La Vie en Rose!

It's still hot and we had just enough energy to buy the Radio Times at the market and have a shandy on the terrace of a bar. Then it was on to a bbq organised by the local section of the socialist party to which the new MP, the Presidents of both the Region and the Département were due to put in appearance. We waited around for over an hour and then had over an hours worth of speeches. Luckily we were able to find a bit of shade but it was pretty hot. The lunch, however was good and it was so nice just to be able to eat and walk away! We finally got homewas about 5.30pm after dropping in to show a face at a pétanque tournement that was going on in the village. Christian zonked out as soon as he sat on the settee!

and .... the day was not finished as the restaurant had organised a soirée tapas (yes, they're all the "thing" here)with rosé wine. Funnily enough, we were enjoying a bottle of Laporte and who should be sitting next to us but the vingeron himself .. I told him that his "muscat sec" is my favourite white regional wine (absolutely true)so that went down as well as the wine does!
Of course we wore something pink and Sylvie, Michel's new partner, who is a hairdresser, came along with pink hair extensions and performed her magic in the open air. At one point there about 4 or 5 small girls waiting impatiently. this big girl was first in the queue which just goes to show, it's not who you are but who you know.

While Sylvie was hairdressing Michel was playing with his group, there was dancing in the street added to which there was a group of Norwegians who were celebrating the birthday of one of their number a really festive air pervaded the square.
Of course the evening didn't stop when the music did as Michel, Sylvie her wee boy Alain and daughter Alison, Dalia (Alison's Algerian friend with the longest legs and shape of a top model, Sylvan another friend who's French but lives and works over the border and Anita from Argèles. It was after 4am when we finally got to bed and I'm just longing for a quiet week, next week.

Soirée Tapas

The last major event of the Association's calendar before the summer recess was tonight. It was close and thundery all day but the rain was not due until tomorrow. It all went well and the 60 or so people who were there enjoyed themselves. As usual, most of the work fell on the faithful few so it was only really after the event that there was time to relax. Gaby and Robert came back to ours for a nightcap in the "pub" where it was refreshingly cool.

On with the Dance!

While I went to the association committee meeting and language exchange followed by a drink in bar, Christian was at a meeting in another village for 8am. Then he set off up into the mountains for the annual, verification of the border between the French and Spanish authorities. This time it was done in our commune so our commune had to host the lunch. Aparently it was very good. I contented myself with some melon and left over risotto and of course, far fewer calories!
This evening Joséphine's dance group (shame she couldn't be there) had it's end of year "knees up" in the wine bar. They like us ate tapas and drank wine but unlike us, they flamencoed the night away. The highlight for us was a little 4 year old who was just drinking it all in and who little by little slipped in among the dancers and had a go. She was an absolute honey and I'm sorry, I can't put a photo on the blog to show you her wee face in raptures.

Domesticity Reigns

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent calmly enough catching up with bits and pieces ... hair cuts for both of us, the blog and Nicole for tea. Also made a curry to put in the freezer for Sunday night when Michel and Sylivie are coming for dinner.
The ironing basket that Mary gallantly emptied for me (what better present could anyone have?)is already starting to fill up again. On a positive note we have cut down on our calorie intake.

Finishing in Style

Another scorcher of a day, Mary's last one until next year. She very kindly treated us to lunch at the restaurant in the village and guess what? Yep, we're back on the rosé. Well, it just goes with summer, doesn't it?
The afternoon was more mundane with a trip to the supermarket to find olives for Mary.
By 7pm, the bags were packed and in the car for the trip to the airport although it was still too hot to have the roof down other than for the last little bit of the journey. We, however were able to come all the way back with the wind in our hair!

Thank goodness that we went out early to look at the excavations at a nearby chapel as today was really hot, well up in the 30°. It had been hoped to find some Roman remains as the Via Domitia is close by but what the archaeologists found in their short time there was evidence of a Medieval settlement complete with graves and bones.All very interesting. tomorrow it will be covered back over as there's not any money to do otherwise.
Didn't do anything else except have a lunch time drink at the bar and a coffee there after dinner. Christian left Mary and I to go to bed, so as it was Mary's last night we had a couple of glasses of rosé before turning in ourselves.

Eat Up!

Another hot day and we didn't even attempt to do more at the market than have a coffee in the shade. Mary was a braver soul but even she gave up as it seems that she's over done the good things in life these last few days. Mix in too much sun and the result is an afternoon in bed!Shame as she missed out on the twinning association's meal that was organised as a way of eating up all the left overs that were in the freezer from feeding the Normans when they were here in May . All very genial!
Fortunately Mary felt better in the evening and was able to join us at the recreation ground for "Els Focs de Sant Joan" or fireworks and a bonfire on midsummer's eve. We didn't stay for the disco, prefering to go up to the bar for a moments peace on the terrace.... is old age setting in, I ask myself?

¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Maggie!

