Autumn day in Angouleme

I don't really know why, but we rarely visit Angouleme even though we live halfway between it and Limoges.  I guess as both kids are studying in Limoges, our visits to Limoges are combined with squashing into our son's little (and I do mean LITTLE) flat and collecting his laundry.

I digress.

We felt like a mooch yesterday, so drove off to Angouleme and had a lovely afternoon walking round the town centre.

Angouleme is called the cartoon capital of France and there are lots of little pictures

painted on walls.  Not sure if they are official or just good graffiti.

Love the space-age angel

 This is in the underground car-park - it's for charging up your electric car - never seen that before.

These 'sheep' were outside  a shop - great way of stopping cars parking outside and a great eye-catcher - when did you last see sheep in a city centre?

The Palais de Justice, or Law Courts,built in 1830s - I thought it was a serpent wrapping itself round the clock, but it was a ribbon...how very French...  

This is a 'message tree' where you can scribble notes and clip them to the 'leaves' which are actually bronzed artists' paletts.

A Renaissance building  from 1550 which is now a gallery.   

The term 'Hotel Renaissance' doesn't mean it is a hotel in the modern sense, just a large building.

One of the most famous cartoons is of course Tintin - and here is a bust of Hergés, who although Belgian and lived most of his life in Belgium, the French have acknowledged his work with this rather large bust in the shopping area.

  

An advert above a shop - in mosiac tiles.

Nicely elegant buildings, as the sun began to set.

Some roof tops - Angouleme is set high up on ramparts, with fabulous views round the Charente countryside, but for the ancient French, it was for defence, not the skyline. 

Only about ten minutes separate these photos...and then the sun sank down and we went off to eat - at the Chinese buffet, where the only concession to French cuisine is the availability of frogs legs and sliced baguette. 

The view of Dordogne - and blue wagon wheels!

Storm clouds again but they passed right by...everywhere is beginning to green up after a few night's worth of showers last week, but not enough - we need more rain!


Lovely old cottage - the stone jutting out under the window is actually an 'evier' ie the stone sink on the inside for washing hands, then the dirty water flows through the channel, out to the exterior wall, then drips down onto the ground. The evier was always placed near the doorway so the farm workers could wash their hands as soon as they came home from the fields - the doorway is on the extreme right, just out of view.


The original blue paint - I once had a wheelbarrow in the same local colour - actually, the photo doesn't really do it justice - it is very vivid, and seems to glow and throb - unusual for a blue.


A neighbouring cottage - with that local blue paint again!


The house in the distance is in the Dordogne



Late afternoon - see the shadows. We were making too much noise playing with Riley the black labrador, so most of the wildlife such as owls, woodpeckers, rabbit and deer were probably hiding away from the racket.



One of the joys of living in this part of France is the glorious scenery - forests, lakes and hills. Limousin does get a fair amount of rain, it's true, but of course, if you are famous for your beef cattle, then the grass has to be good and of course, the grass here IS good - partly because of the rain, but also because the air is so pure - no pollution! However - just look at the colour of the grass - no wonder the farmers of the Limousin are worried - they are already using the hay they cut earlier this spring. Someone told me that they have only 45% of the usual fodder, and virtually no straw for bedding the cattle this winter.

You can tell there is very little air pollution as moss grows everywhere in winter - fed by the damp atmosphere of course, but in the summer, it dries up, ready to pop out again later.

Last night, we went to our friends - and had a great barbecue, made special not only by the company but also the view! We all live on the border between the Dordogne, Charente and our department, Haute Vienne. Our friends live only a mile or so away from the border - you can see the Dordogne on the hillside rising up before you - these are the views from their garden - you can hardly tell where their garden finishes and the countryside begins.

Last year, we were able to find our friends a couple of old wagon wheels, and as a bonus, the wheels came in the original paint-work: a chalky but distinctly bright blue, which EXACTLY matches the blue shutters of our friends' house - serendipity! It doesn't often work this way, but when it does, it's magical - and that's why I love dealing in old things - finding objects that I know will be loved and appreciated once more!

Old-fashioned roses, lavender and fruit trees

As I write this, my sitting room is absolutely filled with the scent of lavender.

A few months ago, I spent the day with a most generous friend who has a rose and lavender nursery down in the Charente, France. Veronica promised me some lavender flowers from the plants she nurtures - the flowers are a bit of a by-product for her and unwanted.

So, I am now the proud owner of a sack of lavender flowers, so I'd better get my sewing machine out and make a few scented bags...

In the meantime, you can check out Veronica Steadman's nursery La Roserie Anglaise here - she grows beautiful old-fashioned roses, full of perfume and colour, lavender plants - as mentioned above - and fruit trees and bushes. She's very happy to post plants, especially bare-rooted stock, anywhere in the world. Take a peek at her website, it will transport you to garden heaven...

Her husband Gordon Steadman is a carpenter and makes the most wonderful one-off kitchens, but due to a back injury is now not able to continue presently on large-scale projects so has turned his hand into making smaller wooden items: sweet little egg stands and salad bowls.

You can see his web-site here with a link to his Flickr page and photos of his work - some really lovely and original designs...