Autumn fairs and picnics

We thought the summer jaunts and outings had come to an end. Very few B&B bookings, so back to the 'renovations'...but no...... suddenly we found all sorts of entertainment on our doorstep.

The grandchildren came for their autumn visit..and the weather stayed warm enough for a couple of dips in the pool!

We also took them to the wonderful 'Mediaeval fete' at Chateau Larcher...entrance free.... apple donuts and mead and knights in armour! The whole village participates, dressing up as peasants, knights, orcs (?--obviously around in France in mediaeval times!) and nobles. The highlight of the afternoon was the rescuing of the maidens from the wicked ( English!) knight's castle. First they were bombarded by umpteen schoolchildren... but then the siege warfare started...a great piece of wooden machinery...firing water-filled balloons at the baddies. 43 shots & they hit their target...but we'd all got soaked too in the process!

Our next outing was in our own village of Asnois. A picnic was being organised at the old mill at Roussille to show us the renovations being carried out there.

This time we were asked to dress up in nineteenth century peasant costume! A 'randonnee' was the morning's task...followed by the picnic at the mill... a guided tour of the mill and then songs, dancing and poems, and plenty of chat going on into the evening when omelettes were cooked for all! Of course, the alcohol flowed...we were surprised how much home-made wine and liqueur was present. Pierre came around with a bottle of clear liquid...many said......no-no-non....& covered their glasses with a hand! I said 'oui, merci!' ...one has to be daring occasionally...and was thrilled to taste a smoothe mellow drink. I was told that he'd taken sacks of windfall plums to the distillery in Availles Limousine and came back with 16 bottles of spirit! So that's how you do it!

It was lovely warm day...Geoff & I were the only English who turned up...which was quite a strain on our language skills!!...fortunately we were saved by American Dan, who, previously unknown to us, lives in the commune, works at Poitiers university.. and speaks perfect French and took a lot of stress out of our day!

Since then we've had house-hunters staying, and a little holiday ourselves..but more of that later!

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

As September arrives so the B&B numbers go into decline. The rush of August seems like an age away!

We've had a long hot summer with plenty of visitors...some just visiting the area..some passing through (invariably on bicycles) and some house-hunters.

The pool has been a great success and we are pleased with the paving and landscaping that now finishes it off nicely! The gazebo has been fixed within an inch of its life as it is necessary for those wishing to avoid the sun's rays during the heat of the day...but also has to stay standing during winds and storms, which we get quite regularly in the peak of the summer. Of course the snag is the grass inside.........I think I'm going to have to invest in a small electric mower with grass collection box!

The hot spring and early summer has meant tons of watering...and even though we have had rain since the beginning of August...some of the vegetables have not gone according to plan.

The colorado beetle on the potatoes was the biggest disaster..but the raspberries and the sweetcorn haven't been good, the tomatoes, although prolific have not been as tasty as usual and the onions were small .....or non-existant!

On the other hand, the rain arrived in time for us to have the best crop of runner beans since arriving in France, the French beans were superb and the brassicas--savoy cabbage & cauliflowers are enormous!

So, harvest time has arrived and its jamming and bottling...pickles and chutneys... and soups & juices... and thank heavens for the freezer, where everything is dumped if I run out of time.

So far I have made.......apricot jam, mirabelle jam, blackcurrant jelly and redcurrant jelly, pear & ginger jam, bramble jelly and bramble cheese. In the store cupboard I've 'Maureville'chutney..made from the mirabelle plums in the garden, green tomato chutney and...a first for me...piccalili! This proved to be a bit traumatic..I needed more cider vinegar than I had in the cupboard, so substituted red wine vinegar..big mistake...the piccalili has lost it's wonderful vibrant yellow colour and the sauce is a sludgy brown. Nice & tasty, but a bit disappointing!

And I've bottled pears.This year I've reverted back to the 'Belgian' pear recipe. Bottling pears in a light sugar proved to be rather dull............easier to buy a tin of pears from the supermarket! The Belgian pears have been simmered for 6 hours in white wine vinegar and sugar & the luxurious thick syrup gives a very superior pud, served with a dollop of creme fraiche!

