Photos

Go on! See the snail, whet your appetite and soak up the scenery!

If you're interested in seeing the photos, please send me an email or leave a request in comments.

************

Elections, Eating but no Exercise !

17.2.20 - 23.2.20:
The first couple of days were just frittered away with nothing to report other than a trip to the dustbins and only marginally better, a trip to the supermarket and a bit of French revision which of course did not linger very long in the part of my brain marked "foreign languages"! You won't be surprised to hear that there's been a fair bit of telly watching.
There wasn't anything cultural either; the rest of the week was about eating and drinking. No surprise there  either.
Wednesday:
Coffee in Céret with Jacques before meeting Penny and Pauline for lunch at "La Galerie" Excellent meal and chatting to the chef, I leant that he's moving to the village next week and is likely to be
looking for somewhere to open up when he and his associate go their seperate ways at the end of the year. Not that I can call myself an influencer but my preference would be for a wine and tapas bar. Room for seeds to be sown and words in the right ears, methinks.

In the evening Jacques catered for 7 of us; in addition to Jacques and I, Evelyn and her sister, Dominique, Ida and Georges  were there. Good food, wide ranging conversation and lots of laughs were enjoyed by all.
Thursday:
Nicole came for coffee; Angela and Paul, Roland, Ann and Terry came for an apéritif before we went for an excellent meal at the restaurant. Once again I'd given the language exchange a miss.
Friday:
Was a long day with little respite; some cleaning as well making dinner took ages. There were a variety of canapés and a fish pie to prepare and for some reason or another, I decided to make two marmalade cakes for the freezer. Really didn't need to pile on extra work/pressure. I'd just finished when Linde, her Canadian friend, Eleanora, Kathy, Jean and Françoise arrived.
Still it was worth it and everyone enjoyed what was on offer  ..... even better, that's another returned invitation off the list.
Saturday:
Market in the morning where as usual I met Françoise for coffee and chatted my way between the car

park and the café and back again. Rather than eat left overs, I said "yes" to an invitation to join Antoine's electoral team for lunch up in the mountains. Took me back to the good times that Christian and I used to have there.
Sunday:
Morning coffee with women friends at the other bar and in the afternoon I zipped my way through a lot of paperwork on the computer.
This evening 11 of us squeezed into Linde's for an Austro-Hungarian meal of goulash and knödel (dumplings), a lot of red wine and some chaotic singing in French, Catalan, Hungarian and English.
Oh dear, Linde needs to go back on my "need to return the invitation" list!
Weather:
Started off the week with a cloudy day and temperatures of 15°; by Thursday there was blue sky and 18° and today a very warm 22.5°.

Ps The snail in this month's photo album is part of the carnival float and very impressive it will be too when it all comes together.

Elections, Eating and Exercise

9.2.20 - 16.2.20:

Nothing wildly exciting this week, so I won't blame you if you don't read on.
When I managed to drag myself away from the tv and the computer frustrations that came along, I did some domestic chores, including dealing with the weeds that have been making themselves at home. Michel, a neighbour happened by and immediately set off home in search of a saw to prune the lemon tree and other vegetation. A most welcome offer, especially as he took away the rubbish as well. sad, what passes for noteworthy chez moi!
There was my neighbour's funeral . Marie (aged 84), was a simple, modest woman of Spanish origin with an accent and French (of sorts) difficult to understand. Sigh, I suppose that will be another house that will end up as appartments.
There weren't any cultural outings but I did attenend the public  presentation of Antoine's electoral list and a neighbourhood get together organised by my neighbour who is on his list. These "tupperware meetings" as Antoine calls them, are a tradition here as a way of having more direct contact with candidates. Both events involved an apéritif.
Wednesday, the 3 widows met for lunch at the village restaurant pleased that they are back from their winter break. Duck breast, my favourite.
Coffee at the other bar with the exchangers, an impromptu apéro at mine with Jacques and Nicole's weekly political debrief over coffee also helped to keep me in touch without having to make any effort.
Can't say the same of the apéritif dinatoire at mine. Spent all afternoon allowing my culinary juices to stutter forth in the prepartion of an evening with JJ, Jacques, Jean and Françoise. Took our time working our way through it all and drinking fizz over wide ranging conversation and even better, I was saved from another ridiculously late night in front of the tv.
For once, I didn't go for the usual Sunday morning coffee; I was up late for reasons that aren't difficult to work out. 
As there aren't any buses that come through here on a Sunday, Henri came and picked me up for lunch. Dining on guinea fowl with peaches was a real treat. Mmm! Jean, he, who gives me seville oranges every year, joined us for coffee after which he took pity on Henri who was nodding off, and offered to drive me home.
If you've made it this far, you'll be thinking, what an unchalleging, self indulgent week it's been so now's the time for me to let you know with some pride that I had two long walks with Francoise. One to St Luc's chapel accessed by the battlefields  of the Franco/Spanish war in the 18th century  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Boulou (2h15) and the other one from the uninhabited Château d'Aubiry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_d%27Aubiry
to St Jean via Vivès (3h45). Both gave great views over Canigou and the perfumes of burgeoning vegetation. Your still battling Winter storms while we're enjoing an early Spring time but as we all know, the weather is more and more capricious so believe me, there is no smug look on my face as I write.

Weather:
13° - 25°, mostly sunny

Chugging Along

1.2.20 - 8.2.20:

Woke up on the 1st no longer a member of the European Union and disenfranchised in both France and UK. We've a year without any other change and then it will depend on whether a deal can be made.

 Brexit was on everyone's lips when I spoke to them at the Association's couscous lunch on the first day of Britian "taking back control again!" the meal for 120 of us was copious and being able to leave without staying to clear up added to the pleasure.

There was lots of the usual stuff during the week;
Florence around for tea on Sunday, Jeanne on Monday and Nicole on Tuesday.
I left the house for a refreshment on Sunday, Wednesday (in Céret with Ann and Lynne),Thursday and Saturday with Françoise at the market followed by an apéritif back in the village with Jacques and Nicole.

Flower making, tv watching, a bit of French study and a fruitless wait for Sauveur who still hasn't been to fix the bathroom fan, liberally sprinkled with too many squares of chocolate, were among my mundane activities this week. 

This week's  cinéclub offering was "Sir", an Indian film about, culture, class, expectations, attitudes to women, dreams and a lot more. Worth watching if ever you come across it and want to nourish your sensitive side. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sir_2018  Ended the evening back at Nicole's for a group debrief and a cuppa.

Friday (7th) there was the opening of an touring exhibition in Christian's room. Educative panels about forestry augmented by some artworks and photos from the village museum. It was well attended especially by the electorial candidates. The Mayor gave a interesting introduction and then at the end invited the assembly to partake of the "pot d'amitié". 

Familywise, Mum is back in hospital and it looks more and more that she will have to go into care. Jill's holding the fort aided by her family until we know whats what.

Oh yes, I even had a bit of exercise. A session on the treadmill and a lovely walk for 2½ hours up in the mountains with Françoise. It did me no end of good. A stretch of the legs and super views in the fresh air and sunshine. Came back energised and in good form for dinner at Jacques'. The sole man with 4 women around the table, he was in his element.  Cooked for, waited on and never without an empty glass, so were we!
Weather:
14° - 25°, sun and blue skies, a day with very strong wind and only one cloudy day