Hello Everyone

By the time you read this the heatwave might be over. We’ll be back to normal with endless blue skies and sunshine – well more of the same really but without the heat. I speak lightly of a heatwave because I love the heat and groan when we have to sit inside with the shutters closed, in the dark, stumbling over chairs looking for a pair of reading glasses.

It gets us out of bed early though – pump up the tyres on the bike and off we go, up into the hills – the view is spectacular – so they tell me.  You’ll find me by the pool with the swifts and the swallows and the lizards who this year are the fattest I’ve ever seen.

THIS MONTH’S DROP-INS:

This is the time of year when we have family or friends visiting so do bring them along.

Tickets for the Autumn Ball will be for sale at Laroque & Ille-sur-Têt

Wednesday 3rd July – Céret 10.30am – 12pm 
Pablo’s Bar in the Place Pablo Picasso. Come and join us for coffee and conversation. There are books and DVDs.

Monday 15th July – Laroque des Albères – 10.30am – 12pm
Come along to the Café des Artistes and have a browse, buy a coffee and take two books.  We have a large turnover of books and we encourage you to bring as many paperbacks as you can carry but please don’t bring hardbacks or text books.

Thursday 18th July – Ille sur Têt – 10.30am – 12pm
Lizzie’s is open for business this month with coffee and cake as usual. Please note the day and date!

LOOKING AHEAD

The routes for the two walks have now been finalised – the long walk starting at 9.30am will take around 3 hours (11.5km) climbing gently through wooded countryside with lovely views, the shorter walk this year (10.30am) is of 5km and will take just over an hour on mainly flat ground.

Not keen on starting at 9.30am? The venue itself has an exercise circuit where you can practice your pull ups and toe touching. If that sounds too energetic, then join in a leisurely game of pétanque with the incentive of a bottle of wine for the winners.

There will also be stalls with quiche, savouries and cakes, books, bric-a-brac and CSF products, a licensed bar for beers and wine plus tea, coffee and soft drinks available from 9am. Stay for lunch, feel free to bring a picnic and something to cook on our barbecue (there will be a fridge to keep stuff cool).

And for those of you who are walking, we will have a lunch pack on offer at €10 of quiche, BBQ sausages and cake.

If you would like to take part, the registration form is now available. Penny Parkinson at sud-penny@cancersupportfrance.org would love to hear from you and will keep you up to date. Do also contact Penny if you would like to help on the day.

Come and be “active” or just join in the fun.

Saturday 12th October AUTUMN BALL Bages

It looks like there’s going to be another great event in Bages!  A tombola with prizes and bottles to be won, an Auction of Promises when you can bid for fine wines, a fish & chip supper, a 7-day stay in Edinburgh, a motor-boat trip, a hand drawn and painted portrait of your dog and lots more. Music from our old friends Zircon and dancing too.

€15 will buy you a tapas meal plus dessert and a glass of wine. There will be a bar selling beer, wine and soft drinks. Tickets will go on sale in a couple of weeks’ time.

We know that we can count on your support at what is always a very relaxing evening, sitting with friends, joining in the fun and winning some prizes. Out of the money we raise at this event, we split what we make on the tombola with La Ligue contre le cancer.

We’d be very grateful for donations for our tombola. Bottles can be filled with anything – wine, water, shampoo, tomato ketchup – plastic or glass. For the other prizes we are looking for unopened gifts or unused knick-knacks e.g. household items, jewellery, china, scarves, soaps, perfumes, etc.

Just bring your donation along to one of the Drop Ins or drop me a line and we can arrange a pick up.

Find out more here.

Saturday 9th November Quiz Night Eus 7pm

The Quiz Night in Eus is at the Maison de Temps Libre.

There will be tables of four or six teams and each team competes to win a prize by answering general knowledge questions.

There will be a simple finger food buffet plus wine and a chance to win a bottle or two on the bottle tombola. The money raised will go to a charity called Les Blouses Roses.  There are 116 branches in France. They go into hospitals and chat to the elderly and run workshops for children.

Tickets are €10 each and will be available from the 17th July.  Please contact Maggie (maggie.longworth@gmail.com) or Ginny (ginnymartin@hotmail.co.uk).

Sunday 17th November Rifle Pour La Vie Collioure 3pm

Every year La Ligue contre le Cancer organises a Rifle at the Centre Culturel in Collioure.  The prizes are original and varied and include works of art by local artists and sculptors, produce and services offered by artisans, local shops, restaurants and winemakers.  The money raised will go to La Ligue.

Keep cool!

Diana Eastaff