Food, Friends and a Funeral

31.3.16:

Language exchange, glass of wine and soup at the bar where we were joined by Nicole P. Worked on the association site during the afternoon and then walked over to Ann and Terry's with Jean-Jacques for dinner going via the garden. It was looking better than we'd expected and we'll soon be able to cut some iris which over the years have proliferated creating an unbroken boundry on one side.
David and Laura were also invited and while people tried to speak French at the start, they soon lapsed back into English. Luckily, Jean-Jacques was able to follow, more or less. The main course was coq-au-vin and here's Jean-Jacques serving the dessert; a red berry soup topped with Vouvray sparkling wine which produced a foam. Not quite sure why he got the glory for what is apparently Terry's party-piece. It was not only stunning but delicious too.
Weather:
16° Cloudy start, sun, drizzle in the evening

30.3.16:

Had a long lie-in finishing off  "Chessmen", the last of Peter May's Lewis Trilogy https://www.goodreads.com/series/77173-lewis-trilogy A good read with well developped characters.
Lunch was late therefore.
The funeral of a neighbour in the afternoon was a sad affair. It was a civil ceremony (as was Christian's) but consisted only of the undertaker reading out the family's thanks to people for being there. Nothing really personal (unlike Christian's). While in the cemetary, of course, I thought I should go up to where we scattered Christian but quite honestly, it didn't make me feel any closer to him as I already do where ever I am. You'll notice that the cork has been stripped off the trees in the photo making them look quite impressive.
Weather:
18° warm and sunny

29.03.16:
Another little walk after coffee and another stint in front of the computer; this time trying to get to grips with getting a new health card. Was I glad to have Jean-Jacques come over for an apéro to break me out of a very ordinary sort of day.
Weather:
16°, sun

Easter Weekend

28.3.16: Eggstravaganza

Decided to make my legs do a bit more work by encouraging them to take me around the village after I'd had a coffee at the bar. Home for lunch and a stint in front of the computer; out again for another even longer walk and back for more computer stuff.
In the evening, I was joined by Jean-Jacques at the village hall for the Easter Omelette. Having collected about 400 eggs, they were a plenty. Now you know why I surprised you all with my exercise spurt!
Weather:
15°, sun


27.3.16: Old Traditions and New Measures

Yes, yesterday was like a Scottish summer; the sun has given way to cloud today. The clocks went forward last night but with no obligation to get up and out, it didn't matter. Had a coffee in the bar where Eve had put a mini Easter egg on the side of the saucer. A nice wee touch and typical of her. Besides being a really nice person, she's a real asset to the business. The conversation was mostly about the presence of two gendarmes (one with a serious looking gun cradled in his arms) at the start of the street down to the church. They certainly weren't hunting Easter bunnies! Apparently, they'd checked all the cars in the square giving out fines where there was a contravention but it would seem that their presence was for surveillance and protection. All a bit unreal in this backwater but a consequence of  the country's state of "heightened alert", I suppose.
At the end of the Mass, a basket filled with stuff for the omelette was let down from the balcony to be blessed by the priest and yesterday's group sang a couple of songs. A couple of sardanes around the tree followed after I insisted on moving the crash barrier that was propped up against the wall which looked pretty ugly. As it was, they danced around bags and coats though there's not a pair of white high heels in sight.
Then it was a brisk walk over to Martine's for a traditional lunch of roast lamb and flageolet beans. Kate and Olivier from Barcelona were there as were Nany and André. We ate well, recited poetry, discussed a lot and even burst into song every so often!
Walked home and caught up with the blog.
Weather:
16°, cloudy and damp
  
26.3.16: Singing for Your Supper

Oh, today really felt like spring or maybe a Scottish summer. The market was a buzz even though  schools aren't on holday here for a couple of weeks yet. Bumped into Thérèse and had a long chat over coffee then when I went to go and do a tour, I spotted Henri so I sat and waited with him until Michèle arrived when we had an apéritif. Down to the supermarket and home on the bus.
This afternoon I went over to the square, in short sleeves, I might add, to listen to the traditional "Goigs dels Ous". A small group of Catalans made their way around the village singing in front of the local shops and houses and were given ingredients for Monday's pascale omelette in return. Here they are outside the butcher's. Didn't follow them for very long prefering to go to the café for a cuppa. Well, it was that time of day.
As I sat on the terrace in the sun, Jean-Jacques passed by and stopped for a chat  but resisted the offer of a glass of wine and therefore, so did I.
Spent the evening going over the published version of the website and found that all kinds of mishaps had occured; missing photos, spacing errors and wrong links. Oh dear, sounds like Monday's going to be tedious.
Weather:
18°, blue skies, warm and sunny

