Welcoming in 2020

Seven people for dinner at mine. I was on the main course and apéros while the others were dealing with the rest. You'd think that would be easy going especially as the venison casserole was already done but somehow it took hours. 

Austrian red cabbage and dauphinoise potatoes meant a lot of chopping and slow cooking though it was the apéros which took the most time. Sausage rolls, sesame straws, smoked salmon toasts, humous toasts, sausage and apricot balls, pigs in blankets. 

And a coctail of fizz (1 bottle) mixed with 300ml of triple sec and 300g of cranberry juice, well chilled.

For once the dining room was in commission so that too, needed organising. Didn't take long for me to realise why I've been avoiding entertaining.

Still, we (Nicole P, Nicole K, Anna and Gérard, Alvaro and Mercedes from Barcelona) had a good evening; foie gras, a splendid cheese board, turron (a Catalan sweetmeat speciality), dessert etc. We also followed the Catalan tradition of eating a grape on each stroke of midnight. Impossible to do unless you've had plenty of practice. 

I finally made it to bed for 3h15 having stacked the dishwasher and abandoned the rest. There's nothing planned for tomorrow and I'm in danger of spending the day watching a boxset and eating chocolate so at least this chore will give me something more useful to do once I make it downstairs.

Weather:

14°, sun and blue sky

Days Inbetween

30.12.19:

Highlights of these last few days were:

* Dinner at mine with Jeanie, Daniel, Sylvie (French) and Beni (Swiss ). Managed quite well but it just ain't the same. Single hosting is hard work but at least I'm making an effort to be more hospitable!

*  After an apéro chez moi, Martine and I took Nicole to dinner at the restaurant to celebrate her birthday. I had octopus salad for a starter and to my surprise, enjoyed it. Much to our annoyance, there was a table of 4 Brits, two of whom were pompous and overbearing ..... and they left the door wide open when they left! I hung my head in shame for them. We were offered a digestif on the house which made a nice end to the evening.

Back home, I marinaded the venison for New Year's Eve dinner and cleaned the stove (don't ask unless you are desperate to know why!). Eat your heart out Cinders! 

But mostly it was routine stuff; a trip to the market, supermarket shopping with Nick, coffee with Jean and Françoise, also with Nicole, TV (a lot), treadmill (only once; shame on me!)

Weather:

Temperatures between 12° - 18° . chilly morning and beautiful clear blue skies

Season's greetings to One and All!

24.12.19:

Jeanne and Daniel called by bearing gifts and stayed for a glass or two of cava. Made dessert for this evening, did some baking, made lots of phone calls and sent plenty of emails. Then all of a sudden, it was time to climb into my glad rags and head to Kathy's who was hosting the "Révillon" dinner for Jacky, JJ and myself. It had originally been planned as a safari supper but for whatever reason Jacky didn't know the plan had changed so she was waiting for us at her house with the starter she'd prepared while we'd opened the first bottle of champagene! So off we went!

All ran smoothly after that and we finished up at 1am.

Weather:

22°!!  sun, blue skies

25.12.19:

Missed out breakfast, phoned Mum and readied myself for Colin, Lynn and Nicole's visit for a glass of cava and nibbles.

Had Christmas lunch with Terry and Ann at the restaurant. A superb meal (menu in the photo album). So much attention to detail, it was fabulous. Sadly for them, a table for 6 cancelled during the service. How mean is that.

We arrived home at mine for a cuppa just after 4pm. Had a couple of hours rest after which Nicole and I walked over to Ann and Terry's for a buffet of cold turkey. Just as well that there's nothing organised for tomorrow!

Weather:

20°, sun, clear blue skies

Hope that you all had as good a time as I did!

 

What happened to November?

26.10.19 - 23.11.19:

Well, I was recuperating in UK after such a hectic time. The last few months had been stressful and I was so pleased not to have any obligations and time to just chill out. Main thing was spending time with family, especially my Mum who was celebrated her 90th and as you would expect, is getting frailer.
Did some shopping in Stratford and Banbury, made regular trips on foot into the town for a coffee. The Bower House has taken over from The George as the "go to" place. Using the loo is a real treat; you're entertained with people like Richard Burton and Judi Dench reciting from Shakespeare. Have to admit that it came as a bit of a surprise the first time round.
Caught up with a number of friends too. Spent a couple of days with Mary on arrival, with Jean and John on departure and with Karen who I missed the last time I was over. Margaret and Irene came down from Leicestershire for a lunch at the tapas bar and Jen came for a few days. Luckily, we took note of the forecast and spent a dry, sunny day at Batsford park.http://www.batsarb.co.uk/ The autumn colours were magnificent. Find the photos at https://photos.app.goo.gl/zwb5YVCqeF36WCCc6
There was even a couple of musical evenings; "That'll be the day" in Leamington, https://www.thatllbetheday.com/show-history a 1920's Swing band https://vitalityfive.com/ and music at the micro pub in the town http://www.thirstedition.co.uk/.
Weather was as you would expect and then more some. The river where Jill lives flooded and even featured on the tv news.
It was lovely not only being out and about with Jill but also "cosy" time at home with a glass of cava in front of the telly. And of course catching up with the nephews, neices and the little ones was a plus.
Find more photos at https://photos.app.goo.gl/f2CWUXeKkZqTy4g7A

