A Message from Les Gnomes de Nantilly

We don't know where he came from - but we know e haz saved us. All hail Zee Gnome dans Blanc. There's no going back - to the garden in zee freezing cold. Gnomes of France Unite - Equality, Liberty, Gnomety

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.