Countdown

This evening we were invited to the neighbours’, Fred and Marion along with others of their family and another couple of friends. We were 12 adults and a bunch of kids who ate pizza and played games while we partied below. Our hosts live in a converted factory with space on the ground floor
complete with strobe lighting and smoke machine. Everyone contributed to the meal. There was foie gras and champagne for the apéro, then a roulade starter followed by beef cooked by Frank in a salt crust. Much to Christian’s surprise, there wasn’t any cheese and after the excesses of the last few days, it was good to have a dessert of just clementines.

A Bit of Culture

Today we decided to head out for a bit of culture, going in search of the Jacquemart Museum where there was the private collect of Pre-Raphelite paintings owned by the Mexican,  Simon  Péres,  on view. The building itself was  superb and the collection well woth seeing. You can see more about it on http://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/fr/home     We then treated ourselves to lunch in a pleasant restaurant nearby which wasn’t cheat at 27€ each for two courses but what’s money for, if not to spend?

Lunch over, we walked to the Champs Élysées and joined the post Christmas throngs oggling at the racing cars in the Mercedes shop and snapping photos of the Arc de Triomphe.

Almost all the Family

Not wanting to do battle with the hordes on the metro and to trail around Paris in the cold,  we had a relaxing day indoors. Feeding everyone at lunch time was a major operating but Frank and Stéphanie got it all together without any stress …… I must learn the secret. At the end of the afternoon, the Normans waved goodbye and headed home, leaving us all to catch our breath.
(The only one missing from the photo is Jean who fled kicking and screaming!)

Lots of Bling

Another grey start to the day but we ventured forth to have a walk around the market and a coffee stop at the “Pause Café”. There was no lingering over lunch as the 8 of us were to meet up with the Valérie et al at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. They’d been in the queue for 45 mins already and were nowhere near the front so, a group decision was taken to take a trip on a “bateau mouche”. Even though it was chilly, we opted to stay outside as it gave the best photo opportunities. By the time that the trip was over, night was falling and by the time we’d climbed up to the Trocadéro, the tower was lit up in all its splendor.
Christophe et al arrived at the house a little after us so there were 18 to celebrate Emma’s birthday with an obligatory aperitif or two followed by a dinner of lasagne.  I have to say that it was good to be able to escape to our little haven of peace across the courtyard while the others continued late into the night!
 

Clowning Around

Walked up to the market which needless to say was smaller than usual. Stopped for a coffee before wandering back for lunch. While the kids were upstairs playing and Frank, Stéphanie and Christian had a siesta, I made the most of the peace and quiet to watch Downton Abbey. From the sublime to the ridiculous we went into town to see the show that the kids had given us for Christmas. First of all we met up with Jacques for a drink before he goes off to cover the"Dakar" rally  which despite its name starts in Argentina and not Africa. We came away with the latest book that he and Yaneth have edited about Women's sport in 2013. There's no way to explain the "Family Sempianyki", they're a disfunctinal family, style Adams/Simpsons where anything goes.  You just need to Watch this clip http://www.francetvinfo.fr/cirque-clowns-russes-dans-la-famille-semianyki_457648.html 
We didn't think that we'd stay the course but to our surprise we did.we did. Not having eaten we tried to go to "Le Charentier" opposite but we were too late so we settled instead for a curry a few doors down from chez Frank. we were received with a smile and a warm welcome thus made our way to bed feeling happy with the world.

Feel Good Factors

A walk followed by a coffee has fast become our morning habitbut at least it gives the family a bit
of respite before we descend upon them. Lunch time today we all took the métro to the station Stalingrad which comes out opposite the Communist Party HQ, to go to a bar/restaurant where Léo used to work. He quickly slipped into role and looked after us and other clients extremely well. there was a very pleasant atmosphere, we ate well and were treated to dessert and a digéstif. Christian and I went for the Malian dish, beef maafé and weren't disappointed. Maafé is Wolof for dish and is made with a peanut sauce http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maafe#Recipes
On our return to the house there was time to catch up with "Midsommer Murders" before headingout for a soirée with Jean-Jacques and friends at his neice's wine bar and restaurant http://www.domainesdesophie.com/ a nice wee, unpretentious place where we ate well and drank the wine from her family's vineyard. http://www.berenas.com/
The evening was dedicated to Michelle and his nephew, Christophe who both died this year and I'm sure it did him (as it did us) good to be surrounded by the warmth of family and friends. 
 

