We got back from Australia on Friday evening; for those who don’t know, we went to Perth for 3 weeks to visit Gemma and Johnny.

We had a fantastic holiday, staying at Gemma and Johnny’s apartment for the first few days, where they threw a “welcome barbecue” for us to meet lots of their friends. What a great bunch of people they were; Toni and Chris even brought a spare guitar for me to play. The apartment block boasts 2 swimming pools, so we were able to swim every morning, what luxury!

After a few days to recover from jet-lag, we hired a camper van for 9 days and travelled inland to Hyden, where we saw our first kangaroo, and visited the campsite museum, full of everything from biscuit tins to sewing machines and hand woodworking tools. There was also a collection of wax cylinder records and the machines to play them on, as well as old 78rpm record players and over 3000 records, all catalogued; the owner was more than happy to play anything for us, so we chose an Ella Fitzgerald and something by Frank Sinatra.The next day we headed down to the coast to Esperance. The town wasn’t much to write home about, but the beaches were incredible; pure white, fine sand, big waves and hardly a soul about! We climbed a “hountain” as Kieran called it – too big for a hill but too small for a mountain; Frenchman’s Peak was a huge lump of rock with a hole near the summit. The views from the top were breathtaking.

From there, we went to Albany, where we  had our first try at snorkelling. Nick’s moustache made the mask leak, so he had to give up, but I loved it and saw all sorts of fish. We visited some amazing rock formations and a huge natural bridge where the waves came crashing in, and saw the “blowholes” where big waves send great updraughts of air through holes in the rocks above, so strong they blew Nick’s hat off when he stood over them!

From Albany we moved on to Denmark, which must be full of elderly hippies; every other shop does tarot readings or aura readings or sells beads, crystals and joss sticks! A very laid back sort of place, though! Near Denmark is the Valley of the Giants, a forest of huge Red Tingle trees, where there’s a tree top walk. It was amazing to walk on a level with the tree tops; you could see for miles around. The next stop was the Gloucester tree, which Gemma was determined I should climb. It stands 61m tall, which didn’t sound that high to me, till we arrived and craned our necks to see the top. There were what looked like overgrown nails, 153 of them, hammered into the trunk in a spiral from the bottom to the top, where there was a platform. By the time I’d done the first 17 steps, I’d already decided that I didn’t like this game; but Gemma had gone to great pains to tell me about her work colleague, who was “even more of a scaredy-cat” than me, and who’d climbed it, so I plodded on, my knees like lumps of jelly. I did finally reach the top, where Nick kindly waited till I’d recovered a bit before taking a photo. Luckily, on my descent, there was nobody going up, as the person going down has to squeeze round the outside of the person going up!

The following day was a long drive to Margaret River, where Johnny would meet us. We tried to get fuel at one garage, but the van was too tall to fit under the canopy; we were very nearly out of fuel by the time we found another petrol station!

Margaret River is a very touristy area, with lots of vineyards, breweries, a lavender farm, an olive oil farm, chocolateries, coffee specialists, nougat makers and loads more besides. We spent 2 days tasting and testing as much as we possibly could, before heading back to Perth.

We arrived back in Perth on Australia Day, in the middle of a heat wave, so temps up to 42C. In the evening we went down to the banks of the Swan River with some of the other people from the apartment block, to watch the most amazing firework display I’ve ever seen, set off from pontoons in the middle of the river. Mother nature played her part, too, with thunder and lightning and a very refreshing downpour to cool us all down.

In the last few days we visited Fremantle, with its prison which only closed in 1991, played “supagolf”, or silly golf as we called it, and spent a day going to Rottnest, a traffic-free island an hour and a half’s ferry ride from Perth. We saw dolphins in the water, following the boat, causing great excitement to everyone on board. We hired bikes to get about the island, but it was too hot to do many miles, so we went swimming and snorkelling again in the afternoon, a great way of staying cool. Later that evening Nick and I went to the Ellington jazz club, withing walking distance of Gemma’s, to see the Chris Foster, Nick Abbey and Ben Falle Trio – brilliant!

So now it’s back to reality, the shock of sub-zero temperatures and even snow today! I hope you enjoy the photos if you can be bothered to look through all of them!

