Coming Alive

 March 2026

Yellow mimosa has given way to white almond and pink peach blossom creating stunning images  with cloudless blue skies and a snow capped Canigou in the background. 

There was colour in the village, too. After the quiet of the post Xmas season, there was a burgeoning of village activities.

Carnival time.

St Patrick's Day 

Celebrated along with a full house wearing the green at the bar and even ate there. Irish Jack responded to my request for "Only our rivers run free" and oh, did my skin prickle when the guy on the penny whistle joined in.

A mini concert: 

Ventured out in the evening despite the damp chilly weather, to the village hall.  Really enjoyed it. Top notch and different. Melodic sound  for songs in German, English, French, Spanish, Yiddish and vocal cords from a German singer and Israeli guitarist. Stayed for the usual apéro and caught up with various folk.

Lizzie's Vernissage. 

She made plenty of sales, the proceeds of which were shared between an association that neuters cats and an animal refuge. It too, was followed by an apéro accompanied by Jennifer singing and Tony playing jazz.

There were more serious events, too.

MsF's Soirée Tapas

It's a while since I attended one of the association's tapas evenings. It was a convivial evening with new people to meet, a variety of interesting food to sample and foot tapping music to enjoy provided by Gadjo Lolo. No regrets!

                                  International Women's Day

The association marked  with it's traditional salon du thé with the men serving women. Our street also did it's bit. We were invited to choose a remarkable woman and write a short text about her to be displayed at the start of the street. Decided on Gisèle Pelicot, the French Woman who was drugged and raped by her husband and 50 other men while she was unconscious. Backed up the text with some statistics.

                                “Shame must change sides.”

The Café Litteraire 

As usual the winter edition of the group met at the bar. This time it was upstairs in the "private" room. I listened with interest but didn't present a book. Maybe I should think about Gisèle Pelicot's "Hymn to Life" when I can find the confidence. 

Municipal Elections

After six years polling day arrived. Finally, there were 3 lists in contention but the incumbent Maire polled 50.02% of the vote on a turnout of 64.5%, thus avoiding a second round. In reality the Maire was only 2 votes in advance thus the most serious contender put in an appeal to the Sous Préfecture as he believed there had been irregularities. 

Next came the official "Installation" of the Council which I attended. The elected members which included 5 members of the Opposition, had to elect the Maire who then named his 6 Assistants i.e. those heading up particular functions and entitled to wear a sash. Just for interest, the Maire's has gild metallic tassels and the assistants silver. There was a bit of a rumpus when the Maire wouldn't let two Opposition replacements participate as he ruled that the correct procedure hadn't been followed. So, another appeal was lodged. The Leader of the Opposition nitpicked his way through the session to the amusement of some and the annoyance of others!

 

On the home front there was the usual round of social events with friends, chez eux, chez moi and at the café. Won't enumerate them. Trips outside the village merit a note and photo though.

Hansel & Gretel Salon du Thé, Céret

A treat for the 'non knitting" group from Lisa who isn't in a position to invite us to her house. Not just tea ceremoniously presented by Gretel and scrummy cakes made by the  Michelin* restaurant opposite but also a spray of flowers from the florist part of the establishment. An unexpected touch from Lisa and if you think that Gretel's German, you're wrong!. She's half Taiwanese, half Porto Rican and her husband is the patron of the restaurant! It was Angela's first time there and she was bowled over as only Angela can be. Something else for her "j'adore" repertoire!!

Le Jardin de Céret with Friends from Soréde

Marfil Restaurant, La Jonquera

Here, we met up with Dali's daughter, and her fella. I went for a starter of escalibade followed by paella and Irish coffee which was generous to say the least. The house offered limoncello and a herby type liqueur, leaving the bottles on the table, to end off the meal. Dali invited us (Henri & Michèle, JJ & Jacques, Nany & André, Cathy {her daughter} and Gérard {an ex Usap player}) all back to hers for whisky, chocolate and cake. The whisky at 105€, a bottle came from Cap d'Ona and was recently awarded best whisky in the world! I had to point out the codicil was "in it's category and we don't know either which organisation was making the awards and how much it cost to participate.

Perpignan with Joëlle

What's with the toucan? It was part of the street art expo. We didn't settle on anywhere to have lunch but had tea and patisseries at Brasserie 1900.

Farther afield, I had a day out over the border.

Roses with Jean & Françoise

Despite very strong winds, Françoise was having none of it and wanted to go to Roses. So, to Roses we went. Had coffee at Si'us plau then, battled our way along the front. Settled on a restaurant but settling on a table took 3 moves and even at the end up she wasn't satisfied as there wasn't a clear view of the sea! The meal wasn't to her liking either .. her entrée was tasteless, her main course was tasteless though her tiramiso was cleared without a negative word.

Finally, some exercise . . .

On the Coastal Path 

Wanting to take advantage of the warm sunshine, Françoise & I were joined on the coastal path leaving from Sole Mio by Véro. A bit chilly despite the sun.

Over the Channel, Little Sis had a birthday and inspiration didn't fail me

What better present for a cheesaholic? And the funny thing is I came across this one in France!

One last thing: 

Of all the screen time I had, "Immortal Man", the Peaky Blinders film and "Togo" about an Alaskan husky were the most memorable.

Nature Notes:

Weather:

Highest Daytime 22°; Lowest Daytime 11°

Highest Nighttime 12°. Lowest Nighttime 5°

Lots of rain, strong winds

February 2026 and the Days are getting Longer

1.2.26: No comment!

 

The Galettes des Rois are forgotten until January next year having been replaced by crêpes. You wouldn't know that Lent started in the middle of the month; no sign of abstinence here. Gone are days when I was a kid and gave up chocolate. 

In recognition of a bit of cultural balance, the Chinese New Year of the Horse fell 17th. Both the café and restaurant reopened and is our tradition, JJ, Martine, Jacques & Suzette were there for the latter.

I won't bother you with the usual round of meal, apéros and coffees with friends but here are other meals of note: 

  

Ann's 80th 

Chinese Meal followed by Champagne for Michèle's Birthday

 

 

 

 

Delicious Chicken & King Prawns at the Village Hall to raise Funds for the forthcoming Twinning Visit

 

There were 7 of us at our table with the remaining 3 being filled by the man standing in opposition to the Maire, and his Mum ( I've studiously ignored her until now for a remark she was said to have made about Christian 17 years ago; mon dieu!) and a woman who's not unpleasant but presents as wishy washy and uninteresting even though she volunteers at a food bank and charity store. Nothing for it but to concentrate on our copious meal and the bottles of wine that kept coming while trying not to become embroiled in the political swiping.   

Yes, municipal elections are upon us after 6 years of the current Maire's term of office. Leaflets, candidates on the stump, political meetings watching who's in a huddle with whom and bated breathes to see who's on the 3 lists (of 23 people that must respect male/female parity) to join battle for the Mairie for the next 6 years.

 

Good timing. The Municipal Library (open for 2h Wed am, 2h Thurs after school hours and 3h on a Sat am) was inaugurated at the end of the month giving the Maire the chance to meet prospective voters. With the President of the Communité des Communes and two members of the Conseil Départemental in support, he was able to tell those in attendance, what a good job he's been doing. An apéritif  (or two) on offer, there was a respectable turnout.

 

  

There's more to village life than political manoeuvringsI've been involved in the EvS (Éspace de Vie Sociale). It aims to increase social integration and reduce isolation through workshops, networking and other activities. First off a small group of us with the help of a co ordinator, shared 50:50 with Céret, worked on a Charter for users and those offering activities. Here's hoping it will take off. Already there are sewing and knitting groups, both of which have as their base an action to benefit others. Of course, there's help with personal projects if need be a cuppa, biscuits and plenty of chat as well. 

 

As well as continuing a weekly English conversation session with my Japanese friend, Lisa, I've now started a Spanish/English exchange with Pilar.  Feminist, singer/guitarist she already speaks English quite well and is ready to come from Céret to mine on a weekly basis. Not only that, Pilar speaks Catalan, Spanish, French and German as well which she used to teach until she retired. It's not hard to see who's getting the better deal!!uess who's getting the best deal!

 

 All's well, on the health front; just some dental work and haven't put on any weight. Downside is, I haven't lost any despite needing to.

One screen or another is ever present in my life. Having abandoned my original cloud storage provider as too expensive, for Microsofr 365, I soon realised it had not been a good move. Couldn't get to grips with it and found Copilot trying to take over my life. But where else to go? 

The computer bunny burrowed its way into my brain and took me down, the "I must clear my phone of so many photos as google keeps telling me that I'm maxing out my free storage allowance, rabbit hole". It was a very deep rabbit hole and the hours spent hardly made a dent. Once again, I had to go for broke by tagging, editing, collaging and organising. OTT to say the least.

I need to try and keep a rein on my obsessive behavior. Too many very late nights bingeing on box sets can be added to the list. Even my neighbour opposite as commented on the light being on when she gets up in the middle of the night. 

 

I did watch "Hamnet" and Bill Nighy in "Hope Gap" (known as "Goodbye" in France) which were several steps up from my usual fare. I should add I didn't watch Hope Gap in either German or French but of course, in English.

 

 As for the weather. There have been wild swings of temperature with very little rain. It was colder at the end of the month (11°H, 6°L) than at the beginning (16°H, 9°L) having reached the dizzy heights of 24° and the lowest nighttime temperature of 4°. 

But there are signs of better things to come.

Nature Notes: 

Two Turtle Doves

 

  

So, all that remains is for me to leave you with a couple of anecdotes:

1. 1st February is National Yorkshire Pudding Day. Who knew that?

