Un, deux, trois, lets eat some Foie Gras

A:

In the last few days quite a number of big events have taken place, so I will have to try not to forget anything (or let Harriet fill in on anything I miss out).

Firstly we lost Grant and Marjolijn, who have both returned home having finished their stays at the Maison. Quite a sad event for everyone, we even all made it out of our beds at 5am to see them off. People come and go here a lot, but both of them had been at the farm quite a while and are definitely missed (especially by Oakley for Grant, who seems to have entered dog-depression, and spends all day sleeping).

For their last night we went out to Marciac jazz festival. Apparently famous in the jazz world - being the biggest of its kind in Europe supposedly - it's basically international jewelery and mexican hammock stalls (+ the odd incense stand) all surrounding a centre stage with various either extreme-experimental bongoing or the odd cheesy-jazz cover act. The most cringe thing was definitely one particular blonde singer who had written a song especially for the French audience which included the line 'Un, deux trois, lets eat some Foie-Gras, lets dine in this place that is France'. She did have lovely legs though.

Moving on.... we had some newborns & new arrivals this week too. 2 lambs 'Framboise' and 'Courgette' are now hanging out in the sheep pen drying off and finding their legs. Bearing in mind that they are of a breed that are already classed as 'miniature sheep', they are VERY small and extremely cute. We will most definitely post some photos up in the near future.

Again on the animal front... tonight the girls received a call while myself and Harriet were leafleting at the jazz festival to say that a wild boar had made it's way into the campsite at nearby Plaisance. The Maison gets quite a few calls about taking in animals that are abandoned or discovered, but this was obviously quite a unique one. A few hours later, and we have a boar in one of the pig pens (again photos to follow). We haven't named him as he'll be released into the wild again fairly soon - it not being fair or legal to keep him.

Just for good measure we also now have a new quail and a zebra finch in an enclosure in the forest. The animal population just keeps growing. Oh and I actually forgot we have a new fluffy rabbit to add as well (called The Pope).

Meanwhile in terms of human house occupants, we have 2 added to our number. Greg, an Australian teacher has arrived to help out for a couple of weeks and Aileen, a Scottish vet student is here as well to do some behavior work and animal training.

Right, Harriet can fill you in on the rest I'm off to bed.

X

Open Mic Night

H - Stuck on the kitchen door at the Maison we have a large summer calendar to plan all the things we’re doing each day, remember important dates and the like. For the past few weeks Friday 30^th of July has been marked with ‘OPEN MIC NIGHT’...

We were all keen to go to the monthly Open Mic Night and rumours began to fly around about various members of the house performing. Marjolijn and Emma promised us a Spice Girls routine, Sarah whipped out some serious clarinet skills one evening and Oliver toyed with the idea of singing Let It Be...

So we rocked up to Jegun, about a half hour drive away, and were greeted by what Andy succinctly described as his true “expat hell”. Jegun itself is actually one of the nicest small French villages we have visited, (quite an accolade as we’ve seen hundreds). In the centre is a small “Chambre d’Hote”, which is basically a B&B, run by a friendly Irish man. This guy is as camp as Christmas and looks like a leprechaun. The fact that he serves Guiness and Boddingtons (in a can – cringe) at the bar has caused him to become a magnet to all manner of Brits, looking for a taste of home. As a result, the Open Mic Night that he runs there consists of a motley crew of UK musicians who ‘just missed out on the big time’.

That being said, we had a great night. Eric, an old dude from Grimsby in a tie-dye T shirt, basically a hero in my eyes, was MC for the evening. Hogging the microphone, cracking (awful) jokes and speaking in downright shocking French he was quite the character. The performances included Eric with his missus doing some jazzy numbers, a French lady screeching some 80s shockers and a couple being extremely creative with their use of a tin tea tray as a percussion instrument.

In the end, Andy was the only one of our gang who took to the stage. He performed two songs; ‘She Moves in Her Own Way’ by The Kooks, and ‘Crossed Fingers’ by Laura Marling and was brilliant. He did us all proud and won over the audience with his stage presence, musical talent and dazzling good looks. Well, two out of the three anyway.

H xxx

PS – We also found out that Terry Wogan has a house in the area. The hunt is on...

