Monet's Garden Borders

When we stayed with Christian and Edith in June, one of the reasons for doing so was to visit the artist Claude Monet's famous garden at Giverny. Christian and Edith live about 15 minutes away from Giverny, but have never visited the garden - quite enough nature on their doorstep to keep them occupied I think, and they both prefer wilder places.

Monet's garden is probably on most visitors to France's 'must-see' list. It was on mine, and up till June, I had not seen it. Now that I have, I can report that it is indeed a very beautiful garden, jam packed full of very prettily arranged plants, and slightly less appealing numbers of other visitors, including some very pushy photographers who hog the best vantage points. It is not somewhere I will feel the need to visit again, although I am pleased to have seen it now. (The reason relatively few people appear in the photographs I took is that the paths are all extremely narrow, and many of them are roped off, so one can aim the camera up the length of the garden and not capture a single person on the path because there is no access it -- you can look, but not perambulate.)












Susan

Smoke on the Water

Are we dating ourselves? It's actually mist on the water, but that sounds a bit finger in the ear folk music-y.

Anyway, I digress..........

This is the river Claise at the start of autumn, just upstream from the Roman bridge.When we go for a wander around town, it tends to be in the evening. This time of year we quite often have a walk between dinner and dessert, thus making more room for dessert which IMHO is a good thing.

Sometimes, however, we deviate from the normal (stop sniggering at the back there) and go for a walk before we have worn ourselves out which gives us a whole different view of the town. Not only are we seeing it in a new light (literally) but with fresh, untired eyes. This is the water on the plan d'eau at 9 in the morning.

As is this photo. Once upon a time I couldn't do reflection, but I think I am getting the hang of it.

Simon

Bernache

There is great excitement in France when the grape harvest happens; not only are the roads full of trailers full of grapes and letterboxes full of catalogues about wine, but suddenly a sign will appear at the supermarket:

La Bernache est ici

Having been told about Bernache by Bengt (the dill munching Viking Preuillacien) last year, I was anxious to try it this year. So when the signs went up at SuperU, I was in like a shot. I may have been there on the first day, but even then about half of their supply had gone. I bought 3 bottles, with the intention of sharing the experiment with Susan when she arrived later in the week.As an experiment, it went quite well: very refreshing, but with a kick greater than 11% would have you believe. Sitting in the garden with a couple of glasses of bernache may well become a once a year feature of life in Preuilly.

As for the details? Bernache is something about which there seems very little information on the interwebby tubes thing, but there are a number of facts which we know to be true:

• Bernache is semi-fermented wine (about 11% alcohol).
• Bernache comes in just about every colour from green, through almost clear, to red.
• It bubbles.
• The bottle does not have a cork, just the plastic cork cover. There is a hole in this, so don't lay the bottle down.

There are a number of things about Bernache which we suspect to be true:

• It has added yeast. Either this, or some of the pomace (grape pulp) gets into each bottle. This causes it to continue fermenting, hence the bubbles. There is definitely solids in the bottom of the bottle.
• It rots your brain. It certainly does affect the stomach. It seems odd that at a time of year when cabbage and beans are the main vegetables the effect should be heightened by a drink, but there you go. (This may qualify as TMI, but it's too late).
• It goes off really quickly. Otherwise why can't you buy it all year round?

Does anyone know more about bernache? Drop us a line, we would love to know more. Like why this beverage is called 'barnacle' ?

Simon

(There is a good post on the Hotel Le Blason blog from Amboise about bernache, in French.)

La Source St Marc

La Source St Marc rises on the hillside behind Chaumussay, the village just downstream from Preuilly. In the 19th century a series of shrines were erected on the hill, connected by box lined trails, for the religious to recreate the twelve Stations of the Cross. Photos exist of this hill as Golgotha, taken in the early 20th century. Most of the shrines are in disrepair now, but one of the main ones, to St Marc himself, sited just below where the spring waters emerge, not far up the hill, is in good condition.


From here the clear icy water runs down a chalk rill, over the camel's nose and into a small pool stocked with fish and populated by frogs. We visit so often, taking every guest here, that I think the man in the house at the bottom of the hill is beginning to recognise us, although we never speak further than polite bonjours. His potager is a lush Garden of Eden, generously irrigated with water from the spring (he has bananas, which fruit every year, growing in the overflow!)

Susan

A Load of Rubbish

One of the things that the French always complain about (supposedly) is that the British owners of second homes always fill up the rubbish bins at aires de repos with domestic rubbish. Indeed, even Susan and I have done this, but only once.

The reason is simple - if your poubelle* collection happens on a Thursday - as it does in Preuilly - and you're leaving on a Saturday, then what do you do with your black bags of gunk?. As a good citizen you can't put them out 5 days early, and even if they were open, the dechetterie (tip) wouldn't take them.

Preuilly has a solution.
Opposite the swimming pool there is a small hedged enclosure with a number of industrial sized wheelie bins. A notice on the bins states the are for owners of "maison secondaire" only. This allows us to empty our bins legally and easily.

