Matt’s been erratic with the timing of his posts of late. This is my bid to get us back to Monday blogging – which means I’ve only a half-week to cover, you’ll be relieved to learn.
First thing to report is that brocante (ie, flea-market) season is getting underway out here. We went to one last Sunday at St Pardoux but were disappointed to find barely any stalls as it was a cool and rainy day. There was another one in nearby Villars on 1st May, the big national holiday. We’ve been to this one a few times in years past and normally there are a mix of amateurs selling crap and professionals selling lovely antique furniture. We’re in the market for bookshelves, chests-of-drawers and a few other bits, but were disappointed to find virtually no furniture on sale at all. We bumped into Dom of Sophie and Dom who was taking advantage of the buvette, but it was another cold, rainy day so we left as soon as we’d done a circuit.
On the work front, my one and only project is largely completed and was over too quickly. The site’s done, I just need to give them a crash course in maintaining it and then wait until they’re ready to move on to phase 2 which is creating a French version. They seem to think I’m the bee’s knees, so I’m hopeful there will be semi-regular bits of work from them in the future. My client’s name, as a wee aside, is Gabrielle, and her surname is Angel. I’m pleased to report she’s nowhere near as Christian as the name might suggest. I’m also hopeful that at least one of the 2 other potential leads I picked up at my meeting will produce something soon. Having had my first decent project in a long time, my appetite is whetted and I’m ready to get my teeth into something else.
For Matt, he’s been getting closer to finishing his US project and his French property one is at a temporary stopping point while waiting on a third-party to get their act together, so he’s been able to take it a bit easier at last. The downside to that is he turned his attention to disassembling and ultimately slaying the lawnmower, as he mentioned in his last post. Still, it did come free with the house so we did alright to get 3 years of use out of it before it died.
Right, onto the main event: the annual Foire de Printemps in Brantôme, which we went to yesterday. Astute readers with good memories may remember that in 2010, we attended this event for the first time. It was on that day, 6 months into our supposed one-year sabbatical, that we decided to do all in our power to remain out in France and ensure that we made it back to the spring fair every following year. I’m pleased to say that, barring 2012 when it was cancelled due to the river bursting its banks and the whole site being under water, we’ve managed to fulfil this pledge.
It was on our first trip to the fair that we stopped at a stall selling some Côtes de Castillon red wine, tried some and promptly bought half a case. This particular wine became our house red and every year we leave with a case – and normally, we make our way to the vineyard itself at least once a year too. Our first year at the fair was also the first time the vineyard had a stall there, and having met them there every year, we’ve made an impression. The lady recognised us immediately and we were soon sampling the various years on offer. In the end, we left with 12 bottles, + 3 extra free, and all at a big discount too. It was extremely sweet of her.
We’d hit the fair early because we had a lunch lined up afterwards: we’d been invited to Sophie and Dom’s for a sardinade (grilled sardines) for those that like them, or duck breast for me. Also there was a friend of theirs from Cameroon whose name escapes me. He’s over here in France for a few years to earn some decent money before returning home to set up his own business. There were also a couple kids that Sophie has previously taken in and cared for. The weather here’s been largely terrible for a couple weeks but yesterday was 19 and sunny – most welcome indeed – so we ate out in the garden, and we ate plentifully too. We left several hours later and had a quiet afternoon of digesting. They recently bought themselves a new mower and having been told about the demise of ours, they’ve lent us it for the week. As I write this, Matt is out giving the back lawn it’s first cut in weeks. It’s close to knee high in places so I think it will be hard-going.
It’s a beautiful 23 degrees today and the forecast is generally improved so here’s hoping that’s the last of the grey and drizzle. Right, I think that’s the story so far. It’s curry night again this weekend and all my attempts so far to round up a crowd have failed. I really must sort this out soon as the only confirmed guest so far is Philippe and the idea of spending a whole evening with just him with a belly full of vodka is somewhat terrifying…