Weis Bars

You haven't lived until you've had a Weis Bar. They are a bar of sorbet made from fruit purée with a strip of vanilla icecream running down one side -- check out the ingredients list -- 45% fruit! real cream! -- quality stuff. They are made in the city near where I spent my teenage years and are definitely one of the treats to look forward to when I return. The name is pronounced to rhyme with rice -- not a lot of people know that.

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Loire Valley Nature: The entry for the very common orchid Broad-leafed Helleborine Epipactis helleborine subsp helleborine has been updated. The entry for the very similar but very rareViolet Helleborine E. pupurata has also been updated.

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Visitors: Yesterday Gérard and Marie-France called in after paying their respects and leaving flowers on the family graves in the Preuilly cemetery. Gérard grew up in our house and we were pleased to be able to give him some larger prints that Simon did of some of the photos he had lent us. His grandfather, who features in many of the photos, is buried in the cemetery here and Toussaints (1 November) is traditionally a day when families here remember their deceased relatives. According to Gérard, his grandfather actually wanted to be buried in the courtyard with the horses, but since that wasn't allowed he was given a civil interment down at the cemetery.

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Viral Video: Just in case you haven't seen Hisham Fageeh's video in support of Saudi Arabian women who want to drive, here is a link. It is very clever and very funny. The beard scratching musical effect is particularly entertaining.