The River Charente

 
I've always felt our greatest asset--ie for B&B's wanting to visit Maureville, is the River Charente, where we have access to our own private all the year round naturewatch!
We have right of way across the field at the bottom of our garden, and can walk down to the river in a couple of minutes.
Every season offers a variety of interests.All last summer the level was very low, and the feed stream from the lake at Rochemeneau, which causes a small ford across the chemin, was dry for months.One hot afternoon my 'grown-up' offspring paddled across the river to the opposite bank one afternoon ( and played and splashed like small children!). They were in search of the yellow water lilies that grow in large clumps up & downstream. I now have a small clump on my frog pond!
More recently,the autumn rains have meant the water level has been running quite high, although not to the extent that it broke the banks and flooded the surrounding field for 50-60 metres , as happened a couple of years ago.
The day before yesterday, much to our surprise, all changed again. I think the sluice gates, down at the leisure area in Asnois have been opened. The river is flowing very fast with a great gushing noise. The levels are lower than ever-- there are sandy 'beaches' along the river shores-- mysteriously with shells lying in great clumps, and new exposed islands in the middle. There is a lot of mud-- and no sign of coypu! Time will tell, I don't suppose they are far away.
With this new fast flowing river I am hoping we will see more kingfisher--my favourite bird! We had a few sightings last year, but usually the river is a bit too slow & sluggish.
Meanwhile there are the usual-- sparrows, blackbirds, robins and great tits--and a lot of buzzards about-- and the green woodpecker ( or it may be the greater spotted) can be heard going 'ratatatat'!
More excitingly, last week, we saw a flock of black storks arising from their nightly roost in the trees alongside the river and migrating south-- much the same as last year, but then their migration was during Christmas week. I hope it will only be a short time before they come back to start nesting!
It's late January, the days are getting longer............... the snowdrops are peeping up through the soil........ there's so much more to come!

Maureville in the snow--January 2010

From the fall of the first snowflakes on the afternoon of Sunday 3rd January 2010 until the downfall of rain during the night of Tuesday the 10th, we've been unable to get the car out.

This hasn't stopped us walking the 'block' ( up the road, right at the crossroads,along the Chatain road to the chemin & then back along it to the house) every day with the dogs. I've even cadged a lift to the supermarket with neighbour Keith in his 4x4.

Mostly though it's been chop up wood and build up the fires, make some nice warm soup( although I left the last of the pumpkin out & they all froze solid!)--and then hunker down in front of the telly!

Happy New Year!

Monday January 4th 2010--and it's back to work after all the partying! My first B&B booking of the season arrived this morning! House-hunters, hoping to make a new life in this idyllic part of France! I look forward to meeting them in a couple of weeks.

Christmas partying started at the beginning of December with the annual Asnois Christmas lunch. Nearly everybody turns up to this event. We start eating at 12.30 and munch our way through about 8 different courses (one year it was 13, but there's a recession on now!) and drink different wines accordingly--ie, a sweet white wine with the foie gras, a chardonnay with the fish, and at least 2 different reds with the main course and the cheese. Of course, one also has an 'aperitif' (usually a pineau) before the meal starts. Between the fish & main course we are served an iced 'trou' (doused in eau de vie!) and a 'digestif' ( usually a cognac, or cassis, or 50/50 mix of the two!) is served after the coffee.

This year's entertainment was a comedian/singer with his accordian-playing partner. He was okay, but nobody got up to dance , he was exceedingly LOUD--and finished his act by 5.30pm. In a way this was quite a relief-- at last we could chat with friends and neighbours, and move around the room to see people we'd barely seen since last year's do! In an act of extreme generosity the Asnois council brought out chocolates and champagne--which kept the party going for another couple of hours!

I really don't know how, or where they( the French) put it!

The next seasonal 'do' was the end of term ballroom dancing party. We meet on Tuesday evenings at La Chappelle Baton salle de fete, and normally dance in jeans & trainers, but for the last class of term we dressed up in all our finery--and pretended we were on 'Strictly.........'!

Then we finished the evening in true French tradition--food & wine!

I then popped over to England for a week where the highlight was meeting up with all the family to celebrate my Dad's 90th birthday. Lunch at the 'Durham Ox' near Warwick-- 20 people in 4 generations came-- me from France, and others from Scotland, Cumbria, Yorkshire and London. Not bad considering how awful the weather was that week!

Back in France, Christmas Day celebrations were, like last year, of the 'ex-pat' variety. We tend to continue in English tradition and get together in groups of 8 or 10, providing different courses and eating a lunch of turkey with all the trimmings and Christmas pud. Of course we all have access to British TV these days, but rarely get to see the Queen's speech. We have all developed the French knack of extended meals--so a 2.00pm start means we are still eating at 4.30pm, and, even though we are an hour behind, tend to miss it!

