The last week of the main summer holiday period came around very quickly and I think we tried most of the activities that were going on in July and August in the form of brocantes, night food markets, concerts etc. August is an important month for our own village of Tournon d’Agenais with two long-standing… Continue reading Tournon Traditions
Summer Season
It’s hard to believe that we completed on the house just over a year ago. We headed back to the UK shortly afterwards for a couple of months to get things sorted there so this is really our first full summer at the house. We may be out in the sticks here without the glitz… Continue reading Summer Season
Barcelona Grand Prix
Joe is a long time motor sports fan and has travelled to various events in Europe in the past including Le Mans 24 hour race (which we have done together twice), classic motorbike races in Belgium and a Grand Prix at Spa in Belgium. I hadn’t followed the Formula 1 Grand Prix races before I… Continue reading Barcelona Grand Prix
Entente Cordiale
For about 8 years I’ve been involved in an adult Anglo-French exchange group based around Tunbridge Wells in the UK and Cestas, south of Bordeaux, in France. The exchange group has been going for over 25 years now with some members involved for all of that time and others joining more recently. Participants are paired… Continue reading Entente Cordiale
June is busting out all over….
June seems to have crept up on us and the weather is still taking some time to settle down to the usual summer heat that everyone tells us is the norm. The mixture of rain and sunshine keeps the grass growing at an impressive rate and Joe has a second ‘gang’ mower to keep on… Continue reading June is busting out all over….
Spring Break
Spring has well and truly sprung here and fruit trees are in blossom, bulbs are flowering and we are surrounded by bright yellow fields of rapeseed. Joe has been mowing parts of the land every few days and there are jobs to be done in some area of the garden every day. It will be… Continue reading Spring Break
Countryside Pursuits
It’s hard to believe that’s it’s a year since we first saw the house, made an offer and started this adventure. We’ve been in the house for 5 months now and I think we’re beginning to feel pretty settled here. We had a quick trip back to the UK in February to meet up with… Continue reading Countryside Pursuits
A winter project
One of the things Joe was most looking forward to with his barn was having the space to work on vehicles easily. He had hoped to be able to install a car lift, such as you might find in a garage repair shop, to enable him to work under vehicles without crawling around on the… Continue reading A winter project
A first Christmas in France
Bonne Année! In France and most of Europe the main celebration is usually on the evening of Christmas Eve, with families either celebrating at home or at a restaurant. For our first Christmas in France we decided to have a quiet evening at home on Christmas Eve and to go out for lunch on Christmas… Continue reading A first Christmas in France
Christmas Preparations
It’s interesting to find out what happens around here in the run up to Christmas. Our village, despite being what some might describe as a one horse town, has acquired the reputation of being a centre for blues music and has held regular blues concerts for the last 30 years. When the most recent one… Continue reading Christmas Preparations