Merry Christmas!

Since our kitchen installation in 2008, two ceiling lights have remained as bare bulbs glaring away on electrician's wires. Recently, in a fit of bravura, I promised Henny there'd be proper light fittings up by Christmas. They arrived just in the nick of time.

We've had a superb run-up to Christmas. We've sung carols, drunk mulled wine, played games, laughed ourselves silly, received sweet gifts and dined gloriously. Thank you one and all for a great week. To those further afield, we wish you the happiest of holidays. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good light.

Devil-in-a-Box

Fab Five in Montpellier

GT's love of Mahler provided an excuse for us to go the symphony in Montpellier. We sat in the gods at the Corum, where the temperature was more hellish than heavenly, but we all really enjoyed the concert. It was Mahler's 3rd which has a choral movement, meaning about 200 people were on stage to entertain us. Here's Alex's iPhone picture as proof. Eleven double basses. I like that the Montpellier audience appreciates a good concert or opera and pays the performers a proper tribute with long applause if they've earned it. I guess it's different than London in that way, no rush to catch the last train.

We made a weekend of it. Dinner after the performance. A nighttime stroll through the cobbled streets. Breakfast the next day. A mooch around the Christmas market, followed by lunch at an outdoor cafe, in the sunshine of the Midi, on December 10th. 

The boys stayed at the apartment of friends, which couldn't be more centrally located. Here's the scene from their balcony. I'm glad we've ended up near this vibrant city. I feel like we had a real little holiday.

Pyro Day

Today the annual visit of the tree surgeon, the aptly named Simon Wood. Here he is up our splendid olive tree. This tree is actually about 4 olives planted so closely together they behave as one. Probably 60-70 years old. We worship this tree as we snooze in its shade in summer, hear the sound of its leaves rustling in a breeze, and watch the way the leaves part and flow like a silvery green wave. Today it had a good going over, taking away the dead branches at its centre. The guideline to proper pruning, a swallow should be able to fly round in the middle. It looked mighty pleased after Simon's considered pruning.

We spent the entire day dragging cut branches and leaves from all over the garden to burn. Our bonfire was roaring away for hours. The garden's nicely tidied for winter. We're the good kind of exhausted and have almost gotten the smell of the wood smoke off us.

Master Baker Taylor

Today, my actual birthday, our beloved friends Greg and Alex came bearing cake. And what a cake it was!  In a restaurant from my distant past I remember a dessert called Death by Chocolate. This beauty coulda been a contender. Mr. Taylor, the improbably svelte patissier in the grey turtle neck, says there is a full kilo of chocolate involved. It was amazingly delicious! We enjoyed it with coffee and Grand Marnier. I'm still on the sugar rush 8 hours later. Thank you darlin' GT.

Birthdays-by-Sea

Margaret and I are the Sagittarian girls, our birthdays 5 days apart. Some years we're very fortunate when our celebrations are combined and we're taken to the coast to scoff shellfish. This year we were treated to La ferme marine where they have a help yourself buffet of oysters, mussels, crab, prawns, little clams...well, you get the idea. Margaret and I took up the challenge to eat our weight in crustacea. It helps to be properly attired.

A warm and gloriously sunny December day, the restaurant overlooks the blue étang where the stuff you're eating just came from.  A fabulous lunch, topped by flaming sundaes for the birthday girls. 

Finally, a word of thanks to my darling Henny, who'd practically cross the street to avoid an oyster, yet annually suffers this feast, dodging stray lemon squeezes, just for us.

Eleven eleven eleven. It's official!

Pou enjoys a little Face Time

Sunny Lunch

It had been grey and stormy for days, but yesterday was perfect. We took full advantage and headed into the foothills of the Cévennes to the Auberge de Combes for lunch. We ate outside, basking in the sun. The other guests chose to eat indoors. Crazy, but it meant Henny and I had the terrace all to ourselves. Delicious and interesting food. Great view. Perfect timing. Today the storms are back in full force. We're on orange alert for two more days. Hard to believe yesterday looked like this.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Never been there before. Why today? Why ever? He's not telling.

Montpellier Opera Chorus

The Choeurs de l'Opéra National de Montpellier were practically around the corner yesterday, giving a concert at the church in Fontès. 32 voices under the direction of their splendid conductor, Noëlle Gény. Opera choruses suffer slightly from being taken out of context. They usually require the entrance of a heroic soloist sooner or later, so now and again, the program felt a bit disjointed. However, the choir make a wall of sound with which we were well-impressed. Their Turandot, Carmen and the almost obligatory encore for this type of program, the chorus of the Hebrew slaves from Nabucco, were stand-outs.

Henny got us tickets right up front. It was fascinating to watch them so closely and see how they relate to Mme Gény. They all seemed to have a great time and so did we!

Again: sold!

Five years ago, I moved a few pieces of furniture here from my London life, notably a big sofa and an equally large antique Chinese coffee table. They stretched the limits of our awkwardly shaped living room. Now, as we're combining the effects of 3 homes into one, they're just too big. We decided the table should go. Efforts were made to sell it, no dice. I wrote to every dealer in Asian antiques I could find. I had some interesting correspondences, but not a glimmer of hope. Lovely piece, it was agreed, but bon courage trying to flog it during the crise financière.

