Sporting Sunday

Sunday was quite a big sporting day with The Tour de France, the British Grand Prix and the World Cup Final, but that is nothing compared to a Pétanque tournament in Arzens.

The whole thing started at 9:30. Each team consisted of three players and there were four teams in each pool. We played our three matches before lunch in the searing heat and it was pleasant to get under the shade of the trees.


When all the matches were completed, the apéros were brought out. I really love the smell (and taste) of Pastis, it is so typical of French holidays but I have learnt from past experience not to drink too much of it. I stick to the wine.

Lunch consisted of a BBQ picnic of sausages, merguez, poitrine and a wide range of salads. It was lovely, but only lasted 3 hours!

L'Equipe Rouge

The finals were completed in the afternoon. Richard and his team of experts won the Plate Final. We arrived home at 19:30, hot and dusty. After a quick dip in the pool and a fast forward of the Grand Prix, we watched Spain beat Holland.

It must be easy being a World Cup footballer. They only have to play for 120 minutes in cool evening temperatures, whereas our Pétanque took 10 hours, in 35 degrees heat and we only had 3 hours for apéros and lunch!!

And the Beginning of Another

As one season ends, another begins and Friday was the first night of the 2010 Pétanque season. We had succumbed to all the persuasion and joined this year. We provided the joining fee, Medical Certificates and photographs and duly turned up at 8:30. We handed over 4€ each and were given our number for the evening. Just like Fléchettes, at 9 o’clock we were allocated our teams.

Both Richard and I were with experienced players. It is all very well being told where to place the boule, but actually placing it there is quite different with divots, sand and stones to contend with!

During the course of the evening, we played 4 games. We hadn’t realised that there is prize money! For every game that one wins, you receive 2€, so it is possible to double your money in the evening. At half past twelve I took home 2€.

In spite of having a late night on Friday, I had to be up early Saturday morning as I was joining 10 other ladies to play in a boules competition. 1st May is Fête du Travail, or Labour Day, and the Comité Aude had organised a Journée de la Femme for ladies boules players.

My partner, Dany, and I were put with 4 other pairs and we began by having a skills test which were marked accordingly. Next we were asked questions on the rules of Pétanque. There was no way I was able answer these questions, so I left that to Dany. I only just knew the basic rudiments of the game not details of the rules.

Apéros and lunch was made and served by husbands and male committee members. After lunch we played 2 matches and the day finished by the prize giving to the winners Finally, everyone was given a sprig of Muget or Lily of the Valley, a flower that is given on 1st May and a small fridge magnet as a memento of the day.

Around and About

The fourth covering of snow of the winter has finally gone. Let's hope that it was the last and spring can finally begin.

For those of you who do not know Arzens (and also for those of you who do), I have included a link from Google Maps which shows you around parts of our village. Click on the A and select "Street View". By clicking, dragging and moving along the line it is possible to see different views. If you want to see other parts of the village, click and drag the yellow "pegman" in the small map insert.


I hope that you enjoy looking around Arzens.

Snow in Arzens

Icicles hang from M. et Mme Gol's house.

Skiers in the vineyards

Bruno enjoying the snow


A very snowy garden

Summer in the South of France

This is a photograph of the field opposite our house. To me, sunflowers are synonymous with Summer in the south of France.

Happy Birthday to the Cave La Malepère

It has been very interesting living in a village where most of the inhabitants are employed in the wine industry either the growing, making or selling of wine. Years ago wine was made by individual wine growers or small domains around the village but 60 years ago this all changed and the Co-operative, La Cave la Malepère was formed.

To celebrate this anniversary, the Cave had had an open day. All during the day, amongst many other attractions, there were donkey rides for the children, cart rides around the village, wine tasting (bien sûr), a vide grenier, old and new machinery and tours around the cave and the chai or wine storage. The latter was most interesting. One of the vignerons explained the stages of the making of the wine from the arrival of the grapes all the way though to the finished product.

Waiting for customers

Having a rest before finishing the ploughing between the vines

Casks full of the Révolution Cabardès Wine produced in Arzens

Like all good French events, it wasn't complete without food. There was a lunch for those who wanted at 12 o’clock. We decided to go to the evening repas, which as all meals we have been to in Arzens, was excellent. There were aperitifs before the meal then when the tables were ready everyone sat down to eat. It was lovely being out in the evening sunshine though the wind was quite chilling. The President gave a short speech about how the Co-operative was started, then the food was served. We had six courses washed down with some superb wines. Whilst we ate, we listened to a variety of singers including Geoffrey Not.

Les Estivales de la Malepère

For a small French village, Arzens is very active.

For the last 20 years, the village has held Les Estivales de la Malepère. This year it runs from 2nd until 12^th June and consists of a variety of deep, thought provoking lectures and discussions. On Sunday 7^th June there is a musical programme by the Chorale de la Malepère and a mixture of musical pieces by Henry and Marina.

