Newsletter - August 2004

 

It has been a very long time since I produced a newsletter, for which I apologise. The truth is, that I felt that the web site needed a complete remake, and I did not have the courage to undertake that so the updated newsletter kept getting put off. However, I did finally get round to it, once I had got some new ideas on how to do the site, and collected the photos required for implementing it. So here is the result, and I hope that you like it.

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The last newsletter dated from October 2003, when the forest fires of 2003 were still very fresh in our minds. Autumn came went, then so did winter. Our burned hillsides began to look a bit cleaner as the winter rains washed a lot of the soot off, but the rains were very sparse and there is still a big rainfall deficit - we had less than half the rainfall than normally falls. However, when spring came, the hillsides quickly turned green as the undergrowth came back, but of the trees, it was only the cork oaks (chene liege) that survived and put out a little foliage from the trunk and main boughs. Unfortunately, the undergrowth could not sustain the sun's heat for long and by early summer the hillsides were barren again. It will be several years before the hills begin to regain their normal look.

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In February we went to Ferrara to see Caroline and family and also to look after the girls (Anna and Julia) while Caroline returned to the UK with Francesco for a few days while he finished his stint with the University of Warwick. We had never been left in charge before and were a bit apprehensive, as we had to get the girls off to school in the morning and meet them at night on school days, but it all turned out fine. We managed to get them up in the morning and off to school, and to ensure that they did their homework when they got back in the evening, and everybody around, the school and the shops, of course knew who we were and were very nice and helpful to us. Anna was in the middle of her first year of real school and the Italian schools take it all very seriously, unlike the first year in Canadian schools. She was learning how to read, and to write capitals, lowercase letters, and cursive letters, as well as math, and English (which she did well at!). Julia is still in the kindergarten class so her lessons are more relaxed, but she still had some homework to do. They were both at school from 8 am till 4.30 pm, a long day for little ones.

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In April Tom and Heather Kovacs, friends of long standing from Ottawa, rented a house in the village for a week so we saw quite a bit of them during the time and caught up on gossip and news. Tom was in Europe to set up a consulting job in Croatia, and a stop off on the Cote d'Azur seemed a good idea.

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After the Kovacs had left, we took a short break in the Cevennes, visiting the Gorge du Tarn and staying at a very nice little hotel near Florac which had great food and a fantastic wine list. We drove around the area during the three days we were there and got a good idea of the incredible terrain, including a visit to a cave from which emerged a river that had been flowing underground. The latter was a bit dampened by the interior of the cave plus the fact that the skies opened when we emerged and had to walk the (uphill) kilometre back to the car! When we got back to the hotel (having dried out in the car), our hostess happily made us some gorgeous pate sandwiches which we washed down with excellent wine.

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Late in May we received a very welcome but flying visit from longterm Ottawa friends Doris and Brian McNally, who were on a 50th anniversary European trip. They were on their way back from Italy to Paris and dropped in for a couple of nights, which we greatly enjoyed.

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A few days later Caroline and family arrived, but Francesco had to leave for the UK after a couple of days to fulfil his commitments to Warwick, so they all went for 12 days. However, on their return, the girls made good use of the pool and the garden and the toys and we all had good time, the girls making remarkable progress with their swimming. Caroline also brought her two cats - Elio and Charlie, and they have been with us ever since. Elio of course was an old friend here but we didn't know Charlie so well and wondered how he would get on, but all turned out well and he is very contented hunting anything that moves, but especially grasshoppers! To our great relief, he comes in at night when called!

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Beryl has been attending a pottery class for a long time, and this summer she decided to make a ceramic table, so she spent many mornings making the 400 or so pieces of all sorts of different shapes and sizes required for the top. After making them they had to be fired, then every one glazed in a number of different colours, and finally the glaze had to be fired. When that was done, she found a suitable wrought iron table base in the local flea market, I made a wooden top, and she cemented the pieces in place. I grouted the finished table, which is now quite a feature of our terrace and of which Beryl is rightly proud. Here is a picture of it.

We have had a quiet summer as far as visitors are concerned, so have been able to do what we want in the garden or participate in whatever is happening in the village. We were, however, very happy to see my old school friend, Peter Jones and his son Simon, who were staying in St Tropez for a week. They came over for an afternoon and evening and we were able to catch up on all the things that had happened since last year.

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Its been a very dry summer here again, and reasonably hot without being so hot as last year. We have had no significant rain since mid May, so the forests are tinder dry. Fortunately, there have been few periods of wind this summer, and it is the wind that brings the threat of forest fires. A mistral started this morning, which we are all hoping will not last very long, but once it starts, you never know when it will cease (not even Meteo France!). Our garden is all watered, mostly automatically with drop-by-drop on the plants and pots, and sprinklers on the lawns, but there are a few pots which require hand treatment. The pine trees are showing signs of distress with lack of water, as they are shedding an unusual number of pine needles, but the remaining trees seem to be doing OK. There is a lot of underground water around here and the vines, as well as the trees, rarely have problems, even in very dry years. As far as the grapes are concerned, this is looking to be a good year, despite the shortage of rain. In a few weeks they will have been collected, and the balance will be in.

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That all for now from us both. All good wishes to our friends wherever you are, and we hope to see you all in the course of time.

 

Love - Alan and Beryl