Hah, so much for keeping a diary - a 21-day diary (every 21 days, not every day for 21 . . . you know me!). Well, you see, life got in the way and I must admit that after sitting at this computer for 7 hours a day Tues/Wed/Thur I tend not to sit here at the kitchen table in the evening as well.
Sounds like a good excuse to me.
But, at least I did finish the strimming of the 'lawn' (its green, but not with that much grass).
Life here in France just seems to go by without anyone noticing it. We're almost halfway through our summer already. So what have we done? Looked after some guests, had a short holiday over in La Manche (Cherbourg peninsular) to see what the areas around there are like for potentially buying a new house. That's if we ever get our UK house sold. I don't think there have been any viewings since we came over here. With the latest news from the US, it looks like it could be some time before we ever get it sold, so that makes it longer and longer that I will have to work to pay the mortgage.
Since I'm so far behind with this 'daily' diary I think I'll just start from here, and add the odd comment about the last 3 weeks as and when they seem appropriate.
So, what's a Sunday in Seine Maritime like? Not that different from the UK actually - got up late, went to do some urgent shopping (almost out of milk) and had croissants. That latter is not usual for the UK I hasten to add. Visited an older English couple who live in the village - John and Mary - to invite them for dinner tomorrow night. We've been very remiss and not been round much - not since the Repas Champetre which was held on the last day of the Festival du Lin at the beginning of the month.
Now that's a good thing about rural France, there're lots of reasons to eat and drink with the neighbours over the summer period. This part of the country is one of the leading producers of flax (Lin) and so the first festival of the season is the Festival du Lin on the first weekend. The main river here is the Dun (hence the name of the village Le Bourg Dun - the town on the Dun) and all the main towns/villages along its route (all of 5 miles!) open the churches and halls to displays of linen, tapestries and other needlework. Here in Le Bourg Dun the population goes from about 100 to about 10,000 (well, maybe I exaggerate slightly, but that's what it feels like as they park outside our house, or up the road and walk down past our windows. On the Sunday there is a car boot sale in the village (Foire a tout) which is just like a UK one, full of tat, but it's French tat which makes it more interesting. At lunchtime we have the Repas Champetre on the green behind the bar which is where a couple of years ago I tried Adouillettes for the first and last time. There isn't much I don't like, but Andouillettes are at the top of the list - it's the way the intestines spring out of the centre of the sausage as you cut it, in a spiral. Not exactly appetising.
Since then I stick to the steak or sausage and chips, and of course the wine. We usually meet lots of the locals there who all know us but we can't remember who they are. Well, there are more of them than us, if you see what I mean. It's quite sweet really, I am known as the Englishwoman who speaks French! Since there are several English families who have holiday homes in the village, it says something about how much we Brits take part in local life that the others don't figure at all. It's no wonder we get a bad reputation in areas like Brittany where there are lots of Brits who live in their own little world.
Other festivals due this year is a Kermesse 1st weekend in August (again an open-air meal but this time with tombola) followed by a Four a Pain the following weekend. In the 'olden days' each village used to have either a communal brick oven, or the villagers would use the baker's oven when it was still warm. I think Bourg Dun had the former, and we still have the old oven in a field at the back of the village. Once a year they get it going again and have a fete - small stalls, games for the kids (free, mind you, this is rural France not England and so very child-friendly) and, you guessed, a barbecue. I remember being really embarrassed one year when a group of Brits who have a holiday house in the village turned up with their own food! Events like this help finance events around the village and it's just NOT DONE not to participate to the full.
So, back to today, we went round to invite John and Mary to dinner tomorrow night, before our next group of visitors arrive on Tuesday. Then got ready for an afternoon of tv - the German Grand Prix followed by the Tour de France. The Tour has been my saving grace over the last couple of weeks - it gave me something to do whilst I was doing all the ironing from the guest rooms. That's the one thing I hate about having guests(well, besides having to get up early to do breakfast for them) and that's ironing the bedding. I can understand why some B&B's charge a supplement for one-night stays. Perhaps we might next year, it depends how desperate we are for money, and that totally depends on whether Incisive want to keep employing me if we can't sell the house.
That managed to keep us occupied until 6 p.m. when I thought I'd better get out and do some weeding in the garden. Oh, what a hard life we lead.
No comments:
Post a Comment