23.11.19 - 24.11.19:
Martine came to Barcelona airport to pick me up even though she had a bad cough. We spent the evening in Sitges in a modern, comfortable hotel overlookibg the sea. https://www.hotelcalipolis.com/hotel/conoce-el-hotel/ The weather was lovely and the place animated and full of interesting architecture. Look forward to going back. Find the photos at
 https://photos.app.goo.gl/R3AHfQfBdAht5aeU7

What a time we 've had!

Hello All,
I thought it was about time that I gave some sign of life. Lordy, lordy, months of silence!
Well, I've been to Scotland for Ann's birthday, hit 70 and had summer visits from the family.
Life after that was intense with all the preparations for Comrie Pipe Band's visit to the village.
I've spent hours in meetings, hours chasing around, hours in discussion, hours in front of the computer and not enough hours in my bed asleep! thought I'd nevr get there at one point and needless to say stressed myself more than was needed.
Anyway, they've been and gone. arrived last Sunday and left yesterday among the traffic chaos caused by the response to the Catalan ploitical crisis. Living near the border has its occasional downside. The visit was an enormous success; they were a great bunch of people, the

weather was fine and sunny and they were much appreciated by the local population that turned out to see them. have a look at their Facebook page for photos and videos. Hopefully at some point I'll get my own photos into an album.
I've a few loose ends to tie up while at the same time enjoying a visit from Frank, Stéphanie and the girls who'll be here until Thursday.
They're due to arrive in a short while so I'll say "bye for now and à bientôt".
Weather:
23°, heavy rain this morning, sunny spells later

No Respite

15.7.19:

This is just to say that it's still very hot and I've not been motivated to sit in front of the computer to do more than the bare minimum. I have however, put a few photos into July's album. See the last post for the link. They don't tell the whole story though as I've not been particularly diligent about making a photographic record of my daily doings.
Weather:
Fluctuating between 29°-35°, sunny, no rain

Still Sizzling!

1.1.19 - 7.7.19:

It's still hot and I'm still avoiding anything energetic. My time has been spent watching tv (How to get away with murder) and more cookery book sorting. After years of collecting dust, so few were "must keeps" and such a small number of recipes (sometimes none) were worth scanning and keeping.
Things have gone wrong too. A leak from the tap on the side of the loo, (sorted!) malfunctioning heater control (yet to be done) and 120€ accumulated on my pay as you go phone card, lost. Here, you need to use it or lose it unless you renew before the 2 month expiry date. (Grinning and bearing it!)
Venturing into the ouside world, there was a quick trip to the market, going for a cuppa sometimes meeting friends, sometimes on my own. Had some restaurant lunches firstly with with the language exchangers, then with Lynne in Spain when we went to buy cava coming home via the Col de Banyuls and finally with Nicole at the bar. Was also invited with Harry and Sue to Angela and Paul's in Palalda and with Sophie, Martine and Martin to Joan and Thérèse's where paella was on the menu.
Other than eating and drinking, there was a jazz evening at the bar and on a more serious side, a trip to the clinc to catch Rowena when she was down from her mountain retreat for an out patient's appointment after a fall.
Click the link for the story so far in photos:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/EtjAha9Ft8JDjmVc8
Weather:
32° - 35° with rain (not enough) and thunder on Sunday, 7th

Click!