Testing Times

25.3.16: Testing my Patience
Treated Jacques to a coffee at the bar as a thank you for getting me some mini Easter eggs to put out as part of our street decoration.
After lunch, worked on the association website, moving last year's reports to the archives which involved making new pages, creating new photo albums for our online gallery and changing loads and loads of links so that the click takes folk to the new page. Spent hours and hours and hours ending up with an aching back, stiff legs and sore eyes. Still, what else would I have done on a wet Good Friday after eating my bit of fish? Certainly not going to Perpignan to watch "La Sanch" which strikes me as grim and spooky. Although the link is to a French site, the photos give an idea what it's about and google can do the rest. http://pyreneescatalanes.free.fr/Decouvrir/Traditions/ProcessionSanch.php
Weather:
13°, cloudy, rain set in  in the afternoon for the rest of the day

24.3.16: Testing my French!

Thursday again. Language exchange again followed by soup at the bar again. Went straight from there to an association committee meeting then home to do some membership admin.
In the evening I went over to the Mairie to sit in on a Council meeting where there was a Belgian flag hanging from the table and a minute's silence at the start. The main agenda items where about a couple of new energy saving projects. The Opposition (3 out of 23 councillors) asked questions but otherwise didn't challenge anything. 
All agreed that the Maire should make a submission to the commission looking to choose a name for the new Region which amalgamates Languedoc-Roussillon (us) and the Midi Pyrénées (Toulouse). Of course, he wants a Catalan reference.
Jean-Jacques came back to mine afterwards for supper and to tell me all about his trip away visting family all around France. It also gave me the opportuntity to make sure that I'd understood what had gone on and what the acronyms were.
Weather:
16°,blue skies 

23.3.16: Upmarket Avon Evening
Worked on the website for most of the day. In the evening with some reluctance, I went round to Lizzie's (no obligation to buy!) for Rianna's (a South African) presentation of Neil's Yard products. Why did I go? Out of solidarity with Lizzie (her husband Nick gives me lots of help with the Association website and my computer glitches) and Rianna who's a young (ish) Mum who's trying to find a way of making a living. Also thought I might find something nice to treat myself to. Well, that's how these things work, isn't it? I bought a mascara and eye pencil but found the skin products too expensive. There were 17 of us, overwhelmingly Brits (+ 2 French, one Danish) though hardly anyone else apart from Maggie, who's even more of a soft touch than me, bought anything. There was loads of chat fuelled by a few bottles of wine and I had showed willing which will let me off the hook for the rest of the year!
Weather:
16°, blue skies

22.3.16: Apérobio

Easy going morning. Spanish in the afternoon and I felt like a kid when Paul told us that we'd got two weeks off. Well, two weeks to do a bit of revision everyday, says he. As if, says me!
In the evening there was our regular apéritif  and this time we were joined by Barbara who used to live here before returning to UK and her friend Olga. Once again some lovely bits and pieces and a couple of carafes of wine.
Weather:
18°, cloud
News:
Bombs at the airport and on the metro in Brussels resulting in 34 people dead.

21.3.16: First day of Spring
 Nothing special this morning unless of course you find going on the bus and back to the supermarket interesting.
This evening though, the women's group met. There were only 6 of us. Magda did a Qi Gong session and I did a "getting to know you" game which was a new idea for the rest. Was intresting but of course I won't be going into details here. Finished with a rum punch and nibbles.
Weather:
17°, light cloud, blue skies greying later

Resting on my Laurels

20.3.16:

Woke up feeling lethargic and decided not to go to walk in Llansa with Françoise and Thérèse, opting to linger in bed instead. Anyway, it was drizzling and I didn't believe Françoise's assertion that on the other side of the border it was forecast to be dry. It wasn't a completely housebound day though as I went for my usual coffee. Those who arrived at the bar from church, came carrying large sprays of fresh bay leaves; a lot more impressive than the palms given out in British churches. Neither of the Nicoles showed up so it was just Martine and I en tête à tête.
Spent the afternoon resting; did nothing more energetic than organising photos until Françoise and Jean called in for a cuppa. By the way, Llansa didn't escape the rain either!
Weather:
13°, rain

