Blogs from Laroque d'Olmes, Midi-Pyrénées, France, Europe - page 2

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Another week of general busyness. What to write about? Perhaps our walk to Leran, the next village along in the middle of the week. We couldn’t resist the wild cherry trees we passed, and somehow tottered home with 2 kilos which have now become jars of cherry jelly and cherry jam. Or the Rando des Artistes on Saturday. Three local villages, all on the pilgrimage route to Compostella, laid on art exhibitions, and arranged a guided walk from Vals back to the 3rd village, Manses, where we all had lunch, picnic-ing in the seats already laid out for the village's communal meal that night as part of their fête, and back to Vals again, this time via Teilhet. One of the walkers was a botanist, but even more fascinating than his observations about flowers and plants ... read more

Why has gardening suddenly got so complicated? When I started out a few weeks ago in France, cheering the place up with a few pots of pansies, we slipped out and bought a bag or two of ordinary potting compost to get us started. Well, that's what I thought. Most bags are variations on John Innes No. 2. Aren't they? Well, apparently not. Firstly I noticed that when I watered the pots, a viscous liquid powerful enough to use in blood transfusions oozed out of the bottom, staining the stonework. Then some of the plants started to look peaky. Finally, I read the compost bag. My bio-mega-organic compost turns out to be a concentrated super-product to be added to the mixture used in planting at a dosage of no stronger than 10%. So all my garden ... read more

March 9th, Election Day has arrived. For us the elections have been an education. We’ve seen all the things we would have expected. Plenty of reportage about all the ‘listes’ presenting themselves for election, evenings spent stuffing propaganda through people’s doors, public meetings (attended, apparently, exclusively by The Faithful. Not a heckler in sight) and posters for all the groups of candidates. Delivering leaflets was in itself an experience. Walking down an English street delivering usually involves nothing more complex than the odd hard-to-open garden gate, and the excitement of whether the letter box will be at waist level or lower down (and is there a yapping dog behind intent on gnawing your fingers?). Here it’s rather more difficult. Letter box in door, or post box? If letter box, will it be set in the front ... read more

This has been a week of achievement. The 2 back windows, tatty in the extreme, have been replaced and not only look better, but give more light, more I the way of views. Back door renewed, garage/front door replaced. Our house, like many down here, has no glamorous front door giving onto a spacious and gracious hall with a welcoming carpet, a few well-chosen pictures and an umbrella stand. You quite simply go in through the garage, with all the clutter you might expect there, and troop through to reach the rest of the house. However, the blinds that accompany the windows, ordered with them since last October, simply have not yet arrived. No explanation. Oh well, tough, we’ll hang onto our money, and they won’t get paid till it’s all complete. Curtains have been made ... read more