December already?

Wow I can't believe it, it's December! The year has flown by and here we are planning our return to the UK at the end of the month. We plan to spend a couple of months back in the UK so making sure everything is weather tight is a priority and when the roof sprang a leak last week it was just another item to add to the long list of jobs that have to be completed before we hit the road. We now have one wall of the upstairs barn plaster boarded and have at long last reached the final section of the ceiling. We've also ordered the wood burning stove & are working hard to ensure the section where it's to be installed is ready by the end of next week when the roofer is calling to fit the chimney and hopefully repair the roof. It's going to be interesting to see whether we get withdrawal symptoms and need to go out and get a fix of plasterboard whilst we are in the UK.

As well as working hard we've also been partying hard over the last month. Rebecca paid us a visit in the middle of the month and we were able to enjoy a trip to Albi and a nice long relaxing and sunny weekend with her. The following weekend we were invited to attend a local ladies basketball match in nearby Lunac which was followed by tapas and a disco. Lunac is just one of many small villages in the area & like so many of them it has an excellent sports & social club. No sooner was the game over, which for the records they lost, than the social committee leapt into action and within 20 minutes the bar was open, tables & chairs had been erected, the DJ had set up and the food was on it's way. Whilst the food couldn't be described as gourmet and considering the speed at which it was prepared the standard was excellent and the dishes of whitebait, mini fish cakes & duck was well received by everyone present. Had we known what was coming at our next night out I think we both would have had a little less of the duck dish. Every year in nearby Sanvensa they have a fête to celebrate the canard and as you can see from the picture of the nights menu it features heavily in what's on offer. With over 600 people there, it was hard to believe that there were any ducks left in the region but we were informed that as every last bit of the bird is used only about 70 are sacrificed. As I've mentioned in previous posts these events tend to run on well into the following morning & this one was no exception with us finally flying home at 3:00 AM which wasn't bad considering that we didn't start eating until 10:30.

Whilst the fêtes are a good night out as I mentioned earlier the food is best described as OK, that wasn't the way I'd describe the food we had when were invited to a French neighbours home for supper. I'm still as clumsy as ever & when we sat down to eat at a table covered in antique glasses, cutlery and little crystal ribbons to rest you knife on I felt a little uncomfortable. The meal was excellent and was washed down with lots of Gaillac Primeur, the local equivalent of Beaujolais Nouveau, and the main course of paupiette, which are known locally as 'birds without heads', was delicious. When we finally have a full kitchen up & running we'll have lot of entertaining to do and given that our our host was a big Jamie Oliver fan and an even bigger fan of Nigella (although I'm not sure it was her cooking he admired) we'll have plenty of choice to show off the delights of British cooking.

Let it snow...

Snow in October? Yes it wasn't just the UK that was hit by an early snow shower last week. Here in the Averyon where the sun always shines & it never rains we had snow on the 30th of October. An unheard of occurrence according to the locals & not brought about by global warming but by the number of British in the region. We've not only brought the language here but we now inflicting our weather on the poor old French! Speaking about the language thing (no pun intended) it really is no surprise that the French are a bit twitchy about the English language. Browsing through one of the many special offer leaflets we get in the post every week it was noticeable how many of the products on offer are labelled in English. Even the latest LCD HD TV was described as being '32 inch high definition'. 32 inch? You'd be sent to prison in the UK for trying to sell something in imperial measurements.

Saturday 25th saw the last Ryanair flight of the year into Rodez & we were there to welcome it along with Matthew who had grabbed a late booking at a bargain price. The timing of his visit turned out to be perfect with both Barbara & I being able mix a little business with pleasure & I'm sure Matthew enjoyed visiting the builders merchants and being press ganged into moving some wood & helping his dad move the scaffolding along to the next stage of the barn ceiling. Yes the ceiling saga continues & yes it does seem to take a long time to do each section but having to fit the metal supports, spray the wood with anti-termite stuff, fit the insulation, fit the plasterboard, apply tape and three coats of plaster to the joints, apply two coats of paint, clean the beams finally apply two coats of varnish does take a while but we're getting there at a slow and steady pace and the finished result does look fantastic.

Sunday saw the annual chestnut festival in nearby Laguépie and what a great place to take a city boy used to the bright lights of London and show him the quieter side of life. At least he can go home knowing which mushrooms are safe to eat & how best to roast his chestnuts. Wednesday it was off to Toulouse and after a very nice lunch in one of the many restaurants above the famous Victor Hugo market Matthew headed for the airport and we headed home.