unconcious in action

Having said that I'd stop putting up pix of friends feasting, I find that my unconcious is helping this resolve... the only picture of last nights' dinner that was wasn't hopelessly blurred is this, of Pete and El cutting the divine pud she brought with her.

There is one in terrible clarity that will cost me the friendship of all involved- no, you can't see it :)

It features Gracie, Pete and Nel and the Scottish Daves though. 

Today is windy and wet with patches of blue. Not ideal market weather. Nor does it bode well for the first vide-grenier of the season. 

Hanging started

The Artistes a Suivre is looming... starting to think about the expo yesterday. Bit daunting. Starts on Weds 4th.

Afterwards headed to the Creperie where I did not take photos - enough pictures of friends eating and drinking :) Fine and hilarious evening, with Max and Gordon, Kat, Gracie, Bob, New Kelly and me. Draw your own picture.

Welcome back -

New Kelly has returned to the fold :)

 Here she is in the newly sanitized Relais Occ. Which is at least clean; rather like I imagine a disinfected corpse to be.
Kelly is full of life, fortunately.

Cabbal at Kats

Jo (with eyes closed -) Kat, Bob (the token man), Elaine, Gracie and I were treated to a gormet supper at Kats last night. Nothing beats the pleasure of laughter and natter with good friends :) Thanks Kat xxx

PS Caspers back, Kates missing cat- he was on the other side of the railway line,sigh.

PPS Allenna has made it to Turin, 18 hours late; the SNCF put her up in an  hotel in the middle of Chambery after she got stuck there, seems very happy in her adventure. At least the rest of her journeys are in Italy and Germany so out of range of the strikes.

Casper gone

Dermot and Kates' cat Casper has wandered off - between Andy and Lou's place, La Maison du Chapellier ( http://www.esperazabedandbreakfast.com/index_en.html ) and Radio Ballade (http://radioballade.com/.)  Please keep an eye open for him, he'll be frightened and missing Dylan.

all change

Bob arrived last night - Allenna left this morning. The train strike will ensure Allenna has adventures, as shes off via Carcassonne to Turin, then Milan, then Berlin.
Yesterday we visited Kat to say goodbye - she was out - and the Scottish Daves, to check out their dogs. They were out too.
She sends love to all :)

Extra points

New game; I award myself extra points for particular groupings, discoverable after the event -  that is I can't secretly fix it in advance,
So here we have three people who live in Canada in a row and three film-makers in a row. Two oceanographers on the diagonal complete the set. Sweet!!

Allenna, Gordon and Max are the Canada-dwellers, Annie and Pete the oceanographers and the film-makers are Sylvie, Theo and Gracie.

I don't count in this equation as I quit early, realising I was falling off my chair. (Effects of the cold picked up in London taking their toll, nothing to do with booze.) Nul Point for absentee hostess -

Margo and Theophile

Margo and Theo came to stay, from French Guyana; its a while since they've been here so a treat to catch up -and to have a visit from Ann as well. Theo is energetic, to put it mildly:) he has grown, apparently now aged 7; charming and entertaining. And a master of hip-hop.

I apologised to Theophile for not being too frisky (I'm still at the end of my cold.) He said; bien sur, tu est vieux. Graciously.

State of Emergency

Its hard to imagine that France is still in a State of Emergency and, indeed, at war - but we are.

Yesterday Kat. Allenna and I watched from the newly-sanitized Relais Occitan as two gendarmes appeared to harrass the clutch of hippies that hang out in the square. One bold soul, with a spliff in his mouth, tried to cycle away and was rudely manhandled back into line; a very short girl was screaming at them and ran away; they circled each other like barnyard animals, finally parting with satisfied looks on all sides... as Maddie said, its like the cinema but free.

Snapped the above later, while cars were being pulled at the entrance to town by our local police. Word was out, for sure, as many of our friends were using the Caderonne entrance and avoiding them :)

Allenna and I were being desk- and- studio- bound all day and celebrated nearly coming to grips with things by eating at St Gobains. Robin and Jennifer were in very fine form, laughing and joking - the chef is still producing little miracles. Here's Allenna eating fish.

Busy days...

