Season's greetings...

... from our home to yours. 

We are celebrating at home in the UK with both Rhiannon and Tom,  for the first time since 2009. We shall be joined by Rhiannon's partner, Stuart, my brother and three dogs!

After a couple of glasses of sparkles!

However you mark the day we send you our very best wishes.

Trentham Gardens...

A couple of weeks ago we used  a windfall (procured on my behalf by my wonderful daughter!) of Tesco club card vouchers to buy an annual pass into Trentham Gardens. I regularly go to the garden centre and shopping village so it makes sense to combine a trip with a walk around the lake (which takes about 40 minutes of brisk walking) and a browse through the Italian Gardens.

We've been three times in the past couple of weeks and usually treat ourselves to a cup of tea and a scone afterwards. Unfortunately I'm not certain that the walk is a sufficient energy trade for the scone (on an energy in v energy out basis), although I suppose we could always walk around the lake more than once!!

The lake and Italian gardens

An otter carving on a diseased tree

We love the detail on the eye

The Italian Gardens aren't looking at their best at this time of the year, but I shall post some photographs later in the year. 

Wirework fairy

Intricate wirework dandelions

The wonderful metal sculptures were created by Robin Wright and his daughter, Amy.

Lancelot 'Capability' Brown was employed to create the gardens and the mile long lake between 1759 and 1780, and 2016 will celebrate the tercentenary of his birth.

Busy, busy...

My inactivity on Blogger over recent weeks and months could indicate one of two things; either that I have nothing interesting to write about (since when has that ever stopped me!) or that I am so busy that there isn't time to write!

In reality it is a 'Bob' or a bit of both. Also, the immediacy of Facebook means that I can keep up to date via my telephone or tablet in a way that is difficult to achieve via the Blogger app on my iPad.

This week we've been in Cranfield and London. More about London later, but first check out some of the decor in our hotel near Cranfield...

Most of this happened in the SAME room. Busy, busy!!

Must go as I'm off to Harrods... 

À bientôt, au revoir but not adieu...

(Photographs will be re-sized)

Last few days...

The overwhelming memory of the last couple of weeks has been of fantastic weather. Sunny, bright and warm. We've been able to prepare the garden for winter and in all will have taken 27 of the very large (1 tonne) builders bags full of garden waste to the déchèterie! Hedges have been trimmed, shrubs cut back, fruit trees pruned and mountains of leaves raked and bagged.

On Sunday we took some time out for a walk around Le Grand Pressigny...

 

We've also hosted our annual curry evening for around thirty neighbours and friends. It marks the end of our year at Le Pré Vert and helps us to use up food from our fridge and freezer and beers (and wines) from our cellar. Of course we are helped by friends who bring delicious desserts, nibbles, naan and cheeses, not to mention wines and gifts. Thanks to support and help from friends the evening runs smoothly; aperitifs are handed out, plates collected, dishwashers stacked, and special thanks to Elizabeth and Jean for this, and for coming early to make sure we were ready. This year I even managed to get the quantities of rice and Bombay potato about right - last years mountain would have fed a hungry army!! Unfortunately I didn't manage to take any photographs of the evening or food which are worth posting. Next year Simon has promised to bring a 'man's curry'. Watch out....you have been warned!!

The following evening found us at the trough again at a Fondue Savoyard at Le Bon Coin. Our table of 17 was an eclectic mix of French, Dutch and Brits. Again good food, wines and conversation flowed.

So, I'm signing off at Le Pré Vert until 2016, although hopefully, between now and then, I'll sign in from wherever our travels take us...

 

Halloween 2015...

The day started with a trip to the market at Le Blanc. The weather was wonderful; bright, sunny and warm. In fact, as we ate lunch in the outside seating area of a cafe we had to ask for the sun parasol to be opened, to give us some relief from the heat of the sun - not something you often have to do on the last day of October!

Tim had been busy carving the 2015 pumpkin.

We arrived home from Le Blanc just in time to light the candles in the pumpkin and prepare the bonbon stash ready for the village children to visit, dressed in their Halloween costumes. They were very sweet and all thanked us in English!

Today was also a day to remember for a special group of people. Congratulations to the New Zealand All Blacks for winning the Rugby World Cup. The experts say that this current team is the very best rugby team of all time. With their record of only three losses in the last four years it is hard to argue with their verdict. Well done to their opponents Australia for making it a final to remember. 

New in Le Petit-Pressigny…

We were excited to find a wonderful, new, 5* hotel in LPP, and it is just what the village needs.

We love it, but hope that it works well for its special inhabitants…

Another trip around the sun...

** Problems getting Windows Livewriter to work with Windows 10. Is anyone else having this problem?**

On Thursday I completed yet another trip around the sun, which makes it 59 so far. This year's journey has been amazing, so I'm hoping the next trip will be the same, and with Rhiannon and Stuart's wedding coming up how can it not be! For the first time in many years I wasn’t able to spend my birthday with any family members, so we celebrated my birthday and Tom’s going back to Uni with a meal last week. 

I am in France, and they are all in the UK, busy with work and university. Of course, with the help of technology I was able to communicate with them, and friends via a mixture of Facetime, Skype, email, text and Facebook. I received some lovely cards and gifts and was invited to a delicious lunch by Colin and Elizabeth. They had made some fabulous apple roses, which I'm sure they will blog about at some stage, and celebrated with a glass of sparkles, 

Having a bit more time on my hands I did some research. If I were to believe in astrology, (and I don’t!) I discovered that these are some of the characteristics of a person born on the 8^th of October…

·        placid, well mannered with a strong belief in equality, fairness and justice.

·        persuasive with diplomatic temperament.

·        good at negotiating as well as avoiding arguments.

·        naturally shrewd, farsighted and witty.

·        great at organising.

·        not neat and tidy.

·        loyal, affectionate and creative.

·        skilled with the use of words.

·        levelheaded with sound judgement.

·        usually not afraid to tactfully speak their mind.

·        charming and curious.

·        sensitive and on occasion a little detached.  

·        tendency to sometimes overspend with an impulse buy.

·        a bit too aware of what others around you may think.

·        feelings can occasionally run hot and cold.

·        occasional difficulty in dealing with stress.

·        worries affect confidence.

·        patience and  attention to detail.

·        to be tolerant and calm when necessary.

·        pleasant impartiality, dependability and persuasiveness accentuate the power to negotiate and make progress.

·       sense of humour and fluent communication let you get along with everyone regardless of surrounding circumstances.

  

·        main strengths are imagination and capable creativity, shrewdness, fairness, and a tactful even temper help keep a clear level head.

  

·        main weaknesses focus on the coolness of your responses and an increase in your untidiness, obstinate or bossy manner.

I see myself in a few and would like to see myself in others. Some are uncomfortable, and others, frankly laughable!! Others, like a complete inability to make up my mind, don't appear on the list! My friend Janet was born on the same day. Although, as she would no doubt point out, she is four years younger. I see Jan in quite a few of the positive traits.

I’ll let you decide which are which…