Glorious wood wood

Yes I know it is strange, but there are plenty like me in France who get quite excited at having a decent wood pile for the Winter. This will be my 4^th Winter in France and I have to say I have a wood pile to be proud of. Previous years have meant that we have collected steres of wood here and there and when caught utterly short borrowed from family.

I know I am not alone when it comes to 'wood envy'. Driving along main and rural roads in France one cannot help but notice neatly piled wood stocks. Some have been there for years. You know that whoever lives there is likely to have a cosy room during the coldest of spells. And this wood envy is not just a man thing either. Lots of females look lovingly at wood piles.

The need to make sure we have plenty this year stems from receiving a hefty electricity bill in the Spring of this year. Having moved to a new rented house in February, it had been empty for some time. The house is quite big and built with the traditional thick stone walls. Nice and cool for the summer but not so warm in the winter. In order to warm the house up a bit, the radiators were on full for 2 weeks. After an urge to take a meter reading and 2000 units later meant that all radiators were off within seconds. Time to light the fire!

It's quite empowering to be able to light a fire. Summer months are spent collating toilet rolls and kitchen rolls to assist in the fire lighting process, plus I start to gather longer match sticks and fire lighters in a way a squirrel harvests acorns for those hibernation months. I didn't do girl guides so the ability to get a fire going and keep it roaring is something I feel quite proud of, especially growing up in the generation of gas fire central heating and all you had to do was twiddle the thermostat around. Quite often Skype calls in the winter are laced with “excuse for a quick minute, just need to put a log on the fire”.

I love trees and during the Autumn season Nature's has plenty to offer: acorns from the oak trees, chestnuts and conkers and walnuts. Currently I am obsessed about collecting walnuts. There's a tree just down the lane from where I live dropping a nice bounty for collection and drying out. Fortunately I am still using last years supply and every now and then I often think about the walnut writing desk that I purchased in an antique shop in 1990. Where the tree may have come from and how it was then crafted into a beautiful piece of furniture.

France takes it forestation management seriously in terms of harvesting, preservation and planting. We often see trees being felled, stripped, and loaded on to lorries. Equally we see many young forests taking shape, in long straight lines. France believes that all needs of life are linked to its forests. Many facets of French life rely on it, agriculture, architecture and a number of industries, and homes rely on its resources. One of the most beautiful forests that I have seen lately is Le Rond-du-Chêne, in the middle of the forest of La Guerche, Leugny.

    

50 years of marriage, a rallye and Patrimoine

If there is one way to integrate into French life, it's take part in a rallye.  We did during the weekend of Patrimoine.  All in French and miles away from anything we are familiar with but boy did we have a lot of fun and we got to see some fabulous sights.

The purpose of the event was to reenact a rallye that a lovely French couple did 50 years ago when they got married. They thought it would a be a great way to freshen up the instructions and get their family and friends involved.  We are neither friend or family of the 'femme' half of the married couple, Jacqueline.  She is an active member of an Association based in Pliboux to keep the community connected and engaged.  Our French teacher is also a member of the Association and occasionally informs us of events to help us improve our French.  Jacqueline and her husband Jean-Louis married 50 years ago in Ingrandes, Vienne [Poitou-Charente]. They moved to Pliboux some years later.

After an evil early start on Saturday 19th September, evil because it was a 6am start for us! we collected our French teacher and arrived at Ingrandes at 9am.  We were welcomed by the happily married couple - Jacqueline and Jean-Louis. After brief introductions we collected our instructions and made haste - on y va!!  With the appropriate symbol flying proudly on vehicles to represent fellow rallye drivers it was fun seeing cars drive in front, behind and do 3point turns on an acorn leaf and turn around.  After a few meet ups it was clear that we would struggle. Being out of towners and not knowing the area at all, we struck it lucky with a fab bunch of Ingrandes natives... so we stuck close, sharing strepsils and giggles on the way.

The day coincided with day one of Patrimoine weekend, where government run/owned buildings are open to the public for FREE.  We stopped off at some beautiful places, that we would other wise have not seen.  In the few hours that we were on the road we visited:  Château de la Guerche, Château de la Celle-Guenand, Château du Chatelier and Château du Grand-Pressigny.

After completing the rallye our final resting place was the Salle des Fete at Leugny for a well earned buffet feast.  It turned out that the fab French chums that we teamed up with were the cousins of Jean-Louis, the 'mari' half of the married couple.  Lots of rose shared between us and laughs.

Having covered many miles on Saturday, which allowed us to see some beautiful sights and scenery and meet some wonderfully hospitable French people, all summed up for a thoroughly enjoyable experience.  One that we will happily do again.

