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  • A British Break - [2]
  • 2Oceansvibe Radio launches
  • Madame’s Magic moments [9]
  • French Newspaper - rewriting the rules
  • In case you were wondering!
  • Provence- The Best of Summer
  • A British Break - Summer [1]
  • John Terry’s Boss
  • A Week in Provence - Summer Wrap
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What in the earth has happened to British/English villages? They’re ghost towns. Shops are boarded up, the average age of the population is old, the general condition is tumbling down, dirty and generally sloppy.

The second half of our little British Break was spent driving through various Cotswolds villages looking at properties (not for us!) and generally touring the sights and sounds of our heritage.

The only savings grace was the many pot plants and hanging baskets which papered over the cracks.

Very sad. While we understand that England is in an age of austerity, this has not happened overnight. Decay is gradual.

[The above two pics were shot in Wootton. Character but quiet to the point of ghostly!]

[A fun discovery in Stroud was seeing South African Nomu spices in a deli window.]

Unfortunately, Stroud which had great memories for us, was a major disappointment. From a really rickety railway station to filthy streets to daggy looking people, we couldn’t wait to drive on back into the countryside.

[Lovely Victorian Jubilee clock]

It was great to be back in Yattendon and comfort! Peeping out of the upstairs flat window we say a double rainbow - quite unusual.

The technical definition of a Double rainbow means a double reflection of the sun’s rays inside the rain drops which refract the rays just like a prism apart from reflecting them once(single rainbow) or twice(double rainbow).
A deeper meaning garnered from Yahoo is: one represents a soul leaving as one enters this reality simultaneously, which is supposed to be very rare event. Another old saying is that when sunlight is coming with the rain still falling that the devils beating his wife.- it’s an ‘old deep south’ saying. Take your pick!

On the Saturday we went in search of ‘action’. And, found it in Windsor. At last, crowds of people all enjoying themselves. Naturally, the Castle is a magnet but the shops were busy, the restaurants brimming and everyone generally having a happy time. Language? Hardly a word of English anywhere!

One of our favourite walks in Windsor is over the Eton bridge into the tiny village of Eton, famous, naturally, for its post school. Here’s a peek into a closed mews area off the Eton High Street. Money!

It seems that one of the ways the young lads impress the local ladies, is to jump off the Eton bridge into the Thames river below. We witnessed such a parade:

[After the first jump, another dare perhaps?]

[Yep, here we go again!]

[Eton buildings]

[A Windsor street scene - worthy of www.popyacollar.com?]

Back in Yattendon we had sundowners in the garden then bade farewell to the UK with the cows razing contentedly.

Next stop Heathrow! Terminal 5.

Lovonne and Simon xx

South Africa’s first internet streaming radio station - 2Oceansvibe Radio - launched last night in Cape Town.

The brainchild of 2Oceansvibe founder Seth Rotherham and leading DJ Richard Hardiman 2Oceansvibe Radio will be broadcasting from brand new studios in the prestigious Cape Quarter development in Green Point.

Over 350 of Cape Town’s coolest attended the party with guest performances by Ice Cream and the Cocstix, Jack Parow and the talented cellist Carol Thorns.

The Cape Quarter rocked till well into the night and the general consensus was that the radio station would fill a void created by the formatted commercial radio stations.

Initially, 2Oceansvibe Radio will be broadcasting in the mornings from 8am with the Richard Hardiman Show but plans are well developed to extend this through the daylight hours with podcasts of the programmes repeated at night.

“We are being inundated by some major entertainment and sports name with ideas for shows’, said Programme Director Hardiman, ‘ and we hope to announce further additions to our schedule shortly.’

The station carries limited advertisements and has been well sponsored by some major brands keen to jump on to the streaming bandwagon early on.

‘With South Africa’s ever-increasing internet capacity, we are happy to be the local pioneers in what has become a radio revolution overseas,’ Hardiman added. ‘Listeners can log on via their PCs, mobile phones or with a special attachment in their car radios’.

