Racking up the Cost

Usual Thursday stuff in the morning and in the afternoon a visit to see Juste who had kindly stained the saucepan rack that I'd had made in wood. Well, they were expensive and I didn't want them being shoved in the cupboard and getting damaged. The rack however, cost more than the largest saucepan so I'm not sure about the economy of it all. Anyway, Juste had done agood job, the rack looks good in the kitchen and Joséphine plied us with chocolate brownies and some kind of iced Spanish drink that includes sherry and lemonade. Very refreshing but i can't for the life of me remember what it's called.

Return Meal 3

Today it was Tony and Babette who entertained us. First for apéritifs at their house and then to a nearby restaurant wherewe had a very good lunch. It's hot again so the afternoon was spent doing nothing!

More Like It!

It's very hot again today but it was going out in the blazing sun to visit Monells which was by far prettier than Crüells. If we come back this way for another break this is where we'll head for in search of accomodation. Visited other small medieval villages and then took a windy road up to St Marie of the Angels, the hermitage where Dali married Gala.
Came home via Vilajüiga where we stopped off to buy some olive oil and other "produits du terroir", stopping off at a restaurant called "Garimail" in Pau where we were the only clients. Over priced for what it was.
The day wasn't finished as we were invited to Diana's for drinks and a bite to eat. Talk was off course about the book festival and I came away with a book to read called "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" which apparently is a highly recommended read.
Alexander Linklater's review in the Observor ends ... "This may not, quite, be a masterpiece, but it is unquestionably a marvel – entirely original among contemporary British novels, revealing its author as, surely, the most impressive fictional mind of his generation."

Heatwave

It's very hot again; too hot to spend a day in Spain sightseeing as we'd originally intended before going to the B&B we'd booked near Crüells. Instead we had coffee in the bar where the Mayor was interviewed for local radio about the new road and a lazy afternoon. We did manage to look around the village in the late afternoon and were disappointed to find that it wasn't as picturesque as I'd imagined the B&B was a few kms out. The B&B was in an old farmhouse but while pleasant enough it too somehow lacked those little extras that I'd expected. The other six residents were Catalans so discussion at the dinner table was somewhat limited. However saying all that, it was nice to be away and see the outside world.

Eating Again

It's very hot again today and our visit to the market comprised of very little shopping and a hasty retreat to a shady terrace for an apéritif where we were joined by Joséphine, Martine and John, an English guy staying with her.
In the evening it was the Associations end of year tapas evening. getting things ready in such a heat was a bit of a struggle especially as to start off with we couldn't open the barrier to bring the car laden with the booze up to the bar as the key was missing and there weren't any tables. Fortunately all was resolved in the end, there was a great selection of food and plenty of buzz from the 100 or so folk who turned up. Alls well that ends well, as they say.

Talk of the "Steamie"

Corinne and Loïc called by this morning with a scrummy box of chocolates by way of a thank you for the bit of conversation practice that I gave him and I suspect that I got the better deal. This evening the renovated "laverie" (ie., where women went years ago to do the washing and catch up with their friends.) Speeches, some story telling, an apéritif and paella for about 70 of us, it was all deemed a great success.
If you're wondering about the photo, it's the menu. Sorry the photo isn't very clear..

Summer is a comin' in

Usual association stuff this morning and a visit to see Juste this afternoon who's still getting around on crutches. This evening it was down to the recreation ground for the arrival of the flame from Canigou (shades of the Olympics, n'est-ce pas?) which then lit the torches for the torchlight procession. This was followed as every year by fireworks and a bonfire in the age old tradition of "la St Jean".

Yawn, Yawn

Too tired to get out of bed and go for a walk this morning; how feeble is that?

Fête de la Musique

All that happened yesterday was a trip to the supermarket (boring) and a visit from Jean and Françoise at apéritif time (much more interesting).

