Supporting the Téléthon

30.11.14:

The Pyrénnées Orientales are on a red alert. The rain continues to fall heavily Argelès, Riversaltes and the Agly Valley were particularly badly effected. http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/video/2014/12/01/images-des-inondations-devastatrices-dans-les-pyrenees-orientales-et-l-aude_4531951_3244.html Part of the Ramblas in Figueres collapsed and two 100 year old plane trees came down. Thankfully, there wasn't any problem to talk of here that we know about.
Another Téléthon event this lunch time - "Oullade", the traditional Catalan dish made from white beans, cabbage and unspeakable bits of the pig. I contented myself with the sauce and beans. It was a pleasant affair with pom-pom dancers (including a lad), music and wine flowing freely. As it was André's feast day Michèle, Henri, André, Nany and Martine came back to ours for champagne. Once they'd left we settled down to a quiet night in front of the telly.
Weather:
15° Red alert. Heavy rain and cloud
Headlines:
The Weather!

29.11.14:

There was less overnight rain than we'd expected as we're still on an amber alert until tomorrow. Jean-Jacques joined us for lunch of the fidueà that was left over from yesterday.
This evening there was a concert in aid of the Téléthon, given by "Els Mariners del Canigó", a group singing Catalan sea shanties. Fortunately there was a broad outline of what each song was about and the tunes were catchy. When this clip was done, they had a Scot singing with them but apparently he's gone back home. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3WYn3cdras
Talking of expats, Fidelma Cooke's Saturday column  in this week's (Glasgow)"Herald" was spot on!
http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/comment/columnists/every-time-i-am-take-by-surprise-at-the-extent-of-the-expat-invasion.1416666093
Weather:
17°  Amber alert  continues. Heavy cloud with heavy rain this afternoon.
Headlines:

• Sarkozy elected President of his party, the UMP with just over 64% of the vote
• International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People http://www.un.org/en/events/palestinianday/

Officially Normal

28.11.14:

Woke around 6am to high winds, thunder, lightening and heavy rain. At lunch time we were both invited to join the municipal workers for a lunch of fideuà that José (the Mayor's first deputy) was doing off his own bat. Christian, beacause he's a good bloke and me (I'm sure, because it was at the last minute) to keep José's wife company. In the end, Violette had something else to do and until Annie, the Secretary General arrived, I was the only female there. Spent almost all of lunch time talking "heavy metal" and "Harley Davidsons" with Patrick, the painter. I did manage to extract a promise that next year he and some biker friends would come and give rides as a fundraiser for the Téléthon, our equivalent of  "Children in Need", so it was a useful bit of networking.
After a copious meal and plenty of wine, Christian had his usual siesta and I zonked out on the settee until it was time for my appointment with the GP. Despite being back to normal, I didn't leave empty handed. I've a pescription for some homeopathic medcine to boost my immune system.
Straight after that it was off to the village hall for the AGM of the Twinning Association which was followed by a slide show of our visit last year, tapas and music.
Weather:
16° On an amber alert. Rain, thunder, lightening and strong winds all of which eased as the day went on.

27.11.14:
The whole day was taken up by the association. Attendance at the committee meeting, the language exchange, updating of the photo album and the new members "welcome drink" for which I was responsible and which fortunately went very well. The only moment of respite was lunch at the bar.
Weather:
18° Overcast

26.11.14:
Nothing other than the French pronunciation class.
Weather:
16° Overcast, rain on and off

25.11.14:

Had another blood test that showed that everything is back to normal even though there is still a pale pink patch of skin under my shoulder. In order to have a change of scene we went off to Perpignan to look at cars but the garage was too stingy with a part exchange offer to tempt us to buy a new one. We went for lunch at a nearby restaurant that has had good reviews and decided to go home straight afterwards and think again about car.
In the evening I went for an apérbio at the bar (the restaurant is closed for a couple of weeks) and Jean-Jacques joined Christian for an omlette after their Tuesday meeting at the Mairie which included the Maire's birthday drink.
Weather:
17° Low hanging cloud in the valleys, then generally overcast leading to rain
Headlines:
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women http://www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/

Almost There

One day to go and my arm is more or less back to normal with thankfully no extra swelling. Finally got around to cooking our usual Christmas Cake (Delia's Creole Christmas cake).
http://www.deliaonline.com/home/Print-Recipe.html?PID=2259&ampCID=372 The fruit was well marinated having been soaking in the fridge in loads of alcohol for days! The smell in the kitchen was great and so evocative of a British Christmas....... and the icing on the cake, so to speak, is that it's so rich, it needs neither marzipan nor icing. Don't you think that this one looks every bit as good as one on the web site?

