Saturday, July 14, 2012

Those who share our home....

No, we do not have mice! - I'm sure someone will have wondered!
Over the last few days I have been reflecting on the variety of guests who have come to stay with us here.
Our vision was to offer simple comfortable accommodation for people who wanted to visit Taize.For the moment we only have one shower/toilet available so that limits us to small groups who know each other, families and couples although we have 3 twin bedded rooms.
Anyway, this year is our first season being fully open and available and over the last 6 weeks we have had lovely people staying - some returning for the second - or even third time!
We welcomed our lovely German friend whom we met in Taize several years ago before she had her two sons now 3 and 6 years old. She came here for the first time with her husband and boys, and was so pleased to visit Taize for the evening prayers several times. The boys were amazing in the prayers when they sat quietly all the way through.

We opened our home to a couple from the Midlands in England who were visiting us for the first time en route to Nice and thence to Corsica. They were very upset to leave us and we hope to see them again. They took advantage of our local vineyards to try out the local wine and buy some to take back with them. They also visited Taize!
We have welcomed my dear friend who was at teacher training college over 40 years ago, along with her travelling companion who both strayed over the border from Switzerland where they had been on a walking holiday. They were able to notice the changes in the house and in the garden which we have been able to make because we are now resident here.
We were delighted to welcome near neighbours and great friends from Wordsley for a week when they helped us with the Jubilee Tea Party and revealed themselves as ace makers of Pimms!
We had a visit from 2 couples who are amateur musicians - one couple making a return visit and they had invited the other couple to join them.

They were thrilled to be able to go to Taize having played some of the chants in their own parish, and they enjoyed the quietness of the area.
After they left we thought our next visitors would be at the end of the month when we welcome a German family who came last summer - we are looking forward to seeing them and seeing how much their 2 little girls have grown - their youngest was only 8 weeks old when the came last summer!
But then last week we received an email. It was from Kevin who hails from Australia and is embarked on a trike ride from Rome to Paris. He had googled "Taize accommodation" and up we popped! He needed to stay for one night en route to Chalon. He arrived about 10:15am on Thursday on his trike. He didn't even get into the house before he had given Joe a chance to ride on the trike! He gave him careful instructions ...

Then Joe was off - in a straight line and with a lot more confidence than he has had on his attempts to ride a bike!


Kevin's visit was all too brief. We went to Evening Prayer in Taize and took him for a quick visit to Cluny afterwards. He enjoyed watching the Tour de France on British TV and we chatted about our homes and families. He introduced us to Canberra where he lives, via the wonders of the Internet, and then he was on his way again...leaving us wishing he could have been here longer!
Bon voyage Kevin! Bon courage!

Friday, July 13, 2012

A check up for the car!

If you are regular reader of my blog you will know how I described the registration of our car here in France so it now has French number plates(plaques!). In France, car that are 4 years and over have to go every other year to a local testing station where something equivalent to the British MOT is undertaken. We were fortunate that when we got here the car was 3 years and 7months old so we did not have to submit my beloved Scenic to the French system. However 5 months on - well you do the maths....
Thanks to our wonderful friends Chris and Mary we knew what the procedure was and so last week Joe went to one of the centres in Cluny to book the car in. The dy was Tuesday at 11am. Conscious that the car had been much neglected since we have been here, Joe got up really early and emptied the car and cleaned it, blowing up the old vacuum cleaner in the process! (Yes it was that grubby!)
I was very nervious about what might be found. Over the last few weeks I had found myself listening to the engine every time we went out and imagining hearing strange noises.
We arrived at the test centre clutching our Carte Grise - the French log book for the car, and waited for the mechanis to come and see us. I looked at the long list of things that have to be included in the test - a whole A3 sheet of them and wondered how many hours it would take...and how much we would be paying - both for the test and for any resulting work!
What an efficient system. The testing centre is just that, producing a report at the end of the test outlining any problems. Depending on what they are you wither get a list of things that need to be looked at but not retested or things that do need attention at a garage and you then have 8 weeks to put them right and return for them to be retested so that the certificate can be issued and a sticker put on your windscreen and the Carte Grise too. Everything is fine we were told - the car has passed. We only have 3 minor items for attention and they do not need to be retested! Phew! - and the cost 59 euros.
Another hurdle surmounted - and another 2 years before the next test!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The Tour de France

Somethings are quintessentially French! I count among these the Tour de France! Even if you are not interested in cycling the Tour de France is simply so much more than a bike road race! For years we have watched the Tour on TV in England and imagine our delight when we found out that a stage of the Tour was leaving from Macon, our nearest sizable town 40 minutes from our home! Yesterday we went into Macon late in the afternoon to see all the razzmatazz that surrounds the Tour. We had a wander around and purchased some lovely wine glasses inscribed for the occasion and were given vouchers for free wine tastings - not a great idea when you have to drive home again! Frogs' legs were for sale (and no, we didn't!) and there was a real buzz amongst the crowds of people who were milling about!


