I’m starting to think that the soft, mild, and at present damp air of Normandy may have an unexpected affect on the ageing British brain, or at least my ageing British brain. To all outward appearances I think (hope?) that I appear to be functioning normally, but when it comes to sitting down in front of my precious new laptop and actually writing something coherent, my brain has been acting like a toddler in a tantrum, drumming its heels and yelling at the top of its voice “Can’t, won’t, don’t want to!”
It’s not that nothing has been happening, though life here is usually enjoyably quiet and slow-moving. Nor is it that I haven’t had ideas for posts, or at least snatches of ideas, and even potential titles. It’s just that faced with that blank screen and conscious of the fact that I still find Windows 7 intimidating and sometimes yearn for my old desktop with its undemanding Windows XP, the combination of brain plus idea just hasn’t been gelling into a proper post.
However I’ve now reached the point at which I must put fingers to keyboard and a post into Blogger or stay silent for another week at least, as tomorrow is the day when Grandson#3 arrives for a week’s holiday without his parents, and normal life will be put on hold until he goes home again.
So to give you a glimpse of what I’ve been doing, other than mowing and pruning and generally working my socks off in the garden, here are a few snaps of the fête communale which our little commune holds on the last Sunday in July every year. DH and I always go, rain or shine, and after the protracted mid-day meal, which gathers together more than half the inhabitants round long tables in the village hall for a couple of hours, we enjoy watching the inter-village games between our commune and a neighbouring one.
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| Bowling uphill! |
It’s all very gentle and uncomplicated, with much the same games every year, but there is a definite friendly rivalry between the participants and a good time is had by all. As well as games for adults (usually carried out with great energy by the young farmers) there are games for the children, plus sideshows and even a bouncy castle. The weather is the most changeable factor and since this year it was very grey and distinctly damp, I’m taking the liberty of borrowing a few of the much brighter photos taken by my youngest sister when she and her husband visited us for the fête a couple of years ago. Yes, we do get sunshine in Normandy – just not quite as often as we might wish. J
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| Bobbing for apples - thank goodness it was warm! |
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| Find the carrots in the hay..... |
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| Commando course for kids |
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| Why can't they have one of these for the grown-ups? |
Shame the weather was a bit on the grey side. And yes - a grown-ups bouncy castle would be brilliant - just think of all the tension unloaded when the internet plays up :) Have a lovely time with your grandson.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it was, Molly The local paper even commented on the fact in its usual report (with photos) on the event. :-) I take it that you're still gnashing your teeth with frustration over your internet problems. You have my sympathy. Grandson is now on the ferry with his father. :-)
DeletePerhaps your muse will return after a week of grandson no3, and if not, it was good to hear from you anyway.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are slightly "Darling Buds of May" if you know what I mean. They have a distinctly 'bygone days' flavour. Rather lovely.
Thanks, Ray. We should have a good time with him as the weather forecast is excellent for once!
DeleteYou're spot on about the feeling of the fete - very unsophisticated and rather old-fashioned, but everyone enjoys themselves and the tradition will live on.
Hello Perpetua:
ReplyDeleteThe Fete Communale has a wonderful feel to it. Simple fun, enjoyed by a very mixed community of all ages and an annual event to be looked forward to come rain or shine. It is precisely these types of simple pleasures which we are sure that you find such an important and endearing part of your 'other' lives in France.
And, how marvellous it will be, if only for a short while, to have all the usual routines disrupted by the arrival of your grandson. No doubt, life will take on an altogether more hectic pace for the duration of his visit and it will be all the more special as a result.
Happy Days!!
Jane and Lance, you have summed up it up perfectly. The vast majority of communes in our area have their own fete, each with a slightly different pattern of activities. People often pop in at a neighbouring fete to enjoy the stalls and other attractions and meet up with friends they don't see every day.
DeleteOur commune being very small, its fete is one of the simpler ones, but there was still a dance in the late evening, by which time, I'm ashamed to say, DH and I were in bed!
Hi Perpetua - great to have you back, even briefly! Love the sound of the Fête Communale - it's a bit like the Parish Garden Parties we used to have when I was young (many, many moons ago!) Or like the Dolfor/Sarn/Montgomery etc Shows that are happening round about now. Hope the weather improves for the grandson's visit - our forecast looks as if it'll be warming up again by the end of the week. We've been glued to the Olympics - BH having manifested zero interest before the Opening Ceremony, but having since then been avidly watching the sailing (of course) but many other things as well!! We haven't watched so much daytime TV ever! How teribly decadent - and I even preached on the Olympics (well, about Eric Liddell) yesterday!! Love to you both.