A day of making merry, at least for me. In the morning there was an apéritif to mark the end of our Spanish workshop until next October and then this evening it was Maggie who was in the spotlight.Maggie is 70 today so Martine organised a wee gathering for a dozen of us to help her celebrate. It was a lovey evening out on her terrace and there were lots of good things to eat as everyone had taken a dish. all washed down, of course, with cava, rosé and champagne.

Sound of Music

National music day and as usual we played cds of different varieties from the windows of our street and as usual there was a concert in the square. We ate with David, Laura, the Mayor and his wife in the restaurant after having had apéritifs in the bar. Rounded off the evening at Joan and Thérèse's where there was more music. It was all more laid back and livlier so maybe next year we'll divide our time up differently.

Living it Up

Yesterday we had an easy day to give Mary time to settle in. Just went into town for a coffee and while Christian went to get the car back, Anne came up for tea and to give me some advice about disguising the hideous downpipe on the upstairs terrace.
Today was a different story. Made an early start for the mountains where Christian had some council business to do. This didn't take long and we were able to go to our favourite café over the border for café con leche and churros (can't you just feel the calories going on from here?)The weather was very warm and Mary wanted to see the see, so we drove down to Calella and then had a very good lunch at EL Far. Perched on a rocky headland, the restaurant overlooks the Mediterranean and offers a touch of stylish living.This photo was taken at the little church next door and reminds me of the Welsh weather predictor that I always bought my Mum when I went on the school outing to Barry Island. When it was going to be sunny, the woman came out of the door and when it was going to be rainy, the man came out.
Came home via Capmany where we sampled and bought their new line in cava which is more fruity than the one we usually buy.

Change is Here!

The socialists are in the majority in Parliament, in the Senate, in the Municipalités and of course have the Presidency. There were those who said before the elections that this would not be good for democracy but scare tactics didn't work. Not sure what happened to democracy in the last five years either.
Back at a local level, there was the ceremony to commemorate General de Gaulle's call to arms (from London) after the French surrender which was of course followed by an apéritif. I then had lunch at long last with Rowena in the restaurant though as usual she couldn't stay long, and we kept getting interrupted by people I knew stopping to say hello. Somehow it just didn't feel right. I guess being out of touch for long hs an effect.
This evening we drove down to Girona airport to pick up Mary who is here to stay for a week.

Judgement Day

Another early start-Sunday, well, for Christian at least who was on duty again at the polling station in the mountains. I joined him for lunch and got a lift back down with some Norwegians from the village who were also in the restaurant.
The count in the village had finished with Alyagas, the socialist in the lead but where were Christian, Michel and the last ballot box? Christian had had a puncture caused by hitting a fallen rock on the road. Michel drove me about 5 miles to be reunited with Christian and we waited until 9pm for the breakdown service to come out. Luckily we were on one of the few straight stretches on what is a very narrow, windy road. The birds were singing, the scenery beautiful and the evenening sunlight golden; quite romantic really.
Sadly we missed out on the celebrations at Argelès, the fief of our new MP but Juste and Joséphine gave us a report when they stopped by afterwards for some supper and champagne.

Flamenco!

Market this morning but didn't do much more than have a coffee. This evening we we.nt to see Joséphine in her end of year show. Had a pizza on the way there with Juste and thoroughly enjoyed the flamenco, especially the tiny tots who just loved all the twirling! Drove Juste home while Joséphine finished up and opened a bottle of cava sitting out on the terrace.Shame that there won't be any lie in for Christian tomorrow.

Apéritifs

A lovely sunny evening and Michelle and Jean-Jacques invited us to the restaurant for an apéritif. Was really pleasant and so good to see Michelle looking better after her long illness. They'll soon be back to the village for good rather than staying in Bordeaux, something that we're all happy about.Then in the spirit of fair play, we went over to the bar afterwards for a drop more rosé.

Restaurant Fix

Back in our comfort zone with lunch at the restaurant after the language exchange. Anne and Henry came over and as David and Laura had bought there house it was a good opportuntity to get - together but the best laid plans and all that ... Laura wasn't well so missed out..
In the evening we went with Gaby, Robert, Juste and Joséphine to the wine bar where Michel's group was playing. Quite a few people there that we knew and 12 of us, including most of the group, finished off back at ours for a few drinks ... some we knew, some we didn't.

How to Win Friends and Influence People!

Not much been going on in the village these last few days apart from two evening meetings for Christian (town planning and twinning. Nationally, of course, it's a different story with the race for the Legislative Assembly elections hotting up. The latest news making waves is that Hollane's partener has sent a supportive tweet to Ségolène Royale's rival, a dissident socialist. You may remember that Ségolène is Hollande's ex partner and the mother of their 4 children and he is supporting her. Comments have ranged from finding it positive that the President's new partner has a mind of her own to being disappointed that this new "first lady" should go against party thinking so publically so early on in Hollande's term of office.Have to say with the right gaining ground, the timing wasn't great and if only it wasn't his ex!
On the social side, Nicole came for tea and a chat. We're having restauarant withdrawl symptoms!

