Different Country, Same Tunes...

Rewind one month and we were sitting on the banks of the Claise at Barrou for the Festival des Barroudeurs.

Last night we were sitting on the castle mound at Clitheroe (Colin's home town), north west England, for the Castle Rock Festival...

The venue is perfect with a natural ampitheatre housing the bandstand..

The bands ranged from youngsters playing their own material..

to Freebird, a well known local band with a combined age of 240+

As with Barrou a month earlier, the music was excellent but there was one main difference: when the sun went down last night we were freezing!!!

As we left, shivering, the Castle looked imposing over a town bedecked with bunting ready for a weekend of festivities, including a food festival today and last night of the proms event tonight.

Just hope those attending tonight remember to take their thermals!!

Natures Art or Art Nouveau?

It may be just an ordinary butterfly but look closely and you'll see this Marbled White (correction thanks to ever-vigilant Susan!) is a true work of art..

Those underwings could almost be the inspiration for some of the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a designer from the Arts and Crafts movement and the main representative of Art Nouveau in the UK. ..

What better inspiration could there be than nature?

It's that time of year again.

Sunflowers as far as the eye can see...

Despite a poor start the sunflowers are doing very well this year. At first the heads appeared on the small side this is not the case now though!

As a bonus we have them in the field next to our house this year and they should hopefully be in full bloom when my daughter and family arrives next week.

Blossoming Magnolia

We have had a reasonable sized magnolia tree in our garden since we arrived here and it has only had one or two flowers on it each summer.

This year it is full of flowers... It's perfume drifts across the garden and because the flowers appear in succession this has lasted for many weeks now.

The tree does not appear to have grown very much so the only thing we can put it down to is the change in weather conditions. The very wet spring must have suited it.

Motion Pictures..

Someone obviously has a good sense of humour..

This wonderfully detailed art work was seen recently on the back of a motor home....

It certainly made us smile..  

even the roof was decorated...

I wonder what Colin would think to me painting a few garden birds and the odd snowdrop on his car??

Roundabout on Tap

It was November 2012 when we last blogged about a roundabout  so thought it was about time we picked up the theme again.

In truth we could not resist the latest feature on the roundabout in the centre of Châtellerault.  Well more of an kidneybout as this snapshot from Google earth shows.

It is most certainly a fine piece of sculpture.

The droplet coming out of the tap features a map of the world.

The question we have asked ourselves is what does it represent. Water to the world perhaps!

Elizabeth cannot wait...

Back in May Elizabeth blogged about our poorly peach tree.

Well things are looking up, the tree is looking healthier and we still have seven, quickly ripening, peaches on the tree.

Elizabeth prods them every day and cannot wait to try them.

In the background of the first picture are my 'not growing' butternut squashes. I have not had much success with these in the past, the last lot I grew got eaten by rodents hence the frame to lift them out of reach... This year they appear not to want to grow... Such are the joys of gardening!!