OUR FRENCH CLASS IS ON TUESDAY MORNINGS.

We usually catch up on our homework first thing.

Sometimes it's harder than others, and nothing to do with the verbs!

It's very Novemberish weather here today but back chez nous in the UK it is worse.  Snow, and plenty of it.  Not unusual for mid November, although in recent years not so much.

EVERY STORY MATTERS

Last week was a big week.  Nick had a big birthday.

Nick was born on 11 November and as a child his birthdays were dominated by the fact that it was Remembrance Day.  His dad was a vicar so Nick spent his early birthdays in church and parades at war memorials.  This was the 1950's and world war two was still very fresh in people's minds.  

My dad's birthday was on 10th November and after my mum died the family made sure he had a special day, especially the big ones; seventy five, eighty and ninety.  Inevitably, with it being the day before Nick's birthday there were often joint birthday teas.  Although Nick and I always celebrated his birthday separately there was still the sense of it being secondary to something else. 

So, with it being Nick's Big Birthday we made a big job of it, lasting several days, before and after.  There were lunches out with friends, a special lunch with just the two of us the day before and an apéros party on the day itself.  A whole bunch of friends came round.  There was a birthday cake, presents, cards, music, the joyful murmur of friends in conversation, the tinkling of glasses and a big smile on his face all day.  Everyone had a lovely time, especially Nick.  

It was a beautiful day for Nick's birthday.  We were busy, cooking, tidying the garden, rearranging furniture, all so much easier when the sun shines to lift your spirits.  The next day it was back to normal, grey skies and rain, but the birthday continued for one more day as we took a break from the washing up and went out for a burger at lunchtime.  We barely noticed that it was pouring with rain outside!

Of course, it’s been a big week for other reasons and as most of the people we know reflect on the outcome and what the future might hold, we stare in horror at the news and hunker down.  We steel ourselves for the forthcoming winter and for the fallout from the election of a man whose morals make him patently unfit to hold such power. 

A few days later my sister in law sent me a link for this.  For people in the UK it’s a chance to have your say about how the pandemic affected you, your friends and family.  I contributed my thoughts and  mostly I wrote about how badly it affected my dad and how the agencies that should have been there to care for him and give us support let us all down.  Not only because of Covid but also because after fourteen years of austerity and bad government the system was geared to fail old people in our country.  The pandemic brought out the worst in services that were already at breaking point.

If you would like to contribute your story to the Covid Enquiry click here.

It’s definitely almost winter here now.  It was only 1°C as we drove home from an evening with friends at the end of Nick's Big Birthday Week and it’s only four weeks until we go home to the UK for Christmas.  How time flies!

I'm pleased to report that an improvement in the weather means that the farmers have been able to get on with their work, most of the dead sunflowers around us have been ploughed in and the fields have been sown with a fresh crop of....who knows, we will have to wait and see!

SCONEHENGE (second attempt!)

Well if the 17 people who viewed this post first time around are having a bit of déja vu it's because you are right.  I was in the process of editing a bit of it when we had a power cut and not only did I lose my editing but the next time I looked extra photos had appeared!

Back tracking.......on the eve of the summer solstice this year I had the idea for a sconehenge birthday party for my brother.  He was staying with us on holiday and his birthday fell on the right day.  

It was a fun afternoon, with plenty of dressing up and of course scones.  The rain held off apart for a little light drizzle which didn't deter the hardy druid folk from enjoying themselves!

Nick's scones were sensational.

My brother's shirt was glorious.

The tables were all set for afternoon tea.

There was plenty of dressing up.

Several druids turned up.

Some outfits were more radical than others.

There was an actual replica of Stonehenge in scones.

Plus one of a stone circle in Brittany made of madeleines.

There was no shortage of scones.

No shortage of floral headdresses either.

Everyone had a good time and lots of scones.

We might do it again next year!

SPOOKY SUNFLOWERS AND THE TALE OF A NEW WINDSCREEN

 

We are surrounded by huge fields of dead sunflowers.

The farmers were late planting the seeds due to the wet spring weather.  The flowers didn't develop to their usual magnificence due to the relatively poor late summer and now they are all dead and left in the fields.  The ground is so wet that apparently in many places it's unsafe to use the huge harvesting machines.  Here and there we see a field of blackened stalks where the farmer has managed to chop off the heads but mostly there are acres and acres of spooky looking dead sunflowers.  Tragic.

About six months ago we acquired a chip and a crack in the Peugeot windscreen, just in front of the driver's view.  We contacted our insurance company and they told us to take it to a branch of a repair company called Mondial.

On the Mondial website it said if the crack was in front of the driver it could not be repaired or filled, we would have to have a whole new windscreen and the nearest place we could get that done was at a branch in Tours.  Rats.  That would be a huge palaver involving driving there with two cars so that we could leave the other with them.  The only redeeming factor might be that we might be able to time it in order to have lunch in Tours.

