Notes from Down Under

It's been beaut being back here and catching up with friends and family. It's been two years and I'm really noticing the development and changes that have been happening in Perth. It's certainly been a boom town (up until recently!), mostly owing to the overseas demand for the State's mineral, and Perth's gone ahead in leaps and bounds. Still as beautiful as I remember it. 

Although I am struggling with the heat - there's been somewhat of a heatwave happening here the last two weeks. I have been following closely the weather conditions in France, and indeed the rest of Europe, and there've been times when I've been a little envious of the cold.

While I'm in Perth, I'm staying mainly in a lovely apartment where Paul is living with gorgeous views across the Swan River towards Perth. He is now the proud owner of not one, but two motorbikes, plus THE yellow car (more of that later). And not long after arriving, I went for a ride (pillion) on the yellow bike.

Let's just say it was hot, and my old knees suffered from being scrunched up and not being able to stretch out, and I was a little nervous! But a quick spin around Kings Park and taking in the views was worth it. 

I used to sometimes ride a (very much smaller) motorbike many many moons ago - unlicensed and only off-road - and I have to say that I much prefer that to being a pillion passenger. In fact we still laugh about it – when Paul was little, I used to take him sitting on the petrol tank in front of me! 

Things are now the other way around – he takes me. Though I don't sit on the petrol tank!

I've been up and down the coast around Perth, taking in all the new developments happening in the seaside suburbs. A couple of times, went to a lovely cafe overlooking Cottesloe Beach. 

Sadly there was a fatal shark attack at a beach not far from there, the day after boxing day, and since then there have been numerous shark sightings in the vicinity. White pointers (great whites) are a protected species – and unless they're proved to be a menace, they cannot be killed. The family of the shark attack victim did not want this shark hunted down. 

There have been constant sightings of sharks since then, and barely a day goes by without reports from different beaches. One of the days we were there, another one was sighted not far offshore from the cafe, as were sitting on the balcony. Three helicopters headed to where it was, hovered over it until the shark watch boat arrived to try to herd it out to sea. 

I caught up with my old friend Sue who is back in Australia temporarily from Bulgaria and working at the ABC (Radio) in Geraldton. And that's where I've just been for the last week. What an adventurous five days that's been.

Pit stop - Caterby Roadhouse

Paul kindly put my name on the insurance policy for his car, so this is what Thelma and Louis headed up the west coast in.

Admittedly I did have to have a few test drives with him, six gears, dash board like a Boeing 747 and more horses under bonnet than I've ever dealt with.

And very expensive wheels that under threat of death I wasn't to crush up against the kerbs. Hence, we nearly found it necessary to take a cab to the kerb when I parked up.

It's a HSV SV6000 – and let me say that when overtaking cars and road trains on those long long stretches of open road between Perth and Geraldton, it goes like the proverbial off a shovel.

We SHOULD have made really good time on the trip north, but the GPS let us down in a new suburb of Perth that neither of us was familiar with, and we spent a half hour going around in circles.

Finally we asked someone who said that GPS systems lost the signal in this area, and we had to get directions to the Brand Highway the old fashioned way. And then of course any 'street cred' us two old girls in the sporty car thought we may have had, went right out the window.

Anyway, we made it and had a great time catching up and for the first time in a long while. And for a change, it was me being shown around as a tourist - very different from my last two years in France!

I've only passed through Geraldton once before, and know nothing of the area.It's one of the windiest places I've ever been too, and it apparently is like this pretty much all year round. And proof of the incessant winds are the bent trees all over the place - 

Downtown Geraldton - a street tree on such a lean
that it's growing under the powerlines....

The coastline is beautiful, there are miles and miles of white beaches – and some literally metres from the centre of town. It's a very progressive town and it's looking good. Main industry has always been crayfishing (western rock lobster), sheep,cattle, wheat, but now it's also mining, tourism. Also, olive groves are springing up in the region, albeit all the trees have a definite slant to them!

