Sisters enjoying a musical evening in Mairé...

On Saturday evening we all headed over to the musical evening at Mairé where the village put on an night of music and Pizzas from their communal oven, all served up in a friendly atmosphere...good fun!

Fun with 'Mistiti' at Les Tilleuls...

Popped over with friends to hear 'Mistiti' at 'Les Tilleuls' in Barrou last night - she is a larger than life entertainer who has a number of artistic personas ranging 'classic French', 'Punk','Irish' and as last night's performance 'Rockabilly'.

She quickly got the audience on her side with her energy,song choices and costume change. 

As ever 'Les Tilleuls' created a lovely ambiance for the concert which had to finish before Mistiti could do an encore as we had our first real (very welcome) rain shower for months...did not dampen the enjoyment of the evening however.

Quinze août part II...

Yesterday, Angela and Dennis reinstated the 'Quinze août' festivities at their home in Mairé, albeit on a smaller scale than previous years. As ever they were very generous hosts and the food contributions from friends made for an excellent afternoon/evening of music, food and friendship.  

David and Geoff provided the music for the afternoon to an appreciative  audience consisting of English, Scots, Irish, Welsh and Americans - very international !

Franquette at 'Le Lavoir'.

Joined friends over at 'Le Lavoir' in Preuilly-sur-Claise last night for another set by the classy duo 'Franquette' good night in good company.

 

Last night at 'Le Halle café' in Boussay.

We headed over to 'Le Halle café' in Boussay last night to listen to the classy duo 'Franquette', they did not disappoint!

More music...

Last night Pauline and I headed over to the bar in Barrou to support the fund-raiser  for the "Note à note" Music School whose students put on a concert for us supported by some musical accompaniment by Polo. Chris and Gail had the same idea and cycled over from Le Grand-Pressigny so we were in good company for the evening.

I caught this sunset on the way back to La Guerche.

A night of music and fireworks...

 

Last night we had music over at 'Le Lavoir'  in Preuilly-sur-Claise with the ever popular Angie Palmer (and Paul) then headed over to Lesigny to catch the firework display to round off a local fete.

Spoiled for choice - musical Touraine.

Last night we had the option of going over to Le Grand-Pressigny to listen to our friends 'Celtiqua' at Brody’s plus check out 'Jérôme & Sylvain' an act we had not seen at Parce Que in Ciran. We decided to have the best of both worlds by going over to Ciran and taking in the first half of their act and then heading back to Le Grand-Pressigny to catch the second half there. As it happened there was no break at Ciran so we missed 'Celtiqua' but there will be more chances later in the year. We are so lucky here in Southern Touraine to be surrounded by so much musical talent.

Fun in Barrou...

 

Good fun and a full house for our gig last night at 'Les Tilleuls' in nearby Barrou. Many thanks to everyone who came along.

St. Patrick's Day celebration in Touraine.

 

Enjoyed last night's St. Patrick's Day celebration in the 'Prehisto Bar' in Le Grand-Pressigny. Good traditional music provided by David,Dave,Chris and  Geoff who kindly allowed me to contribute with a few songs...good fun.

Here is a wee thing I did for St. Patrick's Day:

 

 

Music and friends...

Another lovely evening on Saturday with our ever generous friends sharing their hospitality and French neighbours with us in an evening of good food, drink and music.

Friends and fireworks...

Another lovely evening last night (remember,remember) hosted by friends in Le Grand-Pressigny, excellent company, food and entertainment. I even had a lovely violin accompaniment for one of my efforts.

A night of musical enchantment...

Dear friends treated us to a candlelit musical concert in the Eglise Notre-Dame-La -Riche in Tours last night where we listened to *Candlelight's Tribute to Hans Zimmer, a lovely experience.

*Fever was founded in Madrid, Spain in 2014 by Ignacio Bachiller Ströhlein, along with co-founders Francisco Hein and Pep Gómez. The company operates as a data-driven entertainment discovery platform, helping users find and book local events and experiences, from immersive exhibitions and dining pop-ups to concerts and festivals.

One of Fever’s flagship creations is Candlelight Concerts, a global series of live classical and contemporary performances staged in atmospheric, candle-lit venues. These concerts have been a major driver of Fever’s growth, helping introduce younger audiences to classical and instrumental music in a modern, accessible way.

'The times they are a'changin'...

I am referencing the Dylan song for a particular reason, as we are currently feeling the winds of change. Last night was a lovely evening with friends listening to 'I Don't Know' giving their final performance after providing many years of entertainment around our region, a bitter sweet experience. This and our own decision to *return to Scotland feels like the end of a chapter, with all the mixed feelings that can bring. Watching a familiar place shift around you can really drive home how nothing stays the same for ever.

Back to the evening itself which proved a bit of a challenge for the restaurant owners as it was originally intended to be more of an outdoor event but the inclement weather put paid to that. They were forced to turn people away and shoehorn as many as possible inside. For our party of seven this meant a table too up, close and personal  to our friends in the band.

Jane, however, came up with the compromise of taking the tables outside and dining there with fingers crossed for the weather. This worked out fine and we moved back inside after eating. 

Then it was a case of slightly jostling for space to appreciate the band. 

Peter and I,and later Chris, took to the staircase with its great vantage point.

As I said a lovely evening though tinged with a little sadness.

* If you know anyone looking to move to this delightful part of France they can check out our house here: https://www.experienceloire.com/house-sale.htm

Music all around us here in Southern Touraine...

Last night, we had choices galore—opera in the church at Le Grand-Pressigny, blues at Le Lavoir in Preuilly-sur-Claise, or folk at La Halle Café in Boussay. But we decided to stay here in La Guerche supporting our local venue, La Taverne.

'Sunshine Supermen' brought us the best of Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, The Stranglers and the Rolling Stones. looks like every musical taste was covered!

• Wherever you listened, hope you had a great time too!

 

Reeling in the years...

On Saturday evening we were invited up behind Barrou for a BBQ and some musical entertainment by talented friends who have over the years,generously shared their love of Celtic music with us. As someone commented on the evening "our region really is awash with musical talent" indeed it is!

 

Back in Barrou...

A lovely evening was had by all last night at the first soirée hosted by the new proprietors of the restaurant in Barrou. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, and they did an impressive job serving up a barbecue meal to everyone, no small feat considering the turnout! Our table alone had 24 people! A good start even though the bar was a little overwhelmed,sure there will be lessons learned from the evening. 

Lovely vibe last night at La Halle Café in Boussay

 

 Angie Palmer took to the stage, armed with a guitar and a voice that never holds back, soulful, powerful, and full of heart.

Backing her up was the effortlessly cool Paul Mason on bass, calm, collected and keeping things grooving with style.

Above image courtesy of Norman

The café, already pretty charming on any given day, transformed into the coziest little concert hall, filled with hand-clapping locals, enchanted visitors, and possibly one or two folks who only popped in for a beer but ended up staying for the music.

Big thanks to Angie and Paul for turning an ordinary evening into a night of good vibes, great tunes, and the kind of magic that makes our little corner of France such a joy to live in.

Music and friends at the Lavoir...

 

A will we / won't we moment...

Last night was to be the reopening of la Taverne here in La Guerche with an outdoor concert featuring 'Locos Locaux' but due to the horrendous weather conditions it was moved indoors to the salle des fêtes. We sat wondering whether or not to brave the conditions but as heavy rain beat against our windows, we decided against it. Then the rain stopped and it suddenly got a bit brighter so we decided to ho after all, glad we did it was fun.

                        

It was actually quite mild as we made our way back home with Pauline thinking she needn't have worn her 'Scottish coat' after all!