Monday was xmas eve and we headed out of London for Olney, stopping first at the Dalston Sainsbury’s to collect things that we can’t get in France. In hindsight, this probably wasn’t the best time to visit the supermarket but this was the only time that worked so we got on with it. I discovered that my UK driving license had expired so I needed to go to the post office to get it renewed and I did this while Will did the shopping. Although we found the rest of London eerily quiet, I can’t say the same for Dalston. It was far more crowded than I remember it, and it took us each 30 minutes to do our errands. It then took another 20 minutes to get out of the parking lot but after that, it was smooth sailing all the way to Olney.
When we arrived, I was surprised to see a new lake on the edge of town and then I realised that it was in fact that river that had burst its banks. Like the rest of England, it had been raining there virtually non-stop, although I’m pleased to say that it held off for most of the time we were there. We had a bit of lunch and then just chilled out with Anne and Andrew for the afternoon. That evening, Uncle Barry joined us for dinner, a yummy Chinese chicken dish that Andrew made. Afterwards, we sat around chatting until 11 or so when we went to bed in an attempt to recoup some of the lost sleep from the previous few nights.
Xmas day was celebrated in traditional Roberts-family fashion, with the one exception that Dave was there before 10am and without a stinking hangover. We started the day with champagne and oysters for those who indulge. I hadn’t had them for many years so that was a real treat. We then moved on to opening of presents and it seemed like most everyone got what they wanted including Will. Blur, his most favouritest ever band, recently released a box set of everything they’ve ever recorded, including some previously unreleased material so that was the only thing on Will’s xmas list. I got some DVDs that I requested, an Amazon voucher and a box of American candy from Dave which was a welcome surprise. Nan joined us around midday for more present opening and a drink before she headed over to Tracy’s for lunch.
We had our meal around 3pm, more or less on schedule. As usual, everything was excellent including the local farm-raised chicken prepared by Andrew. We also had roast potatoes, sprouts, bread sauce and a delicious sausage stuffing that Andrew threw together. After lunch, we moved on to vodka and cards and carried on for a number of hours. As is also traditional, we headed up to Auntie Tracy’s for a drink around 7pm. She and her family live just around the corner from Will’s parents so it wasn’t too far to stagger. The last time I saw the kids they were 14 and 18 but that was four years ago so it was a bit of a shock to see them now both as adults. We had a drink or two with them before returning home for more cocktails and cards.
Boxing Day was also spent in the traditional manner, starting with a light breakfast and then a trip down to The Swan, one of Olney’s traditional pubs. We were joined there by Gary and his wife Louise and Andrew Little, good friends of Dave’s who all came to visit us back in April. We had a few pints and then headed back home for Will’s favourite tradition, leftovers served with Bubble and Squeak which is mashed potatoes and sprouts, formed into patties and pan-fried. With our bellies full, Will and I headed back out to the pub to meet up with Anna, his best-friend who lives nearby. We had another few pints with her and were briefly joined by Dave and the lads who were still out drinking from before. Will and I left in the early evening and then spent a quiet night at home with his parents.
We headed back the next day, hitting the road around 8:30. The drive from Olney to Dover is all on the motorway, including the London ring-road but despite it being a weekday, there was almost no traffic the whole way and we hit the Eurotunnel nearly 2 hours before our scheduled train. Unfortunately, there had been an earlier cancellation which meant that we couldn’t get an earlier train and that ours was delayed by an hour. So we stood around the crowded terminal for a couple hours, anxious to get to the other side for our long drive. We arrived in Calais around quarter to 3 which meant hitting the outskirts of Paris around 5pm. Despite the hour, we encountered almost no traffic and were back on the motorway on the other side of the city in under an hour. The weather for the drive wasn’t great with some bursts of heavy rain and really strong winds that blew the car around a bit but we made it home around 10pm, right on schedule.
We were very tired after our journey but ended up being very busy the next day, first with unpacking and then some socialising. We wanted to visit both sets of neighbours to say thanks for looking after the cats but first, we got a phone call from our friend Morgan who was working at the déchetterie down the road in St Pardoux. He invited us to stop by so we did so after lunch and had a coffee with him. Actually, calling it coffee is a bit of stretch since it consisted of nescafe and tap water, microwaved until luke warm. Apart from that, it was good to see Morgan who was in much better spirits than last we saw him and to find out that he may be working in St Pardoux more often. The Beaufils were just coming back from their walk when we came back so they stopped in for a catch up. Afterwards, we stopped by Bryan and Carol’s place for a drink before heading out to chez Jacqui for the evening. She lives just down the road and has two sons, roughly my age who were visiting along with their wives and school aged kids. Also present was Josianne and Cami, and their daughter Laetitia who was visiting with her boyfriend Erik.
