Devaux

It was a beautiful autumn day yesterday. A bit blowy, and the leaves were starting to fall and cover the ground with a carpet of gold and reds. We decided we would go and do a couple of tastings. The first one was at the house of Devaux, a union of co-operatives based just outside of Bar-sur-Seine. It is a gorgeous setting, with beautiful gardens on the confluence of the Seine and the Ource. The tasting comprised 4 champagnes, taking in their new Couer des Bar range and their bio offering Couer de nature (bio – organic). I have to say they were all very lovely.

Before leaving we visited the exhibition on display in the orangery at the side of the house, which explains champagne production – it was very nicely presented.

After, we visited the dove-cote. A beautiful old building that now houses a rather interesting champagne storage rack, where they have filled the old dove nesting holes with magnums of Champagne.

Welcome home

Sharon and I had an easy journey home on Tuesday. Sharon drove me back to France, and she is now staying for a few days. We travelled by Eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais, which was really easy. The shuttle was not very busy and after a quick stop off at duty free we were soon boarding and on our way. The roads are such a delight to drive on in France, such little traffic it made for a very comfortable journey.

Brian was really looking forward to us arriving and had a bottle of bubbles chilling nicely for us for when we arrived. It was a really lovely welcome home.

Yesterday we took it easy, pottering around the house, chatting, catching up on what we’ve all been doing, etc, as Sharon hasn’t visited for nearly two years. We went shopping later, and before returning home enjoyed a beer in the local bar.

Heating up

Whilst I’ve been in the UK, Brian has had Francois our plumber in to fit some radiators in the atelier and laundry room. They fitted two new ones in the atelier and reused an old one – one we had taken out of the old bathroom under the stairs – for the laundry.

Once they had been fitted he tested out the laundry room one overnight. The outside temperature dropped to 1°c, and even with the radiator on low the temperature in the laundry room was 16°c. The little bits of insulation Brian had put in, blocking up the cat flap and now reusing the radiator have made such a difference on how we can now use the room all year round.

Hair we go

For one reason or another it’s been a very long while since I have had my haircut. The last time was July 2020, just before we moved to France, so it was desperately in need of a good cut and some intense conditioning . I decided, whilst I had some time in the UK, I would get it sorted, so I booked an appointment.

It’s definitely feeling much better and I’m loving the new length. I’ve also now totally embraced my natural colour.

Bright Light

Gloomy. That’s not usually how you describe a light, but the bulb on the stairwell was little more than that. It served its purpose of course, I guess that’s how it’s lasted so long, but it was on Brian’s list, so its days were always numbered.

It began away from the actual staircase, as the light we wanted to use needed to be rewired first. Then Brian had to check it worked before going any further, by wiring it back into the wall and testing it. Once he was happy it came off again, and he created a new mount for it using a piece of beech left over from the staircase build.

Finally, he attached and fitted the new lamp. I love the final look, and we now have a bright light for the stairs.

Heading south

We have yet to take a trip to the nearby lac d’orient during the annual visitation of the cranes on their migration south. When in residence, they tend to take trips out looking for alternative food supplies. It’s quite an amazing sound hearing them chattering to each other as they fly high above, and seeing them elegantly fly in formation on their little day excursions. The lac d’orient has three lakes, with one dedicated to wildlife conservation. The cranes can be seen around the area from mid October through to March. But as the temperature drops again in December they may head further south, heading back in late February when things begin to warm. We will take some time to visit them on the lakes over the coming weeks. Apparently sunrise is the perfect time to see them taking off in search of food in nearby fields.

Yesterday I headed back South also, to London for a few days, to spend some time with Hilda, Brian’s mum. I also got to see my sister-in-law, Pauline. We could have spent hours chatting and catching up, as I probably haven’t seen her for nearly two years. Today Hilda and I are just having an easy day, it started with an old favourite - hot crumpets with butter and honey.

She is now catching up on the washing up, cleaning the many cups of tea we have been drinking.

Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow

I’ve really enjoyed my days with Dad, we’ve had time to to reflect and reminisce and to laugh together, to remember some of the fun things we’ve done over the years, the wonderful holidays we shared together. I’ve listened to his rambling stories, most I’ve heard many times before, some I haven’t, but still I enjoy hearing him tell me. I can hear in the background Mum calling “Billy, you’ve told them that one, let’s not hear it again”. But he would carry on regardless, and I’m still a very willing listener.

We’ve spent time visiting places that Mum used to like to go to, where they shared some beautiful memories, many happy times. We enjoyed a delicious fish and chip lunch at the Imperial Hotel in Great Yarmouth, where Mum and Dad took me for my 21st Birthday meal. We went to Wroxham and had a delicious Sunday lunch of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding at The Bridge Hotel. After we’d had the obligatory look around Roy’s of Wroxham department store and bought Dad some new shoes. We also visited Lathams, to buy something you never knew you needed or wanted until that very moment - it’s a great shop in Potter Heigham, that just seems to sell everything. Saturday night we settled down and enjoyed a glass of Sherry whilst watching Strictly. A program I think Dad enjoys just as much as I do.

We have done things at a very slow pace as Dad does now get very tired, but it’s fine, I just enjoy making his day a bit different.

Now you see it

When we removed the old downstairs bathroom and split the room in two to create a larder area for the kitchen and a smaller shower room accessed by the library, we were left with a small window on the staircase that was once a light well.

Now you see it…

It obviously has no purpose now, so Brian has worked his magic and made it vanish, using a piece of plasterboard that’s been hanging around for years and came with us from the UK. Nothing wasted!

…now you don’t.

Garden fork

I had mentioned many times to Brian that we have two garden forks, one for heavy work, and one for lighter work. However, he has a tendency to get carried away with the tool at hand, and when an unexpectedly tough root got in the way he didn’t change up to the heavier and stronger fork and sure enough, there was a nasty splintering sound, that wasn’t the root giving up. In fairness though it was an old garden fork, but one I liked, as it wasn’t big and heavy.

Once upon a time, when we were much, much busier, we would probably have just gone and replaced the whole fork, but nowadays Brian has the time, and the inclination, to make the best of everything we have. So he set about fixing the old one. He bought me a new handle, drilled out the rivet of the old one, planed and whittled the new handle to fit, then created a new rivet to hold it in place. À voila, I now have a new garden fork waiting at home and ready to use.

Levelling up

Brian has been steaming through the job list in my absence. When we caught up last night on what we’d been doing I couldn’t believe what he’d achieved.

last year when we had the heating pipes laid for the new boiler, the driveway had needed to be dug up, and over the last twelve months it has settled back with a bit of a dip in it. So he had wanted to level it up. We do need to lay more stones, but we will do this in the spring.

He started by scraping all the stone back (about a ton of it), then broke up the existing higher part of the drive with a pick axe, which he then raked into the lower part, levelling up the area with some of the scraped stones.

It was then a case of pushing the stones back and filling in the inevitable gaps with stones scraped from other parts of the drive, where they had built up. The drive is looking so much better, and will make it easier next year when we come to skim it with some new stones.

Planning ahead

Before I came away I made some mincemeat. Last year I had tried this for the first time and it was so delicious I decided I’d do some more, but also have a play around with some of the flavours. I think the key is to keep the quantities about the same. So for example, I made an apple and apricot one, and a pear and ginger version. In the Apple one, I used calvados as the liquor, and the pear one had limoncello.

We will need to wait and see now how they turn out.

Basic recipe, which I doubled for each batch, and have made about 10 pots.

250g of dried fruit - use a mixture of currants, sultanas, raisins - or what you have in the cupboard.

50g dried apricots - for the pear and ginger recipe I added more sultanas instead of apricots

100g sugar

one apple or pear

rind of one lemon

juice of one lemon

60g melted butter

1 teaspoon of mixed spice, plus a dash of cinnamon and ground nutmeg.

for the pear and ginger recipe I added about a finger of finely chopped ginger root, and a teaspoon of ground ginger.

finally 50ml of liqueur either brandy or, as I did, calvados brandy for the apple one, and limoncello for the pear one.

