La vie est Belle

A bike ride along the river Belle, Deux-Sèvres

La Vie est Belle

 

September, how could you, my birth month, have been so disappointing weatherwise this year? I have vivid memories of September 2004, our first full month in France, where temperatures regularly topped 30º, breakfasts, lunches and dinners were eaten outside, and it seemed summers in France would go on forever.

Looking back on twenty years of photos, sunny days, hot bike rides, touristy days out under blue skies, and sultry vistas of our orchard looking crisp and dry at the end of the season are far more common than the low-hung grey skies, vivid greens of soggy water-logged land and the stormy days you have showered on us this year.

Had we been blessed with a summer of endless sunny days a moist September might have come as a welcome relief. As it was, summer had hardly seemed to get going as August drew to a close, and I was eagerly anticipating a September where foggy mornings gave way to hot afternoons, where despite the shortening of the days, evenings were still warm enough to be outdoor events. The disappointment of a September that has been so far from my expectations has been hard to accept.

Terra Aventura parcours, Exireuil, Deux-Sèvres

As October arrives, so does the ominous date of the 14^th, marking exactly one year since the weather turned, becoming wet and unsettled following a gorgeous six-week period of late summer heat. This year, I think I’d be hard pushed to count six decent, hot days in the last six weeks, but I do know we have made the most of them, often following the routes and answering the questions on the Terra Aventura geocaching app. This has seen us clambering over boulders in the river gorge, as we explored les puits d’enfer (hell’s wells) in Exireuil, alongside the military town of Saint-Maixent-l’Ecole in the Deux-Sèvres, as well as discovering hidden gems in Civray and Charroux in the Vienne.

A September sunset ride

The Bromptons continue to be our faithful companions, whether to and from work, enjoying rarely glimpsed sunsets after work, or the glowing autumnal colours of Chef-Boutonne on market day. We also discovered the Belle valley, less than thirty kilometres from home, where lavoirs, lost lanes and fairy bridges hidden in the trees reminded us that la vie est belle, life is beautiful (whatever the weather).

Sunshine in Charmé, Charente

I have yet to cycle my traditional 100km in a day birthday bike ride, something I have been doing since September 2015, although we did manage a fabulous 93km on the 20^th September. Our route took us through the Charente vineyards ripe with fruit, past Romanesque churches, lavoirs and fields of sunflowers with drooping seed heads, awaiting harvest. In Mansle, on the banks of the Charente River, we enjoyed a coup de soleil from a local patisserie. This new to us delight had a base of an apricot clafoutis with a lightly whipped topping of crème patisserie and Chantilly cream and was a real burst of sunshine in our mouths. Sadly, with storm clouds and thunder rolling in around us, we didn’t risk adding on the required seven kilometres to hit the 100. Ten days later and it seems the stormy showers and high winds, although interspersed with sunny spells, are still with us. I’ve had enough. Like the lizards I watch soaking up the heat on the steps of the château, I need to recharge my solar panels before winter arrives.

I can only hope that October gives us some respite from the cold and damp before winter truly sets in. 

  

Book review of Autumn Paths: An Anthology

Autumn Paths: An Anthology

Autumn Paths: An Anthology

 

Nine writers - Seasonal Collective - from both sides of the Atlantic, including best-selling and award-winning authors, have created this miscellany of stories.

 

These tales of family, mystery, intrigue, adventure, and suspense will take you across continents, through time and space in this world and others.  With a linking theme of autumn, discover new landscapes, encounter new and intriguing characters, uncover secrets and lies, and witness the resolution of old enmities.

 

Take the first step on this roller-coaster of an emotional journey, and you won't be disappointed.

 

Autumn Paths: An Anthology

My review

Having read and enjoyed novels and previous short stories from author Angela Wren, I was tempted by this collection, even though it I knew it was going to be something a little different from my usual reads and with only a small connection to France.

