We’re both very pleased with the outcome of the French presidential election. Round 1 was yesterday, and the guy that we would have voted for (Macron) came first. The slight negative is that the extreme right candidate, Le Pen also made it through to the next round. The run-off is in two weeks and it looks as if Macron will win easily. So I don’t want to feel too complacent, but I’m hopeful that France will not follow the UK and US off the cliff.
We had two wedding-related meetings last Wed. The first was with the notaire in St Pardoux. His previous meeting overran so we had to wait nearly an hour. We told him why we wanted a marriage contract, and he gave us some options. We agreed on one and then he told us that we’d have to pay a percentage of the value of the house. This amounted to more than €1000 so we asked about other options. Instead, I’m going to have a will drawn up at a cost of €10. There are some trade-offs to doing it this way, but it achieves the goal.
The second meeting was at Parantheses Imaginaires where we will have the wedding festivities. They gave us a tour of the grounds, including a number of different lodgings. Some are very basic but a number of them have plumbing and electricity. The place itself covers 40 hectares, and has a number of lakes and streams. It used to be called “La Fontaine” and I now understand why. The spot they suggested having the ceremony has a lovely view right nearby.
It was a crisp spring evening and neither of us were properly dressed for it, especially Will. We got back to their place around 8 and then had an apero-dinatoire. We had lots of interesting nibbles including pea soup, prawns and avocado in sesame oil, goats cheese toasts and pizza. We discussed the wedding and they gave us some good suggestions. We’ll probably start earlier than originally planned, in the mid-afternoon. The room is overlooking a lake and would fit everyone comfortably. It’s only got one oven, so I’ll have to revisit the menu with Sophie. The only downside is the price, which is 50% more than I had hoped. Still, it’s reasonable considering the venue and it couldn’t be more convenient. Also, we get the room for 24 hours, so we’ll probably do a brunch or something the next day.
We had one social event this weekend on Friday when we had Bryan and Carol over to dinner. They returned during the week on the last cold night. It’s since warmed up which is good considering the amount of gardening they had to do. They quickly got the place into shape and are already feeling settled. In general they are well except that Bryan’s prostate cancer levels are up, so he needs to go back for tests. They fixed the major problem with the place back in the UK although it was a long saga dealing with the insurance company. They still have decorating to do, and plan to go back again next winter.
We had aperos in the garden, then came for the meal. It was the same one I’ve served the last time we has guests: turkey sloppy joes with sweet potato fries. I did the same starter of salad with roquefort, pecans and cranberries, and no-bake strawberry cheesecake for dessert (again). Our guests didn’t stay too late and it was nice to spend time with them.
Carol plans to resume our weekly activities of choir and conversation, both of which feel like they are dying. We’re down to less than ten at choir so we can’t do many of the numbers we’ve learned. Only Jackie comes to conversation group, so the ratio of English to French is off. Milhac Loisirs may continue next year, but I’m not sure about the activities. We’ve got a few events in the coming months, and that will be it for the year.