Cats

We seem to have been adopted by three kittens. They turned up last year and were very timid but through a process of selective feeding and stroking, they have decided they quite like us and seem to be planning to hang around and shout at us from time to time. Perfect. They live outdoors, they show no interest in going into the house, they catch mice and they (mostly) stay out of the way of the guests (they will agree to lie around and look pretty from time to time) and they feed themselves if we are not around. We've seen them munching on grasshoppers, crickets, butterflies as well as mice so they don't seem to be short of a tasty protein snack or two and we like the company.....

Weapons of war.....

In summer at the castle at Les Baux, there are all sorts of 'animations' aimed at both adults and kids. This year I was lucky enough to catch the firing of the catapult and the trebuchet - all sounds a bit tame... butthe reality is a little different. These medieval weapons of war are pretty daunting in their scale and power, but it has to be said that it's not the fastest of processes.


The firing of the trebuchet took 10 men and a good half hour to launch a rock at the enemy - so you had to hope that your enemy had nothing faster - but then if you were lucky enough to be occupying the castle at Les Baux, which is perched on a rocky outcrop, you definitely had the advantage of height and gravity. A couple of before and after shots, taken by me...

The guys on the wheels are winding up the ropes to create tension while the 'animateur' loads the rocks.

Stand well back..all that swinging rope and wood is actually quite daunting when you are 20 metres away....

Olympian Spirit

Truly Lindsay has been joining in with the Olympic spirit. She recently helped its progression through France (despite the attentions of those 'Tibetan types' that M. Sarkozy sets us all an example by avoiding - Dali's Lama is not his cultural cup of tea, says Carla). Using only her ear, she helped the flame's progression across our dining table!

Actually, it's some form of homeopathic cure for 'swimming pool ear', working by gently warming built up wax thermodynamically. (Didn't work though!)

Continuing the theme.....

I love this picture...the power and might of the horses, the faces of the people in the bar, you can almost feel the ground shake as they go by......

And here's a close up of the mobile hedge that they pull - the branches are so long that they touch the telephone wires that criss cross the street - health and safety doesn't seem to be that much of an issue....and I like it that way.

It's been a while...

We've been busy but we're going to try to do better with the blog - largely through me contributing too - the photos will still largely be Guy's though - and if I post any of mine you will notice the difference immediately.

We're in high summer and the temperatures are in the mid 30s - and the pool is a very comfortable 30 degrees. The garden is looking lovely (pictures to follow soon) and Guy has been working very hard to keep it looking fabulous. But it's not all hard work. Summer is the season of festivals in Provence and our village is 'en fête' at the end of May, around the 14th of July, on the weekend of the 15th of August and again in September. Everyone turns out, the streets are packed and it's a great opportunity to see all of our neighbours and friends. The village fêtes tend to follow the same pattern. They start like this...


With these beautiful women dressed in the traditional costumes of Arles, who dance at the head of the procession. They're all from the village and keep this finery for the fêtes and to maintain their traditions, of which, they are quite rightly very proud.

We move swiftly on to this...


... this takes your breath away. A charrette, decorated with huge tree branches being pulled through the street by 16 galloping cart horses. The ground shakes...we all stand well back, particularly as they take the corners. That's our plumber, Robert, in the smart black hat and suit...the Sunday costume of the Camargue cowboy.

And we end the day like this....


... in the bull ring watching the course camarguaise...a local form of bull fighting where the aim is to remove tightly wrapped strings from the bull's horns. It's exciting to watch and is a real battle of man against beast. The bull pretty much always comes out on top and it's the men who risk being hurt in this more acceptable form of the sport.

And after the course camarguaise, we all head back into the village for a pastis to gird our loins for the Abrivado - a bull running in the street where 5 Camargue horsemen and women ride bulls through the streets and the locals try to smuggle them away from the horsemen - it can get very messy.....but we love it and really admire the locals for keeping these fantastic traditions going.

More photos of the fête at Festivals, Provence