A friendly British mover was passing through with an empty return van. A keen price was agreed to repatriate the table to London. I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of having it languish in my apartment, especially as it's in the throes of a re-paint. So, table back on ebay, for about the fourth time. Sigh.

Blow me down, there was an offer within a few hours that ended up being genuine! Better yet, the buyer was in North London. The table was sold before it ever left our house in France, and when it did, it was delivered directly to its new owner, never having to be set down in my flat after all. The charming Mr Chen paid cash as his insistence, thus avoiding fees. Does it get any better than this? As Henny says, 2011 is our sales year. I hope the karma continues for my ebay Christmas push!

Baez in Béziers

On one of the many, many trips to Béziers for Henny's dislocated shoulder physio, I spied a little advert: Joan Baez at the Salle Zinga Zanga. I ordered two tickets. What the heck. I'd last seen her in Toronto with Bob Dylan in 1975. Though never my favourite artist, she was certainly part of my formative folkie years. And besides, how often does a legend hit Béziers? I'd tried to see her in London. Sold out in seconds. When she played in Montpellier two years ago, our plans got scuppered at the last minute. So October 6th was finally the night.

Fifth row seats, how fantastic! Joan sauntered on stage, no introduction. Gave a little bow. Picked up a guitar and off she went. In younger years, her voice was almost too much, too clear, sometimes even piercing. At age 70, her gift has diminished somewhat on the top notes, but it's no bad thing. Her voice has mellowed yet the clarity of her diction remains unparalleled. She's a generous performer who'd soon won over the entire house. We all sang along to the refrains of Dona Dona in our best voices, just like Joan, out of sheer respect.

Two years ago in Montpellier, Baez was the closing act for the Festival of the Guitar. Her free outdoor concert drew 19,000 people. There, it was Marianne Aya Omac who opened for her. They've since become friends and collaborated on a duet for Marianne's new album. In Béziers, Baez invited her on stage to do a couple of numbers together, which brought the house down. In support was Baez's formidable 'band' of one, Dirk Powell, who played every stringed instrument from banjo to mandolin to fiddle and keyboards.

But often it was just Baez and her guitar. She was mesmerising. And she doesn't seem to stop touring. If she comes your way, don't miss her.

Avignon

We've had our new (for us) car since May and haven't yet gone on a field trip. Our friend was showing her Saluki at the dog show in Avignon, which provided the impetus. It was an 'animal and nature' show, so all manner of domestic and a few farm animals were represented, including chinchillas, fancy ducks, tortoises, a tame wild boar, cute small goats, the list goes on. We were impressed by the size of Maine Coon cats and had fun watching the dog agility trials. 

Enough of the dogs and on to the popes. We made our way to the centre of Avignon, where we were staying the night. The weather continues to be glorious. We had cocktails on a terrasse while watching the world pass, followed by a delicious meal on a cobbled square. Avignon is firmly on the tourist trail, but it's late in the season, so we had some of it almost to ourselves. We scrambled up the papal palace, strolled to the Pont d'Avignon, marveled at beautiful old stones and graceful spires, and just plain enjoyed a change of pace in a remarkable place.

Bush Fire 22 September

Shortly after lunch, Henny remarked from the courtyard, isn't it getting cloudy? In the same instant her sense of smell kicked in -- it's smoke. Soon we heard the distinct droning of the fire-fighting planes. We followed the scarily huge plume of smoke up a nearby hill. We were the first up, followed closely by an elderly French lady, and soon enough by many others. The smoke, aided by winds of 50 km/h, could be seen for miles around, yet much of the fire was right outside our village. We haven't had any significant rainfall of late. The countryside is tinder dry. The orange flames and the mammoth effort to fight them unfolded before our eyes. More and more planes were arriving, flying closely overhead. As they dipped into the valley to pour water on the fire, they seemed near enough to make you duck your head. I've never been closer to a plane of that size flying overhead. Not just the usual Canadairs either, there were Dash-8's which look as big as the 737 that's my regular ride home.

From Midi Libre

The effort to combat the fire was immense. Pompiers from throughout the region came. Sirens, helicopters, and at least a dozen planes. They continued battling for five hours. The fire destroyed about 50 hectares (c. 123 acres) of garrigue. There are some homes scattered in its path, but fortunately none of them were damaged and no one was hurt. The brave firefighters worked hard. Their annual Christmas calendar will sell well 'round these parts; they take good care of us! As I write this account the next day, there are still regular passes of helicopters making sure all's well.

J de P's picture from Chateau de Cassan

SOLD !!!

I'm wearing an ear-to-ear grin. The scooter left the premises this evening, on the way to a good home in Montpellier. A long awaited day. In early August, we triumphed over red tape by finally registering it on French plates. Ads were posted and we've since been improvising our sales pitch en français.