Quelle joy! Annie and Pete have returned to the fold, in fine fettle - here they are at coffee time, plus the prodigal Theo and the engaging Allenna -

Allenna and I treated ourselves to lunch at  the Cathar Gormand and loved it - naturally - but spent the rest of the day fighting off the exhaustion that comes with eating lots of rich food and delicious wine at midday; clearly something to do with photosynthesis since at night this is no problem.

Heres the plate where my profiteroles used to be...

afterwards we visited Andree, did some computer talking to distant people and had supper with Kat. I regret there are no photies of Kat who is looking brill - tomorrow there will be :)

quietish

Not a lot happening as tonight was to be an early night to see off the last of the cold; it nearly was, its just that Allenna and I got talking over a bottle of Blanquette de Limoux, well-know health drink, and a salad. 

Allenna - an American by birth though dual nationality now- represents Canada in the Democrats Abroad team and being jolly clever, was able to try and explain the American electorial process to me. Not sure if she suceeded. All I wanted to know, really, is that Trump aint going to happen.

In the absense of actual actuality, as it were, here is a photo of the parrot trying to trash the studio. 

And for your amusement, a quote from a London friend on the subject of this blog;

'Esperaza, the very name confuses. An exotic form of corset, or a fizzy

drink from the age before coke?  Or a rebranding of Tilling-sur-Aude?

Location, location ... Languedoc being indicated, I imagined for an instant 

a Cathar Brigadoon (and you a Parfaite?) which passing fancy your blog

quickly squelched. Your blog, ah yes, all I have to go on and I go on it

frequently.

Such comings and goings... gosh, I'm thinking the Archers crossed with 'Allo 'Allo and a

cast of hobbits (NB Galdalf at head of your table). '

Made me laugh:) Which whilst threatened by Trump, is a Good Thing.

Shock Horror Probe

How can an indifferently blank wall be so upsetting? Because this was where the mural of the horserace was, the one that has brightened our lives since the dawn of time. The new owners of the Relais Occitan say they will replace it in the back room when they've finished cleaning - in the meantime, you could be in any airport in any city anywhere. Sigh.

Claudinne came for coffee and escaped before I could snap her. She is well and happy in her new home here with Jean. 

I took tea with Scottish Dave and El and felt my wretched London cold shrivel and sniffle off...

Mary dropped in for lunch and was too quick for me to snap;  shes well and looking gorgeous (this in envy as she has lost a deal of weight as I pile it on, bah)

And tonight, oh joy!! I know I'm home. 

Here are Del (Gracies brother) Max, back here for a week or so, Gracie, Tim, Allenna and Bea, (Dels' wife). Wonderful evening, the best sort of Esperaza night - informed and interesting conversation, lovely food and just enough wine.

Off and away

I'm off to Blighty for ten days - more from Esperaza then. In the meantime, anyone recognise this beauty? It was large and red-backed and hovered like an angel. Could have been a kite - we couldn't see its tail - but do kites hover?
Margaret photographed him over Rennes le Chateau where we stopped for lunch after our Bugarach holiday. Fabulous for birds - we saw vultures (Griffin and Egyptian), lots of  black redstarts, tree creepers, eagles and the rest.

The nightingale has begun to sing at 5.00am outside my bedroom window here. At least I will get a lie-in in London:)
Byyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeee

Esperaza changes

Alain and Veronique have sold the PMU Relais Occitain - see Follies passim - and it is closed for two weeks while the new owners try to clean it. 

************It is reckoned on the street that it hasn't been cleaned for 30 years.

The patina of yellow and brown tobacco stains on the ceiling and walls should be preserved as they can never be authentically replaced; this is after all a conservation area. 

 

And the Fournil, the nice bakers in Rue Voltaire, is still out of action after their fire ( again, see Follies passim) another couple of weeks closed there too, they say. 

As if all this weren't enough to worry us all, the middle bank of the point propres has vanished. You can recyle plastic and glass but not old art works. 

AND its raining. 

Jolly market though.

groovy saturday night

I've been away at Bugarach with Margaret and Kat; wonderful time. Took hundreds of photos and LOST THEM ALL due to taking out battery in camera without switching it off. This deletes everything, it turns out.

...So, moving speedly on; got back today and ate at St Gobains with Gracie. Here she is, checking out the quaint jukebox - crowded tonight, very good craick.