The countryside is fairly flat - large paddocks, sand dunes near the coast and some rolling hills. Sue took me to Ellendale Pool, which is a little gem. It's a little gorge and swimming pool, more like you'd find further north at Kalbarri.

And if you felt you'd be better off swimming in a fresh-water environment, after all the shark scares in the ocean, there's this to consider!

And the highlight of my stay in Geraldton? Well, we decided to give ourselves a Christmas present – a half day plane trip out to the Abrolhos Islands, landing on one of the islands and time for a bit of snorkelling on the reefs. What an fantastic experience that was.

Not a road - the airstrip

And we had company in the form of a sea eagle that kept doing fly-bys and checking us out.

The islands are low-lying atolls spread roughly north to south for about 100 kilometres, and about 50 kilometres off the coast in the Indian Ocean. Because of all the reefs surrounding the islands, there have been numerous shipwrecks over the years.

The whole of the region on the mainland north and south of Geraldton is called The Batavia Coast because of the famous shipwreck of the Batavia and the mutiny that followed. Such an interesting (and rather gruesome) story.

These days some of the islands have fishermen's huts on them, and are occupied for about 3 months of the year during the crayfishing (rock lobster) season. And as our pilot pointed out – he figures that it's the wives of the fishermen who have brightened things up a bit with the different colours of paint!

And how good was this - after snorkling, fruit, sandwiches and coffee were served by our multi-tasking pilot on the guano-covered jetty - while being paid close attention by the sea eagle!

There was a slight downside to the end of my trip though. The yellow car got away from me a little on the return trip to Perth and I ended up with a rather expensive speeding ticket. All that power under the bonnet and such long open roads – the temptation proved a little too much and I am now paying dearly. Oops.

It will definitely be a slower ride for my next trip – down south to my home town of Albany, staying with Col and Hass (who visited me in France recently – previously featured here doing a little grape picking) and other family and friends.

Je vais conduire plus lentement!

Noël en France

Bize-Minervois is gearing up for Christmas - this year the decorations seem to be a little sparce. I think perhaps it's because the village is so pretty, not many decorations are needed!

The other night Indigo and two school friends, India and Elisa, decided to do some carolling - sadly my camera battery went flat but I managed get these ....

Outside Chez Robert, the butcher,
who in fact has gone to quite a bit of trouble
with his Christmas decorations!

And a little video clip, including a fit of the giggles when they recognised someone!

There have been Christmas markets in many of the villages - Bize had a small market / vide grenier last week. There was a stall selling dried meats and sausages - with an interesting marketing ploy - the vendor admitted that lots of people stopped to enquire! It translates literally as 'the cousin's loaves' but in fact means the cousin's boobs .....

The main square in Narbonne is always decorated beautifully at this time of year - this year they've erected a temporary ice skating rink directly over top of the old Roman road, Via Domitia, in front of the Archbishop's palace.




We had the Christmas lunch with the village walking group the other day - in the new restaurant La Grange which has opened on the outskirts of the village.

It's a lovely new building and a good time was had by all, and there were even gifts for everyone. Such a lot of people - it seemed that it needed four Santas to give them out.

And then of course, a little stage show - these folk really love to dress up. And some of the men - like blokes everywhere - really don't mind slipping into a frock when the occasion calls for it!

Unlike me (known far and wide as Bah Humbug), Nic actually has put up a tree and decorations in the lounge room. And the kids are so looking forward to their first Christmas in France. They're definitely on count-down to present-opening time....

Wine tasting Westerberg-style

And here's a little story I wasn't going to write up, but a friend (thanks Mags ....) has insisted I must relate it .....

A few weeks ago now, Nic and I were talking to Claude, a friend and resident of Bize, about different wine domains in the area. He recommended one we should visit, about 20 minutes from here (and I'm certainly not naming it or saying exactly where it is...).

He wrote out the vigneron's name, address, directions, and the name and year of the wine we should ask to taste.

