Bonjour, les gnomes veulent parler

Nous sommes les gnomes et il est temps pour l'action directe. Que dites-vous? Pas tout le monde lire le français, mon dieu, c'est terrible, oui, oui, oui
Ello, ello, theese iz zee gnomes ere - stand up Henri, they wiill zink you rrr drunk - we want to make our position clear. Pourquoi sommes-nous laissé de côté dans tout la monde quand tout le reste est pris à l'intérieur pour l'hiver? Eh quelle? En Anglais! Okay. Ze weather may be mild now but there is winter to come and we think we should be inside! Even the table and chairs get to spend winter undercover so we demand the same for us. Zo take note! And zank you to the kind lady who offered us a job in ze librairie, can it be a job share?

Mild so far, bitter later

No it is not an order for drinks in a retro Yorkshire pub but an observation on the weather. The nice Mr & Mrs Miller called in to check me out and do a bit of weeding, not sure if the vines will see out the winter. The de-humidifier is humming, its a bit of company really in the quiet winter months, and a couple of the radiators are on at a low level. That should keep the damp and condensation at bay.
And oh yes the gnomes are talking about forming a union to campaign for better conditions!

November News - or rather the lack of it....

It is pretty quiet around here and has been for a couple of months now. Thank goodness that the nice Mr Miller calls in to check out my pipes. My only comfort right now is to know that it is a good bit sunnier and warmer than back in London.
Unlike the last couple of years there is nobody coming to let in the New Year this year. I'll be waitng until early Febraury before I get the chance to entertain anyone. I hope they know it is likely to be still quite cold then.
And oh yes, the gnomes are feeling a bit lonely as well!

Thursday was perfect weather for golf - so we played golf

 We were paired with a couple "qui parle anglais" so we approached them on the first tee, armed with our very best "bonjours" to show some "willing" avec le francais. The two of them looked very puzzled and then the bloke said "Do you speak any English" and he was more relieved than me to work out that they were English and that the two of us were native speakers of English. They were Peter & Rachael and for some reason they thought we were Scottish.

A very pleasant game followed and although the other Peter was off his game (he plays of 8) we all enjoyed the golf. Needless to say that Anika beat me by three holes, mostly achieved on the front nine.

We were somewhat mystified to find a boat alongside the 18th green, looking almost like it had been washed up there by last year's storm. Perhaps they have put it there to mark the point to which the sea made ingress during the storm?

The Monday Blog

We undertook an excursion to Chatelaillon-Plage on Monday, Mick and Ann's last full day. It was a scorcher of a day and we were surprised to see just how quiet this stunning, little seaside resort was. It took us quite a while to realize that the season is really over and all the resort paraphalia of beach clubs and activities for children were already closed. As we strolled back along the esplanade, after lunch to the car, the council workers were driving along dismantling the sound system that had been strung along the lampposts to provide the soundtrack to everyone's summer holiday.
Having mentioned "lunch" we need to go back to that topic as the lunch was the main purpose of the excursion. It is a great treat to have a superb lunch in Les Flots and made all the more special as it marked the (almost) end of Mick & Ann's holiday.
We followed the back roads along the coast as much as we could to return via La Rochelle and the marina. By this time it really was hot and so travelling in the car with the air-con on full was very appealing!

The experiment with baking continues

So on and off we have been trying out various baking and pudding dishes. The snaps on the left centre on the first effort of Chocolate and Strawberry Fairy cakes. But you can also glimpse in the fidge the making of fig and cassis triffles and Gin & Lime Truffles. The former were a great success, the latter less so. Also concocted was blackberry ice cream cake which was a storming success, especially when we sat outside in the evening with the thermometer not dropping below 30c.
The other big success where the meringues that SOR did, and that turned to be perfect to go with the leftover strawberries and whipped cream. Hidden in the collage is a snap of the grape crop on the vines we planted at Easter, teo of the three we planted survived and we have a small crop of small, bitter grapes. I think they need more water and more sunshine and that probably adds up to them being planted in the wrong place. Ho hum.

