April or summer?

Our first guests of the year have left and enjoyed magnificent weather for April, they could easily have believed it was August and a warm one at that! They enjoyed the superb flower display at Chaumont Chateau with gardens awash with white flowers all out enjoying the sun. 

Yours truly also enjoying the Chateau gardens and believe me the hat is required as its 26c!

 

The chateau on a magnificent April day

This week Chaumont opens its international garden festival ( http://www.domaine-chaumont.fr/en_concours_index) an event that brings even more colour and interest to these gardens and the chateau.

The cottage garden is also developing nicely with many early spring plants in bloom and the beautiful plane trees coming into leaf. The lawns have been scarified and treated with feed and weed turning the grass to a lovely rich green for the beginning of the year.

Our first guests of 2015, Rod and Tina enjoying the evening sunshine in the cottage garden

This year we are trying a new system for our garden flowers - buying direct from a nursery in the UK and having the plants delivered via post to France. Brookside nursery is near our UK home and offers an excellent variety of plug and other plants all delivered via fast post to France. 

 

This lot should provide some colour in the cottage garden in 2015?

We ordered 'on line' and within three days of the promised delivery all 376 plants arrived safely in France and all fit and very healthy. We will certainly use this system again. Maureen has already replanted the small plug plants and all are growing well in our small temporary green house. In 2014 we entered the Rural Gite category of the areas garden competition and we were one of the finalists, in 2015 with our new flower supply maybe we will win? 

Just in case you think we live with constant great weather I have to tell you that  today, as we await the arrival of our new guests its raining and looks like its going to continue for a day or two! 

Spring in the air 2015

We will soon be into March and the warmer weather this brings the first green shoots of spring and all the wonders of the countryside blossoming once again. Can you detect that I very much look forward to this time of year? Hopefully it will also assist in curing my on-going chest cold and cough that currently shows no signs of disappearing.


Today we have been inspecting the variety of  'plug' plants available for the garden in Les Deux Platanes, for 2015 we are buying some additional varieties. In 2014 the cottage was in the finals of the area beautiful garden competition so we must try harder in 2015 and maybe we will win first prize?

One of the cottage doors with plants in 2014, hope you notice the new grape vines painted onto the shutters - Maureen using her artistic skills again.

Normally we buy several hundred flower plants that eventually end up in the pots, hanging baskets, borders and beds in the cottage and our own private garden. For 2015 we are considering using a different supplier who offers a wider range of flowers. This new supplier even offers a delivery service from the UK to France ( flower plants in the UK are much less expensive than France). In the UK it is possible to buy the tiny 'plug' plants but in France you can only buy larger plants which are much more expensive.

We will soon commence the preparation of the cottage for the 2015 season and as is usual it will be receiving a top to toe clean and i have no doubt the paint brush will be working again to ensure both the interior and exterior are in absolutely delightful condition for our many guests this year.

Those of you who have been to the cottage before will be aware of the Auberge de la Tour in Chatillon our small local town. This local restaurant was taken over from the previous owners four years ago by a very young chef who has worked very hard to build both his skills and culinary reputation. In those four years he has matured and developed the menu to a point where his skills are now highly respected in the region and now listed by many organisations. This of course is great for our guests and we can recommend a restaurant within 5 minutes drive of the cottage with absolute confidence.

A rather special November

November 2014 was rather special being the 100th commemoration of the outbreak of WW1. The French are extremely aware of the massive loss of life including hundreds from the local community whose names are carved on the monument in the centre of Chatillon.

The firemen, mayor and other local officials are in attendance along with the local band, school children and local people.

Some of the English living in and around Chatillon always endeavour to make a contribution to local life and events. For the past five years I and Chris, have on the 11th November, laid a poppy wreath at the memorial in recognition of both the many British and Commonwealth soldiers who fell in the war and in solidarity with the 1,357,000 French soldiers who died in WW1. Our many French friends and the community as a whole greatly appreciate this small gesture and 2014 had of course special significance.

The red poppy is a contrast to the blue cornflowers in the French wreaths

Following the laying of the various wreaths the mayor invites everyone who has attended to the local town hall for a vin d'honneur, a glass of wine and the local pastry cake. Following the vin d'honneur we join the Ancient Combatants for the remembrance lunch. It is indeed a privilege to be accepted as an integral part of the community on this and other occasions throughout the year. 

Students from the local high school read the citation.

2014 has been another busy year at Les Deux Platanes and we have enjoyed welcoming the many guests to our cottage. The weather in August was not up to its usual standard but in general the French summer, in this central part of France, for the most part was warm and dry. 

