Winter warmers

Wrapped up warm on a winter bike ride

I’m with Ovo

If I mention UK news headlines this week and the phrases ‘embarrassing’, ‘poorly judged and unhelpful’, you might think I’d be referring to Boris’s ‘bring your own booze’ garden party, but you’d be wrong. The less said about that clown the better.

 

Ovo Energy, a UK based energy supplier, have also been in the news for a ‘keeping warm without upping your heating’ blog post, that they have now withdrawn. Their novel ideas included, putting on another jumper, eating porridge, doing the housework, hugging a pet or hula hooping with your kids. Well, no shit sherlock, this isn’t news - my wise old Dad said pretty much the same thing forty years ago, whenever I complained my bedroom was too cold. It was either “put another jumper on”, or “get outside and rake up some leaves, that will warm you up”.

 

Obviously, as a teenager I wasn’t interested in listening and I certainly wasn’t interested in moving my body to create heat. Back then I was much more into reading and complaining than exercising. Moving to a large, draughty house with a cantankerous old boiler, combined with the reality that France did get cold in the winter, meant I soon remembered Dad’s words and learned how to keep warm. If we heated our house to a constant 20º, not only would it cost many more thousands of euros than we have, but with only two of us floating around, mainly using one or two rooms at a time, it would be ever so wasteful. I don’t do wasteful. Most of what Ovo wrote in their blog, I’ve been practicing and writing about for many winters.

Hug a pet - Mini turns 14

 

Layer like an onion 

I am never to be found without a vest from October to May, and for most of the really cold months, I’ll wear a vest under a thermal long-sleeved vest and any number of additional layers on top, all carefully tucked in. Exciting editions to our wardrobe this season include fleecy lined walking trousers, from sports chain Decathlon, ideal for those extreme randonées with a wind chill well into the -ºc’s. Obviously, with Mini having celebrated her fourteenth birthday this week (that’s about 103 in equivalent years), if it’s that cold outside, we won’t be out walking, but these new buys have ensured we’ve kept warm indoors. Combined with the thermal socks (from Decathlon again) tucked into my fur-lined boot/slippers, my toes are toasty and I’ve no need for any E.On Energy socks – another UK news oops this weekend (it must be the week for it).

Winter vegetable soup

 

Porridge and soup 

I have been writing a regular five-hundred-word article for The Deux-Sèvres Monthly, a local English language magazine, for ten years now and looking back in my archives to January 2013, I was singing the praises of what I called ‘porridge and soup’ season.

 

“Winter has arrived, the days are short, the trees are bare and the temperatures have plummeted, but am I down? Well sometimes, I have to admit, yes, I am. It is at this time of year that my thoughts turn to comfort food. Gone are the vibrant coloured salads of summer that cheered up my plates with home grown delights but have no fear for we have arrived at what I call ‘porridge and soup’ season.”

 

Winter food should be different from summer food, that is the beauty of eating seasonally. The vegetables available now are perfect for thick soups made with homemade pork broth and warming curry spices, that put a fire in my belly all afternoon. Porridge oats are another favourite for us and I’m sure anyone who grew up in 1980’s Britain must remember the Ready Brek (finely milled porridge oat cereal) advert? Who didn’t want a warm orange glow around them as they walked to school on a cold and frosty morning?

Trying out my Hula Hoop for the first time in 2020

 

Hula hooping

In March 2020, just before you-know-what hit us, my Deux-Sèvres Monthly article was all about ‘hoop and soup’.

“Always happy to find a healthy distraction from the mundane monotony of life, I’ve got a new exercise obsession. Thanks to a couple of nutty friends, I am now the proud owner of a hefty hula hoop, and when I say hefty, I mean 1.2kg of weighty hoop that massages you (think thumps) as it rolls around. Once you have mastered the moves and get past the awkward stage where you look like you’ve stuck your fingers in a plug socket, it’s a really fun way to exercise.” 

Ovo are right, it's also a great way of keeping warm and I often use it as a pre-yoga warm up over winter. Our other top tip for keeping warm is to get out on the bikes. Even if I get home with cold, red cheeks and nose, the rest of me is nice and warm whatever the temperature outside, and the colours on crisp winter sunset bike rides are a tonic for the mind as well as the body.

 

If there is one thing I could have told my younger self, it would be ‘to be more active’, so I’m with Ovo and agree with what they were saying, even if they maybe could have phrased things better. Another positive of these ideas is Susie Kelly’s Best Foot Forward, one of the first books I read and reviewed on the blog and her story of a long-distance walk from La Rochelle to Geneva, inspired by the need to move to keep warm during cold French winters. To think this book wouldn’t have existed if she’d just turned up her heating, is quite sad.