Christmas en Famille

Awake at 5.30am to get ready to leave the house at 6.40am (17°, I kid you not) to go to the station for the TGV to Paris. First time ever. Read, dozed, gazed out of the window and in just over 5 hours we were there. Frank and Léo were waiting (9°) and in no time we were in the bosom of the family. After a distribution of presents 8 of us sat down to a traditional lunch:

·        Champagne and canapés

       Foie gras with spiced bread and chutney served with Gerwitztrammener

·      Turkey, stuffing, chestnuts, grapes, celery  purée and sweet potato purée served with a Châteauneuf du Pape

·      Cheese (St Nectaire, St Marcellin, fresh goats’ cheese with raisins and Compté) served with a Bordeaux

Chocolate yuletide log with raspberries.

We are in the fortunate position of having a neighbour’s house for the week while she is away so, there was nothing else to do afterwards than beat a retreat and have a wee rest.

To One and All!

Early Birds

24.12.13: Spent most of the day doing odds and ends before leaving tomorrow. The fridge is empty of fresh food, the washing and ironing done and bags packed. As we couldn’t have a late night, we opted for a quiet dinner tête à tête at the restaurant and an early night. The meal was excellent:

·         Apéritif: Verrine of puréed mussels with a butternut squash foam

·         Opéra of Foie Gras (Layers of spiced bread, foie gras, chopped nuts, foie gras and Banyuls jelly)

·         King Prawns with chorizo crumble, squid stuffed with white pudding and truffles, Scallops on a bed of veau tartare with orange sauce. (They were small portions but filling none the less!)

·         Mont d’Or cheese

·         Chocolate gateau

·         Coffee

And we were in bed and asleep by 9.45pm 

Live for Today, Tomorrow will be too Late

Christian was at the Mairie to do a few last minute bits and pieces while I delivered the last association newsletter of 2013. In the afternoon we went over to see Josette who is in a care home but she dismissed us after about 45 minutes as she wanted to go back to watching the film with her pal. Oh dear! Things have changed. She was never one for the tv before and is mentally a shadow of her former self. Doesn’t bear thinking about.

Cheers!

We had anticipated a quiet time in but as we all know, the best laid plans ….
Jacques telephoned early evening to say that his son and his girlfriend had arrived and they had some fizz to share. Two bottles later, there was a “pot au feu” to share as well. Well, it is the season of good will, isn’t it?

 

Road to Freedom

Wrapped up well as despite blus skies, there was a chill in the air and we were heading off into the mountains for the inauguration of a panel to mark one of eleven “Freedom Paths” in the area. In January 1939, Spanish refugees came north to flee Franco and then later the same year freedom fighters, allied airmen, Jews, communists and other such “undesirables” so deemed by Hitler started to leave France in the other direction. The ceremony and wreath laying was done with dignity and the turn out was surpringly good for being 10km up a very windy road at 9.30am, Of course, there was a snack afterwards.
All was not over though; we did an action replay in our local market town which was also the start of an escape route. A much bigger place but the ceremony was lack luster in comparison with people complaining that the passing traffic detracted from the gravity of the affair.
Christian came up trumps though … I’d remarked that the historian had spoken during his speech about “les hommes” (men) who had crossed the border and then later “même les enfants” (even children) so he went over to him and pointed out that women had made the same journey. The historian tried to make out that he’d used the masculine in its generic sense which was when I came in with “meme les enfants”! He actually took it better than one would expect so maybe next time ….
Had a quick apéro at the Mairie before going home for lunch.
In the evening, after a short presentation there was a book signing at the museum. The book was about the genealogy and history of a local family and had taken over 10 years to research and write. We bought a copy, had an aperitif and hot footed it home to prepare for Maggie, Nick and Lizzie who were coming for drinks and nibbles. We had a lovely bottle of red wine (can’t remember who gave it to us) at one point and we were all agreed that it was just delicious, so smooth. It’s called “Roc du Gouvernor” made  at the Arnaud Villeneuve vineyard so, if you see it, go for it; it certainly won’t break the bank.

