Fête de l'olivier Bize Minervois

Well, the Olive Festival certainly was a grand affair – the village was bursting at the seams. I heard from someone that it was the busiest yet, with over 15,000 visitors. That’s quite something for a village with a population of under 900. There was even a security person trying to sort out the bottleneck of traffic over the bridge. Hundreds of stalls lined several of the streets, the promenade and the church square.

The festival is held in conjunction with L'Oulibo Olive Co-operative, 2 kilometres from Bize, that sells some beautiful olives and produces lovely oils. Well worth a visit – you can taste all the olives, tapenades and also the different oils.

The history of olives in this area is interesting – in the 50s olives were produced on a large scale but a very severe winter killed most of the trees. They were mostly replaced by grapes but now seem to be coming into their own again. The specialty olive of the area is the Lucque, quite long and curved a bit like a crescent – more expensive than the other sorts but really delicious.

At noon, the aioli competition kicked off. I was a bit slow off the mark getting to the venue, so couldn’t get close enough to see the competitors grinding madly in their mortar and pestles.

But I did get to see the judges taking their adjudicating responsibilities very seriously. Well, with gusto (and wine) anyway.

I had visitors for the day and overnight – Mo and Robin and their three kids (from Edinburgh, camping for a couple of weeks down near Perpignan). It was a beaut day for them to visit, with so much going on. There were pony rides for the kids. But the catch was that you had to lead the ponies around the village yourself! I got out of that one – Robin took two, Mo took one, and I took the photos.

Many stalls of food – not a burger or hotdog in sight. But moules and escargots by the bucket load.

Even though the centre of the village is small, there’s so much hidden away – there are always surprises. I’ve never seen these doors open before – there is a wine cave off the courtyard behind these two beautiful archways.

And here’s Miki, looking after his stall of imported Brazilian jewellery, looking très très français!

The weather was not too hot, but warm enough that there was a good crowd down at the pool.

And a couple of pictures around the village that I took early in the morning before the crowds arrived - it really was shoulder-to-shoulder most of the day.

There were soooooo many stalls – and what did I come away with? A bag of fried onion bits for sprinkling on salads, and ….. this …….

The Troisième âge folk had a stall outside the Club rooms, selling handicrafts. I bought a few numbers in a tombola, and then Claude and Illyette cornered me and reminded me that ALL the funds raised from the sale of the goods would go to the club. They also jotted my name down on a list to go to Corsica next year for a trip with the club. Sounded good to me!

And so, for 10 euros and much to Claude’s delight, I am now the proud owner of a green plastic / red crocheted – wait for it – SERVIETTE HOLDER!    

And the reason it’s looking SO nice here is that Mo turned her hand to folding the serviettes. She chose midwifery as a career, but I suspect she missed her calling...

And the day finished off with fireworks, again down in the riverbed and music on the promenade.

Tour de France 2007

A quick trip this afternoon to Saint-Pons-de-Thomières about 35 kilometres north of Bize to catch the Tour de France on the Montpellier to Castres leg of the event. As I got close, the road was – not surprisingly – closed off, with signs showing a deviation. Deja bloody vu – I’m off on another unplanned scenic tour through the mountains. 

But I certainly got to see some pretty spectacular scenery (when I could take my eyes off the road for a second). When I did arrive into town from the other direction, parking was at a premium with all the main street closed off and I ended up parking on the outskirts quite a way from the centre.

But my timing was good as it turned out. Not long after I joined the crowd and got into position at the side of the main street, a parade commenced - floats and other commercial vehicles. Lots and lots of them. 

And many of them were throwing out all sorts of things into the crowd – packets of coffee (!), key rings, posters, hats, books, toys, sweets, packets of pretzels – an amazing array of stuff. The crowd was having a great time amassing bag loads of goodies.

Sage and Indigo: take note – I didn't come away empty-handed. I managed to get something for you (one each ...) for when you arrive here in August.

And I only had to wrestle two young children to the ground to get them. Easy.

And there was a bit of an Australian thing there as well – a vehicle in the parade with a bicycle-riding kangaroo on its roof ..... 

