Out with the Old

The week has gone quickly. It's been a time of all sorts of weather .. hot winds, cold winds, mist, sunshine, rain and we haven't ventured far from home. Christian has been perfecting his golf swing and I've been doing lots of odd jobs. Last night we went around to Jean-Jacques and Michelle's for a champagne apéro but apart from that all's been quiet on the social front. Things, however, are about to change ...

Bon Nadal!

Today we made a very slow start and for the first time in 13 year's that if we were home we didn't go to a restaurant for lunch. Just couldn't face a big meal after last night. Decided on a walk. Well, I decided, Christian reluctantly agreed but as we went past the bar we noticed that it was open so went in for a coulpe of glasses of wine. Not to be thwarted, however, I did manage to drag Christian around the village before we went home to lunch of the scallops that we didn't cook last night. The sky was blue and without a cloud. Our afternoon cuppa was accompanied by a piece of Christmas cake, the same that I've been making since Delia's Christmas cookbook came out, however long ago that was and the evening spent quietly in front of the telly with a box of chocs.

Yes Wii Can!

Santa arrived a fraction early having made a stop over at Amazon to to pick up Christian's new toy and ever since he's been practising hard to imrove his golf swing. My part of the present is the fitness (please, no sniggering at the back!) but that will come later. We have yet to negotiate who gets to play when. Managed to get to see Josette and have a cuppa with her before getting stuck in to this evenings preparations.

As is usual in France, our main meal is on Christmas Eve and this year we had Jean-Marie and Chantal, Jacques and Philippe. On the menu were oysters, foie gras, langustines etc., etc. and of course plenty of champagne. Just look how good the langustines are; Chantal can be rightly proud of her work of art. Finally got to bed at 4.30am leaving the front door open just in case ....

Run up to Christmas

At last a few days to catch up with the mountain of ironing that has been glowering ominously out from several baskets. It was made all the easier as my computer had something nasty lurking in it's system so I couldn't be distracted until Michel came and sorted it.

Empty Handed!

16th-23rd December:
I don't know why but this week I've been out and about without my trusty camera so all the exciting things that we've been doing are without illustration. It's been pretty busy and the kilos are being laid down fast and furiously.
Wednesday: Lunch with Gaby and Robert à l'alscacienne then home before Joséphine, Kathy and Juste were around for an apéritif and to choose the photos of our very own flamanco dancers for the photo competition.
Thursday the language exchange followed by tapas at the bar, a carol concert in the church in the evening and an apéritif followed by a chocolate fondue chez Juste and Joséphine.
Friday, lunch out with Anne and Henry. Went to the hotel Duran in Figueres for lunch which was very good apart from a bit of "cheating" on the 18€ menu which said that a drink was included. The "drink" was in fact a bottle of water! We shouldn't have been surprised as at this rather staid retro establishment if you want the menu of the day you have to ask for it. When we were last there the waiter was about to put down two sorts of nibbles when we asked for the menu; quick as a flash, he whipped one away and just left the olives! They are definitely off the list for the future.
Saturday and the great day of the over 70's Christmas lunch. Funnily enough they were a much livlier lot than the over 65s but Christian thinks that that is all down to there being more alcohol bein involved. Anyway, we ate, drank and danced our way through the afternoon and then stayed on to help clean up. All part of the rich tapestry of life!

Around the Christmas Tree

Very cold today, almost arctic and what better occupation than to defrost the freezer. Daily routine has to go on but I'm glad to say that that it isn't all chores 'cos everyone knows the saying about "all work....". This evening there was the Mairie's Christmas party with a super aperitif laid on and Papa Noël who came to fill the empty chair. Every employee and ex-employee had a basket full of goodies, all the children of the employees had a present and all the council members had a box of very swish chocolates. Once the apéro was over there was of course the clearing up to do ... chores at home then more chores, that's the merry-go-round of life . Chantal and Jean-Marie came back to ours for coffee+ so we were soon back on the pleasure track.

