Cosy nights and new wheels

As you can see it's definitely got colder at night-time but there was still plenty of sunshine today. This was last night's fire. I reckon tonight's will look similar so I won't bore you with another photo! Just to say an open fire was on our 'must-have' list when we were looking for houses and we are thrilled (and it's good fun too!) Our delivery of logs is due in a couple of weeks, three 'stères' which is a new word for me, meaning 1 cubic metre of wood. That should last us (I hope).

The ever-happy cousins Catherine and Julie came for lunch today which gave Tine & Nad the opportunity to try out the lovely recipe book that Meryl gave us. The stuffed vegetables were fabulous and I'm still full hours later... They came in two cars so that we could borrow their Kangoo whilst we are between cars. Not for long though as we have chosen our next car this afternoon, in Fontenay-le-Comte, about an hour from here. It's a BRAND NEW Renault Modus and we should get it on 12th November, good timing for us money-wise. Exciting stuff! Tonight Nad is going to the cinema in La Roche with Julie and a couple of friends. I'm sure they'll have a great time.

Back to Blighty

Sorry for the absence but Tine and I returned to our roots last week (well, kind of) with a lovely 'Back in the UK'. It was great to see folk, but big apologies to those we didn't manage to see. Next time, we promise!

We started in Cheshire staying at Pete's new house and had a great night celebrating Kate's **th birthday. It's not often we four sisters and brothers are together now and we certainly made the most of it. It was lovely to see Sylv's family too. Earlier in the day Pete treated us to visit Little Moreton Hall which is a fabulous timber-framed manor house (it says here): photo above.

Goodbyes to the family on Sunday then up to Yorkshire to our 'golden oldie' friends, Les & Jim (I'm sure they won't thank me for that!) in their lovely cottage perched on the hills. We had a fabulous couple of days with them including a visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, well worth a visit even if some of the displays are a little out of the ordinary.

Then onto B-Town for a couple of days staying with the 'Lord and 'Lady (Mick & Linzi). Once again they welcomed us into their family, and a BIG thankyou to them. (We've made the pumpkin and lentil soup on our return but not as good as yours, Linzi!) Loads of visits there to catch up with friends: some empty houses, but we tried! Lots of beers including several at the Cow on Thursday with a good crowd. That's what we miss the most: friends and beer (in that order - believe that and you'll believe anything!) Anyway we had lots of both, and thankyou, you know who you are!

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Finally to the Steel City to Nad & Si from Hastings. Had a tour round Nad's school (very impressive) and a curry in the evening - good but not up to Bradford's standard! Next morning a fond farewell to our car - Si's going to sell it for us - and off to Manchester for Flybe's last flight to La Rochelle for 2007.

Now back in La Tranche with Nad. It's certainly dropped cooler now and I have become a dab hand at lighting fires. Even so we STILL had our lunch outside today (but quickly went in once finished!)

Getting colder

Just got in from a lovely walk along the beach and into a nearly deserted town. It's been a beautiful blue-sky day but the wind became really chilly so we have had another attempt at lighting the fire, and hey presto, it has worked like a dream with no smoke coming into the living room this time (see above for the proof). It's a good job really as we have ordered quite a bit of wood to be delivered for the beginning of November. We'll be experts by then!

The other two photos show how the garden is coming on - you can see the cabbage, cauli and lettuce plants that we bought and in the background we have spinach, lamb's lettuce and parsley all now showing through but not ready for thinning out yet. We seem to be attracting quite a few birds into the garden (steady now!!) as we regularly put feed out for them. We even have TWO robins, one of whom has decided it likes flying into our bedroom, even leaving a small deposit once. Needless to say we no longer leave the windows wide open as we used to!

Had another go on the pressure washer yesterday, this time cleaning the boundary walls on the front of the house. They look a lot better now. We need to think about the boundary walls on the back of the house as they are made of breeze-block and are NOT very attractive!

Mid October already

It's been a few days since my previous post so thought I'd better put things right tonight!

We've had a busy day. Tine's leaflets seem to be doing the trick and she's already got a couple of people interested in English lessons (both in the tourist trade). She's also found a couple of other possible openings, so watch this space (while WE keep our fingers crossed!)

Tine has also been busy in the garden (yes, I know it's one of my aims and I DO do some, but she loves it!) and we've now put in some cabbage plants, will soon sow some raddish seeds and are preparing for onions (well it is France, n'est-ce pas?) We have befriended some more neighbours who come here every month out of season and who have kindly taken the concrete 'borders' that Si from Hastings manfully removed in the Summer. They've given us lots of advice and we've even exchanged some of our copious apples for yellow bell tomatoes! It is these neighbours who have said, 'Don't plant onions until 15th November' and who are we to argue?!