We found the little hamlet, no worries, and saw a sign on the big door of a wine cave - in French and English - saying if it was unattended, we should enquire at the house.

Now we'd passed this house about 50 metres back, and saw a wine sign outside of it. So we parked, walked back down to the house and knocked on the door.

A teenage boy answered, and I told him in my stumbling French that we'd like to taste some wine.

He looked a little puzzled, so I repeated myself.

"Now?" he asked.

"Oui, merci", I replied......

He looked a little flustered. At this stage the three of us were standing in the hallway of the house. He spoke to his three teenage friends who were sitting on the sofa watching a DVD, which our arrival had obviously interrupted.

They turned the DVD off, got up and left the room, and the young boy started removing all the folded up laundry from the dining room table and the back of chairs.

I think his friends had been despatched to find some wine.

It was about then that I had this awful moment of doubt - things didn't seem right!

In fact, we were both beginning to realise that perhaps we'd invited ourselves into someone's home and asked to drink their wine!

Deargod .... we had.

I brought out Claude's hand-written note, and showed it to him, and sure enough, he confirmed that we were in the wrong place. It was about 100 metres away!

It was just one of those awful moments when you think - this cannot be happening. Surely we haven't made this awful mistake. But we had.

My voice was very squeaky (read 'verging on hysteria') as I struggled to apologise profusely. And we made our exit - with no dignity whatsoever.

But this certainly says a lot about the amazing French hospitality .... I'm not sure I can imagine that happening in many other places!
But later, to make matters worse, when we finally arrived at the correct establishment we were told that the vigneron had recently been taken to hospital and so we weren't able to taste or buy any wine anyway. And no, we've not yet been back - but definitely will. Because of course, we know exactly where to go now!

Jeez, an experience like that's nearly enough to make a person leave the country!

And in fact I am - but only temporarily. I'm very excited to say that I'm heading back to Australia on Christmas Eve for about five weeks. Christmas Day at Singapore Airport (!) arriving into Perth on Boxing Day afternoon. It will be two years since I was there last, and I'm very much looking forward to catching up with family and friends.

Anyone up for a bit of wine tasting with me in Western Australia......?

Smatterings

It seems ages since like my last post. I was about to say that not a lot’s happened, but looking back I guess it has.

Halloween was celebrated last week in the village, in a small way. A few of the kids from the village got dressed up and did the trick-or-treat thing.

And Indigo and Sage had packed their costumes from Canada – and they certainly came in handy! Most of the kids we came across were recognisable – not so these two….

Apparently it was never celebrated like this in France until recent years – I guess time will tell if it will become very popular or not. It’s always been celebrated as All Saint's Day (la Toussaint) – with families visiting cemetaries and adorning the graves with chrysanthemums. Leading up to this, all the garden centres and shops are full of chrysanthemums – a real picture.

Fortunately I’ve learned since I’ve been here that it’s not appropriate to give someone a potted chrysanthemum as a gift as they’re considered flowers for the dead.

We had a lovely meal the other night of trout – they were on special in Intermarche for €4.50 per kilo, so to buy four of them was really economical.

So I decided to do them wrapped in wet paper and baked in the oven (thanks for the cooking tip, Sandra – it worked a treat!). The kids were a little undecided with the preparation side of things ……
But more than delighted with the outcome ……

A definite thumbs up from Sage…

And Indigo? well, a picture's worth a thousand words ….

An update on the fishpond - previously the bath tub!

It’s taken a bit of time, but finally it’s up and running and is looking really good, even if I do say so myself! It took me a long time to find out the best way of treating (or not) the inside of the tub as the general consensus was that it was zinc, and probably not good for the fish long-term.

And then it proved difficult to source a sealant – I finally ended up with a pool and pond paint that was non-toxic to fish. It only came in white or a rather bright shade of blue – I chose blue in the hope that it would turn green with algae soon, and look a little more natural. And that is beginning to happen.
To be sure it wasn’t toxic, in the short term we put in a few little fish (sacrificial lambs) which the kids had great fun catching from the river - ten in all. And they not only survived – they thrived.

