Oh No They're Not!!!

Woke up to rain Tuesday morning and it was still raining on Wednesday but ever the hardy souls we set out as planned with Terry and Anne to take them on a journey of exploration. Forest tracks, monuments to long dead heroes, medieval villages and finally La Quadra for lunch.
Thursday and finally enough sunshine to have a glass of wine at the bar after the Language Exchange. In the evening Jacques came by to talk "Sant Jordi" and have an apéritif.
Woke up today to ..... rain! Spent the afternoon trailing around looking for a tv unit which was hardly the highlight of our week. Luckily things picked up with a vernissage and dinner at Juste and Joséphine's.

Sunny Days are Here Again!

Well, wouldn't you know it! Colin and Sheila left Friday afternoon and a little later the sun came out! In fact there's been lovely sunshine since then. The weekend has been busy. The new flower shop in the square opened, we made a few stops at the bar and wandered around the market on Saturday. Saturday evening Jean and Françoise came for apéritifs and then we went on to the bar where there was a DJ evening in full swing. Sunday we had the news that Michel's mother had died aged nearly 98. He and Joëlle came for lunch of a well stretched chilli along with Michelle and Jean-Jacques . Ironic really as they're just back from a month in Mexico. As there was a concert in the evening for which there was no refreshment arranged for the chorale, I raided the fridge and the cupboard to put something together for16 of us.

It's still fine today and I think I've recruited another two members for the Assocition. This evening Christian has his monthly surgery up in the mountains but there will only be the two of us for dinner which is no bad thing as he's feeling a bit neglected at the moment!!

Fron Dreech to Drab

The weather wasn't much better, hence Colin's well chosen phrase above. Went into Figueres to the market which was a pretty sad affair. Had a hot chocolate to try and lift the spirits before going in search of food. Decided on 'tried and trusted' thus ending up at "La Plaça" which didn't disappoint. On leaving the restaurant, surprise, surprise it was dry so 3 of us walked off our meal while Christian snoozed. Called in at the wine cave on the way home and bought 2l of sangria to try. A quiet evening of tapas and chat.

Off to a Wet Start

31.3.09
Oh dear to leave Scotland looking for sunshine only to find rain .... it's a good job that Colin and Sheila are here to see us and not as tourists. Had a soggy walk around the town in the afternoon, stopping to have an overpriced hot chocolate to warm us up. Came home, lit the fire and indulged ourselves with foie gras (homemade) and cava.
1.4.09
Weather no better today but as Christian had booked a day off from the Mairie we set off for Port Vendres. Visited the fish place where our mouths dropped open at the prices and went to see the MacIntosh exhibition which apparently is only open on Friday afternoons at the moment. With wet feet and numb fingers we went to L'Archipel for an excellent lunch which proved to be rather toomuch for Christian and I who needed to come home for a snooze. Colin and Sheila, however , are made of sterner stuff and they've gone off for a walk by the sea. Well, if you can deal with what Prestwick has to throw at you, you can deal with the Mediterranean coast.

Yet Another Funeral

In contrast to the funeral last Thursday, this one was just packed with mourners. we didn't go up to the cemetary as Colin and Sheila were due to arrive from Girona airport. despite a few hassles with b&ggage, they arrived safe and sound and were ready to partake of a glass of wine chez Jean-Louis.

You win some, you lose some

It's a long time since we've made the effort to go out on a Sunday but as the rain was off and there was a food fair in Figueres, we sallied forth. The weather wasn't the best, cold to say the least and the town was deadly quiet but on the plus side it was pretty easy to find a parking space. As for the food fair, it was a great disappointment. Very few stands except for "bunyols", the local doughnuts and someone making sausages. Decided to try a restaurant on the way home that recently changed hands and here we weren't disappointed.

Food was good with fresh ingredients, service pleasant and the dining areas had vaulted ceilings and stone walls all in a setting with views all around. 17.50€ all in, a bon rapport qualité/prix as we say and what's more, the weather had brightened up.

