Armistice Day in a french village

There were less people there this morning than in past years. The light rain may have put some off. We all bought our bluetes (cornflowers) from the returned serviceman. Nurses from WW1 originally set up a workshop for injured servicemen to make these paper flowers as a form of rehabilitation. Now they are the official symbol for Armistice Day in France.

The ceremony started at the hamlet up the hill that is also part of our commune, then the official party drove down to our mairie and the procession re-formed.

Le maire and the president of the local serviceman’s association read their speeches. There are lots of reminders of the wars in our area – plaques at the sites of executions, bullet holes in walls, rebuilt villages – so we are always aware of the past.

Another medal presentation  by monsieur le maire.

La Marseillaise is played loudly, then all move on to the salle de fête for a glass of wine and a catch up with neighbours.

for those who are also fans of Martin Walker's books,
this is our version of "Bruno"

 Let us never forget the sacrifices of others for our safety, whether they be soldiers, police or firefighters. 

Autumn and olives

Leaves are changing colour, there is the occasional misty morning in the river valley and , at last , the rain has returned. The river bed that has been exposed for weeks is now underwater, as it should be , and the swans have returned to our section of the river.

olive tree is looking healthy

We lost our wonderful fig tree last year after a storm
 - lots of good strong shoots from the stump
so we are hopeful that the tree will regenerate

always a little sad when the leaves fall

There has been an olive tree in our garden since before we arrived, but never many olives until this year. We’ve just picked about a kilo of lovely dark fruit and have decided to make our first attempt at preserving them. Should be an interesting experience.

Lots of work once all these leaves fall

Have been making pots of soup and freezing them for later, and a batch of clementine marmalade since there has been lots of fruit at the market fresh from Spain. With cooler grey weather it’s  perfect for spending time in the kitchen.

Discovered that christmas decorations have already arrived in the stores this week. Such a shock as it feels as though summer has only just finished. C’est la vie.

even the hydrangea has an autumn colour

Hope the weather is good for you where ever you are