Fête, Fête, Fête

Yep it’s that time of the year again when the whole of France goes in to party mode and one thing’s for sure they certainly know how to do it. This year in particular we seem to have attended either a fête or party every other night since we got back from the UK. It all started back in July on Bastille Day, as I mentioned in the last blog, and comes to a crescendo this weekend with the Najac festival on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd. In between there’s been a couple of large fêtes one of which had as the nights entertainment a karaoke disco. I had considered doing my rendition of the classic Eagles track Lyin’ Eyes but at 6 minutes 12 seconds I thought the French weren’t quite prepared for such a long introduction to my lack of singing talent. Having said that I’m not quite sure they were ready for Barbara’s dancing but she went for it anyway...

The entertainment at the fêtes varies dramatically from French country music as above to major French rock bands like Froidjouer. Chris Martin better watch out.

The night markets have also been in full swing in Najac with the final one of the year being held last week. These are great events where along with the normal ‘market’ items, cheap sunglasses, clothes & jewellery, you have the opportunity to sample some of the local delicacies. A very popular product this year is the locally reared Ostrich which is great if you manage to get some of the breast but no so good if you’re left with a leg.

Despite all the partying we have had the opportunity to source a few more items for our Ebay enterprise. This poor chap caught Barbara’s eye but as his hat was missing she decided he could be left on the scrap heap. You have to be ruthless when you’re building a multi-million pound business! It was at the same event in Villefranche de Rouergue that we witnessed the French version of meals on wheels. Better than the normal burger van found at British cat boot sales.

Who wants to be a millionaire?

At last we’ve found it, a business that’s going to make us millions! I’ve been in two minds as to whether I should put details of our latest enterprise in writing but felt that it would very churlish not to share our good fortune with all my thousands of readers. So here it is... buy some chairs in France, clean them up, advertise them on Ebay and sell them for four times what you paid for them. Sounds good doesn’t it? Only problem is finding enough chairs and getting them back to the UK at a reasonable cost. This time we were lucky as we’d already booked a return trip and as luck would have it the winning bidder lived only six miles from Matthew’s. Bolstered by our success we’ve spent the last few weekends tracking down local vide greniers and brocantes looking for bargains. Unfortunately it would appear that we’re not the only ones who have had this money making idea, bargains are few and far between. Still it gives us something to do and keeps us out of mischief until we find something that will actually make us a million or two. In the meantime you can always browse, or better still buy, our items on Ebay by clicking here.

Life in Lagarrigue hasn’t been without a little drama. Guilbert, our retired neighbour, decided that his chimney needed sweeping and that the best way to do it would be to drop a stone tied to a rope down the chimney. All went well until he got his foot stuck in the ladder and couldn’t climb down. After much deliberation it was decided that the pompiers had to be called and after a twenty minute wait there was great relief all round when three vans turned up. However it wasn’t long before the relief turned to frustration as they hadn’t brought a ladder with them! Fortunately and with the help of our neighbours, P & P, Barbara rushed back to the house and brought ours over. Guilbert was down in a flash and his two hour ordeal stuck up a ladder was over. Although a little shaken it didn’t appear to have put him off cleaning the chimney as the day after the ladder was back up against the house. I should add that I was away during this minor crisis and I’m sure had I been there I’d have been up that ladder giving him a fireman’s lift to safety. And if you believe that you didn’t see me climbing up the scaffold when we pointed the outside of the barn.

The night markets are once again in full swing in Najac and we were lucky enough to have great weather on the night that Jane & Derek were here. They weren’t the only celebrity visitors to the event. When a blue police box suddenly materialised in the middle of the village square Barbara got all excited at the thought of the David Tennant emerging in his flowing coat and trainers. Alas it wasn’t to be and she had to be content with the seventh incarnation of The Doctor, Sylvester McCoy.

Once again it’s the party season and we attended one of the best events in Najac on Bastille day. The local football club organise a meal which, dependent on the weather, is held in the village square or the salle de fête. There was obviously no bad feelings about the performance of the French national team in the recent World Cup as the bands opening number was a celebration of everything Spanish. This year with a thunderstorm forecast it was an indoor event but that doesn’t put a damper on the festivities. As usual the wine flowed and although the food can best be described as basic the quality is fantastic. Escallop of veal with Truffade. This is fantastic potato dish and there are several variations of the dish in rural France. Here’s one that best re-creates the local Averyon dish.

Ingredients (serves 4)

6-8 large potatoes

250g Tomme or Cantal cheese

100g smoked lardons

Four fat garlic cloves

Half a large onion

Mixed herbs

50g butter

Salt and pepper

Method

Slice the potatoes to the thickness of a pound coin and par-boil in salted water for six minutes. While this is boiling melt half the butter in the pan and add the lardon, herbs, garlic and then the onion. Sweat on a low heat for a few minutes, until the onions are soft. Drain the potatoes and add them to the frying pan, breaking them up ever so slightly with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the butter and the Tomme or Cantal and cook for another ten to fifteen minutes, stirring the mixture together and scraping the bits that stick to the bottom into the middle. Season generously with salt and pepper and serve with a juicy steak and a green salad. Sorted!!!!!!!!