As usual, today, we signed up to play Celtic music from our window as our contribution to national music day. There was a large organised meal in the square in the evening but we ate instead at the bar from where we were able to listen to the music in comfort. if you've been reading this blog for a while you'll realise that much of life fallows a regular pattern and today was no exception as we ended up at Jean’s house where Michel was once again playing. even the photo looks more or less the same.

ps Don't know what's going on with the fonts, please bear with me.

On Yer Bike!

There was an organised cycle ride to the lake from different villages in the area ending in a picnic lunch and we were there to see our contingent set off from in front of the Mairie. Duty fulfilled, we did our usual Sunday thing and went for a coffee and then a rosé at the bar where we were joined by lone and Jesper. The sun was shining and we even walked down to see the garden which has become a wilderness and in dire need of attention. Resolved to try and find someone to take it over as of the five of us there’s only Linde who’s interested in doing any work. All those people who said it wouldn’t work were right; sayings about experience triumphing over optimism spring to mind. Still, it was a good idea at the time.

A Well-Filled Day

Duty won over pleasure this morning as we went on parade rather than go to the market. The 18^th June marks de Gaulle’s call to the French to resist the occupying forces .....

" I, General de Gaulle, currently in London, invite the officers and the French soldiers who are located in British territory or who might end up here, with their weapons or without their weapons, I invite the engineers and the specialised workers of the armament industries who are located in British territory or who might end up here, to put themselves in contact with me. "Whatever happens, the flame of the French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished."

An apéritif to follow at the village hall, then lunch at the local bar rounded off the morning.

In the afternoon there was time for a little rest before we set off with Juste over the border to go to a cookery demonstration given by Dolores our favourite chef/restauranteur of the moment. the demo took place at a wine co-operative which also sold local food products which formed the basis of the recipes. There must have been about 30 of us all told and it was great fun. We came away with the recipes and drove to our next port of call which included a snack, well the tasting samples weren't very big, before taking our seats to watch Joséphine in her end of year flamenco show. The day didn't end there as after that it was back to Juste and Joséphine's for cava and a few more laughs. ps. I've no idea why this last paragraph has typed up in bold.

Hasta la Próxima

Summer is definitely coming ; many of the regular village activities are coming to an end. This morning was the last Spanish session but even so Maria-Carmen made us work right up until the last moment. We were rewarded thought with champagne and plenty of lovely nibbles that she laid on for us. It was a pity that several of the regulars had other commitments but I suppose that it meant that our fidelity was rewarded with extra helpings! I now have a few weeks to decide if I’ll go back or not …. if only there was a beginners’ group ….

Return Meal 2

Did the usual Thursday things: committee meeting, language exchange followed by a glass of rosé. In the evening, however, we were invited to the Mayor's along with David and Laura for another "thank you" dinner and believe it or believe it not, we walked there and back!

Old Friends

Finally made an early morning walk followed by the usual stuff. Late afternoon we went over to David and Laura's where we caught up with our friends, Anne and Henry from whom they had bought the house. Tea became a rosé a little later ...... ah well!

Retirada

You’ll have come across this historical event several times before if you’ve been reading the blog so I won’t go into any explanations here. Twenty two of us from the Association set off first to the museum , then for lunch which came as a welcome relief from all the somber stuff that had gone before. After lunch there was more to look at but by the time we reached Cal Conchita there were only 8 of us who had stayed the course!

Holiday Monday

Nono and Evelyn are still down in Collioure so they invited us down for lunch in a town centre restaurant that had been recommended to them. “Present this card and there’s a free aperitif”, so they did and there was. What was even more amazing was that we found a free parking space, what was less amazing was that Christian bumped the back of the car into a bollard!
ps the photo is more about the bouganvillea than Nono and Christian!

Celtic Connection

We followed our usual Sunday routine with coffee and chat in the bar followed by “ un petit rosé”. This evening we had David and Laura and Trevor and Judith around for a meal and drank our way through a number (and I’m leaving this vague) of bottles. Slàinte!