La Foire Internationale de Caen

Managed to get there on Friday afternoon. Expo this year was  “The India of the Maharajas”

a history of Rajasthan, that told us of the importance of the elephant in Indian society

of the importance of the tiger in the life of the maharajas 

and of the religion of hinduism in the life and culture of India

And at the end of the expo a chance to buy spices from India

and to visit the bazaar

Of course, the fair is more than just the expo. 1000 exhibits, 50 countries, 30 restaurants; and much, much more.

Well worth a visit, even if just to the websites -

www.caen-expo-congress.com

www.indedesmaharajas.com

Had to visit Friday, because last weekend was the “journees de patrimoine” and this weekend is of course, the first day of the Chasse. Our friends are involved in the Chasse, and today were doing the meal for the chasseurs! We ourselves were awakened at 0900hrs by the noise of the guns around us. Next week is the Foire de Brix (St. Denis). We will not be here, as we are setting off on conges (annual holiday). Summer’s over, but still lots of things happening locally.

Bob & Marjory

Plants and Flavours of Autumn

This coming weekend at Omonville-la-Rogue, an expo organised by the Hague tourist board

Expos in the garden and courtyard include ornamental plants, fruit trees, ancient and forgotten vegetables, garden furniture, and food and other products derived from gardens and plants.

Also in the Manoir du Tourp and its grounds are the on-going exhibition dedicated to Alexandre Trauner, cinema set designer who worked with Jacques Prevert (his house in Omonville-la-Petite well worth a visit );

the photographic works “Regard sur La Hague” of Philippe Mauger; photographs of gardens; books about gardens, and particularly in the Cotentin; and photographic books of local history and culture, such as “Paul and les Autres”.

Also a bonsai exhibition, and a chance for youngsters to create and play their own musical games.

Plenty of fun and things to do for all the family. Visit www.lahague.org or www.letourp.com for more details.

Bob

La Foire de Lessay

Just had a very busy weekend – school’s back, the season’s over, but still things happening. The Fair at Lessay happens each year on the second weekend of September; and for the past few years we’ve tried unsuccessfuly to get there. Established in the 12th Century by the Benedictines of the Abbey of Lessay for the Feast of the Holy Cross, but also ‘pour favoriser le developpement du commerce’ (!), the fair has a long history, and every year has in the region of 400,000 visitors.

Always busy, the fair today is a mixture of traditional elements, from the trading of animals to the reconstruction of the past, to modern farm machinery, and of course the foire forain (funfair) of modern celebrations.

There were recruitment campaigns for the armed forces, and the gendarmes; but the highlight of the fair for me was the “Battous du Cotentin”, a reconstruction of traditional flailing of the wheat – using ancient forms of wheat

from the separation of the grain from the chaff

to the grinding to make the flour

and then serving up the proceeds as crepes for lunch.  A busy, but very rewarding day. Too much to see and do, so we’ll definitely be going back, all things being equal, next year.

Sunday we spent with the “Association Attelage en Cote des Isles”, in a cariole for 4 hours between Pierreville and Le Vretot.

 

 

In company with a dozen horse riders and a similar number of  chariots, carts, and other horse-drawn vehicles, we travelled a circuit of lanes

 

and bridal paths

around Le Vretot, finishing with lunch, which in the usual Norman fashion took most of the afternoon. A busy and enjoyable weekend; and more to come next weekend with the “Journee de Patrimoine”.

More next week

Bob & Marjory

Summer in Surtainville

 

 

It’s official then – summer’s here; and Surtainville began it’s celebration of summer last weekend with “Surtainville en fete”. Saturday was the summer Loto (Bingo); followed on Sunday by a Vide Grenier in the morning, afternoon INTER-JEUX (Surtainville/Pierreville), and various other events, including a display of country (line) dancing. The evening saw the annual Souper Normand followed by a Bal Populaire and Feu d’artifice. A good way to kick off a whole range of summer events publicised by the Mairie. And don’t forget the weekly summer market -

Talking of the Mayor (in a roundabout sort of way) – saw her on Saturday afternoon directing traffic!! Huge wedding in Surtainville, and after the church ceremony, the taking of pictures of the bride and groom blocked the main way through the village as friends and relations crowded round the church door. There was the mayor in the middle of the road, helping traffic through the village. Then again sunday evening, she was amongst the group of women serving up the souper normand. Real hands on stuff this being  mayor of a commune in rural France.

For details of summer events in the area visit the local commune and tourist office websites.

All the best for the summer holidays,

Bob and Marjory

65th Anniversary D-Day celebrations

A whole weekend of celebrations for the 65th Anniversary of D-Day is underway; and this lunchtime reached us here a good 3/4 hour from the nearest landing beaches. Wave upon wave of military planes banked and turned over us heading to the parachute drop at St. Mere-Eglise.