Friday night down the Ostrich Farm

I know it is unlikely but we had a great time at the dinner-dance at the Ostrich Farm.
It was a bit shambolic and like Thursday a sense of amateurism in terms of cooking for 50 to 60 people. The starter was mouclade, the local way of cooking mussels by piling pine straw on top of them and setting fire to it. It was erm interesting.
Not surprisingly the main course was barbecued ostrich and chips. (Thank goodness for the chips, chirps in Sheila). Our table of six included a couple of New Zealanders who were very good company.
Ann and Sheila had a guided tour of the farm and now they are the acknowledged experts on these odd animals with dinosaurs as ancestors. (Ostrich not the McKay brothers)
The was live music from Manue & Gio who clearly knew how to work the french crowd (mostly middle-aged and beyond) and the dancing went on well past midnight - which is when we called it a night.

I have tried to put a link to a slideshow of pictures from the night HERE

Port Lauzieres, Nieul sur Mer

 Port Lauzieres, like most of the "ports" around here is a centre for mussel and oyster farming, this one located around an inlet. We have driven along to the end of the road to the "point" a few times and noticed  a restaurant but never found it open. On this visit with Mick and Ann we found not one but four restaurants and three of them packed out. SO by default we ended up having a very pleasant evening in the fourth Le Marochon. Le Marochon is a new enterprise, opening its doors for the first time in April this year. Clearly they are first and foremost shelfish farmers and restaurateurs second. If they keep up the standard of food and tighten up on the efficiency of service their is no reason why it won't prosper. The feel of the place is very laid back, with  a sense that the people being "beginners".

All four of the restaurants in this spot are seasonal opening in April and closing September / October. Two of them are at the "point" and we have booked in to one of them for Saturday night.

A new age dawns....

or rather begins mid afternoon as we catch sight of our new local and OPEN eco-frais mini-market. And when I say open I mean open Mon to Saturday 8.00am to 8.00pm (no closing for lunch!) and on Sunday mornings.

A new friend in Nantilly

But then is was sunny and dry some of the time

It has been a while since anyone stayed at the house so we were very pleased that Brenda and Sam were able to spend time here last week. They have sent news of the shopping precint and we looking forward to seeing it ourselves. Today sees the arrival of Mick and Ann and we should land in Nanatilly by Thursday lunchtime. Can't wait!



The Fairy / Cup cakes were a great success....

...in terms of them being light and delicious to taste. I clearly put too much cake mix in each baking case as they flowed over like mad, hence the irregular shape. I might have been a bit heavy handed on the baking powder as well as the recipe I had was for 12, I halved the quantity as I only had the six baking cases, only I forgot to halve the baking powder amount.
You will notice that there are only four in the picture. The other two got snaffled by a certain someone whilst enjoying a cup of coffee and before I thought to take a snap. We decided not to complete the buns with icing as the quantities of butter and icing sugar involved seemed like a recipe for a heart attack never mind fairy cake topping. This concludes the foray into baking for this holiday at least.

Planning a trip?

Well here's a thing, Lonely Planet (online) has a list of 31 Things to do in La Rochelle, quite a few to go yet...
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/southwestern-france/la-rochelle/things-to-do

It is a cool and damp start to the day and rain is promised for most of the day although it could get to 20/21c by mid afternoon. We lit a fire last night as it got relatively chilly. The big domestic chore this morning is cleaning the oven door so that we can (at least) see what's cooking in there. I  know, hold back the gasps of excitement and joy. Perhaps when the job is done we will celebrate by doing some baking and slow cooking a stew for tonight?
Sheila baked an apple tart a la Raymond Blanc's mother's recipe(did you follow that) last night - sorry no photo as it all went. So instead here is a photo of a homemade pork pie - homemade in Yorkshire by Jeanne Breen.
Cheers

Where were we today?

Answers on a postcard to the usual address.

