On our evening walk yesterday, we
encountered a friendly cat, sitting in the forest on the edge of the
road, as if he was waiting for a conversation with any passersby. Being
such a quiet place, he probably wasn't so hopeful of company but there
we were and so he accompanied down us the road to "his" house. There
was a tapping on the window and a lady emerged and said what I think was
something about not touching the cat, politely. We engaged in a sort
of conversation and I wasn't sure I heard her correctly when she said
that it was going to rain tomorrow (today) as it was the most perfect
clear evening, but I had heard correctly.
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| Our forest cat |
This
morning, the rain looked like it had set in for the day but Tim, Annika
and I headed out on the "porcine" walk because it is a nice circuit
with a few hills to stride up.
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| A red poppy amongst the other flowers stood out significantly. |
We
were back in time for breakfast and coffee before heading across the
road to the Mairie, council offices, for the Victory in Europe Day, when
the French were liberated from German occupation at the end of WW2. We
had seen notices saying "Invitation" and had worked out that there was
some kind of gathering. We talked to a few locals with what French we
could muster and joined the parade of about 25 people, 2 flag bearers,
the Mayor and the local Gendarme. I was tempted to say "'Allo, 'allo"
(BBC comedy from some years ago) but given the nature of the solemn
ceremony, I was restrained. Indeed, it is a solemn occasion to reflect
on the horrors of war, the occupation, the resistance movement and the
loss of lives, especially of the villagers of this little town who are
listed on the war memorial - "A Nos Enfants" (To our children).
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| "A Nos Enfants" |
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| Our local Gendarme |
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| Videix parade (10 metres or thereabouts to the memorial) |
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| The Mayor and ?councillor |
After the Mayoral speech, we were all invited to partake in a drink and
snack in the Mairie. No cups of tea here! Despite being before lunch
there was several different wines to choose from. Before we knew it we
were sipping a blend of Kir and white wine which was indeed tasty but
went to my head after half a glass and I donated the other half to
Karl. For those who know me, I drink alcohol rarely so my body wasn't
quite ready for wine at 11.30 AM! Then lovely savoury breads were served
with saucisson and fromage and we devoured a few of these!
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| Gendarme plus Maelisa, Sasha and Daniel and Karl, Luke and Annika |
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| Gendarme taking his role seriously. |
It was excellent to meet some of the locals including the girl who we'd
waved at from the pig and poultry farm down the road. I was probably
right that she was in the middle of pate making when I saw her in a long
white apron yesterday. We found out that she has a farm shop there
which is open on the weekends so we'll venture there! We also spoke to
Astrid, a Dutch lady, who has lived here for three years in the
hospitality industry and has really blended into the local community
having joined the council and seemed to have other community roles. I
guess that would be the best thing to do in a small community like this.
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| Kir and white wine!! |
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| Morning wine! |
On
the door of the Mairie are the words: Egalite, Liberte, Fraternite and
we think they should add "Securite" as well because we were reminded to
do up our shoe laces and told "securite" - safety - several times. Just
like older people at home, the French like to make sure us "young ones"
are safe!
.JPG) |
| Don't forget securite....we were reminded a few times about undone or loose shoe laces! |
As the clouds came over again, we decided to have
another stroll before dinner before more rain.
Even though Luke protested mightily, he actually said that he enjoyed the
walk in the end which was quite a confession!
I had spotted “Out of Africa” on the shelf here
and was keen to watch it again as my sister had told me there was a reference
to Karin’s (the main character played by Meryl Streep) “Limoges”. As we are near Limoges here, it seemed
fitting to hear the quote! Limoges
refers to the classy porcelain which is made in this area. For those interested, the first reference to
the porcelain is in the scene when she first meets the Robert Redford
character, Dennis Finch-Hatton, loading elephant tusks on the train along with
her “crystal and Limoges”.
It seems like ages since we have sat down in
front of a TV sized screen (rather than a laptop) to watch a movie. Karl, Annika and I watched it and the boys
retreated elsewhere to watch something more to their taste. I loved the movie and had forgotten much of
the story and also how the young Meryl Streep looked. It was good to mark the beginning of the
weekend with something other than school work in the evening, too!
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| Amazing cheese! |
Karl and I have taken to enjoying a cheese platter
in the evenings as we churn through the vast range of cheeses available. My favourite to this point is a blue cheese, Saint
Agur on which is written:
“Saint Agur est un fromage d’une
personnalite unique. L’extreme fondant
de sa pate sublime so caractere persille:
Saint Agar, force et fondant a la fois.”
So I guess that says it all!
.JPG)
Lovely to meet some locals :)
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