You know, paperwork stuff!

We woke early, and Brian made some tea whilst I went and washed my hair. We needed to leave at 8.15am for Troyes, which is where I was going to catch the train from for my trip to the UK. I was a little anxious, which Brian noticed. “What are you worried about?”, he asked softly. “Just the journey, and the paperwork stuff, you know. “ He calmly said “Jo, you spent yesterday ensuring you had what you needed, some people do that the day they travel, you have everything covered”.

He was right, yesterday I had spent the morning collecting everything together. With the reduced travel requirements now, as I am double vaccinated and France is not a red country, there are only two requirements I have to fulfill. Firstly, complete my ‘travel locator’ form, which can be done easily on line and downloaded onto your phone, as you also need to show this when starting the journey to cross the border. I preferred to also print a copy. And secondly, to book a day 2 test, to be taken in the UK. You need to book it because you need the reference number to include on the travel locator form. The pack arrived at Sharon’s on Monday, so I will pick it up from her later. I then just need to complete it on day 2, and mail it back to the lab.

So he was right, I really am ready for my journey. I’ve always enjoyed travel, but somehow it feels like the excitement has been taken out of it, maybe there are just too many reasons to be anxious now.

It’s turning into a beautiful bright morning, the sky is a vivid blue, it’s warm, and despite a few roadworks, like completely re-laying the road just outside Bar-sur-Seine, we had a very calm journey to Troyes. My train was due to leave at 9.47, we arrived at about 9.15. As the train was in, I boarded it, chose my seat and settled down, ready for my 90 minute train journey to Paris Gare de l’est.

maybe it is exciting…..

Leaving Troyes by train

A remarkable sky

As Brian was chatting with me whilst I was making dinner last night, he took a second glance out of the kitchen window “look at that colour!”, he exclaimed. The other side of the valley was glowing red, “I’m going to the top of the house to take a pic”, and off he ran up the stairs. I went outside to look at the sky, which was a deep rich blue, that had a band of cloud floating low across it, and this was capturing the sun’s last light and creating a stunning sun set. It really was quite remarkable.

This is the photograph Brian took, he did not use any filters or techniques, stunning.

Earlier in the day I was painting the wall Brian had finished cladding, he still has some edging to tidy up, but I wanted to get the bulk of it painted before traveling to the UK. We are really pleased with how it’s turning out.

Freezing

This week, now travel restrictions are finally easing, I am nipping back to the UK to visit my dad and Brian’s mum Hilda. It will be really good to see them both. I am catching the Eurostar over on Wednesday and my friend Sharon is very kindly lending me her car to travel up to Norfolk.

Before I go I’m preparing various pies and meals for Brian to enjoy whilst I’m in the UK. I will put them in the freezer for him so he can just heat them up in the evenings. I love having the time to plan and prepare meals. I’m sure he’d cope without them, but the job list is quite long so it’s good if I can make his meal choices really easy for him.

When I return, in a couple of weeks, Sharon is going to drive back to France with me. It will be really good to have her stop with us then for the week.

Hats off

It’s been a bit of a busy week, we have had friends come to visit and guests stay in the chambre d’hôte. We also went to Troyes for the day to check up on our Carte vitale’s. The good news is Brian now has his permanent social security number, so he will get his Carte very soon. Mine apparently, is still not processed. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite understand why, but I did understand that I just need to wait. But we are 50% of the way there now.

I love Troyes, just wandering around the old streets with their wonky houses and interesting boutiques. stopping at a little street café for a coffee, or finding a restaurant tucked away in the beams of a very old building which once upon a time was a wooden house.

This is a little shop selling handmade hats, I will definitely be back at some point to buy one.

Brian has also started lining out my laundry room for me. He is fitting cladding on a wall and putting up some insulation, just to help it stay a bit warmer through winter, and it will look tidier for me. He has various old bits of wood he is using, and some tongue and groove which we were able to buy in the Brico depot in Chatillon. I’m looking forward to seeing how this is going to look. I will keep you up to date on the progress

Going native

Hi, Brian here. I don’t normally write the blogs, that’s something that Jo enjoys too much to interfere in, but there is one thing I’ve been wanting to talk about for a little while now. Since moving to France we have obviously encountered many differences to our lives in the UK. Some are related to the quality, abundance or dearth of everyday purchases that we once took for granted, or had become used to, whilst others are more clearly cultural. At first these differences felt strange, or surprising, but after even a short time you start to find that they become easier, and you find yourself adopting new ways without question. Here are a few ways I’ve noticed that Jo has begun to merge with her new surroundings.

