Prepping the Museum

Our local museum is due to open to visitors on Saturday 6 July, when the school holidays start. It is staffed by volunteer teenagers and as a result is only open during the holidays. Prior to the new season some members of the Société Archaeologique de Preuilly gathered to refresh the paint work and 'spring' clean.

Dominique painting.

 John painting.

 John sweeping out the bread oven.

Jill and I cleaned the collection of prehistoric tools and their glass cabinets. As Jill said, it gives you a whole new perspective on these objects -- mainly what a pain they are to dust! Simon did a nice job of painting a door and a window. Naturally the morning's work ended with an apéro (a lovely buttery Chardonnay from Crissay-sur-Manse and St Michel galette biscuits) before we broke up for lunch. After a suitable interval we reconvened and worked till 6pm.

Many thanks to Bernard and Christine (as ever the lynch pins), Dominique and Sylvie (who admitted that history was Dominique's thing, but cleaned a cabinet of stone tools anyway), Dominique R, Jill and John (who are ever on hand to help with the museum), Mme Galland ('specialiste pour les petits objects') and Jean-Claude. Our thoughts are with Marc as he recovers from an illness, so couldn't be with us.

The museum is open 6 and 7 July, then from 13 July to 31 August every day except Saturday from 2.30 pm to 6 pm. Entry costs €2, but if you hold a Pass réseau de musées de Claise et Creuse you get in for €1.50 and receive a gift on your fourth visit to museums in the network. The museum, with its fine collection of lace and Touraine bonnets, as well as flint tools, a Roman coffin and 19th century tools from farming and trades, is located in the Poterne, just below the chateau.

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 Weather Update: After several days of warm properly summery weather we had a downpour Tuesday night -- not unexpected, and indeed, ideal in terms of not interfering very much with one's activities and welcome in the garden. Wednesday morning remained a bit drizzly, but that was OK as I was just out paying various bills. It stayed drizzly for the afternoon too, which was not so OK as I wanted to pick the last of our sweet cherries and some of our sour ones. Being unable to bring them in probably means we will have lost the sweet cherries. But it's back to full sun for the foreseeable now, according to the Météo, and the 4 sequentially ripening sour cherry trees will give me plenty to do over the next couple of weeks.

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In Our Kitchen Yesterday: A kilo of broad beans shelled, blanched and frozen. Sadly not our own home grown, as I never got any planted due to the persistent wet.