All Carnivalled Out

After several day's of rain at some point, today promised to be if not sunny, at least dry. No time to go to the market so I made a gentle before needing to be on parade for 10h30 to commemorate the Algerian war ceasefire. Polemic abounds even though it remembers civilian and dead on both sides of the conflict. This unglorious part of French colonial history remains a running sore http://en.rfi.fr/africa/20160319-protests-france-marks-algerian-war-peace-anniversary
The Marsaillaise ended up being sung 3 times; once at the War Memorial, once at the inauguration of the new monument at the start of the Rue de 19 mars and once when two old soldiers were given medals for their service by our resident 4* general. An apéro, followed of course.

A quick lunch and then it was off for the carnival; this time on home turf. Lots of people out to watch or join in, lots of music and other noise, lots of people having fun in the streets and in the bars. There were a couple of Normans who joined us from our twin town which meant that there was some calvados to put a spring in our steps a well. And what do you know? ....... our float won the first prize of 500€!! While kids and parents were watching some children's theatre in the village hall, David and I headed to the bar for a welcome glass of beer. David (in kilt and sporting a sporran and skean dhu) had a forlorn hope of watching Ireland and Scotland play rugby but for once, the game didn't rule supreme. The hope of a win was a forlorn one as well.
Went back to the village hall in the evening to join the carnival group for a Catalan meal of boles de picolats and white beans. I didn't stop for the ball though and just came home; with a head that said I shouldn't have been tempted by the calvados at the end of the meal, I might add!Click for more photos https://picasaweb.google.com/114284735716067114333/Carnival2016
Weather:
13°, cloudy, one brief sunny spell

Music, Women and Rebellion

18.3.16: In Reflective Mood

A welcome obligation-free day or so I thought. Apart from coffee at the bar spent the day catching up with stuff and thinking about the Irish Easter Rising (well, there's an Irish Grandma in the background) which was 100 years ago thie Easter.
Apparently there's a film called "The Rising" that's due out and Liam Neeson's son will play James Connolly as his father did in the film of the same name, a few year's ago. Definitely, not Disney but one to go and see! There are many haunting rebel songs and here's the one that was played on Wednesday evening though how many people understood the significance is another thing.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5hslg8qEt8
Well, that's until a phone call from Nicole S. inviting me over a cup of tea. So, back to the present day even if the Irish songs were still buzzing around in my head on the walk over!
Weather:
11° Damp, cloudy and chilly

17.3.16: Different Faces of Women

Language exchange where there was actually some discussion rather than chat. From trying to name the seven dwarfs we moved on to identifying ourseves with one of them. This led to quite a lot of unexpected sharing especially around "Bashful".  It led me on to thinking that it would make a good group game. Is the women's group ready for it?
Had a quick drink at the bar and then went over  to the restaurant with 7 others to give Sabrina a present for the new baby and of course to have lunch.
Felt really exhausted and cold so came home, filled a hotwater bottle and snuggled down on the settee under a tartan rug and slept for nearly 2 hours.
Feeling revived, I headed over to Christian's room for a show depicting women in song, poetry and prose, librally sprinkled with humour. An audience of about 30 including 6 men appreciated what was on offer from Jany and Bernadette. As usual, an apéritif and lots of chat followed.
The evening finished off with Jean and Françoise coming back for supper then it was straight to bed and to sleep.
Weather:
10°, heavy cloud and rain

16.3.16: Wearing the Green

Had a headless - chicken day and seemed unable to make any decisions. I did  manage though, to pick myself up for the St Patrick's night in the bar. There was music, of course, plenty of craic and green galore. I couldn't help remembering (as did one or two others) how Christian had enjoyed himself last year and cut a dash in his leprechaun hat. It came out again this year; this time on my head instead of the rather unflattering green wig that I capered about in 12 months ago. There was also a full house in the dining room where we enjoyed a good, tasty home made meal of Dublin Coddle http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/dublin-coddle-irish-sausage-bacon-onion-and-potato-hotpot/189497 and a wonderfully rich Bailey's cheesecake. Every year it gets better; I was really chuffed when Jean-Louis reminded me that it was me who had encouraged him to celebrate St Pat's. So, instigating that along with Women's Day and St Jordi, I reckon I can feel pleased with my contribution to village life. Sorry for bragging!
Weather:
11°, Cloud, rain and feeling chilly.

