289. And after winter folweth grene May*.

22nd July. We came here to Ostalapia (below) the other evening with R and C, friends from the Gers ('ere be dragons!) who were visiting the Côte Basque for a few days. Not sure where exactly the Gers is? Try looking one département to the right and one up from our own Pyrénées-Atlantiques (technical term). I have to admit that it's not an area that I'm that familiar with. I think it would be fair to say that if you were looking for la France profonde, then this would probably be a good starting point. No criticism of the Gers is implied in this - in fact, quite the opposite. This is where the quintessential charm of French rural life can still be found, lived as it always has been - plus a tractor or two. 

They had P with them, an amusing friend of theirs from London and we sat out on the terrace at Ostalapia on a warm evening with a perfect view of the brooding outline of La Rhune - the emblematic mountain that dominates the skyline of this part of the Pays Basque. For a Monday, there wasn't a single empty table. It was a memorable evening and our thanks are due to the three of them for their generosity..  

Ostalapia has a definite 'retro' look to it - it's almost like a film set - and it's all too easy to feel instantly at home (that wooden Kelvinator fridge on the left is almost certainly 1920s or 30s). 

17th July. Here's an unsettling image of Saint-Jean-de-Luz filmed in drone-a-rama in 2020 during the confinement that is strangely reminiscent of Stanley Kramer's movie "On the Beach" (1959) about a US submarine arriving off a deserted Melbourne in a post-apocalyptic world in the aftermath of a nuclear war (full movie here). 

Anyway, here's that video of Saint-Jean-de-Luz - see what you think..

 

15th July. President Macron outlined his new policy on TV the other evening in a clever move designed to increase the numbers of those here who have been vaccinated. He told care workers that they will have until 15th September to get vaccinated. After that date, checks will be made and sanctions applied. As well as being asked for vaccination passes on long distance planes, coaches and restaurants, anyone going out to eat or drink will need one from 1st August. He said from the beginning of August, the health pass would apply to cafés, restaurants, hospitals, retirement homes, and long-distance transport: planes, trains and coaches for long journeys. 

If the State tried to introduce a compulsory vaccination policy, the squeals of faux-outrage and cries of "Fascist!" from the ranks of the easily-offended would be heard across the Channel. Doing it this way puts the onus of vaccination on the individual.     

Macron's announced measures buck the trend in most other European countries, where Governments have generally shied away from vaccine requirements and instead made it a voluntary measure.  He's not forcing anyone to get vaccinated - but he's simply saying that if people want to visit restaurants, bars, cafés and/or use long distance transport, visit hospitals and retirement homes - then they'll have to be vaccinated. Well done President Macron. In what can only be a coincidence (!), over 2½ million people applied for vaccination appointments in the days following the President's speech on 12th July. Boris - take note!

For those of you 'out there' who like me have become frustrated with the standard of BBC radio journalism, a friend has just given me a tip - try Times Radio.. I'm not making any promises but it can only be better. Let me know what you think!

It looks like we could be set for some sunshine in the next few days after the recent spell of grey skies and rain. If so, this is how the beaches at Anglet (just to the north of Biarritz) will look:

   

6th July. Yesterday at 7pm the thermometer on the terrace read 37°C.. The dog and I were inside while Madame continued to fry on a low light in her deckchair - but even she came in shortly afterwards saying it was too hot. It's hard to imagine what temps in the high 40s must have been like in the north west of the US and Canada recently. 

After a routine eye check the other day, I emerged with a prescription for a pair of specs with progressive lenses (one trade name is Varilux). I went to an opticians in town this morning to order a pair and I was amazed at the hi-tech aids that the optician used.. I ordered a pair and then what really impressed me was the offer of a pair of sunglasses with progressive lenses for just an additional 40 euros.. A no-brainer!😀 I'd been using a pair of sunglasses with prescription bi-focal lenses as issued to me in the military 25 years ago but the gap between their performance and my eyes had widened to the point where a replacement pair was called for.            

28th June. I went out on my bike this morning upstream along the Nive which was lined by fields of corn (maïs) growing while-U-watch.. The young plants were all about 3 feet high but with the Basque climate supplying sunshine and rain, it won't be long before the fields are a rustling mass of corn 8 feet high. Very few corn cobs appear in the shops as it's largely seen here as animal feed. I stopped off at Villefranque to say hello to the couple whose gîte we stayed at for 5 months when we arrived here in 2007 (more here). It was a real pleasure to see them again. We'll never forget their kindness to us during that stressful period when we were searching for a house.       

