Happy happy sunday (though it would be nice if Bob were here too)

 Rabbit cleaning other rabbits' ears. So sweet! And a good start to the day... the market is in full force, the vide grenier is brill, of course.

 Heres Etienne with his team, Ma, Pa and Bieke, doing his first vide grenier. Not impressed...

 Heres my haul. Significantly there are 10 bowls for cassoulet which will give this weeks meals a certain direction :) And some Russian marquetry, old books and a bowl for rabbit terrine which will hold anything but.

 I would have escaped quite lightly had not this geezer captured my attention and flogged me some hippy trousers and a shirt - 'ah nostalgie, nostalgie', as Babs said when I showed him.
Aioli is mayonnasie with garlic pounded into it so it was a curious choice to be tattooed over the occitan cross. Ever in search of emerging theology I asked him why - and lo! It's his name. Well, it sounds like his name and he's adopted it.

Saw everyone I know who isnt away out in the sunshine. Missed Kat - stop this holidaying and come home! And Pete and Nel, who've gone off somewhere else. Micheal the-German-architect was there, restored to health following a nearly catastrophic scare after which he looks much as ever, allelujia; Ferren, who reports from Jerusalem that young Hassidic Jews have their corkscrew curls attached to their skull caps. Fran pointed out that in Irish dancing young women do the same with kiss-curls. Now begining to obsess about detatchable hair rites.

 Off to lunch at Annie and Petes next - then its choir practice.  Has there ever been a better Sunday?

traffic lights...

....are gone. 

I can hear sighs of relief from drivers all over the Aude. As traffic lights went, these were the daftest - even pedestrians didn't like them as they were random in allowing passage. However now there are no traffic calming measures in place so be careful all, wheeled and footed persons.

I forgot on Tuesday to photgraph the dinner to say goodbye to Kat = 2 weeks in Portugal - and Bob= 1 week in London. Pete and Nel, Pete and Annie were there plus Leo and it was good, at least I enjoyed it :)

Went to Quillan market the next day and snapped the pieta over the church door - see below, isn't it a gem? Above it in the wall is presumably God the father but it looks more like a bishop - the real boss of the church. And heres a gratuitious cruxifiction too, carved on the block. 

ghost town

Everyone disappeared for the holiday yesterday, heaven knows where to - it was dull and grey and pretty boring so the Captain put me and the dog in the car and we drove up to Montbel and the surrounding beautiful mountains. Here's Fontestorbes, the intermittent fountain.The roads were deserted too, perhaps everyone went to the coast?

Sunday sunshine...

...was sporadic. No rain but occasional cloud. Pretty good, in short - and all the world out having a blast :)


Here is O-B with his first family. I will not attempt to spell any names.
It seems the weather here is much like Norway at the moment, sadly -the family seem happy enough anyway:)

Love catching up with the news on a Sunday. Was chating with a couple of mates (Hatti and Gunter, since you ask) and happened to say that Annie and Pete ate with us last night and because everyone was tierd we watched a DVD - Under the Skin. They, Hatti and Gunter, also loved it and told me that the director whose name we can't remember spent his holiday last year in St Jean de Paracol.
For the geographically challenged, St Jean de P is a hamlet of about 20 souls, in a dip off a tiny road about 8 kilometers fom here. Not usually associated with mega stars of the creative world.

Below is Philippe, hurrying to try and finish the TyRex in time for the June opening, YESSSSS. I am not alone in longing for the day. And another excitement; 31st May is Esperaza's next vide Grenier. 

Up the hill

Breathtaking up the hill, Mont Marot - the snow is back on the distant mountain which tells you all you need to know about the weather here - suddenly chilly with too much wind.
Bob and I were there to replace our stolen gate with a cheap plastic chain. We're assuming that no-one will want to steal that. In order to deter hunters and ill-wishers, I have equiped the chain with some coptic curses threatening 70 diseases on the enemy; naturally it won't affect friends who want to use the land.

Everything is blooming. Orchids are up, wild garlic, almonds, scented bushes and flowers. It is a paradise.

cast in plaster

Andree has gone off to the hospital today for the cataract op. Everything is smelling of roses :) The French health system is wonderful and we expect here back tomorrow, gimlet-eyed.

six farewells, two hellos

Toby left for Amsterdam yesterday morning; Margaret, Cathy and the infant Samuel leave this morning for Ireland; Max and Andrea are off as I write to Winnipeg. On the plus side, Annie and Pete are here for a month.... and Bob gets back tomorrow.