A chilly morning view from the orchard

 

Temperatures have been below 0ºc these last few days, with crisp clear nights, heavy frosts and sunny days, but I’d much rather this than warmer, wetter weather.  

Lockdown diaries, day sixteen, one step forward, two steps back

Ready to hang

Day sixteen, Saturday 14^th November 2020 

One step forward, two steps back

I was hoping to be able to report the wallpapering was going well, but at the end of play today it seems it’s House 1 Jac and Ade 0. In the new office/music room we did something we’d never done before and instead of steaming off the old paper (which we know results in plaster issues in this house) we just dry-pulled the top layer off, which left a backing layer in place. Although we weren’t convinced it would work, we did successfully manage to paper over it and it certainly made for a less soggy mess when preparing the walls. 

 

In the main landing outside the bedrooms we tried to do the same thing, but the northern, external wall wasn’t happy with that, so after a bit of head scratching today, it was back to the hot soapy water spray as we diligently scraped off all traces of the previous paper. Fingers crossed what we did hang will still be on the wall in the morning, when we’ll mix up some more paste and start all over again. 

 

The grot we had before

It would be easy to get despondent when things like this don’t go to plan. One of the reasons we have been reluctant to start jobs around here (for so many years) is that experience has taught us that in this house things rarely do stick to plan. However, we are more motivated now and it’s important we keep that motivation going and don’t succumb to panic. Covid-19 lockdown has certainly given us time, so once we’d cleared up the mess this afternoon, we turned our backs on it with purpose and with heads held high, set off on the bikes. An hour of fresh air and exercise, even with a keen wind from the west made all the difference. There is always tomorrow and if it isn’t finished this weekend, there is always next weekend too. On a more positive note, one thing I am pleased with is the colour, a pale grey with a hint of lilac, that will feel so much brighter than the mess we had before.

 

One of my favourite comfort meals, homemade veggie pizza

Dinner tonight will be homemade pizzas, topped with as many fresh veggies as I can pile on, comfort food at its best.

Challenges and milestones

Sometimes it's difficult to keep going

Looking back to the pre-pandemic glory days of 2019, I note that ‘challenge’ was the word I used to describe the year. If only I’d known what was just around the corner, as 2020 has certainly been the year of challenges so far. Some were expected, like the ones I set myself on the bike, some were not. Covid-19 rocking up and locking us all down, and the knock-on effects hampering Adrian’s ability to travel and work, were not what I expected, but then neither was losing our nephew Ben to suicide, and the huge hole that he has left in our family. 

 

There are some days when I still struggle to fully comprehend where we are now, and I find it quite difficult to think about what lies ahead. Which might explain the lack of recent blog posts. I’m not sure that the three of us have grieved properly for Ben yet, and not being able to spend time together with our family in the UK (many of whom are vulnerable and still self-isolating) hasn’t helped.

 

Cycling #ForBen Team Kharma

During lockdown it looked unlikely that I’d see any of my cycling challenges come to fruition, but as restrictions were lifted, we realised that in this extraordinary year, we owed it to ourselves to seize every opportunity that came our way. Cycling has given us the focus and motivation to keep going, and that started with us taking part in the virtual cycling challenge From Loughborough to Istanbul; For Ben. Being just a small part in this amazing event, which has raised over £30,000 for charities working to prevent suicide in young people, was very humbling but also a great help.

 

Triumph at climbing my first Col, on the Côte d'Azur

The challenges I set myself this year were in two sets of twenty. The first being to ride in twenty different French departments (states/counties), and as August draws to a close, I've managed a respectable thirteen. 

The other twenty was made up of:

Climbing five mountain cols (passes).

Five consecutive days cycling over 50 km a day. 

Five 100 km in a day.

Five shopping trips using the bike instead of the car.

 

Conquering the Cols in the Pyrenees

Living somewhere flat meant the cols were conquered whilst on holiday in Provence and the Pyrenees, and earlier this month I smashed my target having climbed thirteen cols and got to the top of Mont Ventoux. 

 

August has been a month of milestones. Last week I clocked up a pretty impressive 418 km, making it the furthest distance I’ve cycled in a week this year, as well as completing my five consecutive days cycling over 50 km, and the second of my 100 km in a day. 

 

This August I have also beaten the 2019 mile (3250 km) target I set (and achieved) last year, despite hardly using the bike for the two months of lockdown and I’ve hit another first; cycling over 1000 km in a single month. 

