About time...

Whilst we were back in the UK in September... a certain vehicle must have driven past our house.

How do we know this interesting fact... Well take a look at these...

Yes, the Google Streetview car...

The village of Braye-sous-Faye is now included on Google Streetview!! We have in the past only been able to look at our house from the main road D749 but not anymore...

If you have a moment to spare (it will only take a moment) have a look around our village...

This is our village hall...

and our Church

Follow the link and take a tour...

It's just a pity we were not there and posing in the garden BUT interestingly we did see a Google streetview car in Preston over the same period.... So we may be posing yet...

Wedding Party (Belated)

This is somewhat late in coming but better late than never...

When we came back to France after our Wedding in September we held a small "get-together" for thirty plus friends and neighbours. Unfortunately the warm temperatures of the previous (and subsequent!) days let us down a little and we had to be indoors for the most part.

Here are a few photos of the day, mainly courtesy of Gaynor and Tim, as we were too busy enjoying ourselves!

We were lucky enough to have Jean to make us a replica wedding cake. Needless to say, it was delicious (all Jean's baking is delicious!)

It seemed a shame to cut it but we did....our lovely neighbours were there waiting for me to get some plates then they could have a slice!

There were gifts, which Thimeo hoped might be belated 3rd birthday presents for him..

There was food and wine and a very full kitchen!

Something got the thumbs up from Thimeo!

And then time out on the swing...

I had a real treat... giving seven week old Maxence his bottle...

And then it was time to go home.... and for one little boy that meant leaving the swing for today..

As we said at the beginning, better late than never... and this gives us the chance to say "thankyou" once again, to everyone, near and far, who sent us good wishes, cards and presents. We are a very lucky couple to have such a wonderful set of friends and such brilliant neighbours here in Braye!

Flower Power

Cycling through the village this afternoon gave me the chance to stop and take some photographs of a patch of land we have both commented on every time we drive past. Not very long ago it was just a neglected wilderness. A new owner has moved into the attached property and has worked very hard on both the house and the land.

All this summer the land has looked well tended and colourful and the results, even at the end of October, are simply stunning....

 

And, as you can see from the photographs, it is no mean patch to tend...

A load of Hot Air!

Having seen this hot air balloon on our way back from our walk through the Foret de Tours=Preuilly on Friday.....

it came as quite a coincidence that we received a phone call last night to see if we wanted to go this morning, on  the balloon flight we've had booked since August!

We had to be at the church square at 7:15, so all togged up, we walked down and met up with the crew and fellow passengers.

Sadly though, the weather was like this...

Anne sent up a small balloon to test for wind and visibility, but it was not good.....

Rather than wait on the field for an hour or so, we invited the group back to ours for coffee and settled down to wait for an improvement of conditions. An hour later it was no better, so for today, the flight was cancelled so our fellow ballooners made their way home.!

So what else was there to do but make a friend for the first 3D owl...

And we've still got the hot air balloon ride to come!

A Walk Through La Foret de Tours-Preuilly Part Two

Yesterday's walk holds some really good memories for us, not just for the things we mentioned in yesterday's post, but also for the quality of the light and the sheer peace of the forest... There was hardly a breath of wind to break the surface of the water...

Several times one of another of us commented on the lack of noise. You could literally had heard a pin drop! In fact what we heard dropping were not pins but acorns.... Acorns by the ton! I don't think I've ever seen so many or such large ones. There is certainly food in abundance for some woodland creatures.

The dappled light played on the forest floor, and made for some beautiful photo opportunities...

One creature really stood out in the sunlight. You could hardly miss this Comma, against the silvery grey bark...

Likewise with the Spindleberry. It's waxy fruits looked almost artificial.

We spoke yesterday of a lumber stack; well this is it! Colin, standing next to it, is six foot tall, so it's quite a pile, isn't it?

Then the last lap with the sun fast disappearing..

Isn't that Simon with his groupies, they make a motley crew!

Once again; What a lovely day!! More of the same, please!

A Walk through La forêt de Tours-Preuilly

This is a walk we've done at least once every year since we've lived here and we never tire of it.

Today we went with Gaynor and Tim met up with Susan and Simon. A walk which usually takes us a couple of hours lasted well over three hours as we ambled along, sharing finds and backtracking to look at something we'd missed. But that made it all the more enjoyable.

The range of fungi on show was wide and varied in colour, size and edibility. Here are just a few of those we saw.

 

Perhaps Susan would be kind enough to comment on the photos below...

More on the walk to follow....