Party queen -

Here's  Rose! Who did the party thang most beautifully last night. Bob and I quit before the dancing and rowdiness, indeed before midnight -  but profited from the starlit walk home.

Kelly in camera

Wallflowers; Kelly, Alan, Gillie

Gillie, Louise, Norbert

Katerina

Tim and Yvonne

 Love to all our friends who are stuck elsewhere and may 2022 knock the spots off 2021

Chris, Dinosaurs and the end of days

The Captain had a visit from Chris, an old mate, with his family and friends   - so off to the Dinosaur Museum since it was raining (and also because the kids wanted it.) We are all used to it, of course - but it is still remarkably good :)

Today had a surprise visit from Cen and Annette and their daughter whose name I can't spell.  Such a treat. Our quiet life is lovely but I miss our friends. Oh; is that the sound of new years parties warming up???

 

Waving the flag

Theres not a lot to photograph in Esperaza in the rain at night, so I was pleased this this image of the tricolour taken at the town hall as I prowled around our purlieu.

Thats it really - though I could hear bird song by the river where the nightingales live. Can they really be singing this late/early in the year?  

Covid Christmas lunch

Started the festive day with oysters, supplied by Tim - here are Roland and Kat having a training session (Tim has one method of opening them, Roland another - they both have merits)

The Captain had done the customary enormous traditional spread and twelve of us sat down to manage it - for 5 hours.

Gracie has a camera that can do tricks but I dont have the capacity to download them properly - which is as well, perhaps :)

 

Yvonne supplied crackers and we had the fun of explaining the jokes, the costly gifts and the hats to Roland, who had never been to an English Christmas lunch. He took to it very well; and to the trifle, also supplied by Yvonne.

Kat had brought a gluten-free cake, bless her, made out of the last of Andree Bonnets walnut wine. We ate off a table cloth that she had embroidered so she was remembered by her many fans. Still missed.

Louise and Norbert brought the vegetarian alternative to the turkey...

Rose did the brandy butter - first time she'd made it, most excellent - and Nel and Pete provided the coffee (from a distance) AND my diamond necklace and earrings :) 

Here are Louise and Tim

and below, Yvonne and Tim and Roland. 

[There were two Tims present, which in some places (here) is regarded as great good luck.]

Below them are Rose, Katherine and Yvonne again -

Some might say it was a little crowded. The table was nearly big enough and the room was, erm,  intimate. We did keep the window open as a concession to social distancing but as the bubble are  constantly together and (with one exception) fully vaxxed, we were all agreed it was a risk we'd take... will report back.

And finally - a glimpse of the Captain (exhausted!!) me, Kat and Norbert looking startlingly like Paul Gauguin

Hope y'all out there had a good day too. Heaven knows whats next on the menu... lets just enjoy what we can, a day at a time :) 

 

Crimboeve

 Unexpected Christmas gift for a village in the Aude: an anonymous person donates €500,000 to the commune - lindependant.fr

This article in the Independent has come up pre-translated but the gist is clear: one quarter of the towns' budget has been given to the mayor by an anon donor. Pas mal! Strings? - Read the article. Sweet really.

Heres Rennes le chateau this morning, lurching out of the mist.... and the back wall of our courtyard. Everywhere quiet. For the moment. 

Happy festives, all! Keep safe of course, but enjoy the time.  

Start of the holidays

Tree all lit up - much as we were after an evening at Kellys place. Food just fantastic - she is a chef to her fingertips :)

The dear girl recklessly invited some 13 of us to have a feast. Photos are dreadfully odd due to my attention being distracted by food and yet more food. 

Really like this snap of Tim looking at whatever Rose is looking at... and I should probably leave it at that -

but since Kat took this snap below, feel OK about posting that too :) Bit like Santa in mufti waiting in his grotto- 

 

Trees up.

 Yo ho ho... it's all kicking off, already we are doing too much sugar and missing family. Draconian restrictions means no foriegn vistors for the forseeable, sniff.  Very sad time for grandparents, parents and siblings. Next year will be MEGA.

xmas whatnots

Katerina had us all in on Sunday afternoon to do decorative stuff - and to eat and drink and gossip and laugh. The multicultural team excelled, natch.

Here is Kelly with, erm, crafts -

Rose with a rose candle, most successful

Gilly and Nel,  laughing - mysteriously -

Nel and Kat and Louise being good and Katerina and Katherine making wreaths. Or something. 

Today, did some shopping and discovered the new role of car parks in our world. Cried off shopping at Aldi and the dear Captain did it, leaving me in the car to snooze. A young woman approached him and asked if he knew a heating engineer. He didn't. I watched as she approached another bloke; and spent 15 mins with him as he drew her maps on his cars bonnet and waved his arms and explained things. So clever.  And while that was happening a car drew up, waved at another car which pulled up next to it - they looked at dogs and eventually one car took a puppy from another and went off happily... the puppy was quite big and seemed cheery though the (premumably) mother dog gazed whistfully after it.

