Springing into Life.

   We have always maintained that conditions in Deux Sèvres are extraordinarily favourable to life. Weeds, for example flourish like --well, weeds, and even cherished crops do quite well. A few years ago, Kim wanted some stakes for her tomatoes and I cut some straight twigs from a hazel in the orchard. Well, within a week, the poles had sprouted tufts of green leaves and Kim would have had a nut-grove if we had not discouraged them!

   This phenomenon was demonstrated once again, when we returned from ten days in the mountains. The grass in the cour was ankle-deep, so that I feared our small motor mower would not cope and I would have to strim first (fears unfounded, it cut the jungle without a qualm.)  But a more surprising proof of fertility was in the fish-tank. We had bought two corydoras to keep the bottom of the tank clean, which they did well, growing into handsome fish with green flanks, showing they are Corydoras Aeneas, or Bronze Catfish. One grew slightly larger than the other. The larger one is, in fact, the female, not as you might think, the male.

   After we had been back a couple of days, I noticed a small fish swimming near the bottom of the tank, and realised there were three baby corydoras in residence. Tropicals are not usually that easy to breed and I Googled Corydoras to see if they were live-bearers, which would explain the relatively large size of the babies. Well, they are NOT live-bearers but as this is a family blog I won`t elaborate on their method of multiplication, Google it for yourself if you dare! There has subsequently been another litter, so we will shortly be faced with a Corydoras over-population problem. Perhaps I can sell them back to the pet-shop?
   To avoid any feline increase, we have just had Storm, the grey kitten, sterilised. However, I am pleased to say that Kim measured herself this morning as she is on a diet, and her waist measurement has fallen.....

    Bye for now, going to bang on the glass of the aquarium!

Junior about to hide behind his rock.

On Two Wheels Beside The River

   We have been feeling a bit stale after our return from the Pyrenees. The weeds and grass had profited from a week`s absence to make a bid for the sky and it has been a herculean task to beat them back into submission, a task which is not even yet completed. Kim has wished for some time to re-commence regular cycle rides, but wished to commence on the flat. Although Deux Sèvres is supposed to be a flat area, it is amazing how riding a bike reveals slopes unsuspected from a car. Inspired by Jaqui`s blog, The French Village Diaries, we felt that riding in the Marais Poitevin offered a level playing field and some welcome shade on hot days. The dedicated cycle-tracks often run beside placid river or canal, and thus are forced to be level!

  To prepare for this new adventure, we had bought a new cycle rack, well not new, but as good as. Our old rack, although technically capable of holding two bikes, creaked and rattled alarmingly when subjected to two AT cycles and we really felt that any long- or medium-distance trips needed something more sturdy. We were lucky enough to find a much more macho rack on a local sales site and bought the new equipment a couple of days ago from a nice couple at Villemain, who had bought it in England just to transport two bikes from the UK to France.

  Thus equipped, we decided on a shake-down trial of the system on Friday, after choir-practice at Matha, being of the (mistaken) view that the Marais was nearer Matha than to La Mort Limouzin. We decided to start from Coulon, A little town on the edge of the Marais.

A tour setting out 

   We found Coulon to be a charming place, very picturesque, beside the river. It is obviously thriving on the tourist trade, yet doesn`t seem too predatory, for example the car parks are abundant and free. It is a centre for boat hire to explore the Marais` maze of water-ways. You can hire self powered boats or benefit from a tour-guide who also paddles the boat. One offer I liked the look of, was inclusive of lunch, you had a meal in a little awning by the embarking point, then boarded your boat for a gentle trip on the calm waters.

   However, we had other fish to fry, or as the French say `another cat to whip` ( how cruel!) Having bought a cycle-route map from the helpful Tourist Office, we returned to the car-park to disembark the bike and set off.

  We had decided on a short ride to La Garette, only three kilometers away along the river, none of the forty k trips that Jaqui and her family undertake! This was to be a trial trip, not an endurance rally. We found the cycle tracks excellent, well signposted and mostly separated from roads. Initially, our track went over a little bridge, from which some bathing-suited lads were threatening to hurl themselves into the water-course below. We paused for a time to see if they would, but eventually lost patience and rode on. The track was narrow but well surfaced, often shaded. Later it was constructed of a sort of board-walk along the edge of shady pools. The board-walk was charming, but a bit hard on the posterior. Luckily Kim had prepare for this eventuality with a pair of hi-tech shorts, endowed with a special padding to protect the` parties` as the French put it.... These seem to have worked quite well, although Kim would have preferred even more comfort. I cannot offer any photo of this apparel, it is worn UNDER the more modest trousers!

   After an enjoyable ride, we reached La Garette, a lovely little village with one narrow street, and another embarking point. We stopped on a bench to have a drink and some fruit, then set out back to Coulon. We were amused to see an inhabitant using his orange tractor as personal transport, leaving it running outside his house as he went inside for something.

 
 We returned to Coulon just in time to see the lads pluck up courage and leap from the bridge into the water. They were then thoroughly told off by a stern lady with a clipboard who doubtless told them that diving and swimming were interdit. We loaded the bikes onto the carrier before driving the 60k home again. A thoroughly enjoyable outing, which we shall soon repeat.

