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....!

Full House

The main house has been full of holiday makers this last month or so (a good start to my new venture!) and I’ve had my old friend Jillian visiting from Perth and staying with me in the barn. Her travels have taken her first to Bulgaria and then on to Italy.

An introduction to the red Minervois wines and a little duck confit ….

And we also got out and about – a visit to the Millau Viaduct, Roquebrun and then a drive back through the beautiful Black Mountains -

In the village of Montady – a dog in the window -

A vide grenier in Moussan -

… a day out to the medieval market town of Mirepoix for the fabulous Monday market ….

It’s such an interesting market – well worth the trip. I rarely buy flowers for the house, but couldn’t resist this 4 euro bunch of assorted sunflowers.

   
And this is where Jillian did what she often does when visiting another country – buy some music of the region. So here in the square was this lady singing some very traditional-sounding French songs, accompanied by her organ grinder ....
...and so this is the music that we listened to on the CD when we had friends around to dinner that night!

And what an interesting night that was! We were sitting outside, and smelled something burning that definitely wasn’t dinner. It got stronger and stronger and we figured something may be on fire out in the street.

And it certainly was – 20 metres from my front door!

 

The pompiers were pretty quickly on the scene, but too late to do anything but hose down the remains.

And here’s the latest bit of family news – which I haven’t written about up until now - because until the air tickets were bought, I could never be sure that it was actually going to happen….

My sister Nic and her kids have moved here to France! Initially for a year, but hopefully for longer. So they arrived on Saturday into Toulouse and it’s been all-go since.

With two adults, two kids (Morgan arrived only last night), four big suitcases and hand-luggage, things were pretty tight in the car – to say the least.

Sage and Indigo were sandwiched together in the back, next to a large suitcase. But they hardly stayed awake for two minutes on the drive back!

They’re staying in the big house (but will be moving into the barn with me when the few remaining bookings are here) and perhaps buying in the area.

In the meantime, Indigo the youngest has been enrolled in the Bize primary school, Sage the middle daughter is enrolled at College Marcelin Albert at St Nazaire, about 6 kilometres from here. And Morgan the oldest is going to the International Bilingual School at Aix-en-Provence.

It’s been fairly hot here this last week, so the kids have been spending a fair bit of time swimming down at the river. Last few days before school starts.

There are a few nerves about starting in new schools but already they’ve met some kids of friends, and I’m sure they’ll be just fine.

New friends in the pool - BBQ at Margaret and David's

Another up-side of them being here – hopefully they can help me with my French - all else seems to have failed!

Bath tubs and fish ponds

A bit of a garden update …. I’ve planted dichondra between all the paving stones and also also put it down in a few places as a no-mow, low traffic lawn.

A bit of greenery to give the illusion of ‘cool’ – and it’s coming on a treat. I got some of the seeds started in flat trays a month or so ago, and have planted out little tufts of it – so hopefully before long it will cover completely. I’m really enjoying pottering around out there.

And I’ve got a few other bits and pieces in – including a border of lettuce – quick (albeit temporary) cover AND salad at hand.

And then there will be the fish-pond. I’ve always had fish ponds where possible – in Perth I had two in the back yard. One was a monster I dug and lined with heavy-duty plastic. The other was the old bath tub from the bathroom upgrade, sunk into the ground. Easy to dig in the Perth sand – impossible here with the clay and rock of the courtyard.

However, it’s ironic that again I have a bath tub that I’m going to use as a fish pond - and it’s a beauty!

I’ve been looking around for ages, and was nearly resigned to buying a boring pre-formed rectangular plastic one that I’d have to disguise with rocks and/or plants, when I stumbled upon this at a brico in Beziers. So this will be an above-ground feature. But better still, I managed to negotiate the price down to exactly what the plastic one would have cost!

I wanted to take a photo of it heading out of the shop on the trolly and asked Msr. to stop – and he asked if I wanted him in the bath for the photo. Well, yes! I said - he climbs in, and here he is looking happy as a sandboy!

So, my next project is to level off a bed of sand to put it on, and get it stocked with water plants, etc. I always knew I was going to put a fish pond in the courtyard somewhere, so during construction I asked the electrician put a power lead out near the verandah for the pump/filter.

And for a little reminder of my happy years in Scotland, with a with a splash of blue and white paint on the sides, I could have my very own saltire!

Secret river swimming

…. and under threat of death, my lips are sealed!