Days Off

A:

We haven't blogged in a while. Harriet went off to see some friends in central southern France while I was meant to be going home to meet my baby niece. Due to some easyjet problem or other this didn't happen - my flight was cancelled - and I ended up spending the night in a seedy hotel in Tarbes (which is very much a nothing town). The next morning and I had returned to the farm a few days earlier than planned, and still wearing the same clothes I'd left in (having not taken any luggage...).

It's hard to know what to write in a blog about days at the Maison. So much happens, it's difficult to know where to start or what to leave out. Since we last blogged we have Einstein the duckling who has become quite a big part of all our lives. Abandoned by mother duck, he is now constantly nursed and looked after by Emma and Marjoljn (including sleeping in their beds, travelling in their tops & eating off their plates). I myself don't particularly like him too much though as he pooed on my bed sheet (which only added to the mess Gracie the miniature sheep had left when she got locked in the house a few days ago).

Other than Einstein (and countless panics from Marjoljn and Emma as he has gone temporarily missing a few times), I've also had my day off last Tuesday. Sam and I decided to walk to Plaisance, the nearest larger village which has a few bars and a restaurant. In the baking sun we walked for 1h15 (which for me is a lot as I hate walking). Once there we saw all the tourist sites there were to offer (just the church) and then headed for lunch in 'Bar Haka'. I'd been there with Harriet on a previous day off and 12euro for 3 courses, wine + coffee had been a sweet deal. This time it was pretty merde. I basically had school dinner breadcrumb turkey and Sam's steak appeared to be deep fried. You win some you lose some. We decided against the walk back and hitch-hiked instead.

After work I've been going cycling a lot recently. The countryside surrounding the farm is beautiful. Endless country lanes through sunflower fields & through tiny villages (each of course with it's token church, graveyard & salle des fetes). Borrowing bikes has meant I'm on an 8 year olds bike while Marjoljn dices with death on one whose handlebars aren't properly attached to the bike itself. It all adds to the fun though. We normally aim to finish at a bar (which actually is always THE bar in Prechac, since there's no other in the vicinity), and then be home in time for dinner.

During other time off there's always the river beach. Just a few minutes walk up the lane from the farm's entrance is a pretty idyllic stony beach where two rivers meet. It's far set back from the road and feels like the middle of nowhere - I was quite shocked when some kayakers went past yesterday. The current downstream is quite strong so its quite a challenging swim (although really shallow so not dangerous, can just walk out).

Bed time. x

Wet, Wet, Wet

Today it rained. No, scratch that, today it monsooned. And not only did it monsoon, but we had over 100 visitors to the farm.

The fun began last night. It began raining in the evening. We braved dinner outside, mainly because we now have 14 people at the Maison and need the bigger table, new arrivals being Alexa (vet), Sam (vet), Emma Z (Helpex) and Tom (Helpex). However, after eating we retreated inside from the downpour and watched Space Jam. Classic. As we all went to bed the rain showed no signs of stopping...

In the middle of the night I woke up and this was my thought process:

“Hmm, sounds like it’s still raining... oh yeah, there’s some thunder... hmm, feels a bit wet actually, yeah, my pillow is definitely wet... but hold on, I’m in bed... ANDY WAKE UP IT'S RAINING ON MY FACE”

The capital letters is me shouting out loud. The roof just happened to be leaking in the one corner above my bed. Joy.

We woke up this morning to what can only be described as a wash out. The river had almost overflowed and everywhere was a mud bath. I am now totally able to sympathise with Noah and his whole arc assignment. No one likes dealing with wet animals. I have never seen Brewster the alpaca look so pissed off before today.

To make matters worse, we had 3 groups of kids booked in and due to arrive at 10am. We were pretty sure that they would all cancel given French people’s allergy to rain. However, only one did, so 80 reluctant children rocked up. Plus public visitors, totalling over 100.

We soldiered on in true British fashion, with wellies and waterproofs. We moved tables in to barns, brushed soggy camels, did treasure hunts in the peeing rain, and spun damp wool to make bracelets. All in all, it was madness, but we managed to survive the day. Just.

We are now sat round the bonfire, about to have a celebratory barbeque.

Oh, and it’s still raining...

PS - Andy and I are both away this weekend. Andy to the UK to see his baby niece and me to visit some friends who are also working in the South of France. We will blog anon...

Beret Tossing

H - A few days ago Andy and I went leafleting again, this time to Lourdes. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the place, Lourdes was a small market town in the foothills of the Pyrenees where 152 years ago the Virgin Mary appeared to a young girl called Bernadette...

