Festa Major

20.7.14:

It was an early start, well, 9am to get over to the square and help Carmen prepare refreshments for a mountain bike race organised by Aguallana on the other side of the border. We were expecting many more than 21 who came through. The first whizzed past and didn't stop; the last one,about an hour later arrived with oily hands and a dog bite on his leg! Once we'd done our duty we went over to the bar to share the chacuterie brought by the Catalan officials and a bottle of wine.
Next it was down to the placetta to watch some sardane and then over to the André and Nany's to join the Fiesta Committee in an apéritif.
There was no time for a siesta, however, as Françoise and I were going to Banyuls to see Christian. He was looking a bit glum when we arrived, mostly I think because he's having to get through a couple of days with nothing happening. We took him down into the town and had a shandy overlooking the sea which helped and when we left, I'm pleased to say that Christian's spirits had lifted and hopefully, next week he'll get a weekend pass. By this time, the sky was getting darker and there were rumbles of thunder.  On the way back to the village we stopped off to see Marie and Jean and left just as the rain came tipping down.
This was a double bonus ...... there was no need to water the plants and no need to put in an appearance at the last disco of the Festa Major as it had been cancelled.
Weather:
29°, Sun then a thunderstorm

19.7.14:

Not having any inclination or energy to cook at home, I invited David, Laura, Martine and Maggie for lunch at the restaurant by way of a thank you for their support. The menu of the day was excellent and appreciated by one and all. Afterwards it was off to Banyuls for David and Laura to swim and for me to sit with Christian.
After such a good lunch, I went down to the recreation ground for just an aperitif; paella seemed too much to cope with. Martine was of the same mind but somehow what with watching the village banda, chatting and tippling some rosé, it was after 11pm when we made our way up to the bar for a coffee. Here, we were joined by Roger, his wife, a friend and then by Lloyd and Helen. Now there's only one more day to go and life can take a quieter turn.
Weather:
29°, Sun

18.7.14:

The kids left this afternoon  so they went down to Banyuls to say their farewells to Christian while I stayed home to prepare lunch. I did manage a coffee at the bar though where I met Annie, Violette and Jean-Marie. This evening, was the first night of the village Fiesta Major. Disco and gambas/frites in the company of David, Laura and Valérie. after dancing a bit, I wandered up to the bar and had a coffee with Terry and Ann.
Weather:
30°, Overcast start, then sun and blue skies, then an overcast end to the day