walking by the river

 Taking the constitutional by the river this afternoon, happily watched this helicopter as it got nearer and nearer - then really really close, unnervingly so.
It landed between Effisol and the big shed where the greengrocer Verdie parks his lorry. Being an emergency copter from SAMU the ambulance service I expected it would zoom off again pronto but it was still there when I had got back from my wanderings. Asked at Verdies and was told that an old chap with pneumonia was being airlifted to hospital, slowly.

Hope he'll be OK.


Beautiful day, glorious sunshine, gorgeous sunset. Long may it last.

mimosa time

Mimosa time again; the house is filled with the slightly marzipany smell, hmmmmm. I have no other photos to offer as I forgot to mark our celebrations on Saturday. It was a good dinner though, we (usual suspects) gathered to rejoice that Ryan and Alicia have been in France for a year. Ate too much. Tried to make Leo's whiskey sauce to go on the smoked salmon salad and didn't quite pull it off but it was OK. Come back Leo! Did a monster macaroni cheese and Alicia made a cake invented by her grandmother which was totally yummy. She served it with buttered rum to drink. Andree bought chocolates. Groannnnnnnn....
I do have a photo taken from Lucs where Kat and I breakfasted on Sunday, of the gendarmes pulling cars and inspecting papers. The cafe occupants were entertained for hours. Photo is not that interesting and may be illegal.

Random Update

 Quillan on Weds., slightly snowy but not much...

...Last nights moon over Mont Marot....

 moon rise at sunset over the Aude at Esperaza...

 Just now at Alet les Bains, getting spring water. 

Dermot was there but my camera made a mess of him so you'll have to take my word for it. 

French all at lunch.

St Micheal

It may look like a mad salad but it is in fact the plaster work and carving of St Micheal defeating Lucifer over the altar in our eponymous church. I have no idea how old it is - its clearly not 12th century, like some of the church - nor is it 15th, judging from the picture below it which is a fresco of St M from Strasbourg.

 

 

It was the sandals that got me. One can be a warrior with a frilly skirt and ribbons and flowing drapery but those feet would make life hard. A bit of research showed they all have them, since 1640's or thereabouts - here are Murillo, Rubens and Raphael with others, all flaunting the same basic cossie and sandals.

 

 This image is the most like ours; its by Dosso Dossi. He was dead by 1542 so perhaps his vision of the kit was the first... how did a sculptor in Esperaza  get to see it? Anyone know the date of ours?

The statue below is at the Churchs entrance and is plainly of the same age and type as the Abbe Saunieres statues in Rennes les Chateau. The sandals are more like leather boots here, despite the effeminacy of the rest of the work - though you'd be hard-pushed to call them business-like. Its quite remarkable for the way that the sculptor has lost any tension or dynamism; St M is merely doing his job with a smudge of smugness and the poor demon is being done in because that's his job too. Hardly fair.

                   


 These reflections were caused by attending Msr Francois funeral.

The church was freezing:)

                        There was a very decent turn-out and many tears, the priest clearly knew him well and talked lengthily and with affection of his life in the town.       

At the offertory,  the piped music changed to a tape recording of the l'hymne de esperazanaise - I've seen the words but never heard the music, which was composed in Andrees house on her mothers piano by Louis Alibert (1866-1926)                                                        

We were played out to it.

Want to go back and put a beret on St Micheals head in memory of Msr Francois. Seems only polite.                         

the plaid rotovateur of esperaza

Here is Ryan leading the chickens in the dance round the garden - very funny, watching the fat girls following him like a flock of seagulls in the wake.

Msr Francois RIP

Here is Msr Francois in his Sunday best - normally he'd be in his blues. He was my neighbour for a time, before age made it expedient to move in with his niece; a more charming and engaging man would be difficult to imagine.
When I complimented him on his outfit, many years ago, he replied that this was what he would wear when we went to the church to be married. Since that day I have referred to him as my fiance. About a year ago I asked if the day was yet dawning and was told marriage was a very serious step and he needed more time to think about it. He was then aged 88.
He has died aged 89. Funeral in the church on Thursday, 15.30H.

He once told me that death was like a switch being turned off.

