We had a terrific couple of hours at Chenonceau.

Here are some more pictures of the place.

This is the Marques Tower just on the riverbank next to the Chateau, it now, rather mundanely, sells souveniers of the castle.

This is a picture of the incredible detail of the filials on the roof, one is a virgin and child.

This is a drain from the bridge across to the Chateau.

Comforting to see that their window catches were twins of ours in Le Presbytere.

A chef’s delight in the basement kitchens, rows of copper pots.

And, best of all, a full sized Turbot Pot.

They were good at putting displays of flowers and vegetables throughout the castle, this one on the kitchen table.

On the first floor gallery they had an exhibition of the abstracts of Olivier Debre.
Fabulous paintings.

This is Catherine de Medici’s garden, planned to rival the garden of Diane de Poitiers.

Polished terracotta bricks on the second floor.

Diana De Poitiers’ Garden, all pink (with Sile in pink by the fountain)

Friend Finola who was with us took this to prove that we were really there.

Donal Moore, the Waterford City Archivist (and also a great friend of ours) has put together another collection of Annie Brophy photographs.
This one called “Wedding Bells” shows a selection of wedding photos taken by Annie between the Twenties and the Seventies in Waterford.
Annie was a Waterford institution during this time and this is but the tiniest tip of her extensive collection and enormously endearing.

I was particularly taken by the earlier ones, nervous couples in clothes in which they were obviously uncomfortable posing in her studio shyly.

The one I reproduce here (with Donal’s permission) is from the thirties and of an obviously well-to-do farming couple, they may even have belonged to the ascendancy from the quality of their clothes, but the background seems to indicate to me that they were pictured outside the door of a working farm.

(Don’t miss the cat just disappearing behind the best man’s legs)

The names are given as Tom Twyford marrying Catherine Hassett in Kilclooney Co. Waterford in the 1930s

It is only one of many glories of this exhibition which is presently running in Christchurch Cathedral in Waterford.

Get to it if you can.

Annie Brophy Photographic Collection, Waterford City Archives

Today we are back in Waterford, yesterday on the way back through France we stopped to take a quick look at Chenonceau Castle on the Loire and I took this shot.
We were there with our children about 20 years ago and then I just fell for its wonderful siting, straddling the River Cher with columns.

Henry II built it for his mistress Diane de Poitiers but as soon as he died his jealous widow, Catherine de Medici took it from her for herself.
Can’t blame her really.

This is a shot of our wicker shade-very Club Med-, and our tree, a Lilas d’Inde, and a candle hoder, taken through the mesh of what used to be a wall safe.

Tomorrow we head back to Waterford after a lovely but hard working summer.
For me not for long though, the reckoning is that I will be out again in September to talk the builders through stage two.

The previous incumbents of Le Presbytere were three nuns and, despite finding lots of empty bottles in the Cave, we have always assumed that they led a dull staid life.
As we are enjoying the house so much I sometimes feel little pangs of guilt at the life style contrasts between us and them.

This morning in Beziers I came upon this photograph which relieved me

It seems that the previous incumbents were perfectly capable of having a good time.

One of the things I love about owning an old house in France is that I keep finding little details in the way it is made, in the nuts and bolts of its structure which appeal to me.

This is one of the several locks on the front door which looks like it was built to survive a serious siege, or at least an attack by abattering ram.

A simple and perfect door handle, polished by hundreds of different hands

This wonderful heart shaped motif which is part of the closing mechanism of the shutters.

Just last week daughter D brought me up to the attic to show me this hinge, previously unnoticed, on the back of a door.

By the good graces of the French Meitheal we now have lost the attic carpet to show us these shagged but wonderful old earthenware tiles underneath. We are going to try and save them.

From the new velux window at the very top of the house we have one of the best views in the house of the Peuch and of Cornheillon

A little plant pot holder found in the garden. I am very yempted to get someone to reproduce it, it is such a good design.

Le Bassin is the organ of Thezan Les Beziers, produced by the Mairie twice a year.

This is this summer’s edition. on the cover is a great aerial shot of the village which shows that it is a true Circulade with the houses spiralling the church.

The shot was taken last summer. Those of you with eagle eyes will see our silver Megane parked outside our door just behind Serge and Dany’s white van.
The even sharper eyed may spot in our back garden, between the tree and the house, the red tablecloth we used last summer as a sunshade.
It is a real feeling of having arrived to have hit the cover of Le Bassin !

We were in Roquebrun again today, it is really our favourite swimming spot on the Orb, and this time the church was open and we went in.
It has a rather nice statue of St. Roch in the church but this one we found in an exhibition of vestments and banners in the back of the church.
The banners were intended to be carried in processions.
It is very interesting as the figure of the saint is in fact a collage and stands in relief from the embroidered background.
The figure of the dog is also different as he is depicted with a human face.
This tallies with another picture of the saint I found in Pezenas (unfortunately at a moment without a camera) the figure proffering bread to the saint was an angel instead of the usual dog. The dog on this banner seemed to be a compromise between angelic and canine aid.

I send out unofficial word that if people were prepared to come to the Languedoc and help in the restoration work in the Presbytere I would feed and water them to the best of my ability (no pay mind)
This is the first team.

Ann-Marie,Deirdre,Brian,Ano and Steve in the hall they had just stripped of paper.

The heart of a French village is its Baker.
French people are devoted to their bread which must be as fresh as possible, it is common for the housewife here to go to the baker three times each day, before each meal.
When we first came to the village of Thezan les Beziers it had a busy bakery in the square.
This Boulanger (which was served by a particularly waspish but pretty girl) served particularly delicious desserts (including a chocolate mousse cake which I fully intended to serve to guests for dinner) but their bread just wasn’t that great.
In fact last summer I made my own most of the time.
In September the inevitable happened and it went bust, the boulanger was foreclosed by the bank.
The people of the village took this extremely seriously.
It is reckoned to be the death of a village when the bakery closes.
Despite the fact that there exists a “Point Chaud” a shop in the village which bakes up ready prepared bread, and that the butcher became a Depot de Pain faces were grim when you inquired about the bakery and rumours abounded about it being sold.
When we arrived in July there seemed to be a fairly strong hope of the rebirth and at last, this morning, it reopened.

The prospects are good.

This mornings Baguettes were crisp and delicious-we opted for the Bien Cuit but there was a paler version available.

Later I wandered down to buy a Tart for dinner tonight and was lucky enough to get the very last piece of Patisserie in the shop, this Tarte au Pommes.
It looks good, I may yet find a substitute for the regretted chocolate mousse cake.