 

In the Marais Poitevin, August 2020, 1000 km cycled

Yes, you did read that correctly. Almost 49 year old me, with my short legs, small frame (me and the bike) and little wheels, has cycled over one thousand kilometres this month, almost three thousand five hundred this year so far and nearly seven thousand since buying my Brompton #KTTinyTourer at the end of 2018.

 

Market shopping in Montbrun-les-Bains

The one I'm struggling on the most is the shopping, which I thought would be the easiest. Thanks to Covid-19 we have stopped popping to the shops for a few bits but have been more organised doing a regular big shop by car and eliminating some of the risk of going to the supermarket. We have, however, managed to reduce the amount we use the car by making the bikes our main mode of transport for social journeys and tasks like picking up prescriptions from the pharmacy and even parcels from the local delivery point. Friends are now so used to seeing us on the bikes we’ve had a few comments when we’ve been spotted out in the car, along the lines of “not on your bikes today then?”

 

I've climbed Mont Ventoux, all the way up there

Some of the things we have challenged ourselves to, including climbing Mont Ventoux at an altitude of 1912m, the Col d’Aubisque (1709m) and the Col du Tourmalet (2115m), have been hard work on the body and the mind and I’m still amazed I did it. One thing it has taught me is that there is something quite cathartic about pushing my body to its limits, hearing my heart pumping and feeling my lungs bursting with air, knowing it is a privilege to be alive in a year when so many have been lost.  

 

A family bike ride at the end of a hot summer day

I may not be quite there on all my challenges yet, but for a weird year, I'm pretty pleased with my progress so far. I do have a niggling worry though, what if I have peaked too soon achieving all this in the year I turn forty-nine, rather than in the run up to my big 50? I’ll just have to hope that 2021 has something much bigger and better waiting for me to achieve.

 

Our next challenge is to get Ed back to Poitiers for a safe university rentrée and to adapt once more to life as empty nesters. 

 

 

 

New Year, New Experiences 2, Yoga and Zumba

The French Yoga Garden Café who serve a delicious brunch

Following on from part one of my New Year, New Experiences (see here), once back in France, continuing my active start to 2018 was still on my mind and I was keen to get back to our weekly village gym class, even if my legs always ache for a few days afterwards. 

I also discovered The French Yoga Garden run a monthly Yoga Brunch session at the Moulin de Chantegrolle in Charroux, which although not that local, the opportunity to do a Sunday morning yoga class, followed by a delicious home cooked brunch, wasn’t to be missed. When I arrived I discovered the yoga studio was in fact a yurt in the garden, where the sound of running water from the millstream drowned out all modern world noises as we cocooned ourselves in a warm and cosy yoga bubble. It was bliss. I was so in the yoga zone that my inner blogger disappeared and I forgot to take any photos. Thankfully you can see lots on the Retreat in France website here, of the yurt, the café and the accommodation in a converted water mill.

Lucy is my fifth yoga teacher and the fourth I’ve discovered in the last six months, the other three being travelling yogis who come and go, but I’ve noticed a similarity; they all have an aura of calm about them. I’ve decided you can sense a good yoga teacher before the class begins; they are relaxed, happy in the here and now and radiate peace and tranquillity. 

Yoga with Lucy didn't disappoint and yoga in a yurt was another first for me, I know I will be back. Having sampled the poached eggs and fresh pancakes of brunch, I’m also looking forward to the official opening of their café, The French Yoga Garden Café, which I’m sure Ade and I will also make good use of when out on our bikes.

ZumbaPoitou

They say things go in threes and my third new sporty experience has surprisingly turned out to be Zumba. I have quite a few friends who go to a local weekly Zumba class and they have all tried to persuade me to go, one has been trying for about five years. Despite my reservations, I finally gave in and gave it a go. Coordination isn’t my strong point and neither is my sense of rhythm. Give me a yoga pose to hold and I hold it, get me to dance to music and I’m all over the place. I also have a fear of communal sweating, so when I was advised to bring a towel, in case of ‘drips’ (shudder), I nearly didn’t turn up. But, turn up and try my best I did, and good fun it was too. I know it will take me quite a while to learn the dance routines, but I’ve bought a ten-session ticket to prove my commitment and I’ve even coped (so far) with the public sweating.

ZumbaPoitou Why am I the only one with my arms in the air?

With the weather so far this year being wet, day after day after day, I haven’t been out on my bike since getting back from the UK, dog walks have been hit and miss and the garden is a soggy, muddy mess that I’m avoiding for fear of getting sucked into the mud. It is just as well that I’m keeping active in other ways, but I’m still looking forward to spring and more time spent outdoors. 

My next blog will contain more news, but book related rather than sporty.