The soirée followed the usual apero-dinnatoire format starting with champagne and nibbles that included rillettes made from various fish along with smoked salmon, followed by wine with more food, then cheese and dessert with coffee and digestifs. The conversation flowed all evening, mostly in French, although not exclusively. One of Jacqui’s sons and his family lived in Boston for a few years so they are mostly bilingual, the teenaged daughter especially. I overheard Josianne ask Will if I always talked so much since she’s used to hearing me struggle along in French rather than rattle on in my native tongue. Will and I spent a good part of the evening talking to Laetitia and Erik, not only because we’re similar ages but also because they both speak excellent English. He is Dutch and she is gifted with languages and speaks at least five of them. She is the road manager for a singer called Selah Sue and he is the bassist in the band so it’s a romance that started at work. Apart from the younger kids, everyone drank a fair amount and they’d started on the drinking games when the eau-de-vie came out. Will and I made our excuses around midnight and if we hadn’t been so tired from our trip I’m sure we would have stayed longer.
Due to the excess of the previous week, I wasn’t feeling too well the next few days so we took it easy the next two nights. We spent the next two days getting ready for our upcoming New Year’s Eve soirée with Will cleaning the house and me doing the shopping and cooking. We weren’t certain how many people were coming and take after my mother in that I prefer there be too much food rather than too little. It’s fair to say, however, that I may have gone a bit overboard. Since it was taking up most of the freezer space, the centre piece was the “gigot de chevreuil” (leg of venison) that was our annual tithe from the local hunters. Not having roasted much meat before, I made it the day before in case it didn’t come out and followed a recipe that I found online. I thought it was just ok but the guests were all complimentary so I’ll consider it a success. I also made a cous cous salad, crudités and dip, chips and salsa, cheese toasts, smoked salmon and cream cheese on bread and stuffed mushrooms that were both novel and a hit with the English and French alike. What I didn’t count on was the guests bringing food and that’s where I went wrong.
The exception to this is Carol who I had arranged with to bring a onion and goats cheese tart that she brought over earlier. She and Bryan were the first to arrive and they were accompanied by Barry and Carol, an English couple who are also in the conversation group. They live in the village of Milhac itself and have been here a year or so, both of whom are retired teachers. He speaks excellent French and hers is improving a lot. Next to arrive were Nat and Jill along with Jill’s son Rupert and his girlfriend Nicki, both visiting from England. He is in the army and she is a teacher and they are both good company. The rest of the guests are French and from the conversation group starting with Françoise and her husband Philipe who brought a homemade cheesecake along with a “pain surprise” which is a giant boule (sourdough loaf) whose innards have been surgically removed, sliced into wedges and then put back together as buttered sandwiches containing ham, salami or smoked salmon. We also had Jacqui and Josianne and Cami who brought a tray of smoked salmon on bread. I had done the preparations to make quesadillas but didn’t bother to make them with all the unexpected stuff.
The party itself went smoothly and everyone seemed to get along and enjoy themselves. Nearly everyone is partially bilingual so people mingled and ate throughout the evening, although Will and I had to urge people away from the hors d’oeuvres and over to the other food. Most people brought a bottle of champagne and with the bottles we bought, it lasted for everyone to have some at midnight. Will has a recording of Big Ben followed by Auld Lang Syne so we introduced that tradition to the French. Apart from the toast, Will and I stuck to vodka all night so didn’t feel too rough the next day, despite the fact that we had our “final cleanser” sometime after 4am. Nat and Jill weren’t sure how long they would stay so we were glad that they stayed till 1 or so by which time, the other English had also departed. The French stayed until around 3, during which time the ladies switched to vodka except Françoise who had tequilla. Philipe had been hitting the vin rouge heavily throughout the night so was already well-oiled when we switched to vodka on the rocks. We’d not met him before so our first impression is that he’s certainly a nice guy but there may be some unresolved issues lurking there somewhere.
Although it was the tamest version of a NYE party that we’ve ever done, it was very enjoyable. Will hadn’t really been looking forward to it but ended up having a good time. We were mostly doing hosting duties all night so didn’t get too wasted and even did most of the clean-up after everyone left, hence the late bedtime. Yesterday, after getting up around noon, we spent the Amazon vouchers we’d received for xmas. Later, we went over to Bryan and Carol’s with the leftovers, including the venison that she will use to make stew today. We polished off a bit more of everything and had a vodka or two and wine with the meal. We left around 9 and then watched a bit of telly before making it an early night.
And now, it is cocktail hour so I bid you cheers and goodnight.