Seen at the launch -

[Seth Rotherham (left) and Richard Hardiman (right) behind the new desk]

[The 2Oceansvibe Radio studio in the Cape Quarter shopping development]

[Lovonne and Sam Walker]

[Jack Parow with a fan - Marie!]

[Seth and Julia Raphaely]

[Warren (left) and Raymond Godfrey (right) with the Bellini girls. Bellini, an Italian legend, will be launching in South Africa with initial distribution through Pick 'n Pay and selected 'hotspot' bars and restaurants.]

[Seth with some of the legion of admirers who queued up for photographs]

[Marie; Sam and Lovonne]

To listen to the station, click on www.2Oceansvibe.com and then click on ‘listen live’. There are various prompts depending on your PC/phone set up but once done, you’ll be able to log on easily. For the car, get help!

Don’t you just love the new baggage restrictions on the airlines?

Madame did some research - can’t we take ‘just one more bag on EasyJet to London as BA will be fine with that’? Yes, of course you can says the EasyJet website - as long as it’s 20kg and you pay a tidy 300 euro!!

So, off we go. Kindly driven to Marigane by Daviiid with two 20kg suitcases and two extremely heavy wheelie cases. Bliss.

No problem with EasyJet. Problem with plane arrival and takeoff but we eventually left after 4 hours! Gatwick was a piece of cake until our Avis car decided that it had a maximum cruising distance of 10km. Then it needed a rest.

Suffice to say, we made Heathrow as an emergency stop and then had a car-swap to Yattendon, near Pangbourne in Berkshire.

The Yattendon Estate is the amalgamation of several smaller estates acquired by the first Lord Iliffe between 1925 and 1940. In 1955, Yattendon Estate was formed to hold the land and run the in-hand farms. Yattendon Farms was amalgamated with the Estates company in 1975 and on 1st January 2003, the entire business became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yattendon Investment Trust.

Yattendon Court is the original manor house and has now been converted into spacious apartments. The Schneebs kindly allowed us access for a few days.

Our first day was a typical English summer’s day - as you can see from a horse we snapped in a local paddock -

[Pouring rain].

What do you do when you see driving rain and you’ve had some wonderful French food for the past few months and are feeling a trifle peckish and in need of good old grub? You visit The Old Boot in the delightful village of Stanford Dingley!. A 16th century inn, it now calls itself a ‘gastropub’.

How can one stray from the signature burger with cheese and bacon?

Let’s not forget the chips on the side - these are NOT frites!

Madame acquiesced to the local fare - bangers and mash. The sprig of thyme puts the ‘gastro’ into ‘pub’.

We spend the next few days catching up on retail and admiring the summer blossoms in the villages in and around Yattendon village. Villages such as Pangbourne, Goring, Hermitage and Bradfield.

 

[The River Thames meanders through Goring]

Quite a relief from the scorching heat of Provence. However, although mid-summer, the villages were quiet, the traffic virtually non-existent.

Are the English villages going backwards, we ask? For another day!

Au bientot: Lovonne and Simon xx

We wonder at the behaviour of John Terry, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba during the World Cup and in their private lives.

But what about the example set by their boss, Chelsea owner Roman Abromavich? Here’s an example of HIS spending…….

In the company of Dasha Zhukova and his son Arkadi and three business partners , the Chelsea man stopped over for lunch at restaurant “Nello’s” in New York.

It was obvious from the start that the high quality and type of food would take priority over cost said restaurant owner Nello Balan. Mr Abramovich began his diner with carpaccio with white truffles followed by Milan lamb with pasta and parmesan. For desert Mr Abramovich tried delicious teramisu. They were drinking champagne and expensive wines. They looked no different than New York tourists said the waiter.

Bet the waiter enjoyed the $7,328 tip!

[Thanks John W]

The sun beats down mercilessly and one of the quirks of Provence is that peak sunshine temperature is only at 17h00 so just when you think it is cooling down, the ice carries on melting.

The last week prior to our encampment to Camps Bay was spent packing, preparing, trimming and generally getting things in order.

Well, that was the plan!