Whatever next.

 

SANTA HAS LANDED

 

Erika and Nicolas continue to contribute to village life - it's a very cold and frosty morning in this, the last market before christmas. Waiting for the freezing mist to burn off before doing the shopping. 
 

Alarmed to notice that the apero bar has had a rock through the window - not had a chance to find the story, watch this space (or let me know if you know) 

And heres the view from the studio a couple of evenings ago, mysteriously lovely IMHO

Los Vegas, not

 

Lovely moon last night, helping the xmas lights along - not massively vulgar though :) 

Just been over the footbridge to collect my xmas pressie from the mayor and corporation. It's a curious thing; since all recipiants are by definition over 70 years old, arranging to have the large heavy packages handed out at the top of a flight of icy stairs might make one a tad paranoid... if you are lucky enough to be eligible it would be a good idea to take a young person with you.

Still, jolly sweet of them to bother (thats the sugar rush BTW, I'm eating chocolates from the package now) Heres the frost being melted this morning by the river...

Christmas quest

 Yesterday promised well... Yvonne and I had decided to go the town hall and make sure we were on a list for the geriatric xmas pressies. The town information panel had said to do this if you were over 70, so off we went in the company of young Tim (who just has to wait)

Turns out this should have been done in June, when the packages were ordered. And you have to be on the voting list; which excludes all the disenfranchised Brits. 

So breakfast beckoned...

and at the cafe du Pont we found Ann and Kieran, hoping to have a quiet morning  together hahahaha

 

Putting the sun in Sunday

Here is a basking cat, on the gate of the house next to Le Pont... and here is a notice on the towns information panel, reminding us geriatrics to register for our christmas pressies from the Mairie. Recommended, if you are old enough - last years were a genuine treat.

Highly sociable day for me :) Heres Ziggy, snapped at lunch where she and Phil kindly fed me on British fare; leek and potato soup, shepherds pie -, think Phil is training her up. There was pineapple and ice cream and merangues and cheeses and red wine. And the killer punch; coffee with rum and cream.

Staggered from there to mince-pies and mulled wine with Shiela and Ray,  a tour de force I was too weak to profit fully from. Nice to see them and Susan. They had sensibly arranged their visitors in small groups to avoid possible virus contagion and Susan and I were the last of the day. 

Not too tiring, I hope :)

 

Yesterdays river...

much like todays but its stopped raining and the water seems a little lower. It didn't get up to the road, phew.

 

Goings, comings....

 Weird photo of last nights party, taken by Candy....Jutta and Bernt hosted their farewell, as they return to Germany shortly. They will, of course, be back.

It was farewell to Bob and Jamsie too; they left this morning at 5.00am to drive to Brexit Island. 

Keiran and Ann arrived yesterday evening for a weeks inspection tour, turning up just after Candy took the snap. Will catch them anon. 

Heres wishing good health to everyone!!

Wet in Esperaza

 Here's Nel, buying coffee yesterday, in the rain.... erm, thats it really, market minimal and its still raining. Nel (as you can maybe see) is off crutches and not wearing a leg brace so is through the cracked patella episode. Phew.

And really, no news is good news. Those who tested for covid after contact with Toby and Leo have all come back negative.  

Ran into this lady as I was doing a quick tour with Robin - who is back here, briefly - she was wearing a birthday cake because it was her birthday and also because, as she said, she was mad. Viva Esperaza!

we persist

 Despite dire weather warnings, it was a beautiful day though cold - tonight it was warm enough to sit on street benches and ponder.

I'm pondering because Toby and Leo, now in Amsterdam, have Covid -  mercifully painlessly; but they recommend that we are all tested and do the careful thing. So far all have come in negative which makes us suspect its a dutch bug but I'm thinking that I may take  a couple of days indoors just to be sure.

And to finish a picture thats giving me trouble....

So, no arts weekend for me nor girls night out tonight. We learn to live with disappointment in the expectation of living longer and earning future pleasures. Sounds like an epitaph, eh.

P.S. Lunch yesterday at Jean-Lucs Apero bar; raclette!! He has a machine that looks like a torture device that he puts on the table and heats up to melt a great round ball of cheese. As it melts it is possible to pour it onto your plate  - over potaoes/bread and/ or meat. Not just lunch but a performance and interactive artwork, yum. Added plus was that two of the towns' banks were having their christmas meals there and though that made the service slow it afforded us the pleasure of not having to behave in front of the boss. 

Great being grown-up.