Flutters of Snow

How lucky we were to have had it dry for the market yesterday. Today it's even colder and it's been trying to snow. It's lying on higher ground but here in the village it's just wet under foot. Spent the morning taking down the posters and was on the computer all afternoon. Christian has recently tuned in to the updated "google earth" maps and found both our streets in all their glory. It's amazing but a bit worrying that you can see so much detail - and that's the version that's in the public domain.

The great French public has been much worried here by Johnny Halliday's health - every news programme carries the lastest bulletin from his bedside. Even Sarko has spoken about it. Boring or what and do I hear a chorus of 'who's Johnny Halliday anyway?'

This evening there was e debriefing about the Téléthon which ended with an apéritif which ended with an apéritif chez nous with Janine, Carmen and Jean-Claude.

3rd Christmas Market

I've been looking at the sky all week, hoping that the good weather would hold and it did. Temperatures dropped and during the day a snow alert was received at the Mairie for later on. Still at least it was dry and not too windy. Christian was enlisted to help set up the tables at 7.30am which he did with a good grace - he's a real wee treasure, isn't he? Glad to say that the market went well with a good atmosphere and only one complaint from someone who didn't sell anything and was freezing cold. Christian made and sold mulled wine for the website's coffers and we were next to the Association who were selling cakes and I find it hard to believe myself but I didn't have either a glass or a cake. It's amazing how far you can go on a bowl of porridge. Instead I saved myself for the paella which was prepared by the butcher and eaten outside. Mad or what? Had to send it back once as it was cold and when it came back it wasn't much better at which point we gave up. With both Father Christmas and St Nicolas in attendance, the kids were really excited and so was I when I won a couple of things in a raffle. We're obviously on a winning streak, Christian last week, me this. Maybe my one and only premium bond will come up for the first time... At the end of the day when all was cleared up we'd hoped to have a lazy evening but instead Flo (website supremo) asked us to eat with Father and Mrs Christmas at the bar. Thank goodness they were good company but I could have done without the extra calories.

Mountain Food

Did a photo shoot with Joséphine and Kathy in their flamenco gear so it was a good thing that it was bright and sunny though driving up to Jean-marie and Chantal's in the mountains was a bit of a trial for Christian with the low winter sun in his eyes. Our hosts have a fabulous house that really looks as if it's come out of a magazine and the views are are lovely but .... it is too far out of the village for the likes of us. Eventually we were joined by Michel, Joëlle, Philippe and Corinne for a lunch of foie gras, choucroute, cheese and two Christmas logs - one chocolate and one praline. Not for the faint hearted! Chantal is obviously someone who over-caters too! After the others had gone Jean-Marie and Chantal introduced us to the delights of Wii and the Tiger Woods golf game. I was surprised by how much fun it was and Christian is keen to get one. Talking of Tiger - what a mess he's making of things with his family and how much money will he lose now that advertisers don't want his tarnished image associated with their products.? Care, Care, do we care? Don't all rush to answer.

Mairie Annexe

With up to 20 people coming for supper this evening we put a supermarket trip into Christian's palm and nothing was allowed to interfere with it. Needless to say there was nothing ready for lunch so we took ourselves off to the auberge for some sustenance and did I need it. Spent hours in the kitchen preparing food for the chorale who were singing at the local church by invitation of Michel and the Mairie. If you've follow this blog you'll know that we've already done this before. In the end we were 14 so of course as I always make too much, there was loads left over. Shame we're out tomorrow and Sunday.

Oh, so Sedate!

Thursday again and as usual there was the language exchange in the morning followed by tapas at the bar. In the afiernoon it was on with the best bib and tucker for the over 65s tea party in the village hall except there wasn't much evidence of a cup of tea. Instead there was cider, fruit juice and sparkling wine to help down the abundance of delicious petit fours. it was oh too easy to have just one more ... Despite a one - man band doing his best to get things going, there weren't a lot of folk up dancing and the atmosphere was somewhat restrained. Maybe the over 70's lunch next week will be a more lively affair. It certainly was last year. Despite party frock and heels once everyone was gone we set to and helped clear up. I do more cleaning in that b----y hall than ever I do at home! You might think that a couple of pensioners like us had already spent a hectic enough day but all was not finished as we'd been invited up to dinner with Madeline. She had Bill (a Paisley buddy) staying and he kept us well entertained though I'm not sure quite what Annie, who we'd picked up on the way, thought about it all. As usual, Madeline did us proud and next time she'll definitely come down to us as we've a date in the diary for February.

