Apologies for the long delay between entries. It’s been a busy week with two sets of visitors, the second group having just departed now.
First of all, I would like to dedicate this entry to our friend Mr. Green who ame through with a package, just as we were about to run out. He is in London and we had requested a delivery a number of weeks ago. Just when we’d given up hope, we found a padded envelope in the mailbox. So a big thanks to him for making our week.
Our first visitor was Jim, a good friend from London. He is American, from the Boston area originally, and has been living in London for the past few years. He works for various charities who deal with HIV so he often travels to exotic places in eastern Europe, Africa and the Far East. He was with us for five days, this being his first trip for pleasure and not work in quite some time. As a result, we didn’t get up to much away from home, but that suited us fine since August is a busy time around here.
We picked up Jim from Limoges on Saturday afternoon and came back here for lunch. We chilled out for a bit and then we went with Sharon and Oscar over to Richard’s for homemade pizza in his wood-fired pizza oven. His younger son, Alex was there visiting as well. We ate and drank a fair bit of red wine but we back home by midnight or so. I should mention that the night before, Sharon invited Will and I around to her place for confit de canard avec cauliflower cheese, one of her specialties. It was accompanied by a really nice bottle of red and that progressed to another bottle or two. So by Sunday morning, we’d had three fairly big nights of red wine and it finally caught up with Will who had the mother of all headaches.
Try as he may, Will was unable to shake this headache for most of the morning. This wouldn’t have been such a bad thing if it hadn’t been the Mechoui in our local village of Monsec that afternoon. Mechoui means spit-roasted sheep, is of north African origins and is an annual event. It claimed to start at 12:30 so Sharon, Jim, Will and I headed off just before then, all of us feeling a bit sluggish from the previous night. Thankfully, the day started with an aperitif outside the salle de fete (event hall) so we each had a little eye-opener before going inside. The hall was decked out with three rows of long tables, roughly 25 places per side, so close to 150 people in all. Unbeknownst to us, it is de rigueur to first come in and reserve seats for you and your entire group before heading outside for your drink. So even though we were only four, it was difficult to find seats together.
In the end, we did find seats and ended up sitting next to the parents of the Maire (mayor). They were in their 80’s and had lived in the same commune their entire lives so had plenty of local knowledge about the event and the people. The meal started with half a melon that was served with Muscat, a sweet white wine. Next was the assiette Perigourdine, a cold plate of salad served with walnuts, duck gizzards and pate. The main course was the spit-roasted sheep, served with beans and sausages for those not partial to roasted sheep. The cheese course was Cabecou, a goats cheese particular to the region and was accompanied with salad. Dessert was slices of fruit tart and was served with a glass of champagne. Throughout all courses, there were pitchers of rose and red wine that were replenished whenever they were in danger of running out. The whole meal took a few hours and we all left fuller and happier than when we’d arrived. It was an interesting experience and I’m already looking forward to next year’s.
Will’s headache still hadn’t abated by the time we got home, despite the copious amount of booze he’d already thrown at it. So we moved on to cocktails by the pool which slowly did the trick. Later, we were joined by Martin and Coco, friends of our French neighbour Jean Michel. Martin broke his back when he was 21, was wheelchair bound for a few years and now walks with a crutch as a result of a lot of hard work. He is a singer and musician so he and Will had a bit of a jam session. We also played a bit of poker with Coco well into the night.
Monday we went to cute waiter restaurant in Brantome but were disappointed to find he wasn’t working lunch that day. We strolled around town for a bit and happen to spot him hanging out with a group of friends so Jim got to see him after all. Just so you don’t get the impression that we were stalking this poor guy, I should point out that Brantome is a very small place so it’s not much of a coincidence to have run into him. We chilled out at home for the rest of the day. Tuesday was spent by the pool and not much else. The four of us went out to dinner that night at a Brantome restaurant called Les Saveurs. It was recommended to us by our neighbour who works in town so we had high expectations that didn’t disappoint. Sharon, Jim and I each had a four course menu and Will had confit de canard, the best he’s ever had. Wednesday afternoon we went into town for Jim to mail his postcards and then had a coffee on the riverside. He left that evening from Limoges after a very relaxing visit.