Advent day 19, party time

Mincepies, homemade cake, chocolates

Welcome to day 19 of my advent calendar and as it is a weekend, here is a little catch up on village life. This week marked the last aqua gym session of the term and due to winter maintenance work on the pool, we now have a two month break before starting to shift those extra Christmas calories. I'm not sure finishing the term with a pre-Christmas party was the healthiest of ideas, but it was certainly good fun. 

I may be the newbie to the group (and the youngest by a few years too) but I'm going to miss the hilarity that has quickly become routine for my Tuesday mornings at aqua gym. The end of term couldn't happen without a little something special and so we slightly shortened our exercise time to ensure we had plenty of time to sit (in the empty paddling pool), drink coffee and indulge in the tasty delights we had all come along with. One thing I have learned since joining this class in September is that these ladies know their food, every week what they are cooking and eating is their main topic of conversation.

Pre-Christmas party

I made a batch of mincepies to share, which went down very well, although I did have to list the ingredients and method at least six times as the French can be a little unsure about eating something they don't recognise. As an English ambassador in rural France I consider it my duty to spread the word, and the love for mincepies at Christmas.

Genius plate carrier

One of the ladies arrived with this totally amazing bag that is pretty, functional and very French too. A soft fabric bag to carry a plate to a shared meal or picnic, where the handles ensure the top of the bag is kept clear of the contents of the plate, genius! I have severe bag envy. Dear Father Christmas, if you happen to be reading this I would love a bag just like this one please.

My featured book today is also full of delicious French treats and should you wish to walk off a few calories, it includes a lovely guide to some delicious sights to see in Paris too. Teatime in Paris!: A Walk Through Easy French Patisserie Recipes by Jill Colonna is a beautifully illustrated recipe book, with easy to follow, step-by-step instructions to help you achieve perfect patisseries in your own home. You can read my full review here. Both of Jill's books would make perfect Christmas gifts and links to Amazon can be found below.

Happy New Year

Poppy the fat cat

If Christmas and New Year were as indulgent for you as they were for us, Poppy and I know exactly how you are feeling. We would both like to loose a kilo or two and are determined to do more exercise this year. Yoga is a favourite for us both and a daily stretch or two is as good for the mind as the body, just like a good dog walk, although Poppy doesn't agree with me on this! My main sporting challenge this year is to get out more on the bike and get fit enough to take on a few more hills and maybe even a mountain or two. We (Ade and I, not Poppy and I) are already planning some great cycle routes, both close to home and in some more exciting terrain.

Poppy's diet started today and she wishes you well if you are also cutting back. For me, I will attempt an alcohol free January and now we are back home from our UK trip my diet will be rich in garden veggie soups. We've only been back a day, but I've made a lovely batch of pumpkin soup, so far, so good and so tasty too.

Thank you all for reading and commenting on our life here in France and we wish you a happy, healthy and peaceful 2014. If you have also set yourself some challenges/goals/resolutions, then good luck, keep positive - you know you can do it!

The health benefits of mowing the lawn

Her mower

I read an interesting article the other day that stated that mowing the grass can help to relieve stress and boost your memory. Before we moved to France and indeed for the first few years we were here, mowing was a ‘blue’ chore chez nous, unlike washing and ironing which were and still are ‘pink’ chores. This meant I had little or no experience or interest in it, although I do remember it used to be my Monday evening summer task at home when I was not much older than Ed. With Ade working away, keeping the grass (well green growing stuff, to be more accurate) in the front and back courtyards neat and tidy is something I have taken on, look forward to and really enjoy doing. Having left a stoney courtyard to 'grow' we have ended up with a clover lawn that the bees love almost as much as we do. It is therefore no surprise to me that researchers have discovered it is good for you due to the happy and relaxed feelings a chemical released by a mown lawn gives you. It also appears to be able to prevent mental decline in old age as these happy, relaxed feelings combat bad stress that over time can damage the hippocampus leading to increased blood pressure, forgetfulness and a weakening of the immune system. I love my time spent mowing, I’m out in the fresh air, more often then not the sun is shining, I’m getting exercise and my mind is relaxed and often wanders away with itself. A bit like dog walking, I don’t find it a chore at all. For me the walking mower will always win over the ride on mower that Ade loves. One of the things that was on his wish list when we moved to France was a garden big enough for a ride on mower and our orchard is certainly that.

Our clover lawn

Shortly after moving in he found a jolly red mower that fitted the bill – it needed to be under a metre wide in order to get through the orchard gate, and not be too expensive. The only way to get it home was to hire the knackered old van the shop kept for such occasions, leave his Mum, Ed and I loitering in the car park while he and his Dad made the 90km trip home and back – kerching! (That added a bit to the price).

