I decided to drive to Ernen for the singing weekend (it's near Simplonin the south, but the route goes via the north side of Lake Geneva). It may have been a bad decision: the rain is not so bad, but the wind is gusting to scary. The Big Bloo Yes doesn't like crosswinds at all, and sudden gusts could lift it off the road.
Ernen's webcam showed fog and snow this morning, but I'm not sure it's updating. The weather forecast is too warm for snow. Anyway, I'm packing lots of clothes.
Meanwhile, if you have a car please register on Compare Auto Repair. It's the latest of the clan's small businesses, only just started up. It's a good idea, too. Alright, I'm biased :)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Studying the dots for Mountain music
Next week I'm going to sing in the Swiss Mountains with Monica Buckland.
Not having sung for a few months, the ol' diaphragm muscles are wobbly. This year the fields are mostly planted with rape rather than sunflowers, which means I am croaking. Not a good start to the delayed learning/practice.
The early sacred music is easy enough (and I could probably sing the Byrd from memory). The Monteverdi madrigal is one I don't know; wonderful but difficult and deserves more time than I'm giving it. I love the jolly old French chanson; the Fanny Mendelssohn is cute; the Brahms and Sullivan are slushily ok. The Matthew Harris song is startling at first, but fits - it's in a kind of folk-jazz style - and the solo is fine as long as I come in at the right place. The David Wikander piece is musically do-able but the Swedish vowels are confusing.
Then we come to the Per Nørgård: Frühling Lied from Wie ein Kind, text by a Swiss poet. It sounds... interesting. Pleasant, but decidedly random. I can't work out quite what's going on with the solo passages until the last page, when there's a clear solo sop line. I doubt I'll survive to the last page.
Not having sung for a few months, the ol' diaphragm muscles are wobbly. This year the fields are mostly planted with rape rather than sunflowers, which means I am croaking. Not a good start to the delayed learning/practice.
The early sacred music is easy enough (and I could probably sing the Byrd from memory). The Monteverdi madrigal is one I don't know; wonderful but difficult and deserves more time than I'm giving it. I love the jolly old French chanson; the Fanny Mendelssohn is cute; the Brahms and Sullivan are slushily ok. The Matthew Harris song is startling at first, but fits - it's in a kind of folk-jazz style - and the solo is fine as long as I come in at the right place. The David Wikander piece is musically do-able but the Swedish vowels are confusing.
Then we come to the Per Nørgård: Frühling Lied from Wie ein Kind, text by a Swiss poet. It sounds... interesting. Pleasant, but decidedly random. I can't work out quite what's going on with the solo passages until the last page, when there's a clear solo sop line. I doubt I'll survive to the last page.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Croissants and brocantes
Breakfast on the terrace, lovely. I read the local (wide area) paper, bought rather late in the week, and discovered that there had been several interesting events, including a performance of baroque music and dance. Bother, missed it. And the African Market (which, from the photos, looked much more fun than the usual furrin market). There was an account of the Boutenac Touvent village walk to celebrate spring. 120 people going for a stroll together!
Future events: brocante in St Dizant du Gua Sunday 19th; brocante in Lorignac Sunday 26th.
Future events: brocante in St Dizant du Gua Sunday 19th; brocante in Lorignac Sunday 26th.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
April in Charente Maritime
I came home on Sunday, arriving in the wraparound sunset. The route was 137 nearly all the way - first the N137 and then the D137. At Rochefort there was a choice: Saintes or Saujon. I followed the coast road so as to pass the Pont Transbordeur du Martrou.
Just south of Lorignac there is a large ruined building on the west side of the road. It must be the first time I've driven past it at sunset. The setting sun was behind it, and made a stunning view through its broken walls. The vineyards and trees, too, black against the bright deep gold and pink.
Today the garden is warm and sleepy with bees and the scent of lilac. The grass is too long for a mower and the little herb plot is buried under happy weeds.
Just south of Lorignac there is a large ruined building on the west side of the road. It must be the first time I've driven past it at sunset. The setting sun was behind it, and made a stunning view through its broken walls. The vineyards and trees, too, black against the bright deep gold and pink.
