For the homesick

Yesterdays solitary coffee at the Pont.... I thought it would please those Esperazannaise who can't get here this year.

-Which list no longer includes John and Margaret who are planning to arrive here on Tuesday, albeit for a measly 10 days :)

No photos

 https://www.artistes-occitanie.fr/events/categorie/region/aude/

No photos! Spent the evening testing blanquette with Max and so forgot... then I thought, lets see what's happening with the local arts, so here's a link. Most interesting is that nothing is happening in Esperaza, despite the best attempts of ADADE, our local arts group. 

The Esperaza arts centre??? Maybe it's a conceptual piece, reflecting the vacuity of contemporary art.

Sunday delights

Look who was at the market!! -Yes, its Leigh, braving Esperaza for the first time since all this madness began. How long has it been, anyone remember? What a bonkers year. And no end in sight, alas.

Leigh is very well and reports that Lorraine is too. Good to know.

Spotted this in our award-winning bakers, Serranos.  Finally, an advertised vide grenier. Do hope the weather will be better by October 4th, we seem to be in a constant drizzle - or occasionally a downpour. Could be worse, we were hoping to visit Bruno in the Alps right now and the snow there is so severe we were warned not to bother.

Below are Pete and Clare, both in fine form. We shared lunch. Unfortunately I snapped them as Bob was explaining British politics to them....

Claudine had been in Toulouse for her birthday, a significant one, so we had a little tea party yesterday to celebrate. Here she is with one big candle to blow out on her cake.

After all the excitement l took an evening stroll between showers. Depressed to see that the martins, swallows and swifts are getting ready to leave us. They are all over the river and the house eaves, perhaps feeding, perhaps gossiping, swopping travel routes. Most unsettling.

 

Saturday shenanigans

Here is Jamsies brother Andy - he and Jamsie are leaving for the UK shortly (mothers 90th) but will be back, or at least Jamsie will. Andy lives in sunny Toronto but is welcome to visit Esperaza again...

And here is Clare last night. She and Fran came to dinner which was such a treat for me - haven't made a meal for friends for an age. The other photo is of Rico caressing Fran, that parrot is such a tart!

 

au table

Love this photo of Norbert, inviting us to take our seats for Friday nights fish and chips! Not sure who his supplier is but they are fantastic.  

Et voila, our lovely hostess Louise and then Max, who is still here. On his way back to Canada in a handful of days, alas. We'll just have to soldier on without him. 

 

Bacchus

The gourmands will recognise the back of the Taverne de Bacchus where Bob and I wandered , being early for our rendezvous there yesterday with Richard and Alison Samuel. As ever, stupendous meal of hearty French cooking. We were early enough to get a seat on the terrace overlooking the vineyards. Probably the last time we'll see our friends for a while as they leave for the UK this week, sniff. Take care out there.

Back in Esperaza, we have new neighbours! David on one side ( terrible photos so no image) and Gordon, seen here, on the other. A big welcome to them both - 

 

autumn

Still good weather with rain at night - and those lovely morning mists. Here's Rennes-le-Chateau appearing above the chemists.

Many friends preparing to leave with the swallows. Gracie is off today to join Tim for a month in England somewhere. We are leaving the summer house for the winter house, which means crossing the courtyard. Quite enough travel, with enough challenges to keep us busy.

Heard from Beth recently, remember our Canadian friends who stayed in Rue St Saens? The girls are back in school and Dylan is remodeling their house. All well. Also heard from Ryan and Alecia; the fires that threatened them in America turned when the wind changed so they didn't have to evacuate but they haven't seen the sky in a fortnight. Barbara also been in contact from the states; her sterling analysis of English and American politics ends with the plaintive we were so hopeful after the last war. Heartrending.

Stay well, y'all.

 

plague doctor in town

Actually its that nice young leather worker who makes those extraordinary steam-punk hats in the market, diversifying - found him wandering around our vide-grenier which was massively under advertised and neither well-attended nor packed with stalls. Thoroughly enjoyed it though. Claudine and I were allegedly sharing a table but she kept chasing me off to have a good time, so I did.

