folk'n'jazz gallery

great evening last night - very varied programme - almost half of the people there were French.

                                                                   

Compere last night John

Roger

Ian

Alain accompanied by Trevor

Edwige and Alain - again accompanied by Trevor

Eric

Trevor

Linda

Linda and John

Jeanne

Roger and Eileen

  

The audience are important too , Roger seen here on the left never misses folk 'n'jazz. He likes dancing too so I will be glad to see him at next month's evening which is a celidh with English dances called by me.                           

a change of tune

Last Thursday of the month generally means folk'n'jazz night.

Folk'n'jazz is a very loose title as it's often not very folky or jazzy but it is always acoustic and there is a good proportion of traditional music and sometimes dance. Audiences are small, usually about 30 to 40  ( that's not bad in folk club terms I suppose), but there is a nice atmosphere and a growing involvement of French musicians as well.

We do not have a large set of English friends here, most of our friends are French associated with our Occitan music and dance interests. We have not sought out to mix with the usual expat crowd but those we do have we have met through Folk'n'jazz and although Trevor is never short of opportunities to play music he does enjoy the chance to sing too.

Eric

Tonight our table will, as always, be the French one as friends of ours are coming to sing ,play and listen.  Eric plays the recorder and enjoys accompanying Trevor, Edwige and Alain sing all sorts - last month Edwige left everyone open mouthed with her first appearance rendering of Santa Lucia ( I did say anything goes!) she has a wonderful voice and loves to be able sing to an audience so she's coming back tonight.

Edwige

As with every folk club I have ever known folk'n'jazz has had it's share of stroppy prima donnas and infantile throwing of teddies out of the pram despite the fact that we have resisted having a formal committee for anyone to resign from! For me though its about the music, anything involving folk music will always fall short of mass appeal - probably why I like it - but as long as the audience outnumbers the audience it seems fine to me. We don't need to worry about covering costs as there are none, the hall in Verfeil is provided free of charge and all the musicians are unpaid.

Tonight promises to be a good evening - there is a strong line up of performers.







And tomorrow?
Good news for me - a change of tune - Trevor will start practising for next month

another glorious day

Our summer weather was certainly disappointing but there is no doubt that September and October have done much to make up for it. A second day with no outings planned meant we have been able to enjoy being outside working in the garden.






There is always lots to do at this time of the year. I think it's Monty Don who says that any gardener who pays a gym subscription doesn't turn his/her compost enough! Trevor is very proud of his range of huge compost bins and yes the compost does get turned regularly. Good stuff it is too and much needed with our poor soil. Today he has had to construct an overflow bin as we have so much material to compost - largely because of our super duper new shredder which has been making short work of the hedge cuttings. We have at last learnt our lesson and stopped buying the cheapest machines we can get away with and accepted that it is a false economy - we do not exactly have a tiny suburban garden after all!

before and after in the herb garden

The hens like the compost too!

Yesterday I finished clearing the flower garden except for the last remaining flowers and today I have cleared the weeds from the herb garden which had got very neglected and used many barrowloads of compost to improve the soil.

The winter veg garden is getting back under control. The leeks have done well and next years broad beans are through and looking good. Just need to think of a way of using half a ton of beetroot!


ps. thank you Gnu - I danced last night and no ill effects today.

Gnu

The French word  for knee is genou - as my left knee is currently being halfway to useless I've renamed it!

Normally it is the arthritis in my right knee which stops me doing things but my left knee seems to have a weakness and sometimes just gives way. After our first long walk of the season a few weeks back plus back to dance workshops twice a week it decided that it was being ignored and would make it's presence felt. Continuing to ignore it didn't work so for over a week I have been trying to rest it, I even missed both dancing classes last week - Trevor went on his own - I can't go and just watch, that's torture and I always get up and join in - just like I did at the Libertalia concert.

Anyway enough should be enough Gnu I've been thinking about you for over a week now - it's Tuesday, that means dancing at Caylus, Now you've had your moment of fame give me a break.



It does mean I'd better stop in the garden for now, maybe some reading and sewing in the sun this afternoon - it's not all bad news! There's still a lot of colour in the garden as there has still been no frost so far this year.

you can't have too much fabric or too many shoes

Lots of projects on the go at the moment but I couldn't resist ordering some pretty red and green prints to make something for the Kidsmas table. They arrived this morning - I am very pleased with them so I will get busy piecing this week.