Another funeral

Rain was forcast but although it was couldy, rain didn't seem imminent so when it finally came while we were at the market, we had no umbrella. The temperature took a dive and we scurried back home toute suite. In the afternoon I set off with Jean, Marie-Lourdes and Monique for the funeral of Jean, the guitarist's mother's (78). The rain came down hard, the church was packed and there was much emotion. On the way home we stopped off at the local funeral parlour to see the family of another villager who has died (78). His funeral is on Monday. Christian missed all of this as he was on duty at the Mairie, acting as conceierge for the expo on the Retirada. Our last duty call was to the clinic to visit Helene, Michel's Mum. A pretty sad day all around. Tonight the clocks change and tomorrow we plan to go out for the day which should be more promising.

Sortie Resto

The Association's first trip out to a restaurant and the day dawned bright and sunny. Of course we had to wait for someone who was 20 minutes late for the rendez-vous but no one complained. There were 31 of us altogether who headed north to the coast. It was the first time that Christian and I had been to Leucate and found the village to be quite a pleasant place; the seaside and enormous marina might tell another story. While some went off (Christian among them) to hear about the production of oysters and taste them, a small group of us found the village square and had a wee refreshment. Well, I had a glass of wine, the others had a coffee! The meal was good, fresh fish, wine, all in for 16€. Afterwards we all went our separate ways ; the Mairie contingent stayed on to drink more coffe and to talk about the political life of the village while Michelle and I sat on the terrace and enjoyed the sun. Came home by a long road along the coast to prepare oysters for supper.

Working hard, Playing hard

Time is just whizzing by faster than ever! The blog has been way behind as are the reports I need to put onto Blabla, as is the ironing and cleaning. Have only been to the garden to take down the compost and shake my head at how dry it is. Most of my time is going on arranging Sant Jordi - it's hard taking the lead when you don't speak French fluently. Christian spends the greater part of his time at the Mairie with at least one meeting a week in Perpignan. Still all this "do-gooding" is interspersed with fun things too.

13th March - 26th March
Apéritif dinatoire chez Geneviève ( a local artist) and Philippe's on Friday the 13th . The first time we'd ever been to theirs so it was interesting getting to know them. Hope they felt the same! Saturday it was the commune's hommage to the "Retirada". Particularly poignant as inevitably large numbers of Catalns and Spanish fleeing Franco came this way. In the afternoon there was a talk and book signing by a local author, poetry, song, apéritif and meal. A late night but worth it. Needless to say there was a sluggish start on the 15th which was a great excuse to head off at lunch time to the local auberge. Next came St Patrick's day and we met up with Linde who with her Rhode Island connections was keen to celebrate. We were the only two along with Jean-Louis but bit by bit the atmosphere picked up as more people, oblivious of the day's significance, arrived. Wednesday, a meeting to discuss the possibility of setting up a support group with women in the Congo where rape is routinely used as a weapon of war.

Thursday, 19th and another lunch at the auberge, this time with folk from the Mairie and in the evening another procession, this time to mark the end of the war with Algeria and another apéritif. Can't believe that it's a year since the last one.

Finally, some space to have a day out together came on Friday, 20th. The sun was shining, there wasn't a lot of traffic on the road so we ambled along to Figueres for a stroll around the shops before going to our favourite resto for lunch which was open! But .... David and his family have gone travelling and another couple have taken it over in his absence. They were just as charming, the food was just as good but there was no sign of a menu so we had to pay the full whack!

A fine weekend and we're starting to stop by at the bar for a glass of wine on the terrace to soak up the sun and watch the world go by. Saturday was a quiet day but Sunday was busier with the kids carnaval in the afternoon and a concert given by the local choir in the church in the evening. The Maire and his wife came back to ours for an apéro which just kept going, so Monday arrived as a bit of a struggle.

23rd March and today it's Alain's birthday so ...... how did you guess? .... another apéritif; this time in the bar. Then .... how did you guess? .... Alain and Monique came back to our place to finish the evening.

Tuesday: The mairie as usual for Christian and for me a walk around the village delivering letters to drum up support for Sant Jordi. Jean, the guitarist called by at apéritif time, so of course we could only be but hospitable and so ended another day.

