High winds have continued throughout this week in the vines. Then, on Sunday, the wind stopped and the temperature soared. Here’s Sunday’s photos in the vineyards:
Mademoiselle Merlot
I’m looking for a change of colour soon in our chosen grapevine. Merlot grapes are thin-skinned and mature before other red varieties.
another bunch of baby grapes
Meanwhile, in the Chardonnay field –
Chardonnay beginning to plump
Vineyards are looking full of promise. Everywhere you walk, the fields are green and lush.
looks like Paradise to me!
Around every corner, there’s another fine view of fine wines in the making.
wind blowing through the vines
And now that the temperatures have reached the magic number, cigales (cicadas) are singing in the trees and hedgerows. It’s the boys who do the singing – rattling their exoskeleton to attract the ladies. Here’s what they sound like: cigale song video
That’s one of the typical sounds of summer in Languedoc.
You hardly ever get to see cicadas while you’re out walking. Occasionally, they’ll come into your garden. Here’s what they look like:
cicada or in French cigale
Their life cycle is unusual. The nymphs spend many years underground before emerging to live a short life as an adult winged insect with one purpose: reproduction.
So, the boys sing like crazy as long as it’s warm enough. How they make the sound is interesting and if you’d like to know more about it there’s a website dedicated to all things cicada. Here’s a link:
And now some exciting news about next week’s post. Master of Wine, Juliet Bruce Jones has kindly agreed to answer a few questions about qualifying as Master of Wine and her life as a winegrower here in Languedoc. I can’t wait. It’s my first EXCLUSIVE. Wow!
Not to be missed. Don’t forget to subscribe at FOLLOW CELIA – you’ll get an email to remind you there’s a new post. Your email remains private.
It’s SUMMER. That’s official. The tourist information offices are full of bright, coloured pamphlets and brochures with endless lists and calendars of things you can do through July and August.
Some places here were built for summer. Take Cap d’Agde. Although the history of Agde, just inland from the coast on the banks of the river Hérault, goes back to the times of ancient Greece, the resort around the marina at the Cap didn’t exist until the 1970s.
In summer we have water sports for all the family. There’s just about every water sport you could name. My new short story of the month, Aquapark Blues, is set in a water slide park. You can find it here. (This link will work until the end of July when another new short story of the month goes in.) I hope you have a few minutes to read it.
But if you don’t care to participate in water sports, there’s one you’ll love to watch: WATER JOUSTING.
A fine spectacle at the water joust
Water jousting takes place every summer
in Agde, Marseillan, Meze and in Hérault’s own Little Venice, Sète. When the water jousts first began in the 1600s the blue boat, manned by bachelors of the town would be set against the red boat, manned by married men. I don’t know who used to win most often in those days, but every year you are guaranteed a fun-packed show, full of thrills and spills. But don’t be fooled that this is all good, light-hearted fun. The teams may behave in a gentlemanly fashion, but the competition is deadly serious.
Watch this video from the Sète Tourist Office.
Isn’t that exciting? Don’t you just love the sights, sounds? The atmosphere? This is one of the reasons I love where I live.That’s why writers should carry a notebook. Wherever you go here, in summer you’ll find another story around the corner.
The instrument used as the barges approach one another is the hautbois. Today’s modern oboe has a similar soprano timbre. It was a good choice of instrument, together with a drum, for water jousting as the sound is clear and penetrating. It’s clearly audible over all the other noise.
serious competition
With all this excitement, how am I ever going to find time to write?
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New Vine watch Report tomorrow – PLUS news of guest contributors this month.
Spraying continues in the vineyards. The vines are healthy but delayed in their development due to unusual weather conditions. A late harvest is almost certain. However, experts tell me it’s still possible for them to ‘catch up’ should the weather settle into its more usual summer pattern.
a name for every wind
Winds have been keeping temperatures down. We have a variety of winds here. They all have names. The Tramontane blows from the north; its cousin the Tarral blows from the north-west. Both are powerful; sometimes it can feel as if they’re arguing with one another. They whistle through the vines and make the support wires sing like a ghostly choir.
(There goes the romantic in me coming out again!)
