This whole week has been very hot again, although Monday started out being a little cooler, so we got out into the garden and cleared away a lot of dead plants. Then we were stricken with conscience, having just removed the last vestiges of the delicious vegetables that our landlords had planted, and which we had eaten. Neels was all for planting some radishes, which we probably will do, because they always grow, no matter what, but we wanted something a little more adventurous than that and decided on tomatoes.. I phoned a friend for advice, who assured me that one could plant tomatoes at almost any time of the year.Then she asked where we were thinking of getting the plants and I rubbed my hands in glee thinking we were going to be given a few. ‘Oh’ I said airily, probably up at the Gamm Vert (a chain of nurseries) near…..’and I named a village close by. ‘Oh! Don’t do that’ she said, ‘Go down to the market tomorrow and get some there’ Well, having seen the price of tomato seedlings at previous markets we decided to go with our first plan and zoomed off up to the Gamm Vert. As luck would have it, the local branch turned out to be more like an agricultural supplier than a nursery, but we hung around until the young fellow behind the till had finished helping his customer and then asked him for tomato seedlings. He pointed across the shop and when we didn’t move he took us to the seed display. However seeds were not an option, far too slow for our liking, and we insisted on seedlings. Eventually he went and winkled the boss out of the office and the two of them took us into a vast, mostly empty, warehouse where there was a large trolley standing with a few trays of very badly abused tomato plants on it. They appeared to have been left out in the sun over the weekend without water, and were very sad and droopy. We agreed that that was the sort of thing we had been thinking of but perhaps plants that weren’t at death’s door! ‘A gift! A gift’ he said, picking out a couple that weren’t completely dried and crunchy. Grudgingly, we accepted 8 small plants and came home with our prize. First of all we gave them a good drink of water and then once it cooled down we put them into real earth with a handful of rose fertilizer (does it make any difference?), more water and whispered good night to them and crossed our fingers. Next morning we crept outside to check on our refugees, and Hurrah! They were all standing proud and strong. Yay! We will learn how to garden yet!
At the end of the week, we had planned to visit some English friends who live some distance away, in Montguyon, for what the French call ‘Le Weekend’. How original can one get! Our visit was planned to coincide with two annual summer events – a night market and a ‘fête’. Montguyon has some wonderful old ruins, which stand on a knoll, in the centre of town. The night market,held on the top of the knoll and which began at about 7.30 pm was actually less about buying items of merchandise from the stalls than about buying food to eat, meeting people and having a jolly good time. Long tables and benches are provided and everyone takes their own plates, cutlery and glasses. The idea is that one wanders around the stalls, decides what would be tasty and buys if before settling down at a table with one’s friends. Remarkably, the food was good and plentiful; the wine, also sold at one of the stalls, wasn’t too bad and we had a very enjoyable evening. The next night, however, was an unforgettable experience. This was the ‘fête’. The only way I can describe it is to call it an outdoor meal and a show. The weather was perfect after an unbearably hot day and at about 8 pm we went off down to town and parked the car as close as possible to the venue. The same tables and benches had been set out only this time they were below the castle ruins. Tickets for the meal had been purchased in advance, and in exchange for each ticket we were given a boxed meal consisting of a rice and tuna salad; a slice each of tender beef and pork, with green beans; a triangular wedge of Camembert cheese and a bread roll; and to finish off, a slice of fruit tart topped with a mixture of strawberries, pineapple, kiwi-fruit and apricots. Two men continually went around the tables with containers of wine with which they kept topping up the glasses.. By about 9.15 pm most people had finished eating and were moving towards the area below the ruined castle. We had brought our own chairs, as was required, and managed to find a space very close to the front, where a stage had been set up and behind it an elaborate support system for the trapeze artists who were to perform later in the show. While we waited for the show to start at 9.45 pm laser lights were played over the ruins, and floodlights were tested, bathing the old walls in different colours. I won’t describe everything we saw, as that would take far too long, but there were singers, dancers, a tight-rope walker and aerial acrobats. There had been about a hundred and fifty people who sat down to dinner before the show, but for the show itself, which was free, there must have been several thousand. And as a grand finale, we were all treated to a firework display that just went on and on. A very tired little group of ‘oldies’ finally got to bed at about one o’clock in the morning, knowing with a sinking heart that we had to be up again at 7.30 the next morning to make our way back home. We had enjoyed our outing immensely and are going to be on the lookout for similar events.
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