As the title suggests, we’ve just had a full week of activities, so this will take some re-telling. It was a week of early mornings too, beginning with my hospital appointment on Monday, as Matt mentioned. The following morning it was the car’s turn: a 9am appointment to get new tyres and to diagnose a weird noise she was making. This turned out to be worn brake pads, so she ended up spending the night at the garage while they ordered the parts.
Tuesday was Mum & Dad’s 42nd anniversary and they invited Françoise and us two over for a meal to celebrate. Françoise kindly took us as we were car-less. After giving her the tour, we tucked into aperitifs. The meal was a team effort. Mum made took care of the starter, making her version of Glamorgan sausages. Despite their name, they’re vegetarian, made with veg, breadcrumbs and cheese, and they’re yummy. Dad took care of the main, which was pan-fried pork chops with apricots and a flambé glaze. This was followed by a cheese course and then an apple pie served with sorbet and ice cream. As it was a school night, we left soon after.
Wednesday again saw us up earlier than normal. This time it was because Milhac Loisirs was having a meeting at ours to organise their next event, the Fete des Voisins at which we are playing. The meeting wasn’t till 10 but we had to be up and make ourselves presentable in good time for it. Beyond that, Wednesday was a work day in which little happened, so I will skip on.
The denier of our lie-in on Thursday was our dear Louis who at around 6:30 decided he very much wanted us to have the mouse he’d just caught. So sure was he that he even brought it back a second time, after which there seemed no point trying to get back to sleep.
That evening we invited Mum & Dad to the Hotel de France for a meal. Although the weather remains a bit iffy at the moment, it was warm enough to eat out on the terrace, which is always a treat. We kicked off with an aperitif each, followed by fish for mum, veal for Matt, beef for Dad, and duck for me. It was all as delicious and copious as ever.
And so to Friday and our last-minute weekend break. This was to the Ile d’Oléron, the second largest of Metropolitan France’s islands. Like the Ile de Ré that we visited with Jan several years ago, it’s in the Charente-Maritime, about a three hour drive from here. However, at 30km long and with a population of over 20,000, it’s considerably bigger. Despite being relatively close to home, its arid, temperate climate and vegetation give it quite an exotic feel. Our friends Paul & Nathalie invited us as her parents have a home out there – and we were more than happy to accept.
So Friday morning found us awake uncharacteristically early again, much to the cats’ consternation. And by the time the rucksacks appeared and packing got underway, they were inconsolable. We hit the road around 9ish, going in caravan with P&N. The journey was fine all the way to the coast and on to the island itself, which you access via an impressively-long bridge.
Nat’s parents own a quite lovely, sprawling home in the commune of St Pierre d’Oléron that has been in her family for generations. It began as a modest fisherman’s house but successive extensions have converted it into a large C shaped home with a good-sized and well-maintained garden. Her parents also own an apartment in Lyon and plan to sell one property and move permanently into the other – but they’re not 100 % sure yet which way they’ll go. Either way, it will spell the end of Paul & Nat being able to spend quiet time at the house whenever they want, so they’re getting their money’s worth now, hence the invite.
As the weather has been so naff, we packed nothing in the way of shorts or sandals, so were unprepared to be greeted by a far better than predicted weekend of blue skies and 20 degrees, which lasted the whole trip.
We started with a smorgasbord lunch of various salad items, bread and cheese and then had a little stroll to orientate ourselves. We took the rest of the day easy at the house. P&N did some gardening, and Matt took care of dinner, making a pasta salad. We spent the evening playing cards and getting to know our hosts better.
After a good sleep on a very comfy bed, the light woke us (well, me anyway) around 8 the next morning. The rest of the team mustered soon after and we hit the market for supplies for dinner that night.
After lunch in the afternoon we went out for a stroll that partly took in the beach and partly threaded through a beautiful coastal forest of oak and pine. The wind on the island stops them growing too tall, so instead they assumed very twisted shapes. That evening was a repeat of the previous one, barring the meal which was fish and home-made mayo for everyone else, and chicken for me.
We had an early lunch the next day and then bade our hosts goodbye to return in time to perform our devoir civique and vote in the EU elections. Matt and I had the choice of voting either in the UK or here in France but decided on here as the race was due to be tight, whereas the UK’s was a foregone conclusion.
We arrived in Milhac at 4pm where there was a small crowd of other tardy voters, as well as Benoit and the other councillors overseeing proceedings. We voted En Marche in a bid to reduce Le Pen’s margin of victory. I was worried the election could provide some grim results across the continent, but in the end, it could have been much worse. Fears of a far right surge were somewhat overblown, and there was an amazing turnout for green parties across the EU. Turnout was at the highest for 20 years too, so that’s encouraging.
In the end, Le Pen got 23% to Macron’s 22 %, meaning only one more MEP. Far more gratifying is the whopping 13 % Green vote, ensuring that the majority of France’s MEPs are centre-leftwing/progressive.
In the UK, the Brexit party won, but underperformed compared to recent polling. The main parties got what was coming to them, and the pro-EU Lib Dems came an impressive second. If seen as a proxy referendum, No-Deal Brexit got 35%, Deal Brexit got 23% and Remain 40%. Encouraging, if somewhat meaningless…
After voting, we charged home in time for a band practise, which went well. We’re getting quite consistent now, which is just as well, given how close the gig is. And I can’t face typing any more so that’s all from me.