And where are we now? Back in Blackpool for a couple of weeks enjoying the sun, sea and sand of the Lancashire Rivera. There’s lots of sea and sand but there’s been a distinct lack of sun. It feels like it’s rained everyday since we’ve been back and it’s hard to understand why there’s a hosepipe ban in place!

A Pearl of a weekend

It's tempting to use the phrase 'they said it wouldn't last' but it has. We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on Monday 28th with a weekend in London with Rebecca, Matthew & Jill. We were blessed with great weather and despite the abysmal performance of the England football team we had a great time. Watching the game on Sunday afternoon in a French restaurant in Spittalfields Market was a bit like taking coals to Newcastle but I suppose there was no better place to share our disappointment and bond with our Gallic friends two teams with so much in common; they were crap!

The hotel we stayed at was great although our busy schedule left no time for us to take advantage of the excellent leisure facilities on offer. Perhaps next time. Barbara enjoyed a full day shopping with the help of Rebecca on the Saturday and managed to track down a couple of outfits for forthcoming weddings. The only thing I'd planned to pick up turned out to be in very short supply. Barbara's anniversary present was to be an iPad (honestly it's not for me) but it turns out there are one or two other people after them. Should have reserved one as Mme Hill suggested! Still we're back in the UK again in three weeks so hopefully we'll have more success then.

Back in France we've lost an old member of the family, the Lightweight has gone. I'd had a phone call a couple of weeks ago from someone who was interested enough to send a €500 deposit, a good sign I thought. After a few phone calls a meeting was arranged for Sunday which happened to be fathers day. I think this was a little more than coincidence as when he turned up he was accompanied by his wife and two little girls. I could see dad getting a good Fathers Day present this year. After a quick test drive the deal was done and off they went in a puff of diesel fumes.

We've also been busy with visitors, Ann & John, Barbara's sister, have been with us for a week. The weather could have been better but I think they enjoyed a good relaxing week with the obligatory visits to Cordes-sur-Ciel, VDR market and the Bar de le Plage for coffee. Next week Jane & Derek are here for a few days so it's fingers crossed the current spell of hot weather stays with us.

Visit the new blog...

You can visit the new home of 'Lagarrigue Progress' by clicking here. Thanks for looking.

This time last week it looked like we had a potential buyer for the Lightweight, but it turns out a week is a long time in France when it comes to selling vehicles. I'd placed an advert on Leboncoin, a French website similar to eBay and had received a couple of emails requesting more information. After a couple of phone calls a rendezvous was arranged with a man from Lyon, a six hour drive away, who planned to stay over the night in the area. Travelling that distance and paying for overnight accommodation I thought he has to be a serious buyer and was optimistic that we would soon be less one Land Rover. He arrived at 3:30 on Tuesday and spent the next four hours test driving, checking the documentation, visiting the garage where it was serviced, checking prices for paint & shock absorbers etc. etc. Still if he was going to buy it was worth spending the time with him and keeping my patience, which when he asked if he could return the following morning, was becoming severely stretched. After another two hours conversation and negotiation via Google Translate he bid us farewell and said he would email on Friday with his decision. No surprise, he decided against purchasing the car, thought the paint wasn't as good as he'd hoped. The car is 31 years old, what did he expect?

May is a normally a great month if you're a worker in France, it's full fêtes, bank holidays but unlike in the UK where the holiday is taken on the nearest Monday, in France the day stays the same and has happened this year if it's Sunday the bank holiday is lost. Still don't feel to sorry for us, there are five public holidays in May and two were during the week. There is one other big difference between UK and French bank holidays, everything here closes for the day, including all the DIY stores. It makes you plan your projects for fête days carefully as there's no popping out for that screw you forgot to get. We've spent the time working on the garden and erecting a pergola and fence which after toiling away in the blazing sun and even though I say it myself it looks really good. As I was attaching the last panel the local farmer came past and with a typical gallic shrug pointed out that the fence was a little near the road. The fact that he'd passed twice a day on his quad and had seen what I was doing was to say a little frustrating. Fingers crossed that the marie doesn't pay us a visit.

Not sure how this character ended up in a medieval festival held in Najac on Monday but I'm pretty sure it isn't Mel Gibson.

No blog this time but a taste of the region we live in France. If you saw the episode of 'Jamie Does... The French Pyrenees' on Channel 4 you'll now know what the food's like round here although it would have been better described as 'The Midi Pyrenees'. If you didn't see it you can watch it on 4OD now by clicking here (Rebecca will also appreciate the support). You can also read more about the “French Paradox' mentioned by Jamie here which, going off the age of some of the local inhabitants, is obviously true.

Will try and get my act together this week and fingers crossed have a blog post ready to post next week.

