Sunday 29 April 2012

They all came

We decided that we would like to meet all our neighbours…..so, we sent them all a note, introducing ourselves,  inviting  them for aperitifs.  Apart from knowing there was one English family in the street, and that our immediate neighbours were Dutch, we had no idea about any of the others.

Our road, The Rue du Maquis de Trassanel is named after the Resistance group who were massacred in Trassanel in 1945. They apparently left Caunes to hide in a cave in the mountains, via a goatpath that went through what is now our garden.
Our road......our house is right at the other end of the street, hidden in the trees.
There are 12 houses in the road, we are at the far end, furthest from the village.
Well, we discovered we have some fascinating neighbours.

There is a Brazilian woman and a Welsh man who have built an incredible wooden eco house into the hillside. They have a delightful child who at 9 years old speaks fluent English, French, Portuguese and apparently some Occitaine.

There is a lovely family with a 4 year old who enjoyed playing with a few of the vast collection of toys we have acquired to entertain younger guests.



Grandpere lives next door to the rest of the family, and is really enjoying the south of France after retiring here 3 years ago from the north.




A beautiful French woman arrived with her equally beautiful boyfriend, and gave us a book on cycling on the Canal du Midi ( and a bottle of wine). I loved her immediately. I want someone to help me improve my French, and she was fantastic, as she listened, clearly understood my grammatically poor attempt at conversation, and every so often, gently prompted me with the right construction. That is exactly what I want. I later discovered that she helps run the local jazz club….perfect.


The ex- mayor and his wife arrived, and gave us a gorgeous orchid to welcome us to the street.
The ex- mayor is  one of the local doctors….his son , another of the local doctors lives next door to his father. The son could not come, but arrived 24 hours later clutching 2 bottles of wine, with apologies for not attending !

A lovely man arrived, apologising that his wife could not attend, handing us another bottle of carefully selected wine and a bag of fantastic toffees.

The Dutch couple came….again, with wine, they had only arrived back in Caunes the day before. They have been doing what we intend to do, spending half our time here in France and half back “home”. They have been driving down from Holland each year for the last 15 or so years.

Our other guests included a good friend from England who was actually our first official guest, the landscape gardener who has helped us organise the garden, the pool and some of the building work we have had done, his partner and their gorgeous 1 year old daughter,  and another English couple who lent us their  French house as a base for looking for a property this time last year. 2 other English families who live in the street also came, one of them was accompanied by a very adorable dog called Nellie, who was told several times to “ Go home”, but she was clearly having too much fun…… as were we.

Some of the alcoholic gifts we were given, to welcome us to Caunes.

We were nervous about staging the event, but are clear it was a very good thing to have done. Walking down into the village now takes much longer as it involves stopping and having conversations with our lovely neighbours, and a trip to the bar means lots of warm greetings and chatting….in various languages, with all manner of people.

21 comments:

  1. Sounds like a wonderful group of neighbours - and the start of a novel!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was an incredibly entertaining evening...and I have to say, I can almost see the TV sit com which will of course follow the novel ! J.

      Delete
  2. Oh, what fun, Janice and what a very good thing to have done. You obviously live in a much more cosmopolitan area than our bit of Normandy and your neighbours sound truly fascinating. Living as you will do for half a year there, it's really important to meet your neighbours and get on with them and it sounds like you've made a very good start. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hello Perpetua, yes, they really were a fascinating bunch, and I am looking forward to getting to know some of them better. I know I will get on brilliantly with the woman who came with the cycling guide. I am so pleased we made the effort, people seemed genuinely pleased that we had. J.

      Delete
  3. Hello Janice:
    This was such a good idea, we think. One is so dependent on one's neighbours when in a foreign country and it is really good to have invited them along to a social event in order to get to know them better. And, how lovely that when you now meet your neighbours you can engage in a friendly conversation. That all makes living abroad so special and so interesting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello J & L, they really do seem like an interesting group of people, and I am delighted at the friendship they have already shown us.... a good start I think. J.