Le Fureur de Vivre

In addition to Le Fureur de Vivre being the French title for the movie Rebel Without a Cause this is the name of the resto that is occupying the space behind the Harley Davidson dealer, near the Lagord rond point. It is open on Friday and Saturday nights so we decided to have dinner there last night.
They seem to have taken on all the furnishing and decor of the previous place that never seemed to be open last year, perhaps it is the same people. It is Hollywood themed with a big movie poster for Rebel. The room has about 60 covers and they have a season of live music, more or less every other Saturday until July 9th and then a gap until September! Maybe they don't open at all in August.
Anyway the food was rather poor even though it was a very limited menu that should have made it easy to be at least average. We noticed as we drove back that the Restaurant L'Aubrecay looked like it was open so perhaps they are having some evening openings as standard. Must stop and take a look.

The oil heater has gone.....

....and in its place is a cupboard and worktop, another step in making the "cusine americaine" more usable. The materials are all recycled from The Knoll so it has been a very "eco" project. This is probably the last time that this new cupboard will be seen with an empty worktop because the varnish has now dried and there is nothing to stop us filling it up with stuff. As commented earlier, we also brought the former kitchen sink with us and maybe that will be a project for the summer holidays? (Watch out Michael!)

This may be the last post of the day - shopping to do, quiche to make, tart to bake (perhaps even cup cakes), golf to play.

Wednesday saw day four of the ORMA Consulting Easter Golf Challenge

A glimpse at McKay's score card?????

Golf de la Pree is in pretty good condition and soaked up the heavy overnight rain without a problem. Parts of the course are already very hard underfoot and this might auger very trying conditions come the summer. We started around 3.00pm and this was a good time to play. The day had cooled a bit and the course was more or less empty. We followed a four but by the time they had lost another ball on the second hole and needed to have all four of them look for it, they waved us through. It was the 17th hole before we caught up with another group.

There has been a bit of a reversal in playing styles. Last year McKay was all about the 60 degree wedge / flop shot in the short game. This year he has have gone for the chip and run and Annika has taken over the lob wedge - needless to say with great aplomb and good effect.

It was a much better day on the course for McKay who only lost three balls this time. Annika maintained her form and after four rounds is well in to triple figures for the combined stableford, McKay has yet to reach 50.
The last round of the tournament is today so if McKay eagles all the holes and yer one gets zero the result will be more balanced but she will still be the leader.

ORMA Consulting Vineyard is established

Yesterday was also a day of doing a bit of tidying in the garden. Three plants that we inherited with the garden were killed of by a combination of the winter and a fair bit of neglect so we decided to replace them with grapevine.  The variety is Vigne vinifera Chasselas Dore and apparently it is grown as much for its magnificent foliage as for its sweet and juicy table grape. Well right, I will believe that when I see it.

Of course having planted them we have had to draft in the workforce to look after them.

The Big Day is On Us All

By which I mean a day to catch up on the last few days, so be prepared for a stream of postings. It won't be as intensive as the media reportage of events elsewhere but.....
Yesterday's trip out was to Ile D'Oleron. It is just about an hour's drive from No. 8 to parking up in Le Chateau-D'Oleron which is probably the islands main town. We had a very pleasant lunch in a wooden shack restaurant called Les Goelands and then spent the afternoon on the beach - yes a third day of being on the beach!!!!! I have put it down to the fact that I have spent so much time in bunkers on the golf course that sand is becoming a habit for me.
Here's a photo-collage (my new trick) notice the snap of the very difficult 12th hole at the local golf course.

A photo collage of our day on Il De Re

Day Three of the ORMA Consulting Easter Golf Challenge

Taking the sun on the beach on Saturday

Monday saw day three of holiday golf. We had a 10.40 tee-time and were surprised to see how quiet the course was. There were two groups of three and four in front of us but there was a long gap before anyone followed us on to the course. It made for a four hour pleasant stroll in the countryside, augmented by the the gentlest of golfing exercise. Annika continues to play well and even improve. We both agree that La Pree is quite challenging and you don't have to do much wrong to run up a big score on some of the holes. McKay's play was more consistent but still rubbish. The good thing about Stableford is that the worst score to report is zero and even McKay managed a few points!
Today (Tuesday) is Ile De Re day.

