Roscoff Onion and Garlic Festival

Today was a brilliant day out at Roscoff Onion and Garlic Festival.  It rained for the whole one and a half hour journey and then the sun came out as we parked in a great space inbetween the main onion sales area and the town.

 

 

Jane and I wandered around the main onion and garlic area and between us bought nearly 70kgs of onions and rose garlic.  There were lots of demonstrations of onion stringing, wicker basket making, clog carving, cookery etc. and lots of possible tastings of cheeses, seaweed products, onion confits. 

Two of the girls and a young lad from the stall we bought our onions from helped Jane get the produce back to the car while I stood idly by taking photographs!

Banners were all over the place and there must have been several thousand people in Roscoff for the event.

Here clogs are taking shape from a block of wood.

Artichokes got in on the act too and there were several stalls selling them and tarts with both artichokes and onions.

 
This was a good band in the town and there were lots of other little groups of people playing, a trio of strings and woodwind and of course, the obligatory Breton music group.

This was a sundial on the wall of a rather impressive church and some interior shots.

In the street there was an apple press from which the juice was being sold at €1 a glass, certainly not "rip off" prices.

The tide was out and four boys were investigating in the salt water pools and seaweed left behind.

Here I am supporting a large apple made from apples raffia tied to a chicken wire frame on one of the floats from the procession.

 

Before we came back home, we sat on a bench on the prom looking out to sea and people watching while drinking coffee from china cups with saucers.  The hundreds of people who passed us clearly thought we were a couple of very eccentric Brits and we had lots of comments and some slightly longer exchanges from thirsty passersby.

 

It was a really lovely day out and one which I hope will become a regular appointment in my diary.

 

Three things I like:

 

1.   Spending the day with a good friend.

2.   Being slim enough nowadays to walk all day without being tired.

3.   The thought of all those onions and rose garlic waiting to be used.

 

 

Difficult days and better things

The last couple of weeks have been difficult and I'm very glad they're over.  It's not often I get down but all I can say is - it's a good job my oven is electric!

 

I went to the hospital at Rennes and stupidly left my wallet behind on the desk of the woman who was giving me all the papers and forms for me to have an operation there.  I realised the following day what I had done and telephoned her.  She said she hadn't seen my wallet.  After giving her three or four hours to change her mind - I know where I left it - I called my English bank and my French bank to cancel my various bank cards, CPAM to cancel my Carte Vitale, my insurance company to cancel my Mutuelle, Brittany Ferries to cancel my discount card etc. etc.  There was also €150+ in it, photos, stamps, store loyalty cards, my driving licence etc. etc. 

 

Unbelievably, several days later I got an answerphone message to say they had it after all - what a surprise!   Unfortunately, she said it was in a locked cupboard and I wouldn't be able to collect it until after the holiday of the person who had locked it up.  A French guest staying with me took over the conversation as I was out of my depth in the things I wanted to say to this woman.  Later the admin woman telephoned my guest's mobile and told her that she had managed to get it from the cupboard and it was ready for collection.  Luckily a friend was going to Rennes to take her husband to the airport and I hitched a lift with them to the hospital and collected it.  Seventeen days later, today, I received my pin code to enable me to use my French card.  I am still waiting for my English bank stuff.  My carte vitale could take up to six months to renew, although hopefully it will be sooner than that.

 

Claude, my young white cat went missing for 48 hours and I thought he was gone for good.  He arrived back and spent nearly 3 full minutes with his head in a watering can drinking rainwater so must have been very thirsty.  Heavens knows where he had been I'm just really glad to have him back.

 

 

 

He came running down the lane as I went up to feed the animals 48 hours after I'd last seen him.   He has become very adventurous since his temporary disappearance and later that day I saw him climb out of the landing Velux window and walk around the roof with Purrdy looking on.

 

 

 The surgeon I was hoping to meet at Rennes - after a thirteen month wait - was not there.  Instead a person who looked as if she should still be at school saw me.  She wanted to do a more extensive operation.  I didn't have any confidence in her youthfulness and the secretary there was extremely unpleasant and rude - it was her I later had to deal with over the matter of the wallet I left in her office.

 

I felt quite unable to have my operation done at Rennes and was fretting about it all.  Finally I telephoned my previous surgeon at St Brieuc and arranged an appointment to see him on Friday afternoon.  He agreed to do the revised more extensive operation himself, thank heavens, and I shall have this on Monday, 9 September, going in at late in

 

 

the afternoon the day before.  I have total confidence in this surgeon and this will be the third op I have had with him.  His office staff are very kind and helpful too, a different situation than at Rennes I'm glad to say.

 

On to happier things.  The bramble fruits in the lane are ripening well now and I pick a small bowl each day as they plump out and become sweet.  I like them raw, but I also cook them with a little sugar and water and pour the result over vanilla icecream - scrumptious.

 

Both Middle and Small Cottages are occupied with guests; this week from Germany and from England - all very pleasant  - I've been so lucky with the people who have stayed in www.rainbowcottagesinfrance.com  and I hope next year will be as good.


