Yesterday was alovely bright Autumn day and Síle and headed off to the mountains of the Languedoc for a picnic.

One of the objects of the day was for me to show Síle the village of Brusque which Colm and I had come across last year and the other object, which is always on ones mind at this time of year, was to see if we could find some mushrooms.

Brusque is actually in the Grande Causses which is in the Aveyron about an hour from our house but you have to drive through spectacular mountain scenery to get there, and to pass many woods.
Our first excursion into a chestnut wood yielded some mushrooms but nothing fantastic ( we were it must be understood rather spoiled in finding Ceps on our first day out, this is like learning to drive in a Rolls)
Second forray into a pine wood yielded even less, the wood was carpeted in mushrooms but none were that interesting looking.

When we got to Brusque the first thing we saw was an elderly man getting out of his car with a basketful of delicious looking but small brown mushrooms.

I admired them and asked him what they were.
“Champignons” he said
Yes but what sort said I.
“Mousserons” was his smiling answer.

After that we explored the village which has a ruined bastille and a watch tower (which is lived in) and even a door which is decorated with linen fold carving, it is a little gem.

All the time the word “Mousserons” was running through my mind.
I had my suspicions.
Sure enough when I got home out came the first volume of the (shorter)OED and there under the origin of the English word mushroom was its origin; from the French Mousseron.
Over to Robert and there Mousseron was translated into English as Meadow Mushroom, over to my Mushroom book where Meadow Mushroom turned out to be the common field mushroom which even I am familiar with in Ireland.

There is no way that the mushrooms in that man’s basket were field mushrooms.
I reckon he just decided that these ignorant foreigners didn’t understand Champignons and so he gave us then next nearest generic term.

We didn’t find out what he had in his basket but at least I now know from where the strange word “Mushroom” originated.