Ok, so we’re getting better at regular updates. Brevity however, still seems to be an issue so I shall make no promises this time to keep it short. To continue and conclude the tale of Jan’s trip: on Saturday (Bastille Day) we took the car out after lunch and did a brief bout of sight-seeing – Brantôme and Bourdeilles – so Jan could take some pictures. It was actually a mainly sunny afternoon, so we timed it well as far as that goes. It was a fairly brief excursion as we were invited that evening to Lucien & Mauricette’s for apéritifs. We got home at 6, which is when we were due at les Beaufils, so we didnt tarry long back at Port 80.
This was much to the bemusement of the Smoo, who was v pleased to see us all after our excursion. So much so, in fact, that he felt compelled to join us for the apéritifs! The Beaufils have a cat of their own, and the two kind of get on, although she was clearly unimpressed at the invasion into her territory (and even less so at his frequent trips to her food bowl). For our part, we drank and ate up a storm, predictably. We were served several patés, some meats, fish, roasted chestnuts and other treats, all home-made, and all washed down with Lucien’s range of lethal home-made liquors. We stayed and chatted until around 9.30 before escorting the Smoo back home and having a chilled evening – no dinner necessary.
The next morning was a Frisch cook-athlon, with the two of them putting together several courses ready for our lunch with Lucien & Mauricette (their cat declined to join them, apparently). We started with a vegetable soup, then a delicious main of apricot-stuffed roast porc (lamb-chops for Jan), followed by the obligatory salad/cheese course. This left precious little room for dessert, but as it was Matt’s new triumph – the raspberry tart from a week or 2 ago – we all found room. I think the Beaufils were with us for around 4 hours all told, providing a good opportunity for French-speaking. I don’t think we got up to much else that day, and certainly didnt eat much for dinner that night, so I will leave Sunday there.
Monday saw Matt returning to work after his week off, so I ran him in to the office to leave Jan and I with the car. We both chilled out in the morning, Jan enjoying the sunshine which was making a decent effort to shine at last, and me getting on with one of the websites I have got going on. Nat and Jill rang up to see what our evening plans were. They knew that it was Jan’s last night, and as the weather was on the mend, invited us over for a BBQ that evening, which we accepted with pleasure.
After lunch, I drove us both to Périgueux. Jan had never been before, so we had a strolll around the beautiful ‘vieille-ville’ section, swang by a few shops so Jan could get some chocs for people back home, sat in a square and had a drink in the sunshine, and then made our way home again, via Nontron to collect Matt. We got to N&J’s around 7.30 and spent the evening out in the garden soaking up the evening sunshine. The ladies prepared a yummy meal of home-made burgers, chicken and various side-dishes, as well as dessert. As it was a school night, we left fairly early and soon called it a night back home.
The following 2 days saw an overdue return to proper French summer temps, much to my sincere delight. This meant Jan got a final chance to enjoy the French sunshine before her return trip. We had a social event looming later in the week, for which we had promised to bring along some cookies, so Jan was put to task making those for us as her final cooking chore. After an early lunch, Jan and I left for Angoulême at 2 that afternoon. We had a v swift journey there, arriving at the station a good 25 mins early, but on the way back I was waylaid by a combination of big lorry, small roads, and idiots who didnt dare overtake said lorry, which made for a long and vexing drive home. We didn’t do anything of note that evening that I can recall, so that will do for Tuesday.
Wednesday was even hotter than the previous day, hitting 30 degrees or so. We both had to work, of course, but it makes such a difference to look outside and see nothing but blue sky, especially after so many weeks of cloud. That evening, we were invited over to Ute & John’s place in St Jory de Chalais down the road. We met them through Bryan and Carol, and ended up doing a website for their gite. They were really pleased with it, so had us over for apéritifs as a way to say thank you. We brought Bryan along with us as he is still waiting for Carol’s return, and the five of us had a great few hours out in U&J’s lovely garden, drinking fizz and eating nibbles. We must arrange to have Ute & John over to ours soon; they’re a lovely couple.
The next day we had yet another social event, would you believe. Sue & Bob, who run our much-treasured curry service, were throwing a party in honour of Bob’s 65th birthday. We car-pooled with Nat & Jill, with Matt volunteering to drive as he was working the next day. The weather had been cool and iffy all morning, but brightened up some in the afternoon, and by the time we arrived (7.30 or so), the sun was out and it was extremely pleasant. There were around 15 people there, all English expats, including our friends Pete & Sally, which was a nice surprise. As expected, there was a ton of food, including Sue’s fantastic samosas, bhajis and bombay potatoes. We brought along the cookies Jan had made for us – double chocolate and rum (mmm!) to add to the already copious amount of desserts on the table.
We had a great evening, although as feared, there were one or two less than pleasant characters there. It’s impossible to get that number of expats in one place without meeting the occasional tosser (especially when alcohol is involved), and this was no exception. In fairness, it was mainly just the one (odious) man in particular, so it could have been far worse. We managed to ignore the small tosser element for the most part and concentrated on chatting to Sally & Pete, Nat & Jill, and of course, Bob & Sue. We left at around 11 or so, dropping the ladies back home en route, and then called it a night. Ok, this is way too long – ça suffit mainentant. Bon weekend mes amis.