Art and Music and Culture in Provence 2008

Why not combine a trip to Le Colombier with some of the best cultural events of Southern France? Highlights - within an easy 2 hour drive - include:

Aix-en-Provence Festival: classical opera and concerts, 27 June - 23 July 2008. Operas include work by Wagner, Mozart and Handel. Bookings open 3rd July - so get out your diary and start planning now.

The annual Avignon festival even has its own fringe. Running in July, you'll find all the details posted in the new year.

The Jazz festival at Crest (vocals) will be held between the 3rd and the 9th August 2008.

5 years on: and new for 2008

You read it here first! It's time to get your bookings in for next summer as we are planning - finally - to get a swimming pool installed. It will have a sliding mini-greenhouse style cover (to conform to security requirements, but with the added bonus of water that's at least 6 degrees warmer than with just an ordinary cover). It might even have a jacuzzi! So watch this space for news of progress.

Also, Sebastian is powering ahead and converting the final outhouse into a fully wheelchair / disabled friendly studio gite.

Christmas in Provence

In London, you had to book your online supermarket delivery slot for Christmas by the beginning of December. Luckily - no such problems in Nyons. Don't want to cook - how about lunch on Christmas Day at the Petit Caveau? Or if you're at Le Colombier and want a supermarket-free time, and want to make sure you eat the best of the local produce? Here are some ideas for 2007.

You can order your foie gras, or home-smoked salmon, or scallops, or a variety of poultry from Laurent at the Petit Caveau (Nyons finest not Tesco finest)(for more details on ordering, and the Christmas and New Year menus, see the Petit Caveau website).

And although the usual weekly market in Nyons is on a Thursday - fear not. All the local "traiteurs" and producers will be running a special Christmas market all weekend this year. For more information I've just discovered the Pays de Nyons website (English and French) that looks as though it is being regularly updated with local information and dates. It's also on the links - so check it out before you arrive so you can make the most of your trip.

Travelling the world from my computer screen

Although Provence is a place where we keep in touch with traditions, local food, local wine, and under the local sun - whatever the season, it's also my place of work for the time when I'm there. I'm very grateful that modern technologies enable me to work remotely, both from my team, and my clients. And with mobile phones, computers and the world wide web, I'm never more than an email or phone call or social network away from them.

Who could have thought even 10 years ago that I could be running a programme on managing virtual teams with participants in Argentina, Brazil and Puerto Rico, with my co-facilitator in the UK, and looking out of my Chateau Colombier windows at the mountains around me.

Who says you can't have your cake and eat it?

Jigsaw addiction

One advantage of having a large home with an equally large dining room and dining table is that it lends itself perfectly to jigsaws! Not having to move them away when you want to eat - and lose crucial pieces in the process - there's always another room with a table that can serve just as well! I've built quite a challenging collection of them here courtesy of ebay. I've also managed to get quite a few friends addicted to jigsaws as well - I have to practically throw Sue out the door some evenings. It's fascinating to see the different ways people approach the task - do they proceed randomly? do they sort by colour? or by topic area? Perhaps I should include this as part of my work re learning preferences.
Ok, I admit it's a bit of a time waster but I'm sure it helps to keep those grey cells in shape and wards off any signs of early-onset dementia!

Le Petit Caveau

Another stupendous meal out. Friday is always a quieter evening there so we (I went with my friend and member of my consultancy team, Sue)were able to catch up on news with Laure and Laurent the proprietors. This always involves a good workout for our command of French, although don't worry Laure speaks excellent English. They are attempting to sell the business but fortunately for us without success at present!
Laurent's foie gras is to die for, and the rest of the meal was as amazing and inventive as ever.
Sue has a house in Venterol which is about 15 minutes drive away, and actually introduced me to this area. We often co-ordinate our visits here and fit in some work as well as "R & R".

Cassis

No, not the blackcurrent stuff that you add to white wine to make a Kir, but the bustling little fishing village just 30 minutes east of Marseille.