The big problem this summer has been the plague of flies that we've had to tolerate. We've put mesh on the back door & windows, but it's been impossible to eat outside without them invading every glass or plate, so barbecues have been fewer than usual this year. It's been quite frustrating but I understand we're not alone. A long chat with our maire at the Asnois picnic this year, & he said it was the worst he'd ever experienced...even worse than 2004. I just hope we don't have another bad year for the next 7 years!

So the busy season is over...last year we had 3 or 4 lots of cyclists en-route to Santiago de Compostela in September. This year they seem to have passed through earlier in the summer. I imagine some must have suffered during the hottest days.

Never mind, it's only a matter of time before we hear from the serious house-hunters. Our friends Gill & Mike have started up a house-hunting service .....www.poitou.charentes.kerizac.com.............. and send a lot of their clients our way!

Meanwhile Geoff is back upstairs...the plasterboarding is finished and the plastering will start as soon as the family...next week's un-paying visitors...have been & come & gone!

So, tomorrow we're having a day off for a trip up to the Loire on a wine tasting/buying trip... then the grandchildren arrive!

Extraordinary visitors

I've just waved goodbye to an elderly ( aged 81) Frenchman and his lovely wife. They stayed here at Maureville for 2 days and ate 'table d'hote' each evening at the kitchen table with us. Madame spoke superb English, whilst Monsieur wasn't bad. They preferred me to speak French though, so it was quite a challenge, but not impossible as they helped out when I got stuck.
So, why were they extraordinary?
Monsieur de Fleury was a descendant of the de Fleury family who were 'seigneurs' of Maureville and Beauregard for centuries...selling the estate & moving to a chateau in the Charente in approximately 1850.
He has done extensive research into the family history and, indeed spent most of his 2 days 'chez nous' in the Mairie in Asnois, searching through records. There he was quite successful, although he could find no de Fleury headstones in the cemetry.
The de Fleury's kept hold of the chateau at Beauregard during the Revolution due to a fearless lady. I would guess she was the 'Chatelaine'. Her 2 sons fled to Germany along with many other young rich men of the time, where they joined an army to fight back against the rebels. When rebels from Civray arrived at the chateau, she said she was a woman alone & persuaded them to leave her alone. 10 years later her sons returned & took over the place.
I believe the last family member living in Beauregard was the great-grandfather of my guest...Dr. Maurice de Fleury. He was the local 'medecin' and travelled around the countryside in an old horse & cart. We were told the story of Dr Maurice's courtship with a young lady that was rudely interrupted, and also ruined by his horse,bored with waiting outside, barging into the lady's cottage & wrecking the windows!
M. de Fleury also told us a bit about Maureville. We'd always assumed that some of the stonework around the doors and windows, and the enormous stone fireplace were the result of receiving stolen goods during the sacking of the nearby Abbaye at Charroux. They are quite outrageously ostentatious for an ordinary farmhouse. ..............But, said Monsieur, it wasn't an ordinary farmhouse...it was much grander than that, it was part of the 'Seigneurie'....?? ( Not too sure what that involves!-- a manager, or Dowager's house perhaps?!)
The last little anecdote that we were told was of M. 's childhood. He was brought up in a chateau in the Charente. He called his mother 'La comtesse'... obviously an upper class family. The upper classes throughout Europe were more happy with each others company, than associating with the lower classes. One afternoon in 1940 a high-ranking German officer, whose troups had encamped in the nearby village, arrived at the chateau to be greeted by 10 year old Philippe (our Monsieur). 'I'd like to speak with your father' he said to Philippe. 'No, it's impossible,' he was told. 'Isn't he here?' said the Officer. 'Yes, but he is taking his siesta and I dare not wake him' said Philippe.
The Officer departed saying he'd come back at a more convenient time. Such was the power of the upper classes, at least early on in the war!
M.et Mme de Fleury were fascinating guests. Of course, now that they've gone I've a dozen queries for them. They've promised to stay again and I hope his research will carry on...I must make a list before the next visit!