      Delete
  4. Oh well done, what a wonderful sounding party. Like Perpetua, I think it is such a good thing to have done. You sound to have really lovely neighbours and I'm sure the extra time it takes you to get into the village will do wonders for improving both relations and your language skills - though you may have the opportunity to learn more than French!
    Axxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hello Annie, wish you could have been here too ! I haven't come across any Spanish speakers here yet, but there was a fair mix of languages being spoken at our house that evening....and what is good, is that French does seem to be the language that the "incomers" use with each other, so English, Dutch and Portuguese neighbours were all speaking French with their French neighbours and with each other.... despite the occasional lapse into something else, with the hope that someone can translate. The jazz club looks interesting too.....probably the subject of another blog at some stage. J xx

      Delete
    2. The jazz club sounds fantastic! What an interesting little village it is. I'm planning a little French blog at the moment...Axxx

      Delete
    3. oooh, looking forward to that then. The jazz club was excellent... held in the underground caves ( vaulted...so some contribution from humans) under the 11th century abbey. An amazing location, and our first visit was very enjoyable....made even better by bumping into our neighbours.Jx

      Delete
  5. Dear Janice - what an excellent idea, taking your courage in both hands has paid off dividends. Everyone sounds so interesting, you are going to have a great time there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know it is early days, but I do think we are going to have a great time here. I am looking forward to getting to know the neighbours better....but we have certainly made a good start. J.

      Delete
  6. Good for you, taking the plunge.

    Oh, and so much for the old saw bandied about by the 'old hand' ex pats...the French don't bring wine when invited somewhere, so you shouldn't either.
    All my French friends arrived with bottle in hand when invited....and were far from offended when it was reciprocated.

    You've made your village come to life for you by getting to know everyone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had heard that we shouldn't take wine to people's homes( from an ex-pat)...and also flowers....the ex mayor and wife clearly ignored that one too with the orchid they gave us. So, I am glad to find both are untrue. I will certainly be taking such offerings to my new neighbours' homes, and I'm pleased to say, following our "do", we've already had a couple of invites. J.

      Delete
    2. I'd heard that too, Janice, from a similar source, and it's good to know it isn't true. I've also had flowers given to me by my French neighbour several times. The only thing I believe one shouldn't do is give chrysanthemums, as they are a funeral flower.

      Delete
  7. Oh Janice, I am so impressed. I have often wanted to do just that -- but have been intimidated by the language -- the dialect is quite difficult -- and well just doing it. Our road doesn't have a lot of people, but there are enough for a good get together and summer barbecue -- but still I hesitate. Anyway, well done you -- you have done absolutely the right thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, I'll be honest, in that I was full of trepidation about it. I felt like running round and cancelling it just hours before, but now I will know we can do it again....we've decided to make it an annual thing, and will extend our "neighbourhood" to include the next street too next year. J

      Delete
  8. Hi Janice,
    An excellent way to combine a party with meeting your neighbours - always important!. How wonderful to have a jazz club close to you, Tim would be in heaven!

    Taking the time to get to know your neighbours is one of the things that turns a house into a home. Bravo...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Gaynor, The jazz club does look to be an added bonus to life here. I'm not an expert, and do feel a little intimidated by some jazz. However...I know what I like, and am always ready to discover new things I like ! Holding the "do" was a perfect way of letting people know we are here.....and that we want to be part of whatever is going on in the village. J.

      Delete
  9. Such a fine and a brave thing to do, Janice. I truly applaud you for making the effort to reach out to your neighbors and opening up your home for such an introductory visit. What an exciting mix of people and opportunity to know them and, in so doing, know more of the region of France you call your second home. You are truly an ambassador of good taste and goodwill.

    I hope you will tell us more about the jazz club.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hello Penny, thanks for your kind comments. Despite the nervousness about holding the "event"...we really enjoyed it, and it has clearly made an impact in that we have been made to feel so welcome. The jazz club is certainly going to feature in our life in Caunes.....so, I am pretty sure there is a blog waiting to be written there somewhere. J

      Delete