Not long after we got it, whilst making a tricky manoeuvre he clunked it into something and broke the steering rod – kerching! That cost a bit to replace, but at least he had the knowledge to be able to fix it.

His mower

After a few years we struck another problem, the gearbox went. We spoke to a local company specialising in mowers and were quoted well over half the original purchase price to replace the gearbox – kerching! It was at this point Ade wondered whether to bother or not. There is no need to mow over winter and once the weather warms up the grass goes yellow and doesn’t need mowing, plus the ducks and goose do a bit of grazing for us. Some years it doesn’t get much use at all, especially if I am doing most of the mowing. He doesn’t mind me using it, but I’ll admit I’m not spatially aware enough to guide it safely between the concrete gateposts – clearance is about an inch either side. But we all know boys need their toys and being Mr Resourceful he found replacements for the shattered gears and selectors and carried out the delicate surgery required to fix it yet again. Add to this the odd flat tyre and replacement drive belt over the years and it probably works out more expensive to keep than Ed! But at least those feel good chemicals balance out the stress of keeping his toy running and let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want a shiny red tractor of their own?

The Tour de France

Our photo from the 2012 Tour de Poitou-Charentes

We are not a sports mad family. We do enjoy an active and outdoor lifestyle, but none of us could explain the ‘off-side rule’ and we conveniently manage to miss football and rugby on TV even if it is World or European cup games. The tennis also passes every year without us feeling the need to watch a single match. However, last year Ade and I found ourselves tuning into ITV4 every evening to watch the Tour de France coverage and we are counting down the days (seven) until the start of the 100^th Tour begins in Corsica on June 29th.

 Last year the terminology and the rules were a bit of a mystery to us and while we are still not experts we have grasped the basics and here is our little summery in case it is all a bit confusing to you too. Full information can be found on Le Tour website and don’t forget whether you understand it all or not, if you do tune in you will get to see some lovely areas of La Belle France.

The Teams.

Each of the 22 teams are made up of nine cyclists and despite it looking like it is a ‘one man and his bike’ sport the teams work hard together and for their team leader. The lower ranking members put team tactics ahead of personal triumph, support their leader and are referred to as domestiques. They help to pace the team leader and ensure he is where he needs to be for the best chance of victory.

The Peloton.

www.letour.fr

This is the main body of cyclists who group together during the race. This helps with pace and wind resistance. There are always some who drop behind the main peloton and others who will breakaway often in an attempt to win a stage.

The Stages or étapes.

The Tour de France is a race made up of 21 stages, one stage per day and with only 2 rest days in the 23 days. This year these stages will cover a total of 3,404 km and are made up of 7 flat stages, 5 hilly stages, 6 mountain stages, 2 individual time trials and 1 team time trial. The time trial days are against the clock and do not include group or peloton riding. The Tour takes in different areas of France each year, often includes an overseas stage (next year this will be in Yorkshire), but always visits the Alps, the Pyrenees and finishes on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, where Mark Cavendish has crossed the finish line first for the last four years.

The Yellow Jersey.

This is awarded at the end of each day to the person who has the fastest time overall. This may not be the winner of the current days stage, he is known as the stage leader or la tête de course. It is possible for the Yellow Jersey to change many times during the race or, like last year when Bradley Wiggins stormed it, for it to remain with the same rider for many days.

The other Jerseys.

As well as the Yellow Jersey, there are other jerseys awarded for different ‘wins’ during the race. The red Polka Dot Jersey is awarded to the King of the Mountains, the rider who gains the most points from the mountain climbs that day. The White Jersey is presented to the rider under 25 who has been awarded the most points each day and the Green Jersey is for the leader of the general points. Points are awarded during the day for individual sprints as well as stage wins.

La Caravane.

This is a publicity convoy that drives the route about an hour before the cyclists pass by, adding to the excitement of the crowd and enabling the sponsors to throw advertising merchandise at them.

The thing that struck me most last year was the awe I felt for the stamina of the cyclists who often cover over 200km a day, day after day. Compared to the pampered lifestyles of the professional footballers with their orange, plastic wives who manage 45 minutes of play before they need a rest, the cyclists (in my opinion) are real sportsmen. The Tour de France is tough, but it is only one event in their sporting year, some have already competed in a similar event in Italy and others will go on to do the Spanish tour too. Our British riders do us proud and I hope Mark Cavendish continues to triumph in Paris and wish him and Chris Froome all the best. Chris was second to Sir Bradley Wiggins last year, who managed to retain the Yellow jersey day after day and then became the first EVER British cyclist to win, and I’m sure Chris and Mark have their sights set high this year.