Is technology tearing us apart

Have you noticed that when it's your birthday and Facebook very kindly informs your friends and family and your timeline is then filled up with wonderful wishes to have a happy birthday. Who sends birthday cards? When I look back at mine, I would never have received that many birthday cards!! Facebook has made it easier in one way to remind us of birthdays but in another sense, it has taken away the enjoyment of opening an envelope and looking at someone's hand writing. Which is why this article jumped out at me today.. and yes, I saw it online. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11840251/Social-media-killing-off-visits-to-friends.html

Technology and social media has drastically reduced that face to face interaction. I for one miss it badly, living in rural France. Having moved from a vibrant city, I am fine with my own company. During the day I focus on my work with very little interruption... the only white noise I have is the sound of a lorry whizzing by on the D948 [please remember that I love to quote D roads in France]. So by the end of the day, I would have had numerous virtual conversations but no real ones, where sound left my mouth. There are times when I talk to the dogs, but it's a one way conversation. My DM box on Facebook is more active than my email inbox, and is more or less my central communication hub for business and leisure. So making a visit to see people and having 2 way conversations is very important to me.

Living in rural France you have to make a point of going out. You have to make a point of seeing people. You have to make those social connections. That sometimes means putting yourself out to do things that you might not have done back in the UK. That does mean from time to time taking yourself out of a comfort zone.

What worries me for both sides of the Channel is that the older generation will feel more disconnected. While research suggests that the over 55s have caught up with my generation and millennials by using smart phones and ipads,  what about our grandmothers and grandfathers? They like to listen to the news each night via the TV, not an update that appears in a twitter feed or Facebook timeline. They like to hear stories about your day. They want to feel that they are still part of a family. And for those who do actually make a visit to their grandparents, do you actually talk and listen? Or is the visit just spent scrolling through the phone and showing the latest selfie? Being in the same room is not the same as being present and engaging in a two-way conversation with important people. We are already seeing the disconnect from the millennial generation. While they feel that technology helps them stay close to friends and family, their definition of staying close may be different to what their grand parents think. Their whole lives are online... they chat with friends, share pics on fast moving platforms, listen to music, no doubt google their homework, there's an app for this, an app for that. Friending people is de rigeur not calling them. Prizing a teenager today away from a smart phone is like having an arm chopped off.

I read only last week about 20 skills that are going to the wayside. Knowing how to transfer money from one bank to another online is more important than reading a map. The ability to use a sat nav more important than learning to knit from your nan. http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/2015/08/is-map-reading-a-forgotten-skill/

This year one of the best presents I received for my birthday was a compass. I love reading maps any day over listening to the sound of the sat nav, I want to be observant during my road trips in France, I want to be able to know at any time which direction I am heading in.  I still crack walnuts with a stone, it's very therapeutic.   Although I have since found that this is quite a tedious and lengthy process, so walnut crackers will be on my wish list this Christmas.

Living across the Channel, Facebook has many benefits, it means I can keep up to speed with what is happening in the lives of friends and family. A direct message via Facebook takes just a few minutes compared to picking up the phone and having a good yarn for half hour or so. My husbands mother lives in Canada in the middle of nowhere. There are times when it is sorely wished that she would join the 21^st century and there are times when you actually think there's the phone, pick it up and talk.

The sharing of this blog posts means that I will be blowing the dust off from my address book and getting out lined paper and envelopes and licking the backs of stamps and sending some letters par avion! I think my handwriting may leave a lot to be desired.

Château de Bayers

There are many Chateaux across France and one of our to dos will be to see as many as we can while living in France. A recent trip to the Charente region was no exception. Having made a pit stop at Verteuil sur Charente we wandered around this pretty village. The imposing Chateau de Verteuil on the hill was not available to view. Many close at the end of summer and besides we were on our way to a private tour at Chateau de Bayers later in the afternoon. It still looks beautiful even in September. First a visit to Le Moulin de Verteuil where we witnessed a working mill and purchased some beautiful tasting brioche loaves made at the mill. Followed by tea and cake overlooking the Charente river teeming with fish. We were led to believe that it was a good place to fish for trout. A meandering walk up a steep hill to the Église Saint Medard and magnificent views across the countryside. 

A short journey took us to our final destination of Château de Bayers. The Château had closed on 31^st August, but the housekeeper had agreed to do a private tour as there were a number of guests over from the UK. Although in French, our host spoke slowly and the permanent residents of France in the group were able to understand pretty much of what she was saying, with the help of notes she had printed in English for us. How thoughtful.

 

The Château has endured much over the centuries. Each owner and century leaving it's footprint, to create an eclectic history. It was purchased in 1976 by Dr Andre Mouton Degorce, who died in November 2014, at a ripe old age of 94. For him it was a labour of love to invest time, energy and money to bring life to the Château and invite tourists such as ourselves to appreciate it's history. We were rather thankful of sampling the ripe fruits from the trees in the gardens, and hope that the Château has continued support and visitors.    

