OLD STUFF

 

This is a selection of stuff from recent brocantes.

Some of it is old, some not so old.

On the day of our own village brocante the weather was terrible so there were not many stall holders.  This was good news for the lady holding a "vide maison" where people could browse indoors so she had a steady stream of customers.  She said this set of playing card stainless steel dishes had been a wedding present.  Guessing her age I would say they were probably from the 1970's.  I bought them as a gift for some friends who occasionally hold card tournaments.

She also said her house was for sale, or would be once she had cleared out all the stuff (there was a lot of it).  I gave her my number as it could be exactly the kind of small house we're looking for.

This pretty set of espresso cups came from the brocante at Neuilly-le-Brignon.  When I got them home two of them were chipped so I swapped them for some I had already.  It was still a bargain for 2€.

This unusual chandelier came from the brocante restaurant in Pleumartin, the one where everything is for sale, including the dishes you eat off and the chairs and tables you sit at.

It took me a while to find some candles slim enough to fit in it.

This pretty dish is probably fairly modern but it's proved very handy for serving bread or a few biscuits.  A bargain at 1€. 

I got these Pyrex cups from the vide grenier at Le Grand-Pressigny, perfect to supplement my collection of small cups to serve chocolate mousse or lemon posset.  They remind me of the glass cups and saucers that were used to serve coffee in the coffee shops that were all the rage when I was a teenager in the 1960's.

This pretty green plant pot holder looked as though it had never been used.  In fact the price label was still on the bottom of it.  Although the price was not legible I bet it cost a lot more than the 1€ I paid for it.  The pineapple plant is a recent purchase from Ikea.

A WEEK OF VILLAGE CELEBRATIONS

 

On St Patrick's Day, 17th March, there was a celebration in the village bar, the PreHisto.

The PreHisto gets its name from the château in the village, which is the French National Museum of pre-history.

The local musicians were there to play Irish music and everyone had a good time.

On the Thursday of that week I went on a girls' shopping trip to Tours.

We went on the bus, which takes an hour and costs 3.40€ each way.

(Less than the cost of the petrol and car parking for the same trip.)

I bought a set of lovely coffee spoons, small enough to be used with the daintiest of espresso cups.

I celebrated my purchase with a nice cup of coffee when I got home.

On Friday 20th we were invited to a cocktail party in the local garage.

This was a first for us.

It was to celebrate the end of the first year of trading for the new garage in the village.

As one of their earliest customers we received an invitation.

It was a very nice thing to do and very convivial.

After the cocktails we repaired to the PreHisto again to continue the celebrations.

Ayo, the bar owner's cat was there to greet us.

He was an abandoned stray kitten, adopted by the proprietor more than ten years ago.

He's turned into a beautiful cat, very friendly with the customers.

While we were in the bar the newly elected Maire arrived with her team.

In France you vote for the whole team and for the first time (I think) the village now has a lady Mayor.

There was a good deal more celebrating still going on when we slid away and headed home.

In "other news" we still have no idea what was going on at the neighbour's house a week ago.  He turned up as usual on Friday teatime, with a friend.  A camper van with two more people arrived soon afterwards.  They stayed the whole weekend then left as normal.  There was no sign of the Mayor or gendarmes this time.  

In more "other news" we are still waiting for the SMS summoning us to collect our cartes de séjour from the Préfecture.  It's more than three weeks since we were told our application had been approved.  My mum used to say "don't count your chickens before they hatch" so we're not celebrating just yet.