I've not been totally lazy but have used a pressure-washer to clean all the tiled patio around the house. It's quite fun (and you don't get a bad back like gardening!) and there's a great sense of satisfaction seeing the tiles change dramatically. Wonder how long they stay clean though?

J&M came round last night for a chicken curry, samosas and naan bread, all home-made of course. It did seem a little strange eating curry in la Belle France - you don't see many take-aways round here! The cousins appreciated the grub and hopefully we'll introduce them to more dishes on other occasions. They brought us some wood for our fire which we've just tried to light for the first time. I'm afraid there was more smoke in the room than heat so I reckon we're going to have to get some advice!

Mid October and we're still getting some days down on the beach. Mornings have been misty/foggy but the afternoons have been gorgeous. Photo One was taken a couple of weeks ago when we had a cheeky pint on the beach in the early evening - the beer is called Grimbergen and I always think of 'It's Grim Up North' when we drink some (warped humour I know). Photo Two was taken a couple of days ago. We didn't go in the sea as it was late in the afternoon and it drops cool quickly, but hopefully we'll have another bathe in 2007.

An Englishman in Nantes (Retour de mariage)

And the wedding celebrations continued...

Next day we awoke to the sounds of Sylvie's accent floating up from the hotel carpark. After a shower and a welcome pain au chocolat, hunter-gathered by Peep (too late for hotel breakfast) we picked Matt and Valérie from their hotel and back to le Chateau de la Guere. Apparently we just missed a breakfast spread put on there, but we had plenty of time to look around the 'domaine': it will be stunning once renovated but it's still very impressive. Above you can see the front and back of the chateau.

Into the dining area for, oh no, more champagne (!) then helped ourselves to an English/American style brunch, beautifully prepared and piping hot. We had a great time chatting to everyone. It seemed odd to drink wine with 'breakfast' but I could get used to it!

Afterwards we all chilled outside in the warm sunshine, the more energetic playing volley ball. Sadly the time for people to leave came around. We had Peep to take back to the airport, then back to Nantes to join Loulou and Sylvie at their hotel in the centre where we stayed for our third night. We all ate out at l'Entrecote restaurant which only has one main dish (you've guessed what!) - ideal for those of us who don't like making decisions! The walk to and from the restaurant was great. Nantes is a beautiful city, like a small Paris.

Next morning after a very substantial breakfast we said goodbye to Loulou, Sylvie and the kids. Too many goodbyes this weekend! Then the two of us had a little wander round before heading back to La Tranche.

We had a great time and I feel very proud to be a member of a wonderful family. I won't name names, mais merci beaucoup a tout-le-monde!

An Englishman in Nantes (Part 2)

The Chateau de la Guere is a fantastic venue lost in the countryside outside Ancenis. Both families were very worried as on earlier visits it looked like a building site (and we've seen the photos that show this!) However on Saturday evening we arrived at a beautifully lit fairytale chateau, endless champagne and canopés awaiting us at the end of the courtyard.

The photo gives an impression of the dining area. Round tables seating 8 or 10 people, clear chairs reflecting and bouncing the subtle lighting, apple and lily centrepiece on each table, glasses of every size! Also no 'top table', the newly weds sitting with all their friends, other guests carefully seated with similar people: everyone here to celebrate.

And onto the food: have a look at the menu above - those of you with some French will see the starter was lobster, and YES I ate it. The poor quality photo is Half of Harry the Homard on my plate! The beef was so succulent - how can they provide this quality for so many people? The 'parfait' was like a cheese and dried fruit loaf, tasty but filling; and the tanzanie was utterly decadent - I still made a valiant effort to finish it! All of this washed down by wonderful white and red wine, and of course the ubiquitous champagne.

Mid meal there was a montage of photos/videos of the bride and groom growing up, much to everybody's amusement, and a song sung by members of Jennifer's family. Later the band started to perform, and excellent they were playing many types of music from 70s disco (yeah!) to tango to cheesy Euro-pop. They certainly got the crowd dancing and performed non-stop way into the small hours.

Nearly 4 am and we decided to make our way back to the hotel, thankful that we hadn't ordered a breakfast for next morning.

An Englishman in Nantes (Part 1)

Wow, what a weekend! Rémy and Jennifer had their wedding on Saturday at Nantes Cathedral. What a beautiful setting for the occasion. The bride and groom didn't look bad, either!