ReplyDeleteHi Helva, the local village shows in Mid-Wales are probably the nearest moddern equivalent to these fetes, but they are still very different, not least because they don't include a 2-hour lunch served by a team of volunteers!
DeleteThe weather forecast for the coming week is perfect for his visit, thanks - no rain and not much cloud and temperatures in the lower 20s. No time for the Olympics while he's here. :-)
Would you like me to record anything worth keeping from now on - I'll probably have to record the Closing Ceremony anyway, as we'll be up at the Club over the weekend? Let me know by e-mail if so!! LOL
DeleteThe fete looks like great fun, and I am sure you will soon be completely up to speed with the shiny new lap top. Have a lovely time with your grandson. J.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janice. You know all about visits from grandchildren by now, I know. :-) The laptop is fine for web browsing and internet, but using it in Word still has me grinding my teeth with frustration at not being able to find familiar functions. Still, I won't be beaten......
DeleteA visit from a grandchild would merit some excitement here - we see them rarely as they live thousands of Kms away.
ReplyDeleteI've never been in a bouncy castle, there having been no such thing in my childhood. I'd love to give it a try!
Sorry your grandchildren are so far away, Pondside. Our are less than 200 miles away from us in the UK, but we still don't manage to see them as often as we would like, because of their busy lives.
DeleteLike you, I love watching children on the bouncy castle and so wish i could get on there with them.
That looks such fun...simple pleasures in good company.
ReplyDeleteAnd not a sponsored theatrical performance in sight, Fly! ;-) The children have a great time and the grown-ups enjoy both watching the games and having a really good chin-wag with friends and neighbours.
DeleteWell, I wrote some little brilliance and the whole thing disappeared on me! Do have fun with your grandson. What a great source of blog posts he is sure to be. Smiles - A.
ReplyDeletePoor Astrid. I hate it when Blogger does that to me. We will have a lovely time with Grandson#3, as we did when he came last year. DH has a list of potential trips and activities, but we also enjoy just playing quietly at home at times.
DeleteAh windows. I loathe it. Not because it is intimidating but because it is overly messy. Perhaps you should consider the simplicity of a nice Mac. [No i do not work for them or gain any commission etc etc]
ReplyDeleteSorry you have bloggers block. Not something I have, but there is nothing wrong with taking a break anyway. But still, a few pics of Normandy life are always welcome, we all like to see other people's lives and wonder at the differences.
LOL, Rough Seas! I have no experience of Macs and indeed have always been very happy with Windows, but am finding getting used to Windows 7 a bit of a trial. I don't think I learn as easily as I once did.:-)
DeleteWhen I look back I find that I didn't actually blog much when we were in France last summer, so perhaps it's a summer thing and the blogging urge will return when the days draw in. We'll see..... Glad you liked the pictures. I too love glimpses of other lives and other ways.
I think the communiity gathering and mini rivalries are such fun. Our Community is small, but the volunteers work very hard to have lots of activities available at the hall. I like the idea of finding carrotts in the hay. What a great idea. Thanks for posting Perpetua, and enjoy your grandson's visit. My grandchildren just live a minute away, and Lindsay is with me almost every day. I wouldn't have it any other way. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Bonnie. They remind me of the village events in the tiny Lancashire village I grew up in - small-scale, unsophisticated, inexpensive, and great fun. :-) The carrots in the hay competition is a perennial, with the children divided into two teams to see which can collect the most.
DeleteLucky you to have your grandchildren so close. In this scattered world a lot of grandparents will envy you, including me. :-)
What a charming festival. I have never heard of "finding carrots in the hay" and chuckle at the wonderful simplicity! I love it...I actually yearn for such simple pleasures sometimes! I have missed you, and have wondered at how your summer has been going, but I applaud that you are listening to your inner voice. Apparently you really need a little break, and why not! When the seasons shift you'll more than likely be ready to come back. I'm glad you gave us a little peek...now just enjoy your grandson's arrival! :-) oxo Debra
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely, Debra, and we always enjoy it. Finding carrots in the hay was new to us too, but is a perfect game for an agricultural community such as ours. I'm touched to have been missed, but somehow the words wouldn't come (or is it the thoughts?) other than in response to other people's, so I'm now going with the flow....:-) Grandson arrived safely and we collected him from his father at the ferry this afternoon. He's now tucked up in bed and i'm catching up with comments before I too head for bed. Yawn....
