**** flowers, fetes and friends

one thing the French love

is a Fete

they take them very seriously

plenty of effort is put in to set them up

there are fetes for everything

music, food, flowers, nuts, bears

you name it

and my village is no exception

so I took it as an excuse to escape the

four day 'feria' in La Bastide

a 35 minute drive from my house is

Bordebasse 

the home of Jimmy & Gill who very kindly

let me stay for three nights of quiet and calm

this lake is in the grounds 

and those grounds are full of wild flowers

campion

wild orchids 

orange blossom

and in the adjoining land

a field of linseed

with their tiny delicate blue

if you need a getaway

I'd thoroughly recommend staying here

it's a little piece of heaven 

in the hills

~~:~~ 

* summer in the 'stide

many villages have fetes and markets

in the Summertime

July & August sees many events 

Thursdays bring the night market

tables and chairs are set up under La Halle

food stalls begin to be set up

along the river

in the late afternoon

people arrive from 6pm 

with picnic bags carrying plastic plates

glasses, serviettes, cutlery

bread, wine

to enjoy with the food they buy

it's a big community thing

other evenings bring dodgy euro disco djs 

who never seem to play a whole song

and talk over most of the medleys

a variety of acts appear under La Halle

Magyd Cherfi ~ La Trempe

the story of an artist

Teatro Golondrino

string puppets without word

a truly charming show

called The Bucket of Death

had the children and adults laughing

we have a Village Vacances in La Bastide

which is for the employees of EDF

some of these events are arranged by them

they are random, sometimes strange

but strange good!