Sunday's brocantes - ringing bells and time will tell.

Didn't go brocanting on Sunday although Pauline did along with Jane & Liz. The menfolk watched the cricket, me I put stuff in a skip. Had I been there I would certainly have snapped these kitchen timepieces - Jane kindly did it for me!

Finishing our soirees with a bang!

The last ten days have been rather hectic with only Tuesday when we were not lunching or attending a soiree (or both!). We finished it off by joining friends at the Pre-histo in Le Grand-Pressigny for 'moules-frites' and then fireworks to celebrate the 'Fete Nationale'.

Time to batten down the hatches methinks.

Une autre belle soirée...

Another good night,last night, with friends in a the lovely setting of Mo & John's, our hosts for the evening. 

Fete Nationale fireworks 2019

ABILLY - Saturday, July 13: fireworks music at 22:30 followed by a ball

DESCARTES - Sunday, July 14: parade at 9:45, fireworks at 23:00,ball at 23:30

LE GRAND-PRESSIGNY - Sunday, July 14: afternoon games. Parade followed by fireworks from 22:30

Cannot find a comprehensive list anywhere  - anyone?
More here

Another soiree...with 'Dos Gringos'

Went over to the park at the 'beach' at Lesigny last night with friends to catch 'Dos Gringos' who gave us a taste of Reinhardt & Grappelli in their own 'Jazz Manouche' style. 

The event was organised by the local restaurant 'l'Ere du Temps' who must have been delighted with the good turnout. 

Wednesday is Loches day... under a blue sky today

  

Today you can wander the pretty streets of Loches under a blue sky after a visit to the morning market.

  

  

Our first French Ceilidh...

Big shout-out to the hardworking Comité des Fêtes Pressignois and to the tireless 'Siansa' ( also special thanks to David,Dave & Patience for leading the dancing) who put on this music and dance afternoon on Sunday in Le Grand-Pressigny. They even managed to get me on the dance floor! They were also kind enough to let Dominique and I do a badly rehearsed version of 'Fields of Athenry'

Pic : Mike Funning

Sunday's brocante - Vic-sur-Gartempe

Yesterday we headed over to the annual brocante at Vic-sur-Gartempe. It is a great setting and very popular.

It always offers a diverse range of 'treasure'

I know which carved figure I prefer!

Wonder if this chair on offer at 300 euros found a buyer?...  

...though fairly certain this accident waiting to happen didn't!!

And it was going so well...

Like many music festivals before it, the weather played its part in last night's 'Barroudeurs' event but in true festival spirit after an initial heavy downpour the audience took evasive action before drying themselves off to enjoy the rest of the evening. The group who came equipped with a tarpaulin deserve a special mention. 

Despite the weather outlook it began to fill up and soon we were experiencing one of the best festivals in recent years.

We particularly enjoyed the 'Funky Groove Parade' who mixed with the audience giving us their own  unique take on some classics...

We had a good set from 'Innersun' to start of the proceedings.

Our current guests at the 'Old Walnut Mill' joined us, as a hopefully pleasant start to their holiday. 

They were followed by 'Mister Mystere' as darkness fell adding a bit more ambience to an already convivial evening. We were looking forward to the fireworks and the headliners 'Crossroads' when nature dictated that the evening should come to an end by giving us the predicted orage and a light-show of the natural type.

Really felt for the organisers of this the 15th festival but they can be happy in that what they provided up to the storm was a great evening!

Une bonne soirée Irlandaise

Excellent turnout again this year for the 'Soiree Irlandaise' in Le Grand-Pressigny

Great traditional sets from first local favorites 'Celtiqua'...

and then 'Siansa' made for a fun evening.

A weekend of soirees...

A great weekend of free entertainment and get-togethers ahead for us all here in Southern Touraine. Starting with the very popular 'Soiree Irelandaise' in Le Grand-Pressigny an opportunity to listen to some excellent Irish music from 'Siansa' and our very own 'Celtiqua, kicks off at 7.30pm'. 

Then on Saturday night we have the 'Barroudeurs' on the banks of the Creuse in Barrou, a night of diverse music (from 8.00pm) with something for everyone (including fireworks!) in a convivial atmosphere.

The weekend finishes with an opportunity to dance and eat cake (heaven for some peeps) to the sounds of 'Siansa' from 2.00pm in the 'Foyer Rural' in Le Grand-Pressigny.

Please go along and support these events by spending some euros at the bar or at the food stalls as a great deal of background work by the respective committees is required to make them happen.

Back up on the roof...

Bit,only a bit,cooler yesterday so it was back on the roof for me to continue removing the remaining part of covering that we removed back in October 2017 - what have I been doing since then?

Visiting Chaumont Garden Festival...

Made our annual pilgrimage up the the garden festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire yesterday with Mike and Liz...another excellent day out and probably one of the best set of gardens for a long time...good fun! 

We had an icecream!

Get-togethers and birthday bashes

On Saturday night we had a very pleasant evening with friends helping Angela celebrate her birthday and managed, eventually, to get outside as the temperature dropped slightly as the evening progressed. This followed another good get-together on Thursday at 'La Claise' in Preuilly-sur-Claise to celebrate Maureen's birthday - still waiting for pic from this but here is Maureen at her best, showing us how it's done at the recent 'Fete de la Musique' celebrations at Le Petit-Pressigny.

 

Update...Maureen's birthday get together...thanks John!

What's on in July in Southern Touraine

July is always a busy month for events here in Southern Touraine and indeed the whole of the Loire Valley, with the problem being that sometimes we are spoiled for choice. This weekend we will be taking in the popular 'Soiree Irlandaise' on Friday night and the 'Barroudeurs' music festival in Barrou on Saturday. We have decided this year to also try and take in some of the choirs at Abilly as,because it is always the same night as Barrou's festival, we have never actually visited it in all the time we have been here.

We are lucky here to have musicians who have not only contributed to the cultural events locally but also get heavily involved in the organization of them - it would not be the same place without them!

You can check out some more of 'What's on in July' here: