Thank you, Maggie

10 of us gathered around the fire to say "thank you" to Maggie for all the manure she gave us for the garden. Trevor was home for the holidays and we, the garden girls and other halves were also joined by Racel and Alain. The table looks pretty scimpy when this photo was taken but I can assure those of you who are wondering if our hospitality is in decline that it filled up with all sorts of goodies throughout the evening. 8 of us managed to see off 6 bottles of bubbly so all in all, it was a good wee soirée.

Gloomy Day

The weather is grey and the news from Gaza is just awful. It makes you want to weep.

Getting Back to Normal

The thaw is on and it's raining heavily so there was no question that there would be a market to go to. Coffee again at Joëlle's this time to organise who's doing what for Monday night's apéritif which is a "thank you" to Maggie for the horse manure that she's shovelled, bagged, delivered and helped spread! In the evening it was our turn to play host as we'd invited our neighbours Sylvie and Christophe for an apéritif. We never ever see them so there was plenty to catch up with and they left at about 11.30pm

Good Samaritan!

Snow, snow and more snow! An alert was put out advising people not to travel.After lunch we braved the elements to go around to Michel and Joëlle's (on foot) where we were invited for coffee and stollen. Then it was home to batten down the hatches but with all best laid plans, things didn't work out as we expected. The motorway was closed and the Mairie opened up the foyer to stranded motorists. Christian was called out and stayed to help feed about 70 people of all nationalities until about 1.30am. Then he was back there for 7am to serve breakfast. What a star!

Merry Christmas!

Up relatively early, did the round of family phone calls and then popped around to Michelle and Jean-Jacques' with their Christmas present and stayed for a coffee. Then we stopped by at Michel's Mum's who is 97 to wish her a "Merry Christmas"" and give her the last bit of last night's Christmas log. As is our tradition, we went out for lunch but rather than going down to the coast we went up into the mountains, had a really good meal and the apéritif was on the house. Once back home, Christian had a siesta and I lit the fire and had a pot of tea. In the evening we were invited around to Jean-Jacques and Michelle's for an apéritif before a quiet evening in front of the telly with a box of chocs!

Father Christmas in Town

Another lovely sunny day and we were invited over to Penny and Frank's for lunch time drinks which were served on their terrace. We couldn't linger too long however, as we had to get home and prepare 10l of mulled wine to serve around the fountain at 7pm. Father Christmas did a tour of the village and outlying estates giving sweeties to the children and ended up in centre where the adults enjoyed the wine. Poor old Father Christmas couldn't have a drink though as he didn't want to stain his beard. Still, he and his wife came around to ours later on and we spent the Révillion together. Traditional menu of oysters, smoked salmon, foie gras, turkey, cheese and Christmas log. Can't you just hear the weight attaching itself to the hips!

Nature's Splendour

This morning I dealt with the duck liver that was sitting in the fridge and in 48 hours it will be ready to eat; just imagine, my very own foie fras.

What do you think of this for a view? Is it any wonder we're happy here? And of course we have good friends like Michel and Joëlle who came round for dinner with Alain who's staying with them for the holidays. Believe it or not we had turkey and cranberry sauce.

Christmas Cheer

There was music in the air this evening as Rosie and Maurice gathered together a few French and British friends to sing carols in English, French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian and Latin. There were nibbles provided by the choir and Jean-Louis did a good trade inside the bar. Sadly for Christian he had a council meeting but did mnage to join us for a wee glass or two.

Food with Friends

This evening we were invited around to Joëlle and Michel's for dinner with their friends Christian and Christine who were there for an overnight. Juste and Joséphine stopped by and the rabbit dish was stretched to cater for 8. Joëlle is a marvel in the kitchen, no hint of panic. If only some of it would rub off!
Something completely different - a (New) Labour government allowing for interest to be charged on crisis loans - what next???

Better than Expected!

I hadn't particularly been looking forward to the meal in the Village hall for the over 70's but it ended up being good fun. Everyone (150 of them) was there to enjoy themselves and apparently they did. There was music, dancing, singing and Jany doing a few sketches. The meal was excellent. We fell out from there just in time to head over to the new Mairie where guided tours were in progress with an apéritif to follow. During the afternoon there had been a symbolic removal of things from the old to the new mairie which had attracted about 60 or so volunteers, young and old. A good idea leaving people feeling as though they were part of something and that the Marie belongs to the citizens and not the elected representatives.

Normality

Supermarket, tv and a wee report about the "Opening" to send off to the local paper. A bit of a laugh really as my website colleague, Flo is in for the current vacancy!

Getting Back to Normal

Being to feel like my old self but the face in the mirror looks pretty sunken. Weighed in this morning at 64.3kg. I haven't weighed that since I was about 10 years old! Went over to the bar, where I only drank tea, to join Anne and Terry and a few others from the Association. Having won a huge goodie- filled basket at the Christmas market, they decided to bring along some bits and pieces for people to try. A really kind thought, n'est-ce pas? In the evening the Association's "Gastronomie" group had organised a demonstration of the preparation of foie gras. Joëlle did her Delia and showed us 3 different ways to prepare it and ..... do you know what. It isn't difficult. the

Oh Woe is Me

15th-17th December:

Three days of feeling absolutely awful. Gastro-enteritis is rife in the area and I didn't escape. Only started to pick up when Maggie came around bearing a rehydration formula for babies and instructed me to take it. in a previous life Maggie had run an elderly person's home or what ever the pc term is these days and this is what they used. But life is never without a wee ray of sushine; how we laughed at Bush having to duck the flying shoes.