I am making good progress with the window panels and got a lot done at Laguepie this afternoon. This is going to have to take a back seat again for a bit though so that I can finish the bits that need to be done by December.







Shoes ? I went shopping for shoes this morning - ended up buying two pairs but as I said you can't have too much fabric or too many shoes!

Chestnut fair at Laguepie

We have been every year since we lived here but had almost decided to give the Laguépie chestnut fair a miss this year. We went to the brocante at Caussade but it was disappointing and we didn't stay long, so as we were out enjoying the sunshine we drove on to Laguépie.





We were pleased we had made the effort too. A good crowd had turned out and there was a great atmosphere and lots going on.

One star of the show as usual is the La Guepe - the old bus which is being restored by the retro vehicle enthusiasts. After many years of painstaking work it's now nearing completion and the wooden frame work for the main body of the bus is beautiful work.








                                                         



 Lunch was unconventional, a bag of freshly roasted chestnuts, a plate of charcuterie washed down with a beer in the sunshine - when at a chestnut fair ..........!                                                                                    

fête du safran

We always think of Cajarc as being where our love affair with this area began. 10 years ago, having decided to look for a holiday retreat, we identified Lot as a likely area. Far enough south for good weather, not as "English" as the Dordogne, good accessibility and several possible airports and we remembered lovely scenery from earlier holiday visits. So it was that we booked into the little hotel in Cajarc for a few days during half term to do a spot of househunting.

The estate agent in Cajarc was less than useful - we had made an appointment to see several possible properties, but when we arrived at the office on our first morning he told us he had cancelled us and left a message on our answerphone ( obviously we had left home the day before and not got that!) Eventually, somewhat disgruntled, he took us to couple of places but we only saw the inside of one. So we went on to plan B and headed for Villefranche where we found a more amenable agency where someone was happy to show us some places. On day two we had an appointment in St Antonin and we soon became attracted to the area south of the Lot. We also found "Pavillon" at Bruniquel and immediately fell in love with the place despite its obvious drawbacks ( as it turns out even more of those than we realised at the time, but that's another story). We bought it and the rest is history as they say - we had several years of very happy holidays beside the Vere, spending more and more time here until we eventually took the plunge and moved here permanently. Now we live in Tarn et Garonne between the Lot and the Aveyron valleys giving us a wide and varied environment to explore.

Today in Cajarc it was the fête du safran. It was our first visit to this event and this morning we joined a visit to a saffron farm. It was a splendidly French affair - we were told to meet outside the tourist office at 10.30 so parked up and joined quite a crowd which was gathered. At 10.30 someone arrived and sent us off to get our cars to follow him to his farm - after a mad dash for the cars and some chaos outside the tourist office as cars who were nothing to do with the visit tried to get through Cajarc minding their own business a convoy of 10 cars set off into the hills through the winding lanes to the farm. 6kms later we arrived. Although we had missed the best flowering period for the crocus and the number of flowers was a little disappointing the visit was really interesting.







We headed along the beautiful Lot valley road to  St Cirq for lunch as we wanted to visit a shop there for Christmas goodies. It was nice to see St Cirq less busy than in the summer months but not deserted like a film set as it will be in the months to come. This weekend is the middle of the Toussaint half term and there is quite a holiday feel out and about.

Back in Cajarc tomorrow there is a grand saffron repas. We are giving this a miss - the main course is pied de cochon au safran - probably the only dish we have ever both found totally inedible, and also totally unforgettable, when we were served it all those years ago in Cajarc.

la rentrée

Half a term over already but its only now that the weather is catching up.

This morning it was very chilly, Trevor cycled to get the bread as usual and came back complaining that  his hands were frozen.

It's definitely getting close to to when I get up to find plants blackened by the first frosts. Time to bring inside a few specimens and wrap up some more.

                                                                                               





I would hate to lose this dipladenia and it will flower for ages yet in our kitchen.

The black leaved plant is a succulent called Aeonium I have seen large specimens in some gardens and they look really sculptural, I was only able to find tiny plants last year and have nutured them all summer - mustn't lose them now!














The next few days will no doubt see the end of the geraniums in the window boxes which have looked great all summer, not to worry though the winter pansies are planted up and waiting in the wings.