Ps. As well as his ancestral interests, until retirement at 75 M. was a serious yachtsman. Six years ago he was crossing the Atlantic with a crew of 6, when the rudder fell off the boat. SOS calls went out (I believe it was a bit of a storm) and a British 'Tall Ship'-- umpteen metres of 'voile' (sails), manned by a disabled crew of youngsters, came to their rescue.
It was impossible to save their yacht and so it had to be scuttled. The French crew then spent a week aboard the British ship.
M. de Fleury said, whilst recounting this story, 'it was then I understood how the British won the war. The discipline and tenaciousness of the disabled crew was phenominal. A French crew wouldn't be the same at all.'
Interesting little anecdote!

The randonnee--beautiful countryside scenery

Saturday May 28th saw us joining about 150 folk from nearby Charroux on their annual evening 'randonnee'.

Organised walks & rambles are a strong form of village entertainment round these parts. Asnois has 2 or 3 randonnee every year. We missed the last as I was catching a plane to the UK that day, so yesterday's outing in Charroux seemed a good time to find out what all the excitement is about.

We got tickets (12 euros per person) from the tourist office in Charroux & were told to meet up in the big house by the car park at 6.30pm on Saturday. There we would be entertained by a band, & be given 'aperitifs' before we set off on our way. The destination was to be Richmeau chateau.

It was a hot day--like every day this month. What an amazing May we've had! We arrived to see Sandra, with her cardy tied around her waist & walking stick in hand. Geoff had a small rucksack...and was prepared for a cooler temperature later that evening. I was more concerned about being too hot and decided a body warmer was all I needed over a tee shirt. More people arrived...mostly French, but quite a few English & we set off round to the garden behind the 'Big House' ( This is a commune house used in Charroux for events, displays and meetings. The garden is an extension of the 'aire de loisir')

We received a map of the route, & tickets...'aperitifs'...'tagine+ fromage'..'dessert+tee ou cafe'...and, within a few minutes had handed over the torn-off 'aperitif' ticket in exchange for a glass of the ubiquitous rose wine with pamplemousse and a slice of quiche alongside a slice of pizza! This we ate on long benches that had been dotted around the garden, but mostly in front of the 'oompah' band which started up with 'Winchester cathedral' and continued in that vein for the next hour.

Eventually ( about 8pm!) there was a stirring & we all set off..but it didn't equate to the route on the map, as we headed up the road towards the church, along some of the back lanes and onto a track. A couple of friends were convinced they were on their way back to Vieille Metive!

It was a long straggly crocodile..groups of 3 & 4 in a row, all striding out and chatting with their neighbours. The first section was slightly uphill, and we were going at quite a lick. Many youngsters over took us and gradually the group of walkers spread out...some marching out ahead, whilst others pottered behind more sedately.

As we walked along the 'chemins'..fields to either side of us...not a dwelling in site, we realised that we were 'doing' the route on the map backwards! The walkers were really thinning out now & we arrived at a set of arrows--those pointing left said---11kms, those pointing straight on said 8kms. We, and the 3 elderly French ladies in front of us headed straight on!

The countryside was beautiful. The River Charente was on our left, with a field of horses behind it and on our left was afield of Friesian heiffers. The French ladies were getting well ahead as we arrived at a clearing...not too sure where this was, but there were loos.....hooray!..and 3 lads in yellow jackets waiting to guide us over the little footbridge. We'd lost our ladies by then & asked the guides how much further...... the first said 5kms.............ohhhh dear we said............. peut-etre 2 ou 3 he said!

So we crossed the river, went through the field & up into the woods where we followed the track round to the right ( white arrows showed us the way) & were promptly overtaken by a group of teenagers who'd taken the long route! We knew the chateau was on the other side of the river--and the otherside of the main road and, on coming out fromthe wood, were pleasantly surprised to find that we knew where we were!