This photo taken late October on the cottage terrace and still warm during the day

Au vent......?????

Work continues on the final stages of the renovation of our house. The inside is finished but we are busy with various jobs outside including the building of an outside toilet and shower room. Next to this I am constructing what the French refer to as an au vent, or covered terrace. 

This week I have been busy with the oak frame for the main structure and next week I hope to complete the roof.

Hmm that looks about right!

So having chopped some mighty mortice and tenon joints lifted the very heavy oak sections into position the first stage is more or less complete.

That's a good job done.

 Next stage - the roof and then complete the stonework etc.

Historic French high chair?

We do try and accommodate the various requirements of our many guests over the summer months here at Les Deux Platanes. 

Next week we have a couple arriving with a small child that would benefit from using a 'high chair'. We have a cot but not a high chair so we decided to try and locate a chair locally and within the week an email arrived, high chair spotted requires some TLC!

So having crossed the palm of the seller with a few euro I began the relatively easy task of renovating the chair. Not being an expert on high chairs I was impressed to see how the chair operates and it appears to be of a typical French design. Our local French friends have a similar chair and it is over 60 yrs old.

Coat of paint, respray and some transfers and it looks just fine

However this chair is a 'convertachair' - see below!

Amazing, a quick fold and you have a play desk!

Nice pictures Maureen!

So there you have it, refurbished high chair, hope the little guest likes it!

Having been visiting this tiny hamlet for nearly 40 years we have a close relationship with all our French friends and neighbours. During the winter months members of the hamlet 'events commitee', (a committee in the very simplest terms) organise a number of 'Tea Dances' in Chatillon and the profits from these dances fund some community events in the summer. 

On the 2nd August we held our annual 'mechuoi', a lunch and dinner with boules and card games in between. We are always involved in the preparations and running of the event during the day, its wonderful to be part of the community something that unfortunately we do not always find in the fast paced life in the UK. Mechuoi has its origins in North Africa and roasting a sheep over a log barbecue is central to the events dining experience. So at the crack of dawn the fire is lit and the sheep from a local farmer is put on to roast. 

Both Maureen and I were there at 8.00am sharp to help prepare the event, this despite being out the night before until 1.00am, All the helpers had a pause for breakfast at 9.00pm, the offal from the sheep is fried along with garlic and herbs and sandwiches of French bread made ----along with the statutory glass of local wine. We then set up the trestle tables, lay the plates etc and hang up the bunting. On top of all of this we also had new guests arriving at the cottage so had to escape the preparations to give the cottage its normal thorough clean and prepare....a busy day indeed.

All the locals from baby to grandmas in wheelchairs start to arrive around 12.15pm with much hand shaking and kissing all round. This year the aperos were made by the local children supervised by some adults produced a startling collection of tasty morsels which was all washed down with some very nice lemon / sugar / Sauvignon apperitif especially made by our neighbour Alain.

Everyone sat down for the starters and then the sheep was removed from the spit and carved for serving.

This, of course, is France so the afternoon meal continues with cheese, multiple choices of desert made by another local family all washed down with copious amounts of local wine. Around 6.00pm we stop eating etc and the Boules / cards games start....

Yes you have to have staying power to survive the day. This being a Saturday we also had new guests arriving so once settled in they were invited down to join the evening meal. You can spot them here looking rather pensive although Joshua who is 14 is putting on a great smile. 

Our new cottage guests having arrived late afternoon were invited to join the evening meal, Josh is putting on his best smile.

The eating, drinking and festivity continues and by 1.30am we were finished - a wonderful day with wonderful neighbours and friends, it is indeed a privilege to be involved. Next day we were up bright and early to wash dishes and clear away tables etc.

LE BREUIL MECHOUI 2014 - THE END UNTIL 2015

D Day commemorations

The outside thermometer touched 34c this afternoon, has the warm weather arrived?  Of course this level of heat has side effects, only 15 kilometers away they had storms with hailstones the size of golf balls and this has caused all manner of damage.

Last week we had three days in Normandy for the 70th Commemorations of the D Day landings. I was impressed with the tactful and professional events put on by the French organizations across Normandy.  There were people attending from all the original participating countries with many from the USA.

Pipers from the Scottish borders at Pegasus Bridge

Spitfires, a Lancaster and other planes of the period provided an emotional fly past

Dozens of WW2 motorcycles toured the area

Throughout the day services were held remembering all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in 1944

Last but not least the cottage garden is starting to show all its colour as summer arrives.