 

I love a good short story, one that draws me into its character’s lives immediately, gives me a mystery or some fast-paced action, and then ties up all the loose ends in a neat conclusion that leaves me satisfied. This collection might have deviated from my normal reads, but I enjoyed the variety of scenarios and plot twists. Each story introduced me to a different set of characters in a different location (including the life of a bookseller in France), as well as visiting different eras too. There were sad times and hardships, revenge and reconciliation, fantasy, history and so much more. Some of the stories left me wanting more, some let my mind wander as I imagined more, and one in particular left me with a huge grin on my face. 

I was right to take the chance on this book and found it refreshingly different. 

 

Autumn Paths would be a great choice if you are looking for a book that is easy to dip in and out of at the end of a busy day.

Autumn Paths: An Anthology blog tour

 

Purchase Links  

Amazon UK 

Amazon US 

Autumn Paths: An Anthology authors

 

Author Bios

Sandra Bunting

Sandra Bunting's publications include two books of short fiction, a poetry collection, a non-fiction book besides articles, poems and stories in numerous literary magazines. Sandra is on the editorial board of the Irish-based literary magazine, Crannóg, and worked at NUI Galway where she set up the Academic Writing Centre and taught Creative Writing and TEFL teacher training. Now living in Atlantic Canada, she is a member of The Writers Union of Canada, New Brunswick Writers Federation, Words on Water Miramichi, the Grand Barachois group Women Who Write and the Galway Writers' Workshop. 

http://www.sandbunting.com/

 

Pierre C Arseneault

The youngest of eleven children, Pierre C. Arseneault grew up in the small town of Rogersville New Brunswick. As a cartoonist, Pierre was published in over a dozen newspapers. As an author, he has five titles published so far: 

Dark Tales for Dark Nights (2013) 

Sleepless Nights (2014) 

Oakwood Island (2016) Poplar Falls – The Death of Charlie Baker (2019) Oakwood Island - The Awakening (2020) 

http://www.mysteriousink.ca/

 

Chuck Bowie

Chuck Bowie graduated from the University of New Brunswick in Canada with a Bachelor Degree in Science. His writing is influenced by the study of human nature and how people behave. Chuck loves food, wine, music and travel and all play a role in his work. His publisher has just launched his latest novel, set in Ireland and England, entitled Her Irish Boyfriend, fifth in the international suspense-thriller series: Donovan: Thief For Hire. He has just completed and published the second novel in a new cozy mystery series, set in a fictional town in New Brunswick, and is now finishing the follow-up in this series. - Chuck recently completed tenure on National Council of The Writers' Union of Canada; - Acted as Writer in Residence at Kingsbrae International Residence for the Arts, 2019; - Acknowledged as an author of note in the Miramichi Literary Trail installation, 2021. 

http://www.chuckbowie.ca/

 

Steve C Eston

Steve C. Eston always had a conflicting love for the fantastical and the scientific, which led him to write both fantasy and science-fiction. He has three published books: Deficiency (2020), The Conclave (2018) and The Burden of the Protector (2016). He also has several short stories available for free download on his website. He lives in Fredericton with his wife and children. 

http://www.sceston.ca/

 

Angela Wren

Angela Wren is an actor and director at a theatre in Yorkshire, UK. An avid reader, she has always loved stories of any description. She writes the Jacques Forêt crime novels set in France and is a contributing author to the Miss Moonshine anthologies. Her short stories vary between romance, memoir, mystery and historical. Angela has had two one-act plays recorded for local radio. 

http://www.angelawren.co.uk/

 

Monique Thébeau

Monique Thébeau is retired and lives in Riverview, New Brunswick. She has published a murder mystery In the Dark of Winter (which she is currently translating) and a French historical novel of her hometown, Saint-Louis-de-Kent. She is as passionate about building suspense in her stories as she is about gardening and being a grand-parent. 

http://www.moniquethebeau.com/

 

Jeremy Thomas Gilmer

Jeremy Thomas Gilmer is a writer of short fiction and nonfiction. He has been longlisted for the CBC Canada Writes Short Story Prize, won the inaugural Short Story Day Africa Flash Fiction Prize and was selected as the writer-in-residence at the KiRA residency in 2018. Jeremy is the Art and Literature editor-at-large for The East magazine. Gilmer has spent over twenty-five years as an Engineering Consultant on environmental, energy, and mining projects. Born in New Brunswick, Gilmer grew up in Nigeria, Northern Ireland, and Canada and has lived and worked in over forty countries. He splits his time between Eastern Canada and Brazil.