Over the road bridge, across the main road...& there were our 3 lads again. 'DEUX KILOMETRES' John said to them...'je pense c'etait 5'!!! It was a steep climb up to the chateau, but, on coming around the side, we were greeted with torches all around the edge of the lawns which we followed as far as the stripy tent. The second ticket was handed over & we were given tagine of chicken with cous-cous--a hunk of brie and a hunk of chevre-- and a glass of red wine. Trestle tables had been set out in the tent and loaves of bread ceremoniously dumped along them--about a metre apart! Much to our surprise, more people were arriving for food long after we had started eating..so we weren't the last after all..by a long way!

The entertainment this time was a quartet of 2 girls--one playing a clarinet, the other playing the accordion and 2 boys, playing bassoon and violin. An odd assortment of intruments, but they came up with some wonderfully haunting gypsy style folk music. We were told they were a Balkan group..but they spoke to the audience in French!

It was getting darker...and cooler.

We set off through the back entrance of the chateau & into the woods. It wasn't cold, but I was quite grateful to the 2 ladies in front of us, and the 3 teenagers behind, who waved their torches aound!

It was a lot faster on the way back & we arrived in a small lane just above the Mairie. We followed back lanes down to the main road, and were promptly hered staright across, round the back again & up the steps ( the final killer of the night!)--past the allotments into the church car park.............. where we were serenaded again by the jazz band! We stayed with them for about 20minutes by which time nearly everybody had arrived & we were taken back into the village where we had pudding in Les Halles!

It was 11.45pm when we left... we just about got into bed at midnight! It was a super evening!

May 2011--HOT HOT HOT!!!

The landscaping is finished but the tidying up is difficult when the ground is so hard.

But you can see that it is going to be very smart soon!

Mieke's willow sculpture..... at present here at Maureville... Geoff has been watering her garden at La Grange d'Amelie...but it was burning up, so he brought it back home where it had recovered well. We're going to have to return it soon!!!

Oh dear!

I've really rather neglected this blog this year...so now is the time to get going again.

We are having an extraordinary May. No rain for at least 6 weeks. The odd grey-ish day, but on the whole we've had temperatures over 24 for over a month and it doesn't look as though it is going to change for a while.

Geoff abandoned his indoor building project in April whilst I was away in England. I got back to find him doing mammoth works round the pool. We bought slabs to do a bit of landscaping last year, but the job has been on hold until the ground was suitable for work. Many friends with above-ground pools put decking around. It looks good, but we decided against this for 2 reasons. Firstly, the safety ladder we'd bought is ideal for keeping youngsters out. If we surrounded the pool with decking, we'd then have to put extra safety fencing around. The second reason for not having decking was because we discovered last summer, that, compared with that of friends with pools of similar size, our pool was 3 or 4 degrees warmer due to the sun shining on the surrounding walls. Today...May 21st.. the temperature of the pool is 26, yesterday it was even warmer!

The bizarre thing of such high temperatures for such a prolonged time so early in the season is that, not only is nature confused, but so am I! Somehow it feels like July...and I don't understand why there are no tomatoes ready to eat in the garden! ( well, of course, I understand...but it feels as though there should be!)

Well, the landscaping is nearly finished--just as well as the ground is as hard as concrete now. I have to finish building the dry stone wall around the top of the new paved area.... and the 'flowerbeds' above need weeding and planting now.

Of course--we really need some rain!!....but I do love the sunshine & don't want it to end!

2011-- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Since October Geoff has built 2 new windows-- the pictures above show the progress--albeit in the wrong order (one day I'll master downloading and displaying of pictures on the blog!) of the construction of the bedroom window to the front of the house. This is to be the 3rd bedroom upstairs. It will be a double room with a small mezzanine above which will have 2 single beds. There will be a large bathroom--with bath & shower along the landing-- and we're hoping all this will be ready for use this summer. Ultimately it will all be part of the self-catering appartment-- which will not be ready this summer--short of a miracle!