Is Winter here?

The temperature is rising from 16° to 18° tomorrow afternoon and this photo was sent to us by Geneviève last week. The other photo of the Xmas decoration infront of the Mairie tells us that yes, indeed we are in December. Let's hope that Copenhagen manages to achieve something.

At last!

My back and neck ache and my eyes are square but the blog is at long last up to date! Feeling really pleased with myself.

Two's Company

While Christian moved my computer from the landing into the more easily heated small bedroom, I started to tackle the ironing. 16 shirts and several tee- shirts later, I've hardly made a dent in the basket. Still there's always next week or the week after. This evening was the usual "surgery" for Christian while I went and saw Annette over a glass of wine. There were only the two of us and this little fella in the restaurant. They'll be closing at the beginning of January for a couple of months ... where will I get my fix of duck breast from?

All over bar the Cleaning

There's no such thing as a free apéritif so we rose early and went up to the hall to help clear up. What a relief that it's over for another year. No, Christian has never tried this with me! Now it's on with the Christmas market organised by the village forum (ie, Flo and myself) so Christian and I went out in the afternoon putting up posters. Yes, they did arrive as promised!

More Téléthon

People are ready to take your money for the Téléthon at all hours so up we went to the village hall for a Catalan hunter's breakfast of bread, cold meats, cheese, red wine and coffee. In the afternoon I put on my village forum hat and with a lot of help from Christian did a bottle stall on which we made 186€ His good heartedness was rewarded as he won a microwave in the raffle! The British tearoom made 1,100€ which was a great effort given the economic climate. Straight after all that there was a choral concert for three male voices in the church . One of those voices was Jean-Michel ... you see I told you you'd be hearing more about him. It was just superb. They sang in French, Catalan, Corsican, Occitane and Latin and quite made your spine tingle. Rounded off the evening with an apéritif back up at the hall.

Feet First

Bought a super pair of warm winter boots which I can see won't come off my feet until March and then went to have a cuppa with Josette. Ashamed to say that it's been weeks since we've seen her but thank goodness she doesn't take offence. After that we went in search of the posters for the Christmas market at the printers. Jean-Michel, Catalan separatist and a hell of a character has promised that they'll be ready for tomorrow but the disorder he works in leaves a question mark hanging. Apparently he and the rest of his group leave France on the 14th July and they're interested in going to Scotland this year and I'm sure you'll be reading more about him in the weeks to come.

The Téléthon kicked off in earnest this evening with a bar, snacks and a variety show. We stayed a while and then decided to give the local bar some of our money as well.

Give us your Money

Went straight from the association committee meeting to sell more plant cuttings at the market where we later joined by the regulars from the language exchange for tapas. In the evening we were invited for an apéritif to Ginette and Jean-Pierre's, the aunt and uncle of our twinning guest Agnes. We were a bit apprehensive as we didn't know them and weren't sure that we'd have anything in common. You can imagine how our hearts sank when we arrived to find an empty table with only 4 small glasses and a few peanuts on it! Fortunately more things appeared and the evening passed well if somewhat sedately.

Smart or what?

This lunch time we were invited along with Terry and Anne to Nick and Lizzie's for a curry. Lots of interesting flavours to conjour with but the most impressive bit was my cup of tea. Just look at the used tea bag holder. The height of sophistication, I say!

Let the Dog see the Rabbit!

There's a fresh sprinkling of snow on Canigou and the wind is blowing strong. Decided to have a break from the village so we took ourselves off to Figueres and then tried out the restaurant in Fortia. It was an old stone place with character and the menu was incredibly cheap .. 10€ for 3 courses with wine. The starters were fine but the main course of rice and rabbit had only miniscule bits of rabbit in it and then they were mostly bone. Pity they don't charge more and up the quality. Also dining there were an elderly German couple and Christian's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw them putting their pieces of bread into a plastic bag .... maybe their dog is vegetarian or maybe like us, they had the rabbit!