Better Safe than ....

Having described our meal of kedgeree at the Mairie, Jean-Mairie, who heads up finance, said that he liked the sound of it so we invited him, his partner Brigette and Jean-Jacques around this evening to try it out. Jean-Marie said he would bring a seafood platter as a starter. I wasn’t 100% convinced that he would so I made a curried parsnip soup just in case. What a good job that I did as he arrived with a rather splendid floral composition of lilies and orchids but no starter. There was no sign of Brigette either as she is a district nurse and had patients to see. Our guests finally left after 2am and we fell into bed exhausted.

 

Run Up to Christmas

The last few days have been relatively quiet.
Tuesday we spent 3 hours at our friend’s hairdressing salon (don’t ask!), stopped for a cuppa on our way home at Juste and Joséphine’s and then while Christian went for his weekly meeting at the Mairie, I prepared supper for us and Jean-Jacques.
Wednesday it was the Mairie Christmas aperitif. Presents for the employees’ children, past and present employees and councilors. A nice wee selection of goodies came our way.
Today we had lunch at the restaurant and didn’t do anything else out of the ordinary.

Spirit of Christmas

Middle of December and we were in need of sunglasses. The village Christmas market took place in front of the Mairie in glorious sun shine and itt was even too hot to wear a Santa hat. As usual, the association sold mulled wine to help swell its coffers and as usual it was Christian and myself who made it. So, it was an early start for a Sunday morning coming down to the smell of Christmassy spices in the kitchen. It seems that our efforts  were appreciated as all that we'd made was sold. For the first time in 7 years, we didn't do the whole day. We finished at 1pm and went to the bar for lunch with the DJ, Father Christmas and his daughter, the Mayor and his wife and Carmen.
This evening there was a Christmas concert in the Church with carols in French, English, Italian, Catalan and Spanish, followed by an apéritif. Only 10 days to go!

Question Time

In preparation for the forthcoming elections in March, Maggie held a meeting at her house so that Anglophones from the village could put their comments and questions to André and others who will be standing with him. Christian was there “officially” and I went along to help serve the coffee. Two hours later at midday, we had to break up the meeting as some of us had other engagements. We were invited to Michel and Marguerite’s to sample a bottle of wine they’d bought and were 30 minutes late but no worries, they weren’t put out about it.
Tonight we made up a quiz team with Jean-Jacques at the restaurant and what do you know? We won AGAIN!!

Eat, Eat and Eat Again!

Until today, this week has been fairly quiet apart from some eating and drinking.
Tuesday: Tea at Michel's
Wednesday: Lunch at the resto for Christian (a Mairie thing) while I had a bowl of soup ... let's hear it ..... ahhhhhh! I made up for it in the evening though with the "Apérobio" which included far too much wine while Christian and Jean-Jacques had an omelette at our place.
Thursday: Back to the restaurant for lunch ... well, it is Thursday and old habits die hard.
Now all that was just a warm up for the main event as today was the OAPs' lunch, the highlight of the village social calendar. On the menu:

• Apéritif (and my goodness, you had to be fleet of foot and sharp of elbow to get to the pringles before they disappeared)
• Foie Gras (and it was a substantial slice that you left deep teeth marks in)
• Fillet of Sole Tropical with Scallops à la Normande
• Steak with Madeira Sauce and Vegetables
• Sorbet
• Cheese Platter
• Gâteau with a Sweet Wine Sauce

and yes, even though we danced a bit, we went home full to bursting!

Heart of the Village

This Christmas's theme for our street is hearts decorated with what ever  Christmas brings to mind for each household. Cut and glued like a five year old and pinned our heart on the front door for passersby to see.

Come and Get It!

Lingered a while under the duvet this morning and then turned my thoughts to preparing lunch of duck breast with sundried tomato and mushroom orzo. In between chopping, cutting and tasting, I phoned Mum to catch up on her news. Not much happening her end unless you count going to church and shopping. I was busy telling her that we were having a quite day at home when Christian's phone rang. It was Nany, the Mayor's wife inviting us for lunch. Choucroute ( a dish from Alsace) was on the menu and Henri and Michèle were there too. If you want to know what it is and how to make it, click the link. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/choucroute-alsacienne-548050.html or if you live in France you could just buy it from the deli counter at the supermarket!

