At least for me, so off we went to Conquereuil for a wonder around a typical French Vide Grenier. Only a 10 minute drive away, it is a lovely little village clustered around a church like most villages and towns in France. This event unlike most others, also included a small classic car expo for the proud local owners to display their precious vehicles. One day I shall have a 2CV, that is a promise I make myself every time I see one of those wonderful quintessentially French cars, unfortunately I know it’s as likely as me winning the lottery – in fact winning the lottery is a prerequisite. Still I can stand and admire someone else’s in the meantime.

From there, it was but a short stroll to the most important stand in any Vide Grenier – the bar. We approached to have a coffee, but were pre-empted by one of the men serving who having heard us speaking English, laughingly told us he was very sorry because he had no tea. During the 9 years we have lived in France, we have met nothing but charming people, pleased to have us among them and ever ready to help, joke or simply pass the time.

This Vide Grenier also had several stalls of local produce; jams and honeys, wines, charcuterie, and Breton cakes and breads. Added to this a rather different entertainment in the form of Andean pipers whose wistful sounds merged incongruously with the organiser bellowing over the loudspeakers announcing various events and attractions. Among the hotchpotch of domestic clearance, every now and again you come across a real collection of memorabilia and wonder who actually buys these things.

After the obligatory saucisse frites every such event offers its visitors, we decided to go home. Coming over the hill along the forest road, I couldn’t resist taking a couple of photos of our lovely home , with the blue sky and sunshine it really looks an idyllic spot. , I can’t think of a nicer place to have a holiday and I’m proud that so many of guests come back year after year.

So the rest of the afternoon was spent weeding the border that was particularly over run with weeds and couch grass, during all the weeks of rain and miserably cold temperatures, I had done little in the garden and it showed. I was very surprised to see that the cosmos, marigold and morning glory seeds I’d sown in the greenhouse a week ago had already sprung into life, soon be time to prick them out to grow on. In the meantime I enjoy our tulips, narcissi and stocks filling the garden with delicate scent and look forward to the rest of our colourful year in the garden.

[Show as slideshow]

[Vista con PicLens]

12►

the tram terminated at Place du Cirque instead of going on to Commerce and beyond. The reason soon became apparent, we had managed to chose the one Saturday each year when the heart of Nantes grinds to a standstill, roads are closed to traffic and the streets are filled with curb to curb market stalls – we had hit the annual Braderie! This French phenomenon is a way for shops to offload their old stock at bargain prices in one fail swoop, over and above the seasonal sales. Of course there is also an element of cheap rubbish being hawked on independent market stalls as well as a good variety of street food for sale. As our film didn’t start for several hours we took the opportunity of sauntering around and trying to find the bargain of all bargains, there were plenty of contenders but it seems we were in Nantes’ version of Bond Street so even things with 70% discounts were out of my financial reach.

We were also shocked to find that our favourite bar had upped the anti and were charging 15€ for lunch instead of their usual 9€ but of course we didn’t discover that until after we’d eaten, but at least we had a lovely meal in pleasant surroundings. The film we’d chosen to see was Cloud Atlas, I had warned Ian that it was a fantasy but he was still up for seeing it – he hated it, I loved it. To me it was like being carried on surges of beautifully shot waves of pure fantasy and it appears you either love it or hate it , for an in depth summary and seeing how it divides an audience read The Guardian’s review. In answer to the critic’s question, I would definitely see it again to explore all the detail I missed the first time around, there’s just too much going on to do it justice in one viewing.

This is now beyond a joke and it’s got to stop – we need some warmth, enough of this dreadful never ending winter. My plants are looking ever more battered with this awful icy wind, and I must have been mad but I actually bought some geraniums for the window boxes today – I think they’ll have to grow on a bit in my greenhouse if they’re to survive.

[Show as slideshow]

[Vista con PicLens]

out that getting a replacement carte gris meant also having to get the car re-registered for the new style plates. This kind of situation always makes me feel totally out of my depth and comfort zone in my French language skills (such as they are).