2. 27th February Neil Sedaka died aged 86. Who remembers him? 

 

 

Here's to a Happy, Healthy 2026!

Off to a Promising Start, n'est-ce pas?

Where ever you are, whatever you're doing, I hope you're having a great day with people you care about. May this coming year bring many happy memories and few hiccups along the way!

1.1.26:

 

This year's calendar brings a change; scenery and nature have given way to humour.   

15.1.26: 

With the café and restaurant closed until mid February plus a dip in temperatures the village is quiet. JJ, Jacques and Michel are away so social life is pretty quiet as well! Or maybe I should say quieter. Françoise took pity on me and gave me lunch; Henri and Michèl.e took me with them to Collioure so that Ben, who's over from Oz, could have some English conversation.

 

While Henri took refuge in "Les Templiers", we went for a wandered round to walk off the lunch we'd had at "La Marinade". Just as well as we all came back  here for tea and Christmas cake.

I  started the year well with invites to my neighbours for an apéritif dinatoire. Shame it had to be done in two parts due to a bit of friction between a couple of them. Jacques was back earlier in the afternoon and Camille forgot so we were only six!

Even though it's not the Epiphany until tomorrow, Galettes des Rois have been in the shops for days and two made an appearance this evening. Marcelle and Anna both found a charm and got to wear a paper crown. 

And there were more to come . . .

Thierry found the charm at Kapka's birthday lunch which Jacques laid on. My Torte Royale had the candles and thank goodness it was not the catastrophy that yesterday's Whole Orange Cake was. Had to make a last minute dash to the mini mart for a replacement to take to Lynn and Colin's for tea. Double ignominy; I should have been hosting the tea but concerns about my stairs for Terry resulted in them stepping into the breach. There was, however, not a galette to be seen.

The tables at the Maire's New Year wishes were laden with them; MsF's less so though Françoise did find a charm. We didn't stay long as JJ is now back and sharing left over tapas from a soirée the night before.  There were more after the Twinning AGM but I didn't partake of either food or drink. Bumped into Lisa on my home who reminded me that I should be at the not knitting "knitting group" at Monica's. Angela had forgotten, too, but she didn't make it at all.

Luckily it's not been all food; a walk above Paulilles with Françoise was welcome though not strenuous; maybe it was welcome because it wasn't strenuous! The weather was clement, found a plant I'd never seen before and came across a shepherd and his 450 sheep that were eating their way between the vines.

Apart from that, English conversation with Lisa has been in Céret and I met up with a couple who live in the States and have bought friends' house on the outskirts of the village. That makes 2 Scottish couples, an Irish couple and an English woman who've sold up this last year and another who's selling .

16th - 31.1.26: Best laid plans and all that . . It's the 19th February and here I am, shelving a load of things in favour of a bit of Chitchat. 

First up was meeting up with Pilar, a language teacher who wants some English conversation in exchange for Spanish. This promises to be a whole different ball game to my sessions with Lisa. I'm going to be way out of my comfort zone. Pilar's an interesting woman; Catalan, a singer, politcally active, feminist, of course, and has a fun personality. Oh, and I must forget patient! Guess who's got the best end of the deal. Despite my years of dabbling , some would say massacring the Spanish language, I have made ziltch progress.

 The highlight of the long list of lunches, dinners and apéros and the only one with a photo, was Henri's birthday lunch. A good meal followed by champagne back at their house, they don't stint. I didn't slack either. Did a lunch, an apéritif dinatoir and two teas. not as much as I received but an imrovement of late.

Less interesting was a trip to the dentist for an extraction. He appeared with full PPE and a visor which made me do a double take but he did the job. Whats more, I had no pain and no infection.  And also a shopping trip to Perpignan proposed by Nicole, that turned out to be a search for her new matress! Won't fall for that one again. The search, which was to no avail by the way, was broken up by lunch at a Thai buffet. Plenty on offer but not my choice and nowt out of the ordinary. To cap it all, she had a puncture as we were leaving so there wasn't time for me to go to Action, the Dutch cheapo store that I'd put on the table as something I wanted to do. As they say, you win some, you lose some.

What else? There was a mini, my-era concert, given by a multinational trio (French, Belgian, British) followed by an apéro in the village hall.  

Being Burns' Night I wore my red tartan scarf and did a bit of on the hoof cultural education. Political tracts for the upcoming Municipal elections in mid March have been appearing and there was an introductory meeting to the EvS (Espace de Vie Sociale) but more of that next month. Suffice it to say, that it ended up it with a slice or two of Galette!

Notes of Nature: blue skies, snow on Canigou and a splash of mimosa to cheer up drab January

As for the weather we've had temperatures ranging from -1 overnight to an unexpected daytime high of 18° and a lot of rain. In fact, there was more rain this month than we've had in the last three years! That is something to celebrate.