Seriously though - even if I wanted to spread the word, it’s well and truly off the beaten track and I probably couldn’t retrace my steps there again anyway. But I can say it’s on the River Orb and it’s up in the Black Mountains a bit.

So with the Family Bowditch, I spent a lovely afternoon of river swimming and an evening picnic. The water wasn’t as cold as our very own River Cesse here in Bize and made for fabulous swimming. Interestingly, stretches of the Cesse up-river appear dry in the warmer months, but in fact what’s happened is that the river has gone underground. And so when it re-surfaces further downstream, the water is rather ‘fresh’. Very invigorating on a hot day, that’s for sure.

Being a hot day, there were a few locals and visitors about, but we were prepared – a small blow-up boat to take all our goodies to the other side of the river to a quiet pebbled area with hardly anyone in sight.

Soooo easy going downstream with the strong current – much more tricky getting it back! And it was a good thing we had it – there was a bit of drama in the afternoon when a young boy called out for help – he’d dislocated his shoulder – and it doubled as a raft to take him back up-river.
So sadly not a great afternoon for everyone, but the pompiers were called on someone’s mobile so hopefully all went well for him after that.

The scenery was magic – like something out of a movie – and of course there was a perfect diving rock into a deep pool. And here’s David doing just that!

Miki and Camilla - washing up duties
…

And the trip back - at dusk - to the other side of the river, against the current ….

What a magical place!

House warming

…. or pendaison de crémaillère as it’s known here – the hanging (pendaison) of the implement (de crémaillère) in the fireplace. The crémaillère is actually the hook-like thing that was used to hang the cooking pot over the fire, not the pot itself as I first thought.

So, in the old days it was an essential item when you moved into a new house. And now that I know what it is, I've realised that I actually have one out in the courtyard, and I’ve been using it. Not to hang my cooking pot from, but a hanging basket!

So last week I had some people over – well it turned out to be quite a lot of people actually – and it turned into a really beaut evening.



 

Camilla and David’s daughter and son-in-law Amy and Gordon - who are here on holidays - sing and play the guitar professionally in the UK. They offered to provide live music on the night, so that was fantastic!



And when they’d finished, the French aren’t ones to pass up the opportunity of a microphone at the ready, so the songs started, and everyone found good voice. There was lots of food, lots of wine, and lots of fun.



Ellyette was twice a star on the night - firstly when she produced her her now-famous and much-in-demand blue Soupe de Champagne (helped here by Margaret, who did a great job tending the bar all evening!) -


and then later when she got hold of the microphone!


A great house warming indeed.

Olive Festival 2008 and more .....

Another year – another Bize olive festival. Weather was great – lots of stalls of goodies, wine, cheese, food – all the usual suspects! And lots of food to be had at stalls down on the promenade.

I wandered around the village in the morning with June and we stumbled upon a hidden secret in the middle of the village. Well, not really a secret, but a hidden courtyard that’s only open very occasionally – the home of a local wine producer.

How gorgeous is this!

And in the huge barn off to the side is this old Model T Ford – the owner said he plans to restore it one day.

And then there is the aioli making competition at midday. Last year I arrived at the table too late to get close enough to be able to see it being made. Not so this year – I got a great possie at the head of the table! Sadly I couldn’t stay for the judging as I had to be elsewhere – but they were all looking and smelling pretty good to me when I left.

The contestants in action, with the help of the brass band playing in the background:

And onto another ‘foody’ topic – I went with some friends a couple of weeks ago to the village of La Caunette to an evening meal in the square.

Before the food, the customary aperatif ....

It’s held annually and the speciality of the evening is mussels. Now, these are things I don’t normally eat a lot of – one or two in a mixed seafood dish has been my limit. Up until that evening, that is. Well, the fellow who actually produces the moules was there, and between him and a few helpers, they fed nearly 200 people!

Elegant it isn’t – delicious they are ….

The fire of old vines is lit under a huge metal plate and the mussels moved around to cook with a garden rake …

…. dished up with up with a dustpan ….

…. and served in a plastic washing-up bowl!

And they were unbelievably good – apparently the recipe is meant to be a secret, but the word out there is that one of the key ingredients of the marinade is pastis.

They just kept coming by the bowl-full to the tables, until we just had to say ‘non, merci’ …..There were other courses (this IS France) but they were of minor importance compared to the mussels.

I have a garden …

…. of sorts. Well, in the making really, but I’m so pleased that I have some outside space and can potter and grow things again. Eight years in Scotland without a garden … I really missed it.

