It’s been far too long since our last entry and for that I apologise. Apart from Cyril’s visit, there’s not been tons to report.
Mainly, we’ve both been working; Will on his driving theory test and me on my project. We’re both making progress but not really enjoying having to work. It’s hard to get back into the swing of things after nearly two years of not working. On that front, I have nothing lined up once I finish this work since my jewellery company project is postponed until next year. It’s possible there will be more from Alan after this round but if not, I’ll try remote freelancing. Will is generally passing his mock exams and he takes the test next week so we hope that part will be over soon. Unfortunately, he takes the exam the morning after Lud and his bf arrive, so he’ll have to be a good boy that evening.
We had one social event during the week and that was having Bryan over for dinner. He and his wife are in the process of moving into the hamlet but she is still back in the UK finishing work while he’s here on his own, doing DIY and getting the place in order. She will be here permanently in mid-August. They are in their early 60’s, recently retired and have owned the cottage for 4 years or so, using it as a holiday home. He’s been here on his own since early May so when I asked him over to dinner, he was very grateful. He came around on Tues night and we made bbq chicken with cherry chipotle sauce, the same as when my mom was here. It was equally good this time and we served rice and green beans from the garden alongside. Bryan stayed until midnight and then I walked him home so it was a fairly late evening. He is a really sweet man and another score on the good neighbour front.
The weather last week continued to be cloudy and cold but then gradually warmed up, culminating in 38C (100F) on Monday. Despite the grey skies and humidity, we got almost no rain so the lawn and garden are both struggling. Despite this, we had our first real harvest from the garden including some lettuce, potatoes, onions, shallots, cherry toms and a second round of green beans. We’ve been watering but it’s not really enough so we’re still hoping for rain.
For the last few days, we’ve been hosting Cyril, a good friend from London. He is Irish, married to Cath, an English woman and they have three kids. I’ve known them since my early days in London and am godfather to George, their middle child. In our youth, we had some wild times together but fatherhood in his case and middle age in mine, has meant that we’ve both slowed down in that regard. He is between jobs at the moment so was able to steal away for a couple of days, due to the grace of Cath.
We picked up him up at Limoges on Monday and came back here for lunch. Cyril took advantage of his freedom and started pounding the beer early and often. It was the hottest day of the year so I can’t really blame him. We shopped in St Pardoux and then came back here. Sharon had graciously offered us the use of her pool since she was in Paris for a few days but we didn’t feel like spending an hour in the car to do so. Instead, we went to Le Grand Etang, just north of St Saud which is 10 mins from here. An etang means pond although this was closer to a small lake. It’s got a sandy beach and facilities including a cafe/bar just up the hill and swimming is supervised in July/Aug. It was late in the afternoon and although there were plenty of people, it didn’t feel at all crowded. The water was warm on top but quite cool further down so in all, it was very refreshing and nice to have just up the road.
We came home and had a bbq that evening consisting of spiced chicken pieces and sausages served with cole slaw and potato salad. We all drank a fair bit although Cyril put Will and I to shame in that respect, so much so that he lost it later in the evening. The next day was a bit cooler, although it was still in the high 20’s and humid. We had croissants from the bakery and then Cyril and I went for a walk in the surrounding woods. It was a path I found last week thanks to a tip from the horsey people and it’s a really nice one with some good views of the valley/woods throughout. Cyril really enjoyed it and it was good to catch up with him during the walk. We had Port 80 sandwiches for lunch (like the previous day) and then had another shorter stroll in the afternoon as well as a quick trip down the road to show him St Jean de Cole. The weather started to turn and we were meant to get rain that evening, but of course, it just misted for about 5 minutes and that was it.
Cyril made dinner that night and it was a real treat since he is a great cook and we had picked up some fish from the once-a-week fish truck in Milhac that morning. He treated me to salmon and scallops, the former was poached in lemon and white wine with garlic and herbs, the latter was pan-fried after marinating in lemon juice, chili, basil and green onion for the afternoon. Both were delicious and it was a rare treat to have scallops at home. That was also my first time buying fish from the truck and it was good but expensive. We had some really nice wines with dinner, a Sancerre with the fish an a Pomerol later – both delicious. We also had some patisserie from our local including a flan which is like a custard pie and scrumptious.
We were all a bit fuzzy headed this morning but the croissants helped a bit. I took Cyril to the airport, then came home and have been working. Will went to his theory class in the afternoon, and despite the struggle, passed his mock exam. Not much on the horizon until the weekend so that’s it for now.