....... and a spectator who not only had an Australian flag, but also a blow-up kangaroo complete with joey under his arm ….

Nice buildings in the main street of Saint-Pons –

And finally the riders arrived, one or two (perhaps the leaders?) accompanied by gendarmes on motor bikes, and then a little later, the main group. What a sight. I was in fact in a pretty good position and got my finger on the video button of my camera in good time.

It may be obvious by now, given my recent postings of video clips, but I’ve found out how to use the video recording thingy of my new (mostly useless) digital camera. So, for normal photos, I use my old faithful camera, and my new-ish one (that only seems to take blurry photos) is set permanently to video. It does mean that I’m carting two cameras around all the time, but I’m having fun practising.

So watch this space – because this weekend is the Bize Olive Festival - Fête de l'Olivier - one of the village highlights and busiest weekends of the year. And I'm feeling trigger-happy.

14th of July in Bize Minervois

The River Cesse in Bize certainly plays a large part in the activities of the village. Last weekend of course was the 14^th July celebrations and kicked off on Friday night with a demonstration of motocross / dirt bike riding. A large mound of gravel was built on the dry part of the river bed, behind the dam wall of the pool. Run-up tracks were laid down, starting under the bridge and a launch ramp was put in place.

A big crowd from the region seemed to have descended on the town for the event, and they put on a good show. I think the riders are all pretty young – possibly some are the same little sods who are putting in some practise hours around the village late at night lately!

June’s house is on the other side of the river and a perfect viewing spot for a few pre-fireworks drinks and some food, and apparently she does this every year. Again, the village is full of people – and when it’s dark, there’s a traditional parade of the kids with their lanterns, down along the river bed.

And then followed by fireworks …

Barn renovations:

An update : I met with the architect at his place in Roubia last week, to sign some papers. What I didn’t realise until I got there was that all the ‘artisans’ would be there – the plumber, the air conditioning man, the tiler, the builder and the electrician. And we all sat around the table, much paperwork and many stamps were produced, and there was much signing to be done by all parties. A new experience for me indeed. However, not everyone was present – the plasterer had forgotten the appointment, and the carpenter was unavoidably delayed! – so their bits will have to be dealt with by mail.

But the bottom line is that things will start happening mid-September! I must remember to take many before and after photos ……something to look forward to…

In for a penny in for a pound

Sandra and I decided to have a BBQ for the French walking group as a thank you for making us feel so welcome and for their patience with our struggling French language. When Claude (the president of the club), suggested a maximum of 20, I said ‘fine’. Thought it would be a bit of a squeeze, but figured what the heck – the more the merrier. Well, as it turned out we ended up with 32, including the 7 English-speaking people who sometimes come on the walks. A bit of last minute panic to get extra chairs and seating, but ok in the end.

So yesterday was very busy indeed, setting up the courtyard with tables, chairs, two barbecues and food serving benches, and preparing many salads and desserts. Sandra and I had spent most of Saturday doing a big shop – firstly to Ginestas to fill up our containers with rosé and red, then down to Narbonne for meat and salad stuff. So actually, it’s been a very busy couple of days. And Patrick, Sandra’s husband, did a fine job in the afternoon playing roadie, stringing up lights (strings of lanterns no less) and power for the music. He also took charge of one of the bbq’s (sausages) and confessed later that it was the first thing he had cooked – EVER! I figured he wasn’t an old hand at it when a few sausages went astray into the fire and he was prepared to write them off - I mentioned that it was OK to do a salvage job and keep on cooking them! Not a problem ….

But an interesting observation on the difference between French bbq’s and what I’m used to. Most people arrived en mass and on time. But Claude and Illyette were running a little late, and they were bringing the aperitif – again, a giant bowl of the blue punch made with champagne and Blue Curacao.