We drove up to Nantes airport on Friday to fetch Peep who flew in from London Gatwick - so easy for him now he is at Uni in London. It was great to see him after about six weeks, I think. It was dark by the time we got into Nantes and had to find our Chambre d'Hôtes, a tricky task with the tramways and one-way systems. Thanks to a very kind young man and the magic of mobile phones we eventually found the B&B just round the corner from the cathedral and the chateau. We were keen to explore and were very impressed by the atmosphere in the area: lots of bistros, bars and restaurants with hordes of people wandering around enjoying the mild evening. We feasted on a lovely pizza (pasta for Tine) and headed back 'home'.

Next morning, after a breakfast delivered to our room (no, not egg & bacon, but French breads of various kinds with orange/coffee/tea/chocolate to suit all tastes) we ventured out into the streets of the 'Heart of the Town' before returning to get changed into our fineries in readiness for the wedding. We were also very excited to meet Loulou, Sylvie, Caro & Rémi who had arrived the night before all the way from Figeac. We all went for lunch which was a filled crêpe accompanied by a bowl of cider, a Brittany tradition (and very nice too!), then onto the Mairie for the legal wedding.

It was great to catch up with lots of the family, some of whom we haven't seen in a long time. The town gave the happy couple free membership of the library as a wedding present. Someone behind me said they could have given free parking too!! Next a short walk to the cathedral where more people met, making it a real holiday atmosphere. The service was a little long but the priest kept us amused as he looked like Gandalf and was almost as quirky! Unhappy with the crowd's very timid response to one of the prayers, he asked us all to say 'Amen' louder - and we performed obediently!!

Some time later we walked along to a lovely venue for our first champagne of the day (le vin d'honneur, or was it 'un cocktail'??), served with wonderful canopés and had yet more time to catch up with members of the family (and meet some new ones). I got to chat with young cousin Loïc and meet his lovely girlfriend Cécile who we had not met before.

By now we were beginning to flag a little but we still had to find our hotel for the night and the venue for the reception. We left in convoy with Loulou but soon ended up back where we started! Luckily our next attempts were more successful and we had checked in at our hotel in Ancenis (about 30 km from Nantes) and left for the Chateau de la Guere just outside the town. Keep checking for the next thrilling instalment!

Merci pour ton commentaire, La Vincennoise. Tu deviens trop forte en Anglais!!

Things we take for granted

Well you'll be pleased to know that we have still got all our plantations, having carefully watered them morning and evening. We're impatient for the seeds to start poking through but I suppose we can wait....

A couple of things I've thought about that we take pretty much for granted. Before we left B-town there was talk in the UK press about bin collections reducing to once a fortnight (I believe this is not happening, thankfully). Here five nights out of seven there are refuse collections, twice for general and once each for packaging, paper and glass. Pretty impressive, huh?

On the downside I visited the doctor last week to renew a prescription from home. We haven't been able to get private medical care yet as we're awaiting our Carte Vitale (French bureaucrary has not speeded up any!) We will get SOME money back but one inhaler cost nearly 70€, on top of 22€ to see the doctor, very pleasant as she was. Next time you pay for a prescription thank the NHS!

Although the photos above are not related to my writing I thought you might like to see a couple more of the soon-to-disappear jetty plus only our 2nd jelly fish this year! (The sexy legs are mine, of course!)

Into October

Photo taken at 9.30 pm - still no rabbits!

I'm in trouble (from Nad the Bad) for not putting any writing on the last post (Last Post, geddit!!?) so here we go with another.

It's already October and we've now been here for over two months, and we're still happy! Great, isn't it? Today we even managed a short time sunbathing on the beach (after gardening and painting of course) as the sun came out after a very misty/foggy start to the day. Later we went to a garden centre in Angles, a small town just inland from La Tranche, and bought two different kinds of lettuce and cauliflower plants. Earlier today we sowed some seeds for parsley, lamb's lettuce, and GIANT spinach. Tine suggests we sit on guard all night to check no rabbits (GIANT or otherwise) come to help themselves. Will keep you informed.

Jean & Monique called yesterday afternoon and enjoyed a beer with us in the afternoon sunshine (again after a very unpromising start including a heavy rain shower). It will be good to see more of them now the tourist season has finished. We're really looking forward to introducing them to the many curry recipes we do - the French think it's one dish called 'curry'! They both seem amazingly relaxed, even with Rémy and Jennifer's impending wedding!

Tine has made some moves in finding bits of work this week although nothing definite yet. It's just knowing where the openings/opportunities are. It would be nice not to take my pension yet but if needs must....

The tide is low

Thought you might like to see similar photos at low(ish) tide.

(1) Tine still waiting for the new jetty to be built

(2) The normally huge 'Northern' beach

(3) The jetty from the 'Northern' beach