Having to start somewhere – where better than our old friend Google, a search revealed the French government website http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/F1726.xhtml and under ‘perte du certificat d’immatriculation’ all that needs to be done to replace the lost one. Of course not everything went according to plan, whilst I could upload the form that declared the loss, for some strange reason I couldn’t do the same for the form asking for a replacement…. Still, at least we knew where to take what we had – or did we? I know our sous prefecture is in Chateaubriant – what I didn’t know until we got there was that all things car related had been moved to Nantes. Now feeling completely inadequate, I did succumb to asking a lovely French friend of ours to call the Nantes sous prefecture to ask exactly what I needed to do.

Francois e-mailed me to say that I had to send the form, a statement from the local Gendarmerie reporting the loss, proof of ID and proof of address to the Nantes sous prefecture and the replacement would take about 3 weeks, he also said that the Gendarmerie report would get the control technique done. However I decided that rather than send stuff in the post, we would just take it to Nantes ourselves and make a day of it. Amazingly the prefecture is open for business all day so we set off at 10am, planned to park up at the huge shopping centre in Atlantis (home of IKEA and a massive newly renovated and extended Leclerc) and take the tram in to the centre of town.

It was so easy, the tram stops just outside of Ikea’s car park and the #1 line takes you to the heart of Nantes. We got off at ‘Commerce’ and wanting to get it done asap, caught another tram up to 50 Otages on the #2 line, crossed the road and there was the prefecture. A very pleasant receptionist checked that we had all the paperwork needed before sending us to take a queue ticket and about 15 minutes later we were sat before another very helpful clerk who took all of 5 minutes to complete the process. Then we had to wait another couple of minutes before being called to a ‘caisse’ to pay – I had been expecting a bill somewhere in the region of 30 – 50€, imagine our amazement when it turned out to be 2€50. So with a temporary certificate tucked safely in my bag, a new one arriving in 3 weeks and a month’s grace in which to sort out the control technique and new number plates , we left on quite a high of relief and incredulity at the ease with which it was all achieved.

Sauntering back down to ‘Commerce’ in the lovely spring sunshine, it felt there was nowhere better to be than in Nantes. We celebrated with lunch at one of the many very good bar/restaurants (this one is near the Gaumont cinema which shows quite a few English language films) and took the tram back to IKEA passing the stop ‘Chantier Navals’ where the wonderful mechanical elephant and the new water world carousel live, if planning a visit here, check out their new website for a look at the extensive programme for 2013. For anyone taking a holiday with us, I would strongly recommend this way of visiting the city of Nantes, park up at any of the many ‘Park & Ride’ and take a tram in to the centre, quick, easy, stressless and cheap, the perfect holiday combo.

Stop Press: Incredibly, the registration document has just arrived after only a week and sent by recorded delivery! What a service!

frankly hadn’t been looking forward to it at all. This was mainly due to my aversion to freezing weather and inability to walk on any slippery surface without falling over and February weather in Poland is around -4 and snowing.

On top of this was the travel involved, once upon a time in my ‘youf’, I revelled in criss crossing countries by any means available but now my ideal trip involves getting on one form of transport at A, getting off at B and calling it a day. In this instance my travels began by flying from Rennes to Southampton which was easy peasy with Flybe’s great service and with both Rennes and Southampton airports being small and user friendly. I also had my son picking me up so that was a lovely day’s travel just the way I like it. The next leg wasn’t so great, train from Bognor Regis to Victoria Station, coach from Victoria to Stansted, plane from Stansted to Bydgoszcz (try saying that after a few glasses of wine), taxi to Bydgoszcz train station and finally a train to Aleksandrow-Kujawski. I started at 10am and arrived at 10pm – just too long for my advancing years and of course the added stress of praying everything runs on time so as not to lose any connections. My last added stress was to do with the Polish trains that run that route to Aleksandrow, very cheap the tickets may be, but I’d rather pay more and have newer trains. These less than golden oldies, require a gazelle like agility to embark on as they are very high off the platform and the steps are completely vertical. Even though I was travelling light with only a holdall, it was not easy and without help I certainly couldn’t have managed heaving a suitcase on board. Once inside they are relatively comfortable with old fashioned compartments off corridors and are well heated. The next challenge is knowing when to get off as unless you know the route and time in getting to your stop, you have no idea where you are as most stations are in darkness and the names are impossible to read. No route maps or digital message screens on these babies so good luck. The final stress straw comes when you finally realise that your station is fast approaching and it’s time to get off, I defy anyone who is not a native to open the train door! They are horrendous, the window doesn’t open so you can forget trying to open it from the outside and the very clever door design incorporates a metal plate which skims the inside floor which you must not stand on if you want to open the door, but avoiding it is almost impossible unless you have the reach of a 8ft tall person. After almost ending up at the next station on my previous trip, I was wiser on this occasion and well before my stop I scoured the train for others that looked likely to be attempting an escape, I struck gold with a very tall and muscular looking young man who not only opened the door but actually assisted me down the precarious ladder like steps before retrieving his suitcase – who said chivalry is dead? It is alive and living in Poland where it is still a sign of respect for a man to kiss a woman’s hand in greeting – love it!

