An Evening at the Chateau

John regularly cuts the grass for our summer neighbours John and Leslie whilst they are not here. In exchange they take us to a concert or play during the season. Last night we went to a local chateau for this year's "treat". The village is very close but none of us knew that it had a chateau, and neither did our neighbour, Fred, who was born in the village!! As John and Leslie have some of their family staying we decided to have a picnic in the grounds before hand. However the owner didn't want any riff-raff  cluttering up his grounds so we set up camp just outside the gates.

As the bourgeoisie started to arrive we made our way to the venue. Actually the Chateau was magnificent if a bit shabby chic. The drive was bordered by a double avenue of mature trees and was lit with enormous lanterns for the occasion. As we rounded the corner of the building to find our seats we were faced with a wonderful parkland vista which "Capability Brown" would have been proud of. As the sun sank and the bats came out it was a truly magical experience.

The woodwind and piano ensemble were extremely good musicians but the programme had a mixed reception from our party. However there was no denying that you could imagine yourself in a bygone era as guests of a count and countess.