Notwithstanding all this wind and cooler temperatures, Languedoc looks fantastic this month. The light is an artist’s dream: it’s as if the cooler air is cleaner, fresher than usual. Colours are brighter. Evenings are superb.
vines rolling into the distance
The contrast of green foliage and red soil is perfectly complementary – exact opposites on an artist’s colour wheel. That’s what makes it so satisfying.
Our Mademoiselle Merlot is looking perky. Here she is.
Mademoiselle Merlot
Vine leaves shade this bunch of baby grapes.
Apart from some wind damage to the top growth, the vines are healthy.
Growers expect a good crop even if it is a little late.
In the vineyard across the lane, the Chardonnay is well ahead. Compare the baby grapes.
Chardonnay grapes
I’m licking my lips already. Make space in the fridge! These beauties are best chilled.
Walking through the vineyards is such a pleasure. Each month there’s something different to see.
many lanes through the vines
Those dark trees along the lanes sometimes have a surprise for you. Maybe they’re almonds or figs. Maybe they are pomegranates.
bright orange flowers on pomegranate trees
Each flower will become a bright orange pomegranate. What a wonderful picture they make!
Join me next week for the Wednesday Vine watch report. Who knows what surprises we’ll have in store?
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WS=Wicked Stepmother GB=Gollum Boy, the online gamer BP=Biological Parent
School holidays have begun. The only students attending collège this week are doing final year oral exams in preparation for lycée next September.
rock formations at Moureze
GB has one more year in collège. He handed in all his text books on Tuesday. He said it was painful. Wicked Stepmother thought he meant he was heartbroken to see them for the last time. (Joke)
No, he said, it was painful because they were so heavy.
On Wednesday he floated off, sans text books, for the morning bus and probably floated back at midday to make his own bacon sandwich for lunch. We weren’t at home to witness. Himself and I were entertaining visitors and actually having a rather nice picnic in the hills above Clermont Hérault with a large ready-roasted pintade from the market, tomatoes, cheese and crusty bread. GB would not eat this fare and, anyway, picnics are for boring old farts.
pintade is a guinea fowl
When we arrived home, the kitchen bore the evidence of GB’s culinary efforts, complete with tomato sauce-streaked plate left where he’d finished with it. GB was where we expected him to be: glued to the X-Box, the 10 week holiday grin already secure upon his face. (We noticed it when he came down to see if we’d brought back any chocolate biscuits.)
His final day at collège this semester was Thursday last. The grin grew even wider.
‘What are you going to do with all this time off?’ said BP.
‘Hmmph!’ GB replied.
Nothing more was said at the time.
On Friday, GB spent all day gaming.
On Saturday, GB spent all day gaming.
did you know such organisations exist?
On Sunday, there was a sea change.
Oh, yes.
Wicked Stepmother had nothing to do with it and remained, her own thin grin firmly in place, out of sight.
Biological Parent put the question again.
‘What are you going to do with all this time off?’
No answer. Not even a humph.
‘If you can’t come up with ideas of your own, GB, I’ll think of some for you.’
No answer.
‘I’d like you to come down at three this afternoon and help me in the garden.’
Three o’ clock came and went.
three o’ clock deadline
BP went to the garage. He walked over to the electricity control box.
power control switches
Our power controls are different in France from what we were used to in the UK. We don’t have ring circuits here. Each room can be isolated by the switches on the main control box.
At 3:15pm last Sunday afternoon, two rooms were blacked out.
At 3:15pm last Sunday afternoon, the plug was literally (almost) pulled on activities at the top of the house.
At 3:15pm last Sunday afternoon, there was no X-Box, no YouTube live streamed games/tutorials from Syndicate the #1 UK gamer. The lights were out. The sockets were dead.
BP waited in the garden where GB’s old bike awaited cleaning and maintenance before we sell it.
Power was not restored until 6pm. So, GB still had minimum 8 hours game playing from when he got up to lights out. I think it’s way too much.
Wicked Stepmother plans to show this post to BP, especially the picture about 10,000 hours spent by the age of twenty-one. Isn’t that such a waste of a young life?
On the eve of the feast of St John the Baptist, many villages here in Languedoc, celebrate with some kind of fire jumping party. The date, rather conveniently some might suggest, coincides with Pagan midsummer rituals when bonfires were lit to ward off evil spirits. Summer solstice was a magical time of year for the ancient peoples.