Carnival Limoux

Pete has sent this pic from Saturdays sortie to Limoux - amazing photo, really got the excitement  and that sense of doom as you feel the confetti settle in your nether regions. The carnivalists carry sacks of the stuff and they like to creep up on you and stuff it down your jumper. Heres a youtube clip from last year  complete with the customary music... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVu7_lxXvRk

In the meantime, its cold but theres no snow - brief burst of hail this afto and some rain early morning - no complaints (though we've lost another bird to the eagle, our fourth now. Thats a complaint.)

Limoux Carnival

 Pete remembered that the Limoux carnival had started and so he drove us there to get energised by the spooky carnival music, lovely - and to get a vest full of confetti of course.

It s a visual feast and of my 80-odd snaps only these two were in focus. I'm hoping Pete will email many good ones over for the blog....

 Yesterdays sunrise.... which was very pink and nice and somebody give me a camera, please -

 This mornings snow....the view from the studio. Snow slight and not long lasting but generally bad in the Toulouse/Narbonne region.

 

Here's a bowl I finished today in an attempt to stop war. That'll do it then:)

return of the crepe

Creperie has reopened after the Xmas hols.; here we are celebrating...
                                                          
Elaine has a wonderful new hat (those are not her real ears)
Me and Pete, Kat and Siobhan had a smashing evening of nourishing food and highly inconsequential chatter.

Much excitement last night too, when we (Kat and me, Ryan and Alicia)  were taken by Pete to see The Hobbit at Lavenet cinema. It was dampish and light when we left Esperaza expecting an hours drive - all excited at the outing. At St Jean de Paracol the snow was very evident; as the car climbed up the mountain it became less entertaining. The snow was fresh and slippery. There were ravines to one side and sheer cliff faces to the other. Very beautiful.
Lots of potential for adventure.

At Puivert a simple vote had us returning pronto to Petes, via the big downhill road at Quillan. Phew.
We sat by the fire and had pumpkin soup. And Lasagne. And Kulfti. 

It was good to be safe.

sunrise over the mist

Actually its raining, with intermittent hail. Excellent for the land of course. These snaps of the street were taken a couple of days ago before it all began, to remind us that it doesn't always rain.

 Kat and I went to Kate and Marks last night for a very jolly evening - heres Kate in full colour and here's Garth, on fine form. All agreed that its not my fault, the camera really is crap.

all well

  Beautiful weather; walked to Campagne yesterday - dropped into our historic church on my way back and snapped the above of light through the stained glass. Today am totally knackered so despite the continued sunshine am clinging to the studio. 

Travellers Tales

 Kat and I were settling down to finishing the Bugarach 2012 vintage when Pete finally arrived for dinner. Poor chap had tales of delayed trains from Amsterdam followed by a narrowly-caught plane that couldn't land at Carcassonne (they had fog there) and deviated at the last minute to Perpignan. From thence bus to Carcassonne, missed Navette, taxi to station, last train home.

As if that wasn't enough excitement, he had been admitted to hospital in Amsterdam as an emergency over Xmas. (Hes OK now, we think)

As these stories were being told, my phone started ringing... Ryan and Alicia are on their way back to Esperaza. They have tales to tell. I'II leave it to them to tell all:)




Exciting and delicious dinner, Kat!

*The Sunday market Fripperie over the river has opened his depot on Friday and Sunday afternoons after 2.30, in between Intermarche and Arcadie. I'm  wearing new cool black Levis and sitting next to a beautiful curtain as a result. Met Annie and Aileen there; perhaps there should be a prize for guessing what new animals Aileen is adopting? 

and so it goes...

 Captain H with Ryan, Alicia and Leroy-the-dog loaded up the car and left for London this morning. In their place are Tango and Freddie.

They have settled in immediately though Lily (my dog) is terrified of the cat, which is enormous and wouldn't let me measure it.

The team are gone for three months.

Bonne voyage

Last supper

 Last night was the last meal that Ryan and Alicia will cook for us under the old HelpX agreement.  They leave for England for three months with Le Capt.; when they return they will be independents running their own business.
Very emotional time for me:) Had a wonderful time with them here.

Leroy, (below, collapsed under the strain) will be going with them. The cat and the parrot stay with me as hostages.




Kat and Ian, Annie and Pete also took advantage of the last opportunity to eat fabulously chez nous. We ate our own chickens and many of our own vedg., finishing up with the flaming brandy-soaked xmas pud we didn't get to eat on xmas day.



Drank a great deal to overcome the nasty cold which Annie is just getting (I drank for her because she doesn't drink) Today only the tonsils are raging.