 

Allan Hudson

Allan Hudson was born in Saint John, New Brunswick. Growing up in South Branch he was encouraged to read from an early age by his mother who was a school teacher. He lives in Cocagne with his wife Gloria. He has enjoyed a lifetime of adventure, travel and uses the many experiences as ideas for his writing. He is an author of action/adventure novels, historical fiction and a short story collection. His short stories – The Ship Breakers & In the Abyss – received Honourable Mention in the New Brunswick Writer's Federation competition. He has stories published on commuterlit.com, The Golden Ratio and his blog - South Branch Scribbler. 

http://www.southbranchscribbler.ca/

 

Angella Cormier

Angella Cormier grew up in Saint Antoine, a small town in south east New Brunswick, Canada. This is where her love of reading and writing was born. Her curious nature about everything mysterious and paranormal helped carve the inspiration for her passion of writing horror and mystery stories. She is also a published poet, balancing out her writing to express herself in these two very opposing genres. Previous titles include: Oakwood Island - The Awakening (2020), Oakwood Island (2016), A Maiden's Perception - A collection of thoughts, reflections and poetry (2015) and Dark Tales for Dark Nights (2013, written as Angella Jacob). 

http://www.mysteriousink.com/

An Autumn ride from Aigre to Angouleme

Angouleme at sunset

November arrives in a flurry of changes

They say a change is as good as a rest, but so much has changed, in such a short space of time, that I’m finding it exhausting. 

 

We have said goodbye to October, which means my four-month contract working at the library is over, and the clocks have changed. It still amazes me how sensitive my body clock is to just a one-hour time adjustment and the gloomy early evenings really haven’t helped my mood. The first few days without the routine of work were busy, but then my motivation deserted me. I cleaned out the fridge, Adrian defrosted one of the freezers and we battled the crowds to do the weekly shop, foolishly thinking that as Lidl had decided to open all day on a public holiday, we’d be the only ones there – wrong – I’ve not seen a supermarket so crowded since life pre-Covid. I baked a cake, made a couple of batches of soup and tried my best to plan some exciting meals using food we’ve found in the freezer. I’ve got books to read and lists of jobs to do, yet for now, nothing seems quite as appealing as serving customers at the library.

Autumn colours

 

Even without this huge change to my daily routine, November and December are my least favourite months of the year and it’s always been a challenge to keep my mind focussed. The weather has been changeable too, the sun has shone, the wind has blown, and the rain has poured down, sometimes all at once, but we’ve enjoyed the autumn colours on dog walks and bike rides.

 

Our studio apartment in Angouleme

Aigre to Angouleme

As a pick-me-up to take my mind off the end of my library work, we did manage to escape for an overnight mini adventure. The plan had been to finish work at lunchtime and cycle the sixty kilometres from home to Angouleme, enjoy a meal out, stay the night and then return the following day. Short, but sweet, however, things don’t always quite go to plan. 

Bright and breezy Autumn days in the Charente

Despite checking the weather forecast before making the last-minute booking, what looked like a breezy, dry, two days had changed for the worse by the day we left. The breeze had become a headwind of thirty to forty kilometres an hour, with bright sunshine, on day one and the return was looking to be wet and wild with stronger gusts of wind. They do say there is no such thing as bad weather, just badly equipped cyclists, however low autumn sun combined with wind creates flickering leaves and shadows, which is particularly risky for my photosensitive epilepsy. To say Adrian was concerned with me attempting a sixty-kilometre ride in these conditions was an understatement, so we took the disappointing decision to take the car part of the way in order to reduce the risk of an incident.  

