Living and Gardening in Brittany

Yesterday I went to an open day at Lucy's quilting centre. I was amazed. I have seen adverts for workshop days here many times but this was my first visit. It was like the veritable Aladin's cave. Rows and rows of bails of material. Packs of cut squares. Ready to sew quilts, designs in abundace and a plethora of samples of all sizes. Double bed sized, baby cot quilts, wall hangings, cushion covers, place mats and much more all beautifully crated. The colours were dazzling or subtle. No matter what you need or taste Lucy has the answer. Is quilting something I want to take up. Something else I have no time to do.

Spent the afternoon at a new craft centre and salon de thé which has opened recently in the next but one village. Local craft workers and artists can exhibit there and also run worksops. There is also a second hand clothes section and a bric-a-brac section. On alternate Sundays there is a farmers market. It is situated in a disused garage and car showroom so it is enormous. I hope it takes off but has a long way to go. It's called Elizabeille because the owner used to keep bees but now she just makes products from beeswax and honey eg candles and soap? There is going to be a book launch next month and a writing workshop. I shall attend these and if it goes well I shall try my luck by doing the same for Jean Wild.

Club Des Aines Sometimes we meet to play games, boules, belotes or scrabble. Sometimes we have outings. Sometimes we have a communal meal. The numbers vary from 100-300 but everyone is found a seat and we enjoy waitress/ waiter service. The meals are usually five courses, sometimes more and each course is accompanied by a drink. We begin with the customary greetings at the door. Having lived here six years I mostly know who to kiss once, twice, three or four times and with whom to just shake hands. As you can imagine this takes some time especially when some people stay to chat which I always hope they do because it’s one of the opportunities I get to practise my French. We begin with a choice of aperitifs Ricard or whiskey or Kir with crispy nibbles. Next comes the starter which last time was a salmon steak and salad with a glass of white wine. The main course is steak or ham on the bone or coq vin or pintade (chicken) and chips and vegetables. This is served with red wine of cour...

I often sit in my conservatory and contemplate the panoramic view it offers me. My eyes move from the church across the valley in the East to the two-hundred-year-old oak trees on the Southern border of my land. I ponder what to do with the ivy covered, hundred-year-old boulangerie. The flowers and shrubs I planted which are thriving give me a thrill and I wonder whether to try vegetables this year. And I feel guilty. Guilty that all this should be mine. I listen to the radio and every day I hear of the war-torn world. I hear of rape and mutilation. Bombing and killings are frequent the world over it seems. But not here. Not in my private paradise. The only disturbance to my tranquillity and reminder of this other world is the terrifying sound of the military jets. They practise low flying sometimes just skimming the tops of the thirty feet poplars which surround two sides of my five thousand square metres of garden. I tell myself that my political activity and campaigning days are...