Normal, Ready or Not!

St Martin's feast day, the patron saint of our twinned village  is the 11th of November but as there our other villages nearby with the same patron saint, so as not to clash, La Vajol celebrated it today (St Séverin). There was a Mass which we body swerved, speeches followed by an apéritif and two sardanes. While Mass was going on we went to the café and without thinking I ordered up a cava chez Conchita and then later on at lunch, i had some wine even thouh there is still one day of antibiotics to go. Enugh's enough I say and as far as I know, I didn't feel any ill effects.
By the way, what do you think of the hat? André, the Maire thinks I'm part of Ché Guevara's revolutionary group! The yellow plasitic around the tree which appeared all over Catalunya in the run up on the unofficial vote on independence,  symbolises "Liberty".
Weather:
19° cloud and light rain

Almost Normal

Took a trip to the market, a sure sign that things are getting back to normal that is apart from the lack of alcohol! Bumped into Jean with whom we had a drink on the terrace of a café. We decided to try a relatively new restaurant in the town only to find that it wasn't open for lunch at the weekend. It was a lovely sunny day so went for a view rather than haute cuisine. Saying that, the meal was fine.  http://www.guymolastraiteur.com/restaurant/restaurant_001.html They've put in a few screens between the tables since the web site was created giving more atmosphere than previously. There were three women of a certain age lunching near us who were having a whale of a time. It was really entertaining eavesdropping on them and seeing them full of vim and vigour; quite uplifting.

A Bit of Normality

21.11.14:
Jean-Jeacques with us for a lunch. That's to say, rice with what ever there was in the frigdge jazzed up with roast tomatoes, ham and hard boiled eggs.
Weather:
19° Sun, cloudy later.

20.11.14:
Language Exchange but this time had lunch at home.
Weather:
19° Cloudy
Headlines:
Hunters kill a bull by mistake. Yes, really, that was today's top news story in the local paper.

19.11.14:
 Went up to "Carpe Diem" in Amélie to a restaurant owned by an ex-resident of the village.  In fact he was the first chef at the bar here when Jean-Louis took over. Simple food but very pleasant atmosphere. Guilhaume had a few interesting things about Tripadvisor and other restautanteurs. A quick whizz around Lidl on the way back and then over to Maggie's to see how she was after a wee op.
http://www.tripadvisor.fr/Restaurant_Review-g207344-d3412438-Reviews-Le_Carpe_Diem-Amelie_les_Bains_Palalda_Pyrenees_Orientales_Languedoc_Roussillon.html
Weather:
17° Sunshine and cloud
Headlines:
World Toiler Day. Not as funny as it sounds. http://www.un.org/en/events/toiletday/

18.11.14:

Starting to feel human again with a day where I had enough energy to get out of the house. In the afternoon, to buy 3 rather natty hats from a member of the association who used to be a hat rep. You'll see one of them on the post for the 23rd November (yes, this is a catch up). Then in the evening, we were invited to Nick and Lizzie's for dinner and to meet Erica and Doug who are hoping to buy in the village. Good food, interesting conversation and I even allowed myself a small glass of cava., even though booze is not recommended with antibiotics.
Weather:
17° Cloudy with sunny spells

Feeling Sorry for Myself

17.11.14:
Slow to get going. The redness has spread over the shoulder to under the arm. It is is calming though. The Gp has diagnosed cellulits and continued the antibiotics for another 5 days.
Weather:
16°, overnight rain, sun in the morning, cloud later
Headlines:
Sarkozy supporters distancing themselves from his last comments amid lots of public criticism of his stance. Quite right too.

16.11.14:
Rested all day. Little appetite. Christian, however, went tothe village hall  to eat "choucroute", an Alsacien dish of saukraut, pork, smoked and natural sausage. A cold weather dish full of calories. Michèle and Henri popped in afterwards for tea and to see how I was doing.
Weather:
17°
Headlines:

• Another beheading of a Westener carried out by IS. Two young Frenchmen identified among the "excecutioners".
• International Day for Tolerance http://www.un.org/en/events/toleranceday/

15.11.14:
Rested all day after the blood test.
Weather:
18°
Headlines:
Sarkozy, in his camapign to be elected as the leader of the UMP,  has spoken out against the recent law allowing "le mariage pour tous".

