a week disappears very quickly in France

 Moules and chips at st Privat, a great evening with friends, good food, a drop of wine and music. Fortunately we arrived early and managed to find some shade, otherwise it would have been unbearable. 34 degrees at 7pm.

 

Managed to go to a Chasse lunch with some friends, excellent meal, but as usual the English did tend to consume more than their fare share of wine. But they didn't become over noisy. In fact it was the French who seemed to get rather over excited.

David was on good form considering all that he has to contend with these days. It was so hot but then we had a sudden down poor that seemed to clear the air for a while.

Friends over for lunch, or was it dinner, can't remember. They seem to roll into one at the moment. It's one big party.

Popped into Montmereau on the Saturday morning and bought a couple of dozen oysters for lunch at home, washed down with a very nice chilled bottle of Muscadet.
To me, oysters, lemon and fresh bread washed down with a glass of wine, or Champagne if Ruth was about good as it gets, in fact it's heaven.

Sat outside, rather overcast at this time, 7am, but its lovely and fresh. Not so steamy today. Yesterday it was up to 38 degrees and hot. Thunderstorms forecast for Wednesday.

Drinking my first cup of freshly brewed coffee, espresso from Liddell. Find it to be an excellent blend. Listening to the woodpecker knocking away on our neighbours tree whilst a multitude of others birds scrap about collecting insects snared up in cobwebs overnight. Peace and tranquility, with the exception of the birds morning chorus.

 We are doing some work, painting mostly, but we have ripped the kitchen ceiling out. Wanted to check the timbers and the chimney.

Such an improvement. 

 The original lambri was doing a Mexican wave around the kitchen ceiling and we wanted to know what it was hiding.

 The beams are fine and only a little rot on a couple of the boards above. So we will replace those and then trap insulation in between the beams and fit out with plasterboard. So it will be warmer in winter, give us more headroom and we will still see the main beams.

Judith also reworked the kitchen units with some Farrow and Ball paint. What an instant difference.

Friday we went on an evening walk at Rioux Martin with Linda and a couple of her acquaintances, a retired vicar and his wife. Didn’t expect the clergy to retire, thought their job was a vocation for life. 600 people had registered and the make do field that had been set out at the rear of the Marie was packed solid.

13k walk through the surrounding countryside, interspersed by a four course dinner with coffee and wine, all for €13. It’s amazing how well they organised it, considering that the French have a tendency of not organising anything. It’s normally run by committees who can’t make decisions. When our walking group goes into a restaurant it takes an hour for them to decide where to sit, who is going to sit next to whom etc. After an hours walking we had our first course of salad and melon with bread and wine. The Vicar was pleased to have the latter. Then it was a further 40minutes and the main course. Delicious chicken in a fresh red pepper sauce and the obligatory chips. Tender, tasty and hot. And wine of course a choice of rose or red. Instead of providing plastic cups at every food point they had organised a neat plastic glass and holder that slung round your neck which you carried with you. Very sensible as long as you drained your glass properly and didn’t wear a white tea shirt.

It was dark by the time we hit the cheese stop, but the atmosphere was magical. Torchlight's bobbed about through the woods and along the tracks. 

Not this type of torch light

Eventually ended up back the Marie for pudding and coffee, and beer for the diehards who looked set to make it a real evening. It was nearly midnight at this time. 
 

 

Sunday morning early and we head off to Juignac to the Brocante, but it wasn’t really worth it, although Linda was there with a table full of retro items for sale. Saying that there was an excellent display of tractors, along with various steam engines and ancient combined harvesters.

Headed into Montmoreau to buy a few supplies and then headed home to crash out and relax. My back was still giving me jip, so l was taking tablets to get rid of the pain. Just been trying to do too much, and then the cutting of a 2metre thick hedge was a step too far. Ouch!

Monday was busy on the Internet and then back out to see Hilly and Linda. The dinner was superb and the location in the garden was tremendous, the evening could not be better.

Tuesday was more relaxation, just a few chores and then swinging in the hammock reading. What a life. Then l got board so l picked up the paintbrushes and started painting with oils. A fist for me, always used watercolour in the past, and l thoroughly enjoyed it. But soon had to finish as it was time to prepare dinner for our guests. The two Kate’s along with Alan and Christian.

BBQ duck breast with noodle salad, preceded with home made gazpachio and home baked bread, followed by a really good selection of cheese and a frozen gateau.

It goes without saying that the liquid accompaniments flowed freely.

Wednesday and it’s a little work and then off into the woods for a circular walk. Fresh first thing with a little rain in the air, but nothing to worry about.

Great walk up over the top to the lookout from which the views were truly magnificent, then a big circle past the wild boars and the tree houses and home for lunch.

As we sat down we saw a red squirrel dash over the garden to our hazel trees, then within the space of five minutes a greater spotted woodpecker started knocking six bells out of our cherry tree, whilst another pair of woodpeckers, green this time took up the chorus in an adjacent tree.

A red kite hovered overhead and a redstart fought over the grubs in the grass with a wagtail.

Its amazing!

 

Then its trimming and pruning the trees with my new loppers. Some of the trees had not been touched for years. Their centres were all filled with branches crossing over one another, blocking out any air or light. They all had to go, and it looks so much better now. Hopefully the crops in spring will show the benefit.

Break off work to prepare dinner. Tonight its cards with Tony and Jo.