Sandra and I already had a drink in hand (by this stage of the day, we figured we’d earned it), but when offered, no one else wanted one. They wouldn’t drink anything until the aperitifs arrived. And 30 minutes later - after the punch - everyone sat down at the tables. Sandra and I looked at each other - and figured it was time to get cooking! So, I figure that the French idea of a bbq is a much more structured affair than I’m used to – it did make me laugh. It also made us get a move on and get the food out! I was an absolute lather by the time everything was served, but all in all a good evening. Music was good, songs were sung loudly and even a bit of dancing at the end. And the storms that were forecast (!) held off and we got just a little bit of rain at midnight by which time all the guests had departed. Patrick, Sandra and I sat under cover, drew breath, drank fine wine and did a postmortem of the evening. Conclusion – a fine time was had by all - a resounding success.

I was so busy during the evening, that I didn’t get a group picture, just one before hand - before the addition of extra seating!

The week before, Bonnie and Terry (who live in Agel and who come on the walks) told us about an event being held at the chateau in their village.

It was to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the revolt of the vignerons – led by a winegrower by the name of Marcelin Albert who was from the nearby village of Argeliers and is now somewhat of a local hero.

There was a luncheon on the day – put on by the village boules team - and the avenue leading up to the chateau was the laid with one long trestle table. A pleasant afternoon indeed.

The starter was half a melon, but of course not just on its own. So much better with a good measure of Muscat!

The swimming pool down at the River Cesse has been worked on and is now up and running properly, with a ladder installed on the little foot bridge and a life-guard on duty for the next couple of months between 2.00 and 7.00pm! A small island of gravel has been formed in the middle, and the overflow outlet made smaller, so in fact that water is a bit higher now than is shown in the photo.

Last walk of the season

Last Friday was the last group walk for a while - a break now until September because of the heat and the holiday season. It was a grand affair held up in the Black Mountains - beyond St. Pons-de-Thomières - at the edge of a reservoir.

No vines at this altitude - but lovely pine and oak forests, which made for a lovely 2 hour walk before lunch.

And quite a bit of heather in flower here too.

And so much cooler - good walking weather. There were more than 50 people for this day out - though only about half did the walk. The rest stayed back and 'set up camp' and made sure the BBQ's were sorted. And this is what I call a barbie! - a monster of an affair, with all four sides lit to cook for the crowd.

Here’s Edgar – in charge of the BBQ and a fine job he’s made of the Toulouse sausage …

This was a 10 Euro per head deal, and what a feast was provided, starting with the essential 'appero' after the walk. In this case, blue punch - made of much champagne, some type of citrus liqueur and a whole bottle of Blue Curacao! Looked ghastly - tasted wonderful.

And as I said, a veritable feast – and here’s the desserts (with just a little of the blue punch left, not looking quite so appetising at this stage).

And afterwards, out came the accordion, and a little singing and dancing in the afternoon. A good time was had by all!

I forgot to mention in my previous post that there was a fund raising event in the village last week – a repas down on the promenade at the edge of the river, to raise funds for the children of Madagascar.

The entertainment started at about 7 o’clock – local musicians playing popular music, the meal started quite late at about 8.30, and then the main entertainment of the evening was African drumming and dance. A very enthusiastic display that went on right up to 11.

Thereafter followed by a disco - for me a sign to pull up stumps and call it a night.

Days of Wine and Roses

Well, perhaps that's stretching it. But a trip to a wine cave for 2 x 5 litre refills, and then to the Beziers flower market.

The wine cave is in the nearby village of Ginestas – and having tried a few in recent months, I have to say I think this one is a winner. The red and the rosé are really nice, and 5 litres of each costs me all of 20 euros, and that’s certainly not the cheapest you can buy around here by a long shot. In fact I took a bottle of the red to the group walk a couple of weeks ago, and those who tasted it wanted to know where it came from. I reckon if the locals think it’s a pretty good drop, then I must be onto a good thing.

The wine cave is only open twice a week between 11 and 12 on a Wednesday and a Saturday. I’ve only been on a Saturday, and it seems to be the local meeting place in the village. It’s humming – lots of tasting and banter happening. And there’s a man with his meat van who has cottoned onto a good idea – he parks his truck directly outside at 11.30 and has captive trade tumbling out the door. The surroundings might be industrial and gloomy, with the wine coming out of what looks like a petrol pump – but in this particular cave the attendant is tres chic!

