Wedding Bells

Bill and June pulled all the stops out for the wedding. Of course there was a piper to herald the arrival of the bride; there was a singer to keep us entertained while the register was being signed then a cartoonist and a local lad who had tried out for the "X Factor " while the photos were being taken in the grounds of 'The Brig o' Doon'.

That wasn't all... during the meal there was a trio of singers who had been passing themselves off as hotel staff during the afternoon, a pipe band, a video box, camera on the table to snap away as we enjoyed ourselves and fish and chips later on. Our table consisted of people who had worked in Toulouse, Marilyn and Alistair, our old neighbours, so we found plenty to talk about. Last orders in the hotel were called at 12.30 am so, it was across the road to the house that the family were staying in to drink some more. Managed to walk the mile home at 3am, goodness knows how!

Shopped Till We Dropped

You can see our bedroom from this photo. It looks out over the golf course though with such a dreary day, the view was some what limited. Undeterred by the drizzle, we set off for Ayr after a "full Scottish" that didn't have any porridge. Trailed round and round the shops before meeting up with Karen for lunch in "The West Kirk" which as it's name suggests is an old church. Trailed the same shops again in the afternoon looking for a top for the wedding. Found two and ended up wearing neither! One rather snooty woman was well put out as I hadn't taken the outfit in and I didn't know what fabric the suit was made from! Christian, through all this, was relatively patient but gave up in favour of having a coffee as I made a final tour of the town. In the evening Colin and sheila picked us up to go to the "Ruppee Room" in Ayr for a curry. Food was good but you just couldn't hear yourself think for the noise so a coffee across the road was a welcome relief.

Bonnie Scotland

This time it was our turn to jet off. To Prestwick airport to be precise which their advertising says is "Pure Dead Brilliant". Well, it was pure dead brilliant to be met at the airport by Colin and Sheila who took us for a great meal at "Reds". This now rather snazzy bistro serving international food, in our day, used to be a greasy spoon called called the "New York Diner". As it's unlicensed, Sheila had come armed with a couple of New World wines which surprise, surprise Christian didn't turn his nose up at. They then drove us out to the Alloway Inn where we had a night cap before settling in for the next couple of days.

Another day, Another meeting

This morning's meeting was all about the Christmas market which is looming ever closer. Looks as if it will be bigger and hopefully better than last year. While Christian and Michel were at their usual council meeting in the evening, Joëlle and I went off to see "The Duchess" at the cinema. It was interesting to see such a progressive woman of the 18th century in the spotlight but even she had to put up with a "menage à trois". I must get around to reading up about her to distinguish fact from cinematographic fiction. Anyway, we both quite enjoyed it and came home to supper with Michel and Christian who were already on the apéritifs!

Busy as Ever

A busy but varied day. Jean and Françoise called in for coffee before my usual Association committee meeting. For once there was no hassle thinking of some thing quick to get heated up for lunch as we were invited to Joëlle and Michel's. Sadly we weren't able to linger too long as we both had some catching up to do in the garden, breaking up branches to be precise. The evening and another meal out. This time at Linde's for a last supper for the "Ground Force" before she heads off to the States for Thanksgiving - for the new President rather than the turkey who leaves office in January!

Good Deed Day

Took our friend Barbara to the airport in Girona and spent the rest of the day munching our way through the choccies that she gave us by way of a thank you. That puts me in mind of a couple of cards I've received over the years ~ "Things are getting worse, please send chocolate!" and "There's nothing better than a good friend than a good friend with chocolate!" Enough said!

New Roundabout

Would you believe that we had such wide horizons? Today we were at the inauguration of the new roundabout as you come into the village. The great and the good from local politics were there as well as a lot of old soldiers in honour of the roundabout being named in memory of all those who died in various wars. More parading, more wreaths at the war memorial, more speeches and an upmarket apéritif. The Mairie had to hire some local Rangers to keep an eye overnight on the plants that had just been planted as there's been a spate of vandalism and there was fear that the roundabout would be targetted. As indeed it was. Three youngsters took flight when they realised that the Rangers were there. Otherwise all went well. There were over 20 of us who went off to the local auberge for lunch and the tenor who had again sung at the War Memorial gave us some more jollier offerings. A real treat. When we finally left I realised that it was too late to join the others in the garden so with a bit of a guilty conscience I joined Christian along with another couple at the home of a Belgian couple who plied us with more wine....

International Exhibition

Our thirst for culture knows no bounds. This evening we left the village to go to Collioure for the opening of an exhibition being held in the Château Royal. It was the first time that we'd been in it and was an added bonus. The exhibition took in 30 artists from 8 different countries and there was something for all tastes and pockets ( well, more or less). The painting I really liked, was done coincidently by a namesake of Christian's but at 700€ we passed on the opportunity to buy it. A painter from the commune was also showing and we were lucky enough to have him give us a tour of his work. Cork is often incorporated into his paintings but his work was way out of our league. We thought this other photo of Angelo in front of the painting was quirky. A question of being in the right place at the right time and having an eye for a subject of course!

World Kindness Day

Today I've tried to go about my daily business being nicer than usual! There was the language exchange this morning and this afternoon I made my second Christmas cake. Lovely smells have filled the kitchen. Pity that neither are for us. The tramuntana has been howling giving blue skies and a chill in the air. I saw that it was warmer in Scotland than it was here.

Saint Christian

Bet you didn't know that there was a Saint Christian. Well, Christian, a cook, was one of five Polish monks murdered in 1003 and today is his feast day. Apparently he was considered to be less saintly than the others as he tried to defend himself with a baton. I don't know whether it was the baton or the fighting back that was held against him. Anyway, feast days are recognised here, so "Bonne Fête, Christian!"