Tonight the buyers arrived. They didn't debate the asking price, they paid cash, they loaded the scooter into a van, and were even rather charming. Henny sent a one-word email: SOLD! Ads happily cancelled. No more insurance or maintenance. Dancing on air.

Birthdays on the Canal

Sunday was wonderful! Michelle and Erica share a birthday. Their husbands, Justin and John, organized a great day out for us. First we had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the marina, followed by a lazy journey on the Canal du Midi as far as Capestang and back. Pretty landscape, perfect conditions. A day we'll not soon forget. Thanks fellas. 

 

Terrace Haute Couture

This morning I was up at 6:00 and soon off down to Lizzie & Ali's to help with the vendange.  Thankfully it was a cool day. When harvesting grapes this is a complete bonus. We got all the syrah off the vines and into the vats in record time. In fact, we could sit down to an early lunch by 11:30, having cleaned the de-stemming machine we nickname The Mangle, the grape juice bubbling away happily, beginning its fermentation.

After a wee siesta, Henny and I were off to Pézenas for a little shopping. It was still only 3pm. The sun was shining, it was beautiful, but we noticed the light was already different. I said, this is the first day I sense autumn. It made us a little wistful. This evening, our girls were round for a light supper on the terrace. All three wearing my sweatshirts to keep warm. "Dressed by Yvonne" said Miranda. A lovely photo to remind us of a perfect day.

Eliane's new kitten

Eliane has always had blue-grey cats, a passion I share. My mother was partial to them too. Eliane's last grey cat, Grisette 2, passed away in an untimely fashion over six months ago. She's been looking for a grey kitten ever since.

Henny and I were in the organic grocers on Tuesday where we spied an announcement with photo of a little grey sweetheart. We thought of Eliane immediately. It happened we were seeing her that very evening, so we passed along the info with a promise to let us know if it worked out.

Not 48 hours later, we got the call to come over for coffee to meet the new addition. Eliane was beaming with delight! There may be one kitten left, which opened the debate about whether Pou, king of the castle these nine years, would cope with a little brother? 

Rainbow

A blustery day today, and this evening, finally, a fraction of the rain forecast. We were then treated to an amazing double rainbow. The entire arc could be clearly seen, but our camera wasn't quite capable of capturing it in the fading light. Ultra-wide angle lens required. Pretty spectacular.

Tour de France 2011

Signs have been posted on the roads for the past month. Anticipation. The Tour de France is coming on 17 July! This time through Henny's old village Alignan du Vent. When the Tour passed through Roujan a few years ago, it was swelteringly hot. Today a cloudy day with cool temperatures and a stiff breeze. Not typical July weather, but made for comfortable spectating. Our lovely friends from Hannover were thankfully on hand to make the waits between the action pass very quickly.

The advertising caravan seemed shorter this year, but there was still a long delay before the riders came. Then finally, it's all over in a colorful lycra flash, but it gets you every time.

Saluki Puppy Visit

Today we visited the litter of pups born 19th May 2011, now 8 weeks old. Six all together, one lone male with 5 lovely sisters. Four smooth-coated (my faves), two feathered. Beautiful, silky soft, healthy, wriggling with joy. In another couple of weeks, they'll begin journeys to new homes in many parts of the world, including Spain, Poland and Norway. Expert breeder Shera's champion Salukis are highly sought-after, but today they were just a sweet little family playing together, followed by a snooze in the shade.

Here I am getting reacquainted with Esadi, the puppy I was holding if you scroll back to February '09 on this blog. Not the mother of this litter I hasten to add, she's still only a teenager. She cheekily snitched

puppy food while we had our backs turned. Soon the pups had to get back to their siesta, the only time we managed to get all six in one frame.

Cherry Picking

A fond memory of my childhood. Up a cherry tree, picking big black cherries. For every two in the basket, one popped in the mouth. Here we have one lone tree of a yellow variety. The crop varies from year to year. We have to be very quick to beat the birds, but here's a lovely little haul.

Farewell Old Friend

26 April 2011. Henny's house was sold to Daniel and Eva. All parties were very pleased with the transaction. It went quickly and smoothly, obviously meant to be. Here they are signing the Acte de Vente in the notaire's office.

Various business had to be accomplished, so we met up in the morning and spent much of the day together. We got to know each other better over coffees, drinks and Henny took us all out for a celebratory dinner. We're happy Henny's house is going to such nice people, who're looking forward to sharing it with their excited grown-up kids and their partners. It's how the big house we both love should go on. It's hard to say good-bye to our beloved friend, who gave us shelter for the first three years of our lives together. Nothing but the fondest, happiest memories, thank you dear house.

Easter Monday at Bourdic

If it's Easter Monday, it must be Hans and Christa's BBQ at Domaine Bourdic. Every year one and all are invited to sample the new wines accompanied by a sausage or two. This year you'll be welcomed by a 3-metre orange rabbit. He was made by H&C's friend Daniel, a Swiss artist. He and his lovely wife Eva also happen to be the new owners of Henny's house! The rabbit was created entirely out of stuff destined for the tip. Hope to see you at Bourdic tomorrow. Turn right at the rabbit. Happy Easter everyone.