You then mix all the ingredients together and leave in the fridge for a few days to soak up all the liquid. Stir occasionally.

I then filled some sterilised jars, and will keep them in the fridge now until ready to use. They will keep for about 6 months in the fridge. Ours will be eaten way quicker than that!

Laundry day

The laundry room is a work in progress. It’s a funny little project, because there’s no real plan, just an idea of how we would like it to feel…eclectic, and a little homely. In my absence Brian has been finishing off a few rough edges and filling in a few holes here and there.

In the next couple of weeks we’re having more radiators fitted in two rooms in the barn, and one of them will go in the laundry. That’s good news, except we didn’t have a wall to put it against, just an ugly mess of concrete slabs. So we applied our idea of ‘feel’ and came up with a panelled concept. It’s been a bit of a rush getting it done in time, but the finished wall, I think, is beautiful. I’m so pleased with the effect Brian has achieved.

Booster

It has been so good to see some friends and family after such a long time. After confinement and then travel restrictions, all-in-all it’s been too long.

I’m now settled back in the cottage in Martham with Dad. Our excursion today was to the James Paget Hospital for his booster jab. I have to say excursion, because I was up at 6.30am for a 10.55 appointment, and it’s only a 30 minute drive. Everything nowadays, with Dad, just takes so long, so I allowed ample time.

We arrived at the hospital in plenty of time, although I’m not sure it mattered too much. It was an open clinic for vaccinations, including this year’s flu jab. There is a big campaign to keep people out of hospitals in East Anglia, as they are already struggling with staffing issues, so they are encouraging people to get their flu jabs. Apparently though the booster needs to happen before receiving the flu jab, so I’ll have to take Dad for his next week.

On the way home we had a bit of a drive along the seafront, and stopped off at the Imperial Hotel for lunch. It was very tasty.

Definitely Dad’s favourite part of the day.

delayed

Eurostar was its usual excellent service today. However there was a slight issue in logging on to their wifi, which was a little frustrating to start with, and I had thought it was down to user error, but a few people mentioned it as the journey progressed. Once I decided to come to terms with it, and stopped trying to connect, it was actually quite nice just to sit quietly and enjoy the journey.

The train was actually quite full, I think the reduced restrictions are helping people regain their confidence enough to start traveling again. Which is so good to see.

I arrived at St Pancras at 14.40, and took a slow walk round to platform 13 to catch the 15.12 to Margate. I am heading to Ebbsfleet, as Sharon is meeting me there.

As I was waiting to board the train I noticed that a lot of people were not wearing masks. It’s not mandatory here in the UK, like it still is in France, and I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about that yet.

I settled down on the train and had a little chuckle to myself as the announcement said, ‘This is the 15.12 to Margate…’, but it was already 15.15, and people were still flooding on. We finally departed about 6 minutes late.

Departure lounge

The train from Troyes arrived on time in Paris Gare de l’est, it was then just a short 10 minute walk to Gare de Nord. The streets were not crowded, just enough people going about their business to feel normal. I enjoyed the walk much more than I had previously, strolling along the wide Parisian pavements in the Autumn sunshine, it felt good.

the street cafés at the front of Gare de Nord were once again open for business and full of happy customers having ‘boissons’ (drinks). I was tempted to sit and enjoy a coffee in the sun, and if Brian was with me I think we would have done, but I thought I’d prefer to get through border control and enjoy a coffee when I’m on the other side waiting for the train.

It took about twenty minutes to process through the border, it seemed odd now though having my passport stamped as I left France. As I entered the departure lounge I could see the cafés were once again open, as was the duty free shop. That’s good I thought, I will take a look as soon as I’ve been to the toilets to freshen up. I wanted to buy some new face cream. As I walked back to the duty free shop I could see the shutter was now down and it was closed. Silly me it’s 12 o’clock, lunch time, why would it stay open when it knows a train full of passengers is about to depart from here over the next hour. Oh well, just confirms I still haven’t learnt.

Here I am now enjoying a café creme sitting quietly waiting for my train.

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!