Festival de Musique de Richelieu 1st August 2015

Following on from our Saturday morning visit to Chinon, we went with friends Paul and Mary to an afternoon concert given by the Hertfordshire Wind Sinfonia. The orchestra is made up of young people aged between 13 and 21 years and its principal conductor is Mark Eager.  More details can be found here

There was a reasonable gathering but had the event been better publicised we feel this could have been increased

They were very professional and a pleasure to listen to. The following video is an example.

It was a splendid way to spend an afternoon; with friends, a bottle of good wine and listening to good music.

Chinon Marche Medieval 2015

We arrived at Chinon this morning just in time to see those in costume process through the town. There were young and old alike as you'll see from our pictorial journey through the splendor and spectacle of Chinon's Marche Medieval...

Enjoy!

 

And after the hustle and bustle of the narrow streets packed with stalls and the square full of craftsmen and dancers, the river, in contrast, looked so tranquil.

Broad Bordered Bee Hawkmoth (Hemaris fuciformis) 2015

We have seen and photographed these creatures for the last two years and it is still enjoyable watching the speed and accuracy of their movement between flowers.

These were taken yesterday on the Salvia "Hot Lips" with a Canon 50D on 8000/sec shutter speed.

Hope you enjoyed them.

Loire Valley Clandestine Cake Club

Yesterday we attended the latest meeting of  The Loire Valley Clandestine Cake Club hosted by Jim and Pauline in Barrou. What a novelty it was...

We contributed a bomb and some poisonous fungi!!

Others are shown below and what a magnificent set of cakes they were. Photos don't do justice to the imagination and skill which had gone into the making of them.

One or two had suffered melt down due to the heat (sadly Barbie was one of them!) but despite this the display was wonderful.

Barbie was struggling to maintain her composure so the sooner we got down to business (eating the cakes) the better.

My bomb was filled with shrapnel in the form of smarties but unfortunately it failed to detonate with the desired intensity. More "soft centre" than shrapnel!

Once everyone had eaten their fill (and more) it was out to the courtyard to take a welcome drink and relax...

Another splendid afternoon with good cake and the best of company.

If you want to know more about the cake club follow this link.

NB It is 15 months since Jean started the Loire Valley branch of the Clandestine Cake Club!! Where did that go? and how many calories have we all eaten in cake!!!

I'm sure Sally won't mind if we show Barbie before her hot flush...

Splendid!!

Les Artistes au village - start panicking!!

Having thought Les artistes au village in Faye la Vineuse was in September, it's come as a bit of a shock to learn that it is, in fact, on August 9th. My brain has failed me spectacularly yet again!

Now for the panic...

Here  is some of the "stuff" I'm getting ready for my stall..

This represents about half of the cards and paintings I've got and then of course there's the carvings...

I may need the loan of a pantechnicon!!

Fête du Bois du Temple 2015 - The Day Dawns

We were invited across to the Bois du Temple to have some breakfast before the start of the Balade, but, having already eaten, we just had a coffee (though we noted wine was an option!)

 It fell to the Maire to gather the troops...

And as there were no maps of the route left we photographed someone elses, though all we needed to do was go with the flow.

After some confusion over who should go first and in what order, we were off

and the first place en route was Richelieu..

Then out into the open; if you look carefully (very carefully) you can just make out the line of cars ahead of us...

This couple were on motorised bikes but they still had a fair bit of pedaling to do and they were no youngsters!

Here we are entering Marcay

where the degustation was awaiting us. We got the impression that they were not expecting quite so many people...

 and once again it was up to the Maire to sort it all out.

A megaphone wasn't enough and someone had the bright idea of providing a ladder..

Half the crowd were enticed on a walk around the village whilst the other half chose their tipple.. (Note the nearly full/unopened bottles of water...!)

Back to the cars again....

and off towards Ligre..

All along the route people were out at the roadside to wave... 

 Not far from home now,,

We were approaching Braslou..

and even the chef of the restaurant was out to wave!

And after 60 kilometers we were back in the Bois du Temple, where we'd started, 

For some, it had all been just too much!!

What a great day! We met lots of our friends from the village and beyond and also two people from the village, but who we'd never met before, each invited us to their homes to share a meal.

Beat that for conviviality!