They appeared from the west – over the Channel Islands and the West Cotentin coast

they banked and turned

coming so close

then away south east towards St. Mere-Eglise

then they were back again

more and more

circling and banking for about an hour

even the dogs next door were trying to see what was happening

Bob and Marjory

Fete des voisins (neighbour’s festival)

Today, apart from Pentecost, is the festival of neighbours. It’s a holiday weekend here – tomorrow is a jour ferie ( bank holiday)” lundi de pentecote” (what used to be in England, Whit Monday). I remember from my childhood in Yorkshire the whitmonday walks (a walking race round the West Riding, as it was then, of Yorkshire). Also, the “beating of the bounds” – traditionally a walk around the boundary of the parish to mark where these boundaries are (accompanied at times by the beating of the chorister at the four points (compass) of the parish).

Strange customs these English have!?!

Links with “John o’the green” and other May and early summer rites. But then the French are the same – for a supposedly secular society they still celebrate many religious festivals.

However – back to the fetes des voisins. In an increasingly divergent and secular society, the government here, like the English government, have decided to encourage community action and neighbourhood events.

For the neighbour’s festival we organised a barbecue with our neighbours, and invited friends both French and English. We began at 1200 and finished at 1800. Tomorrow we recover, perhaps !?!

 

Look out for news of upcoming events in and around the area.

Bob and Marjory

St. George

How did you celebrate St. George?

The highlight of Les Pieux’s celebration last weekend appears to have been a Lotto (Bingo) session!! a far cry from last year’s national box-cart competition. Though there does appear to be a big event happening this weekend at the Centre d’Hippique – temporary stabling set up in the municipal fields below below the Equestrian Centre, and horse boxes of all shapes and sizes arriving over the past few days. Have a look at the Centre website for what’s happening later in the season – http://pagesperso-orange.fr/equitation.lespieux/topic/index.html

Meanwhile the commune of St-Georges-de-la-Riviere (just south of Barneville-Carteret) celebrates its patronal festival this coming Sunday with a sung mass in the Church, followed by a “Vin D’Honneur”; and then in the afternoon various cycling events for all the family.

For me ? the best I can do for the moment is a glass of English beer !!

Bob

What a week!!

Just over a week since we arrived back from England, and what a week it’s been.

The weather is glorious, so the grass and the hedges are growing apace – we’ve spent a day starting the first major grass-cutting of the year.

The Club des Aines had its assembly (AGM) last week; which is a full day out starting with the meeting and elections, then lunch at a restaurant for all members, which went on till almost 5 o’clock. Add to that I was pressurised into joining the bureau (committee), so had to return the following morning for the first meeting for election of officers, and planning for a day’s activities in May and a day out to St. Malo in June.

Saturday  we had a delivery of wood for the fire (ordered over a month ago), so began work sorting and stacking that. Then the evening was the “Premier Samedi-Gras” in Surtainville, where we went for a dinner dance/ fancy dress ball. We feasted on chou-croute and danced into the early hours, followed by a night-cap with friends. (I thought it was mardi-gras before lent, though I suppose there is some justification for not counting Saturday evening into Sunday as part of the season of abstinence!!)

Sunday was the open-day to start Jacqueline’s exhibition at Flamanville (see the preceding post), so after a lie-in and some work in our own garden, we were away there.

Monday/Tuesday making the most of the weather stacking wood, pruning and cutting bushes, cutting grass.

And the enquiries for holidays beginning to come in; and beginning to prepare work for an english experience for French schoolchildren (including today booking Fish and ships (chips, I think) in St. Helier for a one-day visit there.

Looks like it’s going to be a busy summer. And the best is, we’ve been told that as it’s been such a hard winter, we are to expect a glorious summer!

Bob and Marjory

Local artist has new exhibition

Pierreville, by Jacqueline Klocke

We mentioned last year the exhibition by three local artists at Pierreville. One of these, Jacqueline Klocke, now has her own exhibition at Flamanville.

Her medium is for the most part water colour, and her subject has been for the main landscapes. She has added figures of family and friends, as in “the Chasse at Surtainville”,

On the Chasse

and with “Open day at Pierreville Manoir”.

She is also experimenting with still life and flowers,

and with paintings commissioned from where she has holidayed, as in “St Marco for Claude”

St Marco for Claude

We have some of her paintings on our walls; Marjory prefers the floral studies, I much prefer the landscapes. An artist well worth keeping an eye on, and a person we are proud to count as a friend.

Bob

Events in Pierreville

Following on from the very successful exposition by four local artists on the 26th and 27th April; which incidentally was accompanied by porte ouvert (open door) at the local market gardeners and at the depot de vins; we have 2 events posted up for May/June so far.

25th May is Fete de Meres (Mother’s Day) in France. Pierreville celebrates with an invitation from the Mayor and Council for all mothers from the commune to a vin d’honneur at the Mairie.

1st June the Tour du Pays Cotentin passes through Pierreville on the RD66 in the direction from Bricquebec to Surtainville between 0900 and 1000hrs.

 

Click into Pierreville’s blog for details of these and other events happening in this commune. Also Surtainville, Barneville, Les Pieux and others for details of the summer seasons’ events.

Bob and Marjory.