We’ve got the architect’s drawings now and suddenly our building project seems so much more real! The architect will submit his plans next week for planning permission, which should be granted in 2 to 3 months; we can do inside work before we get permission, but have to wait to do the external stuff.

Up to now, it’s been mostly demolition, or so it seems; so to have the prospect of getting the builder in to start on the construction is really exciting.

Well, we survived yesterday’s storm; in fact we came through unscathed and this morning dawned bright and sunny with hardly a breath of wind. It’s been a busy day, though, by our current standards anyway.

It started off normally enough; I had an English lesson to prepare for this afternoon, which was mostly done when the architect arrived at 10.30 with the preliminary drawings for our building project. He said he’d be here about an hour, so I thought I could finish planning my lesson then. But he was nowhere near finished when Kieran, Julie and Adrian arrived, starving hungry, at 12.30, so they drank tea while Daniel concluded what he needed to do. We hastily warmed some soup and ate while Julie explained that she and Kieran had had to abandon the new car yesterday evening as it took so long to get through to the rescue people that the credit on her phone ran out just as she was about to tell them where the car was! When she and Kieran got back to Julie’s it was to hear that the fridge had died as a result of numerous power cuts during the day. The three of them went to take the car to a garage this morning, which closed just as they arrived, so the car won’t be looked at till Monday now. I think Ade and Julie must have been very bad in a previous life!

I ate my lunch as fast as I could and took my half-done lesson with me, leaving the rest of them to their pudding. I managed to stretch what I’d prepared to last an hour and a half, but felt very guilty for not having done a better job when, at the end of class, one of the students brought out a “galette des rois”, the traditional cake served on January 6th to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, and a bottle of cider. The galette contains a figurine and the person who finds it is crowned king for the day. My students were interested to hear of my blog and wanted the address, so…. pour tous mes etudiants, bonjour! Il vous faut traduire cette page vous-memes; pas par fonctionne d’ordinateur!

At some point in all this, Nick and Kieran found the time to insulate and plasterboard the outer wall of the yellow bedroom; just needs the wall and ceiling plastering now and I can start decorating. It feels like progress!

The architect had had to make several changes to his plans for the house, so he returned shortly after I got home; this time just for half an hour, or so he said. An hour and a half later, I had to go for aperitifs at the Clan (where I teach), leaving Nick to sort the planning stuff with Daniel. I was the only English person there this evening, so no chance to take the easy option where language was concerned; I think this must be the first day since we’ve been here that I’ve spoken far more French than English, including some pretty technical stuff. I’m exhausted and heading for bed.

Goodnight et bonne nuit!

We went to an auberge in Gamarde on Tuesday for a surprise 50th birthday party for our friend Adrian; as promised, the magret de canard was the best we’d ever tasted. Ade thought he was going out for a quiet lunch, but was surprised (pleasantly, I hope) when nine people turned up.

Yesterday Kieran and Nick started work on the tart-up of the next bedroom; they’ve plasterboarded the ceiling and started to insulate the outside wall. I’ve repainted the bathroom, which was looking tatty.

Adrian and Julie have just bought a new car and were planning to pick it up from St. Foy la Grande, in the Dordogne, today. But Ade’s got a bad back and can’t drive, so Kieran went with Julie. We’ve just heard that the new car has broken down part way home and they’re waiting for the breakdown people. Ade had to text us as he’s in the middle of a power cut; not a good day!

For the last 2 days we’ve been basking, rather smugly, I have to admit, in glorious sunshine and temperatures you’d expect in the UK in April or May. It’s amazing how fast things can change! The wind is now howling around the house and down the chimneys and the rain is falling in sheets (and pouring down the chimney onto the woodburner!) It’s only two years since the “tempete”, which tore roofs from houses, left hundreds of villages without water or electricity and flattened huge swathes of forest between here and the Atlantic coast. Because there are so many holes in our grange roof, we called Rooftop Chimney Cleaning Services to fix tarpaulins to the inside of it, to direct the water out through the eaves at the back; I can hear them flapping in the wind as I sit here, typing. We’ve battened down all the hatches we can; all we can do now is hope that the wind will subside before it does any damage, and that Kieran and Julie will get home without any more problems! Watch this space for the next exciting instalment of “A Year in the Gers”.