I can't believe it's taken me 4 years to discover it. The area is known for the Calanques - the limestone cliffs and little coves. The village itself has a marina, a couple of sandy beaches, and loads of fish restaurants.

We stayed at the Hotel Liautaud right by the sea. Basic but clean. It has parking but you need to book it. Had a great fish dinner at chez gilbert (phone for a reservation); and a blanc de blanc 2006 from the donaine du paternel.

We'll be back - it's nice to swim in the sea (especially outside the main season); take a boat ride; eat well. Next time we'll fit in some wine tasting to take back to the cave at Le Colombier

L'ivresse du pouvoir

Just been to see "L'ivresse du pouvoir" by Chabrol. In the "talking film" category rather than action movie - but probably all the more satisfying for it (How could the Bourne Ultimatum get away with being little more than 2 extended - though good - chase scenes).

Is this the difference in the cultural expectations / differences between France and the US; US conspiracy theory is all about the action chase, where the outsider is the hero; France is around the judiciary taking on the corruption of the public sector? ...

It's also of course the difference between the Extraverted action-based movie; and the Introverted reflective film

this is what it is about

It's the beginning of September - so getting towards the end of summer. Today has been bright and warm, and I've resisted work - and had a great day. I read till 2.00 in the morning (my distraction); got up lazily, started thinking of dinner for the neighbours who are coming round tonight (see the other blog cooking in provence for the menu); went and swam at Janet and John's. They were all out to lunch, so I had the pool to myself (24 degrees so still warm), and gently swam up and down for 45 mnutes.

Then back to the kitchen to stew figs, make biscuits, prepare chilled soups, all with no time pressures, and not a single phone call.

Shame it's Monday tomorrow.

Where does the time go?

Even if the weather is now worse than it was in April ... I can't believe it was over 4 months since the last Chateau Colombier blog. I've just done a race backwards through time to give you snippets of what's been going on. And with the magic of blogging and changing date stamps, chronologic order has been restored.

Lavender in Provence

Just to say that if you want to see the hillsides around us covered in lavender blue - then book your trip from the last week of June through to the middle of July. It's such a sight. And you get the smells - especially as you pass the lavender distilleries in Nyons or St Jalles

May ... visitors from Sweden

Inger and Elisabeth arrive from Gothenburg. Long late breakfasts seem to be a Swedish thing. Or at least an Inger thing. When not doing her day job and cutting people up (she's a surgeon, not a psychopath), Inger is an artist. She was bowled over by the intensity of the colours in Provence. A bit of a change from the often gray skys and seascapes of Gothenburg!

So after breakfast, and before the rituals involved in preparing cocktails and evening meals (usually variations on a theme of the side of gravalax salmon they'd brought with them from Sweden), they'd be out and about exploring.

Inger will be back - with a group of artists - later in the year or next year.

Of course, Ryanair is making life easier for us all. They've opened up Marseille as a hub - which includes direct flights from Gothenburg. So all I have to do is work out where to advertise in Gothenburg - though word of mouth will help.

shopping, cooking, driving, gardening, walking, eating, drinking

lots of active verbs and lots of activity over the next week.

The weather was great.

We found the 2 crumblettes who got misplaced on their walk back from Nyons on the first day.

They are loving the walking. Walking in in this area of Provence is amazing. We are compiling our own book of local walks for all walking abilities, and for different times of the year.

Never believe someone who says that crumblettes don't eat much. They will eat everything that you put in front of them. And be very appreciative, which is great.

And along with everything else, Jean continued to transform the garden ... last remnants of rubble was cleared, plants were bought and planted, including roses, lavenders and a variety of shrubs.

And we eat the first radishes from my vegetable plot.

The birthday cake

Your mother is only 80 once. If you remember, she and Anne had been out at Christmas. In the couple of days of solitude (bliss!) after everyone had left in early January, I dusted down Delia Smith (if you want a traditional recipe - she'll have it) and set to to make my first ever rich fruit cake. The works. And it worked. So it had been sitting gently maturing since January.

