As I’ve described in previous blogs, hubby and I arrived in Ceret with hazy, idealistic visions of what we intended to achieve with our large, rambling house and its seven acres of land. In those early days, the ideas flew thick and fast: a straw bale building, a yurt, solar generation of electricity, a windmill, recycling of the grey water. As well as restoring the house and cutting down the thickets of brambles, there was a lot on hubby’s list.
False Black Widow spider found in Ria Sirach
A pest control company from Rivesaltes was in Ria Sirach to get rid of insects when the director, Patrick Salvat noticed an unusual spider’s web and went to investigate. Mr. Salvat is an arachnophile, but he’d never seen a spider like it. He took some photos and went home to look it up on the internet.
Summer is a wonderful time to visit Prades. The town is lively and it is the moment to profit from the festival season. Prades is clustered round the large church of St Pierre. Inside, the…
Aioli (in Catalan…. allioli – all->garlic i->and oli->oil) Ingredients 5 large garlic cloves (about 1 1/2 ounces), peeled 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 large egg 1 cup olive oil or 1/2 cup each pure or virgin…
During unstable and financially difficult periods, culture and the arts often bear the brunt of cut-backs and belt-tightening. Ambre Perez, professional dancer and Treasurer of the Festival des Musiques dels Monts, is therefore launching a…
The day arrived and a group of well-coiffured ladies in their sixties and seventies climbed out of their hire cars. Each had a suitcase large and heavy enough to contain a dead body. After hubby and I had lugged these monstrosities upstairs we welcomed their owners with nibbles and wine and I thought I would take the opportunity to explain a little about Mas Pallagourdi and the area.
The estimated 3 million non-British EU citizens living in the UK are looking to the future with intrepidation since the successful vote to leave the EU – and the same applies to the 1.3…
LET’S GET PHYSICAL! Hands up if the thought of exercise brings you out in a rash, and the most calories you have burnt recently came from lifting that ice cold bottle of beer to parched…
Stag steals vegetables A stag has taken to coming into the village of Dorres in Cerdagne and helping himself to the produce in the local vegetable gardens. He’s been coming in for 2 or 3 years and is getting bolder and bolder. At first he just raided plots on the outskirts, now he comes into the centre of the village in broad daylight and fences have been built to keep him out. He takes off whenever anyone tries to approach him.
JULY AND AUGUST 2016 Photo contest – St Cyprien Your Postcard of the Summer Saint-Cyprien Tourist Office is again running its popular photo contest, with prizes such as holidays, meals and free…