News and Views from Availles Limouzine

When I started this blog I thought that I would put down my thoughts and that others would be able to add their comments so that we could effectively discuss the topics which are fo general interest to people living in this part of France.  Unfortunately this has proved not to be the case as each day there are some 20 or more spam comments added.  None of which have anything to do with France or the other topics that have been posted.

So as with so many things on the web good ideas are killed by those pushing illicit drugs, stocks and shares and other illegal goods.  Unfortunately the majority originate in the USA and selling things that culturally are totally without interest to the average European, amongst whom I am proud to include myself.

It was advertised in the local newspaper “La Nouvelle République” as La Fete de Bien Etre and I thought it would be a festival of people selling various remedies for problems that I did not know I had. So originally we were not going to go and then I saw that there were exhibitors from the eco fringe as well and we decided to try it.

Monday came and by 10 we were in Poitiers at “Les Arenes” and inside there were over 100 exhibitors showing everything from bottled water through healers to sellers of solar panels. We spoke with Energie 79 a company from Deux Sevres (that is the reason for the 79 as it is Department no. 79). They were selling a wood gasifying boiler from Poland and their own manufactured pellet burning boiler. For those that live locally they told me that they are able to deliver wood pellets from a lorry that blows the pellets into your pellet store. Also present were a number of people selling water storage and capture systems though I was not able to tell the difference between the ones on display and those sold by Leroy Merlin, except for the price of course.

One of the stalls was selling the newspaper that we had bought in at Nantclars – L’age de faire, so we bought another copy as the last was a good interesting read for only 50 centimes.

There were stalls selling food of various types and interestingly compared with the UK there was no focus on vegetarian food, in fact it was not mentioned and as we were leaving there was the heavenly smell of frying bacon. It was not in fact bacon but smoked turkey so perhaps my sense of smell had been destroyed.
Finally outside there was a stand of HS France who sell the multi-fuel stove from HS Tarn. It is very interesting buring wood chips, cereals, pellets and n fact anything which can be fed into a helical feed and burned in a small fire. The only things that stopped me buying one straight away was the price 12 000 euros plus tax and installation and if your electricity stops so does the heating.

Next blog is scheduled to be after the visit to the wood house exhibition in Angers this weekend.

Montmorrillon is the town dedicated to writing and one quarter is full of shops selling book binding services, hand made paper, calligraphy services and second hand books. This is in a picturesque setting on the side of the hill over looking the River Gartempe. It also has at least two good restaurants.

The first the Lucullus in the Hotel de France which we had visited several times in the past. It is excellent and serves traditional French food of high quality and good quantities. The service is excellent and attentive without interfering with ones eating pleasure.
The second which we only tried for the first time on Sunday is called “Le Roman des Saveurs”. It is at the bottom of the hill in the part of town where you find the writing shops and is on the banks of the River. In fact it over looks the river.

Why was it good?

The food was hot, interesting, tasty and presented with style. For example hot languostine salad, tournedos with fois gras, veal cooked in a pastry case that looked like fine spaghetti and creme brulée to die for. The ambience was good with nice table cloths and cutlery and of course the view of the river.

What was not good?

The service was sloppy, for example the wine was not offered for tasting, one had to ask for extra bread. As well there were no small trifles between courses so common on other restaurants in the area.

However for the price 16.50 euros for a four course Sunday lunch it takes some beating.

This week we have had some of our favourite guests staying with us.

He fishes and she writes.

When I say that he fishes, I do not mean that he sits there all day and looks at the beautiful river Vienne, but he casts his net and within minutes pulls in a fish – from dawn to dusk. Record this week is close to 100 bream and assorted other fish in one day. Record weights are for Carp or 20, 17, 16.5lbs etc.

Whilst all this activity is taking place on the river bank his wife has written the first three or four chapters of her novel. We like to think that this is a result of the extraordinary ambiance of the house and our welcome but it is more likely due to bait used and the dedication to writing.

If you would like more information about fishing conditions drop me a line. For writing you are on your own!

When we visited the Eco-Centre earlier in the year we picked up an advertisement for this festival and we went there last weekend with high hopes of being able to learn more about the ecology scene in France.
It was well supported with web content (www.lasauceverte.org) and the organisation running it “Sauce Verte” had provided a well packaged guide on the net covering everything from the workshops to the individual stalls that were to be there.
Unfortunately the day was forecast to be overcast and raining and this turned out to be correct.
Nantclar was shut off from the world and a price of 3 euros had to be paid for entry, not expensive in view of the enormous amount of preparation involved. Once through the gate one found numerous stalls selling everything from Organic (Bio in French) wines, bread, soap, olive oil … There were also numerous stands promoting various forms of renewable or sustainable energy systems, though they all seemed very reluctant to quote prices, even though there must be standard price lists.
All the ecologically involved and anti-globalisation groups were represented. These included the famous “confederation paysanne” who used to be led by Jose Bove. They receive a lot of publicity for their active encouragement for and involvement in cutting down Organically Modified Crops. On the other side they are involved in encouraging responsable and sustainable agriculture rather than the more current practice of marketing non-sustainable systems which require high inputs of energy and chemicals.
Several groups of musicians played in the main eating area, but we never managed to find the workshops – they must have been well hidden. The food was tasty but rather expensive, or perhaps I am getting old. In fact we had intended to eat there in the evening but the cost of 17 euros per head, the cool weather caused by the rain and the fact that there did not seem to be a set time for eating encouraged us to go elsewhere. Another reason was that there did not seem to be an opportunity for chatting with others, which was one of the main reasons for being there.
Will we go again next year?
This will depend on who we meet in the meantime as at present the festival seems more geared towards selling ecologically sensitive porducts, rather than encouraging interaction between indidivuals. So one continues to search for exchanging views with like minded individuals.

