Mom arrived on Thursday afternoon via train to Angouleme. I mowed the front lawn in the morning, then left a bit early to do a few chores on the way. One was to pick up a picture frame so we’ve now got another small framed print in the guest bedroom. We stopped at the shop on the way home and got some stuff for a bbq. The weather was lovely, with temps around 25C (80F) so we ate outdoors that evening. Mom and I had salmon and Will had chicken legs, served with Mom’s potato salad which as a treat. We stayed out until the last light of the day faded, around 10pm.
On Friday, we went to the garden centre in Quinsac and Mom bought us six tomato plants, a few other veg and a planter filled with strawberry plants. We got everything in the ground and did some weeding. Will and I had a practice session which went ok. We were meant to have our curry chez Françoise but she was unwell so it ended up here with Bryan and Carol. Mom had met Bryan last year but Carol was in England at the time so this was the first time they’d met. Sue prepared a couple of special garlic-free dishes for Mom who rarely gets to have curry so was pleased. The guests left around midnight and we went to be shortly afterwards.
Saturday was the day of the concert. Will spent most of the day in a state of terror, pale faced and nervous. We did a practice session in the morning that wasn’t great. We also did one in the afternoon and it was probably our best one yet, which I thought would be a good omen for the evening. We took our kit down to the centre around 5:30 for our sound-check but it wasn’t until 6:30 that we had our turn so that was another hour for Will to fret. Neither of us really knew what to do during the sound check but it all sounded fine to us so it didn’t take long. I drove home to get Mom and we got to the centre around 7. We waited for a few more people to show up before going on, but since we had requested to be first, we didn’t want to wait too long.
The set list was as Will previewed in his last blog post. I sang the wrong chorus of Hotel California and that threw off the timings for the rest of the song. The second number, Rotterdam went off ok, thankfully since it’s the number we mess up the least. I also messed up American Pie, our third song. I was certain that we’d skipped a verse so we did another one except that I couldn’t decide which verse we’d skipped so I sang the wrong one anyway. The fourth song was Here Comes the Sun, not too hard to sing but a difficult one to play. Will usually plays it fine when playing alone but has choked a few times during practice. We did a passable version this time, a relief for Will. The next song was Norwegian Wood and I think that went ok. We ended with a French number called J’t’emmene au Vent and the crowed livened up a bit for that one.
The whole set took less than 30 minutes and was over very quickly. So much so that many of our “fans” missed the set partially or entirely. This included Françoise and Phillipe who had come specifically to see us. The Beaufils caught the last number which is good since it was the only French number. Bryan and Carol came about half way through. Will and I each had a beer before we started but afterwards, we made up for lost time. We also had wine with dinner, which was fish and chips this year. There were a few other acts that played after us, then the host asked if anyone else wanted to play. I was happy to play a bit more for our fans who missed us the first time but Will was reluctant. I can’t say why he agreed but we went up and redid our last three songs. I thought they sounded better but Will said it must be because I was drunk. Anyway, you can decide for yourselves since the clip of the concert is below.
The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur. We sat next to some lovely French people who are active at the centre. It was fairly cold most of the evening, with a bit of rain earlier in the evening. We left around midnight after dessert and then came home and stayed up a bit to unwind. We had a nightcap and watched the concert on mom’s phone. All in all, I thought it went ok and if we’re invited back, will give it another try next year.
Sunday was mostly a day of rest. We went for a walk in the afternoon and then stopped by Bryan and Carol’s for a coffee afterwards. It was cool that day, temps around 19 but warm in the sun. We had a chicken salad made from the bbq’d chicken from the other night for dinner, then played Scrabble and cards that evening.
The weather wasn’t much better on Monday but the rain held off so that was a bonus. That day, we joined my conversation group on their annual day-trip. This year, we went to Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, about 90 minutes away just over the Dordogne border in the Charante. Will and I had been once before, but it was in early January our first year here and it was freezing so we didn’t stay long. This time, there were about 20 of us in all including Sylvie who carpooled with us. We got to the village around 11:30 and those that didn’t bring a picnic had lunch at the only place that was opened, an English-owned cafe with a Spanish waitress. We were joined by Barry and Carol and we all had a hamburger and a beer.
At 2pm, we had a guided tour of the village led by a man from the tourist office. The village is classified as “one of the prettiest villages in France”, like St Jean de Cole near us. It’s history dates to Roman times but it only gets interesting in the middle ages. I didn’t understand everything the guide said but enough to get the gist. The tour lasted a few hours and we ended up at an interesting church. It was build in the 11th century and is carved out of rock so is entirely subterranean. They used to use it as the town cemetery until the 1960’s so it’s only been open to the public since then. There is another similar church in St Emilion where we will be stopping on our way back from Bordeaux on Saturday.
We all left the village around 5:30 and met up in Brantome for an aperitif. We chatted with some ladies who live in the area including one named Erika who lives near Nat & Jill. We had heard of her from them but never met so it was nice to put the face to the name. We had leftovers for dinner that night and played cards and games for a bit. The next morning, Mom and I had an early start to be in Thiviers to see the doctor at 9. We also did a few errands before returning home in time for her to make double chocolate biscotti to take to the neighbours.
We had lunch at chez Beaufils and went over there around midday. We started with aperitifs and cucumber with crab, bread with roquefort and walnuts and cherry tomatoes with quail eggs. After that came the actual starter, melon + jambon, and although we told them Mom doesn’t eat pork, I guess they figured that just meant loin or chops. The main was roast chicken served with cepes, garlic-free for the first time I’d be willing to bet. We then had cheese and a peach tarte for dessert. All of this was served with various wines and vodka for me since Lucien noticed that that’s the way I drink when he comes to our place. We didn’t leave until around 5pm so didn’t do too much for the rest of the day. We played some games, had a bit of bread, cheese and salad that night and then went to bed around midnight.
Yesterday, it was nice and warm again, around 26C. I did a bit of work in the morning as did Will. He also uploaded/downloaded the videos of the concert and made the summary clip. Mom and I went to Nontron in the afternoon and she amused herself in town while I swam. We then stopped at the garden centre where she bought us some parsley and oregano plus some geraniums and petunias that we planted when we got home. We also got more fish and sausages and had a bbq that evening that included eating outside.
Also in the garden, we took down some of the old fencing from around the flower bed in the front and did some weeding. I caught a second mole in the back garden last week but the next day, a new one moved into the front garden so I’m still laying traps. Most everything in the veggie plot is growing with the exception of the corn, the only thing I really want. I’m hoping that it will start once we get a few more warm days and they are forecast for this weekend.
We’re off to Bordeaux on Friday, returning via St Emilion and Castillion for some wine on the way home. You can look forward to reading about that in our next post.