Charnizay's big weekend

For several weeks now poster boards have been adorning lamposts in a radius of about 30 to 40 km round Charnizay, proudly announcing  'Le 17e fete de l'Enduro' and 'Tri Yann' in concert.

poster in Chatillon-sur-Indre

The 'Ronde des Palets', named after the 'Palet de Gargantua' [dolmen] in our commune, is an annually returning endurance event for off-road [scramble] motorbikes. It is always held on a Friday/Saturday around the middle of August.

This year it was held on Friday and Saturday. There is always an evening event on the Friday, but the main attraction is the endurance challenge on Saturday. From 10:00 to 19:00 the off-road bikes roar around a challenging 50km course, which is set out in the fields and woods around Charnizay; it changes every year. If you want a close-up of the terrain they have to conquer have a look at the video footage on the official website here. It is not for the fainthearted!

Ronde des Palets 2011: you can just see the quarry they had to tackle beside the road to Loches**

Sitting outside on Friday night at the start of the 'canicule' [heatwave] we saw the sweeping headlights raking the other side of the valley and heard the roar of the bikes taking part. The noise came across clearly in the still air.

On Saturday we were out most of the day having a look at some historical sights. With the temperature hitting 40C this wasn't as mad as it sounds as driving was a positive pleasure with air conditioning in the car. We don't have it in the house as it's not worth it for the few very hot days we get each year. We spared a thought for the competitors in the bike race encased in their leathers, safety padding and helmets. As we came home we could see that they were putting the finishing touches to the stage they'd built on the football pitch for the evening's gig.

At nine pm it was still stinkingly hot, but we settled down outside on the terrace with a chilled bottle of sparking Touraine and got ready to enjoy the gig which was about to unfold. 'Tri Yann' [Breton for three Johns] are a Celtic/Breton folk-rock band from Nantes, Brittany. They are quite well-known in France and about a week or two earlier the TV station France 3 had shown a live concert recorded at Lorient last year. They sing in French and Breton. The best way to describe them is as a mix of: Fairport Convention, Runrig and Seth Lakeman, with the odd whiff of Jethro Tull.

terrace at 10pm: clear evening sky, no wind and hot!

There wasn't a breath of wind so we were able to hear everything perfectly. The band played an excellent two hr set. It isn't often that you can sit outside your own house and listen to a good live gig!


** as always you can click on the photos to enlarge them.

A ball, books and bats

Last weekend we had a small invasion --their words-- not ours! Friends, with their three children, came to visit on their way home from a holiday in Poitou-Charente. They live in the Netherlands. It was lovely to find that we were all roughly in the same place at the same time and could catch up, as it had been far too long since we had last seen them.

In the 1990's K and Antoinette worked at the same International School. Since then we have all moved about a bit: we to Maastricht and UK; K & M to Italy and now back to NL. K is British and M is Dutch and the children all speak English, Dutch and Italian--a pleasing international mix!

the ball did not survive the visit!

While adults caught up with news of mutual friends the kids rambled around, became acquianted with Katinka--always keen to be the centre of attention-- and made good use of the ball they'd brought. We don't have items such as badminton sets and footballs. We did once have a boules set, but much rootling in the barn prior to thier arrival left us empty handed. No idea what's happened to it.

It was quite hot last Saturday, so after lunch everyone was quite soporific. Ball games slowed down.  Not long after, while chatting to the lad, Niall found out that he really liked "Horrible Histories". It only took a mention of the fact that we have 5 or 6 of these books [revolting historical facts, all accurate written for children] to cause a move into the house and the question 'where please?' Once located they were carried outside and shared out between all three kids. It went quiet .... except for the lad who treated his sisters and the rest of us to some excellent extracts of the particular "Horrible History" he was reading. The kids had also found the hammock chair at the front of the house so they, and the books, to-ed and fro-ed between the terrace and the hammock.

kids reading even while waiting for adults to get organised for group photo

We fired up the BBQ as dinner time approached and, thankfully, it did what is was supposed to do: burn well. A production line of sausages and hamburgers were nicely charred on the outside and cooked inside without turning into old shoe-leather. Slowly it got dark and we moved round to the front of the house.

During the day the kids had asked about the wildlife and we'd mentioned that amongst other things we have pipestrelle bats [3 or 4] using the shutters at the front of the house as summer roosts -- they squeeze themselves between the wall of the house and the shutter.

They wanted to see our bats fly out at dusk as one of their memories of living in Rome had been the bats swooping through the huge double windows of their palazzo apartment, flitting round the living room and zooming out again. So from about 21:00 we sat at the front waiting; soon the pipestrelles, which are truly tiny, emerged and obligingly swooped round the house in their regular search for insects.

It was a lovely day. Sometimes simple things work just fine: a ball - sadly deceased by the end of the day! - some books and some bats.

Monsters at St Savin

Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe is justly famous for its frescos which we've written about before here. Certainly the first time we visited in March 2011 we had eyes only for the frescos which had just undergone a meticulous restoration/conservation. However, there are other gems which can easily be over-looked as the frescos are so superb.

polychrome capital: monsters having their feet eaten

Last week we were there with Antoinette's friend Andrea. In addition to looking at the frescos --Noah's Ark is a favourite-- we pottered around some of the nooks and crannies of the former abbey church and spotted some lovely monsters and an angel as well!

more monster feet being eaten by smaller monsters

We found these 11th century monsters lurking at the top of three of the pillars which support the apsidal choir. Although very similar, each is slightly different in its detail. All show monsters being consumed, creating a continuum which reflects the cycle of life. Two of the capitals show the legs of the large monsters being eaten by smaller ones and the third shows the monsters eating their own tails. 

tail-eating monsters

The angel, who perhaps looks slightly grumpy, was found when we tipped up some choir stall seats which had been placed in the southern transept. Often when you tip these seats up they have these little ledges. They were there so that you could rest your bottom during long periods of the service when you had to stand. They're called 'misericords'  -- taken from the Latin word for pity.

grumpy angel [prob 17th cent]

English cathedrals and medieval churches often have superb misericords carved during the middle ages; Beverly Minster in Yorkshire has fabulous examples. Frequently they depict humorous scenes as an 'in joke' for the clergy, as the misericords were never seen by members of the congregation.