I did enjoy a mooch around Torun which is full of wonderful and quirky buildings, home to Copernicus and a museum stuffed full of my grandfather’s artifacts from his extensive travels .

Another of his legacies still exists in Aleksandrow in the form of the wonderful railway station, long neglected and almost derelict in places it is being given a facelift now. The main booking hall exterior has been renovated as has another section which will be the new home of the local library. What a dreadful shame that the interior of the booking hall hasn’t been touched as it is absolutely magnificent and crying out for TLC and restoration.

I hope it is on the local council’s to do list as it would be dreadful shame to let it get any more derelict and it is an important part of the town’s heritage.

Coming back to the UK went smoothly until I hit Victoria where I was confronted by total chaos on the southern lines caused by earlier power breaks that stranded trains and drivers in totally the wrong places. I watched as a train marked for East Grinsted steadily filled with desperate passengers until it almost visibly swelled to bursting cartoon style then suddenly empty of its contents like a scalded ant’s nest when it was announced that another train was leaving in that direction earlier. I was delayed by an hour but actually had a seat all way to Bognor, oh joy. I did have 5 lovely days seeing my gorgeous grandaughter Kali, meeting up with Ian and seeing some films and of course shopping – wonderful being able to throw everything in a car rather than pray that it weighs less than 20Kilos for a flight home. So ended my mad escapade and I was totally relieved to come back to the peace and tranquillity of our French haven.

[Show as slideshow]

[Vista con PicLens]

12►

So we decided to try something different and go to Nantes by train, a direct line from Redon and only 40 minutes , what could be easier especially as it’s all booked online. Famous last words not taking into account the bookee was a numpty (me) who used a credit card rarely used in the real world and whose pin number wasn’t committed to memory. For some unfathomable reason I was sure the booking code + credit card was enough to retrieve the tickets from the machine at the station – wrong! Of course you need the pin too, luckily we had arrived with time to spare so off to the booking office where I was served by a charming lady who listened to my tale of woe, resisted the temptation to raise an eyebrow at ‘les anglais’ and efficiently cancelled my booking and re-issued a new one paid for by a card whose pin I actually did know. Job done and a lesson learnt – until I forget.

So dead on time the train arrives, all sleek, clean and glistening, doors whooshing open and shut and we’re away – I love trains, especially in France. It’s a joy travelling when mobiles are silenced and anyone wanting a loud conversation takes themselves off into the corridors, not even the maddening metallic murmurs of other people’s headphone to disturb the peace. I have to admit, it’s not the cheapest form of travel at 41€ for 2 return but so much more relaxing especially we’re both now not happy driving in the dark. The purpose of our excursion to Nantes was a trip to the flicks, light years away from what we grew up with but just as magical – now with butterflies, birds and assorted monsters looming out of the screen seemingly to within inches of your face courtesy of 3D specs. We saw The Hobitt and absolutely loved it, I have always been a fan of the rings trilogy but for some reason Ian resisted its call but was now well and truly converted – to the point that when the film finished he was quite gutted that there wasn’t any more. Roll on Hobbit II.

