The Beziers Blog

Here we are on the 26^st December, Boxing day. On Sunday 21^st, the shortest day, there was wall to wall sunshine and the temperature was about 16 degrees centigrade, beautiful. It would have been a shame to waste this lovely day so we popped Peetes harness on and went for a drive. Of course because it was Sunday we went into town first to buy the Sunday paper, we only buy it to do the crosswords. After collecting the paper we drove up to the cathedral to see if there was snow on the Pyrenees, which there was but the sun was not in the right place to take a decent photo. That made us decide which way we should drive which was west towards Narbonne and Perpignan. Maybe we could get nearer to Mount Canigou (part of the Pyrenees) to take some pics. Well the intentions were good but we got slightly side tracked. After passing Narbonne we turned off to the right and headed into the Corbieres region. The wine buffs among you readers will think of some of the beautiful wines that come from this place.

Wine is not the only interesting feature of the area, hence the title of the article. The Cathars otherwise called the Albigensians are closely linked with the Languedoc and there is strong evidence of them all around the Corbieres. Nearly every village bears scars left after the crusades of the 13^th century. There are many ruins of castles all around ,they usually stand tall against the skyline. We photographed 3 of the ruins the 1^st of which was in Durban. This ruin was built by the kings of Aragon and remodelled in the 16 th century. We stopped in Durban for a coffee. While we were in the bar about 20 young men came into the bar and it seemed very strange to see that they all drank either coffee or syrup not one alcoholic drink between them, imagine that happening in a bar in the U.K.

The second was the Chateau d’Aguilhar which was lovely to walk around and the fact that there were a lot of rustic signs which gave the names of the various wild plants growing in the vicinity. The 3^rd one was Chateau St Martin which we were unable to visit but photographed from the road.

On the way home we stopped at the Oppidum d’Enserune because the evening light was so good that we took some photographs from each direction to enable us to show you a little more of the history of this place. The Oppidum was a place occupied by the Greeks and the Romans and there is a very interesting museum showing many of the artefacts that have been found. It also overlooks the Etang de Montady which was an inland lake years ago. Then a local lord decided to drain it to enable the local people to use the ground (which was very rich) to grow a variety of crops. The different strips of land radiate from a central drain (plug hole) like the rays of the sun. Sorry but it is easier to explain when it can be seen..

Well this is really a short update but may I finish it off by hoping everybody had a good Christmas and wish you all a “Bonne Fin d’Annee” ie Happy New Year.

Hello Everybody

Are we depressed because of the economic crisis? No. Even less so this evening than we were this morning following a visit to Montpellier where we had arranged to see our bank manager. That in itself is wonderful, just to be able to pick up the phone and speak to the man himself. We do not end up speaking to someone in India or where-ever the call centres for U.K. banks are. We needed to adjust our finances slightly and were able to do this with his very pleasant attitude and help.

After leaving the bank we were able to treat ourselves to dejeuner (lunch) in an Indian restaurant that is situated in one of the historic parts of Montpellier. The Bombay Restaurant is a bit like the Tardis, a very small frontage but seating for about 70 people inside. Today we did eat inside but in the summer we have enjoyed a meal outside. As we entered we were welcomed and shown to a table where we could sit without Peete (the dog) getting in anybody’s way. We have never had a problem with taking her into a restaurant and so long as she has a bowl of water she settles down quietly until we have finished. O.k. she very occasionally gets a tit-bit but this is as a treat not the norm. Anyway back to our meal. What did we fancy? I must have been in greedy mode because I really fancied a Thali. Three small starters, Samosa. Pakora and Salad, followed by two different curries, Prawn and Chicken served with basmati rice and Naan bread. Did I say greedy? Suffice to say my eyes were bigger than my stomach but every mouthful was lovely. Of course we had to have some wine with the meal and finished off with a very good cafe grande crème. Even the bank manager would not object to the bill that was less than 40 euros for the two of us.

Feeling warm and replete we left the restaurant and went to look around the Christmas market that was arranged all around the Place de la Comedie which is the in the centre of Montpellier. I must admit I was surprised to see soooo many people about, so much so that I asked Geoff if they had not got jobs to go to. Golly I am beginning to sound old !!!!No comment. There was between 75 and a 100 stalls (no I did not count them) They were all very pretty and we could have spent a fortune if we had had one. It is difficult to capture the essence or the atmosphere with a camera but I have done my best.

We also went into the Polygone shopping centre mainly to look and also to warm up a little as it was starting to get a bit chilly. Again we tried to photograph some of the decorations and they do not look too bad, probably because Geoff took them. At about 4.30 we decided to return home to Beziers and at 6 o/clock we were sitting in the house with a cup of tea. Very British you know !!!