-some stall holders lit a fire and bar-b-q' d a picnic. It seemed they were waiting for the daughter to catch a fish. I may have got that wrong.

Saw Sheila and Ray, New Kelly, Anne, a handful of other friends... as I say, it was very quiet. Decorous, even. 

 

Summer not quite quitting

 Here are some of  the tribe, outside the creperie and the museum of dinosaurs. There must be a joke about being between a rock and.... but I can't figure it.

Max was there, next to Andy, Jamsies brother (over from Toronto), Norbert, Bernht, Jutta, Louise, Susan and Bob. The standards at the creperie never waver. The evening was warm and pleasant and everyone was in riotous good humour. These are indeed the days.

Gaddabouts

Yesterday Max and I bunked off to Limoux, where we ate at the weirdly wonderful La Ciboulette (excellent nosh, heartily recommended) and visited the Musee Petiet to pay tribute to the sole woman artist of these parts. As she is mostly out on loan - only one gallery now dedicated to her - we had a look through the war paintings and the engraved medals... here's a photo of one, where the bare-breasted ladies pay tribute to a scientist.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Petiet

Here's the inside of la Ciboulette, part home, part brocante, part restro... 

and below, this morning by the recycling point, saw this wheelchair. A miracle cure?? Lets hope so.

 Completely forgot to take photos - indeed, totally forgot camera - on Tuesday night when our neighbours gave us an apero. So, Toby and Leo, me and Bob and Vincent were lured into the house of the Patriarch, Msr Louis, now 90 years old. Treated to the sort of feast that the French just do as a matter of course, all home made and devastatingly delicious. Sort of onion tart with herbs, then much meat, followed by crumble (because we are English) pronounced Krom'bell and bearing no relation at all to the british dish - this was apple, pear and peach mixed with a little flour, praline (made with Tobys hazelnuts) vanilla and other stuff I forget. Drank methode ancestral blanquette which was a relief - often been given pure alcohol with a hint of orange before (their own oranges though).

These neighbours come here on holiday and actually live on the cote d'azure.Chief among the conversations was the desire of the children of the patriarch to stop him driving. He is an excellent driver, all are agreed, but was if he were to fall ill while at the wheel? Given that the stats indicate most mortal crashes are occasioned by the young, seems quite unreasonable to me. He won't stop, anyway. 

Breakfast

Yesterday, forgot to photograph breakfast at the Pont with Louise and Norbert - who are well and happy - but here is the square being autumnal and later, sunset reflected on the dinosaur museum.

More on the ball this morning; here is our long-lost Laura, fleetingly visiting, plus her boys Tristram and Brook.

 Lovely chattery breakfast catching up. 

Celebrating Ferren

Esperazas resident genius, Ferren MacIntyre, is even older than me.

Aileen gave him a 90th birthday lunch yesterday, which was both delicious and photogenic. The old boy himself is still fully marbled - an example to us all of how to live a long and fruitful life. 

Though he doesn't like alcohol or eat dead animals and never has done - there may be a clue there.

Don't know the secret of Aileens youth and continuing glamour ... hahaha, not saying anyway :)

...Here's  Mamadu cutting the cake.

  Below is Sasha with O-B. Photos of other guests pretty bad. They will keep moving, these artists. Great BIG congratulations to Nora too, she left the party to go street drawing in another commune - and was awarded a prize :)

I left to go back to the CyberSoc annual conference, this year online. A great success. Calls from the participants for it to happen more often . 

 

ethical fashion

 This weekend is on-line conferencing - thrilling and EASY - 

 I took a quick turn round the market this morning to stretch my legs. (Not crowded yet.)

 Anyway spotted the masks in the photo and was about to indulge when I remembered that La Vie Vintage does lovely masks for 5 euros, a large chunk of which goes to a cancer charity in the Aude.