As for the pool - you must be joking 16 degrees now - even Trevor says that's too cold!

nuts

People here love foraging - driving through the lanes you will often see them, bags and baskets at the ready, searching for the bounty in the hedgerows and woods. Early in the year its the wild asparagus, later on the blackberries, sloes,  figs (if you're really lucky)  and mushrooms. At the moment its the sweet chestnuts and walnuts.

I have been  lucky this year and two people have given me walnuts from their trees and I have a big bowl of them. This year I am determined to use them while they are fresh as I kept last year's too long.

Should be a walnut tart or two there I think.











I don't think I have ever eaten really fresh walnuts straight from the tree before. I added them to a ham and fig salad I made for lunch today and they were amazing.


There was a small sapling growing in our garden when we moved here which turned out to be a walnut tree - its growing fast - I wonder if we will ever get crop of our own walnuts. I do hope so.

a change of scene

As the leaves get less dense and the hedges are cut  the view from our bedroom window gains another feature as we get glimpses of the lake at the bottom of the field.

After some days of very warm temperatures its a little more Autumnal today even though still sunny. We drove to St Antonin this morning to order some picture frames - the countryside is looking beautiful in its Autumn colours.

We were able to sit outside for a simple, but delicious, lunch at Gazpacho. We haven't eaten there for ages but today we remembered  our frequent visits in the days when we holidayed in nearby Bruniquel. Its a place that stays open all year round, unlike many bars and restaurants in the area, and it is very rare that we pass by and see it deserted. 3 courses with wine only 12 euros 60, but most importantly the food was nice too!

biting the bullet

I now have two full size quilt tops accusingly waiting for me to take up the challenge of quilting them. I've only attempted small pieces so far and a full quilt is really daunting . It must be done though I would hate not to have a quilt in the exhibition when it happens in 2016 ( so I have got a while yet)

One problem is I've got so many ideas for new projects buzzing around in my head, ideas for Christmas presents and part finished pieces too.







One half done project has been a trio of panels to frame the rather ugly window in our dining room.

The idea is to have two narrow panels at the sides and a square one in the middle inspired by the blue and white china, especially the Woods Yuan bird.













The side panels are well under way, one is all ready for quilting and I even have an idea of how I'm going to do that.





The bird panel however has been not so easy. When I tried to explain the idea to the ladies at patchwork they clearly thought I was off my head.

As is so often the case it's the getting started that's the problem. I'm sure it would be a lot easier if I had more experience to draw on,  I have been uncertain whether the idea I had for the bird would work. I'd seen a bird done with celtic applique in a book so decided to have a go. An afternoon of enforced "resting" because of my not so friendly Gnu meant I had an opportunity to bite the bullet and experiment with some of the huge stash of blue and white fabric I have bought for this project.




And ..... I think it will work - long way to go yet but at least  I've started.

This evening Trevor is off to be a welcome extra "cavalier" at dancing and I am staying at home with Gnu - I'd rather be here than watching everyone else. At least now I have I some sewing to do while catching up on the summer series of Holby

And daily blogging? After two weeks I note

1. I kept it up 
2. Its not easy
3. aici sèn pla

going to the pictures

We had largely given up on going to the cinema in England - not because we don't enjoy films - it was the "going to the cinema" that got to be trial. So much hassle, I always felt out of place right from the queues to buy tickets when, even then, I felt like Methuselah in a disco.



Le Querlys at St Antonin Noble Val is such a different matter. It's a complete gem - a tiny cinema which seats 180 when full ( maybe it gets full sometimes, I've never seen more than 50). It is run by a couple of film enthusiasts who pride themselves on showing films in the original language. Et voilà - we get the chance to see newly released films in English (with French subtitles - great for learning new phrases).  The owner greets everyone personally at the door, the seats are huge and comfortable, there is no popcorn or ice cream - just a good line up of films for all tastes.





Tonight's film Pride, a comedy set in the dark days of Thatcher and the miner's strike, has a good cast including Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton so hopefully it'll be a good night out.






Later that night .................................... Film was great!

chez nous

After a busy week we were both quite pleased with the idea of a whole day and evening at home, especially with such amazing weather. The temperatures are in the high 20s by day at the moment and even with a breeze blowing today  it was really warm and the pool temperature went up to 20 again.

"Gnu" meant I couldn't get a lot done but did manage to be useful by sitting beside the shredder and clearing up as Trevor continued working on the hedges.








It stayed warm into the evening as well today. I had thought we had had the last of the barbecues for the year but today it just had to be done and afterwards we sat outside until it got dark.