Oh yes - a hint if ever you decide to embark on the chatelaineship of a domaine such as Le Colombier. In the cold winter months the mice don't have a lot to eat. You can't keep them out of the cave. But you would be advised to store home made christmas puddings in a thick safe deposit box. Aluminium foil alone hadn't managed to repel the advances of the christmas pudding hungry mice a few years back. Lizzie had made 2 puddings 12 months previously. On christmas eve we found that one had been half eaten through. Lizzie was not amused. Nor were we as our portions of pudding had to be re-calibrated.

So anyway, the cake had been maturing, wrapped in foil, in a tin, inside another sealed box, for a few months. I had spent the previous night adding marzipan, icing it, and decorating it with 80 marzipan balls. Yes, at 2.00 in the morning, I made them and counted them all.

It was actually going to be the actual birthday the day after the group left (28th April) - but my plan was that if we did the stuff with the candles etc on the first night - they could take a piece of cake with them each day for their picnic on the walk.

So cake was produced, candles blown out, slices distributed. Jean arrived. The house party retired to bed. And Jean and I took a bottle of wine out to sit under the tilleul tree and watch the stars. All, finally, was peaceful.

Crumblettes - the arrival - Phase 2

the crumblette group is at Le Colombier. The rented Zafira is at Le Colombier. Jean is en route to Marseille. Clare's Kangoo is in the car rental parking at Nimes airport. Clare is 150 euros lighter from taxi fare for Anne and luggage. Clare is cooking dinner - and very frazzled.

I ring Nimes - and am told that - as long as Jean can arrive by 10.30pm, the car park will remain open. There is an extra flight coming in.

Jean arrives at the Hertz car hire desk at Marseilles at 8.00pm. And thank goodness for computers - they can pull up the car hire details for the Zafira and add her details to it (because a photocopy of a driving licence for an additional driver on a car hire policy isn't acceptable - so I couldn't do it an Nimes).

I serve dinner while Jean is belting across to Nimes. She arrives in plenty of time ... but the car park is locked and the airport is closed up. I had obviously been misinformed. Undeterred, Jean spies a light, and starts to make a lot of noise, beating on the door. The security man comes out - and with wit, charm and a lot of body language, the keys to the car park are produced, the hire dropped off and the Kangoo - with Jean - is en route to Le Colombier.

It's going to be a long long week!

Plan C

Did I say that Plan A had involved me preparing a picnic, so that we could visit the Pont du Gard en route back to Le Colombier?

So picture me at Nimes airport. It's only the end of April - but in retrospect it was probably one of the best summer days visitors from the UK were to have.

5 crumblettes with Anne. Me, a bit harrassed. Jean somewhere between Luton and Stansted. 2 cars. Lots of luggage. A picnic. And I'm the only driver (crumblettes don't drive outside of their native habitat. Anne doesn't drive.)

No-one wants to be without their luggage possibly overnight. Anne had tried to fit everyone into the Zafira with luggage. This was never going to work. After 20 minutes Anne was forced to agree with me. So Plan C was to put Anne with luggage into local cab to go straight back to Le Colombier. An air-conditionned Mercedes. She was ok to miss out on the picnic at Le Pont du Gard (she'd done it a Christmas on a trial run).

One down; luggage sorted. Just 2 cars, 5 crumblettes, a picnic, and Jean still somewhere between Luton and Stansted / Marseille. And me, of course.

Nimes is not an international airport. The arrivals/departure hall and the 2 car hire desks close when there aren't any flights.

I went to reclaim the keys to the Kangoo I'd left with Hertz ... preferring to leave them on the wheel so Jean could get them if the hall was closed.

So we set off to the Pont du Gard. We had the picnic. The crumblettes did the tourist bit. We returned to Le Colombier. Luggage was distrubuted, bedrooms allocated, pots of tea made and drunk, and as I prepared dinner I had the phone to my ear organising Phase 2 ...