Wednesday, half way through the week already. Tea with Josette and then dinner at Diana's with Maggie, Trevor, Robin and Bruce. Christian was quieter than usual, difficult to get a word in edgeways but fortunately there was plenty of booze to go around. Come to think of it, Robin was quiet too.

Today it was all rush, photocopied at the Mairie, made the coffee and put in an appearance at the "language exchange", went to a funeral, met a local artist to show here a little chapel for her expo for Sant Jordi, had a couple of glasses of wine on the terrace at the bar in lovely sunshine, all before 12.30. The funeral of an 88 year old neighbour who had spent the last two years of her life in a care home was a sad affair. About 20 of us, no family. It doesn't bear contemplating.This afternoon, I did my "wee wifey" act and made a couple of cakes for Christian to take to the Mairie this evening as a belated birthday gesture. Me I stayed home with my knitting glad to sit and not have to think!

Scots Wha Hae!

2.3.09Good old Ryanair was on time so it was a quick get away from Girona airport. Jacques came around to eat with us so Andy and Maureen were thrown straight into the social whirl but of course they coped!.

3.3.09
A morning walk around the lake and then in the afternoon we set off to buy wine for our Danish friends. Great getting to taste and buy with other people's money. The two vine yards couldn't have been more different; a sleek pristine modern set up and a ramshackle 2 person affair. The Brit who ran the latter was a bit of a poser and who refered to one of the wines as a bit "feral". well, how can you take sime seriously when one of the wines is called "Number One". We, of course could hardly keep hold of our (juvenile) sniggers while we waited for a "Number two" which, by the way, never came.

4.3.09
A reasonably early start in cloudy grey weather with a miserable forecast for the next couple of days. I was obviously in one of my 'let's zig-zag France" moods as we went to Simorre, near Auch via Cordes sur Ciel. a lot of driving for Christian but great views and a good lunch in a brasserie in Gaillac where Christian walked into a sign post and grazed his head.

The b&b , an old farm, was just great. Huge rooms, lots of character and a good meal.

5.3.09

Happy Birthday, Christian!

He doesn't look a day older. Weather still glum and at one point it even tried to snow but we're made of stern stuff and headed off to the market in Auch. Managed not to get wet and found a nice restaurant for lunch after which it started to brighten up a bit. Wandered around Fleurance and Maurzevin in the afternoon before another good meal in the evening. We asked for foie gras , cassoulet and chocolate cake and all were delicious; Breakfasts were good too so this is definitely one for the address book.

6.3.09

Arrived back home in good time to prepare for our visitors in the evening and the vernissage before hand. Kathy and Gilles, Jean-Jacques and Michelle, Jean Ortiz, Michel and Joëlle, Marie-Jo and Claude, Joséphine and Juste came and made it a really pleasant evening

7.3.09

Another celebration, this time 22 years of our meeting in the "Riverside" in Glasgow. Of course we went to the market in the morning where preparations were underway for the carnaval cavalcade in the afternoon; there were another 21 like these two for one of the floats! Had to turn down an apéro with Gaby and chantal as we were invited to Joséphine's to eat wild boar - the second since Andy and Maureen have been here. No regrets about the apéro as Joséphine does a mean lychee, sparkling wine, cointreau and strawberry cocktail. Yeeeees! I had to leave early to help organise for International Women's Day. The evening was a calm one which I think, we all welcomed.

8.3.09

Thankfully there was no wind and the sun was spliting the sky. There must have been about a hundred people all told (mostly women) and Andy, Christian and Terry did sterling work serving everyone. A real success and lunch at Joëlle and Michel's was just what we needed. But there's no peace for the wicked as they say ... spent the afternoon in the kitchen getting ready for our next lot of guests, Linde, Jean and Françoise, Thérèse, Philippe and Danielle. This birthday seems to be going on for ever!

9.3.09

This evening it was dinner at Madeline's where we met Doudou who we'd heard a lot about. He and Andy are great pals so there was talk of poetry, literature, comerades and civil war history.

10.3.09

The weather continues to be fine and time is going fast. Went to the Exiles' Museum where we were all moved by what we stimulated to think about. Pity that we hadn't noticed on the way in that over 65s were allowed in for free - three out of the four of us qualified.

