Newsletter: A new addition to the family!
Monday 4th May 2009
As I sit and write this month's newsletter, the sun is shining and it's turning out to be a fantastic day. Not just because of the weather but because at 12.40pm today Steve became a granddad. Vicky and her husband Steve had a gorgeous baby boy at 12.40pm and all is well. We are over the moon and Steve will be flying home on Friday to have his first cuddle!.
So, apart from waiting for Vicky to have the baby, what have we been up to? Since the last newsletter we have had a number of visitors – all put to good use helping us out around the house! The last visitors who left us were Pauline and Karen (Steve's sisters in Law) who spent five days over here and bought fantastic weather with them, thank you ladies. They even went back to the UK with strap marks – fancy that!
In the UK you have a Bank Holiday today, we in France had this on Friday 1st May, another one to follow on Friday 8th May and for the rest of the month 21th May and 31st May are also Bank Holidays – followed very quickly by 1st June – not a lot gets done in May – but usually the weather is superb. Like the UK the weather out here is predicted to be much better than last year – probably not that difficult, so we are looking forward to a bumper year.
The veggie patch is coming along nicely – the early potatoes are growing really well – our recent spell of showers and sun have helped them along. Tomato plants are now installed and the lettuce are on their way. Hoping to pull some garlic and onions soon but really looking forward to eating produce from our own garden – there is nothing like it! Our cherry tree is nearly groaning with the weight of cherries – going to be a very good year by the looks of things – cherry jam in the making.
We have been busy finishing off the house in readiness for our first guests at the end of May. We are getting enquiries through the website and through other sites we are advertising with – so there is interest. Trust us to start a business at the height of a recession – c'est typique!
On Sunday May 17th we have our annual "Festival du Pain" – a celebration of bread. The event will go on for most of the day, with lots of local wine and bread being consumed and a good time to be had by all.
At this time of year there is always some sort of festival, fete or celebration going on. Not a week goes by where you can't pick from where you would like to go: wine tasting, walking, antique fairs or general fetes. The people around here are so friendly that you never feel out of place going to an event where you are not too sure how things happen.
The recent rain showers and sunny spells have brought the vines on really well – it's hard to believe that only a few weeks ago the vines had no sign of life and the trees were still barren of any leaves – now look at them!
Well, that's it for May folks. Next month's newsletter will bring you more tales from Azé and what we've been up to and hopefully some photos and a name for the new addition to the family.
Local Events
If you are thinking of a visit, why not take a look at the events section and find out what is going on in this area - at the time of your proposed trip. There is something for everyone in this area - so it wouldn't be too hard to find that something that interests you.
Local customs
We've been made to feel so welcome by the locals in Azé, it takes twice as long to get down to the village as everyone here stops to say hello, with either a kiss or a shake of the hands. It's part of everyday life to be so polite and friendly and we are looking forward to the annual May feast for our commune, where meeting and greeting everybody takes so long but is so pleasant you don't mind. The food is great and conversation is a challenge, you take your own plate, cutlery and glasses but our friends and neighbours have helped us fit in so we don't feel too uneasy at this unusual event.