Today, children enjoy the festivities put on especially for them. Last night our village laid on a disco party with snow machine. The kids were thoroughly soaked before the bonfires were lit – a good idea for those planning to jump the fire later.
disco with snow machine
Snow machines turn up at most of our outdoor summer parties. On the evenings of Soiree Mousse, you wear your old clothes!
getting clothes wet before jumping the fires
Volunteer firefighters are in charge of the bonfires. Our village has its own firefighting equipment, all manned by residents – a schoolteacher, business people etc. Cadets are welcome and many village children learn the ropes when they are quite young before becoming volunteer firefighters themselves.
The firemen prepare the bonfires using grubbed up vines. The smaller pile is for the youngest children.
old vines make good bonfires
If any of the children don’t look wet enough to go fire jumping, they must douse themselves with water from the firefighters’ bucket!
getting thoroughly wet
The fires are lit. The kids are getting excited. There’s a lot of shouting encouragement. Health and Safety? Risk assessments?
Why would you want to spoil the fun with rules and regulations? Nobody ever gets hurt. There are so many responsible adults on hand to see that doesn’t happen. Watch the short clips I took last night to see the fun. Here and here.
Is this too dangerous? Should this tradition be stopped? Would you let your children brave the fire jump? What do you think?
Thank you for visiting my website. Please feel free to leave a comment. I love to hear what you think.
Just a short vine report this week. We have visitors from England, one of whom arrived last Saturday unwell. Making doctor’s appointments on the phone taxes my French, especially when they reply in rapid fire. I’m still working out the last few words while they’re rushing through the next three sentences.
French healthcare is among the best in Europe, in my opinion, and here in this part of southern France, we have access to some of the most up-to-date technology in healthcare. Montpellier is at the cutting edge of medical research, its teaching hospitals and research laboratories among the finest in the world. I’m sure my friend will soon feel much better.
What’s happening in the vines this week.
The growers are still spraying some varieties, notably the Syrah (Shiraz). The whites, and in particular, the Chardonnay are set now. We want them to grow fat and fill up with lusciousness.
Merlot growing welllusty Chardonnay vines
We’ve had high humidity (75-80 %) for the last few days and again, this isn’t what we’ve come to expect at this time of year. Growers will be vigilant in their fight against powdery mildew, especially with regard to young plants in new vineyards whose leaves are more susceptible.
In our garden, we have our own plants to tend.
cocktail tomatoes on their vine
These cocktail tomatoes always do well here. We don’t have to restrict their height. They just keep on growing and producing.
courgettes in flower
Courgettes also do well. These are the round variety with fruits the shape of miniature pumpkins. The flowers are a vivid yellow, a colour said to be most attractive to many garden insects.
Himself and I love chillies. We always grow our own. Here’s some of this year’s crop .
Still bright green, these chillies will begin to look black before they take on their hot red coats. You need a strong red to drink with spicy food. Lucky for us, we know just where to find a selection of those!
So, cheers for now! Don’t forget to subscribe at FOLLOW CELIA so you don’t miss new posts.
chilli peppers
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Conditions: warm. A good night for waiting for Gary.
We’d been to The Shack for mussels and chips. We love that place. Salubrious, it isn’t. Situated right next to a main road and a filling station, it hasn’t got the best of views. What it’s got is atmosphere – maybe it’s because I’m such a truck lover I like places that look like truck stops. Anyway, food’s good and hot and there’s plenty of it.
good food for Gary watching
Himself and I had a litre of vino collapso between us and wended our way home. It wasn’t properly dark. June days are long and neither of us wanted to be indoors, so we decided on a spot of Gary watching.
You can’t wait for Gary without the special equipment. So, out came the special equipment.
special Gary watching equipment
After a few sips of the special equipment, Writer in Languedoc thought it would be a good idea to make a little video clip. No sooner had I stopped filming, but, you guessed it! The little bugger shot across the wall behind me and hid behind the French window shutter. You can view the video clip here.