But a way to go yet.

The outside re-do started off with having to get the painters in to fix the back of the house which was looking decidedly shabby and the side courtyard wall that had had been rough cement rendered at some stage.

It was definitely a professional job – it needed scaffolding and a high pressure spray – way beyond my capabilities…..

Before:

During:

After:

I’ve been busy assembling eight planter boxes (those damn flat packs again….).

A little time-consuming with my little cordless screwdriver and cordless drill. The painter took pity on me one day and went out to his van and loaned me his much more powerful electric screwdriver. That certainly hurried things along a bit!

And filling them with bits and pieces (the fun bit). I’ve actually done a real mix here – there are plants that will be there hopefully permanently and some that definitely won’t - i.e. morning glory creepers for a quick cover, runner beans, rocket and lettuces!

And I’ve made a start on the paving for a path down to the garage. They’re heavy – my first run I had 14 in the car and a couple of bags of soil – yesterday I managed 20 slabs.

I had a bit of a set-back yesterday with the planter boxes. They weigh a ton now that they’re full of wet soil and plants, and I realised that I need to move them forward about 30cm. Well, kindly Robin came over to help today and the first thing that happened was that the back trellis bit parted company with the bottom heavy bit, i.e. the screws pulled out …

So it was at risk of spilling dirt and plants everywhere if we continued. So on yesterday’s trip to pick up more paving stones, I also bought a lot of very long screws to try to reinforce things before trying to move them again.

I made a token effort yesterday afternoon, but it was hot as all hell in the courtyard, so that job’s been put on the back-burner until things [hopefully] cool down a bit…. The other alternative of course is to get out there at sparrows ….. Best laid plans and all that ….

Since moving into the barn, I seem to have a lot more flies indoors and I'm loath to do the Australian thing, and have a can of Mortein (or the French equivalent!) sitting on the kitchen table, at the ready.

Though I have to be honest and say I have been thinking of fly strips on the veranda [yuk] or even worse, a fly trap.

Margaret has bought a rather large flash model over the internet – a big plastic contraption that's hung in the garden but can smell a bit when it gets a few dead 'uns in it.

But I was thinking more of going for my Dad's home-made model, using the same principal. A large glass jar, with holes punched through the tin lid (so that jagged bits of the holes are on the inside), a bit of water and a bit of rotten squid (or the French equivalent!) in the bottom.

They can get in, but can't get out. Voila – cheap fly trap.

So in Albany, we grew up with these contraptions scattered around the garden – Dad was endlessly amused as these flies would get in and not be able to get out. They were revolting to behold, and even more revolting to smell if you got too close.

But – the good news is that I have a handy new gadget! Those who know me know that I love new technology and 'gadgets'. And this one is not only very useful, it's a whole lot of fun. I was at Robin and Ruth's – friends in the village - the other night, and saw theirs and just had to have one.

It's an electronic fly swatter! Runs on two small batteries and zaps them. If you're lucky enough to catch them, that is. I have to say I was a little enthusiastic on my first try and nearly put my arm out trying to swat one. I've learned that a slowly-slowly, more stealthy approach works better.

Interestingly, I did a search on the internet and discovered that they're banned in Australia – I read about several people's experiences of buying them overseas and having them confiscated by Australian Customs at the airport on their return. Apparently they're considered a 'dangerous electric-shock device'.hehe

Not so here, I'm delighted to say …..

Orange = old model, yellow = new.

Given all the stuff I’ve moved in the last year or so, my little car has come up trumps – I’m still amazed at the amount of stuff I can cram into it. This photo is not bad at all, in fact it’s a rather light load!

I recently came back from Narbonne, hoping not to see the gendarmes, with a 3-seater settee hanging out the back (tied down!) and was more than a little nervous. Even the kindly man at the second-hand store who helped me tie the back down, was saying ‘doucement, doucement’ … gently, gently…

But my little Suzuki has been fantastic – whoever would have thought that initially I wanted to buy an automatic diesel Renault, in any colour but grey!

A follow up:

Last month, when Wendy and Steve and Michael were visiting – Steve pointed out that he’d noticed that other villages they’d visited had condom machines outside their pharmacies…. and why didn’t Bize? Well, I didn’t know the answer to that one …..

However, as of a week or so ago, Bize does indeed now have its own brand-new blue condom machine, mounted on the wall outside the pharmacy ….