Another Star is Born

We're steeped in the performing arts, we are. Freddie's debut in panto is well-documented. Many of us participated in the 3-day gospel-jazz singing workshop in May. And last night, Henny made her stage debut tapping with Michelle and Marc at the end-of-term Claquettes' recital. I was gutted to miss it. So thankfully Poppy's just sent through a couple of action shots. She had to be quick on the trigger. Henny said the whole exhausting routine only lasted 40 seconds. Well, you've gotta start somewhere to get to 42nd Street.

Belated Tribute

A few years ago, Lizzie and Ali bought several hectares of neglected grapevines on a hillside with beautiful views. It's nothing short of awe-inspiring how they've brought the vines back into good nick and are now producing excellent wines. Any armchair vigneron who dreams, yes, I'd like to have a vineyard in the south of France, be warned: it's muscle-aching, back-breaking hard work that can all be for nought if a tornado blows through your vineyard, which really happened in 2008. And it's similar to what they say about owning a boat, but it's a hole in the earth you throw money into. Still, never daunted, the grapes are flourishing and so are the girls.

It didn't surprise me that Lizzie would take to being a vigneronne. She's always had green thumbs, for which I'm grateful every morning. I wake up with a view of her oleanders. Once, when I'd just bought TopTop, I referred to some young shoots in my garden as "growths". Ali gleefully said, "Thank god there's someone who knows less about gardening than I do". So, Ali's the dark horse. Now a dedicated wine-maker, she's spent her last two birthdays like this, spraying vines because it's the best day weather-wise. This year we changed the lyrics to Happy Birth-spray.

The picture below was taken 18 August 2009. I'd helped Ali gather a sampling of grapes to determine the sugar content. Lizzie was shocked the figure was already at such a high level, so all the grapes had to be harvested within the next few days, weeks earlier than anticipated.

A de-stemming machine was late to arrive. So the first day, we did it all by hand. It took twice as long as the actual picking. Thankfully the machine came the next day, and in a matter of 3 days, all the grapes were harvested and in the cuves.

This spring, Lizzie and Ali announced the names of the wines, Cuvée Solèzio and Cuvée Chocolat (guess what it's delicious with). We were honoured to find ourselves on the Chocolat label, showing our grape-stained hands. Right up there with seeing my name on a poster outside a West End theatre. So delighted, though had I known, I possibly wouldn't have worn a luau shirt. Lizzie's just said they're down to the last 3 cases of Chocolat. Hardly surprising. It's sublime. Henny's hiding what we have left. Chapeau to you both.

Afternoon nap

Outdoor furniture has appeared on the terrace. We have a big table, chairs, an umbrella, and several sun loungers, not to mention the diving bench. I love just being able to wander in and out. The house feels so much bigger in summer. We made a recent discovery. Put two sun loungers together. Add the foam double-bed mattress we had from the first house, which fits perfectly. Position under the kaki or olive tree, grab a pillow, and have a perfect, secret siesta.

New Design Duo

Has anyone recently been shopping for curtains on the Ikea website noticed the new design collaboration between Henny and Jean de Pouzolles?

Heartbreaker

Backtrack to Saturday, 29 May 2010.

Josh, the little fellow I've known since he was 11, turned 18. Hardly believable. We celebrated in style. His sister and aunt (and indeed all Josh's extended aunties and uncles) beamed with joy.

His proud but shell-shocked parents were fabulous hosts, as ever, and so was Josh.

And...drumroll...here he is, the man himself, a talented apprentice landscaper and gorgeous rugby hunk in designer duds. Lock up your daughters. Happy 18th Josh, with all our love.

Summer's finally here

It's true the spring weather in the Languedoc hasn't been brilliant. In fact it's the worst June on record for about 50 years. Three days ago Michelle was over at our house complaining that she was wearing shoes and socks on the 20th of June. But since the summer solstice, things have improved and we're finally experiencing the glorious sunshine and fine temperatures we'd been expecting for the last month. It's time to find a nice place in the shade to relax and enjoy a siesta.

Weed Mower

For Henny's birthday, 30 people were on the terrace enjoying an apéro overlooking knee-high weeds in the garden. We'd just been on a 3-day gospel-singing workshop, so no time to tame the unruly garden beforehand and make 9 quiches and pizzas for our guests.

Our friend Teddy came to the rescue with his trusty lawnmower. When I was young, I mowed the lawns at home. Our finicky machine would never have dealt with our mini forest in Roujan, but Teddy had the weed-lawn looking better in no time while Henny and I raced to dump the off-cuts in double wheelbarrow tandem. What a difference!

Now we've bought Lizzie's mower second-hand, we hope to keep the weeds in check.