“This is paradise” is what the sign in the middle says. The sign on the left is the name of the place: Tranquillity. The sign on the right sets out the Garden Rules. 1. Relax in a peaceful environment 2. Welcome the bees and butterflies 3. Sow seeds of madness 4. There are no weeds, …
Author Archives: avril
Grey Reflections – Reflets gris
It was such a grey day today with intermittent rain that I nearly didn’t go out at all but since we had to take the car to the garage in Chouzy-sur-Cisse, our closest village, we went for a walk around the lake afterwards. A little bit of blue sky joined us. Il faisait tellement gris …
Christmas Roses – Roses de Noël
These are not roses of course, but hellebores, or Lenten roses, and bloom in winter. Last year the deer ate them so I’ve put them out of reach on my kitchen windowsill. When the temperature is below freezing point the flowers keel over but they perk up when they thaw. Ce ne sont pas des …
My Fir Tree – Mon sapin
This was taken from the Bishop’s Garden in Blois on Friday when it was so cold. The fir tree you can see is in the shared garden of the apartment building where I own a holiday rental so I probably own about 1/8 of it. Such large trees are quite rare in the medieval part …
Winter Skyline – Horizon d’hiver
The temperature went up to 3 degrees this afternoon so I went for a walk along the Loire just to take in my favourite view of Blois. There is a cycle path below full of promenaders but I had the pavement at road-level all to myself. La température est montée jusqu’à 3 degrés cet après-midi …
A Cold Market – Un marché froid
The cold weather is continuing and it was minus 1 degree when we got to the market this morning despite the sun. What amazes me is the number of people without anything on their head and some without gloves. At least wearing masks keeps our noses warm. I even wore long Johns today under woolen …
The Red Deer – Le cerf rouge
It was minus 4 degrees when I took this photo at 10 am this morning. That’s Joan of Arc you can see in the distance is by the American sculptress Anna Hyatt Huntington. The Salon de Paris exhibition in 1910 refused to award first prize for one of her monumental statues when they learnt who …
The Other Sides of Chambord – Les autres faces de Chambord
We’ve been having absolutely ghastly weather and I haven’t been outside since Sunday. Covid lockdown has been replaced with weather lockdown. However today it wasn’t raining even though it was only 2 degrees so we went back to Chambord, collecting a lost glove on the way from a pharmacy I called into last Saturday. Some …
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The President’s Cake – La galette de l’Elysée
There is a popular tradition in France for friends and family to share a cake containing a little figurine on 6th January, the feast of the Epiphany (see more information here on my other blog). The person who gets the figurine in their slice of cake then chooses a king or queen. I made my …
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They died for their country – Morts pour la patrie
Bracieux had a population of about 1000 in 1914. Nearly 60 died during the First World War, two in WW2 and one in Indochina. The population today is about 1300. La population de Bracieux en 1914 était environ 1000. Près de 60 hommes sont morts au cours de la Grande Guerre, deux pendant la deuxième …
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