Now I know you can’t compare my efforts with those wonderful wild life programmes we see on television. You know the ones I mean, where people talk in hushed voices while they’re waiting for the wolf, or the bear or the yeti. But when the very creature you’ve been waiting for shows up the second you put the camera down, the frustration of Gary watching must come close to waiting for a . . . rhinoceros or a lesser spotted alien.
Himself went indoors. I stayed put.
11pm. It’s dark. There’s a chattering noise from behind the shutter. A dark shadow of movement. Stealthy hands pick up the camera. Shush. Don’t breathe. When he moves, it’ll be fast.
There he goes!
Gary the Gecko caught on camera
Gotcha! Not quite all of you, Gary. You move so fast.
So photographic ambitions mount. I shan’t settle till I get a good photo of Gary hanging around in the lamp light, catching moths and chomping them.
The main topic of conversation this week is the WEATHER. The vines’ development is delayed. We’re expecting a much later harvest this year. Some varieties, such as the Syrah (Shiraz) have yet to flower, such is the delay because of unusual cooler conditions.
the vines are still being sprayed with copper sulphate
Vines still need to be sprayed until the grapes have set. Wine growers in the hills forecast a vendange three to four weeks later than usual.
Here where we are, nearer the coast, we’ve also had cold winds, colder night time temperatures and rain like you wouldn’t believe.
Visitors find it hard to believe we get rainstorms like on this video. It pours from the roof and makes a river running out under the gate.
Here’s what also happens during storms. We lose our satellite television. Right in the middle of the French Open final!
during the French Open final!!! Aaaargh!a morning chorus of Merlot!
Himself and I have continued our daily walks. And I’m still adding to my collection of photos in and around the vineyards.
Here are some pictures featuring grey skies, just so’s you can see we do get them sometimes!
misty vines
cheeky spider on the Merlot!
Fortunately, when we do get bad weather, it doesn’t last too long. We know the sun will soon be showing its face again.
Here’s the latest close-ups on our Mademoiselle. I didn’t know the spider was there till I uploaded the photo.
Chardonnay June 12th
After the rainstorm, the temperature rocketed. Yesterday, we notched up 31 degrees in the same place where the rain was bouncing off the floor a few days ago.
flags in the breeze
There’s hardly a cloud in the sky. We think the summer has finally begun.
And to prove it, here’s this morning’s sunrise. Follow the line of the sun to see what she’s lighting up – our Merlot!
It must be an omen.
sunrise on our Merlot
Cheers!
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Coming soon on Wednesday Languedoc Vinewatch – an interview with a Master of Wine who now grows her own.
Writer in Languedoc has got herself on the iCloud with a shining, brand new Apple ID and email address. Does that make her an iAngel? No, iAngel is the Trade name of a certain body sling for carrying babies. Weird, that.
Never mind, Writer in Languedoc will be able to access her documents from anywhere in the world on her iPhone or iPad. She’ll be able to edit her drafts from far flung corners of the planet. All her Apple products will be talking to each other to share what they know and make it available, anywhere, any place, any time. Oh, that phrase has already been used too. Anybody remember Martini? I’m showing my age now.
any time, any place, anywhere
But anyway, back to the magic of Apple and the amazing iCloud. What else will I be able to do with it? I’ll be able to take pictures on my iPhone, for example and they’ll be automatically sent to my computer and iPad.
This would be a very useful feature for writer in Languedoc’s weekly Vinewatch reports. Images would be ready to incorporate into text without having to upload them manually.
So, now I’ve a new logo in my repertoire. A shiny, new button to press. Oh, I’m leaving my old self behind now that I’m bang up to date with my sparkling new iMac.
my new button
Wow, Grandma! What next?
Best get yourself an iPhone and an iPad then, so you can use all these extra gizmos.
Here’s a cunning plan. First, sell more short stories to pay for the new gizmos.
No, first, WRITE more stories for selling. It’s all well and good having followers on your blog and on Twitter et al, but all these new gadgets are going to cost. Right?
Okay, then. Open up Pages. Start writing. What, no Word for Mac on this shiny new iMac?
No Madam, that doesn’t come as part of the package. However, Pages can do everything you will require. Uh-oh! There’s another big learning curve ahead.
Thank goodness for people like Alexander Anichkin. What he can’t do in Pages isn’t worth knowing. Follow the link to visit his blog. Be careful, you could spend hours on there marvelling at the man and never get anything done at all.