Sunday on the building site in Marsilly

For email readers - the last blog posting has two embedded videos which most email clients won't display so click on the link and go to the blog to see the videos.
Here are some snaps

One side of the new avenue, looking towards the carpark

The "other" side of the avenue, looking from the car park

More units that overlook a space that begins to feel like a town sqaure

Similar units on the opposite side of the square - grey blocks are the edge of the "superette"

The "Superette" site with 1000sq m shop and 1500 sq metre car park

A close look at the new commercial centre for the Commune

The more we think about it the project to create a new centre to unite the "old" centres of Marsilly and Nantilly is a bold venture. We wandered around there today and were surprised at just how big and how many the shop units there are. The Superette is going to be 1000 sq metres and run by Coop Atlantique using their Eco Frais brand.

A day trip in the Vendee on Saturday

The Vendee is the next department north of us and the border is only about five miles away. We went on a coastal route exploring a whole bunch of coastal towns / seaside resorts. It is smashing up there. We had a late morning start and did a fair bit of driving about but it was mostly meandering from place to place rather than bashing along the road. In all we called in on L'Aiguillon Sur Mer, La Tranche Sur Mer, Jard Sur Mer, Sables-d'Olonne and back via Lucon. Here's few snaps

Lucon Catherdral

Day Two of the ORMA Consulting Easter Golf Challenge

Well Mckay's golf game is going south and I don't mean to the Cote D'Azur. Even though there was a marginal improvement in the lad's game and Annika was not quite on song, the margin has widened. Looks like a miracle is needed or the championship will be decided by the end of the next round. And what's worse the muffins did not really work out.

OK I took some liberties with the recipe (not enough butter) and the silicon cup cake thingies were a bit small, but still..........

Operation "Remove the Oil-fired Heater" gets underway

That's the flue loose....

Hmm, I wonder how I get this off....

Out, out, out

OK it is not the prettiest Banana Loaf you've ever seen....

...but it was delicious. So we used a foil container because we don't have a loaf tin here in Nantilly, so it is a bit wonky. But we need help from you baking mavens.
All the banana and pecan ended up at the bottom of the loaf - any idea why?
Next up fairy cakes or do we call them cup cakes these days?

Visible progress with the new Centre Commercial for Marsilly

The car park is more or less ready

The shop units have windows - mostly

I do wonder if the local mayor owned the land that this big (relative to the size of the commune) development is being built on.
In the three and a half months since we last reported it is easy to see the progress and it looks to be about on schedule for a summer opening. Of course that means it has to be finished over the next two months as we are told that the french building trade goes on holiday for the whole of August. It would not surprise me.

It looks like the development may have caused its first "casualty" as the mini Co-op by the church has closed its doors for good. A sign says their last day was February 18th. To be honest our experience was that it hardly ever opened its doors and so perhaps its demise is separate from the prospect of a new "Superette" in the new CC.

In addition to the new shop / business premises about 100 homes are going up on the site and many are already complete and occupied. We have yet to have a real mouch about the whole site to really assess progress.

The large grey building in the centre back is a puzzle

As I write a Banana Loaf with rum and pecans is in the oven with about 30 minutes of baking to go. Does anyone know the difference between Pecans and Walnuts or are they just different names for the same nut. Are they nuts, perhaps they are seeds? I must google - watch this space for a report on how the baking works out.

Lots of work going on

Day One of the ORMA Consulting Easter Golf Challenge

The first tee box at Golf De La Pree our local course

 Of course there is no need to say who has the first round advantage. We are playing stableford  and on the current deficit I am going to have to restrict Annika to only using one club for the whole of the next round.

The golf course seems to have pretty much recovered from the inundation of the storm, tempte xynthia, of February last year. One also has the feeling that it has been a pretty dry start of  he year as the golf course is very hard underfoot.