Long time no blog

I don't suppose you've missed the updates but to be honest and despite having had a good time back in Blighty there hasn't been that much to report. Barbara managed to do a couple of weeks 'cousining' and I managed to put some of new skills to work and laid a new path at the house in Blackpool. I always feel guilty when Barbara is away working and it's amazing how much work gets done. She's back to the UK next week for a few days with her mum, who's been with us since we returned, so I guess I'll be hard at it again!!!

We had a very busy Easter with Rebecca, Matthew & Jill all descending on us for a few days. Good job the house has flexible sides and we know the next door neighbour well enough to let Rebecca sleep there! We had a great time and one final curry before we packed our bags and headed back south for the summer. We arrived back in Lagarrigue on Thursday 8^th and discovered that not much had changed apart from the grass having grown to nearly waist high. The garden is a tad larger than the one in Blackpool so it was out with the strimmer and mower for a day or so. All went well until the mower drive belt snapped and the Land Rover had to be called upon to tow the mower out of the field and on to the trailer for passage to the local repair shop where it'll take two weeks to repair. Think we'll need a new strimmer by then.

Well that's it for now, hopefully I'll be back in regular blogging mode now and will have something of interest to report on soon. Bye for now.

Welcome to the sunny North West

Well would you believe it we're already a month and a bit into 2010. They say time flies when you're having fun and I suppose I could also say we've had a hectic start to the year but in all honesty that would be bending the truth ever such a little. We arrived back in the UK just before new year after an uneventful journey back from Lagarrigue on the 28^th December. After a night spent in Clapham it was time to hit the road again and head up north. Just as well we did 'cause as you all know the snow came down and it was time for the big freeze. Watching the world wide web it wasn't just the UK that was getting the snow, back in Lagarrigue it was looking just as cold.

It wasn't long after pitching camp in Blackpool that we were heading over to Manchester for Barbara's belated Christmas present, a night at the ballet. It was something she'd always fancied seeing and being the ever thoughtful husband I'd arranged tickets for Swan Lake at the Bridgewater Hall. To complete the no expense spared Christmas treat I'd also booked a night in a luxury city centre hotel, The Premier Inn GMEX! As it turned out it was just as well I'd booked the cheapest hotel I could find, sorry I mean the most convenient as it had to be cancelled. Barbara had been waiting for a hospital appointment and sure enough it came through for the Friday we were due to be in Manchester. We enjoyed the ballet but the trip back to Blackpool on the coldest night of the year was no fun. All went well with the operation with the only downside being that I can no longer get away with muttering under my breath and not being heard.

Despite our 'des res' in Blackpool being what can best be described as bijou we've already had a some visitors. Rebecca and then Matthew and Jill have ventured up to see us and were lucky enough to experience the best of the north west weather. Let's face it, the sun always shines in Blackpool! I'm hoping that's true as I'm desperate to get out on my new bike in preparation for this years Tour de France.

Merry Christmas to all

There was a moment on Tuesday morning that we thought Christmas was going to be cancelled. Rebecca and Matthew were booked on the early flight from Gatwick to Toulouse on Tuesday and at 5:00 AM Matthew received a 'tweet' to advise him their flight had been cancelled! A very quick check on the Easyjet website informed them that there were no seats on any flights until after 25^th December. Time for us to get the bags packed and head back to the UK earlier than planned? Well not quite yet as the good old ferries are still sailing and it was back to Matthew's to pick the car up and head for Dover. So 24 hours later than planned and a little tired from the 900 kilometre drive they arrived safe and sound and settled in for their first Christmas in South West France. To get the Christmas festivities off to a flying start we'd booked a table for Christmas Eve lunch at a new restaurant in VDR called 'Cote Saveurs' and what a great decision that turned out to be. The food was fantastic and it's definitely in my top 5 restaurants, we'll definitely be heading back there when we get back from the UK in April.

The snow I mentioned in the last blog only hung around for a couple of hours but returned last Friday with a vengeance and with 12 guests arriving on Saturday night expecting to be fed thank goodness the Land Rover was back on the road. It may be low on high technology etc, but it did get us to the shops and Barbara was able to conjure up a wonderful meal that everyone enjoyed and I'm sure had our French guests doubting all those horror stories they've heard about British cuisine. What, with the excellent meal we had last week at P & P's they must be thinking 'sacré bleu what ever happened to mint sauce and jelly?'

Christmas shopping French style lacks that little something that has become all too familiar in the UK, crowds. This picture was taken on the Tuesday before Christmas (we should have been in Toulouse picking R & M up) and as you can see there's no mad rush to pick up tonnes of food that won't be eaten. I suppose the French are used to shops not being open 24/7 and don't go into panic mode at the thought of not being able to pick up essential items on Christmas Day.

That's it for 2009. Have a good Christmas and all the best for 2010. Hopefully the next blog will be from that hotspot of the North West of England, Blackpool.

Bonnes fetes!