This year we were introduced to a game called Uno Extreme. No brains required & fun for all. We then watched Dr Who and 'Strictly...' with Christmas cake and pineau before heading home.

After Christmas saw us at a clay-pigeon shoot on Boxing day, a long & lingering meal on New Year's Eve (we didn't get home until 3.30!) and yesterday, following my birthday earlier in the week, we threw a small luncheon party ourselves!

Today, Monday 4th January 2010, as I said before, it should be back to work. The annual 'regime' should be underway and I promised I'd get out the old 'Michel Thomas' French CD's............but... it snowed last night. We can't get out as the road's so slippery. I've a fridgeful of left-overs that need eating................so, I think, this year, we'll start the New Year 'properly' on 12th night. That gives us 2 more days to clear everything up!

Our 3rd Anniversary!

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Well it's 3 years since we set off with all our belongings to start our new life in France! A bit of renovation and onwards & upwards with the chambres d'hotes! Or so we thought!
Actually it was a nightmare of a journey. There were storms in the English channel--which proved to be the least of our problems. As it was, I drove the pick-up with cats in a cage, and dogs--loose,all in the back. Geoff drove the Ford transit & pulled a small trailer--all of which were grossly overloaded!
We set off from Anglesey at noon to get the 11.30pm ferry from Portsmouth to Caen. I am not a keen driver. We normally travelled together to France, and Geoff always drove--but needs must!
We decided to meet up for a coffee in Oswestry, but I was having problems with the animals. Rosie the labrador didn't want the cats in the pick-up & was getting highly aggressive. I felt there could be a bloodbath if I didn't do something!
Leaving Geoff to potter on, I headed for the pet shop. £15 poorer and the dogs wearing muzzles seemed to be the answer--for 5 minutes! That's how long it took Rosie to get hers off!
Plan B had me chaining Rosie to the back of the pick-up--out of reach of the cat pen. Fortunately this worked & in spite of the delay, I got to Oswestry only 3 minutes behind Geoff.
Next stop was meant to be supper at Warwick with my Dad. I'd just got onto the M6 when I had a phone call from Geoff. The good news.................. storms in the Channel meant Brittany Ferries had called to say they weren't leaving until 2 am. This was good, because the bad news was that the transit van had broken down & he was waiting for the AA!
This is a long story--with a lot more breakdowns! To cut it short, I arrived in Portsmouth with animals and trailer at 1.45am! I was the last vehicle on the ferry that night as the transit van stopped at the entrance to the ferry terminal and couldn't make it the last 400yards to the ferry in time!
I made the crossing on my own, drove down through France in atrocious weather and arrived at my new home in France---toute seule!
Getting the electricity started was no problem, but I didn't fancy sorting out the water as it was already dark! I found a bottle of water, and better still, a bottle of wine!
I took the dogs along the 'chemin' to stretch their legs and then sorted out the cats . I lit the fire and made supper.
What happened to Geoff............... oh, he got the 3pm crossing the next day. He then broke down on the 'periferique' de Caen, where he was towed off to a garage. 2 days later I borrowed a big trailer from our neighbours and drove up to Caen--leaving the cats in the house and the dogs in their new kennel.
The garage owner lived alongside his business. It was the Sunday before Christmas & his wife was entertaining the family. She wasn't really too pleased to see us put all our worldly goods onto the forecourt from the transit van ( now deceased) and then re-loaded it into the pick-up and trailer! It took us nearly 4 hours.
We arrived back at Maureville at midnight.
And all that doesn't tell you what we 've been up to this December--- but I think I'll save it for another day!

November's nearly over already!

Well, it's nearly December and I've got very behind with this blog!

We've had 2 lots of house-hunting B&B's staying with us at Maureville during October-- one couple have successfully found themselves a holiday home, whilst the other couple is still looking for somewhere for their retirement. I look forward to seeing them again when they return for the next search!

Another couple came down from their holiday home in the Loire for a short break and to see a different part of France.

Then there were the bird-watcher/nature lovers.I think they had to be our happiest, most succesful visitors this year-- and it was really just a matter of luck!

Just before supper, on the last day of their stay, they went for a walk along the 'chemin' at the back of our house, in the direction of Asnois. As they got to the ford they were stopped by....SIX....sangliers ( wild boar!) trotting past on their way to the river! They appeared to be of similar size--probably a group of teenagers from the same family.

Needless to say--no camera to hand! And I've been in that direction ( with a camera!) nearly every evening since--- but no sign of anything so exciting!

