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CHRISTMAS (CHALLENGE #5)
Christmas is all about tradition, but not really. I think Christmas as a concept may be traditional in itself but what Christmas means to people can be very different depending on the individual and will inevitably evolve as time goes by. There are elements that remain constant; the exchange of gifts, the religious aspect, the decorations and of course the increased awareness of the bond between family and friends. In my experience all of these change with time and even though on the surface these elements remain in one form or another, often the meaning of them alters to take account of the circumstances and the journey we’ve taken along life’s road. Now that I’m a Golden Boy (don’t get too excited I just meant I’m in my fifties) my take on Christmas presents has changed considerably. Mainly…
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FRANCE 2013: BLAYE MARKET DAY
Wednesday and Saturday are the big market days in France – although there are various types of market held on other days during the summer months but they’re specific to certain towns and villages. We decided it was time to have that market experience once again and so The Ban Chéile (henceforth TBC) and I set out on a 30 minute drive to Blaye to reacquaint ourselves with the delights of the morning market and maybe another visit to the Blaye Citadel (a beautifully maintained fortification right beside the market – more info). The last time we’d been to Blaye it rained quite a bit and we eventually gave up and went back to our rented refuge in Bédenac, but today we were treated to 31°C with a royal blue sky bereft of even a…
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FRANCE 2013 – COGNAC BLUES
My Ban-Cheile* and I took a trip into Cognac to catch some of the ambiance of the Blues Festival. The festival runs from July 2nd -July 7th and attracts people from all over the world and not just France. The one hour drive north from Bédenac took us through undulating vineyards as far as the eye could see, interspersed with the red-roofed houses that created a panorama that might have been unchanged for centuries. The festival itself comprises of a headline act in the Centre Ville and a scattering of other performance in a variety of locations from public parks to bars and on the doorstep of restaurants. The crowd consisted of all age groups from children, through teenagers, to young parents herding their over-excited children, but if pushed I’d have to admit there were more…
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COUNTRY ROADS
My old pal Denver is 12 years of age (84 in dog years) and despite the down at heel look on his face – it’ll stop soon if you ignore it – he’s actually over the moon about going on his road trip today. Unlike other migrating species he heads south for the summer and loves it. It doesn’t seem so long ago when he used to first scramble into the boot as a pup and then later bound in when he was fully grown. Today Denver managed to get his front legs into the car by himself but the back legs were my job. Dog years didn’t really mean anything to me when I was young and how could they, I had little to measure them against, but now I’m one of the Golden Guys I really do…