DeleteDear Perpetua, so good to "hear" your voice in this posting. I still think of you each time I read a M.C. Beaton
ReplyDeletelight mystery novel about Agatha Raisin and her friend, the minister's wife, who reminds me of you with her great, good sense and her wit and wisdom. I hope that one of these days, you'll read one of the books in this series and let me know whether you think I've identified you with a character you, yourself, like. Peace.
Dee, that is so sweet of you. You've now got me really intrigued to see what this minister's wife is like. :-) I've put M C Beaton on my library wishlist and will borrow one of her books when I get home to Wales and report back to you when I've read it....
DeleteGreat to be able to catch up with you on my one day at the local wifi centre! Sorry to hear the weather has not been so great -- but do love the sound of your local fete -- ours is usually hld sometime in September usually after we've returned to the U.K. :-(. Hope you have a great time with the grandson and a spell of good weather to go with it!
ReplyDeleteLovely to hear from you, Broad, and glad to read that your weather is better than ours has been recently. However the forecast for our grandson's visit is really good, so we should be able to get out and about, thank goodness. Sorry to hear that you usually miss your own fete communale. Perhaps you could stay on a bit longer one year, just to sample it. I'm sure you would enjoy it.
DeleteWhat a lovely glimpse of the Fete Communale... there's something strangely apposite about 'hunt the carrot' set alongside 'struggles with Windows 7'.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely week with your grandson.
Thanks, Catriona, and LOL! You've hit the nail on the head - why can't computing be as simple as finding carrots in the hay. :-)
DeleteHope you get some of the good weather which is coming, it should reach up into Normandie. ;-) We always enjoy our village events for the same reason--simple good fun. Have a great time with grandson No3
ReplyDeleteThanks, Antoinette. I'm glad to say that the forecast for the next few days is for perfect summer weather - lots of sun and temperatures in the low to middle 20s. Couldn't be better for getting out and about with an eight-year-old. :-)
DeleteDear Perpetua - Lovely to have a post from you, and pleased that you are enjoying all of the fun to be had in your part of France.
ReplyDeleteI have just had both sets of families staying. Four left, and Five came less than 24 hours later. You can probably imagine the made dash between them. Washing line loaded with bed linen and towels, which luckily dried in the sun. Then a huge food shop. All of my grandchildren are grown up with adult appetites.
I think that perhaps blogging is different when you are away, your routine is not the same.
Plenty of time in the colder autumn and winter months to study Windows 7.
Enjoy the time with your grandson.
Thanks, Rosemary, and glad to have obliged after all the lovely posts you've been writing. Gosh, you HAVE been a glutton for punishment with two successive sets of visitors like that! I've only done that once and I swore then never again. Now I try to space them out a bit.
DeleteInterestingly I find it easy to blog when in Scotland, but here, where I'm trying to get a big garden into shape, I find myself wanting to be outdoors and active and my brain seems to switch off. I'll certainly be active for the next week, with an 8year-old in the house. :-)
I'm sure you'll have a good time with your grandsons. We have our two grandchildren with us at the moment and we're enjoying a different routine and new experiences especially with the grandson who enjoys football!
ReplyDeleteI know from his visit last year that we'll have a great time, thanks, Relindis, helped by the fact that unlike last year the weather is going to be good. He isn't a football fan as yet, but can play a mean game of boules. :-)
DeleteI seem to have given you more than one grandson! Anyway, enjoy the time with your grandson!
ReplyDeleteActually I have three, Relindis, but the other two are with their other grandparents in Scotland at the moment. :-)
DeletePerpetua - May I offer you two observations which I hope will help overcome the reluctance of your brain to let you write a blog post.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote this current post just over 24 hours ago. According to the stats before I logged in to write this comment, your current post had already received 36 comments in just over 24 hours - 18 from various individuals & 18 faithful replies from you. I posted the last post on my blog more than three days ago. It currently has two comments - one from you, together with my reply.
I too have recently moved from Windows XP on an old desktop computer to Windows 7 on my new laptop. I don't have a problem at all! However, I do admit that Windows XP spoke to me in Czech whilst Windows 7 speaks to me in my native tongue which may explain why I feel like I do :-)
Enjoy your time with Grandson 3 but be encouraged to get your brain into gear once he's returned across the Channel. There clearly are a lot of people besides me who enjoy reading what you write.