 Here we are aperoing with Alicia, Ryan and Etienne in the garden and afterwards at dinner, where everyone was very nice about my failed tagine.

Todays surprise guest...

...was Marcus :)

Hes only here for 2 days so I felt very lucky to get a visit and to be able to chatter about the last year or so, since we last met.

Have closed up the garage - the Artistes a Suivre is over, the OFF is out and many an artist is heaving a happy sigh.
This one is hopping over the impasse to Leo and Tobys for dinner, hurrah :)

The wind

 Look what the wind blew in !!


And below, what the wind blew off...

Still finding this commerce thang difficult - being available and pleasent in two languages for an 8 hour day is exhausting. Hats off to shop keepers. Dunno how they do it.

Margaret and Cathy gave me and Kat and Mike and Hilary a restoratve apero last night which helped greatly :) We ate with Leo and Toby at the creperie afterwards. Slept like a log.

Annie and Pete, seen above with Gunter and Hatti, were too wrecked to come and play after flying in from strange parts but will be up and running today, with luck -

Wet Friday

 Yesterday in the garage... nevertheless had about 20 visitors and it all went well. Afterwards Max and Andrea took me and Kat to l' Authentique - which was very very good, BYW - after which we went back to theirs and Toby turned up and we tested the Georgian digestif that turned out to be excellent.
Ready to face another day in the world of commerce now. Only today and tomorrow to go - all the towns' artists will be heaving a sigh of relief and scurring back to the solitude of their studios.

OFF Vernissage

Great evening last night, many thanks to all for coming :)

Lots of photos thanks chiefly to Ian (though he'd nipped out for a fag and missed snapping  the mayor, alas - but you know what he looks like by now )

Lovely to see lots of children there - how well behaved they are ....


Heres a fairly random selection. I'm a little jaded this morning, plus the reality of being in the garage for the next 4 days is dawning...

Do come and visit!

Bon Temps

 Weather lovely.... heres Oswald greeting the dawn and checking out the smell of lemon blossom, which is heavy and strong in the garden.

 Heres a gratuitous photie of the salle de fete in Fa where my choir practice on Sundays - the population of the hamlet is old and deaf, fortunately.

 -and in the market yesterday, bumped into Etienne in his new shoes (and Alecia in hers). He is doubling in size from week to week: scarey.

Amoung other adventures lately, Bob and I have lunched at Pekin and Tokyo in Limoux, by LeClerc. We were knocked out by it. 12.90 fixed price and all you can eat - from Sushi and raw fish that you can take to be grilled as you like, plus the usual chinese stir fried beef and shrimps stuff. Brilliant puddings.  The evening session costs extra, presumably because one can loiter and eat more :) A handful of Esperazannaise spotted there - highly recommended.

Yesterday, national holiday -

 Jim is restored to life, amazingly - here he is, de-bearded, out of hospital and on the mend. Spike came over from America to join his sister from Paris in caring for thier Papa. Jim has given luck new parameters :) Jammy geezer.

 Bob and I hosted (is that a verb?) dinner for Max and Andrea, Lindsey and Justin and the extra friends that turned up - Natalie is an old friend of Lindseys and Daniel and Justin are allies from their youth.
Young people are so invigorating. I'm knackered today. Worth it though.

All the evenings' photos are strangely blurred. Co-incidentally we finished the eaux de noix. Time to start the 6 month process of making more or is it time to give the brain cell a rest, I wonder....
TONIGHT, don't forget, is the showing of Cinderella at the MJC. Starts at 8.30 ( allegedly) costs 4.50 to get in.

Liberation day in France.

No comment on this mornings' election results. You are either very depressed or Scottish.

Good news here is that Andree is home:) Not well, but at least where we can see her. More hospital stuff looming for her which is good - she'll be fixed soon.

Jim Hankinson is out of hospital and heading this way today, hope to catch him - and here Max is seen with his daughter Linsey and her partner Justin - together with Andy we had a jolly soiree last night at the unmistakable creperie.

exciting morning

The resturant next door to the garage where my work is stored ( and where my OFF expo will be held) suprised me by sending a team of sign makers to hang a sign naming it ' Resturant l'Authentique'.

Rather a teeth grinding moment as they, the resturateurs, have never asked permission to build against the wall or to hang signs on our property.

Fortunately Georges Reverte, our Mayor, was to hand.  He talked with the sign makers who said it was nothing to do with them, they were just doing their job guv.

He advised me to photograph everything and to send it in to planning... and after talking to Bob, of course we won't. This town needs resturants more than it need art storage spaces.