Each lecture is free and begins at 21:00, except for Sunday 7^th June which starts at 16:00.

The full programme can be seen on Les Estivales web site.

Tour de L'Aude

For the last 10 days Aude has been hosting “La Tour de l’Aude Cycliste Féminin”. The 114 women started last Friday in Guissan and they have been progressing through the Département. Friday’s stage started in Saint-Hilaire and after 60 kilometers came through our village, Arzens, before cycling back into the Malepère hills. According to the timetable they were due to arrive at 15:43 but they were cycling so fast they came through 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Before they arrived, numerous gendarmes on motor bikes with sirens wailing and blue lights flashing, followed by press and support vehicles drove through the village. The speed they were travelling at was amazing. There had been an intermediate sprint in Arzens and the girls were cycling as fast as they could to score bonus time points in this section. As they crossed the sprint line, the British Olympic Champion Nicole Cooke was 3^rd.

After cycling another 40 kilometers, they finished in Montréal. The winner was the Dutch girl, Marianne Vos, who was riding for the DSB team.

Nicole Cooke was 6^th. Once everyone had crossed the line, shirts of a variety of colours and bunches of flowers, were given to the winning riders.

At the moment, the German, Claudia Hausler, riding for Cervelo Test Team is just over 2 minutes ahead of next rider.

Come on Nicole!

A Change in the Weather

Five weeks ago I was lying on the lounger in the warm spring sunshine, looking at the dull winter cover on the pool. The next day, we rang M. Herbert and asked him to open the pool ready for the summer. The day he arrived it started raining and since then there haven’t been many days it hasn’t rained since!

Yesterday was Lundi de Pâques and the Randonneurs celebrated it with the usual repas. This year it was held in the Village foyer. It began with the customary apéros. Everyone brought entrées which were shared around. Following that, a variety of omelettes were distributed which had been made by the ‘older ladies’ of the club. It was a very lively occasion. By the time we left at 5 o’clock the sun was beginning to shine.

Because I am a rather “fair weather” walker, today was the first walk I had been on for four weeks. The sun was shinning and there was very little wind. It was a lovely afternoon. The ballade began in Montolieu and walked past the Chapelle de St Roch and then for a further 8 kilometres around the town. As we set off I heard my first cuckoo of the season. The walk was lovely. We saw lots of spring flowers, sanglier tracks, a small herd of goats eating the garrigue. There were even black kites (merlin noir) and hen harriers (Busard Saint-Martin) soaring in the sky.

It was a lovely walk and I hope that the weather we have had today is the start of more sunny days to come but looking at the météo for the next week, I am not quite so sure.

Work Completed

We have finally repaired all the damage after the tempêt that hit us on 24^th January. Maurice Bes, a local builder arrived with his team last Friday afternoon to repair the roof, which was the most important work. The boys arrived bang on 2:00 pm and worked hard all afternoon. Fortunately, apart from a load of broken tiles, only a small strut of wood had been broken in the attic. It could have been an awful lot worse.

As they didn’t have time to finish the chimney, they said they would be back Monday morning at 8:00am. Although we are not used to early starts like this, it was worth the effort to get the job completed. Unfortunately, it was wet and windy and so the builders didn’t turn up (I don’t blame them). As the weather cleared up in the afternoon Fabrice arrived at 2:00pm to repair the chimney.

As the job wasn’t completed we put the alarm on for another early rise on Tuesday morning. The morning was still a bit grey and drizzly and certainly not good weather for repairing chimneys, so no sign of Maurice or Fabrice. Fortunately, we had a phone call from Dave who was going to put up our satellite dish for us. I had really missed the TV, especially last week during the Australian Open Tennis when I had to listen to Australian Radio for the commentary of the Men’s Semis and Final. (It is amazing how cheaply you can buy prawns to throw on a BBQ.) By lunch time we had TV and radio. Two o’clock, on the dot, Fabrice arrived to finish the chimney and fix the aerial for French TV.

Thanks to everyone who have helped us. It is amazing how communities pull together during time of crisis.

And Then There Was Light!

Gosh, what a weekend! We woke up on Saturday morning to strong winds, but that isn't surprising around here. Gradually as the morning went on, the wind got stronger causing the occasional trip in the electricity which took out the computer (very annoying). By 12 noon we had no power and the winds were very strong. Whilst we were having lunch there was an almighty crash on the roof and yes, the chimney had fallen down, smashing roof tiles. From the loft hatch we could see daylight! We called the insurance help line who asked us if we needed a hotel room.Fortunately that wasn't necessary so they gave us the phone number of a company who could provide a tarpaulin to cover the hole. As no one was there we left a message and went on to Plan B.