Out and about

'Tis the season for visits and catching up with good friends, which is why we haven't been posting quite as frequently as we normally do.

Angles sur L' Anglin

Late last week we picked up Andrea, a good friend of Antoinette's at the TGV station near Tours. Currently she lives and works as the head of an international primary in the Netherlands and paid us a flying visit on her way to Nice.

We headed straight off to do a spot of wine tasting at Chateau Gaudrelle. Simon & Susan have written about this Vouvray producer a number of times before. We had a little look in the cellars and then proceeded to the serious stuff--trying their still and sparkling wines. We found them very tasty and a number of bottles were purchased for consumption on the terrace during Andrea's visit.

castle ruins, Angles sur L'Anglin

As it was only a brief visit, we wanted Andrea to get as much of a flavour of the area as possible. So after Vouvray we drove along the Loire to Amboise before heading home via Montpoupon and Loches.

upper village, view from the bridge at Angles

The next day we showed Andrea some of the sights to the south of us, notably the frescos at St Savin, which we have written about before. On our way there we visited the village of Angles sur L'Anglin, which proudly holds the title of being one of the prettiest in France. 

watermill at Angles sur L'Anglin

It was lovely to see Andrea again, and as always, when you have friends to stay, much fat was chewed: happily out on the terrace as the weather behaved! Much fun was also had and, most importantly, cats were spoilt! Andrea is very fond of furries and this was quickly discovered.

This Saturday we are looking forward to seeing other friends who will be spending the day with us en-route back home after a holiday in Poitou-Charente region.

C'est aout; tout le monde est en vacances!

Tempus Fugit

Two years ago today we were sat outside enjoying the morning sun with a groggy cat and no furniture barring two camping chairs and a bed kindly left by the sellers in an empty house. The evening before, we'd arrived at here in Charnizay to start our adventures living in Sud Touraine.

31 July 2010: weeds to tame and one of our 2 camping chairs

As we were travelling with our cat Shadow we'd taken the tunnel and given him a sedative we'd obtained from the vet. Despite giving him only a very light dose, the poor lamb was still zonked the next day. While he wobbled around his new domain slightly dazed at what master and mistress had "done to him" we surveyed the place over a cup of coffee. We had 12 days until our furniture arrived to paint, and generally make presentable our house now that the works we'd had done were finished.

Over the next few days and weeks we wore a rut in the road to the area of large stores in Joué- and Chambray-les-Tours. We bought paint--loads of white paint!! We invested in a plethora of cleaning materials of all types and colours. When we arrived the house was filmed in a lovely layer of builders dust and dirt.  A garden table and chairs were acquired so we had something to sit at. By the end of the furniture-less days we'd whitewashed the entire house and weren't keen on seeing a roller or bucket of paint for a long, long time -- if ever!

We bought things we'd never owned before, but were needed living in the country: a saw horse, a chain saw, hack and hand saws, a ride-on mower, a much heavier strimmer, a wheelbarrow and another ladder to name but a few! Meanwhile Shadow had discovered the ensuite bathroom  and the joyful fact that he could just squeeze himself behind a panel and vanish totally from view only sneaking out occasionally to snatch some food. It caused us some serious worries as to where he'd got to before we caught him eeling out of his hidey hole!! Once we'd been here a couple of days we let him go outside to explore and he promptly went onto the roof! Little did he know though, that his days as an 'only cat' were numbered. Katinka took up residence in October 2010.

Shadow on the roof, August 2010

One morning early, soon after we arrived Antoinette saw a martre [pine marten] outside the kitchen door. It was as astonished as she was! In those first months we saw it again. Sadly we don't see it any more -- we assume it is now too noisy here with us as permanent inhabitants. The fouine [beech marten], more used to sharing space with humans, was around for quite some time. However, last summer we think it was dispatched by our neighbours. It was living in their attic and probably creating an unholy mess.

The red squirrels, fox and other animals are always a joy. Earlier this morning looking out over the terrace we saw regular visitors: three chevreuil [roe deer]. They ambled along the field boundary. We never tire of seeing whatever wildlife there is on offer, be it large or small; with the exception of the pine processionary catepillars!! Those we do not like!

We've had a lot done to the house: moved the kitchen, reconfigured a room to create a downstairs shower room, installed an en-suite upstairs, had floors laid and a fosse septique system installed in November 2010. A drive was put in before we moved in and the terrace  --last of the big works for now-- was finished a couple of weeks ago.

October 2010: two cats on the roof

We've learned how many stare of wood to order to heat the house in winter and how to stack woodpiles. We've watched the seasons change and discovered what plants & flowers we have. We've ripped out bushes, cut back leggy trees, learnt to slalom between the trees on the ride-on mower. In November 2010 we floundered round in the heavy clay soil to plant some young fruit trees while doing good impersonations of 'Margo' in 'The Good Life'; though happily not in yellow sou'westers!

So here we are two years later. In some ways it seems only months ago that we moved here, in other ways we feel we've been here quite a while--both in the nicest possible way!

Above all we've met many friendly and helpful people:- both French and expat, and we have made some good friends. Looking back on two years life is good and we feel we are beginning to properly settle in here.