Who ever started the discussion on Global Warming, needs to have another look at their data. I am not saying that I want to stop recycling or being more careful about the amount of fossil fuels I consume, but really...... when I was younger, much younger than today.... August was a summer month. Warm days, even warm nights, pleasant weather for camping and being outdoors. I remember cycling in the heat of the summer in the Loire department when visiting our French friends. Then August afternoons were for spending indoors in the shade and cool of their old house, before emerging later in the afternoon to sit in the shade. Now, August seems to mean spending time indoors to avoid the rain, and when you can venture out it is cool and grey. Luckily this morning remained dry and was also very windy which meant the clouds were wizzing by overhead and although some of them have been dropping the wet stuff from time to time it looks as though it may stay dry all day. Oh no... it rained heavily but only while we were eating lunch. Now the sun is shining again. Rob is taking every opportunity to continue his outdoor work as he has had so many interruptions it seems that the task will never be finished.
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| The Bardsey Apple Tree laden with fruit. |
By now we should be enjoying the tomatoes we have growing in the garden but, they have enough water and there are plenty of tomatoes on the vines, they are just not ripening. Two plants out the front of the house, which in previous years would have produced ripe fruits a couple of weeks ahead of those in the garden now have some reddening tomatoes, but they are still not ripe enough to eat. Even those in the poly tunnel aren't ripening. Warmth is obviously not enough. Despite this the cucumbers which are also growing in the poly tunnel are very prolific, at least one cucumber per day - today I picked 2 large ones. We even have a melon, but it is still the golf ball size it was last week, still there is still hope we might get one to eat this summer, which is one more than last year. Sun please come back and warm things up.
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| Wall paintings - 'Hell"? |
Yesterday we visited Lassay le Chateau with my father. There is a building currently being used as an exhibition space which has these very old wall paingings. From the shape of the windows and the topic of the paintings we assume it must be a chapel and the young lady on reception also called it a chapel, but when I tried to discover more about it on the internet I only came accoss mention of it being a jail. Of course it has probably had many uses over the years.
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| Detail of same wall painting |
Another interestign fact I discovered was that Camille Pissarro, one of the impressionist painters visited his friend and fellow painter Ludovic Piette in the area between Lassay le Chateau and Ceauce.
If you have been watching the BBC series on the impressionists you will have heard about him.
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| Sculpture on view in gallery! |
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| Raining again! |
This last weekend was the 15th 'Les Médiévales de Domfront'.
This event is held bi annually and the old part of the town is filled with stalls selling locally produced craft and food items. There is also typical medieval entertainment. A couple of weeks before the event a shop opens in town where you can go to be measured for a costume. Not everyone dresses up but many do. Some interesting combinations - modern shoes and specs often accessorising the outfits.
We have been there when it was warm and those wearing heavy costumes where suffering in the heat, however on Saturday when we were there it was a question of avoiding the rain showers.
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| Geese |
One really interesting display was a man and his geese which he controled with a 'sheep' dog and a whistle. The geese were amazingly responsive to the dog and moved a one body when the dog moved around them.
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| Man on right with stick the 'Goose Herder' |
We did make a few purchases from a sculputer, one piece of a women balancing a ball on her ankle, I bought some wooden ear rings and we bought my sister a birthday present, which will for the moment remain a secret as although it is her birthday we haven't been able to send it to her as yet.
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| With the 'Goose Herder' |
I don't know how succesful the event was, a lot of time and effort goes into organising these events and it will be a shame if the stall holders were out of pocket at the end of the weekend. I will ask our neighbours who have a shop in the town selling replica mediaeval items and local crafts.
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| Please can I have one too, but more sun too? |
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