Time went by and six months later we thought we really should do something about it.  A friend who speaks better French than us phoned the insurance company for us, the outcome being that we could get it done in the village and they would phone us back.  We received a text with a claim reference number.

Two weeks later we had heard nothing so we popped down to the garage in the village.  They were adamant that the hole could be filled but we could have a new windscreen if we wanted.  As the conversation evolved it seemed we were at the wrong garage.  A woman emerged from the office to say the place we needed was a farm  "out in the woods".

Off we went in search of a different garage, which was indeed in the woods.  We wobbled down an uneven track that ends up at a chateau called La Vienne and thought it couldn't possibly be there.  Looking behind us we spotted what looked like a farm.  We reversed precariously and sure enough, the track opened out in front of a garage business with a Mondial sign on the wall.

Hoorah! we thought.  The garage man was charming and helpful and booked us in for the next Thursday but said we must contact the insurance company to confirm payment.

Nick phoned the number given in the text from the insurance company the following Monday but there was a voicemail saying there was nobody there, to phone back on Wednesday.  On Wednesday (the day before the appointment for the work) there was another message to say phone back on Friday.

Nick spent over an hour trying to speak to someone at the insurance company who could give us some assurance that the arrangement was approved and got nowhere.  Eventually he phoned Mondial head office who said yes it was fine and good to go.

At every conversation we had pointed out that the car needed a new windscreen, not just a repair but guess what.......as we arrived with both cars (so we could leave the Peugeot behind) at 9.00 am at the garage in the woods a little Mondial van turned up.  A van not big enough to carry a new windscreen.

Sure enough, the delightful young man that sprang out of it to greet us came with his tube of glue to repair the crack.  An exchange of words resulted in him fishing out his little template to look at the crack from behind the steering wheel and he then agreed..........yes we did need a whole new windscreen.

He spent ages on the phone to Mondial and after a bit of verbal wrangling made a new arrangement for a new windscreen to be fitted one week later.....at home!  

Now you would think that would be the end of the story but no!

Two days before our appointment for a home visit by Mondial at 9.00 am on the Thursday we had a text to confirm it.  One day later we had another text confirming it.  We were having our morning tea early on Thursday when the phone rang at 8.30 to say they were on their way and would be with us at 10.00 am.  Thinking we had time to get breakfast before they arrived I put a pan of porridge on to cook and they immediately turned up just before 9.00am.

Thirty five minutes later the job was done and one hour later I drove the car to Loches for some shopping.  All's well that ends well but it took some getting there!

RUM WEATHER

We have certainly had some rum weather lately.

September and October have been very wet, making it difficult to get the autumn garden work done.

When it's wet we take Hugo along the cycle path for his walks as it's drier underfoot.

The soft ground due to the rain and the strong wind caused a tree to come down near Etableau.

Our spice tree didn't disappoint in its autumn colours, bringing life to dull days.

We have had some amazing sunsets on the better days.

We moved some outdoor chairs to a spot where we can catch the last few rays of sunshine in the evenings on good days.

Most evenings are now spent indoors with the fire lit.

We still get the odd occasion when we can sit on the "upper deck" to enjoy the view.

The view yesterday lunchtime was of a young male deer, with little antlers, running for its life across the fields.  A shot that sounded louder than usual alerted us, probably because the gun was pointing in our direction, and the creature leapt out of the woods at enormous speed and disappeared into another part of the forest about 1km away.

I wonder if they ever go back to where they came from.

 The heavy rain has done for the geraniums but there is still plenty of colour in the dahlias.

They have been a joy to behold this year.

FRENCH VILLAGE LIFE

 

We called at the PreHisto for a coffee the other morning.

It was too cold even for us to sit outside.

A new bar/restaurant has opened right next door, called La Cabane.

The back room does have elements of a garden shed about it.

It was pouring with rain outside but very cosy inside.

We arrived at twelve.  By twelve forty five it was more or less full.

The food was good.  It was our first visit and we will be going back.

IS IT TIME?

The time has come, the walrus said.  Or has it?

Summer has certainly been and gone, such as it was.  Our week in Finistère seemed to last longer than a week, more like the days when we came to France to stay for just one week or two, on holiday.  Generally, time flies by as we grapple with the complexities of life in France, getting everything in place in a language that we are not fluent in, although we do our best.  A friend said this morning that after five years of living in France they finally feel they have everything sorted, the health, the money, the French way of going about things in an official capacity.

Only yesterday we spent hours on a mission to get a damaged car windscreen replaced.  To be fair, much of what happened would have happened in the UK but the added complication of only understanding part of what people say makes it much more tortuous.  But we do our best.

I feel I have come to a crossroads with the blog and have decided that rather than let it go, or abandon it, I will do snapshot posts for a while, instead of long winded posts, which are usually playing catch up!

So I include some of the best pictures from our week in Finistère and will start afresh some time soon!  It was, after all, seven weeks since we were there!!