Gosh, thanks, Ricky, you really are a morale-booster.:-) I'm sure I will get back into harness before too long, but I've been surprised by how long it's been between posts since we arrived 7 weeks ago. Usually you can't shut me up.......
DeleteI'm glad to know that you've found the transition to Windows 7 painless, though I would guess almost anything would seem easy after using a Czech-language set-up. :-) I think onwards and upwards had better be my motto once Grandson#3 has gone home.
You're far from the only one of us to have lost the will to blog over the summer, for one reason or another. Gardening and grandsons are some of the best reasons I can think of. Here's hoping we'll all get back into gear in the autumn!
ReplyDeleteThat's true and very comforting, DB. Despite the glorious weather today, the earlier sunset reminds me that autumn is around the corner and hopefully the darker evenings will encourage us all back to the keyboard. :-)
DeletePerpetua, it is good to see a post from you, understanding the frustrations of a new computer. It will all come to you in due course, I am sure, and in the meantime, enjoy your visit with your grandson I've slowed down my blogging a bit this summer as well. I'll blame it on the heat.
ReplyDeleteThe Fete Communale looks like the best kind of fun - especially carrots in the hay. I haven't heard of that and think it would be quite a hoot, especially for the kids.
Thanks, Penny. Having just read an item on the BBC website about last month being the hottest July on record in the States, you can be forgiven for losing blogging energy. I wish we could send you some rain for your endangered harvests.
DeleteFinding the carrots in the hay is a staple of the fete for the children and they always love it, just as we love watching them. Why change a winning formula?
I know exactly how you feel about the lack of blogging inspiration. I don't seem to have the energy physically or mentally to achieve very much at the moment. I put it down to the oppressive heat which just makes me want to sleep! I am managing to knock out posts but I don't feel so enthusiastic as I normally do. But I force myself because I find that the longer I leave it, the less inclined I am to write anything.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. Enjoy your time with your grandson xx
Ayak, given the awful heat you've had to put up with all summer, I'm amazed you can find the energy to type anything at all! It really helps to know that I'm not the only one who feels like this for whatever reason. Your advice about plugging on regardless sounds very sensible to me, as I've been very aware that the more the days slip by without posting, the easier it is to leave it to tomorrow, which of courss never comes. :-)
DeletePS We're having a great time with him, thanks and the lovely weather is a big bonus. :-)
DeleteI'm rather ashamed to say that I have never been to Normandy - it looks delightful, and 'real' too. One day for a bike tour perhaps - and hopefully not soon. I hope you have a wonderful summer in France
ReplyDeleteNormandy is lovely, Mark, especially (in my opinion) the part of it we know well which is southern Manche. The area is also cycling mad, with cycle races for young and not-so-young being a popular part of some local fetes. When you finally make it here, you should feel very much at home. :-)
DeleteIt's a summer thing - you'll be back to full time blogging in September. Look how many of us are dropping by to see if there's a new post.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, BtoB. When I look back at last summer and my first year of blogging, I didn't post much then either. How easily one forgets.... Thanks for the encouragement. :-)
DeleteUne fête communale sounds like a lot of fun- and in Normandie! When I read about Normandie it makes me nostalgic – my parents had a summer house in Mers-les-Bains and we would go there often. It is true that the weather was erratic and then I could stay all day reading books without feeling guilty! Enjoy your grand kid.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is great fun, Vagabonde - simple and very pleasant. I had to google Mers-les-Bains and found that you were at the very opposite end of Normandy from us. It looks like a perfect seaside resort for childhood holidays and I can understand why you feel nostalgic for it. We had a lovely week with our grandson, thanks.
DeleteDon't worry, Perpetua, I'm sure you'll have the hang of it all soon. I am most impressed that you know the difference between Windows 7 and XP - I don't have a clue what I am using most of the time and usually assume it's the computer playing up if it doesn't do what I expect it to do.
ReplyDeleteI love the low-tech games at your fete in Normandy (see, this silly computer can't put the right accents on words!) and I'm glad you had a good week with grandson #3. Love, Axxx
I wish I had your confidence, Annie. Windows 7 makes me feel like a beginner again. Sigh... I don't think I cope with change as well as I get older. :-)
DeleteI love the simplicity of the fete activities too (and my computer won't do accents either, except in Word) and it's great to see people enjoying themselves without having to spend much (if any) money. Good to have you back again, Annie. xx
Missed this ... I hope you've had a lovely time with your grandson :D
ReplyDeleteWe had a wonderful time, thanks, Annie, and the weather was glorious.
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