Church on Sunday – Eglise Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais - Jaulnay

The church of Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais in Jaulnay dates from the late 15th century.

It has a panelled nave...

leading to the choir and asp.

stained glass window from 1851 depicting Saint-Gervais and Saint-Protais.

Where's Joan?

What is going on with the weather?

We have managed to do a bit of outside painting at the Old Walnut Mill this week in spite of the inclement weather and are rewarding ourselves with a night at our local restaurant with a bunch of friends tonight plus a visit to a brocante and walk on Sunday...weather permitting! Meteo is telling us that it is going to hit 25 today...more like the thing but around 5.00 we can expect thunder storms with the threat of hail,so we won't be dining alfresco tonight then! The pic above is from this weekend last year when we visited the brocante at Antoigne just outside Chatellerault under a brilliant blue sky, may be slightly different tomorrow with a forecasted drop of 10 degrees overnight and rain!!!! Below is a pic of our visit to Chaumont garden festival on the same weekend from two years ago when sunhats were the order of the day...what is going on!

Music for the weekend...

Saturday, May 21st at 9 PM

'La Bonne Dame' Champigny-sur-Veude

From their site:

"But what is 'La Bonne Dame' exactly? After a year of operation, we can redefine the mind more precisely. It is above all a friendly place where you can meet and talk, play, drink, listen to music eat a dish of the day or on the go ... all mostly no frills and with a smile!"

Something for the weekend...brocantes

Last year we went to Antoigne

Good day for brocantes on Sunday, this time last year we did La Roche Posay (at the racecourse) and Antoigne, Chatellerault. Chatellerault also has one around/by the lake which could be interesting. Chambon also has its first brocante.

Brocantes / vide greniers Saturday 21st May

* Up to 50 stalls ** 50 to 100 stalls *** 100 to 200 stalls ****More than 200 stalls    ? Unknown

FONDETTES  Vide grenier / bric à brac ***

Brocantes / vide greniers Sunday 22nd  May

* Up to 50 stalls ** 50 to 100 stalls *** 100 to 200 stalls ****More than 200 stalls    ? Unknow

LA ROCHE POSAY  (Hippodrome) Brocante Vide-greniers **

CHATELLERAULT  Vide Grenier Antoigne ***

AZAY SUR CHER  Les 26èmes puces ***

BEAULIEU LES LOCHES  Brocante de la Trinité **

BLERE  Brocante vide-greniers **

CHAMBON  Premier Vide Grenier ?

DOLUS LE SEC  Vide-greniers ?

HOMMES  Brocante-vide Grenier **

JOUE LES TOURS  9° Vide-grenier de L'alouette **

LOUANS  Brocante Vide-greniers **

LUYNES  Vide grenier ***

MANTHELAN  Brocante, vide-greniers ?

NEUVILLE SUR BRENNE  Vide-greniers *

NOUATRE  Vide greniers brocante **

SAINT AVERTIN  Vide-greniers ***

SAINT PIERRE DES CORPS  Vide-greniers Boulevard Paul Langevin ***

SAINT PIERRE DES CORPS  Vide-greniers école Marceau Courier ***

TOURS  Vide grenier Rue molière **

A taste of Scotland...

We are very lucky to have friends who bring us some little treats back from the UK from time to time. Although we say there is very little, if anything, we miss I do love evaporated milk with my apple crumble!

Above is part of our recent gift bag...there were 6 but it didn't take us long to justify the cups of tea to accompany them.

A walk around Braslou near Richelieu in Centre-Val de Loire...

Some friends introduced us to a new walk yesterday which had a diverse range of scenery and was most enjoyable...as was the lunch that followed!

Sunday...day of rest?

Day out with friends yesterday was a full one...starting with a visit to the very good Sunday market at Langeais under a beautiful blue sky.

Then on to a brocante at Gizeux ...

followed by a badly marked walk...

and a visit to the chateau...

before stopping off at Bourgueil on way home - more detail to follow

Church on Sunday... abbey of Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes

When we slipped over to the Vienne last week we revisited the abbey of Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes’ history dates back to the fourth century when a hermit named Jovinus, seeking to escape the world, takes refuge in the nearby marshes. He founded a small chapel around which a community developed. Over the centuries the site developed with the demands of its growing patronage. A number of churches would be built on the site around the relics of its founder (now St.Jouin)

The abbey consists of a nave with aisles of ten bays,

a transept and choir with ambulatory and surrounding chapels. 

The choir and much of the nave received Gothic arches around the thirteenth century. 

Details of the corbels.

Monastic life ended here during the French Revolution of 1789 when the abbey was sold as national property but the church is preserved and was reinstated in 1795.

The building was subject to substantial restoration work in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century

The cloister on the left-hand side of the abbey  displays artifacts from the abbey's history,

The outside of the abbey holds your attention with its buttresses and fortified towers.

These were added during the 'Hundred Years War'