Which means “The May Pine Trees (will be planted in August)”. That sentence will currently be utterly meaningless to you – but not for long should you choose to read on. We’ve just had a busy and productive weekend here in Mazeroux and have gotten lots done out in the garden. Before I come to that though, here’s a quick round-up of the week’s activity. After a long spell of largely crap weather, things had picked up by the end of last week. Lately, if it’s not been overcast and cool, its been hot and sunny but with wind so strong you can’t go out and enjoy it. It hit a respectable 24 degrees yesterday and at we have at least that again today, although a storm’s due to hit tomorrow and leave things unsettled. This is a shame as my folks are due out here on Thursday, the day after their 37th anniversary (happy anniversary, Mum & Dad!), but I think it’s been as nice back home too so they will have had a dose of sun before arriving.
Matt’s still working more or less full-time on his 2 projects, but is getting nearer and nearer to completion on the French property site at last. For me, I picked up a translation project, courtesy of our friend Nat. Being fully bilingual, she occasionally translates websites into French on behalf of one of our web design competitors in the area who doesn’t speak enough French to be able to do it himself. Fortunately for me, Nat’s too busy with her regular work to be able to take on any more such jobs for the time being. Last weekend, she passed me a job to translate a local bicycle rental website into French.
It probably took me longer than it would have taken her, so it’s a shame the work was for a fixed price, but I’m very grateful for the work all the same – and I’ve improved my bike-related French vocabulary at the same time too. That aside, I posted some ads on our local expat networks and there was a potential nibble or two, so I’m hoping something else will materialise shortly.
Work aside, it was an uneventful week until Friday afternoon when we took the car to the town of Javerlhac about 30km away where we’d been told there was a second-hand lawn mower business. Unfortunately for us, this is the worst time of year to buy a used lawn-mower: everything gets taken in early spring. He did have one potentially ok model for around 600€ brand new, and he offered us about 50€ in exchange for our old one, so we are considering this. In the meantime, we’ve borrowed Lucien’s to tide us over.
That evening, we were invited over to Philippe’s for dinner. He made a pot-au-feu (slow-cooked beef stew dish), with added chicken for me. We got there around 8 and it was just about warm enough for one aperitif outside before we had to move in. With us were Sabine and husband Alain, and Manu and Mathilde. Without Francoise around to keep Philippe in control, the focus of the evening was very much on the aperitifs. At 10.30pm we still hadn’t eaten and Philippe announced he’d forgotten about the chicken, so it would be another half hour at least. In the end, we sat down (somewhat unsteadily) to eat at around 11:15. The meal was very tasty, though it would have been more enjoyable served at meal time. We had a drink or 2 more before heading back, some time around 1.30.
I don’t remember if we mentioned on the blog that we’re in the process of getting rid of our entire DVD collection at the moment. We’ve acquired an external hard-drive with a ridiculous amount of storage space onto which we’re digitising everything. On Saturday, I did an ad on our expat networks and immediately had a few enquiries. One order was for 18 DVDs, so much of Saturday was spent frantically backing up the DVDs in preparation. The initial flurry of responses was good but there’s not been any since so we’re going to have to come up with another plan for getting rid of the rest. We can post them to anywhere in France, but the cheapest option for that is 2.65€ per DVD – and most of the DVDs we’re selling for 1€, so there’s not been any takers so far. Later that afternoon, Matt popped out to purchase various plants for the veggie plot: tomatoes, broccoli, courgette, squash and peppers.
On to Saturday evening and to my odd entry title. There’s a tradition in France, and in much of western Europe, called the Arbre de Mai (Tree of May), which honours fertility, rebirth and the return of spring – much like the May Pole in the UK. The basic idea is you cut a tree down from a forest, parade it through town and then plant it somewhere prominent and decorate it. Here in the Dordogne (and in a few neighboring departments as well) the tradition has taken on a different significance. In these parts, the Arbre de Mai is called the Sapin de Mai, and old Christmas trees are used instead. Also, rather than celebrating fertility, the ritual is done after the municipal elections to honour the newly elected councillors: one tree is planted per councillor.
Milhac’s Sapin de Mai fete was held on Saturday evening, and Bryan & Carol gave us a lift down. We all gathered in the town centre and heard our newly elected Mayor, Pascale Mechineau, give a speech. He outlined the new council’s plans for the town (nothing significant to report, barring the promise that none of it will result in tax hikes) and waxed lyrical about the Dordogne and France in general. There were suitable “liberté, egailté and fraternité” references made, to general applause. Afterwards, he told us that the traditional tree-planting was being done differently this year. Rather than planting dead christmas trees, this year new trees will all be planted in a row on the main square (each one paid for by the councillor it honours) – but not till august. So instead, the ceremony ended somewhat weirdly with the crowd congregating around the place where the trees will be.
Ceremony over, we were rewarded with slices of pizza and quiche, washed down by some monumentally awful “sangria”. If the French put anything in red wine, that tells you that it was a bloody awful wine to begin with, and no amount of sugar will change that, as we can confirm. That said, we still managed a few apiece (it was free after all). It was a good turnout for the event, including Nat and Jill, their irritating neighbours Pete & Maggy, Lucien & Mauricette, Daniel & Odille and Manu and Mathilde. The latter were going to see a concert afterwards and had even offered to take us in their car, but we were a little jaded from the night before, so chickened out. All the plants had been left outside in the sun so were wilted when we got home. We tended to them and then had a quiet evening of watching – and backing up – DVDs.
Yesterday was a day of outdoor activity. Matt got the last section of the veg plot rotivated and ready for planting, whilst I attacked some of the weeds in the flower beds in the front garden. After lunch, we got the fence around the plot back up and then started on planting. We got the tomatoes, squash and er, ‘other’ plants in, as well as another row of sweet corn. The first row of corn was planted over a month ago, but to date, only a couple have poked up. Part of their function is to provide cover for our ‘other’ plants, so we hope they make a break for it soon. Round 2 of planting is due this evening and then we’re all set up for the season.
In other news, we’re currently and very tardively preparing for our third gig. Jenny has again asked to to play at the equestrian centre’s annual fete next month, and as per last year, we’re hopelessly unprepared. We arent even sure yet on the setlist and have only had 2 pracise sessions so far. We’re aiming to do more or less the same songs we did for Francoise in Feb which should make things a bit easier. All the same, I fear disaster.
Finally, and much to our surprise, we have new neighbours! The large “périgordine” house at the end of our road has finally been sold, making that the last empty house on our road. Last we heard, the couple who put in an offer pulled out and the place was standing empty. Unbeknownst to us, a newly-retired French couple from Paris had put in an offer some time back. They signed the “acte de vente” last Friday, and since then, have been sighted a few times airing out the place. Lucien has (of course) been over to introduce himself, but we’ve yet to meet them. More news on them and other goings-on, next week!