Annual ramblings 2016

Greetings all round!

All in all, we shall not be sad to see the back of 2016, though it has had some redeeming moments. I have seen rather more of the medical profession this year than heretofore, but then, I'm getting older. Minor surgery on the knee has not worked wonders, but some days are OK, and I'm not hurrying to have the suggested steroid injections. Preferable to the alternative, as they say: just as we were leaving France in September, we received the sad news that Barbara had left us. As we write, we haven't heard what the cause of death was, but we imagine that the decades of smoking and consequent emphysema may have been implicated. Her funeral turned into a memorial service, since the remains had not been released by the coroner: a faintly surreal experience.

Political developments have been somewhat alarming: I was shocked and remain very upset by the referendum vote. Some analysts might observe that a number of opportunist/populist Leave advocates stirred up all the wrong sentiments before the vote, and then cleared off when they were faced with the consequences. They might similarly observe that the Remain campaign was feeble and lacklustre to the point of sabotage. I couldn't possibly express a view. As for Colonial developments, I do not plan to visit the Untied States of America again. Ever. I'm just hoping that the lunacy has not spread to France and Germany.

We've adopted a policy of using funds rather than leaving them to evaporate in savings accounts. More anon.

Garden

Martyn threatens to buy some stencils and mark the summerhouse/studio as 'The Pentagon' given its shape and the US Army surplus colour that we inadvertently bought for it.  We chose the structure, then had a base built for it, together with a path up to it.  It was somewhat alarming that it took three attempts to get a satisfactory kit delivered.  We got there in the end, and it's a nice place to doze off in after lunch on a fine day, and to paint in when it's not too cold.

We had a good crop of spuds this year, and the onions aren't bad.  We've started pulling the leeks, and though we present no threat to the village produce competition, they are wholesome and full of flavour.  The flowery bits haven't been bad: gazanias, pansies and our own fuchsia cuttings have filled the gaps next to the new path, and the roses have been good in parts.  Last year's plantings of cistus and penstemon have rather swamped the border on the right, smothering the roses.  But the good news is that the cistus have flowered better than ever.

Arrivals

Annie dropped in on us on her return from foreign parts at New Year, and we had the pleasure of a visit from Val in October, albeit for the sad occasion of Barbara's funeral.  Bryan and Paula Phillips were over for a few weeks in Europe this summer, and had treated the whole tribe of us to lunch in Covent Garden before we spotted Bryan up at the till.

In Another Place, we had a visit from Yshani, this time for three nights during the piano festival.  While she was with us, we did a lunch for her and three of the other musicians, whom we also ferried to the airport at the end of the bash.  Though we made no artistic input to the event, we were happy to pitch in with the logistics.  Pam and Geoff joined us for a few days in September, and we enjoyed lunch at Le Somail together with the Coopers and Chota.

Departures

As usual, we made three trips to Lagrasse this year.  In the spring, we took the train from Tonbridge to Avignon with only one change, in Ashford.  Lovely way to travel, and, although we'd an early start (thanks to Andy driving us to Tonbridge), we were in Avignon and outside a light lunch by early afternoon.  The drive from there to Lagrasse took a little over two hours, and was tiresome: given that the Eurostar ticket includes a free transfer from the TGV station to the clickety-clack ditto, we'll try to get a connection to Narbonne or Carcassonne next time, and rent a car there.  The return trip was less good.  We'd to get off the train with all our luggage at Lille, file through border controls and then re-board in the same seats.  The process takes a good hour, including hanging about in a hot, stuffy waiting room.  It's not something we'll be doing routinely, though: it was only competitive because Hawkeye Bishop had spotted a promotional fare.

In August/September, we drove south again, spending a night in the outskirts of Geneva, since I needed a new laptop, and prefer the Swiss keyboard.  The drive through the Jura was testing but beautiful, with fine views of Geneva from the Col de la Faucille.  Have to say that the Campanile in Ferney-Voltaire was pretty ho-hum, but adequate, and not too expensive.