A Charente village cemetery for All Souls Day

 

I can’t deny it was hard work battling into the wind, but the autumn colours were beautiful as we passed through villages, churches, cemeteries and vineyards. The villages may have been quiet, but the cemeteries were busy as family members placed colourful potted chrysanthemums on the graves for All Saints/All Souls Day. 

Sunset in Angouleme

The benefit of only having a forty-kilometre ride meant we’d arrived at our town centre AirBnB with plenty of time to wander around Angouleme in the daylight, catch a dramatic sunset and treat ourselves to an outdoor apero before dinner. 

 

Angouleme street art

Angouleme is a pretty town to walk around, with an impressive cathedral, a town hall that looks like a fairy tale castle, and superb views over the ramparts. It is home to an annual bande dessinée (comic book) festival and I especially love the themed wall art decorating entire building facades around the town. The apero treat soon turned into an eye-opening experience that was equally shocking and terrifying. To find ourselves amidst so many people out socialising, many in large groups, the students all greeting each other with multiple (unmasked) cheek kisses, almost made me run back to the sanctuary of our quiet rural village life. 

 

Le Bruleau Charentais restaurant Angouleme

We ate at Le Bruleau Charentais, a small, family-run traditional restaurant where the speciality is steak cooked on an open-fire, in full view of the diners. Most of their produce is locally sourced. For a grand total of fifty-five euros, we enjoyed a glass each of the local Pineau aperitif with a shared charcuterie platter, followed by entrecote steaks served with chips and a half litre of house red wine. This was our second visit here and easily lived up to our experience two years ago.

 

Breakfast in Angouleme market

Breakfast the following day was coffee and a croissant in the (almost deserted) covered market, surrounded by the deliciousness of the fresh produce. We made our escape before the rain started and although we’d lost the clear blue skies and sunshine of the day before, it was still a lovely cycle, criss-crossing the river Charente and returning to the car in Aigre, damp, but not as soaked as we’d feared.

 

River Charente in Autumn 

New beginnings

With a clearer head and an empty diary, the time has come to plan the next step in the adventure that is life. My dream job might belong to someone else, but I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to look after it for her this summer. Life is too short not to make every day count, something that hit home this week when I learned of the sudden death of someone who had been a good friend to us since we moved to France. Her enthusiasm for life was contagious and over the years she taught me so much about French food, culture and the language, as well as sharing her gardening and sewing skills. If it wasn’t for her, I’d probably still only be able to speak French in the present tense. 

RIP Fatima

RIP Fatima. You were colourful, kind and caring, and lived life at such a fast pace, finding photos of you where you aren’t blurred in movement, or talking, was a challenge.

 

Lockdown diaries, day six, into the garden

The last harvest from the summer potager

Day six, Wednesday 4^th November 2020 

Into the garden

It might not have been the first frost this autumn, as we often get light ground frosts in September, but last night was certainly a clear, cold night and the ground was crispy with frost this morning. This prompted me to get out and do the last harvest from the summer potager, filling my basket with the baby squash that won’t now get the chance to grow and ripen, and the last of the chilis that will be just as nice green as the vibrant red I’ve picked all summer. I also picked up about a kilo of small windfall apples, despite believing the apple-picking to have finished. I think these might have been considered too small to bother with when there were still rich pickings, but now the tree is bare, I scavenged in desperation for every last one. We still have the Jerusalem artichokes to dig up over winter, and I’ve stored a crate of butternut squash, but the weeds have taken over and the potager already has that abandoned, scruffy look of winter neglect.

 

It is a sad sight to see, but my freezers, that I cleared out and organised back in March at the beginning of confinement, are still nicely ordered with a place for everything and everything in its place. More importantly, they are full to bursting with this summer’s homegrown fruits and vegetables, as well as homemade pork bone broth stock and packs of leftover meals that will become soup starters for winter lunches. I couldn’t be in a better place to head into winter.

 

Despite the cold this morning, the sun was shining from first thing, so the washing was hanging out not long after breakfast. Sitting in the warmth of the lounge with my morning coffee, watching the steam rising from the clothesline outside the window brought a smug smile to my face and made the cold, tingling of my fingers from hanging it out worth the pain. 