A trip through to Beziers, where there is a flower market every Friday in the main avenue - not dissimilar to the Ramblas in Barcelona, but on a much smaller scale. The market was lovely, and I came away with a solitary chilli plant, as I have had so much trouble buying fresh chillis in the shops here. When I did find them, they were the tiny bird’s eye variety and hot as all hell. So my resolution not to buy any more plants didn’t last long – the court yard is looking decidedly green as I continue accumulating.

The Beziers traffic and road system is well-known for being a nightmare. It’s a standing joke that whenever I get within cooee of the place, I end up in ‘downtown’ Beziers whether I want to or not. Usually when I’m trying to skirt around the place itself, on my way to somewhere else! After the markets, we tried to get to the cathedral at the top of town, which can be seen for miles around. But we were thwarted at literally every turn. Even with the GPS, we ended up in tiny cobbled streets. I was trying to back out of one as I figured I could get stuck if I went any further, when a local advised that I was in fact headed in the right direction for the cathedral, and I should keep going. At this stage, Janice got out and walked ahead to make sure that I could indeed get the car through. We made it out of the labyrinth, only to eventually arrive at the main road up the hill to find it closed off! Thwarted at every turn. So, the views from the cathedral will have to wait for another day – but here’s a photo of it from the distance.

While Janice was here, it was a good opportunity to deal with another old cupboard in an upstairs room. If we’d been able to dismantle it and take it downstairs, I would have used it as a storage and tool cupboard in the garage. But even with the shelves and doors removed, it was still too heavy and unwieldy for us to manage down the stairs. So – over the balcony it went. And this time I did remember to take the before and after photos.

Shortly before ...


.... and sorted!

And here’s a few pictures of the lovely rooftops of Narbonne – we climbed the 251 steps of Narbonne Cathedral tower in the main square – amazing 360 degree views.

Cherry Festival Trausse-Minervois

Cherry season is here at last – one of the reasons I moved to France!!! But ‘une catastrophe’ – April was so warm, that it’s hardly a season at all. But there were enough to carry on with the annual cherry festival in the village of Trausse-Minervois. And here’s a short video clip I made with my camera – most of these festivals seem to have either their own or a visiting ‘oompa’ band, and this one is very enthusiastic, if a little out of tune …

And another France-related video clip can be seen here - this one certainly not of my making – but fun!

I’ve just had a quick and unexpected trip to Spain today. Bizarre in my way of thinking, to be able to nip over to another country at the drop of a hat. Miki, a friend from the village, rang this morning – he was heading down to do a bit of shopping just over the border, and did I want to go down for the ride? Well, yes, of course I did – any excuse not to pick up the paint brush, which was today’s plan. Some things are much cheaper there - I now have more olives than I know what to do with, and a well-stocked alcohol cupboard that I do know what to do with.

Just on the border, we passed through the town of Le Perthus – the border goes down the middle of the main street. Signs on the shop fronts on the left are in Spanish – those on the right in French! And then on to La Jonquera, not a particularly pretty town but full of big shops, garden centres and terracotta and ceramic planters.

Last week I had Phil and Val with me, unfortunately only for three days, but in that short time they have fallen in love with the area! So much so that they’re coming back later in the year, and may even have a look at what’s on offer re the property market – how exciting!

And they happened to be here on a Tuesday and came on the walk with the group – it was all around an etang down the coast near Bages and Peyriac-de-Mer. And a great day was had by all – they were made to feel so welcome by the local folk and there were lots of laughs, eau de vie, other home made liqueurs and more cakes passed around after the picnic lunch than you could poke a stick at! We were even made to take some home for dinner.

Here they are the next day, dipping their toes in the Mediterranean on the big long beach between Sete and Agde. We had a seafood lunch at a restaurant in Meze, and not only did they share a lovely bouillabaisse –
but Val ate her first EVER oysters …..!
and the worried look was all for nothing – she’s now a convert, and we bought some more that day to take home for the evening.