25th June. Here's a fascinating glimpse of la vie Parisienne in the 1920s:

 

20th June. As I'm now a fully signed-up French citizen (while still retaining my British nationality), for the first time I was able to vote in the departmental and regional elections being held today. 

However, as things currently stand, I'm no longer eligible to vote in the UK - as it had been decreed for reasons known only to politicians and legislators that expats should lose the right to vote after living outside the UK for 15 years. What's the magic significance behind the 15 years? If it was right for me to be able to vote after being an expat for 14 years, why should I be permanently disenfranchised by denying me the right to vote a year later? I have to pay UK tax on my occupational pension so surely I should have the right to vote on how my tax is spent? Remember "no taxation without representation"? Wars have been fought for less!

16th June. I've started looking at photos we took in Brittany.. This is what the hotel offered us on our last night. (OK, who else thought, "Where are the chips?") (or was I the only one!😁)

Of course, while we were away, there were temperatures of 33° here - so the garden put on a growing spurt. I had to get the ladders out this morning while it was cool to cut back a few bushes - this afternoon or evening there are more storms forecast - it's uncomfortably hot and humid.     

15th June. Arrived back home last night after a loong (10 hour) drive from Ploumanac'h in Brittany. "Ploum", as it's known by locals, was voted France's favourite village in 2015.. We stayed at an hotel that overlooked the beach at Saint-Guirec.. and the view from our room was, as the French say, époustouflante.. (click to enlarge)

The hotel shows up at 5.02 in the video below - it's the pinkish granite building in the centre of the image. The massive granite rocks that decorate the coastline are what remains of 300 million year old magma - some of the rocks have been weathered into almost organic forms.

  

After a prolonged siesta this afternoon, we finished a previously opened bottle of ice cold rosé in the garden in the early evening - and it really hit the spot. It was Listel Grain de Gris (and only 12° BV as well) which we used to find from time to time in England. It comes from Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and it doesn't get much further south than this. This image just caught my eye.. it seemed almost a pity to empty the glass!

7th June. I've often said here that shops that sell greetings cards (especially funny ones) are thin on the ground in Bayonne - but that hasn't been true since 2018 with the advent of La Karneterie at 7 Rue Thiers.. Run by Éric and Fiona, a friendly Franco-Scottish couple, they've finally put an end to the dearth of humorous cards available here. Before their arrival on the scene here, it had reached the point where each November we'd order Christmas cards off the internet from the UK - only to send them back again once written. 

3rd June. This is Jonathan Scott at the keyboard of the organ of Chester Cathedral.. with Richard Wagner's Overture to Tannhäuser (arr. EH Lemare).. This never fails to stir the spirit..

 

As you might have expected, there's a tenuous link between Wagner's organ music and the Pays Basque.. This Baron Espée sounds like a character from fiction - but surprisingly it's all true.  

1st June. Late last night a powerful storm rolled in from the Bay of Biscay with lightning flashing followed quickly by the explosive crack and boom of thunder that made the house shiver. Prior to this, there had been some light rain but suddenly there was a shriek of wind followed by a deluge of rain drumming on our heavy wooden shutters. Nutty was oblivious to it all and slept through it undisturbed.. On opening the shutters this morning, there was no sign of last night's fun and games at all. 

Need a currency trader to change your funds from your currency to euros and send them to your French bank account? I'd been using World First since 2007 until recently when they decided to abandon private customers - they recommended Xe to their former customers. I've been using Xe for several months now and their service is excellent. 

28th May. We went to Saint-Jean-de-Luz at midday for the first time since I don't know when - it must be at least 6 months ago? Here's a walking tour of the town that never fails to charm us.. 

NB.. If you want to cut to the chase, fast forward to 8:45 which is when Véro starts her walkabout: 

 

What a pleasure it was to reconnect with one of our favourite places..

We stopped for lunch at a new spot (all of our usual haunts were fully booked) but the number of restaurants with space for outside seating is not as great as you might imagine. (At the time of writing, restaurants here can only open if outside seating is available.) Suffice to say, next time we'll book somewhere we know.  

I've been looking for a video of a walking tour of Bayonne - and this seems to fit the bill:

 

27th May. I was out in the garden most of the afternoon up various ladders cutting back bushes that, with all the recent rain and sunshine, had started to grow visibly. While I wobbled on high, I heard the dog getting excited about something - so I distracted him with a biscuit and found half a dead lizard in the middle of the lawn. The garden lizards are his current obsession and he's forever poking his nose in the borders in the hope of scaring one into making a dash for it.       