Christmas Market

Well, the day finally dawned wet and cold so there was nothing to do but set up shop in the hall. A bit of a squash and very noisy but apparently people were well content with how it went. Only a couple of hiccups when 2 stall holders didn't have the 4 metres they'd asked for but otherwise Flo and I were pleased and we made a bit of money for the web site. Sadly the patron of the bar was "out of it, having passed a night of making merry and our meal wasn't anything to write home about. A bit embarrassing really as Madeline has come down from her mountain hide-away and brought a friend, Annie with her. Feeling absoltely exhausted and can't stop shivering.

Just Keep Going

7th-13th December:

A week spent preparing for the Christmas Market and worrying about the weather. Will it be fine and if it's not, how are we going to get everyone into the hall? Still, it wasn't all work. Sunday we went to the Auberge for lunch and Wednesday to a rather smart restaurant in Spain where we met a charming gentleman called Ramon with a rather less charming Frenchman. Got the impression that Ramon was well-heeled and the other was there sucking up to him. Anyway we came away with Ramon's address and an invitation to visit. Apparently he has a soft spot for our village as in his youth, his first love came from here. Friday evening there was the opening of the current exhibition. A painter/sculptress from Perpignan. We bought the bust of the African woman that you can see in the photo. Then Joëlle, Michel and Maggie came back to the house to share a basket of oysters that we'd bought and to drink lots of wine. Saturday it was the "Fêtes des Ecoles" where you could part with your money in aid of the school outing fund. Fater Christmas arrived on a horse but apart from that it was bitterly cold and there wasn't much to encourage us to linger. At least we showed face which is more than the Head does for events organised by the Mairie (he was beaten for the 3rd time in the elections; some scars never heal), got our ears blasted off and beat a retreat home to the warm and a pot of tea.

Pulling out all the Stops

Started the day at the market but this time with Joëlle as Christian was at the village hall helping set up. Also leafleted cars for the Christmas Market. The afternoon consisted of a British tearoom (which raised 1000€), guess the weight of Colin's "gâteau", a sculptor who used a chain saw to carve out a tree trunk in the shape of an owl for a raffle and various stalls. I left the Association to it's own devices as the website did a bottle stall and raised 200€. During the afternoon the kids theatre group took of various members of the Council and villages. Wht a thrill to find myself being taken of. Was even better than the young woman was "mignonne" as the French would say. The fair ended at 6.30pm and then it was all hands on deck to prepare the hall for the evening meal of wild boar for 70 people. The evening continued until 3am at our place with Jean (and his guitar), Monique, Alain, Jeanine, Jean-Claude and Carmen. Now there's the Christmas Market next weekend ......

2nd Téléthon Event

A night of music and dance for the Téléthon after an afternoon blowing up balloons! What dizzy heights can I aspire to next?? The real highlight though was the publicity that "Colin esposera son gâteau". "Exposer" in French doesn't have the same connotation as in English but it certainly caused the English community to have a few nudge, nudges and wink, winks!

All Go!

Plant sale at the market for the Association and then a change of "hat" in the afternoon when Flo and I measured the square for the Christmas Market stalls.

Bad Vibes Continue

Joséphine came around to put her point of view again and Maggie came to "sound off" about egos getting in the way everywhere. Still I suppose there was some sort of balance as Yaneth came and we've decided our project deadline should be extended and Joëlle came by with Jean Ortiz for an apéritif while the men were at the Mairie.

One Big Headache

An Association meeting in the morning where we counted the money and tried to sort out the unclaimed prizes. Not easy when you have a name and no phone number. The evening should have been a pleasant one as it was the monthly trip up into the mountains for Christian' meeting and the restaurant where a "zarzuela" had been especially ordered. A "zarzuela" is a Catalan fish stew, by the way. This time we were joined by Juste and Joséphine but a row kicked off between her and Alain about the Téléthon; I'll spare you the details. Then to cap it all, we came home and I was sick. Hadn't eaten the fish so I've no idea why.

1st Téléthon Event

Maggie and I set up stall outside the church to try and flog tombola tickets to the good Christians of the village and then after that outside the bar to do likewise to the not so holy! After that we carried the trunk up to the hall where an "Ollada" was on the menu and we started selling again; a last gasp before the draw later on after the meal. An Ollada is a Catalan stew that uses all the bits of a pig that you'd rather not know about. It does, however, taste delicious. There were about 150 people who sat down to lunch and all was a great success. The tombola raised over 400€ so we were well pleased with our efforts. The trunk contained two helicopter trips and believe it or not, the Mayor won. Being the good sport that he is, it went back in to be drawn again and was won by Michel's Mum who is 97! There was entertainment provided by a group of young people who'd do well on "X Factor"and by Jany and Jean. Not content to call it a day after we'd cleaned away, Joëlle, Monique, Alain, their friends, Simone and Roger, Joséphine, Geneviève, Juste, Jany, and Jean came back to ours for a wee refreshment and more music. Alain, Monique, Simone and Roger stayed on for pot luck out of the fridge. One down, two more events to go! .....and we didn't forget that it was St Andrew's Day either.