The Black Madonna

On 29th September 2007, Notre-Dame-de-Marceille in Limoux near Carcassonne was broken into and the famous Black Madonna, made of hard black wood, was decapitated and the cloak that covered her was stolen.

Until recently, visitors who came to the church could only see a photograph of the 12th Century Madonna and Child. Realising that the statue could not be repaired, the Communauté des Sœurs Bethléem near Pézenas appointed a sculpture to make an identical copy.

It is now possible to see the statue in the church, though for security reasons, is behind a heavy grille. The new Black Madonna has been made out of chestnut. Possibly the statue will be dressed in a replacement cloak at a later time.

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!!

Bruno's Adventures

On Wednesday, by the time I usually give our cats their tea, there was no sign of Bruno. We hadn’t seen him since the morning but that was nothing new. As he still hadn’t arrived by bed time, I was getting a little concerned. I thought that he might come in during the night and jump on the bed as usual. As he still wasn’t there in the morning all sorts of ideas were going through my mind. We made some “Chat Perdu” flyers and stuck them on the bins, posted them in letter boxes on our road and put them in the boulangerie and tabac. We walked, cycled and drove around the lanes looking for him, with no success.

Our neighbour, Denis, came round just before dinner and said he thought he had heard something in his house. We went round armed with torch and cat biscuits but with no luck. We really thought that Bruno’s luck had run out.

Five o’clock this morning, Denis, rang our door bell. He had definitely seen him this time. After a further search, we found him hiding between a stack of boxes.

We brought him home and he trotted round the house unaware of the problem he had caused for the last two days.

That wasn’t enough for him. About 2 hours later, he had found a snake, (which had bitten his ear) and he and Mimi were playing with it on the grass. We hope that the snake wasn’t venomous. In spite of this he seems none the worse for his adventures.

Palm Trres

The winter hasn’t been very kind to our palm trees and by the beginning of May all the branches were brown and obviously dead. We had been debating whether to cut them all off but were unsure as we had heard conflicting advice. Gradually as the weather has got warmer (relatively) tell-tale signs of new grow was beginning to peep out of the top. So biting the bullet and machete in hand, Richard has cut all the unsightly growth off. After numerous trips to the déchetterie the task is complete.

They now look like enormous paint brushes with green bristles!

By the way, does anyone know when Summer is going to start?

Cherry-time

It's cherry time again!

There is something very satisfying than free food and today we picked a beautiful bowl of cherries from trees on our lane.

Snow in May

This time last week we were swimming and sitting by the pool with temperatures in the high 20's. Today the thermometer on the car read -1 degree and it is sleeting here and snow is sticking on the hills! We have the fire on and having a roast for dinner. Please can we have our Summer back!

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.