Stitch in Time

I have gotten through my life without visits to doctors and hospitals. I am risk averse. You won't catch me climbing trees and I could barely do a forward roll as a child and cycling is a hazardous pursuit even as an adult!! Since moving to France I am of an age where the system prefers prevention rather than cure. You see I am squeamish. I hate needles, I fainted when I had my ears pierced at 13. I have avoided wherever possible any encounter with needles and blood. And in the last few months I have encountered both.

A mole had appeared on my eyebrow a couple of years ago. I am not a vain person, I have many of them and am naturally a freckly person. But this mole was of a different character and living in a country where the summer temperatures are much warmer than the UK it had given me cause for concern. A trip to the Drs a couple of weeks ago with no warning to anyone other than parents and husband meant that it was going to be removed under local anaesthetic. Yes needles, on my face. So 3 of those later and an incision to the brow I left the surgery 10 minutes later with a couple of stitches. Yes a the Dr had stitched up the incision. Eeek, this left me with a very strange and vulnerable feeling indeed.... as at some point those stitches need to come out in 6 days.

Fortunately a very nice friend who is an ex-nurse agreed to remove them for me on Monday 31^st August. A bit of Dutch courage was required. I generally avoid alcohol on 'school' nights, the but it was a case of needs must. A couple of glasses later and deep cleansing of the stitched area the stitches came out easily. In order to escape the fear, I definitely had to go through it, there was no going round it.

You will no doubt appreciate the non posting of pics. 

Empty Lofts

Another beautiful sunny day, ideal for the early morning dog walk, followed by a light breakfast. Today is vide grenier day. Vide grenier is empty loft, where people take out things from their loft they no longer want to sell. This weekend it was at St Macoux about 25 minutes from us. On route we stopped to fill up the tank in Paul's van... how can you resist 0.99 centimes a litre!!
That's twice this year diesel has been less than a euro!

St Macoux houses a stunning plan d'eau and is the venue for their Fête Annuelle. We have visited St Macoux through rain, wind and shine, and shine is definitely preferred. Stalls were set out under the trees, the RLM bar was already busy at 11am!! Pression o'clock as we fondly call it. There was lots going on, entertainment for the children, the local repas, cyclists touring through and plenty of buying and selling.  After a few purchases, 10 of us rounded up for lunch at the plan d'eau cafe/bar. 

When in France do as the French do and relax at lunch time. After agreeing that we would indulge in the menu of the day and not knowing what we were going to have, imagine our surprise at eating tender lamb shanks. The wonderful thing is that sellers  always come prepared too. They bring the family, gazebos, picnic tables, chairs, bottles of chilled wine and plenty of food. In true French style at mid day they step away from their wares and enjoy lunch too.

The overly warm weather, the lake as our back drop, long lunch, relaxed ambiance equalled the grand sum of the perfect Sunday in France. It was 'on y va' just after 2pm and time to return home and tackle that pile of ironing.

Laundry Talk

Friday was not a good day. Having sourced a new basket for my 2^nd hand bicycle Lucille, Paul unintentionally made my bike unusable. Having jimmied the handle bars off, one of the nuts must have over threaded and was unable to be threaded back on to keep the handle bars in place. I was looking forward to evening cycles around our lanes with my basket and bell. I was even contemplating a beret to complete the French look. I am not one to spend out for a new one, so I will have to keep a keen eye out for one at the vide-grenier on Sunday.

Saturday was a cracker of a day, weather wise. Up early while the sun was melting low lying mist from the fields, bundles of washing was completed and out on the rotary line, ready for mammoth ironing session over the weekend. I placed a post on Facebook during the week asking was it me or does anyone else get excited about having a new ironing board. Clearly it was just me.

I don't mind admitting it, I love ironing. And since taking ownership of a Bosch Sensixx B10L, no how matter big the ironing pile I can wade through it in no time. Truth be told for the last couple of months I have been a little less pleased with the ironing board so have been pondering for some time on purchasing a new wider one. During this week my purchasing eye cast over a reasonably priced one at our local Intermarche so in my basket it went, metaphorically speaking. I think it also timely to tell you of my sheer excitement of having a rotary line too! The French have unusual washing line facilities and buying these things at reasonable prices is not like nipping down to Tesco and coming back with plenty of change. I can now get 4 washes on the rotary line and get the ironing done toute suite!

So on a day like today I have been a domestic demon. All the washing done, fridge inventory carried out and cleaned. Pantry re-organised. Due to imminent storing of potatoes. Floors hoovered and washed. Made easier as Paul was working in the morning.

When I took five for a well earned brew, pleased that the washing was out, floors were clean, ironing board at the ready, I am wondering how long it will last in this blissfully clean state when Paul gets home.