouse Lautrec Museum displaying his iconic lithographs and paintings of the brothels of Paris.

Dans le jardin.....

I've been working "dans le jardin" over the past week, Lindsay says I'm recreating the Somme at the back of the house, digging trenches for drainage and cables and making a bit of a mess. "where will I hang my washing?" mmm.
We had another Birthday last week, this time our son, Matthew. We returned to Bergerac and bought a plant for Matt------he is now a tree, an Acacia dealbata Le gaulois! very grand--------looks like this..................


or so we have been led to believe! We have decided that from now on we will mark every birthday with a new plant, shrub or tree, so that every plant in the garden will have a special memory. It maybe Erin or Matt or Adam, Lindsay or even moi!.....and from now Bethan.

5th February............revised post

It was Erin's Birthday on the 5th-she would have been 23.............. It was a beautiful sunny day so we decided to drive to Bergerac, which is about 100km north west of us. There is a huge garden centre just outside of the town and we wanted to look for a nice plant to mark Erin's day. We chose a lovely lavender coloured rose and have picked out a place for it on the new terrace by the side of the house. We also bought a wind chime to hang in the same area and when there is a breeze and they chime we will say "Hi Erin".

Bergerac is the largest town in the Dordogne Valley and owes its prosperity and importance to the river. As early as the twelfth century it was a thriving port and crossing point on the river. gabarres carried, wood, stone, wine and other locally produced goods between Perigord and Bordeaux. Today the gabarres carry tourists up and down the river on sightseeing trips as the photograph above shows. The centre of the newer part the town is dominated by the church of Notre-Dame, with its neogothic belltower.

Bergerac is now known for its wine making and numerous vineyards surround the town. There are thirteen appellations in all. Perhaps the most famous is Chatau Monbazilliac, to the south of the town, which is famous for its sweet, white wine.

The vieille ville is a very picturesque and peaceful area to stroll around, with lots small shops and cafes, where you can relax with a coffee or something stronger! There are also many beautifully restored medieval houses and museums to look out for.

In the centre of Vieille Ville there is a statue of a man with a big nose called Cyrano de Bergerac, even though this poetic caveliar never set foot in the town, why? This will have to be researched and if anyone knows why he is there let me know.