Since then, crowds of pilgrims have followed the instructions Mary gave to Bernadette in Lourdes to "drink at the spring and wash in it". Although never formally acknowledged by the Church, many people claim to have been cured by the water there, and each year millions of Catholics visit the site, especially those who are sick.

People on the streets of Lourdes can be divided in three main categories: nuns, nurses or wheelchair bound. I found the atmosphere there quite unique and actually a tad unsettling. The street running from town downhill to the grotto is packed with tourist type shops with neon signs flogging religious paraphernalia and over priced fast food. There is a faint odour of hospitals mixed with hamburgers. I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that visitors are having their devotion and illness exploited by money grabbers... I’m pretty sure St Bernadette did not have any of this in mind... Having said that, in terms of seeing people united in purpose and faith it was particularly impressive and moving.

Whilst visitors to Lourdes are praying for good health, the people of Prechac, the village next to the farm, are currently bowing down to a different god – Bacchus. The wine is flowing there this weekend as Prechac’s fete is taking place, along with the annual Beret Tossing Competition. As ‘sporting events’ (I use the term loosely) go, I don’t think it could have possibly been any more French. Men, women and children battled for honour, glory, and the prize of... a beret. Adults were left looking a little sheepish as a ten year old boy was triumphant, launching the hat 23 metres, quite a feat as felt hats are not the most aerodynamic objects.

We returned later in the evening for the disco and once again had an unforgettable night: Hawaiian hats, Michael Jackson, inflatable sumo suits and DJ Scorpia on the decks (CD player) about sums it up. We ended on a high with some hardcore Irish dancing then lay on the road and watched the stars, which are just stunning round here. Unfortunately, when we got back to the Maison we were greeted by Gracie the Sheep who had somehow got locked in the house and proceeded to poo everywhere. Including our bedroom. Joy.

H xxx

The Family

A:

So i thought I'd take the opportunity to show you some members of the Maison des Chameaux family, and also post up a photo of one of the camels as since we haven't mentioned them much, apparently Harriet's mum isn't sure they actually exist! Above is Tallulah the llama. During the day she works in her pen giving kisses, ringing bells and taking hats off in her demonstration in front of the kids. By night she roams around, one of the animals that lives 'en liberté' in the farm, partly because she chases any foxes that turn up (as we explain to all the visitors everyday!) Above she's chilling by the 'artistic corner' that is Marjoljns home during the day (doing various paintings and making signs & spinning wool etc).

Now just below... I think... Ceefa the camel. There are 4 of them but I still can't quite distinguish completely between them. I do know my favourite Claudia though, who seems the most friendly of the bunch (and I've never seen them spit or kick!)

Then at the bottom we have Buttercup the pig, who since that photo was taken has grown massively (mostly width ways!) from eating far too many plums. She sits under the plum tree most of the day waiting for them to fall.

Just above buttercup, the goat pen (home to the famous agility goats Buggertwo and Nougatine. You can also see in the background the family home where we live!

Below, Diablo the kitten. Brother to Marilyn (the white one in the other photos). Sadly we lost Velcro - the other brother - a couple of weeks ago. He never returned from the vets :(

There are of course many other, but we'll have to introduce you some other time...

Fireworks

H - so, today is the 15th of July, which means that by process of logical thought yesterday was the 14th of July. Now to us Brits this is just another day, but here in France, the 14th is big news: it's Bastille Day. A quick check on Wikipedia informs me that

"Bastille Day commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution."

In other words, a great excuse for fireworks and wine.

So, we all headed down to Plaisance last night to the rugby pitches to see the fireworks. Apart from the obilgatory crying toddler (just dont bring them to see fireworks ok?)the display was brilliant and we all oooh-ed and ahhhh-ed in the right places. This was followed by the type of epic disco that we have come to expect from the villages round here.

This morning (with slightly sore heads) we were greeted with the news that the first of the quails has hatched. If you thought the chicks were cute, these are a whole new level of small and adorable. Photos to follow...

H xxx

PS - hello Nikki and Kate: thanks for reading! (sorry, i know this is very 'amateur radio' of me doing a shout out, but they sent our first fan mail.)

PPS - also, everyone should know that Andy was amazing at laser quest. I mean fantastic. A whole new level of manly. And sweaty. He just wanted you to know.