Whirlwind Week

Summers are so full of activity, our feet hardly touched the ground in mid-July. I'll whisk you through just one week.

First there was a flamenco evening with wine tasting in Alignan du Vent. Hans and Christa were offering their delicious wines from Domaine Bourdic. We pitched up to support them and ended up having a perfectly pleasant evening watching the dancers on the outdoor stage. The next night Alex took us to Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert for a concert of eastern Mediterranean music in the 11th century church.

For le quatorze, our friends Greg and Alex made the most exquisitely delicious Thai meal. Their house has a large stone wrap-around terrace reminiscent of an old Tuscan villa, a perfect place to watch the Roujan fireworks. This one's either a bit arty or a message from another dimension.

We went to Orange for Carmen at the old Roman theatre. The singing was competant, but lacked star quality. Still it was a beautiful night, the chorus was rousing, there were sexy male flamenco dancers, and 4 horses were trotted across the stage in the bullring scene. One of my favourite moments occurred afterwards. We were waiting for the arena to empty, still near our nosebleed seats, in the endless line to clamber down the ancient stone. There was a Pavarotti-esque fellow sitting there, obviously searching for his moment. When only a few hundred spectators were left he launched a big tenor voice into the void, singing an Italian folk song. I know that feeling, let's see what my voice will do in this space. He got a round and a few cheers from those of us remaining, lovely.

The next night we went to the movies outdoors in Alignan. I was concentrating on the French, yet every so often, it was wonderful to look up at the stars. Very Cinéma Paradiso and an absolutely perfect night for it. So simple, yet one of my favourite evenings. Henny loves it when afterwards everyone pitches in to put his folding chair away.

There was plenty else going on including aperitifs with friends, swimming at the barrage, a nice little concert at La Maison Verte, and then on Friday, the Tour de France blew right through the centre of town, but that's another story.

Progress Report

A happy day indeed when the newly painted shutters went back into the tower window. Henny deserves all the credit. Her smile says it all, or is it also slight relief that we managed to reassemble the shutters we'd taken completely apart?

Meanwhile, the bathroom is progressing. Freddie invited Henny to lay the cornerstone tile in the shower, a bit like the Queen (of the Netherlands, of course).

We're being severely delayed by a delivery problem. The mosaic tiles have been on back order for over 6 weeks now. Something about a striking lorry and a number of other lame excuses. Freddie's tiled up to where they're needed. Here's an interim shot to give you an idea.


Yes, that's a working loo! You can tell by the appearance of this giant bog roll. Even with the delivery delay making a mess of his busy schedule, it's good to see that Freddie hasn't lost his sense of humour.