Today the garden is warm and sleepy with bees and the scent of lilac. The grass is too long for a mower and the little herb plot is buried under happy weeds.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Gacilly
We went to visit Yves Rocher, but he wasn't in. Most of the rest of Gacilly was present, so we wandered around and looked at them and their wares and took some photos of scenes which interested me and which I thought would be less likely to be already on the 'net or postcarded.
Yves Rocher started producing and marketing cosmetics and toiletries made from organically-grown plants way back before it was fashionable, and made a plenty of money doing so. He's put a lot of the money into his home village, in rebuilding and renovating, and set up a scheme to support artisans and craftspeople there. It's rather like Portmeirion in Wales, but using the original old cottages instead of mad new build. There are the added attractions of walled gardens, and indeed plants all over the place, even being left in peace to grow where they wish in pavements and the edges of steps, like minor deities. It was surprising to see a stray strawberry plant in happy flower between wall and pavement.
The crafts are of course very good and the jewellery particularly lovely, but I only succumbed to the lure of some stuff to put round pot and tub plants so that you don't have to water them. Herbs and lemon balm in the house, safe while I'm away!
Gacilly also happens to have a particularly beautiful river, one of those rich silky stretches of water with rocks and a weir for added textural variety.
We walked/wheeled down to the park and basked in sunlight and apple-blossom scent. A park with fruit trees and herb gardens. Marvellous.
On the way back there was this mind-boggling building (link to Christophe Chauvin's photo).
The artisans of Gacilly
The Yves Rocher Foundation
What they sell
Yves Rocher started producing and marketing cosmetics and toiletries made from organically-grown plants way back before it was fashionable, and made a plenty of money doing so. He's put a lot of the money into his home village, in rebuilding and renovating, and set up a scheme to support artisans and craftspeople there. It's rather like Portmeirion in Wales, but using the original old cottages instead of mad new build. There are the added attractions of walled gardens, and indeed plants all over the place, even being left in peace to grow where they wish in pavements and the edges of steps, like minor deities. It was surprising to see a stray strawberry plant in happy flower between wall and pavement.
The crafts are of course very good and the jewellery particularly lovely, but I only succumbed to the lure of some stuff to put round pot and tub plants so that you don't have to water them. Herbs and lemon balm in the house, safe while I'm away!
Gacilly also happens to have a particularly beautiful river, one of those rich silky stretches of water with rocks and a weir for added textural variety.
We walked/wheeled down to the park and basked in sunlight and apple-blossom scent. A park with fruit trees and herb gardens. Marvellous.
On the way back there was this mind-boggling building (link to Christophe Chauvin's photo).
The artisans of Gacilly
The Yves Rocher Foundation
What they sell
Friday, April 03, 2009
Let there be even more light
The proposed shower-room has no window or skylight and nowhere to put one. I ordered a solar pipe / sun pipe / light pipe from www.tubzzz.com. The delivery information said it weighed less than 5kg, so I was surprised and worried when the box arrived - it is enormous! Fortunately the contents aren't quite so large, and will fit in the car if I leave behind some clothes and other things.
I'm excited about getting it installed. Not quite up to my dream of a solar-powered house, but the first step!
I'm excited about getting it installed. Not quite up to my dream of a solar-powered house, but the first step!
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Almost a bedroom
Work on converting the attic to a bedroom and shower-room has progressed. Photos by Camille Chambon of Casa Nova.
It's more like a dormitory than a bedroom, and later it will be split into two bedrooms, which will make three bedrooms upstairs.
Of the two photos taken from the roof, one shows a beautiful view of the southern part of the hamlet and across the fields towards the estuary (which is over the cliff and thus not visible), and the other shows the big tree and the garage which will be converted into a gite when I can afford it.
It's more like a dormitory than a bedroom, and later it will be split into two bedrooms, which will make three bedrooms upstairs.
Of the two photos taken from the roof, one shows a beautiful view of the southern part of the hamlet and across the fields towards the estuary (which is over the cliff and thus not visible), and the other shows the big tree and the garage which will be converted into a gite when I can afford it.
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