For the return journey, we decided to do Bilbao-Portsmouth, spending a night en route south of Pau and another two in the forest above Bilbao.  Dotty guided us over a beautiful route from Tarbes, and we shall probably take a look at it another time.  From Lurbe-Saint-Christau, we headed through the Somport tunnel and on to Pamplona, where we paused for refreshments.  From Jaca to Pamplona we enjoyed vast, parched landscapes: thence to Bilbao was by mountain motorway, with more spectacular if very different scenery.  We saw some pretty execrable driving, I have to say, but survived.  Our lodgings were in a country gite near Meñaka.  Clean, with distinctly rustic furniture, and the welcome was warm and the facilities satisfactory, including an outside dining area - very welcome in the relative cool of the evening when daytime temperatures had been knocking on 40°.  The drive to the ferry port in Bilbao revealed some outdated data in Dotty's elderly memory, and we had one rather hairy moment when I got into the wrong lane as we approached the port.  Well we got there unscathed.  The ride across the Bay of Biscay was somewhat sporting, with quite a swell on the water.  I found the movement quite soothing, but Martyn was less impressed!

Wheels

We rented a vehicle of extraordinary hideousness at Avignon.  It turned out to be a pretty competent little car, though the thick pillars were a nuisance, and the presence of a stick thingy in the middle with numbers 1-6 and R in the middle were puzzling, though I did usually remember what to do with the superfluous pedal.

I ordered a replacement for the Tiguan in the spring.  It was running well enough, but there were a few electrical funnies, and it was older than any other car I'd bought new.  At one point, it seemed like the replacement wouldn't arrive until January, but we were pleasantly suprised to learn that it was on the way in September.

Since the VW had still not had its fraudulent software fixed, a private sale was unlikely.  The trade-in price was an insult, so I got an estimate from one of the car-buying web sites.  It was scarcely better, so I ignored it.  A couple of weeks later, they came back with a far better offer, so I booked an appointment for the day we returned from Bilbao.  Needless to say, an inventory of scratches and chips brought the offer well down, but the ensuing haggling resulted in an acceptable price.  So there we were, a one-car family, on our hind legs in the industrial estate.  Cutting a long story short, we blagged a demo drive home from our friendly SEAT dealer.

The new motor seems to be nice, if a touch thirsty.  It is quiet, comfortable and remarkably nimble: a good comfort/handling compromise.  It's a Spanish VW, built in the Czech Republic.  Go figure.  So, we're an all-SEAT family again.  At 8 years old with only 40-odd thousand miles on the clock, Egg2 is rumbling along satisfactorily, so will probably stay with us for a while yet.

Arts

We enjoyed the Lagrasse piano bash very much, and enjoyed a recital in the church during the chamber music festival later in the year.  The latter included a performance of Franck's second Chorale for organ, given by one Thomas Ospital, the only organist we've known to master the registrations of the rather over-powered organ in the village church. 

Our Thursday morning art crowd held a little exhibition in Edenbridge.  I'd put in a couple of pieces I could bear to part with (but didn't) and (inadvertently) a couple of little pieces that I'd planned to give away or keep.  We have another show coming up in January, but I don't plan to retire on the proceeds.

Martyn has dismantled the model railway layout in Lagrasse, which is sad, since the house shows no sign of selling in the short term.  He is practising a lot of new pieces at the piano, though, so is exercising his creativity in that way.

Kate's Fire and Phoenix marks the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London.  It has completed a series of performances at the Bridewell Theatre and a number of the City churches rebuilt after the fire.  We saw it in a church that actually survived the fire: All Hallows by the Tower.  We enjoyed it very much, and in particular the versatility of the actors, each of whom played a number of parts (with only one slight costume continuity slip!).  Photos of the performance here.

Food and Drink

We've been a little disappointed by some familiar addresses this year, though the Auberge du Somail performed better in September than in May.  Its sister establishment, the Guinguette in Argens-Minervois was a bit better, though the place is distinctly quirky, lacking a proper dining room.  

Back at the ranch, we've been working on dishes like pork rillettes and beef casseroles, and too many delicious puddings to mention thanks to Martyn's expertise in the medium.

Our house wine tends to be a Navarre rosé from good old Fortnums.  Galling to find it at less than half that local price in the same firm's shop near Bilbao.  Well, who needs the single market, for goodness' sake?  While in Bilbao, we bought a few bottles of Txakoli, the dry white wine of the Basque country, and were somewhat underwhelmed.

What next?

We shall be out and about over Christmas, so send our greetings in advance, along with hopes for a better 2017 for us all.  

Best wishes from us both

Martyn and David