Our second set of visitors arrived the next day so Will and I were a hive of activity in preparation. I went to the shop for food while Will cleaned and did laundry. I made cookies when I got back, then cleaned the bathrooms and showered. Will only had time for a very quick shower since they pulled up just as he was getting in. Normally I would be fine to entertain people on my lonesome but in this case, I struggled due to my lack of French.
Our guests were the Famille Demailley, the people from whom we purchased Leon and Louis. The live in Toulon, on the south coast between Nice and Marsaille and are spending the week driving around France visiting family and people who own their last intruige* of kittens. The family comprises Jerome and Veronique, the parents, their two sons, Benjamin, 11 and Baptiste, 10 and their dog, Circe, a French Bulldog. We had drinks out by the pool, the boys had a swim despite the chilly water and then Will and I made dinner. We had chicken thighs, served with wild rice that I brought back from MN. I tried a new recipe for courgettes since we’ve got a garden full at the moment. They’re cut into shoestrings, then lightly dusted with flour and pan fried. They tasted ok but were a bit greasy so we dubbed them “Courgettes Mysterieuses”. The meal was followed by cheese and then carrot cake cookies and of course, red wine. They were a bit tired from the journey so crashed around 11 and we followed shortly after.
Friday was a busy day as well. The cats got us up around 7:30 so Will and I had a bit of time on the computers before everyone came down around 9. Jerome went to Mareuil for croissants that we all had for breakfast, then they went off to Brantome for a few hours. They brought lunch back with them; a rotisserie chicken that they got from the market served with a Caprese salad. Only the basil was from our garden but it won’t be long before the tomatoes will be too. We had Circe the dog outside with us, along with the cats who weren’t thrilled to have another canine in their garden. Leon is brave and tolerated her presence but Louis is such a fraidy-cat, we went AWOL. One hour turned to two and we all went searching, only to find that he had been hiding under a shrub in our garden the whole time. He normally comes when called so we figured he had been out of earshot.
After that, we all went into Brantome, which by our standards, was heaving with people. When I say heaving, I mean in comparison to the rest of the year, and nothing close to London on a regular day. It was the first hot day in a few weeks so I think it brought the tourists in larger numbers than usual. We had mentioned canoeing on the river and the boys jumped at the thought. The first place we went to was sold out so we went around to another place and got three canoes for an hour; Vero and Jerome in one and Will and I each with a boy in the others. It takes around 20 minutes to do a lap of the town center but I think we did each of the three rounds in far less time with the power of youth to propel us. The inevitable splash-war ensued so we were all drenched by the time we finished. It didn’t occur to Will and I to wear swim suits so we had wet clothes for the journey home.
Once back here, we all had a swim and then drinks by the pool. Sharon joined us for dinner that evening and contributed a potato salad. We made lamb kebabs and sausages along with greek salad, using cherry toms from the garden. Unfortunately, Vero and the boys don’t like cucumber so skipped the salad. Next was cheese and then dessert was chocolate fondants that they boys made. We didn’t have any dark chocolate bars but thankfully, Sharon keeps a stash of different chocolates so they made a melange of four or five different types. They turned out great – cakey on the outside, warm and gooey on the inside. After dinner, we came inside and Will played a few Clapton songs for us. Then Jerome introduced us to some French guitar players and we sat around listening to music until nearly 1am. They have another long drive ahead of them so left us this morning, just before nine.
Although it was short, it was a very enjoyable visit. The weather finally turned nice so we spent most of the time outside. It was the first time I’ve been surrounded by French speakers for more than an a few hours. It was difficult but I was feeling a bit more confident in speaking by the end of the visit and I understood much of what people were saying. Also worth mentioning is that Circe is a very bizarre dog. The French Bulldog is a smaller version than its English cousin anyway, but Circe is something of a runt and is 50% smaller than she should be. She looks more like a rabbit than a dog. Normally, I don’t care for small dogs but this one has a great personality and isn’t yappy at all. Circe is three but because of health problems, isn’t expected to live much passed six, a trait common to this breed. I guess it’s no surprise that people who breed Devon Rexes, a dog-like species of cat, have a dog that looks like a rabbit with a shortened mid-section.
We’re having Moules et Frites at our French neighbours’ place this evening so it will be another chance to speak French. It’s going to be 33C (91F) today so we’re heading out to the pool now to enjoy the warm weather while it lasts.
* I recently discovered this page, which amuses me to no end. I’m sure litter is more correct in this case but I couldn’t resist the chance to use intrigue.