After a coffee in a local bar, we took the tram (love those too) back to the station, and got back to Redon and home – a lovely day out, must do it again soon. Nantes must be one of the easiest cities to get around in as it has shedloads of public transport all very affordable with a straight rate on the trams/buses of just 1€50 per hour or a 24hr ticket for 4€50. More information: http://www.arrivalguides.com/en/Travelguides/Europe/France/NANTES/essentialinformation and parking in Park&Rides is free .

Although very wet, it’s been very warm too which is playing havoc with the wildlife as they are all seasonally confused, so much so that I found a very dozy hedgehog staggering around in the garden. I immediately stuck his nose in a bowl of cat food which he demolished, but as colder weather was being forecast I was worried that he wouldn’t find shelter before then as he seemed to be falling asleep on his feet. Incredibly, Ian had just shortened one of his pallet creations which gave us a perfect hedgehog Hobbit home – all it needed was a back which was easy peasy. So after I stuffed it with shredded newspaper and straw, Henri Hedgehog gave it his seal of approval by moving in, curling up and going to sleep. He’s now tucked away under the camelia where I can keep an eye on him should he need more food.

Yesterday we actually had blue skies and sunshine, quite common in other Januaries but in very short supply so far this year. It was so nice that I threw caution to the wind and decided to plant out my broad bean plants as they were threatening to walk out of their toilet roll innard homes in the greenhouse. By starting them off in these ready made biodegradable tubes, I keep my beans safe from mice without the need to raid the holly bush. I decided to cut the weeding workload by using permeable sheeting on the plot but of course ran out so I can’t finish off planting until I buy another pack. My early peas need to go in too, next week looks hopeful with more sun than showers forecast until Saturday.

We were lucky enough to have been rescued from the horrors of turkey for two by some good friends who invited us over on Christmas day but otherwise I felt like I should be curled up with a tail wrapped around me. Roll on the spring …

Although Christmas is generally a very low key affair in France, we have noticed over the years that even the smallest villages lighting up their streets with gusto and Guemene Penfao is no exception. I apologise for the poor quality of photo but I have never found a good setting for these conditions that don’t involve a tripod, however they give an idea of how lovely our little town is after dark.

There is also a feeling of deflation that comes after going hell for leather finishing gifts in time to post for Christmas, I managed to complete a rag doll for my gorgeous grand daughter Kali and of course I had to make some more clothes for her too ( the doll – not Kali) so now she’s fit to go anywhere in her country ensemble, a dungaree set or be a vision in tartan. I also got inspired a bit late in the day to make a sewing machine cover for my dear friend Lindy who always puts me up when I go to the UK and goes the extra mile while I’m there. That also got finished and posted just in the nick of time, so until the next project grabs me I feel a bit at a lose end. Unlike some of my fellow quilters, I can’t seem to get stuck in just for the pleasure of doing it, I need to be inspired by something really lovely and purposeful or as a gift with a deadline.

Now I’m researching design possibilities of a quilt for my younger son’s wedding in 2013, he and his lovely fiancée Zdenka look so happy in this photo

I step off the plane at Rennes airport. Apart from it being such a lovely, user friendly, little airport, I just feel I’ve come home. A short drive home down lovely empty roads and it’s hard to believe it’s the same distance between us and Rennes as Bognor to Southampton airport, the driving conditions are so different. Depending on the time I land we like to have lunch en route and if between 1 and 2pm we stop at Loheac to feast at one of that lovely village’s many restaurant’s lunchtime deals. Lately though we haven’t been in time and have had to make do with mouth watering, juicy, fall off the bone, spare ribs at Buffalo Grils, ok so it’s a fast food chain but in their defence they do have great ribs.