15.3.16:
Met Nicole P for a coffee in the bar and was joined by Jean-Jacques for an apéro. He then treated us to lunch. Spanish this afternoon and a quiet evening.
Weather:
13° sunshine, showers later.

14.3.16:
Met two newcomers to the area who wanted to learn more about the association over a coffee. Started to get to grips with changing my health card and as you'll have realised by now, anything to do with bureaucracy aint simple with endless papers to supply; I've a frustrating time ahead of me.
Weather:
15° cloudy, rain later

You Win Some, You Lose Some

13.3.16:
Continued in calm mode today with just a trip to the bar for coffee and lunch with Nicole S. Did some paper work and caught up with the blog.
Weather:
14° Sun, litte drizzle later

12.3.16:

Took the bus to go to the market and almost immediately bumped into Hortense so we had a coffee and catch up which left me just 20 minutes to get around the supermarket and back to the bus stop.
This afternoon the carnival group made it's second trip to Céret. Glad to say that it was warmer than last week and more fun though several of us remarked that the onlookers were too dignified (up themselves?!) to join in. And ... our float won the second prize of 350€ which made up for Le Boulou reclaiming the 150€ that we were given last week. Apparently, we lost it because we hadn't gone with the float. You can imagine that this caused a lot of muttering in the group - Her Majesty was not amused!
Gilles, Nany and myself came back  to the bar still in our costumes for a glass of beer. As the rugby was on, the joke was that I was a day ahead of myself. For non - fans France are playing Scotland tomorrow. (When you read this, you'll know that Scotland actually won).
I did change, however, to go to a musical evening in the village hall; luckily, in time to grab something to eat as in the bat of an eyelid all that was left were a few crumbs on the table. Left at the first interval to go home, put my feet up with only the sound of the telly for company. What bliss after a fairly hectic day.
Weather:
14° Sun and less wind  

The Hunt Is On

Another cold day so it was a well-wrapped up contingent that set off for Port Vendres to start a treasure hunt organised by Philippe and Françoise for the association. Nicole and I joined up with Gilles and Martine and we did a passable job of answering the questions. At one point we came upon the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Trail (Painting No 4 "The Road through the Rocks"). http://www.crmackintoshfrance.com/ No excuses for not answering correctly but sadly we didn't find the key which led to the prize of strawberries and champagne.
There were 21 of us who sat down to an ok lunch in Argelès.
On our return to the village Nicole and I had a cuppa at the other bar before going to our respective homes for a night in.
Weather:
13° but feling a lot colder, sun

No Bores Here

Language exchange as usual, a glass of rosé but today, no soup as I was onto a promise of more exciting fare chez Gilles and Martine (Nany's cousin and her husband). Wild Boar stew was on the menu. There was even "Opéra Cake", one of my favourite desserts http://www.chocoparis.com/opera-cake/ and "Epoisses", my absolutely favourite cheese. http://www.fromage-epoisses.com/index-en
Good food and plenty of laughs
Weather:
11°, sun, light cloud, strong gusts of wind

Never Give Up!

More paper work to do as it's now time to get my health card changed; a whole bundle of documents to get together. Spent the afternoon, proof reading and commenting on an acquaintance's novel.
In the evening went to a free showing of "The Suffragettes" (in French) followed by an apéritif. It was well received with lots of admiration for what British women had done and how they had suffered. Of course, the true extent of the ill treatment that women received wasn't shown.
Weather:
9° cloudy, light rain shower at the end of the afternoon

Still Busy

• International Women's Day
• Into town on the bus
• Roger came and took away a load of rubbish for me
• Spanish group
• Jean-Jacques and Michel for an apéritif dinatoire
• Weather: Chilly, strong winds, blus sky and snow lower down on Canigou

Keeping Busy Worked

Lazed around in bed for a while longer than usual remembering that Christian and I met on the 7th March, 29 years ago. So as not to get too down, I set off for the café and found Nicole there. Came home and busied myself with clearing out the cave thus ending up with a late lunch. Colin came around in the early afternoon to set up the wee box that will convert the tv signal after all the channels change to HD.
Tackled my Spanish homework which after a two week break was quite hard going. Then there was no need to cook dinner as I'd been invited to Nick and Kathy's for dinner. Kathy has done English language programmes for the World Service and now does the occasional "From our own correspondant" piece about French life. Funnily enough, her mother was once married to the "lord of the manor" in the village where Mum lives. Conversation was typically expat - tv, restaurants, music, renting property and other people.... and so by hopping from one activity to another, another of the 1st anniversaries passed.
Weather:
13°, sun, cloud and strong winds overnight

Another Day, A Cuppa and Another Carnival!

