At last...

 

...caught Andy and Max!

They invited me to share a meal and Andy upped the ante by making the candles on the table which matched the cloth, how extraordinary is that :)

Here is Andy looking gorgeous and Max looking blurred - a by-product of testing the St Jacques blanquette, probably.

On account of eating and drinking very well, I skipped the start of the town fete. It seems to have been a great success and I'm  ashamed of myself for being so lazy. Here in the square this morning they are preparing for todays events. No sign of rain ( in previous years it has rained ) - but it aint over yet.

Weds in the dry Aude valley

 

Annie and Pete came to lunch :) It was good. Even my cooking didn't put a foot wrong. Come back soon, dear ones...

No photos yet of Max and Andy who have barely emerged from their jet laggery. Expect to catch them soon.

Annie and Pete hove up

Look who turned up last night, to cries of joy and rejoicing from all at no.9!! Pete and Annie are visiting as are a selection of their children whom we hope to see anon. Rico was totally bewitched by Pete and is now behaving like a sulky teenager.

 

Farewell to Alain -

 Difficult to know what to post of last nights' party... here's the hero, Alain, who cunningly arranged platters of nosh to be spread in Tout l'apero so his mates could come and say goodbye to him. He's off to the antipodes for an unspecified period.

He will be missed!!!

There are many other snaps but some were veto'd last night - despite my views - the general  atmosphere is apparent nonetheless. I have pictures of Charlotte looking fab (she didn't like them) of Yvonne in barbie pink (ditto) etc etc-

Thoroughly good evening. 

All the best to Alain in his voyaging, and may he come back to us soon safe and sound.

Jem and Karim have pushed off too, though we expect to see them again when they take possession of the Couiza house. And in the face of all this departure we have some arrivals, hurrah!! Max and Andy arrive tomorrow :)

Esperaza weekend...

The market is soooo beautiful first thing, while the traders are setting up and the sun is rising. Can't imagine living somewhere without stalls of figs and peaches and olives and nuts and all the smells of life in the south. 

Had the great pleasure of feeding Gert and Elizabet last night though the food was a tad iffy. (=anchovy tart - too salty - chicken breasts stuffed with blet and mushrooms - over cooked- good cheeses - rennes claude crumble with ginger, yum) We drank hardly anything and forbore digestifs. So mature.

 As I keep telling myself, its not about the food - our friends are such good company!!

Low Water

 

We are in such terrifyingly low water now that we are not allowed to extract river water for the garden - despite upgrading the pump, installing a meter and paying in advance for the water we cannot have - so that's the winter crops dead and dying, dammit.  Pity the heron, barely visible here, though perhaps it makes catching fish easier.

I take comfort from the fact that Esperazas fete is arriving and it nearly always rains for that :)

Farewells

Berndt and Jutta... visiting their old friends in Esperaza. 

Being in Aix and then in the arms of Covid, Bob and I have missed their visit. Last night was their farewell bash as they leave early this morning to return to Germany: nice to catch a glimpse. 

The party began on the terrace of the creperie but as it turned colder shimmied into the resturant itself. Fairly empty as the fete du vin was being enacted outside le heathy; nonetheless Billy, Jo and family were there as were Alain and mates. 

Hoping that Berndt and Jutta will be back in the new year -

 

Life post-covid

Guess who's back in town! Delighted to see Toby - and to note that she's not taking chances with us recently-ex'd covid folk. Leo is very vulnerable and she will be returning to him in a week, so masks are being worn.

And here is Masha, our guest for the day. She was upset to be left here and the second the front door was opened she was out of it, like a rocket. I limped along behind shouting platitudes. 

Fortunately Louise was driving past, spotted what was happening and pulled over to help.  

Masha had legged it over the old bridge and was heading for St Ferriol (her home). Bob and Louise were forced to leap into the middle of the main road to catch and subdue her... which they did with finesse. 

She scared herself badly and is now attached to Bob, her saviour. 

The local policeman had also leapt into the search and found another dog... much french-farcery over the phone followed on, explaining that the one he'd got was not ours as that had (by then) been found.

Huge big thanks to Louise for prompt and appropriate action -

and whilst thanks are being rolled round, massive gratitude due to Micheal and Barbara who waited for yesterdays late plane to bring in the Captain. He would have missed the last bus and been forced into who-knows-what contortions to survive Carcassonne. They too are just post-covid and correspondingly tired. Heroes!!!

 

Home again

 Aix-en-provence is a charming town, if you like towns, and awash with culture. We were there for the Max Earnst exhibition and it was well worth the trip. 

We visited Cezannes studio and were touched and humbled...

and we saw the Jean Planque collection and were thrilled.

Here's Kat, being thrilled. Jean Planque collected art in the days when it was possible - he schmoozed Picasso, for example - and as he worked in the wonderful world of galleries he met the great and the good and did deals. His collection is generally described as eclectic but that's only because it doesn't map onto an existing format. His taste - and guile and cunning- shines throughout. None of it what's called first rate (ie not major sale room priced) but all of it informative and alive. Heartily recommended.

I'd write more, lots to say - but of the group I alone have come back with covid. My first time (and fully vaxxed) It's not too bad in conjunction with fever-controlling drugs, but it knocks out the stuffing. 

Others hereabouts have it too. Mask up, wash up, don't hang out with too many people. I'm in isolation for the foreseeable...

Success

 Here is the less-than-mighty Aude this morning, alarmingly low though merry enough... and here are Jem and Karim who have been staying with us as they house hunt. Bingo!! Yesterday they agreed to buy a home in Couzia - celebrated last night chez nous. Most excited for them.

Me and Bob and Roland and Kat are off to Aix-en-Province this morning for a few days culture...
 

Secret Info

 The new bus timetable - good until 31/08/2024. Courtesy the nice lady in the town hall.  

Weds are great

Here's Fran!! We had a drink with several friends last night and it was a joyful evening, featuring some Australian rugger-followers who are passing through in support of their game, whom I promised not to blog. As is customary, the conversations were wide-ranging and informative. 

Still a little too hot and the river is looking tragic; no rain forecast for the foreseeable. 

 
 

New in town

 Charming addition to the Sunday market - saw him hug someone but ducked it myself.

Lunch was at Rennes le Chateau in the Jardin de Marie where we haven't been for years. Met Tris and Laura there and loved it - packed, really, every table full, lucky Laura booked - food interesting and excessive. They send love to their old mates in Esperaza -

No decent photos of Laura so here is a man in a weird hat, ahem,  and Tristram.

Nice to see that RlC is still full of treasure seekers and spiritual questers. Urs Zimmermans sculptures are still gracing the place; well tarted since the days of Henry Lincolns arrival. Time they named a road for him.

warm conviviality

 It's warm again (certainly not hot -) and we seized the moment, firstly to lunch at the Poulet en velo with Richard and Alison - still our friends after 50- odd years. They were enchanted by the surprising lake and the quality (and quantity) of the nosh.

We overdid everything, of course, and were subsequently late for Janet and Johns party. 

Which resulted in Bob and I testing their security. It's good. In the end we just shouted, a lot, until they let us in...

...gorgeous evening. Balmy and suitable for swimming though me and Kat were the only nymphs. Ahem.

Janet and John have the most photographic garden in the world, complimented by our friends sitting round little tables, eating and nattering. 

Big thanks to J and J and all who made it such a smashing night!!