Wimbledon

Gasquet v Murray, light fading...and who do you support???

...poised for the final serve

well proud to be british...eh

http://www.ledroptforum.com/


so we vote for Mr Whippy

Miramont Monday Market

Miramont's Monday market is a delight, it is everything a French market should be.

Local seasonal food, new potatoes, courgettes and juicy Marmande tomatoes and of course beads, slippers, baskets and cheap jeans.

The fields are brimming with fields of potential sunflowers, the wheat is cut and the romance of France

fills the warm air.

When the weather is like this we congratulate ourselves for our choice of location and following our dream.

Then just as everyone is complaining about the heat, the children break up from school and the sun forgets to come out.

EH, HELLO, who ever is in-charge up there please switch the sun back on!

Eymet is alive

In the past week the Bastide of Eymet has really come to life. I noticed the market during the past 2 Thursdays has lost it's winter and soggy drag and is full of blooms, fresh produce and streets are packed with visitors. The business owners must finally be breathing a sigh of welcome back!

There are certainly more places to eat and have a coffee and a cake, which makes it so much more appealing to ladies that lunch and family friendly.

It is amusing to see some of the English only speaking French to the English, it must seem awfully impressive and terribly authentic!

Night markets, festivals, music events and entertainment, France certainly knows how to put on a show in its 'villages'.

Sunshine

The sun is out...
the grass has riz....

I wonder where my sun cream is...

If all the rain has gone away,

please let me lay in the sun for another day.

I feel like we have paid a penance - we have put up with all this years rain,
and now we have been good and so the sun is here.

I hope I have been very very good because for the last few months I have been very very wet!

SALES

I ventured to both Bergerac and Marmande today. It was easy to park, few shoppers about then the cent dropped....boing....!

Wednesday 25 June the long awaited sales commence. It may be a different story parking tomorrow!

Casa has red dots galore reducing item after item. E.Leclerc has pallets stacked high and 40% reduction banners ready to

drag our hard earned cash out of us in the morning.

Many younger teenagers finish college for the summer.

So this is it!

Half of France will be on holiday, heading for the mountains, beaches and sales and by August the rest will be on holiday.

There was a flyer in the post today for central heating!!!!

That reminds me, only three months and the Christmas cards will be back in the shops.

Platagenet v Valois

The Franco Britainique weekend provided the best of all the reasons why we love France and it's spirit.

Sunday morning scared us all with impending rain, but undeterred in typical fighting spirit, Jo and her face painting pavilion and Lou & Lance decking the halls, and entrance and everywhere else a flag could be hung, gave the full flavour of the British summer fete and living in France in unity!

The games made 'Its a Knockout' seem like a nursery school fete, with the British ladies being rather victorious.

Whilst we wandered around seeing calender girl style cherry topped peTITe Buns being munched by baby tigers and butterflies, the grand finale was a gripping match 'tween the French and British tug-o-war.

Whilst historically the Plantagenets were supported by Aquitaine and subsequently banished, in true strength v strength the men were not to be compromised by any hint of lacking in testosterone or ego!

One win each and tense moments followed. The tug 'was' war, the tug was even 1-1, the tug was.....

........shit, the rope broke!!!

Personally I hope the event will become Nationally supported...it's fab

Just when you thought it was safe to venture outside

Sun sun glorious sun. Saturday was fantastic, into summer gear

Food for a BarBQ with emphasis on the beers & wine being chilled rather than the charcoals being warmed

all set for, eh did the solstice not mean anything?

According to rhymer.com the none event of the year also rhymes with:

bummer

dumber

plumber....we definately need one of those, there seems to be one hell of a leak in our sky

Reasons to be cheerful

Sun shining, dipping in the pool

Weeding plants that in the UK would only grow as house plants or in greenhouses

The summer markets start next week....

The weekend is the Franco-britanique in Miramont and will be a laugh...

The Euro is strong

.....and the sales are starting early because the government says the shops are not making enough money

(due to all the rain and fuel prices)



He ho off to the sales we go!!!!

Plans scuppered

There was a carefully laid plan for today. I was going to get up at dawn and start dismantling the car. My plan was that to combat rising fuel prices and protecting the environment I was going to recycle it.

Allowing for the current weather, I had decided to build an ARK

I have only got to call the dog and say 'come in the car' and she is tail wagging so I was pretty certain all our others would be happy to get in out of the rain. However it looks like we are in for a rare bout of sunshine.

I shall pin the plan to the fridge, it may come in handy later in the week.

Invited to Dinner

Last night we were invited to dinner. Our hosts were local french farmers.

We are poor farmers who just eat rustic food" said our host.

A song.....

On the sixteenth day of June my hostess said to me............

Seven different courses

Six different cheeses

Five meats to savour

Four fragrant wines

Three home made breads

Two stomachs needed

and a package with honey from her bees

In his visit to Britain today George W Bush and wife Laura comment on cutting the grass!
It makes a change from commenting on the weather. 

In rural Lavergne, a few miles from Eymet, Saturday saw the annual Fete of the Summer hosted by the village.

A moment to digress. How many of us have seen on TV  "Place in the Sun" & "Get a new life"? 

Suddenly, rather like the romance of the show, we see the vision of us sitting on a warm summers evening, sipping local wine under the trees, fairy lights strung above us and eating local produce, surrounded by our French friends and neighbours. This year the brutal reality was that it was a bit cold, we sat in the 'Salle de Fetes' and not out under the trees, yet all the magic of our place in the, eh sun, was still around us! There are no language barriers especially when everyone was dancing (imagine a 70's school disco or Four weddings and a Funeral -  if you can), everyone had a smile on their faces and a great time was had by all. 

Everyone here is urged to take part in these local events, they may not have much sophistication but you will have only fun!