Rural Life

A bit of time out

I have been quiet for a while, partly trying to cope with the fruit and nuts and also taking some time off.  As I work from home and spend most of my day it seems in front of a computer, that holiday time did include being banned from switching my computer on apart from doing a bit of internet banking.

So how did I fill my 10 days off (including 2 weekends - it really wasn't a long break at all)?

Well, we went to Futuroscope for a day, which is about 2 hours drive south from here, and we made sure we went on a weekday and outside of school holidays.  Once we had checked into our hotel, we hit the park and did 11 rides and attractions before getting tired and needing to eat, after which we watched the evening show and retired to our hotel.  I am not a theme park person but it was superb.  We built up from reclining in comfy armchairs to watch a projection of planets on a domed screen, through walking through a hi-tech hall of mirrors, going up on the Gyroscope, to a white knuckle ride through the Vienne department on a variety of vehicles, to an even more white knuckle ride showing an ecologically sound speed race 100 years in the future. 

For details of Futuroscope follow this link.

We went on to our favourite hotel in Brive la Gaillarde for a night - for more details follow this link.

Then we had a relaxing four days at home, dealing with the mason, chopping down a hedge, finding tiles, collecting nuts - stuff like that, before heading off for another weekend, but this time at the sea.  We haven't downloaded the photos yet, but the Brittany coast when it is blowing a gale is fabulous.  We stayed at this hotel and had a jolly nice time, including breakfast outdoors on the terrace on Sunday morning, watching the tide go out.

However, now I am back at work, in front of the coputer and feeling that I must take some time out to set up the heating in my office before I freeze!

Mellow fruitfulness!

Well, there is mellow and then there is run ragged by it all!

I really should not complain, and I'm not, but how can I get "paid for" work done when there is all this fruit and stuff to be dealt with?  Once this is posted I must go downstairs and make quince juice from the 5 quince we got on our little tree - 5 quince weighing a total of 7lbs!  They are huge and gorgeous and ripe and I will photograph them before chopping them up, adding water and simmering them for a good 2 hours - the house will smell fabulous!

But that is not all!  There are still pears knocking around, plus a few peaches, tomatoes (green and red) and aubergines, which tends to imply there will need to be more chutney making going on - I have already made 10 jars of chutney of various types, plus a few bottles of plum sauce, vast quantities of jam of all sorts, while the freezer groans with all the fruit that is frozen in there for more jam and jelly making (mostly tayberries and black currants).

The chillies - two types this year, hot, and flavoursome - are ripening up and need to be strung up for drying before the deadly combination of frost and the mason starting work get them - I am always terrified of getting chilli finger and then poking myself in the eye or something similarly stupid.  But I must be brave, or my chilli con carne will be tame during the winter.

There is a giant marrow lurking in the undergrowth and three "potimarrons" - a small and sweet variety of pumpkin - that all need to be dealt with too.  The potimarrons should store if I take advantage of the fine weather currently to dry them off.  The marrow will probably end up as chicken food.

At least the medlars aren't clamouring for attention - they have another month or so to go before they will be anywhere near ready, but the nut trees are starting to do their thing.  We are rigging up nets under two walnut trees and have also invested in a nut harvester (something for a separate blog I think), while yesterday we found our first sweet chestnuts of the season and ate them roasted on the portable cooker - yummy.  That does mean that we will have to seek out chestnuts however, as the stock in the freezer is sadly depleted, and I have this brilliant crumble recipe...

We are up to 4 litres of sloe gin set off and I have another good pound of sloes to prick and put into gin, so that is good, and we can probably do with more of that.

Last year we got a good dollop of apple juice made, this year we were in a giant consortium, and came away with 24 bottles of apple and grape juice and a further 46 bottles of pure grape juice.  As the wine round here is good and cheap, why bother making something fairly nasty yourself?  Instead this rich, dark brew is ideal for lunches and cocktails, if a bit strong for breakfast.

I will tart this post up with some images, but I am also being called to pick figs which are ripening and need to be dealt with - more chutney perhaps?

By the way, if the Mossy Gnome is reading this at any stage - how are things?  Are you OK?

