Good start for a Happy 2017

The new year bodes well. John and Judith and Gillie and Alan invited the tribe for a traditional gathering and despite the traditionally late hour it was much enjoyed :) Though several mates are down with the rhume- it seems December was a fab month for viruses -

Steve being Scottish did the first-footing.

and here our friends are singing auld lang syne.

There was an attempt to claim the words are Catalan but no takers, really...

winter is hitting

Zero degrees this morning, hotting up eventually with the sunshine. We had a creperie lunch with lovely Lizzie Jackson - forgot camera - and dinner with Steve and Antonia, see below.
Should Steve and Antonia ever invite you round for a curry, jump at it:) Fabulous, best in France.

Now the fog is thick and freezing. On with the thermal pyjamas. Stay warm out there. Eat curry.

Norwegian night

 Wish I'd taken more photos!! Olle-Bendik and Aileen have a visually delicious house, under a star-studded sky, where they fed us royally and plied us with amusing and erudite conversation. And wine. Smashing, so grateful :) And will always burn the fennel from now on xxx

remember...register

Taken some lovely photos of the river being very very low - more of a stream - and can't find out where they are on the machine. My photos are insane at the moment, dunno why. In the course of the search found one image from New Kellys' party -and here it is.

Only to act as a hook by which to remind local friends that there only three more days to register to vote! Passport, household bill, off to Maire. Easy.

Boxing day chez nous

 Open house, afternoon and evening - friends came and went so some got snapped and some didn't when I couldn't find the camera. Here are Claudine (Jean arrived later and evaded the camera) Micheal, Pete (Nel was tied in with Aunties), Mary and the back of New Kellys' head -

Olle-Bendick and Micheal

 St Angus and below, Gillie, James, Micheal, a bit of Aileen and the back of O-B...

Hazy Mary is recovering from the knee thang - below, a bit of Diana plus Bob, Angus, Micheal-

Mike and Hilary made it. Mike is recovering from his carpel tunnel op.; others have the lurgy and cried off; one friend was bitten by a dog en route and had to get to the doctors and another couldn't get out of bed. Apropos, my hangover cure  - bloody Marys - seemed to help some of the Christmas casualties function just that bit better.

Jutta and Bernt made it and so they and Micheal could speak German - which is how we found out that they (J and B) come from the village in Germany where Joseph Beuys was born. WOW.

Memorable ending to a lovely Christmas. Many thanks to all who helped make it such fun and now, back to work tomorrow!!

Esperaza christmas

Christmas being on a Sunday did not stop the market springing up overnight, albeit a lesser one than is normal -  what was a surprise was that the church was closed.

The Captain and I passed a quiet morning en famille then repaired to Chateau Rushton in St Julia le bec for the traditional overdose of everything divine, with Clare and Jo and Donald; my ideal Christmas, good conversation, good food, good wine, good humour... what blessings

xmas eve lunch

Wonderful Andree came to lunch at l'Espinet today to commence the real  Christmas :) She is in fine form and as ever was entertaining company. Came home and slept through the beautiful afternoon after over-indulging in fine fodder. Really must go for a walk tomorrow, Christmas or no Christmas.

pre pre-xmas at Luc's

L'Oryginal was heaving last night - here's Claudine and Bob and Claudine picking up Santa in the car park - plus Charlie (of Chez Charlie fame) and Georges our Mayor. 

Heres another inspirational xmas song https://youtu.be/ptP0OR-e7rI

Thursday night at New Kellys

I have lovely photos of last nights shindig, non of which I can access due to some mysterious mischief by the ordo. 

Here until  the rest turn up are 1. Kats legs; 2. Two Kellys 3. Gracie

New Kelly did us proud, with foie gras and quail things and amazingly exotic delicacies. Much enjoyed by all our dwindling tribe.

Kat is off today to join her true love so there are only a handful of stalwarts here to see the job done properly. We soldier on.

commencing the festivities

Here's Gracies friend Lucy, gone back to Blighty today but welcome back anytime. Her nails match the tablecloth, obviously a woman of taste.

[This happened on Weds but the ordo is being odd and posted it elsewhere]

 She and Gracie and Kat and Bob and I passed the evening in the Creperie checking out Nightingales possible replacement (Charlene) She held up well. 

Which is more than can be said for me. Bob went early to bed after a grueling journey and everyone came in for drinks. It was the port that did the damage, plus the lemoncello - bad mix. Lesson learnt and will behave from now on. 

Heres Jess, commencing her/his festivities also

 Reminds me of a cheery xmas song; https://youtu.be/ccefqYQWtdA

Afternoon chocolate at Lucs

It being a cold, grey, wet day there was nothing for it but to do some work...alleviated by both morning coffee (in the square) and tea-time chocolate (at l'original) with Kat.

Apropos; Kat has had a letter from the Pension people in England, asking for proof that she is still alive. Offered to photograph her with todays paper but the letter wants signatures from a possible range of worthies of whom I am not one.

