Angels we have heard on high...on piano.

         

Love this...great skills

              

What the Dickens...carol singing in Le Grand Pressigny,France

Enjoyed being part of the 'Chorale ambulante' at Le Grand Pressigny's 'Marche de Noel' yesterday,good fun with good bunch of people.

             

Off to the Marché Gourmand de Noël in Tours

We are off to the Marché Gourmand de Noël in Tours today

Website

Marche de Noel in Le Grand Pressigny today...

I'll be there as part of the 'Chorale ambulante' (5.00pm) in front of the  'Jean Bart'

Happy Christmas...

Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas...

Something for the weekend...

On Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th December, from 6pm to 10pm, the castle and its gardens will be decorated with thousands of candles to celebrate the magic of Christmas. 

Website

website

Another carol...

Il est ne le divine enfent

Another carol from the 'Marche de Noel' at La Celle-Guenand

Poster post...

In the spirit of Christmas...our son Michael has produced this poster to promote the annual Christmas gig (sold-out) of the band (Kid Canaveral) he and his partner Rose play in.

He has used a poster that they bought at a brocante in Angles sur l'Anglin and superimposed the band member's faces onto the characters. Michael is the boy watching the train, Rose is the lady in the green coat, Kate is the lady in the bluecat, Scott is on the rocking horse and Dave is blowing the trumpet...all with strangely heavy growths for ones so young. 

Carol singing at the 'Marche de Noel' at the chateau in La Celle-Guenand.

First gig of the carol singers...at the 'Marche de Noel' at the chateau in La Celle-Guenand, great fun, for us anyway..Jane (Henderson) did a  great job of dressing us! This is after only three rehearsals BTW (can you tell).

Our next outing is at the 'Marche de Noel' in Le Grand Pressigny on Monday 21st around 5.00 pm.

Spoilt for choice this weekend for Christmas markets...

All going well we should be at La Celle-Guenand on Saturday as I'm joining the carol singers for some renditions of some traditional English and French carols...after 3.00pm if you care to join us.

 

We would also recommend Ferrière-Larçon's market on Sunday if only to see how they adapt the church.to accommodate part of it.

Descartes Christmas market...

Church on Sunday...Saint Denis,Amboise...

The Collegiate church of Saint Denis in Amboise

*Much better photographs than mine can be viewed here

Something for the weekend...Christmas markets

Saturday 5^th December

PREUILLY-SUR-CLAISE

Christmas Market - Local produce and handicrafts,carriage rides, fairy make-up and sale of trees. Place du Champs de Foire from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm 

VILLENTROIS (36)  MARCHÉ DE NOËL

8.00 am – 7.00 pm

Brocante - Vide greniers

Venue du Père Noël

6.00 pm : Free concert "Les chants du Fouzon" en l'Eglise de Villentrois

8.00 pm : Repas Berrichon (15€)

CHAMBOURG-SUR-INDRE 

Christmas Market - Various artists and artisans traders. 4.00 pm: Children's Choir School Chambourg. Photo with Santa (€ 1) - Place de la Mairie from 2:30 pm to 10.00 pm

LA LIEGE

Christmas Market - knitwear, crochet, cards, and embroidery. Salle socioculturelle 2.00 pm - 6.00pm 

Sunday 6^th December

CHEMERY 

Christmas Market - Cloître de l’Abbaye

Stepping out of the light...

Taken minutes apart on the river Creuse at Barrou on Saturday,behind Le Bourg.

Church on Sunday...St. Martin,Mosnes

The church of St.Martin in Mosnes, a small town on the banks of the Loire midway between Amboise and Chaumont-sur-Loire is unremarkable when viewed from the front. To get any real sense of its history you have to venture around the back..

Here you will get a glimpse of its 12th century Romanesque origins,with the its original asp and the lower part of the bell tower. The top of the tower dates from the 18th century when repairs were made after a lighting strike.

The current appearance of the church owes much to restorations made during the second half of the 19th century. There is a slight homage to its origins in the detail around the entrance.

Inside is certainly more appealing than the outside with its vaulted nave letting you think you are in a building of a more grandeur appearance.

Loved this curved bench within the choir of the church.

The side chapels which were an earlier addition to the original Romanesque church date from the sixteenth century.

The stained glass windows of the church are by the 'Fournier' factory of Tours.

Where's Joan?

Here she is on her pedestal.

The less than attractive view of the external 19th century extensions.

Passing the taste test...

We brought a couple of bottles of Canadian wine back with us from our recent trip and last night, with our French neighbour over for dinner we decided to get his view on it.Pleased to report that it was well received and we enjoyed it more than the Bordeaux we did the 'taste test' with...all a question of taste.

Canadian wine was a 'Trius' (Ontario's Winery of the Year) Merlot (2013) from Niagara-on-the-Lake.

French wine was a 'Chateau du Curton' (2009) from Bordeaux

Liking the logo...

Noticed the logo for 'Bieres de Montmorillon', featured in my last post, shows more than a passing resemblance to our very own (he was born in my home town) Johnnie Walker - though less of a gent.

Message in a bottle...and a load of Coddswallop

Photo credit:Les Amis de la Brasserie de Montmorillon

When checking out the greniers  of our latest project (it's actually 2nd in the queue at the moment) I came across a box of bottles that intrigued me.

They are marked 'Brasserie de Montmorillon' but interestingly the bottles are marked 'from England' on the bottom.  

The design of the bottle makes it self-sealing with a rubber gasket mounted inside the neck against which an internal glass ball would be held in place by the carbonated contents which would normally be soda but interestingly in this case,we think,it was **beer.

The bottle's design was patented by Englishman Hiram Codd in 1870 and thus the 'Codd bottle' was born.
You can read the history of the bottle here. 

According to the site this is where the phrase “coddswallop” originated, this was a sarcastic reference to what was inside the bottle. No self-respecting **beer-swilling gent would be seen dead with a bottle of "CODDSWALLOP” (soda pop)!

**You can read a little about about the history of the brewery  'Brasserie de Montmorillon' here and here

Church on Sunday...Niagara Falls

For today's church I'm taking you back to our visit to Niagara Falls. There was this interesting church near where we stayed.It is called 'St. Mary's - Holy Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church' , a bit of a mouthful but I'm sure St. Mary 's suffices. 

We never got to see the inside but knew it must be interesting and as the photographs from the church's website below show, we weren't wrong.

The parish of the church dates back to 1951 when Ukrainians who had come to Canada after the war (WWII) used a nearby hall to have their church services. It would be 1988 before this splendid building would be built from donations from church members. The people wanted more than just a place of worship but something that would be an example of their heritage.Apparently there were no nails used in its construction.

The ornate carvings  make a great backdrop,would have loved to have seen them up-close...maybe next time.