14.11.14:
Oh dear! Had a really miserable night with an arm that was hot, swollen and very red. Knew straight away that an infection had entered through a cut on my finger. Couldn't eat breakfast although Christian had bacon egg and a rather odd, plastic looking sausage. Rather than dally by the lake and have a relaxed lunch we came straight home. Spent the afternoon sleeping until it was time for my appointment with the GP at 7.40pm. I left the surgery with a prescription for antibiotics, cream, something to repalace the good flora killed off by the antibiotics and a homeopathic remedy to calm the burning sensation. Also have a script for a blood test tomorrow.
Weather:
14.5°, a few spots of rain

Stop Over

We were on the road for Barcelona airport for 10am and poor old Christian who's had a slight nose bleed on and off for a week, had to deal with a heavier bleed. We made it to the airport in good time to get Mum and Maureen settled into their wheelchairs ready to be whisked off by two really nice helpers. For us, it was then straight back into the car to head north and find  somewhere for lunch. Ended up coming off the motorway at Sant Celoni and ate at the first place we found, a down to earth kind of place called "La Lluna". 10€ for an all-in menu which of course included chips and other calorific things. Still, the folk were nice and it amply filled a gap.
As before, we decided to stop over on the way and had booked a "Groupon" deal in Banyoles, a stone's throw from the lake hotelast.com/ Christian was wiped out so he slept while I walked into the town and had a wander around. The hotel had recently been modernised and was fine although the room was small and the evening meal poor. Once again, the staff were helpful and pleasant and a couple of glasses of cava raised morale.
Weather:
20° Sun

Mum and Maureen's Visit

12.11.14:
Our visitors' last full day and they wanted to take us for a "nice" lunch so we went to the "Ancienne École" which has been having really good reviews lately. www.ancienne-ecole.fr/ We've always liked it but of late, it's gone much more upmarket. Anyway, we weren't disappointed. After eating well, we continued down to the coast for a stroll along the prom at Argelès. Christian meantime had a wee snooze.
In the evening we abandoned Mum and Maureen to the telly as we'd been invited by Jean-Jacques to have dinner with his friends Alain and Dominique who are here for a few days. André and Nany were there too. My goodness, it was a serious meal. Canapés, Parmentier de Canard (a kind of duck "shepherd's pie"), salad, cheese and two desserts. It all sat very heavily on an already full stomach!
Weather:
20° Sunny
Headlines:
Warren Clarke, he of "Dalziel and Pascoe" fame, died aged 67. Dalziel was horribly non-pc but have to admit that we didn't miss an episode.

 11.11.14:

Armistice Day which started with a procession behind waving flags carried by old soldiers and a brass band. The solemn official stuff over, we all processed back to the Mairie for the inauguration of an exhibition about 1WW focussing on the village. The inauguration came with an apéritif which by the time we actually got to the table, was all but gone! Went up to the bar for a more relaxed one and then went home for a roast lunch which was much appreciated!!! 
Weather:
18°, windy and chilly

10.11.14:

Retraced the route that we'd taken recently with Nick and Lizzie. Stopped off at Can Xiquet for an apéritif and then went to Can Parra for a Mother style lunch. In the evening our visitors prefered to stay home while we went to a hommage to the Catalan soldiers of 1914. Readings from a diary, poems and music. It was all very moving and all the more interesing as the diary had been written by Nany's uncle. The Catalan regiment (which lost 53 men from the village) made contact with the British as early as the autumn of that year on the NE front.
Weather:
17° Sun, cloudy and windy  later

9.11.14:

Following a long established pattern, our visitors went off to Sunday mass and prayed for us. Can't hurt, can it? We, meantime slouched around over a leisurely bowl of poridge and the Sunday papers. Went over the border once we'd negotiated the traffic jam up to Le Perthus, which was surprisingly busy, to meet up with Michèle and Henri to have lunch overlooking the lake at Darnius. As the sun was shining, we ate on the terrace which livened up a rather uninteresting meal. Wasn't surprised, it was ever thus. The food's ordinary which is why I chose it so that Mum could get something that suited her. Still, the view compensated. Good old Christian he is so patient in his role of dutiful son-in-law.
Weather:
17° sun, cloudy and windy by the end of the afternoon.
 Headlines:

• 80% of the 2m Catalans who voted in the "unofficial referendum" voted "yes for Independance

• 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

8.11.14:

Of course, a trip to the market was the order of the day. Christian and I went for a coffee while Mum and Maureen parted with a bit of cash. Michel joined us for lunch at home bringing a load of oysters with him. Mum and I passed on them but Maureen was game to try. A first for her. Not bad for 90 years old !
Weather:
19° sun but cloudy later




7.11.14:

Had a well deserved late start and went for lunch at the restaurant. Nothing much in the afternoon apart from making a ginger cake for this evening's neighbourhood get-together over soup and roast chestnuts. There were about 30 of us in the little square in front of the church and it was warm enough to stay out until about 9pm. Sadly, Jacques, who usually keeps Mum's glass topped up with muscat was not there but she found a replacement gallant in the shape of Michel who gave her the last rose of the year from the bush outside his house. Quite made her day and compensated  for Jacques' absence!
Weather:
18° sunny but cloudy later

6.11.14:

Mum's birthday today and it started well with a hearty breakfast served by the Chateleine then before leaving we took a stroll around part of the garden in warm sunshine. Drove up the splendid rugged coast, bypassing lloret de Mar to arrive in Tossa de Mar in time for a coffee and a leisurely stroll up through the old village. Well, at least Mum, Maureen and I did. The Med was blue, there weren't many people around and the day was ours to enjoy.
Then it was time to head inland and find somewhere for lunch. Fell across this place not too far south of Girona. Loads of character and an excellent menu to boot. https://ca-es.facebook.com/panolles Before heading for home, Christian had a snoozette while we went for a digestive walk through the woods behind the

restaurant.
Once home, the day wasn't finished for Christian as he had a full council meeting at the Mairie. Needless to say he was pretty tired after a full on day. Tomorrow we won't be leaving the village, that's for sure.
Weather:
17° but in the sun, it felt much warmer



5.11.14:
With Mum and Maureen arriving tonight and a dip in temperatures, it was time to change over our summer clothes for autumn/winter ones. Always a real chore but always a relief to get it done.
Rather than do a 4 hour trip to Barcelona  and back, we decided to do an overnght about 30 minutes from the airport. As it was Mum's birthday the next day, it served as a wee treat too. Found the place on the internet and it was rather grand. http://www.cancasadella.com/#!home/c1efj As, Christian said, if this was the family's  summer residence (built in 1791), goodness knows what their home was like way back when. Anyway, taking in paying guests to keep the family in the style to which they were acustumed is I suppose a usual story. Only problem was that Christian had to climb two flights of a steep staircase. We drank a bottle from the minibar and fell into bed.
Weather:
16° sun with the first snow on Canigou
Headlines:

• Republicans take the majority in the House of Representatives
• Manitas de Plata died aged 93

Fun, Chores and Duty

4.11.14
Chores, distribution of the association's newsletter and Michel for supper ater the Tuesday night meeting at the Mairie.
Weather:
16° Light rain

3.11.14:

The day wasn't particularly interesting (just a trip to the supermarket) but  the evening was fun. Jacques had 9 of us from the association around for a Mexican evening. These "chez nous" are aimed at widening people's horizons in the intimate setting of someone's home. Someone that they may not already know. It works well; we had a great time. ¡Hasta luego!
Menu:
Margaritas with guacamole and nachos
Pork Mole (ie, with chocolate), rice and refried red beans
Traditional "All Souls' Day" cakes
Coffee and chocolate
Chilled beer to accompany the food
Weather:
17° Sun  with spots of rain in the early evening

2.11.14:

With a lot ofpeople walking around in teeshirts, it's hard to believe that we're at the beginning of November. So much the better, as we spent all day outside at the re-organised "October Fair and Forum des Associations". By we, I mean Maggie and myself who did our bit behind the association's stall. The President and the secretary put in a brief appearance and the Treasurer came for a couple of hours. Christian came down for a lunch of sausage and chips al fresco. The evening was spent slumped on the sofa with an aching back from standing up all day. 
Weather:
24° sunny

1.11.14:
It's Saturday, so once Frank et al had left, it was off to the market; not to fill the obligatorty straw basket with fresh veg and marinated olives but to catch up with Henri over a drink. Having missed our regular Thursday lunch at the restaurant we went today  instead. Sat outside, ate well and watched the world go by
Weather:
22° Sun
Headlines:
Riots after a protester was killed by a gendarme on 26th October at the new barrage over the Tarn project.