11.3.09

Andy suffering with a cold today so he passed on the opportunity to come to Perpignan with us. Christian went off to a meeting so Maureen and I toured the shops and sat in a couple of cafés to watch the world go by.

12.3.09
Andy and Maureen's last day so we did the time honoured trip to the waterfall where the café was closed, up to the Sanctuary where we sat in the sun and had a coffee before wandering around St Lorenç. So far so good ... but then we found that our favourite restaurant was closed so we ended up in one in the village which was just not in the same league. C'est la vie! Arrived at the airport in good time and came back and being reluctant to go indoors we took a glass of wine at the bar.

A Slow Start

A late night chez Kathy where we had a menu on a truffle theme. Properly scrambled eggs (ie, bain-mairie), roast monkfish accompanied by celaric mash with truffles through it, brie stuffed with truffles.... the only disappointment was that there were none of the chocolate kind. Anyway the good life doesn't last forever so the time came around to get the sleeves rolled up and prepare the house and fridge for Andy and Maureen's arrival. Things all went a bit pear-shaped in the afternoon with a mix up about the garden and now we're four not five!

A Taste of Spring

Another week has flown by with Christian spending even more time than ever at the Mairie and me still trying to get information together for International Women's Day. How easy it was in Glasgow in comparison. Still, it wasn't all work. Wednesday I was invited to Joëlle and Michel's for tea and pancakes in the afternoon after Jany had sorted out my roots! Yesterday we were out for the whole day. Up the valley and over into Catalunya Sud but not before we'd bumped into Annie and Graham en route and had a coffee with them. The weather was just fabulous, an unbelievable 21° at times. We weren't quite so lucky food wise as two restaurants that we wanted to try were closed, a third charged for bread and "couverts" which I object to on principal especially as there was only à la carte. I wonder what would happen if you took your own! We finally ended up in a modern place which did a very passable meal for the princely sum of 10.80€ with wine and you had a knife and fork thrown in for free. Not wanting to let go of the euphoric feeling of having left winter behind we had a glass of wine on the terrace of the bar before closing the shutters at home and switching on the telly.

On the news front I've been a "grumpy old woman" about over - paid, well pensioned bankers, , the cost of the Queen Mum's statue (just outrageous) and a beauty pageant for women of no fixed abode in Belgium. Exploitation at it's best hosted by a petite blonde with all her own teeth.

Pay des Cathars

Sitting in the sun having a wee refreshment after the market we took the notion to see if Pierre et Marie, who live near Limoux, were free for lunch the next day. We' were invited over for the night so we made our way over through Cathar country drinking in the scenery and thinking of this cruel period of French history when the castles came into view. Caught up on the news, admired their new house and enjoyed a good meal. The next day we headed to Esperaza where we joined an aging "hippie" population at the market. Then back into the car to go up into the mountains where we had fabulous views and a good all-in meal for 22€. The return journey went without any problems. All in all a little bit of spontaneity does you good!

In the News

Life chez nous has been much the same all week. Mairie and the Association. International Women's Day is getting closer and though it will be a simple affair there seems to be loads to co-ordinate. Quiet as it is here there seems to be plenty of news to catch the interest. We'll forget the economic crisis but our local news paper has reported Jade Goodie's story and the kissing ban at Warrington railway station. You can just imagine the French reaction to that! French tv has been full of the general strike and protests in Guadeloupe where people are fed up of being treated like a modern day colony. Our illustrious President has promised to visit when the situation is more stable. Perhaps he fears flying shoes. Two prisoners broke out of a high security prison using explosives that had been smuggled in by women visitors! Apparently one of the women always set off the alarm because of some medical appliance that she had to wear and was never checked. An ideal"mule". Three days on the run and now one is on the critical list in hospital having been shot twice in the thorax. Talking of prisons, what about the judge in Florida, I think it was, who's been done for sending too many people to prison (even for the States)? The prison is privately run and paid a "bounty" for each detainee. Crooked bankers, crooked judges, crooked politicians, crooked estranged husbands of politicians, the list is never ending. I did hear that David Mills, Tessa Jowell's hubbie, although convicted to 4 years, won't serve them because of Italian legal technicalities. The best laugh has come from Ireland. the story of the Police being puzzled by a Polish motiorist who has accumulated 50 or so motoring offences and each time given a different address. Mystery was solved when the name was looked up in a dictionary and found to mean "driving licence"!!! More worrying news has also come from Ireland - Ryanair's decision to let people use their mobile phones for £1-£3/min once they reach 10,000 feet. According to Martin O'Leary it's because there's a public demand. Yeah, yeah.