French Comic Films

The theme for the Comice at Pontigne was Comic Films, and this was reflected in the grand procession of floats on the Sunday afternoon.  How many of these great works have you heard of, let alone seen?  And let's be clear - some of these are the biggest grossing films in France of all time!

The procession always starts with what they call the Ambassadrices - we would say carnival queens - and the Cadets de Baugeois - be glad there is no sound.

Next came le Vieil Bauge as we will be hosting the Comice next year.  Our chosen film was Les Bronzes font du Ski - about a bunch of middle aged swingers who go on Club Med holidays together, this time skiing.  I think there are four or five in the series, most of which were huge at the box office.

Vaulandry were next, and I never really got to see anywhere on their float the name of the film, but from the float I would imagine it was Les Enfants du Marais with Jacques Villeret - actually a very nice little film, but the frog fishing scenes were the best.  In some ways this procession was an hommage to Jacques Villeret and Louis de Funes, of whom more later.

Fougere decided to look more to Hollywood and Walt Disney and did a fine representation of Herbie - although they don't actually call him Herbie over here.

Following them, were Bauge with the first of the Louis de Funes films - le Gendarme de St Tropez.  Louis was kind of the French Norman Wisdom, but funny.

Next up, Le Guedeniau with another Louis de Funes film that is currently also doing the rounds as a musical - so they very bravely stopped every 50 metres and did a dance - Rabbi Jakob - and yes, they are all dressed up as Jews.

Next two pictures of the two floats of Chevire le Rouge, which we were fairly convinced were depicting the Frank Dubosc film Camping (top of the summer box office here 3 years ago - Frank is French Canadian and deeply worrying).

Then Boce - one of the smaller communes - who put on a fine display with another Louis de Funes film, La Grande Vadrouille.  I gather it was hugely popular in its time and is often shown on French TV.  The bloke who seems to be holding a pumpkin in his hand, is actually holding a water bomb made to look like a pumpkin - he was a very good shot, but it was so hot, no one minded.

Clefs came next with the biggest grossing French film of all time, and indeed the film that had the most ever cinema entrances in France of any film.  It is called Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, starred Danny Boon and came out in 2008.

If you have ever taken the fast road between Saumur and La Fleche, you will have passed through Cuon.  This year they came up with a film Le Petit Baigneur - another Louis de Funes film from 1968 and not one I have heard of at all, but a rather sweet float.

St Martin d'Arce was next in line.  They did Asterix and Obelix in fine style - but personally I prefer the books to the films.  We all cheered until we realised we were about to get "magic potion" thrown at us, which seemed to be dirty dish water (I hope it wasn't).

Then St Quentin les Beaurepaires - a tiny village off the main road - which did what I am told is a great French classic - Le Pere Noel est un Ordure.  I never think it wise to mock Father Christmas - you never know, as I saw him finishing his rounds one Christmas morning at Fontain Guerin!

Montpollin had several outriders before the main float turned up as they portrayed the film Mais ou est donc passe la 7eme Compagnie?  The French do a fine line in comedy films about the war.

Chartrene is the smallest commune in the Department - only about 50 registered voters and a few more people than that (mostly British).  They did another Louis de Funes film, but by this stage, my knowledge of these is totally exhausted (though no one did the Fantomas sequence - happily).

Echimire decided to take on the Jean Reno films - Les Visiteurs - about a rather tetchy medieval knight who gets sent forward in time, and doesn't much enjoy it.  I believe his catch phrase in the films was C'est dingue! - it's crazy!

Finally Pontigne brought up the rear, in place of honour with the finest and most highly regarded of all French Comic Films - even more than M Hulot's Holiday - La Soupe au Chou - about a couple of old peasants who make a wicked cabbage soup.  The disturbed digestion they get from this makes them fart a lot, which turns out to be an inter-galactic greeting and brings them Denree, who comes in search of cabbage soup, and brings gifts in return.  Denree is played by Jacques Villeret in an early role.  It cannot be called high art, but does epitomise French films - Truffaut was an abberation.

More from the Comice at Pontigne 2009

I couldn't leave it with just the photo from the dress rehearsal, so here are the Vieil Bauge Transylvanians doing the Time Warp, and at that moment we were keeping our knees in tight!