19th May. Nutty (our English cocker spaniel) thought all his Christmasses had come at once because he spotted a lizard in his kitchen.. By the time I arrived there, he was head-down, all-a-frenzy and not listening.. I took him by the collar and put him in the dining room - meanwhile back in the kitchen there was a small lizard minus its tail. I put it out in the garden and it scurried off. 

Meanwhile Nutty started dodging around the dining table and he had something in his mouth. The only way I could attract his attention was to fill his bowl with his biscuits.. while his attention was elsewhere, I found the lizard's tail under the dining table. I think he'll chalk this up as a victory!    

10th May. I took my ebike out for an hour's ride this morning to give my knee something to think about and when I arrived at the Plage des Cavaliers, (scroll down here for its webcam) this was the scene that faced me as I looked south towards Biarritz - with Spain in the background. In case you're wondering, it's a composite image of 3 photos - click for full size:

I made it using Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE) which no longer seems to be available from MS - but I'm sure Google could turn up a free download somewhere for you. 

Voilà - I've found a free MS 64 bit download of ICE.. It couldn't be simpler to use. 

While you're here, take a look at la Grande Plage webcam at Biarritz  (it takes a few seconds to load).. a favourite of ours for a Sunday morning stroll.

 

9th May. I took Nutty (our cocker spaniel) out for a walk in the late afternoon yesterday and I saw that the thermometer (in the shade) on our terrace was registering 33°. I'd forgotten what this level of heat felt like.

 

The restrictions on restaurants here will be lifted in early June - so with that in mind, we've booked a few days away on the coast up in Brittany - for some sun, sand, seafood - and snoring!    

8th May. A beautiful summer-like morning here so I put on a pair of WWII shorts and a matching 'Che Morecambe' t-shirt, wheeled my ebike out of the garage and with a hey nonny no we were off. I rode up the Nive which, in retrospect, was not a great idea as everyone else was out there too. Still, it was fun to be out on my bike!    

7th May. The forecast for the weekend here is a cheery one: 31° on Saturday and 28° on Sunday. I'd better dubbin my legs in preparation! 😁 

5th May 2021. History buffs will have noted that it's 200 years to the day that Napoléon died in exile at Saint Helena - six years after his defeat at Waterloo. I suspect there will be a ceremony at Les Invalides today to mark the occasion. In his speech (English translation - by Google - here) at the Institut de France, President Macron trod a fine line between fulsome praise for Napoléon's achievements while mentioning his darker sides.     

He (Napoléon of course..!) was a remarkable man - a true visionary and a moderniser who changed the face of France in many ways: a man of prodigious talent and energy who rose like a rocket through the ranks in the Army and who was a General by the age of 24. As First Consul of the Republic, he introduced the administrative system of the prefects, the Napoleonic Code, the judicial system, the Banque de France and the country’s financial organization, the centralised university, and the military academies - and more. Despite these undoubtedly great achievements, he remains a divisive figure for he was also a tyrannical dictator who led his feared Grande Armée to engage in what became known as the Napoleonic Wars around Europe. It is estimated that up to 5 million people died in the course of these military adventures. I think the jury will remain out on him.  

One advantage that leaders of that era had over today's major politicians is that they weren't subjected to 24/7 scrutiny by an army of reporters and paparazzi as is the case today. Today, every utterance and action by our leaders is picked over and - in a favourite word here in France - "decrypted".. with the result that we - the poor electorate - are faced with journalists and reporters telling us what this or that politician should have said and/or done to the point where I suspect many of us simply glaze over and lose the will to live. And, to cap it all, when the politicians themselves can't decide on a course of action despite being briefed in minute detail by legions of civil servants, special advisers and other interested parties, they throw the question back at the people and expect us to be able to make the decision for them in a yes/no referendum. Fortunately, the question we were asked in June 2016 was a straightforward one and, given the way we'd sleep-walked from the EEC into what became the EU without a mandate from the country, I think that it was entirely legitimate for the electorate to have a vote via a referendum on our continued membership of the EU - or not. I'll leave it there.      

I've mentioned Ramiro Arrue several times before here. Born in Spain, he spent most of his life in the Pays Basque where his distinctive style captured the Basque spirit. Here's a feature in two parts from TVPI (our local TV station) that includes some superb imagery of the Pays Basque and really captures the strength of the bond that Arrue had with his adopted homeland:

* Geoffrey Chaucer