  Bye for now, Blogger starting to act up, I shall quit while I`m ahead! A bientôt!

Camp des Ainés, Vers Les Cimes

   In my last blog, I promised to let you know how we spend our time at the camp. Along with some thirty like-minded people, who have become close friends, we have a leisurely breakfast between 830 and nine before a quick prayer meeting and an hour of bible instruction. The organisers choose one of the more talented of the Church`s pasteurs to give the talks each year, so there is usually something new to appreciate. This year, it was Phillipe de Paul, the Pasteur from the church at Orthez who was in the chair. Apart from his knowledge and skill, Phillipe is famous as perhaps the only pasteur in the world to sport a long pigtail! I don`t know if this has a philosophical significance for him and have never dared to ask....
  After the religious side of the day, we proceed to the other main event of the camp--dinner! We eat like kings up there. and it`s only because of the exercise that we don`t become as fat as hogs!
   After a pause for digestion, we set out for the day`s hike. As the Colonie is set high in the mountains, there are many scenic places to walk to, peaks and lakes galore. It`s the most beautiful and impressive place in the world. However, it could also be dangerous if you don`t know what you`re doing, so we are lucky to have experienced guides to lead us and make sure the same number of people return as set out! The weather can change so quickly up there, in a few minutes a cloud can drift across and you are lost in a fog. This year, the weather can only be described as mixed, we did have several fine days for walking but several foggy or rainy days when we had to find other things to do.
  One of these alternatives was a visit to the aquarium at Pierrefitte, an impressive, privately-owned collection of tropical fresh-water and salt-water species. We really enjoyed our visit.

You don`t want to dabble your fingers in HIS tank!

   We did this visit on the worst day of our stay, with heavy rain all day. We later learned, that shortly after our visit, the local river burst its banks, carrying away the car of an elderly couple and drowning the wife. A tragic accident showing how swiftly things can change.

  We took Jilly and Laika with us, as they really enjoy the walks and also benefit from more exercise on local strolls in the area around the Colonie. Luckily, they are used to living in the car and there is a shady spot under a tree to park the car (or kennel!)



After our week in the mountains, we were invited to spend a few days with our friend Arlette and her husband Laurent on their chicken farm near Orthez, but that`s another story for a later Ark.


A Bientot!

A Stay in the Mountains

    Well, we`re back from our annual stay at the Colonie de Vacances Vers les Cîmes. You may have noticed that there has been even fewer Arks than usual and this is the reason. We spend a week at the Colo each year. The holiday centre was set up by the Evangelic Church at Orthez as a holiday centre for children, but twenty years ago, a week for older campers was started before the season for children started, the Camp des Ainés. The church at Ortez has links with our church at Matha and we started going to the camp nine years ago.
     When it was first started, the Colonie consisted of wooden huts, which in fact are still there, used by the local farmer to house his hens! They have been replaced by modern, purpose-built buildings. An old Pyrenean barn was also used as an assembly hall by the campers but had become ruinous in the last few years. However, with the aid of a loan to be repaid by benevolent persons, including ourselves, the old barn has been entirely refurbished and is now better than new. We were particullarly pleased at the rescue of this attractive old building, whose entirely new slate roof should be good for another century. This is a picture from last year.


  But the real attraction of the site is its setting in a glaciated valley, with the snow-covered Gabizos mountain behind, a lower, grass covered hill in front, from where hang-gliders are regularly launched, and the wooded slopes of the Pic de Pan completing the bowl. The valley is accessed by a road running along a ridge some 100 feet above the valley which is, we have been told, a morraine left by the retreat of a huge glacier.
  The Gabizos is snowier than we have ever seen it, as the snowfall in the Pyrenees has been particularly heavy and late in the season contradicting the global warming theory!
  Well, having set the scene, I will leave the details of how we spent our days at the Camp for another blog, as Kim has woken and has come downstairs to drink her morning coffee and breakfast calls soon.  A bientôt!

It has not been a good week....