Shops and buildings were decorated for the occasion which is an honour for those places chosen to be part of the route.

After a wander round we came home and prepared for today - the day the tour was leaving Macon and we had promised to meet our dear friend Ashley in Cluny at 8am. We prepared the ingredients for our picnic and went off to bed.
This morning we were up and off via the depot du pain where we picked up a "flute" loaf of bread and met Ashley. We had researched the route carefully as we had been told that although there is a lot of excitement at the start of the race it was probably better to get away from the start and park the car along the route as we would get a better view.
The riders and their entourage are preceded by the caravan - a series of cars - and I use that term loosely - that pass by throwing free advertising paraphernalia at those lining the route. There is a scramble for them and we were fortunate to get quite a collection.
Here's a couple of examples of the vehicles that passed by us:


The caravan took almost half an hour to pass by Phew I have sympathy with Her Majesty now!
We were thrilled that Bradley Wiggins is currently in the yellow jersey signifying that he is the overall leader so we took our Union flag with us and attached it to a road sign so it was prominent.
It proved a good idea as when the Sky team cars went by (with British number plates) we were given great waves and loud hoots!
Ashley, Joe and I really enjoyed watching all the pre race stuff and the time went by really quickly.
BUT, what we really wanted to see were the riders themselves...that is what we were really there for and I had warned the men that I would be shouting for Bradley at the top of my voice!
And here they come!

The trouble is that they pass so fast and trying to photograph them and shout at the same time proved I could not multitask!
And there they go!

Following the cyclists the cars with all the spare cycles came!


And finally...
gendarmes on motor bikes signalled that the Tour had passed by and the road was now open.



And so it was all over, but what an experience to have in our first few months living here in France! Long live the tour and the best of luck to Bradley Wiggins!!!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Dehors ou dedans - outside or inside?

A couple of years ago Joe came down from England to the house on his own and stumbled on what is an annual event in many communities around here, the repas quartier - or the community meal. It is a simple bring and share supper which gives the local community the opportunity to get together socially. He enjoyed the evening very much and I was really looking forward to this year's event - and had been thinking about what food to make and take. Did I go for English food, French food???????

We got a slip of paper in the letterbox announcing that this year's meal would be on 29th June - bring food and perhaps a song or poem...

I thought about our Jubilee tea party and decided to make coronation chicken and put it on slices of baguette. Then I had some sausages and some flaky pastry so decided to make sausage rolls. That was a total nightmare, the pastry was so soft that I found it really hard. I managed 18 then popped them in the oven and looked at the rest of the pastry - what could I do with it? I had grated cheese in the fridge and mixed it in with the pastry, sliced it and made cheese straws - very yummy! I also made a Victoria Sandwich. That was it - variety  - nibbly stuff and cake! We waited and watched - the forecast was not very good and sp it might not be outside the lavoir after all - and we did not know where else it would be.

The meal was advertised for 7pm start but we knew that rarely soes anything start on time and this proved the case!

After realising that nothing was happening outside the lavoir  - and it was quite cloudy - we asked our next door neighbours where we were going - "follow our car " he said so we loaded up our car and off we went. We arrived at the edge of the village and parked on the roadside. Already people were arriving with plates of food which they were putting in the barn.

We stood around a little uncertainly then a table was carried out and glasses of cremant poured and some nibbles put out. The meal was starting!


Melon pieces were put on the table and some slices of bread with pate on them, then came a quiche and I decided that this would be a good moment to put out the Coronation Chicken and the cheese straws. I need not have worried! THey went down a  treat! Someone assumed that our Swiss neighbour Heidi had produced these. I was really proud as she is a fantastic cook so I was pleased to have my food mistaken for hers!
I explained about the recipe - the ingredients and how it had been invented for the meal that took place after the coronation in 1953. Apparently this was one of the few meals that could be eaten by all the international multi-religious guests.
The sausage rolls also came out and disappeared very fast!
Marie Antoinette runs a local b and b around the corner from us and she organised for the tables to be carried out so we could sit outside in the evening air to complete the meal. In the meantime the foods were divided into savoury and sweet and laid out in the barn then we were invited to "servez vous" - help yourself.
The food and the wine flowed on each table!
Our Swiss and Dutch friends were on this one!

And on this table 3 Americans from Ohio joined us!
Desserts to help yourself to!
From the youngest to the oldest everyone joined in.
Even a dog was brought along!
And as the evening went on we realised that this was a great way of meeting our neighbours - some of whom we have never seen before! And there we sat, and chatted as the sun went down and the moon came up!
Thank you to our neighbours - and all who have made us so very welcome in Toury Cortambert!