Self servicing in Paulmy.

We popped into the new 'shopping' facilities now in place in the nearby village of Paulmy. With a small population (240) the mayor,conscious of the need to maintain its numbers, has invested in a self-service shop in part of what was the former hotel/restaurant.

There are over 90 lockers with some refrigerated for fresh produce such as  meat cheese and yogurts. All the produce comes from local suppliers. You type the number corresponding to the desired produce and pay by credit crd to open the selected locker door.

There is also a baguette making machine in the building which is filled by a local boulanger. The fcilities are open from six in the morning until eleven in the evening so as well as servicing the locals has also created an opportunity to capture some 'passing trade'. 

The eyes have it...

Fun with the table decorations at Dave's birthday party

Large brocante along the Loire at Amboise today...

more images here

An good day among the vines...

Yesterday friends Gaynor &Tim had organised a visit over to the vineyards of Renaud Desbourdes at 'Domaine de la Marinières' near Panzoult,15 minutes east of Chinon. The visit included a tour of the vines in English by the son of the owner followed by a generous tasting and then a picnic lunch which had been contributed by everyone.This of course was washed down by complimentary wine from estate.

What started out as a rather dreich day when we might have considered abandoning the visit had we been on our own turned out to be a splendid afternoon and one not to be missed.

A good old birthday bash...

Helping Dave celebrate his birthday last night was a pleasure...good food,good company and a great venue!

something else for the weekend...a bit of blues

More info here 

Squirrels can't read...

Or they simply have no respect for health and safety. I am providing the music for our friend Dave's 'significant' birthday party this evening. On looking out my gear for the event, which has been stored in the barn over winter, was surprised to find it had been getting used as a walnut restaurant. Maybe they knew it wasn't plugged in!

 

Anyway after a quick hoover out and a false start yesterday at Dave's it proved to be ok, so all we need now is a good spot of weather for this evening.

Something for the weekend - Jazz in Chinon

Programme

Can you spot the theme?

We had intended making our annual visit to the Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire with friends Mike & Liz yesterday as part of Pauline's birthday day out but due to the rain we had to have a change of plan. What do you do in the Loire Valley in the rain?...head undercover, We started out in a cave - the 'Cave des Producteurs' in Montlouis-sur-Loire for a spot of wine tasting (and buying) before having lunch.

After lunch we headed across the Loire for a little more wine tasting,this time at the' Cave des Producteurs' at Vouvray.

After lunch we headed underground! - to 'Les Grottes Pétrifiantes de Savonnières'. We had never been, so it was useful as an experience so as we can advise our guests as to what to expect and at the same time satisfy our curiosity (more on this later)... 

...and there was a bar for a spot of wine tasting!

Some parts of the cave proved a little tricky for some with theses faux steps causing a problem along with the many opportunities to bump your head!

When we arrived back home we were greeted by a card and cake from a dear friend...lovely end to the day.

Wall done!

Finally finished the rear wall-facing behind the 'Old Walnut Mill' yesterday.

Knew once I got started wouldn't take me so long...the pic below is from 2017 when I moved some stone up to the wall in anticipation of making a start! What have I been doing?

Raindrops keep falling...

After working in +30 degrees over the weekend it was good to work yesterday morning on my wall  project under light rain. It made me think of this song, but it had been in my head anyway as we had been discussing possible song choices with Aline and Celine on Friday night that we could add to our repertoire and it came up. Dominique had asked who had sang with it and I replied 'Sacha Distel' but he thought differently...he is of course correct it was American BJ Thomas who sang it in the film 'Butch Cassiday and the Sundance Kid', which I loved as a 16 year old.Maybe the Sacha Distel version has stuck with me as it was the bigger hit in the UK  reaching number 10 whereas the original version peaked at 38.

re-visiting Touraine as a 'tourist'.

This was the view recently as we took tea with a friend revisiting her old stomping ground but having sold her property here she was visiting as a 'tourist' and enjoying being free of the responsibilities of ownership - and what a lovely setting it was for relaxing! A splendid view of the chateau at Le Grand-Pressigny.

Wot we bot...last Thursday at Ferriere Larcon

We bought this chest of drawers to go in the blue room of our holiday rental cottage...a bit twee perhaps but loved the detail of the chateaux which are really well painted, think our guests will like it and only 15 euros!

What started as a cloudy morning soon cleared to become a bright, bright sunshiny day.

Saw this and thought it might give me some new material for our gig on Friday. Loved the look on the drummer's face, obviously their budget only allowed for one take.

Wonder what ever happened to him?

We didn't buy anything from this dealer as he looked a bit shady.

You will always find quality items at these events.

We would have had to push the boat out for this lot...we didn't!

'Old Hat' at 'Chez-L'

Good to see a good turnout for our 'gig' last night at 'Chez-L' though felt strange singing inside when the majority of people were enjoying the lovely evening outside or eating in the rear dining room - would have been good to be allowed to perform outside but understand the difficulties involved with this here. Anyway thanks to all of you who turned up to lend your support.

Pic courtesy of Liz 

Something for the weekend - another chance to smell the roses.

Following on from Chedigny's festival, this weekend Chateau du Rivau gives us another opportunity to 'smell the roses' with its own Featival de la Rose. The chateau has 475 varieties of roses within its grounds. You are promised a weekend of  'botanical walks, creative workshops proposed by outstanding personalities of the world of the rose.

Full program here

If you haven't had a chance to visit Chedigny here is a link to our photographs from this year, 2019 Chedigny roses