Bastile night

I had sent my friend a quick email with photos but no explaination, so here is my reply which covers a fairly typical day here in France
Ok, I will try to explain. last night we went to the centre of St Puy, still have not taken photos, to have a drink with the English lady, Pamela, who is helping run the small brocante and tea room, met her and her English friends, had a drink of Poussee rapiere, the local fiz and armangnac mix, then on to Roland's house, next to the Chateau, for dinner of canard, poulet and the gâteau Nadine made from the mirabelle at the Bergerie. Then to the fire works in St Puy and some Champagne with George and Denise, Tristan and Nadine, as well as other French couples at the local bar, Chez nous, one of the ladies ticked me off for being too advanced when I had massaged another ladies calf muscles after she had developed cramp, whilst and after, dancing with me.... The evening finished for us at about 01.30 in the morning because we needed to be up early, 06.00, to load up for the the outside market at La Romieu. I spent some time on the computer before sleeping at about 02.00 in the morning, then up at 06.30 for a wash and breakfast. Loaded all that we neede into the car and some bits into the van when we realised i would not fit into the car. Off to La Romieu at about 08.00, when we arrived we set up on the corner of a round about...see photos, and at first had little customers, it was the night after the Bastile celebrations and it was threatening to rain, but after a while there became a steady flow of French ladies buying the cotton voils at 1 euro a square metre, the paris price is 29 euros a metre, i also helped my friends nigel and Wendy, set up there stall when they arrieved at 9.40 , having slept in.....then i wandered around the stalls to see what was available and spotted white china for Nadine to buy for her future bed and breakfast enterprise. I also took photos as I walked around, see photos.



The church or Abbey has cloisters that can be seen behind the closed gates, so hence the photos. I spent my time chatting to Tristan and Nadine and their customers as well as seeing what Nigel and Wendy ehere up to. Had lunch of coffee and croissant, then a sausage roll and later more coffee. Just before we decided to call it a day at 14.30, an English couple livened up the day for all, by trying the take their new Citreon across the edge of the traffic island, the lady driver managed to get the car stuck on the stone curb and her invalided husband then had to reverse it , with the sound of crunched steel and the signs of hydraulic fluid left on the road !!!!!! shorthly after this two attractive ladies came past and looked at the fabrics, Tristan remarked to me that they seemed to be talking together in Portuguese, so i asked them in French if they where from Portugal, they replied no, they came from Brazil, one of the ladies was living in the next town, Lectoure, and presumably is married to a French man, although she came from Belem in Brazil, and in fact finds it too quiet here in France,the other lady is from Sáo Paulo, single, and presumably staying with her friend in Lectoure...

We packed our stuff at lightening speed and zoomed back to Nadine's house, where now she is making the food for this evenings soire of English and French couples, all in the aid of french language lessons, there will be 14 coming....I had quickly loaded the photos onto the computer and sent you a selection, then I had some tea and an hours drawing in the garden, my first sketch of Nadines house, made in water clour pencils and washed over with my wetted finger. Nadine has just asked to turn the large omelete, I have done that and taken a quick photo of the very same grande crepe, which I will now load and send to you....

by the way the other photos showed the stream down the lane were Nadine caught the fresh water crayfish, they were cooked last night, fried in butter with a dash of armangnac, and taken to Rolands for part of the starter. Tonight i am sure will be a boozy...every one is arriving now so I will send this ..
Hi Campbell, the French lessons are finished for the night and large quantaties of champagne and red wine have been drunk. here is the photo of Nadine and her omelete. I have been asked to make doors by two couples that have been to the lesson here tonight ......Stuart

amazing France

I have been lost in this rural idyll, St Puy, I cannot even start to retell how a small village in France can have captured so much of past with every sign of still moving with a modern world. I am staying with Nadine, a stylish Parisian who as decided to make an almost new start in the Gers. Her dream is to make her house into a bed and breakfast, with the granery being a small restuarant and craft shop. With jhave been having slightly heated discussions about the change of use and the change in life style, all in an atmosphere of rural antiquarian, french life seems to have no changes yet the rural village is different. Here in St Puy there is a large community of British, all getting away from what they think others have done to their country, yet putting some chnge on the french life style that has so attracted them here in the first place. Even a caring French lady, having lived in Paris and bought her rural retreat, cannot help but affect the balance of such a small place, it is thrown into the internet world by its incomers, the mayor now as put in an internet cafe, without the cafe, so that the village has its own cyber link, although I am not sure that it is necessary for this, Iam quite certain that all the inhabitants have their own link to the internet.
Since arriving I have been to so many events, whether it was horse riding or traditional Gascoyne dancing, that i am left wandering why Brazil is meant to have some much in the way of feastivals, here there are as many if not more, I beleive there is to be a large feastival for the harvest before Bastile day, and that does not account for all the local fairs and music events, all seem to be free, just need to pay for wine and food. Hopefully I can get to speak some better French before I leave at the end of August, I am struggling with the language at the moment, it reminds me of my first few years in Brazil, trying to learn a language when you need to know technical terms first, is not easy, but still iteresting and well worth the effort.I have now got my workshop almost kitted out and am still trying to organise some electricity for the machines so i can get started on this newly revamped career as furniture maker and restorer. it seems promissing, i have had already, several work offers and have found openings for contacts, very easy, all are eager to pass on your card and build a rapid client base. The snag is that in truth I live in Brazil, and although I am now starting this new venture, i am having to consider how to create the best of both worlds, not as easy as it might seem,if i give up on Brazil I may never return there and that would be a great loss, but the opportunities for a fresh start to restoration and furniture making, are so much better here in France, how I am going to get a balance I do not know. Still here is a new chapter and i will keep it as a feature of this blog.

Scotland

Well back to Scotland and everyone telling me that the weather had been perfect before I arrived, every year its the same. I cannot beleive in glbal warming when scotland is perishingly cold, and this is Summer. I and the Swallows are very perplexed, I am here to help Michael get his September auction, at Bonhams, in London, ready. I can only really say that I am doing my small bit to help, I have been here since the 3rd May and seem to now be without work. Michael has organised two lorries to take stuff to London, he has such a strange blend of early technology, it can range from early fishing gear, or telescopes, to early calculators and typewriters, satelite navigation and computors to Arab spheres, bakerlite electric hot water bottles to glass electric generators. So we are ploughing our way through the dust and trying to get some order into his auction, it is remarkable that we have sent away more than 65 Tv sets, dating from the first that where made, tothose that where made around the early 1970's, large screen and whatch sized, around about a dozen early typewriters and a few controls for early aeroplane cockpits, including the reinforced glass for a Spitfire.
I am due to go to France in June and set up the new workshop in St Puy, just before I return to Brazil, I have an appoitment with my surgeon for anothert operation to my right eye, the previous operation has left me with a cataract and this will be removed before my return to Brazil. Unexpectedly i am told that the new lens, artificial, will bring my eyesight back to what it was before I wore spectacles, so that means another new pair of glasses, the third in 5 months.