2015

February 2015

As it was Shrove Tuesday on 17th February we decided to hold a Pancake Race along the quayside.

In full flight.

Entrants were requested to wear 'pinnies', and had to toss their pancake three times, while moving, and without dropping it!  After all this activity we retired for a well earned hot cup of coffee.

Now they're getting silly!

We're impressed!

  

Friday 13th was another beautiful sunny day, and we spent an amusing afternoon in the village of Ousson-sur-Loire, by the banks of the river. We went there to see 'an Alembic' in full production.

A very Heath Robinson piece of equipment, but extremely effective nevertheless!!!

Father and son distillers, emptying out the waste contents from the copper vat.

This 'still' is on a trailer and gets taken around the area, where villagers take their own picked fruit, which has been stored in a special sealed container since the autumn. Water is fed into the alembic and the waste and overflow goes into the river.  I'm sure the fish appreciate their annual treat! The fermented fruit is emptied into the vat and sealed, the fire of the Alembic is stoked up, and after about 3/4 hour the alcohol absolute is ready to be sampled. Our friends took cherries from their garden, and asked for the alcohol to be diluted to 50%. At the end of the each days process an official from the Customs & Excise comes to check the liquid, signs it off and the appropriate Customs duty is paid by each 'customer'.  Every 'customer' has an official document entitling them to an agreed amount of spirit, and has to take the shortest, approved route to and from their home.  So the paper formalities seem disproportionally strict when viewing such a basic piece of equipment.

On Wednesday 11th we went to the city of Bourges to go sightseeing. There is so much to see in this wonderful city, but we only had time to visit the 12th century St. Etienne Cathedral and Musee du Berry.We have never seen such an old church/cathedral in such good state of repair. Many donors have contributed to the repair and decoration of this cathedral.  The exquisite design of the whole building is outstanding.

Inside there stands an Astronomic Clock designed in 1424 by the clergyman and mathematician Jean Furoiris, said to be the oldest timepiece of its kind in France.  Encased in a wooden turret with a red brocade decor bordered by gold columns, it bears the royal emblems. It has been recently restored. It has the margin of error of only one second per 150 years! All the vital information of the heavens continue to be displayed on its face, including the rising and setting of the sun, the phases of the moon, and the current monthly signs of the zodiac.

The Musee du Berry is a wonderful building housing some beautiful exhibits, including  many good paintings. But I had hoped to see some reference to the Duc du Berry Book of Hours!

We did have a small snowfall, evidence of which can be seen on the white patches settled on the iced canal.

But spring is on its way. I know this because the little pot of snow drops on our back deck are in flower!

OK, its only a small pot, but they are in flower!

January 2015

There is such a lot to celebrate and lighten our dark January days.  First of all, of course, we welcome the New Year, then we look forward to Epiphany 6th January.  In France the tradition is to have Galette des Rois.    Depending on the part of the country, there are two types of Galette des rois: one is made with puff pastry, the other with brioche.  The pastry circle with jam or frangipane is usual in the north, while southern bakers make a brioche roundel with dried fruit.  Each contains a plastic, porcelain or even a gold feve, with the finder having to wear a (paper) crown and becoming 'King' for the day.  This year 100 gold Napoleon coins were hidden in random pastries across the country!

Interestingly, the galette that is presented to the Elysee, however, has no feve, as the president, as leader of the Republic, is not allowed to be called 'King'!

A surprise tea-party for our friends wedding anniversary!

Champagne all round chaps!

Then we ex-pats taking any opportunity to have a social gathering,  celebrate the Scottish poet Robert Burns with a traditional Burns night supper on 25th January.

The stage is set

 If there are any antipodeans in port, we join them to honour Australia Day on 26th January.

We have a private party for our wedding anniversary on 27th January. But friends brought a beautiful azelia plant to brighten our outlook, and also made a sponge cake with 53 candles on top. We didnt need the heating on that evening!  The accompany card explains who also enjoyed the cake.

Which leads us gently on to Candlemas Day (the Christian Festival of Lights) on 2nd February, which marks the midpoint of winter, halfway between the shortest day and the spring equinox.  A lovely way to celebrate the increased strength of the life-giving sun as winter gives way to spring.

People used to say Candlemas Day predicted the weather for the rest of the winter.  Proverbs said that a fine bright sunny day meant more winter to come, whereas a cloudy wet stormy day meant the worst of winter was over.   Whatever the weather we shall join with the French and celebrate with pancakes, maybe not eaten their way, lots of butter and sugar, but perhaps with lemon juice and sugar!