Valentine's Day

To the market, of course and by gum it was cold. Thought we'd have lunch out as it was St Valentine and we don't bother with presents or cards. I think you've all realised by now where our priorities lie! Sadly we made a lousy choice. It took 45 minutes for the first course to arrive the was nothing else to do but work our way through the wine. The second course arrived a good 20 minutes after that and the food wasn't up to much. Fortunately dinner was whole lot better as Anne and Pete were over; seafood platter and heart-shaped chocolate cake. Soppy or what? The good news is that there's plenty left over for the next couple of days!

Intrepid Travellers

Set off with Anne and Terry to introduce them to the some wild countryside; zig-zagging down the coast, going up and over the coll in gale force winds, splashing through a couple of fords and bumping over stoney tracks was the order of the day. Lunch was a much more civilised affair at "La Plaça" where we enjoyed a good meal for 12.50€ each. Came back cross country stopping off at a winery to buy some of the wine we had at lunch time and liked. 7€ a bottle in the restaurant and 1.20€ at source! Tea at Anne and Terry's and then it was a rest before apéritifs at Thérèse's. Françoise's punch went down a bomb and we were all convinced that she's sampled it before she left home. Lots of good things to eat and a discussion as to what we find seductive in the opposite sex. Well, it was St Valentine's eve and apparently recent research has found that women find men who do things for other people the most seductive. Don't know if that holds good for all nationalities. Anyone have any comments?

Making tea with a tomato!

Christian at the Mairie this morning and in Perpignan for a meeting this afternoon while I had an Association meeting and tea with Joëlle. Split my sides with laughing when she brought out her tomato shaped timer to time the tea brewing/mashing/drawing or what ever expression you use in your neck of the woods.

Musical Interlude

Back again to the village hall this afternoon for a brass band concert which took us around the world and from Bizet to the Eurovision Song Contest. At least I was able to sing along to "Those were the Days" and what's more, it was free. We and the band snacked on the left-over tapas and had a good go at the sangria and still there was some left. Wonder who will finish it up?

Tapas sans Frontières

All week the house has been a bit like the "Women's Institute meets Blue Peter" as I've tried to put a display together for the Association's "Soirée Tapas" this evening. We did, however, have time to go to to the market where we met up with several friends, had a coffee in one bar and later on an apéritif in another. After a quick bite to eat we were off to the village hall to set up. The evening was a great success with people of different nationalities (French, Catalan, British, Austrian, Danish, Colombian, Italian) eating, drinking and talking together. Everyone brought something and the tables groaned with food so there was loads left over. There was a suggestion that we make it a 3 monthly event! Carmen and Martine came back to ours for cuppa, well after all that wine and sangria, that's just what a body needs. Not sure why the photo is in strange colours will try and sort it later.

Variety is the spice...

We both put in a good morning's work before we went off to meet up with Jean and Françoise and several others for lunch. Jean had arranged a seminar which presented the work of a local film maker. We weren't able to attend but we enjoyed the meal and meeting the others.

As a change from the usual, the latest exhibitions in the village is of the documents of a Catalan Psychiatrist Henri Ey (1900-1977) who founded the World Society of Psyciatrists and became known as "Le Pape de Psychiatire". An interesting and none too long presentation was given by Dr Palem from the Henri Ey foundation and an apéritif followed. More snacks followed chez Michel (who organises the exhibitions) where we found ourselves with Kathy, Gilles, Juste, Joséphine and Danièle. apart from the exhibition, we talked politcs. Now there's a surprise!