Fund Raising

30 hours in the first weekend in December are designated as the prime time to raise funds for the Téléthon but as you'll know if you have been following this blog, that the village has already held a number of events. Yesterday afternoon children became the focus with sweets and the release of balloons; this evening it was the turn of young people with a zumba and dance display followed by a disco. We went to watch the balloons and have a drink but gave the disco a wide body swerve. Yes, I know, you veterans of "Chitchat" will know that it was the same last year and the year before that and before that .... Came home, lit the fire and prepared an apéritif dinatoire for Jean-Jacques who stayed until 12.45am

After a low key time yesterday, today was full on starting with a hunter's breakfast (bread, cheese,

charcuterie, coffee and red wine) in the village hall. Christian got stuck in while Maggie and I set up our accessory stall. We had two young women, Xavia and Lou, who offered there help and they were just great, going around the hall "encouraging" people to buy tickets for the bottle stall. Managed to get an hour for lunch - a plate of spaghetti carbonara for me and skate wing for Christian at the bar. The hall was packed in the afternoon for the British tearoom and the draw of the raffle which had 50 prizes. The President stopped by to drink tea , chat and congratulate us when we told her that we'd made 492.75€. She had disappeared before the end so it was the foot soldiers who cleared up, packed up and wearily trudged home for a wee pick me up.
ps. The village raised about 13,500€, not bad, eh?

The Long Walk is Over

The not-unexpected news that Nelson Mandela had died came. What a man! It brought back lots of memories of our time in Glasgow in the 80's and 90's .... boycotting South African products, protests, the renaming St George's Place to Nelson Mandela Place much to the annoyance of the South African Consulate which was housed there and of course, dancing and singing to  "Free Nelson Mandela" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgcTvoWjZJU and of course

All in a Good Cause

1.12.13:
Piled on the kgs today to help raise money for the Téléthon. About 120 of us sat down to lunch in the

village hall. An ollada was on the menu, a Catalan dish made from all the bits of a pig that you wouldn't normally eat. It's very tasty but I stuck to the white beans, veg and sauce. Jany, right recited a couple of poems and there was dancing. Oh dear, not quite a tea dance but with the madison in the repetoire, it wasn't far from it. On our way home, we called in to  take a cuppa with Jean-Jacques but resisted the temptation to linger for an apéritif.

2.12.13:
This morning went around to Geneviève's with Nick to help her get to grips with the membership database and in the afternoon I updated the website and deivered the latest bulletin. So much for withdrawing from the association! This evening went with Christian for his monthly surgery in the mountains, armed with a blanket and hot water bottle ..... I kid you not! An old building that only gets opened once a month, I needed to be prepared and glad I was too. Christian is made of sterner stuff , shunning all offers of a wee heat! After a couple of hours without a living soul coming through the doors, we went for something to eat at the restaurant where we sat next to the heater and savoured a delicious mushroom and cheese omelette.

3.12.13:
The weather is warming up again. Beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine. While Christian took a quick trip into Perpignan, I went around to Maggie's to help sort and price the accessories that had been donated for our stall at the Téléthon. This photo was taken from the top of her drive .... is it any wonder that I refused all offers of a lift home.

4.12.13:
Today we went our separate ways; me for lunch with Rowena in her hide - away at the back of beyond and Christian for lunch with Jean-Jacques at "The Rectoria". The weather was just glorious with 18° of warm sunshine. and I'm glad to say that Rowena is mobile once again. We parted with good intentions to try and meet up more regularly.

5.12.13:

Put the pinny on and headed up to the hunters' place to help prepare the vegetables for a wild boar stew that will be sold in aid of the Téléthon. Onions, garlic and carrots to peel by the kilo. You might think that this was the short straw but we had a log fire unlike those in the "abbatoir" part of the building who were cutting up the meat, so there were no complaints. Of course, it's always fun when a group of women get together working around a table. 116kg of finished stew gives you an idea of the task we tackled.
As recompense, Christian who had been at the Mairie all morning, whisked me off to the restaurant for lunch.