Any excuse for a gateau!!....................

So why am I sitting here in the local patisserie writing this blog?

Well..........this morning was the first day for several weeks that we have been promised a 'rain free' day, so I planned to photograph my toile curtains and list lots of new treasures; in other words a day to catch up on and get lots done.

Our local farmer also had the same idea ( no, he doesn`t have toile curtains as well!! but had decided to get his maize crop cut whilst the good weather held. With all his farm hands and several tractors in full flow it was going well for all of us until the maize cutter 'shot' the maize over our track, pulling down, on one side , our  electric cable and, on the other side, the phone wire to the chateau! So , all my work came to a swift standstill !!!

An urgent visit to our local mayor started the reporting process culminating in endless phone calls to endless departments - and we are now waiting to be re-connected. But, being France, it may not be a very swift event!! 

Mark was on the verge of calling out the fire brigade; a flame was burning up the electricity wire where it had been cut - and he wasn't sure whether it would carry on up the wire to the next house! I found it hysterical when I learnt that Mark had said to the mayor that our lines had been 'flambeyed'!  
So.......it may be just candles and a log fire for us tonight................mais tres romantique!!!

So...without electricity or phone, here I am at the patisserie where they have an Internet 'hot-spot'.

Yesterday Miss Frou Frou dragged me kicking and screaming to a Zumba exercise class. My idea of exercise is diving into a box full of old textiles and checking the monograms on a pile of linen sheets so you can see I was not too keen. I tried to feign flu, bubonic plague and said that all my leg bones had fallen out - but this message came back from Frou Frou: " Stop being such a drama queen, get your over- the-shoulder boulder-holder sports bra on... and get ready!".

My first consideration was what to wear? After watching the contestants on TV's Strictly Come Dancing last week I know that wearing anything covered in long dangling beads looks as if you are moving more than you actually are.......but I thought that might be just a little over the top for our tiny village hall! So, I settled for a  t-shirt with a waterfall hem that looked quite convincing since, with just a tiny move, it was set in full swirling motion!

We arrived at the village hall and joined the queue awaiting Jean Pierre, the mayor, to arrive with the key. He arrived and opened the doors and we all lined up to start.Then to my horror Monsieur le Mayor stripped off to his shorts and came and stood beside me to take part in the class along with the 21 dames! Now there is a brave monsieur!!!

It was quite a full-on, fast class. I did consider trying to climb out of the window at one stage, but I kept going and to be honest I thoroughly enjoyed it and will go back next week. 

So now, (thanks to the farmer) I have undone all of that good work sitting here with a large piece of gateau as I type. Which gateau would you choose?

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

A la prochaine mes belles
xxxx