Click for more photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/urDyzFLKaFkAyms77

Behind Closed Shutters

20.6.19 - 30.6.19:

The main talking point in France during this time has been the "canicule" or as you would know it, the heatwave. Temperatures soared as high as the 40's and it's been sapping and uncomfortable. Writing this in July it's still hot , fluctuating between 32° and 37°. Shutters are closed, fans on and the sofa has become my refuge when I've not been organising my photos and doing a ruthless cull of all my cookery books. Inevitably, the bagpipes are forever on the list of "things to do" as well.
Rest assured, I have poked my nose outside from time to time. To the market and out for a coffee to Pepe's. It looks as if he's going have to close due to health problems. Sadly, he's not been able to find a buyer; not good news for the village if there's no choice of watering hole.
The square is now finished and the annual Fête de la Musique on 21st was a good way to inaugurate it.
Had a good lunch at the restaurant with David and Laura and was invited for dinner at Gregor and Claire's where we were royally entertained and able to watch the fireworks laid on by the Mairie for the Fête de St Jean which celebrates the start of summer.
The month ended with the opening of a photo exhibition and the Association's summer tapas evening which had white as it's theme. Realising that this is the last one that I would be obliged to help at  saw me through to the bitter end! Only 4 more months to go ..........
Weather:
Hot, hot, hot

Unashamed Tourist

15.6.19 - 19.6.19:

Leaving Normandy behind, off I went by train to Paris where I was met by Elsa and Nolween. Had an unbelievable start to my stay; on visiting an organic wine fair as part of the commune's local fête, the first stand we came across was from this village. Imagine, travelling nearly a 1,000km to have my first taste of  the only wine made here! Didn't even know it existed.
Sightseeing with Stéphanie took in some Art Nouveau buildings, gardens, tea at the Mosque for 2€ and a, expresso at the Café de la Paix for 6€50! Glad that I didn't have tea as it would have set me back 8€50!
The next day, I was out and about with Elsa. Wandered around the Pere Lachaise cemetary where lots of famous people are buried but with little time and no plan, we only found Chopin's grave. After that we went to the "Atelier des Lumières" to see the sound and light exhibition featuring Van Gogh's work. A super experience! https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/
Evenings were spent at home around the table with the family and I even had the pleasure of Leo's company.
The journey back to the south went without a hitch and Jean and Françoise being at the station to meet me was an added bonus.
After rain and cloud in Normandy, temperatures rose in Paris. 
And .... here are loads of photos. Just be thankful that I wasn't there longer.
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipOJgNVsRirZQ2_s1tIc_f1CPhmgnTfPjUgF1p7t

Family, Friends and Football

9.6.19 - 14.6.19:

Next phase of my trip came as I moved from Lower to Upper Normandy to spend some time with family and friends. Lots of time spent sitting and talking around some table or another. No complaints there, of course.
I also did some walking around Le Havre dodging the rain and went to a Women's World Cup match (England v Argentina) along with 20, 251 other spectators. No complaints there either.
You know the routine; follow the link to see the photos.
 https://photos.app.goo.gl/RwJPn78NNBbCA3g28

D Day

6.6.19 - 9.6.19:

Bretteville was liberated primarily by the Canadians with the British, Scots and Americans arriving later. There were several ceremonies to commemmorate this, as well as the official twinning get together.
Norman hospitality was as generous as ever, there was a visit to an underground quarry and a 1940's evening.
Here's the photographic record.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fd31biVnCnczPnp49

Breaking Out of the Village!

5.6.19 - 6.6.19:

En route to Normandy for the twinning visit accompanied by rain.
Lunch in Bordeaux and an overnight in Angers and visit to the château the next morning. The château housed the amazing tapestry of the Apocalypse, which at 100m long, is bigger than the one in Bayeux.
http://www.chateau-angers.fr/en/Explore/History-of-the-monument
You can find the photos here.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Gu8X4ighim4ZzxTSA

Gateway to Summer

1.6.19.

Took the bus to the market, bumped into Bridget and joined her for a coffee. Then met Jim and Mags with the Brits at another bar.

This afternoon I had a meeting with Béatrice about lodging our bagpipers and caught up with the blog.

Once more on my own, the evening followed the usual pattern of TV watching.

Weather:

27°, sunny

2.6.19:

The light morning woke me earlier than needed but no matter. I utilised the extra time to do some work on the computer before going for a coffee. Worked on the blog and photos after lunch when really I should have been out enjoying the fine weather.
Wandered over to see people dancing the Sardane in front of the Mairie, then wandered back again and did nothing in particular.
Weather:
26°, Sun, cloudy later

3.6.19:
Coffee with Nicole after a long lay off due to our various commitments. Rest of the day was spent on the bagpipe visit ending up with a meeting with the host families and then with Jacques to bring him up to speed.
Weather:
26°, sun, cloud later

4.6.19:

An early coffee with Françoise then hair in the morning, apéro at the bar with JJ and Nicole, dentist in the afternoon, tagine with les Anglaises this evening in Brian and Dani's pretty garden. Life promises to continue in busy mode so don't be surprised if I'm not checking in much.
Weather:
30°, sunny and blue skies