No Anne, we can't fit the suitcases in as well as driver and 6 passengers - and the picnic

First the times of the flights from Liverpool were changed to 3 hours earlier. Not a show stopper - we're resourceful.

Original plans of me driving over from Le Colombier to Nimes, meeting up with the Liverpool contingent; waiting Jean to join us 30 mins later from Luton had to be changed.

Not a real problem ... we're resourceful. My workhorse Kangoo was never going to do the group of 6 crumblettes (plus Jean and me). So we'd booked the rental of a Ford Zafira. I'd drive over .. and we'd have 9 people, 8 sets of luggage, 2 cars. No problems.

Change of schedules? I drive over. I do the paper work for the Zafira. We put all the luggage in the Kangoo. I leave the keys for the Kangoo at the Hertz desk - where Jean can show her passport to be put on to the Zafira hire - she picks up the Kangoo, and meets us at the end of our picnic and trip to the Pont du Gard.

Gosh - no problems. A doddle really.

Yes - but. As I was leaving Le Colombier I had received a phone call from Jean. Though they'd set off with hours to spare (her husband Pierre was being the gentleman and driving) - the motorway between Leicester and Luton was closed. They were probably going to miss the flight.

They missed it.

Jean will not be beaten. They had found there was another flight - from Stansted to Marseille. They'd head off to catch it.

So now I am at Nimes with the group of 6 and their luggage; my Kangoo, the 7 seater Zafira; and our picnic.

The only reason that the Zafira is a 7 seater is because it's an estate car with 2 seats in the boot. With 2 seats in the boot, there's no room for even a picnic, let alone lots of luggage.

So, no, we were not going to fit everything and everyone into the hire car. No, I can't guarantee that Jean will be able to pick up Kangoo with luggage tonight.

Plan B ... but it's hard to sell the benefits of Plan B to people who had in their mind Plan A. Plan B is to continue with Plan A, but you might not get your luggage until tomorrow. Can you make do for one night with just a toothbrush? No! You're sure? OK...

No Anne, it won't fit. OK - try if you want. But it won't fit. Plan B is not to fit it all into the Zafira.

The die was cast. The holiday had begun!

another birthday party at Le Colombier

Barely had we recycled all the empties from the visit of the Scousers ...(more the mal of the guelle de chien than the fleurs du mal of the Baudelaire Brothers and fellow festive companions)

..when it was the return of the Crumblies. Or rather, the Crumblettes.

Of course it became a classic. What else do you do for your mother's 80th birthday but invite her and some of friends to partake of the delights of Provence at Easter.


Mum and my sister Anne had been here at Christmas, and had tried out lots of the walks (downhill all the way). I'd sweet-talked Jean into coming to do the spring blitz on the garden, and to help me with some of the to-ing and fro-ing.

Flights were booked. The crumblettes with Anne from Liverpool. Jean from Stansted. All Ryanair. Both flights due to arrive within 40 minutes of each other.

Then of course, things changed.

Now I remember why this blog site has been silent - the challenges started to stack up ..

Eight (and often nine) go mad in the Drome

Chateau Columbier has the three R's as it's strapline, but don't be fooled into thinking that it's some kind of Dotheboys Hall. The three R's in question are Relax, Refresh, Renew, and it does what it says on the tin.
This is an environment where you can express yourself and our company certainly felt able to do so in many different ways. The natural thespians amongst us found inspiration in the Chateau's ambience and slipped with ease through a gamut of characters including mafiosi, sectarian bigots, Cockney wideboys and endless variations on a theme of Inspector Clouseau.

Without doubt this is God's Acre, and we have seen flora and fauna in abundance: a swallowtail butterfly, vultures, kites, lizards (paying homage to their Lord and Mentor Long Don, the Lizard King) a hoopoe and a scorpion being highlights. A leisurely walk by the nearby River Eygues ended in the hospitable auberge in Les Pilles where a beer or two quenched our barely earned thirst. We have sampled two of the local restaurants and have found both to be of the highest quality. As a digestif we entered the House of Horrors in the travelling fair in Nyons - truly terrifying. A wine tasting trip to Vinsobres was very satisfying - and siesta-inducing.