After a week or so of them never having looked back, we bought five goldfish – one for each of us. Me, Nic, Indigo, Sage and one for Col & Hass who were here at the time.

So then it was back into the river for the little native fish – I reckon they would have been just as happy to stay!

We’ve had so much fun collecting the plants from the river. Paddling in the shallows with our trousers rolled up (in a very secluded section of the river, I must add), with plastic carry-bags and getting very wet!

Most of them are doing well – time will tell whether they survive the winter, but so far so good.However, the plan was to see if I could get the whole system biologically stable and not have to use a filter. I did have success with my pond in Perth like that, but it didn’t appear I was going to be successful with this one.

So I’ve installed an external biological filter, which has cleared up the cloudiness in the water in no time at all, and this will also allow me to keep a few more fish.

We had some amazing rain last week – it bucketed down. I had to bail out the fish pond twice in one day as it was overflowing, and there’s a good 3 centimetres between the level of the water and the top of the pond. So a fair bit came down that day.

Unfortunately it also revealed a few more leaks in the old roof of the house, which I need to get seen to.

And the next day, the River Cesse was a far cry from the beautiful clear water we’re used to – so much soil must have washed down from the vineyards. Even now, a week later, it’s not yet running clear.

Before (a summer photo):

... and after the big rains ...

 I’ve also had some more visitors – it was beaut to have my brother-in-law Phil and sister-in-law Val from Somerset stay for a week.

At Narbonne: the Canal de la Robine

Fortunately we had two days of really beautiful weather with the remainder just so-so. However, it is November, and totally to be expected.

We ate out a few times – memorably at a lovely seafood restaurant when the weather was divine, in Bouzigues on the Etang de Thau, overlooking the oyster beds. But mostly we cooked up a storm at home, drank some very nice wines and generally caught up.

And the countryside is spectacular at this time of year, so we certainly got to see some lovely sights when we were out and about.

My very favourite season here.

Bize - autumn colours.

La Vendange in full swing

I can’t believe the harvest is almost over – it hardly seems a year has gone by. But this year was a bit special for us – we got involved, albeit in a very small way. Well actually, I feel I’m involved all-year round with the end product, doing my bit supporting the local vignerons.

But this year we got out into the vineyard and did a bit of grape harvesting! The four of us – Col, Hass, Nic and me – a couple of hours at best, and then back to the cave to see it processed.

I have started meeting up with Brigitte who lives along this road a little, to help each other improve our French / English. Brigitte and her husband are vignerons (Domaine Monastrel – soon to be the topic of a separate posting here) – and she asked if we would like to do a little grape picking and visit the cave. Well, YES PLEASE! 

And here's Col - eagle-eyed, and dealing with one of them. It didn't stand a chance ..... 


What a fabulous morning it was. We met up with Brigitte at 10 o’clock in the morning (by which time the serious pickers had been at it for hours…) and she took us to small vineyard. They have several parcels of vines – in different locations in the area.

We picked for an hour or so, filling the containers and leaving them under the vines for collection by the men with the tractor. The only instructions were ‘no leaves, no escargots’ ….. easy. 

Obviously we were a little slower at filling our containers than the others (ok, a fair bit slower), but it was lots of fun.

Then off to the new wine cave (second year of use) to watch the very grapes we’d just picked go through the crusher into the vats. 

Col and Hass also made themselves useful in this part of the process by stacking and carting the empty crates outside where the other pickers were washing them. I was busy taking photos…..! 

And the highlight of the whole operation for us? It was when Vincent called us down below, took a wine glass and filled it with the freshly squeezed grapes, still frothy. It was indescribably delicious – I think it’s the best (non-alcoholic!) drink I’ve ever had.