When I go out cycling I take pictures and these are added to the Gallery next time I get round to it. Recently I have visited Luchapt and Mauprevoir and added photos of these communities. I will add Lesterps when I have time.
Others may be added without adding indicators here

The Chateau Montméry was constructed in the 1880s for the famous porcelain maker, Haviland. It was designed by an American Architect and is the only American designed Chateau in France.
It is now in a state of graceful decline as the current owners are unable to maintain it adequately, even with support from the French state, though this might be more of a hinderance than a help as being classified as an ancient monument restricts the freedom to use certain materials. In particular the roof is becoming rather dilapidated and urgently needs attention. The result is the chateau is for sale and interest has been received from French, Belgian and English. The queue starts here.
The grounds remain spectacular with the variety of mature and unusual trees.
There are some pictures taken last weekend in the Gallery under local area.

Today I added some pictures of La Croix au Loups a commune of one house, currently a restaurant and Chardat a tile making commune. Both are close to Availles Limouzine.
For anyone interested, the restaurant is for sale. Which is a shame, as it is the only restaurant where you can find genuine Quebecois food.
Yesterday I added Millac a commune on the other side of the River Vienne from Availles.

Preparation for this years games started early and six teams participated with some hundreds watching. All the pictures can be found in the picture gallery on the menu bar above.
This year the Fougereau family won and considering there are in total nearly 250 eligible candidates then this is no real surprise.
The firemen were hampered by having to deal with a fire half way through.
There were no new games this year and the family ski race was abandoned due to the number of injuries sustained in previous years.
As in previous years everyone enjoyed themselves and in the evening there was a communal meal of ham cooked over an open fire. Needless to say this was not all and in fact the meal was

• Sangria made by Claude (also known a Pepito), excellent as usual
• Melon filled with pineau
• Rice salad
• Ham and flagelot beans cooked to a local recipe
• Cheese
• Tart made at the local bread and patissery factory of Nault and Fils

All washed down by red wine included in the reasonable price of 11 euros 50.

For the keen or not so keen fishermen amongst you here is some news of importance.

Our next door neighbour is a keen fisherman and spends at least a couple of days per week fishing for either cat fish or Zander. Recently his efforts were rewarded by a 26 kilo cat fish and no sooner had he landed it then the local reporter for “La Nouvelle Republique” arrived to take photos.
This article appeared a few days later

Translated approximately it says

“Sunday afternoon, on the opposite bank from the international fishing competition XXX where the French Championship for fishing with a fishing rod equipped with a spinner, Claude Rivaud took from the River Vienne a Wels Catfish weighing 26 kilos and measuring 1.5 metres. To land this giand Claude had to call on the his neighbour, Jerry Good.

We battled with this large fish for more than an hour before landing it

agreed this subject of Her Majesty the Queen of England.”

I as rather pleased with it.

What do you think?

Every year there is an autumn fair in Adriers and this year it was bigger than ever.
It is a fact that the majority of the English go to things in the morning and the French in the afternoon. we went in the morning and found the place over-run with English; but never mind. It was on a grander scale than last year having far more stands. There were

• Stone sculpters
• Mosaic makers
• Flower arrangers
• Patchworkers and a display of patchwork – especially for my wife
• Model boat makers using the adjacent lake to advantage to display their boats in actions
• Nursery stands and fruit stands – people trying to sell their excess fruit which did not go too well as everyone has an excess at present
• A representative of “Croquers de Poitou Charente – an organisation which tries to interest people in old varieties of Apples
• And of course the inevitable displays of Pumpkins of various sizes, arranged in displays and made into pumpkin people.

After touring the stands and speaking to various people we decided that a visit to the Croquers would be a good idea in November as we have rather too many no productive apple trees at the moment as they are rather old – though this could be applied to us as well.

The dam has a leak and as a result they (EDF) have had to lower river level by one and half metres
It was Sunday week that we realised that the river level had dropped. We were preparing the Salle de Fetes for a Thé Dansant when one of the other helpers said that the river was rather low. It was; in fact it was very low and a quick trip around the bank showed boats in an un-acustommed vertical position and there were rocks where rocks should not be.
At the Grand Moulin there was a wier and much noise as the river cascaded over it and there were rock in the middle of the river and by the bridge there was little water and much mud. It turned out that we were not the only persons to be unaware as the Major also did not know and as a result had to give a discount to people staying at the municipal Gites becasue they could not have a ride on the electric boats.
After taking lots of photos we started thinking and as a result have done lots of work on the river banks, taking out the steel girders at the Gites in Les Rimaudes and installing them with much welding at our house to create what is being known as – the Corniche. so that is even more concrete in the river!
There is no forecast date for it being put back and even EDF could not tell us when we paid a visit to the dam at Jousseau.
The cause of the problem is a leak after an accident when installing a fourth turbine generator at the dam.