We have been forced to delay the celebrations of La Fete de la Valise Retrouve as the missing case has still not arrived. The bunting has yet to be hung out and the bacchinalean feasting must wait - Ryan Air plays God with us, and I cannot wear my Martin Chuzzlewit underpants. It's a hard life to be sure.

Avignon was splendid and atmospheric, enhanced greatly by listening to Radio Nostalgi on the way there and back - how can a wonderful country like France produce so much tacky music?

We have graduated from Chateau Colombier with honours in laughter, madcappery, kir royales, fine wines, haute cuisine, music and much conviviality. We intend to return for postgraduate studies in the same subjects before too long. I strongly recommend that you, dear reader, consider doing the same.

Jimmy Baudelaire (of The Baudelaire Brothers)

Flora and fauna

Spring is definitely here. The blossom is out all around, the grass is green and needing mowing once a week, and the radishes, lettuce, spinach and onions in the new potager are doing well.

Yesterday I saw a Hoopie in the garden, obviously migrating back north. But of course the camera was upstairs.

And this morning 11 vultures from the local colony in Remuzat were out enjoying some joy riding on the thermals on the hill behind Le Colombier. And the hoopie flashed by as well.

Remember to pack your binoculaurs when you come.

Golden Door and the Director

It's amazing how far around the world you can travel from a cinema seat in Nyons.

A couple of films for you to track down. Golden Door is about a group of Sicilians making the move to the US and going through the immigration procedures at Ellis Island, New York. Ellis Island really moved me when I was there 6 years ago ... good to see the whole process shown in such a film.

And then it was to modern Scandinivia, and the comedy The Managing Director, by Lars von Thiers (also directed Dancer in the Dark with Bjork in it). I found it highly amusing, but got into quite an animated debate with Olivier - a film critic - who while appreciating the technical side of the film, felt that it was overly manipulative of the audience... I didn't feel that at all.. Obviously I quite like games!

Mongolian Ping-Pong and Little Red Flowers

The weather has turned overnight from great sunshine, blue skies and early summer temperatures to cold, rain and snow across a lot of France.

So I took myself off to the cinema this afternoon to transport myself to Mongolia and China.

Mongolian Ping-Pong (director Ning Hao) is charming and funny. I'm always amazed at the creativity of film directors and writers - who would have thought of a film about a ping pong ball in the depths of the Mongolian steppes ...

Quick cup of coffee and ready for the next trip to China. This was Little Red Flowers (director Zhang Yuan). It's a chronicle of Qiang's experience (at not yet aged 4)of being thrown into "boarding nursery school" 24/7 ... Even in a strictly controlled Maoist institution, Qiang's character - his highs and his lows - play themselves out in this beautiful film.

A great way pass a winter's afternoon.

waxing lyrical - or should that be limerical?

Big sister came from the UK
And went walking almost every day.
Good food and good wine
And lots of sunshine
Made it a most delightful stay.

Each morning she took all her pills
To cope with her various ills,
Then she put on her boots
And enjoyed the routes
Especially if they were downhills.

She's coming again in the spring
When Mum her friends is to bring.
The itinerary is fixed
It's a little more mixed
With both walks and some sightseeing.

Phew .... home alone

The fact that I haven't blogged since 23 December is not because nothing has being going on (sorry, a few too many negatives happening); but because there has been too much happening in terms of The Chatelaine's duties.

The final house guests leave tomorrow - the airport run is scheduled for 9.00am - to leave us time to do a quick visit of the Pont du Gard enroute to Nimes.

And then - bliss - I'll just have myself to look after. The book is waiting; the wine is chilling, the fire is laid.

... but it's been good, the weather has been great.

Best moment? Apart from my superb Christmas dinner? Probably Margereta and Nellie (from Gothenburg)'s Swedish drinking songs around the piano!