Télethon

This is the weekend of the Télethon, akin to the UK Children in Need. We have plenty of activities in the village and so this is turning into a busy weekend.

The first event of this year's Télethon was a concert in the church on Friday evening. The published time for the start was 18.00 when John was stuck in traffic in Béziers on his way back om the dentist. , Pat and two friends, Silvia and Toni, set off up the hill only to find people standing in the cold outside the locked church. The start time for the concert had been put back (or possible someone just got it wrong) to 18.30, so we went back down the hill for a quick glass of wine to fill in the time. This gave John a chance to get home before we returned to the church where the rehearsal was in progress. Silvia and Toni hadn't been inside the church before, so John gave a quick guided tour.

The choir gave a good performance which we all enjoyed before we retired to the village restaurant to eat.

On Saturday, there was a walk around the village. We arrived in the square at the appointed time where coffee was being served and then set off into the vineyards around the village. We knew a lot of the walk, but there were some interesting variations that we hadn't done before.

Here we are on the walk



and with the next village, Murviel, in the background.







We walked towards Paihles and the small chapel of Montalaru, where we go to concerts in the summer which are held outside. We had not been inside the chapel before so were delighted to see that the door was open as we approached. We learnt that the chapel is only open one day a year, December 8th, which is the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Inside, there was a lady putting flowers on the alter and she told us something about the chapel, which was built in 1853.








We returned to the village after midday, to find the customary apéritif waiting for us.





In the evening, we went to the Foyer Rurale for the Télethon meal. The start time was 7 pm for apéros. We joined neighbours and friends





At 8.30, the line dancing started





and at 9, which is normal eating time in France, the paella was delivered by members of a rugby team (we presume that they had made it too).





The team stayed to serve; there was plenty to go round.





After we had eaten, our table came back with us for cognac.

This morning, John took this photo of the sunrise over the village





and later hopped on his bike to take this of the mountains of the Haut Languedoc covered in snow






We also had a vide grenier (garage sale) in the village square.




Other Télethon events include a boules match, a Christmas market at a vigneron with line dancing demonstrations and a tennis tournament.

Now, we are about to leave go to our final event, the Loto (bingo) to practice our numbers in French.


Pat and John at home

A busy few days

We have been kept busy since our return from the UK to see Ernie in mid November, mostly keeping up with friends over meals, wine shopping, routine health checks and such like. Pat has been Christmas shopping, making things for Ernie and doing the final planning of our South African holiday, planned for February while John has been waxing the kitchen floor and organising our Christmas cards and letter.

We leave for London in less than two weeks, where we will spend Christmas, but we have a number of events before that.

On Thursday, we joined our Swedish friends, Gunilla and Håkan for lunch at their house in Montagnac, followed by a walk.

This the view of the village church from their dining table




Montagnac from our walk with the local foothills of the Massif Central, Les Monts de L'Espinouse in the distance. In between is the valley of the Herault river.




A chapel in the vines that we passed




Aumes, a small village en route




The final event of the year for the UNRPA (retired club of Thézan), le repas de fin d'année (end of the year meal), took place on Saturday. As always, it was well attended and very jolly. We sat with our neighbours and a group of ladies whom we regularly encounter on walks in the vineyards around the village on summer evenings.

The meal is always well catered and very cheap, 12€ (£10) per head for a four course meal including drinks. The event starts at noon and we needs to arrive early in order to find seats for ourselves and our neighbours.

We started with a plate of apéros (mini quiche, mini pizza, olives, tomatoes, etc) and a drink, whisky, Pernod or sweet muscat wine (both traditional before a meal here), or for us rosé; refills come round too. Bread and bottles of wine sit on the table and are replaced whenever necessary.

The first course was foie gras, served with a salad and a vin doux (a sweet wine) perfectly suited to foie gras.

This was followed by a stuffed quail, green beans and wild mushrooms (all very traditional).

Cheese came next and to finish, a swiss roll filled with créme anglais (thick custard) and a chocolate and served with a local sparking white wine, Clairette de Die (also traditional).

Finally, we had tea or coffee are served together with more drinks (digestifs like green creme de menthe).

Singing and story telling completes the afternoon and we head for home just after five o'clock.








This is not, however, the end of the village festivities.

Next weekend we will have the Télethon, equivalent to the UK Children in Need, with a concert in the church on Friday, a village walk, boules, the decoration of the village Christmas tree and a meal on Saturday and a jumble sale, tennis and Loto on Sunday.

We also have a large dinner party for friends and Christmas carols in the L'Abbaye de Fontcaude before we leave for the UK.