Parking…

…attention to security…

…dressing appropriately in 20°c heat!

Golden hour

Monday ended with a beautiful golden sun set. The vines are starting to change colour, and are highlighted yellow in the last hour of the days sunlight as it sets across the valley. It’s still warm at this time of day, although the idea of lighting the fire is creeping into our thoughts and will no doubt soon be a reality.

We had a really wonderful surprise this morning, as some friends had contacted us over the weekend to say they were passing and could drop in for breakfast if that was okay. ‘Of course’. It was so lovely to see them and catch up on all the news, although the time went too quickly. Next time, fingers crossed, they will be coming to stay for a few days, and we can catch up proper.

Good form

Thought I’d share a before and after shot of one of the dormers. It’s not that easy to see, but the builder was happy with the way the job went, and they are a good team of builders who we have used many times before. Not that I want it to rain, but it will be good to see how it performs.

Whilst all the work was going on outside, and in between fitting out my cupboard, Brian put a new shelf up for me in the kitchen. I love how he has cut it to fit above the stone, it really looks integrated.

Whilst Brian is doing his little jobs, and following on from the course I took last week, there are various forms I need to complete. One needs to go to our mairie, which I dropped off last night. We are actually getting to really like how the local maire gets involved in so much local stuff. I’m sure at some point we will not think that, but for now it’s useful being able to walk up the road and get things done.

Gurgle

It was a red wine kind of night, and we decided we’d like to try the wine we had taken to the tasting we had gone to earlier in the summer. It was a Ladoix premier cru, and we had bought three bottles (just in case). We knew it probably needed a bit of time to breathe, but we had not thought ahead and were not particularly in the mood to wait. So Brian said, ‘let’s try the aerator that Jerome had bought for us. We can test it out, and do a before and after taste’.

We first tried a glass that had not been aerated, and we both found it a little closed. We thought it had more to give, which usually comes either with age or decanting. Brian then poured a second glass, slowly and steadily, through the aerator. It gurgled and slurped it’s way through the funnel, emerging slightly bubbled into the glass.

We were both pleasantly surprised, the wine was definitely far more open and ready to be drunk. What could have been a lack-lustre experience was in fact a pleasant evening with a rich and fruity wine.

Friday lunch

We woke up to a misty, chilly morning, but by the time I’d drunk my tea in bed the mist had cleared and the sky was clear and a brilliant blue. I suggested to Brian that we went and had lunch at the brasserie in the market place.

It was a vibrant and bustling market day, and we were lucky to get a table outside. We decided we would go à la carte, and both ordered steaks. Mine was an entrecôte and Brian’s was a bavette. Our steaks and chips were delicious and we finished off the lunch with a very chocolatey mousse. A simple lunch but very enjoyable.

A bit edgy

Whilst in Bar-Sur-Seine last week we popped into a favourite little shop of ours, a Brocante. It is situated just behind the church, and on sunny days the owner sprawls his secondhand ‘bric a brac’ out across the front of his shop, just waiting for someone to discover their very own treasure. As we were perusing his wares, we spotted some garden edging tiles, which I obviously never knew I wanted until I saw them. So when Brian questioned “I didn’t know you wanted some of them Jo? “ I commented “neither did I, but I love them, and they will look great by the front door”.

Brian asked the price, and he was told he had 600 of them and they were 6 euros each. I’m not certain when the translation got mixed up, but we told him we wanted them and that, and we would be back soon with the car and some cash. I’m not sure if at that point he knew how many we wanted. So when we came back and said we wanted 18, there was a lot of repeating - ‘Dix huit’ . I’m thinking why does he not understand us, “yes, Dix huit “ I interjected with meaning. A lot of mumbling and grumbling and we soon had our ‘dix huit’ loaded into the car.

