West of the Town

Sunday 25 November 2012

Troyes

France have their own Troyes, pronounced 'twus'. It is near by but we realised we had never visited. It has its own history, long and varied but no Helens, just a king once and plenty of invasions.
Part of the city over the canal.
 We parked near the canal and walked over to the city. In this part at least, there are lots of half-timbered houses (pans de bois to the French).
June

June and I were dressed for the cold, but in the event it was reasonably mild. The predicted rain held off and we stayed far longer that we had anticipated.

As you walk past the canal, now with bridges so low it cannot be used as such, there are statues at intervals, artistically placed and commemorating something or someone, as explained on a plaque near by.

Famous lady
I can't remember who this lady was (June says her name was Lilly) and it did not say why she was famous - perhaps for hats? But good for a picture anyway.

Old style house over shop.
 There were plenty of old houses, often over a shop. Some were prettier than others, none of them very straight. A spirit level or plumb line could have been of assistance by the looks of things, or perhaps the wood just moved and twisted over the ages? I am sure an 'expert' out there will put me straight.....
No one minds if the house is not quite straight. Some are less straight than others!

After a while being outside, and despite visiting a church (which was colder inside than out) we finally headed for an indoor market, just to look around, and perhaps to warm up a little. There was an upstairs that afforded this view of the downstairs.
Indoor market
On our way back to the car we saw that the cathedral was the other side of the canal. Lots of old buildings on route, including this hotel- 5 star it said and certainly it was straighter than most of the buildings in the town.

You could stay at this hotel.
Despite the age, it is 5 star.
 In the cathedral itself was this homage to women. I loved the shadows so I have included this picture.
Honouring women in the cathedral.
An so onwards and out of the city. No photos, but we did find the museum of the Knights Templar in a little village near by called Payns. It is a small exhibition with a film being the most informative part. We were the only visitors late on Saturday just before closing and had the place and the attendant's ear to ourselves. Despite that she appeared to know little in addition to what we could read, possibly because it is all shrouded in mystery and confusion, legend and conspiracy.  An extract from Wikipedia (link above) reads "Around 1119, the French knight Hugues de Payens approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem with the proposal of creating a monastic order for the protection of ... pilgrims." Hugues de Payens was from the village now called 'Payns', hence the location of the museum.

A good end to a lovely day out.


Rose, Birds and dry Lake

Catching up with my camera, I discovered loads of photos not yet recovered. So these are from 22nd October to yesterday, the 10th November.
Last of the summer roses
I am sure I could smell this rose when I put it on full screen. Click on it to enlarge it and see if the scent is still there for you? This was one of the last blooms in the garden before the cold of winter took hold.

Birdlife, now that they have found us
And Clare bought us a bird table. For a while the birds appeared to ignore it, but in the end they discovered where the food was. At first we attracted sparrows because we put out only bread. Then when the table held sunflower seeds, the tits appeared. They are difficult to photograph. They arrive, collect one seed, and fly off to eat it. To have 2 together, as in this photo, took some waiting time and lots of rejected photos. A bird in flight is just a blurred image!

Herons on the lake floor. It's dry again.
The lake is dry again. We are now convinced this is deliberate as none of the boats in this harbour were taken by surprise. And 'wading heron depth' is not boat friendly.

There, now you have caught up with us and the season is chilly.

Sunday 18 November 2012

The sound of music

Today was Sunday. Church. French style.
And today we ate together as usual.
But today there were three surprises between the main course and the desert.
It turned out that June was the third surprise - very much to her surprise! She found herself, very gamely, singing for her supper (ok- lunch).
Singers
The guitar is held by Nicola who is German and they are singing in English (which always helps). A little later they were joined by Françoise (French) and they continued in French. Fortunately Nicola is tri-lingual and June can read and sing in French after many months of practice.
They sounded fine!
I have refrained from putting on the short video clip (with sound); partly, but not entirely, because it is a large file. But if anyone wants a copy....
Terry

Saturday 17 November 2012

The artistic French

When the French visit,
they like to bring a present. Something regional is good, and to be completely proper, it should be home made!
So today our guest presented us with this gift of regional products in a tin from the area.
Beautiful and much appreciated, especially as it was so thoughtfully put together.
Something for the English to learn?
Terry

So what's in the box?

  • Fig chutney with Provencal olives
  • Olive purée with Provencal herbs
  • Olive purée with Provencal basil
  • Orange chutney with Provencal olives
  • Tomato pesto with dried tomatos and Provencal herbs
  • Basilic pesto with Provencal almonds and goat's cheeze
And to the side: raspberry, myrtle, red Earl Grey tea; and a chocolate & orange spread.
In the box are almond-marzipan sweets.



Monday 12 November 2012

Pavlov's cat

Our cat is old now - rather stuck in her ways. She sleeps a lot and whilst she likes the outdoors, it's better when it is warmer and she rarely goes out without an adult.
So quite why she should be hungry is a little mysterious.
Cleo - working hard at being a cat, at eating,
and of course, sleeping.
For example, just today she was fed at the usual time. Morning, and again just before I came home in the evening. But we went out (urgent shopping you understand) and when we came back she was all animated to see us and demanding food.
I have a theory. That she associates our arrival with eating! This has conditioned her anticipation in much the way described by Pavlov with his dogs. I will try explaining that it is only ignorant dogs that are supposed to behave like this. Not cleaver cats.
I will let Pavlov's descendants know the result.

Wednesday 7 November 2012

The Tree of Heaven

We have 7 of these in our garden. But we also have dozens of saplings in the grass, hedges, paths, and even the dry stone walls.

Our neighbours have some too. 

So this week, on our visit to the cottage we spent time pulling the saplings up. And we removed a dead hedge as we went.

June looked the species up on our return.

The Tree of Heaven is a weed masquerading as a tree that's pretty to look at in the spring. It is very hard to get rid of. It came from China.

There are male and female versions. The males send out suckers that grow round it. The females send out airborne seeds. The roots grow horizontal just under the ground, or into a wall, or under the house, etc.

They grow fast. Large trees can be hollow and will come down in a storm. They don't live too long (about 50 years) but in that time they can give rise to thousands of offspring.

They will grow anywhere. Rocks seam to be popular from our experience. The best place to grow them is in soft wet soil because then they are easy to pull up by the roots.

If part of the root is left in the ground, it will grow again. If you cut it and poison it, the poison must be applied in minutes of it being cut.

Talking of poison, the tree poisons the other plants round it. Hence the dead hedge with all the saplings in it. The Chinese use it to promote hair growth (among other things) but it is bad for your health in general. Smelling badly, as it does, it is also bad for asthma. This is probably why I was left a bit breathless after pulling up or cutting down about 50 saplings. Or it could just have been the quantity!

We have a quote from a tree surgeon for the removal of the mummy and daddy trees. They will become logs and at last be useful to us, probably for years to come!

But why on earth are they called the "Tree of Heaven"?

--

Terry Westoby
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