All in a Good Cause

Up early, not to go to Mass but to set up our plant cuttings stall in the hope of catching folk as they come out of Mass. Made about 62€ for the Téléthon but there are still two more opportunities to bump that up. Joséphine stayed on for lunch and then we went to a nearby Christmas market organised by a group of British small business. Our reason for going was that they were donating some of the proceeds to a Cancer support group of which a friend of ours is the co-ordinator in this Departement.

Nose, Snout and Tail

Quick turn around the market and chocolat chaud before rushing back to the village for an Ollada. you'll have read about this before as it's not the first that we've been too but if you've forgotten, it's a traditional Catalan dish which uses all the bits of a pig you wouldn't normally dream of using. The meal was in aid of the Téléthon and with 150 people there it netted a goodly sum. After so much excitement (!) this week we were quite happy to spend the evening together in front of the telly.

Plat du Jour

At last there some sign of a photo being taken for the competition that the association is organising for International Women's Day next March. This one is for a montage of women from the Association who are clients of the bar. As the morning had been taken up, there was nowt to eat so it was off to the Auberge for the plat du jour. Christian can't moan at me for never being home as he had an meeting in the evening so I reckon we're quits.

Cider with Joséphine

A lovely sunny day and we're still able to eat our tapas outside after the language exchange. It was such a lovely day that we lingered long after the tapas and wine were finished. In the evening we were invited to Juste and Joséphine's for une soirée crêpes which are traditionally accompanied by cider. Daniel, who leaves tomorrow was there along with Kathy, Michel and Joëlle. we can only feel sorry for him as he returns to the very wet and windy north of France.

Saving Lives

The Président of the Department honoured the commune with his presence all morning. He inaugurated a defibrillater in each of the villages and made some very long speeches which weren't just about heart attacks. Well, there are regional elections coming up soon. A photo opportunity, a quick glass of orange juice and hand shaking at every turn before he was whisked off to the next meeting. As calm returned we able to enjoy our apéritif in the knowledge that if a heart attack strikes, there's a machine on hand to keep you going until help arrives.

Reading Chocolate

Dinner at the Kluskas with Kathy and cousin Daniel who was there for a few days holiday. Joëlle made a great chocolate mousse (eat your heart out, Alain!) and we had fun psychoanalysing the pattern left on each plate. When it comes to a toss up between tea leaves and chocolate smears, I'm for chocolate every time!

A Grand Day Out

30 of us assembled down at the recreation ground for a day out with the Association up in our sister village. A visit to an artist's studio, a short stroll to a monument to the prominent republicans who fled Franco, an apéritif chez Annette, lunch in the restaurant and a visit to where prize-winning goats' cheese is made. It was a really good day which inevitably ran a bit behind schedule but what was even better we didn't hear one complaint!

Down with Sausage?

For once Christian missed the market as he had a meeting to go to so instead I went with Maggie. However, he did make it for lunch at Françoise and Jean's where his favourite meal of "lentilles, saucisse" was on the menu. When I told Joséphine later she wanted to know why I didn't like sausage as with my accent she'd her "anti saucisse"! Didn't linger too long as Christian had to go to another meeting at the Mairie ... and I think that I need to cut back on what I'm doing.

Le Beaujolais Arrive!

Took the road heading into Catalunya Sud for a day out with Juste and Joséphine who were about to experience the delights of the wine cellars at Capmany and lunch at La Plaça in Garriguella. They were just as delighted with the trip as other friends that we've taken there. Came home on the back road to Can nadal where this photo was taken in time to go to the local bar where a tasting of the new beaujolais was going on. This year's seemed to be better than usual but at 15€ a bottle , it jolly well should be!

Disgrace!

Oh la la! Thierry Henri didn't do much for the image of France with his handling of the ball in the match against Ireland. Our Irish friend Trevor says it will be real hard to know who to support if England and France meet in the World Cup.