Brian got straight onto laying them next to the front door, and I have to say they look great.

It’s been shelved!

I have a cupboard under the dresser in the salle à manger that had always felt like it had never been quite finished off. And it was looking a bit messy. Earlier in the year it was used to hide some pipework that came into the house for the hot water.

So I asked Brian if he could tidy it up for me and add a shelf.

It wasn’t long before he had boarded it out and installed a shelf, he suggested I paint it all white so it looked more purposeful. It was a good idea, and didn’t take me long to complete.

I now have a really useful cupboard, where all my glasses and breakfast dishes are stored for the chambre d’hôte.

Top of the house

On Friday afternoon, M. Humbert came by to put up some scaffolding in readiness for some work we need doing around the dormer windows. We have found, with strong rainfall, that the zinc around the windows is inadequate, and we are experiencing some water ingress around the windows on the top floor. So as not to cause any major damage we are having them re-zinced.

They were back early this morning to progress with the work. They started with the one at the front, but they also need to do the two facing into the courtyard.

It will be great to get it completed as it’s hopefully the last major job we need doing.

Pottering

We were out doing a few bits in the garden yesterday, mainly I want to get the lavender cut. I just cut the flower heads off to dry them and gather some seeds. I’d like to make some lavender bags with it this year, so will be good to see how much I can collect.

Whilst we were out there a very brave praying mantis came and sat himself on Brian’s shoulder. He was a friendly little chap, and seemed very happy to just sit there and be walked around the garden.

I planted a butternut squash plant some while ago, I think a little late, but it has started to bare some fruit, so I’m excited to see if they ripen up. I just love butternut squash, so it will be great to have a small crop.

Vendanges 2021

Vendanges seems to have happened really quick this year. It hasn’t had the same busy excitement we have experienced in other years though. I think it’s because it has been such a tough year. They have tended the vines through harsh frosts, and then through the summer with weeks of rain, spattered with hot sunny days, making it ideal weather for mildew to develop. Not good for champagne growers.

The picking has been at it’s usual efficient pace, with teams of pickers working in an orderly fashion across the vineyards, diligently ensuring not to miss any of the precious grapes.

Unlike last year, when the vignerons were having to leave grapes on the vines as they had exceeded their quotas, this year they are being left bare. Many will probably need to tap into their reserve wines to make up the deficit in quantity.

Some growers have finished picking already. Some, who left it a few more days before starting, are still out there. Even this week the weather hasn’t been totally kind to them, with some days of rain making for a very cold, damp and muddy harvest. But today we have sunshine, and we’ve just had a final dip in the pool for this year. Let’s hope 2022 is a better year for them.

Friday market

There’s a stall at the market that sells locally grown flowers, along with all locally grown vegetables. Some I’m not certain I know how to cook, but I know over time I will discover some recipes. This week there was a ‘radis noir’. It looked a bit like salsify, but fatter than I’d seen them before, so not quite sure if you treat them the same. This week though I wanted to buy baby turnips, beetroot, some bright shiny green peppers, a few leeks and the last of the sunflowers. I got these for all less than 10 euros. Oh, and I/2 kilo of garlic, which was 3 euros.

The peppers will be fried off with lots of olive oil to accompany a piece of faux fillet (sirloin), and the turnips and beetroot will be roasted with our farm fresh, organic chicken on Sunday. What we don’t eat I will make into a delicious soup.

Lunch was fresh bread and cheese, and dinner was leek risotto

The sunflowers bring a flush of colour and sunshine into the salle à manger. We’re hanging on to summer for another week yet!

Who mentioned training!

To be able to serve alcohol in the chambre d’hôte we need a permis d’exploitation. It’s effectively an alcohol license. To obtain it one of us needs to complete some training. We decided, as I think my attention span is probably longer, that I would take it. Fortunately though, it was not going to be in French, as Brian had found a company called Aventum who provide the training in English, and better still it is delivered via Zoom. It’s a total of 8 hours of training, delivered in one day, which I have to say was a bit of a shock to my system! I had forgotten what it was like to sit in front of a laptop for 8 hours. My back was killing me at the end of it, through just lack of activity, I had forgotten what that was like. To think just a year ago I would probably sit and work for longer than that every day.