Once we had done all that fun stuff, the competitive inter-villages games were a pretty serious bout of tug-of-war.  We were outsized by most villages, and puffed from doing the dancing and quick changes behind a caravan.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

After all that fun on the Saturday, we were tired on the Sunday so went over to the Comice and sat in the shade and admired the scenery - Pontigne has a fine twisted spire as well!

However when the time came we had to go to the field entrance and greet the Vieil Bauge float.  The theme was comic films - I'm sure every British viewer of this blog will know Les Bronzes font du Ski intimately!  I will do another post on real comic French films shortly, once I am back from the UK.

The Vieil Bauge website has more photos if you are interested - follow this link here!

Comice at Pontigne - part 1 - the dance

If it is August, it must be Comice time here in the Baugeois.  Last year was Chartrene, this year it was down to Pontigne to arrange it all, next year it is our turn - help!

Last year, with some young friends, we sang and danced the Windmill in Old Amsterdam - following the theme of fables and stories.  This year's theme was comic films, and as I was given the job of deciding what we would do and setting it all up, they had to put up with an English language film - the Rocky Horror Picture Show.  While much of it would be unsuitable for young, old, horses and cattle, the Time Warp sequence is a good ensemble piece and this year, I also had lots of volunteers.

We have been rehearsing in our garden for the past five weeks, and Saturday afternoon was the performance.  The stage had no shade at all, and we were all in black - I was even wearing a wool dinner jacket - and the shade temperature was 32 degrees by the time it was down to us to open the dance proceedings, so I could really have done without having to do an interview with the compere before we got started.  I am waiting to see one of the videos that was done, but we got a lot of applause and it felt right.

The tug of war that we also had to do that afternoon in the baking heat was a complete disaster - I will say no more about that.  I will do other posts about the decorated floats on the Sunday, but leave you with a photograph from the dress rehearsal last Friday, showing my fabulous troupe of dancers in their finest Transylvanian apparel.

Vegetables for high summer

The weather has turned a bit blustery here in the past 3 hours, but for lunch I was able to pick a good sized bowl of cherry tomatoes, like those shown below, and toss them in oil with feta cheese, basil, salt and pepper for a lovely lunch.  The tomatoes were still warm from the sun when we ate them.

 

Tonight I will be cooking duck legs - they are something that I can leave gently simmering away in the oven in a light stock and with a few vegetables until after the Time Warp rehearsal.  I think tonight I will do them with a couple of aubergines - these two have grown on nicely since the photo was taken!

 

Come winter, when we are desperate for a bit of warmth, these chillies will serve to warm us up from the inside! 

 

But I can hardly wait the 10 days to 2 weeks before these corn cobs are ready to pick - we get the water boiling away on the stove before I run up the garden, chose and pick the cobs, unwrapping them as I come back down the garden so as little as possible of the sugars turn to starch.  Some say I am obsessive about this, but it is worth it!

Expect the unexpected

Life round here is never dull (life in Worcester was generally dull), but the last few days have been rather too exciting.

On Thursday we became the proud owners of a trailer - essential for all those trips to the dumpwhen you are taking down someone's leylandii hedge.

On Friday we narrowly missed being serenaded by a Brazilian blues guitarist at our local pub.

On Saturday, we did our usual marathon stint as volunteers at the village "journee champetre" - the local version of the village fete except it starts at 2pm with a petanque competition that gets very serious as the day goes on and beer gets drunk.  Of course to get to that stage, the local chaps have been working since 6:30am collecting pig carcases and setting up marquees.  From 1pm, people drift past the pig roasting area to check that the spits are turning, that the pigs are good quality and that they have enough garlic, herbs and harissa lathered all over them.  Usually at 7pm people startto turn up in search of kir and gossip - this year the rain started at 5:30pm and didn't give up until about 7:30pm, at which point people started to arrive.  There is then food, and once people are too full to object, the local brass band (the Cadets de Baugois - once heard, never forgotten - take that as you will) and drum majorettes put on their annual show.  Finally there are fireworks and a dance that goes on to the early hours, at which point the men of the village dismantle it all, so you don't know anything has happened by morning.