On a more serious note while the the Mayors' National Congress was taking place in Paris, Sarko was too busy to attend as he was off in the Middle East on a semi-private visit .. what ever that is. What makes this more worrying is that Sarko is going to stop the "taxe professionelle" which normally goes to the communes and will replace it by a carbon tax. Budgets will surely be badly hit and what was he doing instead of discussing it with the people affected? He was on a bling trip!

So Long Linde

Time for Linde to go home to the States for Thanksgiving and Christmas so we organised a farewell apéritif dinatoire chez nous for her along with the ex "garden girls" and their partners.

Marché au Gras

15th - 16th November:

The association organised a trip to the Marché au Gras in Samatan, well know for the sale of ducks, geese and foie gras. Sorry if you're anti but it's all part of the landscape in France. 22 of us set off and our first stop was for a coffee overlooking Carcassone; then it was on to Toulouse and lunch in the "Galileo" which the owner opened up especially for us. Coffee , wine, 3 courses , all for 12€ a head; can't complain at that. from here the group split into 2 with some going to visit the city of Auch and the rest an armagnac distillery. Take an educated guess which we opted for! The visit was really interesting as they were distilling that day. It's just a shame it was too dark for a decent photo. Parted with a few €s before leaving for our accomodation.

Situated around a lake this small holiday village was a great deal. Evening meal followed by a dance until 10.30pm (well, the clientelle was a bit on the aged side!), self contained accomodation, breakfast and lunch the following day. Christian hit lucky as he got to sleep with 3 women. We should have gone to an overflow hotel down the road but as Kathy and Joséphine had 2 spare beds, we bunked in with them.

The market was something else. The doors opened to the sound of a whistle and then it was everyone for themselves. After about an hour the counters looked as if they'd been hit by a plague of locusts.

Shopping done we had a look around the weekly market and basked in the warm sunshine with an apéritif. The run home went without hold up or mishap which was just as well as we were invited to Linde's for an apéritif along with Jean and Françoise.

It's not Unusual

A sunny day and our usual trip to the market ended with our usual trip to the café for an apéro where we were invited to join the mayor. Not that I'm name dropping or anything!

Lucky White Heather

Friday 13th, and glad to say that all went well. Made a second Christmas cake this one for the Téléthon (Children in Need). It was so good to have some time at home.

Let's Celebrate!

Christian's saint's day so it was a good excuse to celebrate. Juste and Joséphine came around and we demolished several bottles of cava. If you're wondering about St christian, have a look at last year's post that tells all. The photo is just to show that we're not always making merry; just 24 hours before, Christian was behind the broom helping to clean up the hall. C'est la vie!

Flame of Hope

A public holiday in France to mark the Armistice and another two ceremonies. A "flame of hope" was placed by the school children around the war memorial, one for each villager who died in the 1914-18 war. Thought this photo would be a change from the usual which you've seen lots of times before. If you're wondering what a 'poilu" is, it's the name for the poor sods in the trenches and literally means hairy.
The formalities were terminated with a meal in the hall with the old soldiers. In the evening we ended up at Juste and Joséphine's for soup laced with a lot of chat!

Back around the Table

No sooner home than it was time to pick up the threads of our social life with dinner at Bernard and Françoise's, the Belgian couple who are part timers here. A lovely meal, wine from a very classy celler and with Simone and Francis there as well it meant that we were well entertained. They're off back to Brussels tomorrow so it will be a while before we see them again.

Back in Harness!

Well, what a long time it's been - the usual excuses spring to mind - busy, meals out, visitors and trips away. The last entry was 4th September but fret not, you won't miss out on all that's gone before; I hope to catch up over the next few days - or so!
8.12.09
Well I exagerated! I've just made it this far but I'm in the swing now and hope to catch up before 2009 is finished.

Home Sweet Home

All went well with the flight home. It's good to be back to warmer weather and our own bed.

The Big Do!

The sun was shining and the golf course looked lovely with its autumn colours. The whole family plus Barbara, her usual Sunday lunch pal, assembled for a cavery lunch (Mum's favourite) and as the chef is a relative by marriage we were well catered for!
Then it was back to Jill's for tea, another cake, more bubbly and lots of spoiling.