 

Raking the fig leaves

As the sun warmed the garden, I raked the fig leaves, as they are mostly all down, and started on the first of the Gingko leaves, although I am hoping for a bit more colour on the tree from them before they fall. I contemplated mowing the grass, but it was still damp after lunch, so to mark the changing of the seasons I moved the table that sits in the shade all summer, down to a sunny spot close to the house. Even on cold days, over winter it is important for us to sit outside for coffee or lunch, whenever the sun is out.

Lockdown loop within 1 km from home

 

To celebrate the end of the course Adrian was running, we devised a bike ride for this afternoon. Using all the roads in the village and heading out and back along the entry roads, we managed thirteen kilometres, all within an hour and keeping to a one-kilometre radius of home. It was great to be out in the fresh air but cycling into the wind from the east wasn’t much fun.

In the Lot before lockdown, part two

Cycling in the Lot

Day three, Sunday 1^st November 2020  

Welcome to November, a month that has started with damp and drizzle and heavy skies; a far cry from the bright, sunny day we had yesterday and not a day to bother with drying the washing outside. It was a day to indulge in a hot bowl of spicy vegetable soup for lunch though, topped with deliciously melted grated cheese. Dinner tonight will stick with the comfort food theme; a roasted butternut squash risotto using my homemade pork bone broth.

 

I have started work on my Lockdown II Big Jobs List, hoping its existence will give us motivation and guidance when boredom or lethargy come calling in the coming weeks. Some jobs will need fair weather, like clearing the potager and mowing the lawns, others, like washing down and preparing woodwork for a repaint, could be started today while the rain fell steadily outside.

 

Ed is pretty good at keeping himself occupied, and between lockdown being announced on Wednesday evening and us arriving home on Friday, he’d rearranged his bedroom to give himself a work area and a relax zone. As well as bringing his TV back from Poitiers (yes, he really is that deprived that he’s never had a TV in his bedroom before now) he has taken possession of the rocking chair my Nan bought for me when he was a newborn. We’d only recently thought about getting rid of it as it’s had very little use for many years, so I’m secretly delighted he’s given it a new lease of life.

 

The cheery colours of autumn in the Lot seem a long way from the grey we can see outside the windows today, but the memories of our week away are still as vivid in my mind as the landscapes we cycled through.

 

In the Lot before lockdown part two

 

Pont Valentré, Cahors, Lot

Wednesday is weekly market day in the town of Cahors and the destination for our first bike ride from St-Vincent-Rive-d’Olt where we were staying for three nights. Adrian had planned a forty-six-kilometre loop that climbed the hills directly behind the village, descended and climbed again, before dropping down to the Lot at the Pont Valentré, Cahors’ famous and beautiful turreted bridge. The weather was against us, but as markets only open in the mornings we either went or missed out. It had been almost seven weeks since I’ve done any serious cycling and to start ascending almost from the front door was tough on my legs. The cool, damp air, heavy with fine misty rain that clung to everything wasn’t much fun but seeing the bridge again for the first time in over five years, certainly made up for it. 

 

Masked up at market, Cahors, Lot

A slow wander around market, where every other stall was selling big, fat cèpe mushrooms, we bought some local goat cheese and a bottle of wine, before stopping for a coffee and a croissant. Masks had to be worn around the outdoor market and names and contact numbers left in a notebook at the café bar. Understandable I know, but when every hand that arrives has to take hold of the same notebook and pen, it seemed a bit of a germ-risk to me.

 

Cahors vineyards in Autumn

We returned along the Lot cycle route that mostly follows the meandering river Lot as it takes you through the Cahors vineyards. In my opinion, whatever the weather, autumn is the best time to see them. Even when the cloud descended as low as our noses and the rain on my glasses reduced my visibility, the colours were fantastic. Rose gold vineyards all around, broken only by the stone bothies or walnut trees; their colours a perfect complement to the vines.

