It's that Time of Year Again

End of August and it's the village Fete again. It started last night with the meal and then the 'dance' which can be heard all over St Germain till about 4 in the morning. The music and dancing is then repeated every night till Monday night!

As a prelude to the weekend, we get visited by fund raisers who leave us a plastic rose (!), a pot of honey and a brochure of events.

And lo and behold, we were in the publicity!!!

The photo was taken during last year's fund raising run when Guy and Carla (and Yoda) were with us.

This year's theme was Jamaica and so, when we got to the village, we were greeted by lots of Rastas.

Needless to say, they were drinking Pastis and not rum!

Concrete Developments

Our fresh, young work force have been helping me with the concrete floor in the en-suite of 'Bedroom 3'. I had to admit that I wouldn't be able to do it by myself as it involves mixing the concrete, then carrrying it up 2 flights of stairs!

Despite a late start (we were out to a restaurant last night) we have put an initial layer on the floor before the temperatures got to 30 degrees.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will dry out sufficiently to allow the top coat in the morning. (Haven't told them that yet)

Reinforcements

Guy and Carla arrived out here on Wednesday and quickly started to earn their keep ..... moving earth.









It's encouraging to see jobs suddenly progressing moving forward. Shame they're only here for a week!

Reassurance

Just a quick post to let you know that we are still alive - we are aware that one or two of you get concerned that that is not the case when we have not blogged for a few days.

No excuses, it is the socialising season around once again. Last Monday we went with our Book Group to an open air production of "The Importance of Being Ernest" by Oscar Wilde. We start the proceedings with a lovely picnic where everyone contributes something and then watch the play. The actors are an English company who tour the area each year, mostly performing Shakespearean plays. They are very professional and we thoroughly enjoy the productions, although the choice of play this year John and I felt was more like a pantomine. "Praps we just aint cultured enough"!!

Later in the week we had friends to stay and then we were out for a meal with other friends who invited a number of their French neighbours. Guy and Carla are arriving on Wednesday and then we have friends coming during the next month, so the blog postings may be a bit erratic.

John has still heard nothing further from the hospital, although they have assured us that he is not forgotten. In fact he has had a couple of good days and has been putting plasterboard up in the en suite in bedroom 2. I have recovered from my neck problem now as long as I listen to my body when it says "that's enough".

I hestitate to say this but we dont seem to have had any deer visitations lately. Whether its the rattling red and white tape, human hair, a urine based concoction or just luck I cannot say.

Ooh Aah

I warned you back in May that I hoped to be "ooh aahing" about the garden later in the summer as the plants I had grown from seed came into flower. Well as usual, things don't go according to plan and what with ill health and consequent "abandonment" of the garden, coupled with four legged infestations, my being proud of the garden has been a little delayed.

The following are a few pictures of the front and back gardens that I am proud of.

The Christo Bed

We have been instructed by readers to carry on blogging regularly even if it is about manure. Well you have asked for it! We have not exhausted our manure supply yet so we are now putting it on the "Christo" bed, i.e that pile of rubbish behind the barn. The builders left a bare patch of earth after they had installed the drainage field and I had the brainwave to turn it into another flower bed. So for about a year we have been putting compostable material on it so that it will have one end higher than the other.

You are no doubt asking why is it called the Christo bed. Christopher LLoyd (known as Christo) was a famous gardener and gardening journalist who died a few years ago. He was famous because he inherited the family pad and immediately grubbed up the traditional rose beds and planted " a jungle". In particular he completely disregarded colour and actually, clashing colours were his forte. So anything I like that doesn't fit into the other carefully crafted colour schemes will end up in the Christo bed.

More Monsters

John and Lesley and their grandchildren arrived at lunchtime carrying a washing up bowl. Inside the bowl was an enormous caterpillar (11+cms), even bigger than the one we found a few weeks ago. Of course we were enlisted to scour the internet to identify it.

It turned out to be a Death Head Hawk Moth, so named because the adult has a marking on its head that looks like a skull. Apparently they found it walking across the lawn and when they put it back there it began burying itself in the earth, presumably to pupate.

A Deer Fence???

As you should be aware, the deer are continuing to cause problems; in particular they love roses. Whilst we have taken temporary measures to protect the beds of roses in the front, it is a bit more problematic with the climbers on the pergola. The thoughts of tubes of protecting wire around each rose didn't enthrall and so, we're working on the theory that we can discourage them from entering the garden by blocking their entrance across the fields. (Ha, ha!)

You need to be made aware that this red and white cordon is not the finished article but an experiment to see if the deer can be kept out of the garden. It doesn't match the aesthetic standards required of a fence in this garden! We will keep you advised of the success (or not) of this latest deer scaring initiative.