I have read loads lately.  When it's sunny I spend as much time as I can in the garden and read.  Here are some of the books I've got through.  I really enjoyed The Memory Keeper's Daughter. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guilty One was my book club read for September so for once I am ahead of myself.  I enjoyed this book too.

 

The Patrick Gale books I like very much - I do like his writing style and am currently reading Gentleman's Relish also by him - a collection of short stories.   I'm trying to get into Ripe for the Picking but it the style seems a bit scathing for me and I may not continue with it.

Tomorrow I going with a girlfriend, possibly two, up to Roscoff for the Onion and Garlic Festival on there this weekend.  This a photograph from the internet.

   

We should come back with enough onions and garlic to see off vampires for the next half year or so and I'm really looking forward to the day out.

Mia, my lovely granddaughter with some super expressions!  She's four weeks old today - where does the time go?

Three things I like:

1.   The lovely photos of my new granddaughter which her Mummy posts on Facebook.
2.   Getting my operation re-arranged with someone I trust.
3.   Spending a night in my campervan so that I can have an evening out and drink a couple of glasses of wine without driving.

Being a proud Grandma and other stuff

Almost three weeks since my last posting and it's been a busy time both in the UK and here in Brittany.

Mia, my new grandchild, is thriving and gaining weight.  I have been sent loads of photos by her Mummy, Emma, so am keeping up with her progress even though I'm back at home in Brittany.

She has a lovely amount of dark hair and stands a good chance of being as beautiful as her Mummy.

My grandson, Charlie, and I spent ten lovely days alone together.  We didn't do anything exciting but just looked after the animals, podded broad beans, swam in the pool and played in the hot tub, chalked pictures on the terrace slabs, and he played CBBC games on the spare laptop which became "his" for his stay which went down very well.

His Mum and her partner came over for three days to take him home again.

Here Charlie is exploring the pond with the daughter of friends of mine - he spent a lot of time bending into the pond and marvelling at this year's baby fish and the insects and bugs drawn to the water.

The veggie beds and polytunnel are finally producing some good stuff after a slow start due to the cold, wet weather earlier in the year.  The weeks before I went back to Cornwall were very hot here and although the temperatures have been lower during the last two weeks they have been more comfortable and still perfect for bringing on tomatoes, courgettes, broad beans, cucumbers, runner beans, peppers etc. etc.

 

 

The cottages have been full for most of July and August with lovely guests from all over the world.  They've travelled from Russia, Costa Rica, Germany, Holland, Spain, Scotland, England, other parts of France and Switzerland so far.  I am amazed how many nationalities have stayed here. 

 

I have now called the cottages Rainbow Cottages in France and have a temporary website page www.rainbowcottagesinfrance.com as well as being with two holiday agencies. The reviews I've received have been very enthusiastic and complimentary and I am grateful to all my guests for these reports.

 

I am off this evening to an event about an hour away and will stay in the campervan tonight in a friend's driveway to enable me to sip a few glasses of alcohol without driving back to my own bed - kind friends will put the animals to bed and get them up again in the morning.

 

 

Three things I like:

 

1.   Having those precious ten days alone with Charlie - just the best time imaginable.

2.   Gardening up on the field early in the day before anyone else is up and about.

3.   Being able to cool off in the pool after lying in the sunshine and getting too hot.

 

Mia Olivia Anne Chubb - my new granddaughter

On Wednesday I travelled back to Cornwall to await Mia's birth.  Her due date had been the Saturday before, 20 July, but she obviously had other ideas.  On Thursday Emma started labour but it was a slow process.  We did visit the local maternity hospital but after examining her they said that although everything was going well and Mia's heartbeat was strong it could be up to forty-eight hours before she was born. Friday was a difficult day after little sleep on Thursday night and not much during the day for Emma.  She returned to Penrice on Thursday evening and this time they kept her in.  Dilation was very slow and by 03.30 hrs on Saturday morning she was ambulanced to Treliske Hospital in Truro so that she could have an epidural.  This followed the same pattern as the labour of my daughter Libby when she was having Charlie just over six years ago.  Penrice doesn't have the possibility of any pain relief stronger than gas and air or pethidine as it is midwife and not doctor run.  Again almost no sleep on Friday night so Emma, Oliver and Emma's Mum, Linda, were exhausted as Saturday morning dawned.  

I was meeting a friend for coffee and received a call to say that things were progressing and it shouldn't be too long.  We then went on to have lunch and just before 13.15pm I got another call to say that Mia was finally delivered safely at 13.07hrs and later I found out that she weighed in at 7lbs1½oz.  She has been feeding and sleeping well and seems very content and placid.  She has dark hair and perfect skin and looks like a clone of Emma, her Mum, which is no bad thing.  In other words, just a beautiful baby.  Her proud Daddy is holding her in this photo.

There will, of course, be plenty more photos to follow but I just wanted to put this posting on my blog as I'm such a proud and lucky Grandma.  A beautiful boy with Charlie and now my gorgeous granddaughter, Mia.

Three things I like:

1.  Being a Grandma to Charlie and now Mia.

2.  Sleeping better during the last few days than I have for a while lying, unbelievably, on a blow up air bed.  So much for my very expensive Adjustamatic bed in France!

3.  Being with my family for these important days.