 

Autumn in the Cahors vineyards

In the afternoon when the sun made a brief appearance before it set, we managed to get a glimpse of just how much these vines glow in the sunlight. It was as mesmerising as staring into the flames of a flickering fire. Having added another twenty-eight kilometres to the forty-six-kilometre market run, an open boulangerie provided the perfect refuelling stop. There were sadly no flans, but a Portuguese custard tart and a walnut tartelette certainly didn’t disappoint.

 

A homecooked meal and a glass of Cahors Malbec wine rounded off a great day perfectly, and then President Macron made his address to the nation. While it had been obvious the virus was tightening its grip on France once more, stuck in our happy holiday bubble, I wasn’t expecting a nationwide lockdown, and especially one that would come into effect while we were still away.

 

St-Cirq-Lapopie

On the last day before lockdown came into force, and once we had dashed out for some last-minute essentials, we packed a picnic lunch and got out on the bikes for what is likely to be our last big ride this year. St-Cirq-Lapopie certainly proved to be a fitting finale for what has turned out to be an epic year on the bikes. Following the Lot valley from St-Géry to St-Cirq-Lapopie and on to Cajarc gave us a stunning sixty-eight-kilometre ride ablaze with autumn colours and wide horizons decorated with perched hilltop towns, chateaux and houses emerging from the rocks. 

Cycling in the Lot

The rain of yesterday had gone and we even enjoyed some sun as we cycled along balcony roads with overhanging rocks and tunnels, twisting and turning, but always coming back to the river Lot. It was just what we needed to fill our minds and boost our senses before heading into another period of lockdown.

Autumn colours in the Deux Sevres

Autumn in the vineyards

The autumn colours this year have been magnificent and although I probably say the same thing every year, this year I am sure they are better than in previous years and I’m not the only one to think this. I have a friend in the village who has lived here much longer than I have and who has shared photo after photo exclaiming this year to be exceptional.

Autumn bike rides

Getting out on our bikes, walking the dog or even doing the school run or airport drop off has revealed a feast of golds, reds and oranges of all shades, often glowing in the sunshine, that have really lifted my spirits and made me thankful to live where I do.

Our walnut tree

We have many different fruit trees in our orchard, but rarely have we had much leaf raking to do, until this year. Looking back, it seems most years we have a mid-September frost, usually only for one night, but it is enough to kill off the courgette and tomato plants and cause the cherry and plum tree leaves to drop. Add an autumn breeze and magically the leaves have gone. 

Our red cherry tree

This year, with no early frost, the cherry trees have shown their colours in a surprising way; the leaves on the yellow fruiting trees turned a golden yellow, while the red fruiting trees turned from orange to deep red and have clung to the trees as long as possible. I can’t believe this is our 13^th autumn and I’ve never noticed this colour difference before. Raking and mowing the fallen leaves was hard work, but good exercise and worth it to be spending time in our colourful orchard.

Frosty morning

This year our first frost was last night and wow, what a frost. Scraping the car windscreen at seven o’clock this morning was finger numbingly cold and I wished I’d been able to find a pair of gloves, but as most days last week we were able to cycle in shorts and sunshine, I was woefully unprepared. The car was warning me it was minus 3 and a low-lying mist surrounded the village. It was a dark drive to get Ed to school, but the first pinks of the sunrise brightened up my journey home silhouetting the trees, wind turbines and even the deer in the fields. I don’t really like cold mornings, but I could forgive the frost this morning, as it was so very beautiful.

Frosted fruit tree leaves

As I sit here indoors with a cup of coffee and the sunshine warming me nicely, despite the fact the windows need a good clean, I can see the remaining autumn leaves falling like rain as they succumb to the cold. Sadly, I think in a few days our stunning autumn colours will have gone to be replaced with bare winter trees and hedgerows.

Tree-hugging on a dog walk in Melle

At least I have my photos to look back on. I have been sharing quite a few on Instagram but here are a few more. I hope you enjoy them.

Sunlight and autumn leaves

Autumn fire

Golden yellow walnut leaves

This post has been linked to Paulita’s Dreaming of France. Click here to read more.