Arriving home, we’re greeted by Munchkin who makes a bit of a show of ignoring me as punishment for deserting him but soon comes around especially after making a fuss of him. Then the unpacking begins, how I manage to get so much in my suitcase and keep it under the meagre allowance of 20k amazes me – of course the heavy stuff is in my hand baggage. The bag I nonchalantly sling over my shoulder when asked to show it at check in, almost dislocates said shoulder in reality as it contains the books, magazines, and other stuff I’ve decided I can’t possibly live without. It’s actually quite strange how little I do bring back and it seems to get less each trip especially edible items. I do admit to bringing back kilos of extra mature cheddar as Ian loves it and it’s very expensive here, when there’s the possibility of a car returning I stock up on cans of baked beans, curry pastes (more variety and cheaper) , detergents (much cheaper) and perhaps some other current good deals but gone are the days of amassing tons of sausages and bacon from the UK. We both love the French chipolatas as well as the chunkier varieties – they seem much more meaty then their British equivalent. British bacon also disappoints as it swims in all the extra water that’s pumped into it whereas the streaky from our local Lidl just crisps up beautifully. There’s no denying that food is now cheaper in the UK especially with all the deals thought up in the ongoing supermarket wars but I love the seasonality of the produce available in our local Super U, it makes you change your cuisine repertoire which is no bad thing. Most of it is locally produced and it’s a nice feeling knowing that buying it helps our local economy. Things are changing though, there is now a far larger variety of tinned, ready meals, and exotic ingredients available at our local supermarket even since our arrival in 2003 – in fact when I moved to Guemene, the supermarket closed for lunch!

Last Sunday, we went to Peillac to see a lovely exhibition based around man’s use of natural fibres, I am always in awe of other’s ingenuity and imagination at these events and this was no exception. There were gorgeous creations in all manner of fibre: wool, cotton, cashmere, alpaca, hemp, flax to name but a few and an amazing colour pallet using only natural veg & flower dyes. Also on show were antique Breton head dresses with exquisite hand made lace and a demonstration of how the intricate pleating was done using reeds – of course I would chose that day to leave my camera at home… I suppose a smart phone would be the obvious answer to that one. One day.

The downside was the weather, it could have been a lot nicer – it rained steadily all afternoon. This didn’t detract from the museum visit at all of course but did put a dampener (scusa) on the outside activities. The Museum lived up to expectation and our friends were very impressed, especially the formula 1 hall of fame as they are great fans. The lovely thing about this place is that you don’t have to be a fan to find it interesting, there’s something for everyone, there are halls of cars ancient and modern, iconic and comical, highly detailed vignettes of times gone by, even the odd power boat or two. Our mistake of course was doing the museum first, it wasn’t raining then but it was by the time we ventured outside. I felt for the huge number of people selling their bits and bobs of car memorabilia/salvage/spares as they got wetter and wetter, some were lucky enough to be under canvas but a lot were exposed to the elements. The weather also had a detrimental effect on the planned rally car demos which had been postponed by the time we emerged.

We did persevere for a bit, had our saucisse frits, but eventually we gave up and headed home, shame the weather couldn’t hold off for one more day.

[Show as slideshow]

[Vista con PicLens]

Our friends were leaving on Sunday but found the time to visit an exhibition held every 2 years by my patchwork group in Bains sur Oust. I did have some pieces on display but the standard of work was so high I felt quite deflated although my ego did perk up a bit when I was told that someone wanted to buy the black & white Sashiko table set I’d made for another friend. There was also an exhibition of sawing machines which actually included 2 models I’d owned myself – ahh memory lane but daunting to think I’d used what is now considered to be a collectors item… I always feel sad that those beautiful black and ornate early hand operated models have no real value when they are so gorgeous, the workmanship and craftsmanship is wonderful and most still work perfectly well. I wonder how many modern machines that can be said about in 100 years time.

[Show as slideshow]

[Vista con PicLens]

a vide Grenier(empty attic) otherwise known as a car boot is held around the church all day. Just a few minutes walk the other side takes you to a field with a tent serving lunch, enclosures displaying the fantastic skills of lace making, wood turning, basket making, painting and the most amazing miniature farm implements and carts I have ever seen. There was a collection of classic cars and bikes to be admired, ancient threshing machines, cider presses and other cider making equipment and old tractors.