It was back to work today; and for most of France, in fact, as when a bank holiday falls on a Sunday, they don’t get the Monday off!

We had plenty to do; wood to chop as we’d nearly used all the previously cut firewood; the dishwasher to take to pieces to try to make it work without having to tip it up 2 or 3 times at the beginning of every cycle; and the bedroom to finish. The last was mostly my responsibility; it’s only a tart-up and I still need to paint the fireplace, mosaic the inside of it and wax polish the floor, but those tasks can be done at a later date. For now, Kieran’s itching to get started on the next room, so we’ve moved around; after all, who are we to stop him working!?

Kieran spent the evening modifying an X-box, using the tiniest soldering iron I’ve ever seen; so far, it’s not doing what it’s meant to, but I’m certain it won’t defeat him for long.

It all kicked off at 8.30pm; the toasts were made, the caterer installed in the kitchen, the disco set up; Patrick, the organiser, looked very nervous. It was, after all, the first New Year’s Eve do that he’d organised. The people started to arrive; Patrick served everybody their first glass of Pousse Rapiere and arranged for the toasts to be brought to the aperos table.

By about 10.30, everybody had arrived, the toasts had nearly all been eaten and people were ready to start on the serious business of the meal. The first course was served at 11pm; fresh foie gras with a sweet white wine, followed by noix St. Jacques and mushroom risotto with a dry white wine, accompanied by a lot of silliness and hilarity, party hats, blow guns with sticky boules for ammo, party poppers, streamers, etc.

We’d finished the starters by just before midnight, so everyone moved to the dance floor to see in the new Year. It seemed very strange not to sing Auld Lang Syne. We danced for a while before the “trou Gascon” (Gascony hole) arrived; a boule of ice cream in white armagnac; it smelled pretty potent! Then the main course was served; chapon wrapped in pancetta, served with potatoes dauphinoise, stuffed tomatoes and red wine. Another dance break, to let the food go down, before cheese and salad, followed by a platter of desserts and champagne, at about 2.30am. All topped off, of course, with coffee and armagnac.

There were lots of traditional songs which had to be sung while standing on your chair, waving your serviette over your head, or swaying wildly, hanging on to your neighbour, and lots of silly dances to be danced, to the strains of real French disco music. Oh, how we longed for some decent music to dance to; the French may be great in the kitchen, but their musical ability is next to non-existent; all base and noise, and it all sounded the same!

We stayed till 5am, by which time there were about 40 revellers remaining; I don’t know what time they served the onion soup, but the last person went home at 8.30 this morning. We went to help with the clean-up operation; there were about 20 turned up, so it didn’t take long; then we all sat down to another meal, with, yes, lots of wine and armagnac, and all promised to help with the annual fete at the beginning of September. At least there’s time to recover by then!

It’s new year’s eve and Caupenne is gearing up for its annual bun fight; a night of extreme eating, drinking and merry-making is in store for all those 120 people who’ve booked.

We’ve spent the afternoon preparing 800 “toasts” – little slices of bread, topped with all sorts of things. There’s ham, cornichon and pepper; anchovy butter, tomato and olives; tuna mayo, asparagus and prawn; and several other things too. They’ll be served as the aperitifs, with what I now discover is called “pousse rapiere”, the lethal mix of a local spirit and champagne that we tried on Thursday.

The meal probably won’t start till about 10pm; there are 5 courses and a different wine with each one; then the disco will start in earnest, going on till 6o’clock tomorrow morning. I suspect all the folks who live in the centre of the village will be there, since there’ll be no chance of sleeping tonight; you’ll be able to hear it from our house, a mile away!

The five long tables have been laid out by village, as big groups of people from the surrounding villages will be joining us. The two tables nearest the bar are reserved for Caupenne-ites, and with good reason; the folks of Caupenne certainly know how to enjoy themselves;-)

So for now we send all our best wishes to all our family and friends reading this; a happy and prosperous 2012 to you all. See you next year.