Fashion fun or ethical purchase??

-back to conferencing :)

socially distanced party fun

 Susan created a treat for the usual suspects last night. There were around a dozen of us, met by Susan in a mask and Jamsie with vodka martinis; thereafter Susan roamed the rooms, reminding us to distance.

She and friends had made a vast amount of food and the blanquette flowed; what could possibly go wrong??

Missed those of the clan who couldn't be there but enjoyed the ones who could. Above is the lordly Ole-Bendik with his familiar, Cleopatra - and Susan, our lovely hostess. All other photos vetoed. 

uninformation

Guttering being addressed outside Kats gallery - nice to see its art - and below the view at tea time yesterday when we visited Pete and Clare. They've been away for ages in England so there was a deal of social distancing over the tea table.

 Interesting discovery this morning. Bob had his bloods done here in Esperaza and was told the results would follow by email. They didn't. So I rang the laboratory and was told that as he wasn't in the French medical system, he had to collect them - and (of course) pay.

What was interesting was that no-one told us... the results would have been moldering in a spare room for the next decade had I not rung.

Weather fabulously perky today. Might have to return the winter clothes to the cupboard and try to find the summer ones again.

Esperaza calm

 Its cold and the beasties are running for cover - I'm back in trousers and a jumper - what happened? A wretched pit of paperwork is being dealt with here. Its possible that I shall be so changed by this horror that l will be unrecognisable soon.

But all well in town. People are grumbling about the weather. Just like Blighty, really.

Keep warm out there - and safe, of course. Apropos; a young geezer passed me in the street, clapped a hand over his mouth and nose and said, masque biologique.

Sunday review

The vide grenier occurred under grey skies, which altered the traditional ambiance; we soldered on. The market was rather more fun, come to think of it - the buskers enlivened it, though why do they play always Beatles songs?? Living in the past, innit. 

 Everyone masked up at the vide grenier, see pic - chap had made it out of a cubey (Cant remember if you get cubeys elsewhere. They are plastic bottles shaped like a cube which hold cheap table wine) Much used hereabouts.

Only bought sensible things. Sad, eh.

 

here and so forth

 

Here's Isobelle and her daughter who made our lunch, Douggie and Regina having previously tested them. We had immense tapas, stuffed baguettes in Bobs case, gormand pud of little cakes and tiramisu and apricot stuff, a lot from their own fruit and all thoughtfully done. Well impressed. It's the little place opened near the stadium on the other side of the road - phone 06 27 14 25 21 to book.

Missed photographing Robin, who has left us until November (when he moves in to the estate.) 

Come to think of it, missed photographing coffee break this morning chez nous with Gracie, Kat, Robin, Bernht and Norbert. Pity, it was lovely and tres international, I was impressed at how many languages our friends speak. All at once.

Didn't forget Max. Here he is, visiting from Canada. We amused ourselves playing records sung by Consuelo Rubio from the late 1950s/early 60s. She's on you tube but vinyl more vibrant. 

Good lord, the weekend has only just started.... oh Sunday, Vide Grenier! My cup is overflowing!

More food and fun

Kat and I have been staying in Caunes Minervois doing art and generally having a hard time of it. We stayed at Les Deux Arches, a little bnb and loved it; if you are going that way, heartily recommended. Here is Kat savoring a dish of langoustines  wrapped in filo and deep fried -- served with cream slightly whipped with spices. Can't remember the name of the restro but easily found if you are in the vicinity, something to do with marble. 

Les Deux Arches give an amazing breakfast so we were fit to go draw, find lunch and return home... where Phil was about to drive back to Blighty. Accordingly we went for a farewell dinner last night at the Auberge du Faby where Sabrine (below) spoilt us - she has a most interesting exhibition up, showing the paintings of an artist who died about five years ago. Her husband has been re-interpreting the work in stained glass ever since and they are on show with the paintings. More on that as and when.

 Diary news; Vide Grenier here in Esperaza, on the banks of the Aude, on Sunday.