That’s about all for now, I have not forgotten to tell you about the fair in Beziers and I will do so next time. Until then do not stress out . IT IS NEARLY CHRISTMAS.

  Well it is definitely coming, Christmas that is. We have left the car  parked up this week-end, typical of us now petrol prices are falling we walk.  Yesterday we walked along the lanes passing a couple of vineyards en-route, now that is not typical of us passing the vineyards I mean,after all if you do not visit the different caves how do you know which is best. However tasting was not on the agenda as we walked,just enjoying the blue sky and the surrounding scenery. As is almost inevitable we eventually ended by the canal. This part of the walk is always lovely whatever the season, the colours of the trees reflected in the water prompts the amateur photographer to try and capture the scenes. Maintenance work is often necessary on the canal and there is some being carried out at the moment. It is strange to see the huge locks and the basin devoid of water but what is good is that the only rubbish we saw was the natural deposit of leaves and detritus. Not a trolly, bike wheel or pram in sight. This is also true of the rivers in the region, maybe because unlike the U.K. river warders are still in regular employment. I will probably be corrected on that statement but it is a possibility.

  Today we walked up into the town centre to see if the festive season was in evidence and yes it was. At the top of the Allee Paul Riquet in front of the theatre the “Marche de Noel” was in full flow. There are about 35 small wooden huts all brightly lit and decorated.  It was nice to see so many families spending the afternoon together and all enjoying the atmosphere. One of my favourite stalls was the one selling Santons. These are little figurines representing not only the nativity group but also many local occupations and crafts.  Santons first came into existence during the French revolution when the national assembly closed the churches. They did this to stop the influence of the cur’es on the populace.  People still wanted to see the nativity scenes so at great risk to themselves they made tiny models that could be easily hidden. If caught with these models they were sent to the guillotine—Happy Xmas.  Thankfully this situation did not last and in 1798 a man made and sold a nativity scene his name was  Jean Louis Lagnell, he went on to make and sell many more. Hence a new craft of Santonnier was born.

        After looking at the stalls we called into a bar for a hot chocolate and hoped that by the time we came out the christmas lights would be on.  We slightly misjudged the time so walked in the park to pass the time, eventually we did manage to get some pics.  We also watched the huge fairground vehicules manoeuvring along the Allee ready to build the annual Christmas fair. Perhaps I will be able to show you some of this spectacle next time.  Until then happy preparations.

A little late on parade this week. I have been pretending to be a domesticated housewife. Doing things like making marmalade and mincemeat. Although I enjoy cooking I am not normally so quick off the mark. After all the oranges are only just ripe for eating and some of them went into the marmalade. It took a little nudge to get me going and make sure the cupboard was restocked. The nudge was received at the week-end when we visited the first Christmas fete of the season. Trust the Brits to get in first. There is a free publication that we get down here called Blah Blah Blah. It has many contributors both French and foreign ie Brits, Canadians and Americans. It was this paper that organised the fete. It was held in a chateau just outside the village of Roujan. To get to Roujan we drove along the road that leads to Pezenas but turn off and head towards Servian a small village which I believe has a history linking it with the Cathars. That will make a good research project I think Passing through Servian we head toward the village of Espondeilhan another place which I will have to find out about. Roujan was the next place that we came to,oh dear it looks like a long term project all I know is that it is a circular village.

. Never mind at least I can tell you about the fete. It was held in the Chateau Abbaye-de-Cassan It was a beautiful mellow stone building of the 12^th century the grounds in which it stands are open well maintained spaces filled with trees and overlooking some of the vineyards of the area. It was really good to be able to slowly walk around the ground floor where all the stalls were set out. For the people that were looking for presents there was certainly a lot of choice. Many local artisans were displaying there wares, handmade clothes, jewellery , glassware, paintings and tapestries to name but a few. As I said at the beginning it was here that I received the proverbial kick to make the marmalade etc. Two or three of the stalls were selling homemade Christmas cakes, puddings and other seasonal goodies. My friend, Lamia, was curious to know what some of the English food tasted like. Well I had already done the cake and the puddings but as she is spending Christmas day with us I thought I had better make some mincepies. Yes I could have bought the mincemeat but thought it would be nice to make my own. God bless Delia Smith. We spent well over two hours looking around and of course doing a little disgusting (degustation) tasting the local wines. Pity it was Sunday and I was driving so I only had very little sips.

As we left the chateau the people were still arriving they certainly had a huge multi-cultural turnout .We finished the day out by stopping for a coffee on the way home.

Beziers is just beginning to get the Christmas spirit, the lights are going up and the Christmas market is starting. Hopefully I will be able to show you all next time.