The beginning of November saw a splendid day's 'concours de cross' at Beau Regard. The weather was perfect--particularly since the event had been cancelled as the ground was too hard in October. There were plenty of participants and quite a large number of people watching. As usual, I helped with Mrs T's teas, whilst Mr T and his barbecue was busy providing hotdogs & burgers for all those in need of sustenance!

The one downer of the day was the fact that the concours coincided with a serious 'chasse' day. We'd let the chickens out to roam the garden, before going up to Beau Regard. We came back to find one of the brown warrens had dissappeared. Two days later we found brown tail feathers in the field alongside the garden! Easy prey for a hound, no doubt!

Luckily the remaining 3 hens survived. They are laying 3 eggs a day-- and are not allowed out of their run on 'chasse'days!

To market, to market, to buy a...............................

nb. My website can still be found on the old domain name of:-http://sites.google.com/site/chambresdhotespoitoucharente/
but, to make it a bit simpler you can also find us by clicking on to:-
http://www.maureville.com/

Like everyone in France we are awfully keen on 'Le Terroir' and 'Producteurs locales du terroir'. Of course running a B&B makes us even more interested in the subject!
You may now be thinking 'what is she on about?'--well-- it's food--and fresh locally produced food--and, as I said before, the most important thought in the mind of anybody with a chambres d'hotes! Even more so when vegetarians are stopping tomorrow night and I'm multi-tasking! Writing this blog ( before I forget today's exciting events) and roasting pumpkins-- pumpkin soup--pumpkin risotto! Better get on with the blog.

So at 8.30 this Sunday morning we set off up the road to our neighbours who were giving us a lift to ROUILLAC!
There, on the 27th day of every month sees the biggest market in Poitou-Charentes taking place. Jacki ( neighbour) said she was in need of replenishing her chickens, and surely it was time that we get some & should join her. So we did!
It was a long way...........we went cross country and saw some lovely villages and it was nearly 10am by the time we reached the Super-U carpark in Rouillac where we parked and followed the crowds on foot to the market place. The stalls went on as far as the eye could see--& then bended back again--- and on & on. There were 6 of us on this trip--and of course we lost each other it was so crowded! There was a corner selling Appaloosa ponies, and Shetlands and others... and donkeys with babies. In between were stalls selling farm tools, garden tools, garden plants,household goods, balloons, tee-shirts, socks... definitely the place to go for socks, garlic...umpteen garlic stalls and bread and food and clothing, and just about everything you could think of! Further on there were cattle lines...and goats.
We walked round and round and up and down but couldn't find the hens. Jacki asked a stallholder who said( in French) 'straight on to the end and down the lane and turn right and we should come across them eventually!' We did this--and she was right--but it was further than she suggested. Ducks, rabbits, guinea-pigs, guinea-fowl, turkeys, bantams and hens--and cockerels--rows and rows of them!
The 'warrens' looked great. They are the plain brown hens that you see everywhere. Not very exciting, but good layers and reliable. The plan was to buy 3'point-of-lay' birds. We bought 2 warrens and then 2 marans. These are black speckledy hens & they lay dark brown speckledy eggs--just a tad more exotic!
They were packed into boxes and we headed back to the car. Easier said than done. We were all totally disorientated. After 10 minutes walking in one direction--and no sign of 'Super-U', Jacki asked directions. 180* turnabout and 20 minutes in the opposite direction and we found the car park!
Halfway home we stopped at Verteuil and had lunch in the garden of a cafe that was part of a water-mill on the banks of the River Charente. It was quite idyllic. The sun shone, and we sat under parasols and admired the flowers................................ but I really must now get back to the pumpkins! My veggie menus for the next 2 days:-
Monday night:-
Meditteranean quiche with a green salad*** Pumpkin risotto with crudites*** Assorted cheeses with walnut brittle*** mirabelle clafouti
Tuesday night:-
Roast pumpkin soup with melting cheese***red onion tarte tatin with pine-nut salad***Assorted cheeses with grapes from the garden***raspberries in elderflower champagne jelly with creme fraiche.

A glass of pineau is served as an aperitif. A basket of fresh bread, red wine and a jug of water is on the table throughout the meal which finishes with a cup of coffee ( or tea)and a small bite of dark chocolate!

Looks good on paper--n'est ce pas?
Think I'd better sort out what to give the carnivores now! I wonder how long before we can offer our own home-grown eggs?!

A HOT SUNNY SUNDAY IN AUGUST

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In the morning we went to the French national ( or was it International?) Model Aeroplane Flying Competition at Surin-- about a mile from Asnois.

It was hot-hot-hot--so after wandering around for a bit--watching a few of the models ( airplanes -that is!) flying around and doing their stunts--we went back home for a barbecue in the garden and a dip in the pool!