Visiting St Hilaire

Dear Lizzie Jackson gave us a summer lunch yesterday, in her house at St Hilaire. 

Travel certainly  broadens the mind :) Great food, great conversation. Thanks Lizzie xxx

Here is this mornings alarm call; the young male finding his voice.

and of course my friend the frog 

Not enough excitement?? Here are the new community compost bins, behind the church.

Ziggi is housewarmed

 Some of the guests - in no particular order -

Rushton

Maryanne

Clare, Rushton, Pete

Jo and Roy

Kaye and Norbert

John, Kaye, Janet, Ann

The Captain and Reg

Fran and Norbert

Ziggi our hostess

Clare and Mike

The video of the event, made to record the phenomenal noise of a bunch of ex-pats having a good time, is unaccountably lost. It had some sweet moments. If it turns up, will post.

Ziggi leaves this morning - has left, indeed - on her mission to take Phils ashes to Sherwood Forest. Just over a year since his death, still missed... 

Esperaza so far...

Wen is back  in St Ferriol, now with a years visa to escape the USA - 

We've had rain for a couple of days, gentle and welcome. Further south its been vicious and apocalyptic so blessings are being counted. On Monday around midday we had a magnificent flight of Vultures - some 30, wheeling over the town. Slightly ominous. I figure they are the new young being taking on a tour of their region...

Tuesday I braved the bus to Carcassonne and the rain was perfect, kept smokers off the streets and lowered car pollution so breathing was feasible. I'm experimenting with increasing my asthma drugs so some summer trips can perhaps be managed.

Yesterday Annie and Gus turned up!! Joy joy:) Pete is in Scotland, Theo and Freddy in Ireland where Annie and Gus will join them today. Such a quickie - speed gossip is becoming an art.

Finished the day at Tout-la with a bunch of the tribe, those whose health permitted. 

*Gault and Millau, a posh French gormands directory, have honoured our own Chapaire in their 2025 directory. Congratulations to them!

 

An Esperaza Sunday

 Lovely Sunday here, a classic market day in sunshine and good humour - and a vide grenier on the riverbank. Got some embroidered sheets and would have got more but they are heavy things and I couldn't carry them. 

It all seemed too pretty to stop < > with a photograph which was rather dim of me. At my evening stroll the stall holders were packing up and I snapped them instead....

Oh and the frip is open, a new shop where le healthy started out from - opposite Linares, by the bank - there was an inauguration with the mayor and l forgot to snap that historic moment. 

Here's hoping you too are having a sunny, amicable and peaceful day, wherever you are :)

Norway's National Day

As I'm sure you know, today is Norway's National day.

Katrine invited us to share her heritage and all the tribe turned up in the sunshine, to lunch in her pretty garden on smoked fish and grilled meat and salads and other delights - including this cake in the form of her national flag.

Ole-Bendik was there of course and it was highly entertaining to hear him and Katrine debate various cultural positions. They come from different parts of the islands. Friends of mine are in Norway at the moment in Lofoten and sent a video - playing the same marching band music that Katrine was playing - which apparently you will hear everywhere in Norway today. 

Gratulerer med dagen! 

 

Wednesdays gossip

Since Jean-Luc and Isobelle have closed Tout-la so they can have a holiday ( well-deserved but bah!) - the Wednesday tribe have decamped to the back of Matthieus place by the station. Very frisky. Alain who is wheelchair bound nowadays got an ovation for getting up the steps, and Mike and Roy deserve one for shifting the furniture and getting in supplies.

Ulysses is back, a brief visit from Rome to Esperaza, his favourite place - his career as an opera singer continues to dazzle. Very disappointed there were no little fried fish available.

 

Bob and Pete and Clare and I hoofed it to La Chapaire, first time for ages. Extremely nice plat du jour - a deep fried chicken leg and a sweet potato and carrot thing. They have some new extreme puddings. Mine featured Baileys and a lot of cholesterol. 

We commiserated about their recent break-in but since the malefactor is already tried and in prison, the family were quite cheerful about it. 

 

The great and the good...

There's no mistaking Ole-Bendiks immortal face, now on the cover of the catalogue for the Royal Society of Portrait Painters - many congratulations to Kenny McKendry, a richly deserved accolade! 

The only thing missing is Cleopatra.