 I have had this post it the `Drafts` section of Blogger for a couple of weeks, events were too raw to allow me to finish it. Now things have settled down, I feel I can bear to finish and publish it, if Kim agrees. If not, you wont be reading this!
   This last week has not been a vintage one for the Ark and its crew. The worst problem has been with Kim`s health. Friends will know that she suffers from depression and has done for many years, on and off. Although in the past it has been a severe problem at times, even leading to hospitalisation, for some years it has mainly been under control by taking a small dose of medicine daily. Like my own drug to control high blood pressure, as long as you take the dose you are fine, though in Kim`s case it is more of a balancing act and like a trapeze artiste, the drop is always there, waiting...
  On this occasion, the cause of the latest loss of balance was self-inflicted. Kim`s Doctor, and even more so her Cardiologist ,have warned that her normal medicine, Anafranil, is not all that good for her heart. Luckily, she has been steadily reducing the dose until it is just sufficient, to a level, in fact, which is unlikely to do any cardiac damage. However, as a precaution, it was decided to try another more modern, `cleaner` drug, Stablon. As Kim was in good spirits at the time, and as it was Spring ( ha!) it was thought a good time to try the change.
  So, the `dirty` but tried and tested Anafranil was discontinued and the new wonder-drug started. There seem to be two problems with anti-depressive drugs. The first is they don`t work for everybody, each person suits a different set of drugs. The second is that they take up to three weeks to work---or not to work, if you get my drift. So we started on the three-weeks `probation` with me keeping a careful eye on Kim, I may not be a specialist in drugs, but I AM a specialist in Kim! The first week, things seemed fine, no darkening of mood. Then the progress seemed to level out and by the start of the third week we suspected we were in trouble. Kim was starting to feel miserable and low and by half-way through the week, it was clear the Stablon was ineffective in Kim`s case. A final straw was the killing of our ducks and hens by the trespassing dog of a friend of our neighbour. On Friday, she was starting to get weepy  I insisted on going back to the Doctor. One of the effects of depression is that Kim becomes less decisive, but I felt we were approaching a drop-off point and to wait until Monday would be dangerous. The Doctor agreed and we returned to the old drug, which, I am glad to say, has returned Kim to her usual self. You can imagine our relief! The Doctor doesn`t feel there will be any problem in continuing indefinitely on the low dose, though Kim plans to reduce it further, perhaps next year, we shall see!

  Bye for now, going to submit this article to the Editor!

To market, to market to buy a fat hen..

But not this one!  We wanted to replace our lovely grey hen, unfortunately killed by a trespassing dog, so we decided to re-visit Lezay market. This is a very large market about half-an-hour from us, noted for its livestock sales. This time, we learned from experience and got there at 9.30 to find the market in full swing. Last time, we turned up at 11 and found it largely packing up. Be warned if you want to visit it.
   And, by George, it`s worth the visit! There were every sort of fowl you could imagine, together with many you wouldn`t have. There were cocks and hens, ducks and geese, quails and peacocks, parrots and budgies and even, to our great surprise, a bird that only one person in Britain can legally own (and that person is the Queen)---a swan!

Apart from these avian offers, there were the animals.  Goats, rabbits of all varieties, lambs and guinea pigs and even something which caught the eye of Mrs Noah, a pygmy pig!! I had the greatest difficulty in persuading her not to add this creature to the Ark`s passenger list and she spent ages stroking the creature I am sure it would have spent cold evenings on her knee and what would Fatima, our Muslim friend have said.... Well, we avoided this scenario, and went to find our hen.
The vendor didn`t have any full-grown grey hens but did have some large chicks, so as these were only three Euros apiece, we had two to allow for wastage!

The vendor put our purchase in a special cardboard box and we left it with her while we browsed the rest of the market. There were flowers, vegetables, edible produce of all sorts, most produced locally. there were even eels, both raw ( and alive! ) and grilled, ready to nibble. We could have bought a couple of baguettes and enjoyed an unusual snack, oh, yuk, yuk, yuk, as Alyson would have said!

 Anyway, leaving behind this dubious gastronomic delight, we went on to buy a couple of tomato plants and a small penknife of Corsican type, doubtless made in China, though. Still, it was one I don`t have in my collection and I was very pleased with it. Collecting our hens, we returned home happy with our morning at the market!



 Bye for now, we are going to check that the existing fowls aren`t bullying the newcomers,

Lies, damned lies and........

An entire day of heavy rain, unusual for France, has turned my thoughts forcibly to the weather. Temperatures are very low for mid-May and the summer seems very far from imminent. The dire predictions of the Global Warming industry seem more and more to be unrealised, hell, we could DO with a little warming here!
  I read a couple of days ago, admittedly from a warming`denier` (shocking, this but they do exist) that global temperatures haven`t in fact increased for fifteen years and the opposing camp are getting increasingly desperate. They have, it appears, `adjusted` their predictions and graphs for the FOURTH time to try to fit the theory to the actual facts, most unscientific! Also, have you noticed that the term `global warming` is being quietly abandoned for the much more convenient term of `climate change` This can be made to fit ANY climatic oddity, even earthquakes, perhaps. You must just realise that it is ALL OUR FAULT.
  Years ago, I worked in the Personnel Dept of a Navy Department organisation. My immediate boss looked at the accident statistics, which he had already announced were lower for the year, and asked me to prepare a graph, illustrating this. I said I couldn`t as the figure had actually risen! Dismissing me with the remark that my attitude was not all that could be wished, he went into conclave with a former Army Major, a noted expert on graphs and statistics. By going back to earlier years when the figure was much higher (during the War, perhaps?), they produced a table where each year`s results are added to the next year. This produced the necessary descending graph line,despite the unacceptable, but true rise in the figures. Not actually a lie, then, but very far from the truth nevertheless....
  The trouble is that someone with an interest in `proving` a fact can twist statistics to prove what he wants. The interest concerned here is the fact that LOTS of money is being made in a generally vain attempt to reduce CO2 levels, which in themselves have not been proved to increase temperature as much as foretold. The largely ineffective windmill programme has put millions into various pockets, for example. How embarrassing if the `warming` proves non-existent?

Bye for now, going to keep warm by the gaz-fire!