The McKay eyeview from the yellow tees -
the reds are someway in the distance to the right

Not much else to the day; a trip to the local Intermarche for a few essential supplies and to discover what we might about the shop opening hours over the Easter weekend. There were no notices of special fete hours so I guess things are going to be "normal".

We called in at the Marsilly boulangerie for a baguette and they had some delightful easter eggs that looked just like  boiled eggs with its top cut off, very tempting.

Partly in an attempt to avoid the temptations of the french patisserie we are going to doing a bit of baking ourselves. Watch this space......

O'Reilly making mincemeat of the 15th

Springtime is really here in South West France

(NB email readers - remember you can click on this link or the one below to visit the blog that this email comes from)
We have made a number of car journeys to Marsilly with the car packed tight with stuff. On more than one occasion we have observed that we had packed "everything but the kitchen sink". Well this time we packed the kitchen sink! We are recycling the sink that was in the kitchen in The Knoll to the house in France as part of our plan for the next small upgrade to the kitchen fittings. Whether we actually do an upgrade is anybody's guess but at least we are now prepared.

We also brought a new table for the backyard - another eBay bargain. It is light weight and in a black mesh so it matches the chairs. [picture shows]

The journey here was very good, truly like a start to the holiday. We left Beckenham "early" and called in to see Alison & David on Hayling Island before transferring to the ferry port. The new terminal at Portsmouth is now open and is a big improvement on its shed-like predecessor.

The ferry was busy but we secured an early table in the restaurant and enjoyed a very good meal before ending the evening watching a magician giving his show to the huge delight of all the children (of whatever age).
We had a glorious day for the 200 mile drive down and we landed at the front door about 12.45pm. Just starting to get the feel of the place, everything in good order. The house has got through the winter without any problems even thought the saga of the water stop cock continues.
No we will turn to thinking of what we will do to while way the next couple of weeks.

Monday was Il De Re - for a quick wintery visit

M&A left late morning to travel up to the ferry port for their return. Part of the leisurely preparation for their departure was to source some engine oil for their Mini. As luck would have it the local (Marsilly) Renualt dealer was open and able to supply, althoug it was a hefty 30euro for a 2 litre bottle.Once they were on the road we tootled off to Il De Re with our cheif stopping point being St Martin

Even in the cold of winter, but with a little bit of sunshine, it presents a delightful picture. 
 A couple of the dock side bars and cafes were open and indeed the one we thought we might get a snack in, was absolutely packed with people enjoying their lunches that filled the place with a tantalising aroma. However we did not fancy the idea of sitting outside.

  This little spot provided for a warm seat inside and a very strong coffee and a sandwich that found the spot, as one might say.

We heard later that M&As journey to the port was "eventful" in that they needed to get a new tyre - two in fact. They needed one new tyre to replace one that had shown a bit of a fault earlier in the week. But this model of Mini has run-flat tyres and you have to replace them two at a time it seems. Sounds like a wease developed by the tyre industry boyos.

On Sunday we went to a rugby match

A scrum very close to us

The local team Stade La Rochelle were hosting Stade Francais and we bought a couple of tickets online so as to add a new expereince to our french sojourn. SOR has been to many a rugby match but Peter had never (ever) been to one. Indeed he has only (ever) watched rugby on the telly when SOR was so engaged an he couldn't be bothered leaving the room!

Lots of standing around!

 

The only tickets we could get were "ground" tickets that basically meant we were standing on the level ground behind one of the goal posts. The match did not start until 4.30pm and so it was getting  bit gloomy for the very old digtal camera we keep here in Nantilly to take any sort of a photo.

As best as we could see it was quite an exciting game and there was a great atmosphere with very vocal local supporters chanting "Ici, ici, c'est La Rochelle" but quite why I just don't know. The final score was 26- 26 so a bit of a disappointment for La Rochelle as they were the only team to have the lead at anytime in the match, but then again La Rochelle are bottom of the league so I suppose some points would have been very welcome to them.