We decided to visit Jean-Jacques, a councillor who lives on our road and can speak English for some advice. He wasn't at home but at the Mairie with all the other councillors helping the villagers who had problems, cutting up fallen trees, clearing roads, organising builders to help with repairs. They even gave Richard a bâche, a cover, to go over the hole in the roof until someone could fix it. The team work in the village was amazing! Before Richard had even arrived home, word had got to a local builder who turned up to assess the situation. he went away and returned with the necessary equipment. Within 2 hours of the chimney collapsing, the hole had been covered securely. I was very impressed.

As the power was still off on Sunday morning, Jean-Jacques turned up and asked if we needed a generator to get the fridge and freezer cold again. We could borrow it for 2 hours before passing it on to the next person who needed it. This too was provided by the Mairie.

Power was finally restored on our road after 3 days! The rest of the village were back to normal after 1 day but unfortunately we have some very large trees that had taken down the power cables. Apparently at one point, 90% of the Aude department was without power.

Things are slowly getting back to normal but until we get our satellite dish up we will have to rely on the computer for the news and radio.

The Beginning of a New Year

All the Christmas and New Year festivities have finished and everything is back to normal. The sales have started here but without the frenzy that seems to happen in the UK. The dates of the sales are organised by the Minister of the Economy and not the individual shops. On 7th December it was declared that the sales would start on the first Wednesday of January. Each prefect of the departments would decide whether they would last 4, 5, or 6 weeks.

The weather over the last month has been terrible. We have had snow on several days, rain, freezing fog and days when the temperature hasn’t got above -3 degrees. It was a good job we managed to get our wood supply in time!

Although Epiphany is 6th January, the French seem to celebrate with gateaux throughout the month of January. Last Friday at Fléchettes, galettes des rois and bottles of Cider and Blanquette were provided and much appreciated too.

After the Randonneurs walk on Tuesday 3 galettes des rois and bottles of cider were produced. It was very pleasant eating and drinking in the late evening sunshine.

The tradition actually dates back to the 14th century. It is an ancient festival which celebrates the 3 kings who brought gifts to Jesus, soon after he was born.

A ’fève’ (*originally a bean but now tends to be a plastic trinket) is baked inside the cake and the cake is shared around the table. Whoever receives the fève is then crowned king or queen for the day.

The Queens on this occasion were France, Jo and myself!

Arzens en Fête

Arzens has just finished its Fête Locale. On Wednesday there was a tour de table des campagnes. The Comité des Fêtes came round the village, knocking on doors, giving the villagers a pot plant and encouraging them to participate in the fun.

The main street has been slightly chaotic for about a week as the fair has been set up - dodgems, rifle shooting (where was Duncan when we needed him), one armed bandits, test-your-strength and other stalls.

On Friday the Orchestra Calysta assembled all their equipment, lights, speakers and sound systems ready for the opening of the Fête. L’Arzenais had organised food for every night of the fête. Tonight it was seiche a la plancha. We decided to pass on that.

Saturday morning began with the dismantling of all the group’s equipment. In the afternoon there were pétanque competitions for doublettes. There were clusters of people all around the village on any dusty area that they could find to play on. The prizes were given out just before the meal, which tonight was Couscous. The music for the evening was provided by Motel, who earlier had assembled their equipment, lights, speakers and sound systems.

Sunday morning began with the dismantling of the group’s equipment. The evening consisted of the obligatory apéros which were provided by the Marie, whilst listening to the Jean Ribull Orchestra, (who earlier had assembled their equipment, lights, speakers and sound equipment). This group was very good, singing a wide range of music though it was rather difficult to talk as the music was rather loud.

Monday was the last day of the Fête, which began with the dismantling of last night’s group’s equipment. There was another pétanque competition in the afternoon. This one was for mixed triplets. Prizes again were given out before the repas which was Friginat. As we had never had this meal, we decided to go. It was a super evening. The entrée was gesiers salade followed by the Friginat. This local specialty is a pork casserole with haricot beans. Cheese and pastry followed all washed down with copious amounts of red wine. The evening was lovely. There was plenty of lively chatting. There was also an accordionist and as the wine flowed the singing got louder. . Some people even got up and danced.

When the meal was over, everyone made their way to the main street to join in the activities or listen to Orchestra Calysta who had assembled all their equipment, lights, speakers and sound equipment during the day.

As we went to get our bread the fair was being dismantled and the village is getting back to normal.

It is amazing how a small village like Arzens can put on such a magnificent event! Congratulation to the Comité des Fêtes.

A New Acquisition for Arzens

I think that Arzens is moving into the 21st century. Today the Marie has installed an illuminated panel that will tell the villagers and visitors what is happening in the community. Until now, the information has been posted on notice boards around the village and quite often is weeks out of date. I hope that le panneau is updated regularly and they don’t have any technical problems