More Shopping

Back into Stratford and went to M&S for the umpteenth time. Still that was just really a time filler while we waited for Mary's bus to arrive from Brum. Had a long leisurely cuppa in one of "ye olde tea shoppes" and surprisingly for Stratford, didn't get ripped off for the pleasure. Got Mum home in time for her to go to mass where everyone sang "happy birthday" to her! It was lovely to see her just glowing with all the attention.

Let the Festivities Begin!

Mum's 80th birthday; flowers arrived and there were presents to open. Set off up to Leicestershire, again aided by John's telephone, to see Mum's cousin Maureen who is a lively 85 year old. Had lunch in a very nice pub and then chatted and reminiced all afternoon. In the evening Rosie laid on a do complete with a cake bearing Mum's photo and bubbly.

Bosom of the Family

2nd -5th November:

Back from our travels and another pub lunch this time at the White Hart and another visit to the bank, a trip to do some supermarket shopping and lunch at Morrison's (mighty and fallen springs to mind!), a visit to see Joan, a look around our inheritance, and a trip to the doctor's for Mum to have her flu jab. Stopped off at the Black Horse afterwards for a drink but as it was cold inside we didn't linger long. Dinner at Gail and Roger's was more like it and as Rosie did the driving we were able to sit back and enjoy the wine!

Birmingham

Drove down the motorway in heavy traffic to spend the evening with Karen and Andrea. Rather than go out we opted for a Chinese take away which came with free smoke alarms from Andrea who's in the fire service.! Was great to catch up with them and we were oh so lucky that they were back early from their holidays.

Don't loose your Head!

Thought it was too good to be true .. the wet and windy weather came in wih a vengence. We went off to a garden centre and took our time over coffee and the papers before finding a pub for lunch After a few abortive attempts we ended up at the Headless Woman. Apparently the name comes from the myth that a serving "girl" refused to give up her mistress' jewellery to the Roundheads during the Civil War and was beheaded for her trouble. She then walked to Duddon with her head under her arm but the story stops short of saying what she did once she arrived. The food was fine but spoilt by a table of very lah lah people who drove us to distraction and left us wishing there was a sword bearing Roundhead handy!.

Ferry Cross the Mersey

The day dawned without rain and we set off for the ferry to take us over to Liverpool from Seacombe. Views of the Liver building as Gerry and the Pacemakers sang there famous song. It would be nice if I could get some music onto these posts. It's great being a tourist. We went straight to the renovated Albert Dock and spent quite a bit of time in the Anti-Slavery and Martime Museums. Well worth it and I'd forgotten that museums are free in Uk. What a great deal! Lunch in one of the yuppie type bars of which there were several and then an open top bus tour... on the top deck of course. Dinner in the evening was at the Shrewsbury Arms outside Chester but while the setting was traditional cosy, the food was lack lustre.

One for Christian

In all the time he lived in Uk Christian never made it to Liverpool and for the last 12 years he's been saying that we should go so finally we did. well, we went as far as Chester to meet up with Jen and stay in a bed and breakfast there. The journey up went without a hitch thanks to John's mobile phone GPS. We even found the layby stop where you can buy mis-shapen Fox's biscuits and other goodies for a paltry sum. The gods were with us as we also found a nice pub for lunch. Had time to look around Chester city centre before settling in at our B&B where Jen had already arrived. The Limes looked quite nice on the website and had 3 stars but the reality was more disappointing. Still dinner at upmarket Chinese restaurant down the road and a good nights sleep made up for it.

Back to the Old Home Country

28th October:
Took the flight from Girona to Birmingham with out any mishaps and stopped off on the way home for lunch in the same pub as last time. What joy! Mum could find something she liked to eat! Then onto Jill's fro a cuppa before installing Mum at home where she was able to catch up with het soaps.

29th October:

A nice leisurely lunch in an upmarket pub which serves real food, weel presented with good unobtrusive service. What's more it doesn't cost the earth for us who are used to bargains galore over here. Then onto the bank to deal with money; who would have thought opening a bank account would be so difficult! Still somethings never change, it's still just as easy to spend in M&S.