She started with the local police who said no, go to the town hall where they said, ha! You are the third brit we've had and we can't do anything because the letter is in English. Need it translated and not by you.

The bank wouldn't do it, the dentists was closed and the docs was really really busy.

So she rang the Pensions folk who are sending the forms in French and giving her an extension of the time she is allowed to return it, signed and stamped.

Should you receive this attention from the old country, don't mess about and get straight to them for the French version.
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The piped music season is here; dreadful pap peppered with adverts is pouring from the towns' speakers. On the plus side everyone in the streets hates it and says so, thus adding to the community spirit.

More good news - Ginette, Louis' wife (my occasional neighbours from the cote d'azur)  is out of hospital and home though not quite herself. They are such a lovable couple and though terribly old do appear immortal. Much love to them.

sunday sun

 Market day in Esperaza - the last before Xmas - and despite the freezing start, it was a blast. As soon as the sun came out the world and his dog appeared; much hilarity ensued. Stall holders were popping little pressies into purchases. Our friends were out and festive invitations extended...









By the afternoon the call of the wild was too strong to resist and Le Capt and I headed off to La Caderonne, just by Esperazas' communal forest. Difficult to imagine that this was the old Spanish border and a big battle plus many skirmishes were fought there.

Rennes le Chateau from the back

Bugarach

new vines coming along 

seasons snuffles

Here's the Cafe du Pont and its seasonal message. Took this a few days ago and only putting it up now as a hook on which to hang my complaint - to wit, I've got the 'flu, which after having a 'flu jab ain't fair.
On the plus side Bob is here for the weekend so I have a chef and animal sitter, phew.

All foreign residents here, can I recommend that you register to vote? There is a deadline of 31st December and its easy - passport and proof-of-residency, a household bill does fine. You can't vote in the big ones but you can in the local. But only if you've registered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxvLizk0WK4

Limoux shopping

Santa hits Limoux

Dear Kat let me hitch a lift to Limoux for essential supplies. Mr Bricolage was closed to take an inventory, foul language was used, but then we went to Parchemin and found some books. So that was alright.

Then it was lunch time... the old Cafe de la Gare has been reopened by a couple from Esperaza and they've made a very fine job of it. We feasted royally for 12.50 euros a head inc a 1/4 of good red wine.

Unfortunately its closed for two weeks now.

cafe de la Gare before the lunch rush 

Esperaza by moonlight

 Me and Kat wandered happily home after dinner with Mike and Hilary, fortified against the cold by good cheer :)

Brrr

Jolly cold here. Nights and mornings are near freezing but the sunshine is wonderful. Snapped these horses by the river - their owner is living in a tent under the bridge. Can only hope he has thermal underwear.

Kat and I bunked off and went to Mirepoix yesterday, beautiful journey. The market there is like a sanitized version of Esperaza market and not as crowded.

Alas...

 Sunday mornings'  jolly market was brought up short by the news from Didier that Sabrinnes' son has been killed in a head-on car crash.
Didier and Sabrinne are well-known to the artists of these parts; all of whom are certainly sending love. The family are turning up from other parts of the world for the funeral which is next week. I'm assured that nothing can be done and that it was at least a mercy that the occupants of the other car were unharmed.
Here's Jess, nestling in a pot that s/he is too small to reach (in principle) where s/he can easily eat the new growth of the bulbs that are coming up.

'Tis the season

 Esperazas' eclectic collection of lights are back, let joy be unconfined :) The chemist has done an unusually anarchistical display, below, whilst below that the Fournil bakers have excelled themselves

 The other story in town is the appearance of these posters.When our Mayor Georges underwent his palace revolt he was one councillor short of having to have another election. He had to winkle one from the rival team and he eventually succeeded in persuading Karine to jump ship and join him. She has not felt the need to attend a single meeting since, which is the complaint of the poster though really they are blaming her for preventing the putsch.
In fairness to her, she probably didn't realise what she was agreeing to. George and his team can be pretty persuasive; hes quite hard to say no to. At the end of the day, that's what you want it a mayor :)

new stuff

Xmas stuff; shopping and getting a new thang to make a new portable phone work. (This means that  yet again, anyone whose name is in the alphabet after T has been lost to me. Please message me if you think I've lost your contacts) Smashing new phone though, Tango and I have been doing selfies this evening. 

And Andy joined us for a sophisticated lunch:)

Decembers' best Party

 Pete and Nel have bought a new house and invited us all to celebrate it - we did! Quite lovely house, beautiful setting, Esperaza's denizens approve. Magic party, big thanks darlings and all the best in the new palace.

Mary and Bob

Nel feeding us all

,

conceptual  workroom

Claudinne and Jean and friends

Gracie and Olle-Bendick

Gracie and Tim

Gracie and Dermot

Gracie and Kate

Gracie and Bob

Gracie and Kat

Mary waiting for Gracie

our Kat

smokers in the garden, inc Kam and Billy

Jutta digging up a fig tree - it was that sort of party -