T Stands for Trip back to Mediaeval times

 Hi everyone, I'm here earlier as by the time some of you read this will be on the way down south! We're hoping to see lots of Autumn colours.

For now though, I'm going back to our last outing with our friends from Poitiers.

I'm joining in at T Stands for Tuesday at The Altered Book Lover (More of that later)

As I mentioned last week, it was Patrimoine weekend. We set off early to visit a medieval fair.

It was in the commune of Chateau Larcher. What we didn't know was that the whole village was taken over. The castle and neighbouring church dominated everything - very impressive!

The main street was taken up with food of all sorts on sale, from honey to black puddings

The dragons were around entertaining the children

We decided to visit the church first

The next few pics were taken by hubby

We were quite surprised to see a young child, dressed as a knight, being encouraged by his parents to go up into the pulpit for a photo. It raised a few tuts from folk around!

It is quite a plain church but with some quite ornate features.

This area was quiet as we passed  but later the crowds were watching 'battles'

There was a large field full of Artisan crafters - some demonstrating their skills

Time for some lunch - we had to queue for quite a while but the local inn, L'Auberge de la Clouére did an excellent job, having set up tables under a very large awning!

We enjoyed a pork dish with a delicious sauce and potatoes, followed by Tarte Tatin. We drank water which was refilled as soon as it was emptied! I am of course joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth at The Altered Book Lover for T Stands for Tuesday.

There was still a lot to see.

We missed the flying display but the birds of prey were happy to pose.

Some one told us that this is a New Zealand Kookaburra.

These horses were so well trained.

We walked on to the large sports field where there was a huge Vide Grenier (Boot/Garage sale)

The back of the castle looked impressive

On the way back to visit the chateau we saw Crusader knights

The castle wasn't so accessible once we got through the large gate

As we left we spotted this loom above the gate

Once outside the gate we were just in time for the procession of all the people who had dressed up during the day

The Crusaders went by.....

....followed by the lepers....

..and the musicians and dancers

Back to where our car was parked - a sunflower field 

Very red soil - you can imagine what that did to the car, so the next day, before the Queen's funeral....

....Hubby enjoyed using the power washer to clean both cars(we only went in one but both could do with a wash!)

Then we all watched the funeral - a sad occasion but good to share it with our friends.

This was our last day with our friends - the next day we were off to visit my son and daughter-in -law. At this point we switched off the sound. 

More next week!

Thanks for looking, Chris

Escapism!

 Hi everyone, I have one final page for Elle's 'Fairytales, Folklore and Fables - Tell me a story' theme at Art Journal Journey.

I've had a few things on this month and haven't managed so many pages this time (although I had some started in other journals that seem to have gone missing!) It's been a brilliant theme and Elle has produced such inspiring pages herself - Thanks so much Elle!

I started my page by giving it a wash of sparkly pigment paint and then sprinkling some pigment powder over the bottom and spritzed it.

They really are shiny although you can't see here.

The image (part of a larger image), the paint and powder are all from a small company called Little Rainbow Moon. This is not an advertisement, I just want to tell you what brilliant products they are.

I added parts of some Aall and create stamps and added scraps and washi tape and added the words from Lindsay Mason's Castles In the Air set.

Lots of stories have castles in them and this page really has been my idea of escapism - which is one of the definitions of the quote.

I'll be back soon with not just one, but three separate posts - all scheduled because we are going to visit the National Arboretum at Westonbirt - my friend Sheila who passed away 2 years ago told us it was the best place to visit in Autumn and we had planned a visit with her. Now we are going on our own and will spend time thinking of her.

Thanks for looking, Chris

 

Once Upon a Time....

 Hi everyone, it's such a familiar beginning to so many childrens stories.

I'm sure you can see which one I am thinking of here.

I had a page with Goldilocks in too (which you may get to see) but the the story has changed a little.

As you can see, Baby Bear has done a double take at Mummy Bear - she's out in the woods in her dressing gown and slippers! What is that all about????