The weekly market in Eauze was buzzing this morning; it was a glorious day, under a clear blue sky, the frost having burnt off the rooftops and fields. Every available space was taken by market stalls, occupying every inch of the town. Oysters seem to be the thing to eat at this time of year and there were long queues at each of the stalls selling them; they had all almost sold out by 11am. The large car park was full; when I returned to load my shopping into the car, I was surprised to find that the key wouldn’t open the door and just spun round in the lock. I had visions of having to ask Nick to cycle over to Eauze with the spare car key, till I looked at the registration – one of the disadvantages of having bought a “truly French” car is that they’re everywhere! A quick look around to make sure nobody had noticed my mistake, then a nonchalant amble around till I found our car, and yes, the key worked fine!

This evening we’d been asked to go to the village hall, where the New Year’s Eve party will be held, to help set up. We arrived at 6pm, along with about sixteen others; the men put out tables and chairs, as well as hanging fairy lights and other technical type stuff, while the women made table decorations. In a couple of hours, the place was transformed. Aperitifs were then served, white wine or a potent concoction whose name sounded like “Pousse à Pierre”, a mixture of champagne and a local armagnac-based, orange flavoured spirit. Once everyone had had a glass or two, we were asked to be there again on Saturday afternoon, with bread knives, to prepare the canapes for the evening. Also to go back on Sunday to help clear up; those who do so will get lunch once the cleaning up has been done; that probably won’t be till about 4pm as we’re not expected to arrive till about 1pm. Just as well, as the New Year’s Eve bash starts at 8.30 and goes on till 6 the following morning, with soup served at about 4 or 5 am for anyone still standing!

For anyone wondering what the monstrous vegetable pictured below is, it’s half of Adrian and Julie’s pumpkin, which they gave us yesterday. I’m not quite sure how I’ll use it all; suggestions please!

Since Christmas eve the weather has become distinctly chilly at night, with hard frosts in the mornings and beautiful, clear, blue , sunny skies during the days; warmish, even!

We went to Brassempouy to spend Christmas day and Boxing day with Julie and Adrian, to help them eat their enormous turkey. The food, drink and company were all superb; it must rate as the most relaxing Christmas ever.

The high point of Boxing day was maintaining a tradition started by Adrian’s grandad, apparently much to the annoyance of Ade’s mother. Christmas dinner sandwiches. The trick is to put some of everything you had for Christmas dinner; ie turkey, potatoes, carrots, sprouts, stuffing and even gravy, into a sandwich. You are allowed extras, such as mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, etc. It was challenging to do this with rice cakes instead of bread, but I rose to the challenge and the result was very tasty.

I got back to work, well slightly, this afternoon, getting on with the painting in the next bedroom. I love the colour, powder blue with a hint of lavender; I just hope I’ve mixed up enough; as usual I didn’t like any of the colours available to buy, so ended up by mixing my own.

Nick and Kieran spent a large part of yesterday breaking up the base of one of the wine cuves. We now understand why the builder’s estimate for their removal was as high as it was! Rob, our neighbour, arrived this afternoon with a minibus and large trailer, which he proceeded to manoeuvre expertly into the grange. Kieran filled the trailer with rubble, using (of course) Dougal the digger, then all three of them went to Rob’s to unload. They did this twice, so we’ve got rid of a good amount of rubble and Rob knows of someone else who might want what’s left.

I started decorating the next bedroom, to the sounds of what Kieran assures me is the best Christmas album in the world….EVER! It should look good when it’s done, though, with a slightly altered fireplace and the ugly gas radiator removed. My favourite song? Click on the link below to find out (yes, I know I’m showing my age, but who cares!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A8KT365wlA

We haven’t a clue where the box of Christmas decorations is, so I made some mini Christmas stockings to hang over the fireplace to make the place look a little more festive. All that remained to do then, was to bake another 4 dozen mince pies which we’ll take round to various friends and neighbours tomorrow. That’s 10 dozen I’ve made in total, and so many French people have asked for the mincemeat recipe!

So we’re all ready now for our first Christmas in Caupenne d’Armagnac; it’ll be very different from Christmas in Harrogate; another milestone in our French adventure.

Happy Christmas to everyone and thank you for reading our blog.