This year, we made the front page of the Courrier de l'Ouest as a lady choked on a piece of pig and died at about 9pm in the evening - so everything else was cancelled as a mark of respect.  Not the nicest evening therefore.

So on Sunday we went over to visit a horse we are keeping an eye on while its owners are away, and we saw a hoopoe, which was a nice surprise.

Then during the evening our neighbour (feckless Joel) tapped on the door and gave us a huge bowl of perch that he had caught that day and couldn't deal with the full catch.  So as Harry Potter started on the TV, I started gutting 30 perch.

Today was relatively normal - we were cutting down trees in the blazing sunshine.

Life is certainly not dull here.

Apricot Time

After all that lovely blossom in the Spring, we were hoping for a good apricot crop this year, and it is exceeding our expectations at the moment.  If you have any good apricot recipies let me know, particularly things that can be preserved (frozen, bottled, put in alcohol, etc) as we will soon be swamped.

The first weekend in July I was in the middle of a tour of England (partly explaining the lack of blogs recently) and up in the North East.  Now I love Tyneside and I had had a fabulous day with my friends at Howick Hall, but I really didn't need to be reminded of what I was missing at home when Much Beloved sent me the photo below.

I got back home finally on Thursday and we had a go at picking some ripe fruit - well we got enough for a good scoff of fresh apricots for ourselves, but it was on Saturday, on a really hot day, that we had a go at doing a proper pick.  They still aren't quite ripe in general yet, but we got an easy 5 kilos, some of which are now in alchohol, some were stewed and are very nice on porridge, some were turned into apricot fromage blanc pudding (too good) and some are being eaten.  Tomorrow I think we will have to have a major jamming session and give some away.

It's a lovely problem to have - so I'm not complaining, but do send me any recipies you come across!

One cat successfully rehoused

Earlier this year, I wrote an impassioned plea about the need to get male cats castrated being as important as getting females spayed - you can read it here.

One of the reasons for this was that a male cat had turned up chez nous following his hormones and the scent of a female cat on heat.  When he arrived, he was well fed, with a flea collar and with the gangley awkwardness of a young cat who hasn't filled out properly yet.  We think he had travelled a long way to get to us - no one in the village knew or would admit to being his owner.

Over the three months he lived in our garden, he lost condition badly (despite being given or stealing some food), he got beaten up by older, more experienced male cats in the area, he lost his flea collar, he developed a huge abscess on his leg and the final straw was that he got shot at by someone with an air rifle.  We spent over 100 Euros taking him back and fro to the vet and feeding him, worming him and giving him flea treatment.

We put up rather pathetic notices with lovely photos in the bakers, the Mairie and the veterinary surgery and I called a number found at the vet's for someone who had lost a cat of his description, but just got laughed at.

It couldn't go on, so we have found him a new home.  He has a new name - instead of Elvis (from the phone call) or Sh*t for Brains (he isn't the brightest bulb in the packet) - he is now Barney.  He goes to the vet on Tuesday to be castrated, and in the mean time, he has the run of a lovely water mill in the country, and two people who love him to bits.  I hope that is the end of the drama and he can enjoy the remaining 5 lives he has left with them.

Here is Elvis when he arrived around us.

 

And here is Barney a day before he went to his new home.

Final (I hope) observations on broody chickens

No pictures this time, just a few comments, as Black is finally out of her broodiness (it took about 5 weeks in the end) but not yet laying again.

• Broody chickens when you don't have a cockerel are a pain

• Going broody seems to go by moon phases

• The first time they go broody, it takes a lot to sort them out, but it gets easier - White had her first bout of broodiness this year, and it lasted about 3 days

• Black positively enjoyed sitting and brooding on top of a chicken wire cloche when I had hoiked her out of the coop, so I am not sure that broody cages work and look annoying to have to keep around the place when not in use

• ISA Browns seem to have had the urge to brood bred out of them, the nearer you go to pretty and old style breeds (White is a Light Sussex mongrel) the more likely they are to try it (a friend's Buff Orpington is also a bit of a pain)

• It seems to be a spring and summer thing

• It causes havoc with your egg production

When I have worked out what moon phase it is that brings on the broodiness, I will add the information here