Civic Duty

Rain was threatening as we made an 8am start for the Mairie's outpost in the mountains to staff the polling station there. Today, 40% of French voters turned out to choose a new Député(e) for the National Assemblé, ie, their MP. The Socialists are favoutites but the National Front is getting ever stronger, however, as there's no PR, hopefully they won't win any seats when the second round takes place.
The day was long with 69 of the 114 voters on the register coming in. Mostly people were good natured and chatty though we did have one elderly lady who wanted to convince us that there was life after death and a couple of others who moaned about the lack of council services. Par for the course, I suppose though I'm not sure that an omlette and perrier lunch (our choice)and getting to sign the official papers as one of the officials quite made up for the cold feet and long day!
When the final count for the whole of the commune came in, the Socialist candidate had a good lead over the sitting UMP candidate so we'll keep our fingers crossed for next weekend.
After it was all over we went to the bar to have a drink with the Mayor and wind down. It was like the European Union in there with Dutch, German, British, French, Catalan, Irish and Danish customers and oh dear, the football has started and it was on the tv.

Al Fresco

Last year's BBQ up on the frontier was such a success that the Mayor wanted to repeat it so Christian and I got out of bed early, picked up Carmen and Maggie and set off up into the mountains to help prepare a meal for 130 people. There was music, a substantial meal and lots of good humour. Madeline even came to join us as there was no other time possible to catch up before she heads back to Scotland; not that we had much time together as there was always something to do. Thank goodness we were spared standing over the BBQ, a job which fell to a couple of council workers.
In the evening we had free tickets (thanks to Joséphine's daughter)for a concert in Perpignan laid on by Regional Council to promote it's 'Sud de France' branding of local products. Luce (winner of a tv talent show), Renan Luce and Balbino were on the bill, but no doubt you won't have heard of any of them!

The Great and the Good

Yesterday was taken up by meetings for Christian, the association and yes, finally the website for me.
Today was more intresting with Spanish in the morning while Christian was meeting the President of the Department who was in the area to learn all about cork,and having a good lunch. In the evening there was a vernissage where we put our names on a small painting, after which we went to the bar for something to eat. Service was good and the chef even adapted the menu for us .... a bit of healthy competition is working wonders!

Tendance Rouge

The theme (in keeping with our electoral hopes)for our neighbouhood get-together was food and clothing from pink through to burgundy. I did a beetroot and cumin dip and of course there ws plenty of red wine to be had.It was great fun with small kids through to old age pensioners and to top it off, it was a lovely warm evening.The Mayor and his wife put in an appearance and he was wearing a blue tee-shirt though whether it was on purpose or not, it's hard to say; he can certainly be stubborn enough!
Rounded off the evening with Laurent back at ours.

Domestic Stuff

Took the car in yesterday to have the scratches dealt with and shopped for meat, both of which cost less than in France. Nick came down in the afternoon and I've resolved (once again) to give the association's new web site some of my attention.
Today Michel and Daniel came for dinner whch gave me an excuse to leave early from the Congo association's AGM and just look at the yummy tart that Daniel made.

Even Handed

Yesterday we ate in the restaurant, today we had lunch in the bar, seduced by the offer of a glass of Nicolas's gaspacho which I must say was pretty delicious.In the afternoon, as rain was threatening, we stayed in and watched the jubilee flotilla on the tv. The weather in London was worse than here and the Queen and Philip looked pretty fed up; well, you would wouldn't you? Not sure why we watched it but it was certainly more for the boats than the monarchy.
Early evening there was a concert in the village hall given by a local brass band at 5€ a head. Just as well that it wasn't more as they were several false notes floating around. Meanwhile, it was just pouring down with rain so we made it to the bar for a drink to allow the deluge to pass.

Fashion Dropout

Too hot to go to the market, we contented ourselves with a drink in the bar and found Jean-Louis in a grubby tee-shirt, underpants and barefeet. Things apparently are not good in the Garden of Eden and he's sleeping above the bar. Gave him a listening ear, visited his lodgings and persuaded him to put some trousers on: the bunny boy outfit was his idea. All this social working deserved a treat so we went to the restaurant for tapas where Michel joined us for a drink and invited us to his place for ice cream.
Took a walk down to the garden to get rid of a couple of buckets of ashes and to bring up some compost. Yes, I'm still a not-very-proud part owner of what we dreamed of being our garden of eden but as we all know .... wisfful thinking just 'aint enough!

Fund Raising

As soon as Spanish was over I made my way to the bar to help prepare this evening's buffet. Under the supervision of the chef, Joséphine, Linde and I mixed gaspacho, cut up melon and stuffed eggs. This bit of free labour + the desserts made by association members was a means of maximising the Patron's donation from the meals bought. Think I'd better explain ....an evening at the bar with a meal and music provided by Michel's rock group was organised to raise money for the Congo schooling project. What with Jean-Louis' contribution and the raffle, we made 700€.
David and Laura came to use for an apéritif first of all and thank goodness the weather was completely different to the last rain soaked soirée at the bar but that didn't mean that no one got wet!