esperazas care

 Nice gesture from the town hall... all our french friends are very sympathetic.


Claer has returned to London to vote, Bobs brother John has arrived having sent his in advance.If you are UK based, please remember to vote today.
                                                    This is my 1010 posting; no idea if this is significant.

 The sun is baking hot. me and the girls were out painting yesterday and l got sunburn

Margaret and Kat doing justice to St Ferriol

All will be quiet for a few days as I'm off on the Carcassonne bus to Valladolid tonight - leaves 22.45 and arrives at 10.00am, Hurrah for adventure and excitement :)

Posh Nosh

 Claer very kindly took us to the posh end of town - too the ever-glorious chateau des ducs joyeuse in Couiza. Best food in the region and an historic venue. Big thanks xxxx

Claer in the courtyard

Bob at the trough

Fighting sleep

 Sunday was the festival des hermits which took a strange form this year. Normally the young people hang out asking for dosh and then spend the day in cafes, drinking it - this year they had a rather civilized party in the MJC which the mayor visited. Perhaps it was the planning committee.

We had lunch at the Cathar Gormande which was as ever delicious and fun.  Then Jim (Hankinson, not our local Jim) left us...
Last night we gave dinner to Margaret and John and their family, son Neil and bride Sorcha and their adorable baby Peter, plus her folks who were charm personified. Smashing evening, over too soon. 
 There was just too much colour in this shot, so took it to B and W - and here's a baby fighting sleep

Soldiering on

 Lunch with the new Mr and Mrs J Marshal at their beautiful home... what a setting!! And below is Gus, clear winner of the tackiest shirt competition. Thought I'd spare you more snaps of people eating and drinking BUT in the evening we went to the creperie where I remembered I hadn't photographed Claer, who is staying here for a week, nor Jim who is overnighting. So here they are.

Now off to market - its the festival des hermits - then lunch at the Cathar Gormande. Life is real and life is earnest.

plighting the throth

Sue and John Marshall did the decent thing yesterday and got married at St Ferriol - the mayor did a sterling job and in charming English thanked them for living in his commune. He got a round of applause.

 Afterwards their friends and families were treated to a joyful bun-fight at le poulet  bicyclette where Sebastian and staff ran round like crazy to ensure we were well fed and watered, despite the changeable weather.  Bravo!
There was speechifying and jolly entertaining too.

Stan and Eddie did the music  ---- for a while they were playing and sheltering under a large umbrella in the rain, above the lake.
I took them drinks and was thus privileged to sit next to them while they played a hauntingly beautiful version of Waterfall- [May this be Love] listening to the water around and below us - a memory which is lodged in me now.
Tried to find a you tube of Hendrix playing it but there are only covers on line and Stan's was better than any of them.

So, cheers, John and Sue!! and here's to many years of joy and contentment together. See you at lunch today.

Thursday return

Bob came home last night bringing our friend Claer - not been here for 18 months or so - and in the excitement forgot to snap dinner. So here's a nice fly that caught my eye earlier...

Gracie home tonight! And this is John and Sues wedding day, which brightly dawns.

chugging along

We - Toby, Leo, Kat, Roland and me - were happily ensconced at the garden of John and Margaret about to start dinner when the rain began (again). Decamped to the house and had a lively and entertaining evening though no-one can remember a time when an evening at John and Margarets wasn't lively and entertaining. Above is Roland with our hostess and below, our host - who showed me this beautiful model with which he is filling his time. 

It is Trevithick's Penydarren locomotive of 1804, which predated Stephenson's' Rocket by many years  (The rocket was running in 1829 but I dunno when it was designed - from WikiP it looks like it was a team effort)

Lovely thing, anyway.