WS = Wicked Stepmother, BP= Biological Parent, GB= Gollum Boy alias teenage online gamer.
Scene 1: The kitchen. Midday, Wednesday. GB is due to return home at 12.30. Shopping bags litter the counter tops and table. Wicked Stepmother is putting away market produce. Biological parent is getting in the way.
BP: ( stuffing into his mouth the piece of cheese he has just snapped off the new block )Have you thought yet about what’s for lunch?
WS: Leftover Bolognese sauce. I’ll do some fresh pasta to go with it.
BP: Will there be enough, Wicked Stepmother?
WS: There’s enough for two.
BP: What will you have?
WS: (reaching under the kitchen table to retrieve tomatoes that have rolled there)Something else.
BP: Shall we have a drink first?
WS:(from under the table) Good idea.
BP: I’ll have a coffee, please. (exits)
Scene 2:
The kitchen. There are still bags of shopping to put away. WS has retrieved tomatoes and is now making coffee. GB arrives from half-day school classes.
WS: Hello, Gollum Boy.
GB: Hmmmph.
WS: Everything okay?
GB: Hmmmph. (exits)
WS finishes putting away the shopping and makes coffee. She is adding milk when GB suddenly reappears in doorway.
GB: Dad says I’m having pasta for lunch. Will there be some kind of sauce to go with that?
He scans the empty hob for proof.
WS: Yes!
GB: What time will it be ready?
(It is 12:40)
WS: You know what? It’ll be ready at exactly 1pm. (GB exits again) Biological Parent! Oh, BiologicalParent! Are you there? Your coffee’s ready.
Scene 3:
The kitchen. 1pm. Lunch for the boys is ready. WS gets out dishes and begins to make herself a sandwich. BP makes for the door.
WS: Where are you going, Biological Parent?
BP: To tell GB his lunch is ready.
WS: He already knows. He asked me for a time and I gave him one. I told him it would be at exactly 1pm.
(Close-up on WS’s face. Her mouth is a thin line)
BP: Then we will put out his lunch, Wicked Stepmother and he’d better get his ass down here.
GB’s lunch going cold
(They eat)
BP: Actions and consequences, Wicked Stepmother. Actions and consequences.
(They clear the dishes and make another drink. Still no sign of GB. Noises off are obvious gaming sounds with GB calling out to team members to Look out! Wait! Let him have it!)
pasta will be cold by now
(Close up of clock face)
Scene 4:
Kitchen. WS and BP are nowhere to be seen. It is 2:15pm. GB arrives. There is a dish under a net cover on the table. GB stares at it as if he doesn’t know what to do with it.
GB: Dad! Dad!!
BP enters kitchen. He is carrying a gardening fork. He appears not to have heard GB calling him.
GB: Dad!
BP: What?
GB: Why didn’t you call me to let me know when lunch was ready?
BP: Were you told it would be ready at 1pm?
GB: Hmmmph.
BP: So why didn’t you come at 1pm?
GB: I thought somebody would call me.
BP: Oh. (He begins to walk away)
GB: Well, if I’d known this was going to happen, I would have come down.
BP: Ah.
GB: So why didn’t somebody call me?
BP: We’re not going to call you any more, Gollum Boy. Not when you’ve already been given a time.
GB: Why not?
BP: It’s your responsibility to get yourself ready to come and eat with us. You could help, couldn’t you by laying the table or stacking the dishwasher? Remember those small chores we asked you to do? You’ve been avoiding them, haven’t you?
GB: Hmmmph.
BP: If your lunch is too cold to eat, you can reheat it in a pan. Wash up after yourself, please. We’ve already tidied the kitchen. (He exits)
Gollum Boy sits to eat. He tastes. He stands and for a moment it looks as if he’s going to make the effort to reheat the food. Then he sits down again, gobbles the food quickly and gets up to leave.
BP: ( from outside) Don’t leave that dirty dish for somebody else to clear!
GB rinses dish under tap. He looks around. He doesn’t know where to put it next. He leaves it on the draining board and exits.
In the garden, BP is happily planting tomatoes. In the bedroom WS looks in the mirror.
