Oh Dear!

Visitors left today and we went to the market. It was warm enough to have the roof down. Have to admit that it's great fun. Sad to say Christian bashed the wing mirror on the way back so it will need some attention "bientôt". C'est la vie!

Open for Business

Spanish this morning followed by an apéritf at the bar. Francine and Alain took themselves off later in the day to do a bit of sightseeing and to eat out while we went to the new restaurant. An apéro chez nous with Juste, Joséphine and Martine kicked off the evening and all of us thought that it will be a welcome addition that it will be a welcome addition to the local restaurant scene. Sadly the photo I took was out of focus so there's no evidence of the occasion.

Scurrying Around

The last three days have been busy ones. Alain telephoned on Tuesday to say that he and Francine would like to come the next day.

Anticipation Satisfied!

The new restaurant that we've all been watching take shape over the last year opened its doors for an apéritif by invitation. We found out that we were the first people to book for the official opening on Friday night, so I guess that we earned our place. There were lovely canapés and the wine was served without stinting. It was warm enough to be outside and mingle and was all very pleasant. There also seemed to be more people than is usual for a Monday night on the terrace of the bar across the square, so here's hoping that it will bring money into the village for all.

A Good Day

The sun is shining and my leg is a lot better; so much so that I haven't taken a pain killer since Friday. Hardly limped at all on my wat over to the bar for a lunch time glass of wine.

Two Square Meals

With Joséphine away, we invited Juste down for lunch and as it was a roast there was enough for Jean and Françoise as well. in the evening we immersed ourselves in Catalan culture with a musical evening and dinner of "boles de picolat". Try the recipe at http://www.anglophone-direct.com/Boles-de-Picolat. Not very difficult and makes a lovely warming winter dish. Really went to support Jany who is always ready to help out in the village with all things theatrical. Was a pleasant evening and we got to meet Pierre and Marie, friends from Perpignan.

Not a Brass Monkey in Sight!

Would you believe it? We've the coldest weather in France here and even Scotland is warmer. It was a bit of an effort to get out this evening to attend a meeting about the forthcoming visit of out twin town from Normandy. What made it worse was that quite a bit of patience was needed while the organisers trawled through a long list of who was going to "put up" whom. We have three people with us and the other two who asked to stay as well were allocated elsewhere. I think the organisers were trying to alleiviate the load but they are a couple that we were more than ready to have stay but we could hardly go to battle with the couple who said they'd have them!

So much Sadness

A bus crash in Switzerland last week has left 28 people, mostly children, dead; in Toulouse and Montauban 3 soldiers were shot (all from ethnic minorities), seemingly by the same person and then a gunmain (similar M.O.) opened fire at a Jewish school again in Toulouse, this time leaving 4 dead. The country is now on red alert. What a world.

Wearing the Green

Yesterday was calm enough. Christian dropped me off at Spanish after my physio session and in the afternoon we called in to see Juste and Joséphine, who's had her hair cut by the way.
The market is still too much to take on, so this morning passed quietly before it was time to pick up Gaby and Robert to go to Mas Salelles. It was warm enough to have the top down and it goes without saying that we ate very well there. Stocked up on cava on the way home and then stayed with them for a coffee and to watch Wales beat France for the Grand Slam and that's not all ....
this evening we met up with Linde and Kathy for our traditional St Pat's day whisky in the bar.

Getting Back in Circulation

Got a lift to the committee meeting and then walked down from there to the bar which provided a welcome staging post. Even more so as the sun was shining and we were out on the terrace. in the evening we went with Gaby and Robert to the local wine bar for tapas and jazz. The musicians were from the village, so it was the least that we could do. There were lots of familiar faces in the audience and Danielle was acting as waitress so we had excellent service!

Searching in Vain

The weather is still warm and sunny 21° so lunch overlooking the sea on the way home seemed like a good idea. As we'd never been there before, we thought we'd try one of the seaside towns to the north of Perpignan. We must have been looking in the wrong place or it was too early for anything to be open as we drew a blank in the 3 towns that we tried ..... though as you can see from the photo we did manage to find the sea. We gave up on the sea and decided on another restaurant we like near Perpignan but it was closed. Ended up in a restaurant who's only attachment to water was an ornamental tap on the terrace but we did have a very pleasant meal for a very reasonable price, so all was not lost!
Christian's council meeting was unexpectedly cancelled as the Maire had to go up into the mountains where someone had died when his car went off the road into a ravine.

Grin and Bear it!

Valérie is down from Normandy in Montpellier for a couple of days on a training course so it was too good an opportunity to miss. We even managed to book into the same hotel which was situated near the tramway. This made going into the centre of the city to eat in the evening easy apart from the bit of walking that I had to do. With the aid of my little friends, it was a small price to pay to catch up and have a nice meal in la Place de la Comédie.... though, I must say, we could have done without her straight-laced colleague who didn't even say thank you for the meal that we stood her!

Tea for 50

The last few days have been up and down. I think that the problem is that when I've taken the pain killers my leg feels ok so I try and do things in the house when in fact I should still be resting.The xrays didn't show up anything, however, I do think my 3 sessions of physio a week are doing me good as I'm slowly reducing the amount of "little helpers" I'm taking.
Today, I ventured out to the square where the Association was holding its get-together to mark International Women's Day. As usual, tea, coffee, cakes and hot chocolate were served to the women by a few willing males which as usual included Christian. I contented myself with sitting and selling raffle tickets.
At the end of it all, the Mayor suggested that we join him, Jeannie, Pierre and Bridget (the in-laws) for lunch somewhere. Christian came up with Pont de Molins. As he treated us, I guess he was well pleased with the good meal we had. The weather was pleasant enough for us to sit out on the terrace overlooking the river where a cormorant was sitting majestically on some driftwood, to have our coffee and for Pierre to smoke his pipe.

Another Celebration

Even though I had a bad night last night, I swallowed down some pain killers and made an effort to go out for lunch as it was the 25th anniversary of our meeting in Glasgow. Christian had lamb shank and I had squid cooked in ink. Looked like a plate of coal but it tasted good!

Meals on Wheels

Christian's birthday, despite my incapacity, proved to be a jolly affair. Michel came by with a bottle of malt at the same time as Juste and Joséphine arrived at lunchtime with apéritifs and a super meal which included duck with olives and a truly delicious tiramisu. What's more, their new granddaughter was born a little early that morning so you can just imagine Christian's delight.
In the evening I went for my first physio session, driven there by Françoise, while Christian, Jean, Thérèse and Joan got stuck in to the apéritif dinatoire that they'd brought with them. So, in the end, Christian was spoilt and had a lovely day full of surprises. What good friends we have.

A Sorry Tale

We should have gone to the Auvergne for a few days to meet up with Christophe and the family but instead spent spent the time trying to find a comfortable place to rest. Started off languishing on the settee, then stayed in bed and was waited on by Christian who has become chief cook and bottle washer. Then tried the bedroom downstairs which was abandoned after two days ... well, there's nothing like your own bed especially when you're not feeling so good. Saw the GP on Thursday who has referred me for hip and leg xrays next week and had visits from Michel, Anne , Joséphine, Jean, Françoise and Ethel who tried some Reiki on me.
Today, we should have gone to Barcelona with Juste and Joséphine for an overnight to celebrate Christian's birthday tomorrow but it was not to be.