All village events are in two parts – the event itself and the food. This was to be no exception and the planning had been going on for weeks and the hams had been marinading since Thursday. On the Saturday the “tivoli” had been put up and the swimming pool created. The swimming pool is made from hay bales lined with a plastic sheet and filled with river water. On the Sunday about 10 turned up to prepare the salade nicoise at 8:00. And all this before any games could be played.
The afternoon was warm and sunny perfect for the games and six team stood at the starting line. They were the farmers, firemen, hunters, people from the camp site, les Seralliers (a part of Availles) and a team made up of Gendarmes and English residents.
The games were the normal mixture intended to ensure that the maximum of laughs were obtained with the minimum of damage to the participants. (Pictures can be found under pictures and the events gallery. ) They included

• Rolling a bale of hay through an obstacle course;
• A race on stilts;
• A sack race;
• A tug of war for four members of each team
• A tug of war in the swimming pool
• Jousting in the swimming pool
• An egg and spoon race in the swimming pool
• A general knowledge quizz
• A race in which an object is called out and the teams have to get it from the crowd

This provided a good dose of fun and when everyone was wet and all the points had been counted up my team came fourth so we were not disappointed but as always we will do better next year.
Then it was time to serve the meal and there were about 260 to feed the meal being Sangria, the speciality of Pepito, then salade nicoise followed by roasted hams – done to perfection by Nenie and Simone. Then cheese and M. Nault’s cakes: all washed down by red wine.
And cap a wonderful day when we were starting to clear up at about 11:00 all the people who were still there helped so it took no time at all

Saturday the 6th August in Availles Limouzine is the “Foire au Belliers” starting at 6 a.m. I would not say that this is the biggest attraction of the year but it certainly is important to the local economy in terms of argiculture. It is also a chance to find out what is going on by exchanging gossip.

If you contact me on 0549 489821 about events or news. I can then add them here.

On the 14 August the intravillage games will take place on the football field. The event will start at around 14:00 and will comprise competitive events including egg and spoon race in the swimming pool, skiing – but with three people on each pair of skis, manoeuvring a large round bail of straw through a complicated route and many more events.
After the event there will be a dinner including roast pork, roasted over the charcoal as usual.
If you read this an wish to join a team you can ring me on 0549 489821

During the last week it has been my pleasure to eat out at the newly renovated hotel-restuarant in the village of Availles Limouzine. We ate there each lunch time and one evening. Every time we were greeted warmly and menus were varied to cope with full stomaches or just because the person felt like something that was not on the menu. The omlettes were especially good tasting, so I was informed. Apparently the eggs tasted like they had 40 years ago; before hens were placed in concentration camps.
Each lunch time we had the 12 euro menu of three courses and experienced a quality of food that managed to satisfy two French people used to eating at the highest level of cuisine.
Congratulations to Virginie, her husband and the team at the Chatellenie

Monday I had an important meeting with people arriving from all over Europe so I thought to book a nice restaurant for when they arrived. This is not easy in La Vienne because most are closed on Monday evenings. Eventually found one that I had not eaten in for 6 or 7 years but thought it should still be OK.
We arrived at 8 pm as booked, but some of the group had been held up on the trip from Holland and did not arrive until 08:45. We were made to suffer. Frequent references were made to the fact that I had booked a table for 7 and as there were only 3 perhaps we should move to a smaller table – there was only one other couple in the restaurant. Then the serving lady who I suspect was also preparing the food spent 30 minutes talking to the other couple whilst we waited for our dessert. The food was OK but the ambiance was distinctly spoiled; it could also do with a coat of paint. You can find it at the Hostelery Charlemagne, Charroux.
Later in the week I booked a ride on the VeloRail – pedaling on a railway truck from Confolens to Manot.
The ride was booked for 4:30 but getting 7 people who are deeply involved in a meeting to leave is difficult. We arrived at 4:35 and had to wait whilst previous riders were prepared for the journey. Then we were greeted with “We have been waiting for you with impatience”. The ride was super but spoilt by several example of gestapo behaviour from the employees of the tourist attraction, trying to make us feel like naughty children
Clearly there is much to learn on how to make tourists feel wanted and coping with small problems of delays and behaviour.
Fortunately, none of this affected the overall mood of the week.

This evening at around 9:30 we will have fireworks to celebrate Bastille Day (14 July) There will also be a buvette to slake thirsts created by the great heat.

I suspect that some will not be in such need of drinks as they will have been well fed at the Football Club Mechoui (spit roasted lambs or pigs served with white beans that have been cooked in a special sauce) . This is always taken with, of course, a starter, cheese and dessert accompanied by wine and much conversation.