The last week was a blur of - looking after the Fox-Duncan’s dogs as they made a second sortie up the autoroute to Switzerland; a snap visit by George and Julie en route from Melbourne to the UK; a few lunches (why not?); some marvelling at the lavender and the appearance of he sunflowers and…….

Madame was cutting some salad on the chopping board and - bzzzz - a hornet bite! Evoking memories of a violin spider incident some years back which necessitated a week in the Monash Hospital in Melbourne, we visited our new Menerbes doctor with trepidation but a few antibiotics and a jab later, all was well.

[The medieval wash-house in Menerbes has been refurbished and the water is running again! Each village had a wash house and was a great meeting/gossip place. Another bonus for the onset of the season has been the general upgrading and fixing of snow damage on the village roads and garden tidying up.]

Our final lunch at the Verandah was highlighted by Chef Graca preparing a gambas salad ‘par excellence:

Walking the dogs we marvelled at the lavender fields - this year seems to be so much better than last. Harvesting has commenced and we wait for the prognosis as to the level of the harvest.

Then, on Wednesday, the TGV deposited George and Julie Meiliunas on to the Avignon platform for a whirlwind 48 hour visit. We sped around the valley and had a great lunch at Cuceron mainly to see some sunflowers and for them to experience ‘le grand bassin’ - and Patrick’s food. of course!

[George and Julie shelter from the heat with a welcome glass of rose. Lunch was a fabulous avocado, melange of roasted pine nuts and melon salad followed by roast salmon laced with a spicy tomato and basil sauce accompanied by pumpkin and roasted potatoes.]

[The Salmon etc!]

Then on to the sunflowers - bashing through the fields the Touran managed to get us close enough for a pic:

And, then the farewells. We joined the Fox-Duncans on their flag waving finale first a dinner with Pierre and Sylvie and then a lunch a La Bergerie with Lars and Anne from Sweden.

[Lunching at 38 degrees at La Bergerie]

The final Sunday arrived. Coustellet market in scorching conditions. Even the local children huddled in the little bit of shade to listen to the music.

Then, to sign off Provence in summer and leave it to the lobster coloured, bare chested tourists, some local colour:

July 4th was celebrated rather calmly in Menerbes - the US flag was flown!

[We had been noticing how many farmers had been planting fennel. The markets were groaning with the herb. Some serving suggestions are - Healthy sautéed fennel and onions make a wonderful side dish. Combine sliced fennel with avocados, and oranges for a delightful salad. Braised fennel is a wonderful complement to scallops. Next time you are looking for a new way to adorn your sandwiches, consider adding sliced fennel in addition to the traditional toppings of lettuce and tomato.Top thinly sliced fennel with plain yogurt and mint leaves. Fennel is a match made in Heaven when served with salmon.

Perhaps, though the reason why the French are so fond of it (and so are the Italians apparently) is that it is the base for absinthe.]

As we left our driveway, a last peep at the blue hibiscus -

Sigh. Our travels take us to the UK for a few days and the on to another Cape Odyssey.

Au bientot Provence - Lovonne and Simon xx

You’ve just gotta feel sorry for the Poms. Retail in the High Street is awash with bargains of selling off England World Cup merchandise.

Even the crocs -

[Yes, that's right - Caps and Crocs 70% off]

[This is not some dodgy store - it's Britain's largest sports retailer and online outlet - quietly pasting A4 sheets from the store printer over the previous, heralded 'Tailored by England' TV campaign. The question - 15 pounds may be too much!!]

Viva Espana! Viva South Africa!

What an occasion!

Isn’t it amazing that where the world gathers, Paris Hilton has to be her tacky best?

The Times in South Africa reports to-day that socialite Paris Hilton has claimed to have spotted a tiger while on safari during her World Cup sojourn in South Africa.

“So many amazing animals here - Elephants, Tigers, Zebras, Cheetahs, Rhinos, Hippos, etc. So awesome!” she said on Twitter on Thursday afternoon.