That said, it was a really interesting course, and we learnt lots of useful information. As it was a Zoom session Brian was also able to sit and listen to the presentations, which were well considered and made relevant to each persons type of business. I have come away with a few actions, a couple more forms to complete and a test I need to complete tomorrow online. Once I’ve done this, our permis will be submitted and will take 15 days to be sanctioned. The permis is actually for the premises and is valid for ten years. I think the idea of providing relevant industry training for people, either taking on new businesses, or starting up a new business, is a great support function and ensures a minimum level of knowledge is understood by the people working in that industry. We both certainly feel more confident that we know what is required of us from the French authorities in running a Chambre d’hôte and being authorised to serve alcohol.

Gougères

On Saturday evening we had some friends over for apéro (drinks and nibbles). I’d decided I was going to make some sausage rolls and some cheesy gougères, a kind of Anglo/french mix.

It was a really enjoyable evening chatting in both French and English, helping each other out when we got stuck on our vocabulary and pronunciation. It’s great though when you learn some new words and hear first hand how they are pronounced. And I have to say, the gougères were a great success, even though I think they were a little big, as were my sausage rolls. To drink, Brian served some very nice red Burgundy.

Below I’ve included a short video on the making of the gougères. Hope you give it a go, they are very moorish.

The dentist

It has been nearly two years since we visited the dentist, so you can imagine I was a little anxious for our appointment yesterday with our dentist in France. Similar to the UK, it is not easy to find a dentist who is taking on patients. The best way here is to ask friends or neighbours if they know of one, but that can be a long wait. Fortunately for us though a friend of ours living in Châtillon had heard about a new young dentist who was taking on patients. We didn’t waste any time in travelling to Châtillon and trying to convince the receptionist to adopt us as patients. It really wasn’t a totally straight forward conversation – but that’s another story – however we came away with an appointment. This happened in July, and yesterday the day had finally come for our checkups.

There was of course still the worry that our French is still not great, and dentists, like all healthcare professionals, have a language all of their own. I didn’t really have anything to be concerned about though, he was a really nice young chap, who was very calm and gentle, and between us we managed to understand what was required. Best of all, all was good with both Brian’s and my check ups. He also gave us both a clean, which felt so good after such a long time. All for less than 30 euros each, which I think we will be able to claim back via our health insurance. All in all, a very painless trip to the dentist. We will go back again in 12 months time.

Sweet and juicy

Vendange (harvest) has begun for some growers already, others are waiting just a few more days. We decided to make our own vendange and go blackberry picking, as we had been given a top tip by our local Champagne producer on where to go and pick some murs (blackberries) . So this afternoon we headed up to where he had suggested and sure enough, tucked away behind the vines, there were some very prickly brambles with some sweet and juicy blackberries.

We picked around 1.8kg, which is a good quantity to make some jam and a crumble for dinner. I have mixed 1.5kg of fruit with 1kg of sugar and one lemon, and that is now in the fridge. I’m letting the sugar dissolve into the juice which helps cut down on the cooking time. Blackberries have quite a high pectin content, and are generally quite sweet, hence why I am not using quite as much sugar as I would for some other fruits. Tomorrow I will cook the fruit and sugar mixture for about 10 minutes before filling some jars. Blackberry jam is such a delicious topping on fresh crusty bread, it really does conjure up beautiful memories of blackberry picking with my mum and nan when I was little. I have definitely inherited my love of jam and jam making from my mum.

The blackberry crumble I made for pudding tonight was oozing with delicious sweet juice, just breaking through the topping to give it a sticky chewy edge. What better way to enjoy a Sunday. Oh, and don’t forget the dollop of fresh cold thick cream - delicious.

Finally, shutter up!

Exactly 12 months ago today we started on the shutters, and today we put the final pair back up. It does feel good to know they are all done, and all the windows on the first floor are painted. I can see Brian just needs to put a pull on the wire that connects to the latch at the top of the shutter, that’s a 5 minute job tomorrow. But for now, that’s a really good job completed and we can finally tick it off the list.