Lo Cigal – Occitan School

A few of us attended a fund-raising event in the village the other week – a meal of spit-roasted lamb and all the trimmings -

and a choice of dessert which was a sight to behold…..

The event was to raise funds for Lo Cigal - the new Occitan School which opened last year in the village. It’s located in the old railway station. This is in addition to the Bize Primary school that Indigo attends – it is only a small school at the moment – and its aim is to teach the Occitan language, culture and history, with enrolment of children from all over the Minervois region.

Sadly the Bize Railway Station is no longer in use – the train hasn’t run for a few years now. It was the little tourist train that ran from Narbonne to Bize in the summer months, and was run by volunteers. But now the track is not in a good state of repair, and I imagine it’s stopped because of funding.

However, the night was a very good one – and after the meal, there was the Occitan version of square-dancing!

My cousins Col and Hass from Albany (Australia) are visiting at the moment. And with 8 Australian holiday-makers from Australia arriving at the end of the month to stay in the house, the Aussie contingent in the village will have been (temporarily) increased 10-fold. 

They arrived into Narbonne by train, having flown Mauritius Air and spent a few days in Mauritius, and a few in Paris. They’ve had a couple of weeks here in Bize and visited different places in the area, and then tomorrow they head off to Spain for their next adventure, returning to Bize for a few days before going back to Australia.

Some group family photos -

Beautiful Pezenas

And are they finding driving in France different than rural Australia? In a word --- YES.

Between sight-seeing with me, and now heading out on their own in their car, they've found time to make themselves very useful around the place and have been a great help. With the four of us, we've managed to:

• cut up nearly a winter's supply of wood, from old timbers I'd been saving from the renovation;

• paint and set up the fish pond and stock it with river plants and a handful of little river fish to test the water (I was thinking sacrificial lambs - although a week later, they're looking amazingly healthy) .... photos and update to follow when it's a bit more established, but it's looking damn fine, if I do say so myself. The kids were delighted to go down to the river after school with their nets and bucket to bring back the test stock.

• discover some white ants (termites) which were eating a wooden stake when I dug up a small wattle to relocate it (white ant man coming today.....just what I didn't need .....)

• reposition and stack (mostly Hass's hard work) a household full goods and furniture into my garage and loft storage.

The story behind a garage full of household goods is this - Nic's shipping container has arrived from Canada, and until she gets a place of her own, that's where it's going to be stored. 

The removal truck arrived a few days ago, and promptly blocked the street, much to the consternation of one woman who was threatening to call the municipal police.

Hass, being a farmer, is an early riser and was up at sparrow’s and on the lookout for their arrival - and witnessed the whole debacle.

And so they parked up the road, and walked the 30 or so metres back to the house with all the bits and pieces. I can still get the car into the garage - just.

The kids have been so excited that their stuff has arrived - they're ecstatic in fact! Opening boxes to find their things - it's like an early Christmas for them. 

Here they are on top of the pile - identifying the 'must haves'.

Both Sage and Indigo are settling into their respective schools and making friends .... it's not all been smooth sailing but it's getting better day by day, and they're both making new friends.

What's really interesting is to hear Sage's account of the food at school - French school lunches are famously known for just how good they are! At least three full courses, and the choices are unlike anything she’s had before.

Indigo has not yet started having lunch at school - she'll start next month. She's only 50 metres away from home and a lot of kids in the village go home - it's a 2 hour lunch break, same as all the businesses. Mind you, some businesses shut for a lot longer than 2 hours. This is France of course - lunch time is soooo important and definitely not to be hurried.

At Indigo's school the other day - all the kids had to describe what they'd eaten at home for lunch. She was amazed to hear the kids tell of such things as foie gras (.....what is that, Debra?), pate and salade, ........... 

Unfortunately, that was the day of the furniture arriving and things were a bit hectic here. Indigo normally has a pretty healthy lunch - however, on this particular day she duly reported that she'd had cheese and crackers and a fish finger....!