Oh dear! out for 8.15am was a bit much for a Sunday but duty called. There was a women's day "salon de thé" to be organised by the association on the square. There was a handful of male volunteers to do the serving but of course they needed organising. It was strange not to see Christian there in his kilt apron turning on the charm.
For the first time since it was sarted, the weather wasn't that kind to us. It was chilly but there were plenty of women to eat the cakes, drink the tea/coffee/hot chocolate and buy the raffle tickets. Needless to say, where there are cakes, there are a number of men around to eat them too. this photo caught the only moment I sat down in four hours.
Had a quick bowl of soup at the bar before setting off for this afternoon's carnival. There was a lot of hanging about and it was cold so after a quick beer at the end, I was really pleased to get home and put my feet up. Two down, two to go.
Weather:
11°, chilly

Royal Patronage

Today being Christian's birthday, it started with a welcome phone call from Valérie and fortunately for me it was a busy one so no time to think. Coffee in the morning and a local carnival in the afternoon.
As the sky was threatening rain, the float stayed in the garage but we strutted our stuff by dancing, chanting and throwing confetti as we made our way through the streets. Even the Queen was there!
The theme is the Olympics uniting the world (well, there's no harm in hoping/dreaming) so, there's a stunning float with a revolving globe followed by "delegations" from different countries.
Light rain finally came as the parade finished and we headed to the other bar (under new management) in the village for a wee refreshment. Home for a short rest and then we all came back together again to finish off yesterday's leftovers. All good fun and we won 150€!
Weather:
13°, sun, cloud, hail shower and drizzle

Simple Food and Good Company

So, to celebrate finishing the flowers, a lunch for all the workers was organised with everyone contributing something. Lots to eat, lots of laughs and spirits were high in anticipation of tomorrow's first outing. It was difficult not to be tempted to sample everything on offer but there was another meal to face in the evening chez Jean-Jacques.
We (Michèle and Henri, Jean-Marie and Chantal, André and Nany and Michel) all took something and he did a main course of spag bol. Seems a good way to deal with numbers, doesn't it?
Weather:
15°, sunny

Scribbles and Songs

Thursday = Language Exchange followed by the bar for a well deserved rosé. Stayed for a bowl of soup with Nicole, Ann and Terry then hot-footed it over to the restaurant for dessert with Michèle and Henri! I once participated  in a "safari supper" and always thought that a restaurant crawl around the village eateries could be fun. Why not?
In the evening there was a "vernissage" in Christian's room of the works of Grib (from gribouillage/scribble) though they were far from that. There was a great portrait of Jimi Hendrix for a start. It wasn't that well attended but there was an informal atmosphere especially as the artist was really accessible; his artist partner too. Music was provided by Laurent who is just brilliant at improvising songs; he did one about Grib and one about Christian. Erika filmed it so hopefully, she'll remember to give me a copy.
Weather:
11°, windy and chilly

Church, Resto and Chez des Amis

Another funeral today; not the brightest start to the day. This time it was the mother of one of the admin saff at the Mairie. Every one I go to makes me so glad that we did Christian's with a good dose of humour to balance our sadness.
A trip to the restaurant which was open for the first time after it's winter break, with Martine lifted our spirits and set us up to make more flowers.
Then it was off to Lidl (heart in mouth) with Linde to do a bit of shopping before ending up at Jean and Françoise's for an apéritif dinatoir.
Weather:
19°, blue skies clouding over later

All Comers Welcome

Had a coffee in the bar this morning and delivered posters for the Association's nod toward's International Women's Day next Sunday. This evening there was another guitar night in the bar. It was great to see people sitting out on the terrace in the early evening sun but neither Nicole turned up. I did think about not taking a photo as it's always the same shot - some how I manage to get a seat in the same place - but tonight the microphone didn't get in the way of faces, so I changed my mind. There was a good variety of styles: hill billy, rock, salsa, 70's, folk and even one new artist - a young American passing through the area..  that's him on banjo.
Weather:
16°, blue skies