In an endeavor to make sure that she was seen and to take up a few column centimtres and seconds in the world media, Hilton was briefly arrested on suspicion of smoking dagga during a World Cup match in Port Elizabeth last week, also wrote in separate tweets: “Giraffes are Hot”, “Ella the Elaphant (sic)”, “A Huge Cute Elaphant”, and “So amazing, sitting outside eating lunch and there are a family of 5 Elaphants only feet away from us. So incredible!”

While elephant (the correct spelling), zebra, cheetah, rhino and hippo are indigenous to South Africa, the tiger isn’t - its home is in Asia.

Amazingly for someone who was probably being paid for going to a game lodge andreporting on it, Hilton did not say where she had spotted these animals, although clearly wasn’t a local zoo.

Hilton later corrected herself: “I meant leapards (sic)”. And again: “I meant leopards not tigers. : p oops”

Does the world really need Paris Hilton?

LARISSA Riquelme, the stunning Paraguayan lingerie model who became a worldwide sensation during the World Cup, will run naked through the streets after all.
Millions of mostly male fans were left shattered by Paraguay’s quarter-final defeat, as Riquelme had promised to run naked through the streets of Asuncion if the boys in red and white made the semis.

[Larissa defying the laws of gravity]

Her global fame was based on nothing more than a series of extraordinary photos of her supporting her team without much, ahem, support of her own.

Interestingly, the original pledge was to do a nudie run if Paraguay won the World Cup. This later became reaching the final … then the semi-final … and now it seems a quarter-final defeat was enough to warrant the celebration. A cynic might suggest Miss R is more interested in the bounce to her profile than the football.

“It will be a present to all of the players, and for all the people in Paraguay to enjoy, because they tried as hard as possible and gave it their all on the field,” she said.

An exact date for Riquelme’s streak has not been announced.

[News source - AAP]

Number plates. A veritable United Nations of Number Plates. Go to the supermarket, drive down any of the roads, pop into a few villages and you will see them everywhere: Poland, Spain, Belgium (terrible drivers), Great Britain and the list goes on and on.

Of course, the majority are the ones where the number ends with either the dreaded ‘60′ or equally dreaded ‘76′ (which mean hire cars) or - the worst ‘75′, which means Paris!

The valley is alive with tourists, clutching maps, GPS, and all getting pinker and redder by the minute in the intense heat and humidity. The locals have this bemused expression on their faces as they try to decipher some quite incredible varieties of French, cope with the heat and the intermittent wind and then weave their ways around the cars all lost and confused.

While it is now not possible to get any new developmental work done as the local labour is full tilt on fixing everything around the villages in preparation for the August holidays, we had Jean-Pierre and Genevieve around for lunch to help us get Jose’s mind off Spain’s progress in the World Cup and make some sort of commitment to fix a rather bad damp problem we have in the lounge.

[Jean-Pierre and Jose pondering the solution to our damp problem. Jose tells us that his red shorts - and shoes! - are for 'Espagna']

[It would appear that the project team had found a solution]

Part of the reason for the descending hordes of tourists has been the amazing lavender displays all over the Luberon. Here’s one near to Roussillon on our dog walk. The vines are starting to swell with fruit and look their best.

[That's the village of Gordes in the background]

 

[The main entrance to Menerbes with its lavender display.]

Our garden is a picture as well and is showing the benefit of no builders and some real TLC. Madame is snapping away continuously! Morning cuttings take on a new complexion with bay, rosemary and lavender also so prolific.

[Would love to know the real name and how to spell it too! This creeper we only know as 'sharery, or charery']

And, even the hibiscus shrubs are lavender!

We’ve been house/dog - sitting for the Fox-Duncans this past few days as they had driven up to the land of cowbells and Roger Federer. Max and the Blitz have been enjoying their walks but the heat has really got to them. Max has developed a ritual of trying to lap the pool dry while cooling his paws!

Another plant that is in profusion is the so-called ‘Russian Sage’. You see it everywhere and especially used on roundabouts and the side of public roads.

This is what you so after a long French lunch - crouch in the lavender - enuff said!

We’re busy preparing and packing up for the start of the rental season on Saturday. Leaving the beauty behind will be tough, leaving the heat will not!

Au bientot: Lovonne and Simon xx

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