Well, Mummy Bear was planning for a day on her own when Daddy Bear and Baby Bear came running in from the nearby woods - they had been taking his usual early morning walk while Mummy Bear cooked breakfast when they spotted that someone had stolen most of the leaves from the trees.  They hadn't fallen, this was back in the Summer, the bear family tried to find where the leaves had gone but Mummy Bear, anxious to get the male family members on their way so she could enjoy her day, made them go back to their cottage for breakfast.

                         -----------

It remained a mystery for sometime till one night there was a news report On BearTV, it seems two children had been abandoned in the very same woods, and had then been kidnapped by a witch who they then captured and tied up. They had been sleeping in the leaves that had picked to keep themselves warm.

Some weeks later they were in the news again - they had been adopted by a kindly old gent called Santa and his wife. They are now at a secret location with their adoptive parents.

I used a mop up piece of paper towel and then drew though a stencil with a black pen

The bears are Janet Klein's design for Aall and Create and coloured with Derwent Inktense pencils.

My page is of course for Elle's 'Fairytales, Folklore and Fables' theme at Art Journal Journey.

Now for a little reminder - while we would love to accept entries form everyone, it is not always possible for us to comment on anything other than blog posts as entries. Posts from Facebook or Instagram entries may be seen - and some of them are fantastic, but we just can't leave you a comment!

Thanks for looking, Chris

 

T Stands For The History Lessons

 Hi everyone, I'm afraid I'm not spending long on this post. I have started some new medication (and dropped some others) but I'm feeling very tired today - it didn't help that I had to wait in the pharmacists for over 15 Minutes for just one box of medication that hadn't arrived with the rest!

I'm taking you back to France, hubby and I had another day on our own while staying with our friends. 

We were headed to Couhé but as we were so close to Lusignan we decided to stop and explore a little. The town seems to be split into the new and old town and it was the old town we wanted to see.

It has connections with Henry ll (husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine) and the first castle built here is said to be built my Melusine, a water sprite. 

The inhabitants of Lusignan are known as Mélusins or Mélusines

The old marketplace looks as though it is still in use

There was a multiple baptism ceremony in the church so we popped in at the back - we'll save the rest for another visit sometime!

The square was busy when we walked back that way

The story of Sister Jeanne Cherer's bravery can be read here

Blogger once again has decided that my photos don't need to be in order! It was such an interesting town but in order to get some lunch we had to leave.

My SIL had suggested a suitable place for lunch so we set off to find it. She had given us directions so it was quite easy to find.

The Promenade restaurant was quite busy and seemed popular with locals.

It's certainly an excellent place to visit for T Stands for Tuesday over at The Altered Book Lover where our hosts Bleubeard and Elizabeth are there to welcome you with your drink related posts

Hubby got his Cafe Gourmand (expresso coffee and a selection of mini desserts) I didn't have a dessert but did manage to grab a couple of spoonsful of hubby's! We both had water, which you can see came in a jug with ice.

We liked this way of showing what possible allergies there might be connected to the menu

This is what we both chose and it was the most delicious Veggie burger I have ever had.

We moved on to the abbey - up a track quite close to the restaurant.

To celebrate Patrimoine weekend there was a guide to talk about the abbey's history.

Steps down to the pond - a bit overgrown now

The gates must have been huge, judging by the rusty hinge

We stood in front front of the house in blazing sun for around 30 minutes before I and another lady escaped to the shade of the gazebo. The guide was very interestsing but clearly loved the sun.

One of Eleanor's enemies built the abbey (she already had connections with Fontevraud where she was eventually buried)

The guide didn't speak English but I did manage to follow most of the history of Eleanor that he was talking about.

When he started to talk about the architecture I'm afraid hubby and I (along with a few others) went our own way.

The original abbey is fenced off as the ruins could be unsafe. 

It was still a fascinating building

There was an art exhibition in the house but I was so interested I forgot to take photos

Hubby did ..

I did find some conkers and a feather to make my own little piece of art though.......

..........and spotted this little chappie

I'm sure you've had enough history for one day - there's another lesson next week. but for now, time for me to have a rest.

Thanks for looking, Chris

I'll be around tomorrow to visit!