May 21st and its still cool with showers but summer must be just around the corner? Everything is growing like there is no tomorrow and the birds are in overdrive building nests and feeding the first of the young. Its a wonderful time of year here in the countryside with everything bursting into like its makes you forget about the dreaded virus problems. 

However things are starting to open up, on the 19th restaurants and cafes could open outside terraces so we went into town to the Paddock cafe and enjoyed cool beers plus burger and chips - absolutely marvellous.

Its amazing how we can appreciate the simple things after months of lock down.

 Well spring has arrived and the birds are in full nest building work mode. The Blackbirds are hunting for worms and the Great Tits are feeding on our bread and fat balls.

Covid is still causing havoc but the vaccine rollout here in France has increased dramatically in the last 3 weeks. We have had our first injection and receive the second next week and the local situation is very stable, even the local hospital has no cases. What we have to remember is that the population density here in central France is a tiny fraction of that of the UK and an even smaller fraction of England so we can feel safe but we are not complacent.

Wine inundation: well inundation may be a bit of an overstatement but we have noticed that over the past three months a mass of wine has been available at very cheap prices. A local clearance warehouse has been selling excellent Italian Prosecco for less than 3 euro, all with UK labelling so we can only presume its not been going to the UK as restaurants etc are closed. Even French wine is available at low prices so if we survive covid we may be troubled with liver failure!  We read last week that Champagne sales are down 35% , a reflection of the difficult market conditions worldwide.

Maureen's vegetable plot is looking very good and her new small greenhouse is packed with seedlings all sprouting up. The lettuce or 'salad' as the French prefer to call it is also growing well in her 'Trug' 

Yes its a whole scene going in the garden and it keeps everyone busy during these difficult times. 

Take out menu: The local restaurant has been closed for many months but has recently installed a 'take out' menu machine. The Auberge de la Tour has and continues to offer an excellent chilled menu @ 20 euro for weekends but the machine offers a less expensive option @ 15 euro all the week. We are sure that Eric the chef will continue to offer the weekend and machine dispensed fresh food even after the covid situation is over so that's good for anyone camping or staying in holiday cottages or gites. 

Well that's all for now, lets hope we can all plan to travel later in the year.

That's life in the country

 Its a sad day today as one of the three beautiful horses that live in the field at the bottom of our garden left us for the horses place in the sky. That however is life here in the countryside.

 

February 1^st 2021

 

Well things have certainly developed since my last post. The UK has left the EU, we now live permanently in France as the Brexit situation would have limited our time here to 90- days and that’s a lot of use if you are retired. Covid 19 arrived in March 2020 and you all know the impact but we have light on the horizon with the vaccine rollout.

The cottage is currently hibernating for the winter and looking fine for the winter and next summer as we painted and stencilled the shutters before the wet weather started so they are all ready and pristine for next year.

 

Life here in our country hamlet continues at its gentle pace. The horses chew the grass and the sheep, chickens, goats and ducks oblivious to human covid problems provide a calming message to all who pass. The local cafes and restaurants are currently closed and we have a curfew between 6pm and 6am but the shops and markets operate to provide all the treats we need to sustain life.

We do look forward to seeing friends and passing motorists and motorcyclists in the future but we fear this may not be possible until 2022…but we can only wait and see.

 

If you need any details do not hesitate to contact Maureen