In the next field was something that took Ian right back to his childhood, a field of corn stoops which one farmer was pitchforking one at a time into the twin of the old cart we have at the top of our field. Nostalgia at its best, although looking at some of the locals I’d say they hadn’t stopped using these methods that long ago. The tranquillity surrounding these events is lovely, everybody gets on from youngest to oldest, there is respect shown to all and as ‘foreigners’ in their midst who hadn’t bought tickets for the full 3 course ‘repas’, we were served what we asked for and chairs were found for us in the shade.

Apart from lovely events like this, I love the French Vide Greniers – where else can you find a beautiful M&S Per Una skirt for 1€? That’s what I call the icing on the cake.

The following weekend 16 & 17 September saw the 3rd annual open gardens event in Guémené. I am struggling to think of a way to succinctly naming an event like this in English, it’s not so much opening your garden to the public as allowing various arts and performances to take place in your garden to which the general public are invited. The trail started at a garden (which unfortunately floods regularly) belonging to a house on our side of the Guemene bridge. This played host to various sculptures in metal (tin men) and paintings, from there you walked through to the stretch of grass before the pedestrian bridge where a group were constructing a kiln for a local potter. They constructed a wigwam of branches and twigs on a bed of bricks, covered the structure with dry newspaper which was then covered in newspaper soaked in liquid mud. I didn’t see the end result but Ian said when he saw it later, it was drawing beautifully. After the bridge, the old mill building was the venue for action painting by an artist trained in Paris but now resident in Brittany who used calligraphy as the inspiration for is art. There was face painting for children, live music, and lots of opportunities to be nosy and see what gardens existed behind locked doors.

As only the 3rd of these annual happenings, this one has some growing to do but I think there are exciting time ahead for this event.

[Show as slideshow]

[Vista con PicLens]

12►

We just head for Nantes as I believe that’s the biggest and best venue and programme. This year however, we started off by going to see the new attraction which was opened on July 14th and is part of the incredible works created by the Machine d’ile team responsible for the magnificent elephant and many other spectacles organised in the UK such as Liverpool’s spider and most recently, il Giant ‘little’ girl and her uncle in commemoration of the sinking of the Titanic. The team in Nantes have their workshops in the old boatyard and that’s where the elephant lives and ever since we first saw it we have been waiting for the 2nd of 3 stages to be completed . This is an incredible carousel on 3 levels using Jules Verne’s 2000 leagues under the sea as it’s inspiration. We were not disappointed, we had seen various of the rides as they had been exhibited in the museum part of the complex as each had been finished but that was a few years back so there were plenty that were new to us. The attention to detail is fantastic, each ride has a character all of its own and the only criticism I would voice is that I feel that 8€ is a lot of money to charge per person for entry and just one ride. It would be much better and fairer if it included a ride on each level as they are so different or at east if you could purchase extra rides for say 2€. As it stands you have to pay another 8€ if you want to try out another piece of mechanical magic. I would still highly recommend a visit and can’t wait for the 3rd stage, the Heron tree to be completed but as yet there is no date set for that.

[Show as slideshow]

[Vista con PicLens]

Another joy of a day in Nantes is the wonderful tram and bus network that criss crosses the city and makes getting around so easy and stress free. Park up on any of the city boundary car parks, buy a 24hr ticket for 4€ and enjoy yourself. When it’s time to go home just use the ticket to raise the car park barrier and away you drive. So after our visit to the carousel, we took the tram to just after the chateau and walked up to the music festival. So much variety and choice, something for everyone, in music and lots of different ethnic food stalls as well as the traditional French crepes, galettes and of course moules frites, all being enjoyed by good humoured crowds of every age. We listened at several locations and heard great Jazz, rock and blues, found an impromptu art gallery set in an old garage, and were thrilled once again by the spectacular display of Capuera il Brazilian martial art meets dance group in Nantes.

[Show as slideshow]

[Vista con PicLens]

So another brilliant day in Nantes came to an end, but we’ll be back for sure.