After we have done this, it is time to get rid of glass containers. As in London, glass is not collected with the recycling (I assume it is a weight issue) and has to be put in the special containers, known as dechetteries (a term that appears to apply to any form of recycling - the yellow recycling bags are also referred to this way). These are found everywhere in France - Preuilly has at least 4 sets, and many roadside halts have them too.Once the poubelle/dechetterie situation has been taken care of, conscientious second home owners can then get on with the serious issue of travelling.

Simon


*Poubelle is one of those French words that once learnt, is never forgotten. Is is a so much better word than any of the English equivalents, and so is our default word for rubbish, garbage or trash.

Lizards in France

There are five species of lizard that you may see around Preuilly-sur-Claise, but only two that you will almost certainly encounter.

By far the most common, almost ubiquitous, is the European Wall Lizard (Lézard des murailles) Podarcis muralis, especially around walls and buildings, but also on rocky outcrops and cliffs. They are great fun to watch as they go about their business, investigating crevices, sunning themselves, scattering and diving into their holes in the wall if alarmed. They will become quite accepting of your presence if you have the time and patience not to alarm them and do not get too close. They live in family groups so you will often see several together, all different sizes and ages. You sometimes see 'stumpy' individuals, who have survived having their tail ripped off by a predator. They are very fine boned, with long slender 'fingers', limbs and tail. They can be seen almost all year if the weather is sunny - we have seen them in November at Fontevraud, but this one is from May in our garden.

The other species you will probably see in the undergrowth, but may not get such a good look at, is the Western Green Lizard (Lézard vert occidental) Lacerta bilineata. This species likes moderately long grass at the edge of woodland and close to water. Do be careful when you are mowing or strimming -- it is a good idea to walk the area you are going to mow first, to frighten them off, as they can be badly injured or killed by the mower. They are very wary and hide in the leaf litter, making it very difficult to get an unobscured view of them, even though they are bright green. I think this one, with its hint of blue around the mouth, is a male. It was photographed in May at the Réserve Naturelle de Chérine.

The Green Lizard typically occurs in heathland, so long as there are areas of grass that they can hunt and sunbath in. In the Chérine, Sologne Sheep (les moutons solognots) are employed to keep areas of grassland open and ensuring the scrub does not invade the clearings necessary for species like the Green Lizard.

There is one more lizard that you may encounter in Preuilly if you lift up pieces of wood, corrugated iron or rocks in a quiet damp place (like the back of your garden). This looks like a small snake, but is in fact the legless lizard known as a Slow Worm (Orvet fragile) Anguis fragilis. I'm afraid I cheated a bit with the photo for this one - this female, with the dark line down her flank, is British, found at Llanymynech and photographed when I was on a reptiles and amphibians course at Preston Montford Field Studies Centre.

There is a good website for French species called Reptiles & Amphibiens de France (in French or English, with distribution maps, full descriptions and photos, includes snakes and lizards, frogs and toads, newts and salamanders and tortoises).

Susan

Eglise St Nicolas

Oddly, there are many places in Preuilly named after St Nicolas

Auberge St Nicolas

..............or rather, for a very small town with no apparent connection to St Nicolas to have three features named after him (Auberge St Nicolas, rue St Nicolas, and rue de du Faubourg St Nicolas) seems a bit strange.

Rue de du faubourg St Nicolas, with steps leading to rue St Nicolas

The explanation is, of course, fairly simple. St Nicolas church was one of five in Preuilly in the first part of last millennium (the others being St Melaine, Notre Dame Des Echelles, l'Abbaye St Pierre, and on the southern bank of the Claise, Marie Magdalene).

The Church has a famous connection - l'Eglise St Nicolas was already old when Eleanor of Aquitaine endowed it in the 12th century. The interior was refurbished at the same time and in similar style as Notre Dame la Grande de Poitiers, which she also funded. The style was Romano-Byzantine, with the beginnings of the Gothic becoming evident at the end of the 12th century. The church was particularly known for its numerous fine carvings of many types of animals. Last time we visited Roger Lezeau, after the usual round of "bonjour's" and "ça va's", he immediately hit us with 'So what do you think of Darwin?' Not quite sure what we were getting into, we laughed and said 'Pourquoi?' We needn't have worried – this was one of Roger's little bêtises (jokes) and was his way of introducing some drawings of chimerae in a church in Tours, carved by the man who created similar decorative schemes in St Nicolas.

Ironically, during the Revolution (18th century) the church was used to house animals, as a demonstration of the Revolutionary scorn for the Church. During the 19th century it fell into disrepair and was demolished. Until I visited the local Postern Museum we were of the belief that it had totally disappeared, but a notice in the museum said that one wall and butresses remain. This was a surprise, because we have walked rue de faubourg St Nicolas many times, and had seen no sign of a church at all.

It just goes to show, though. Once you know what to look out for, life becomes easier.

We suspect this may have been a church

You can even see the 'mortar' lines that have been painted on the walls to create a proper impression of regular, finely cut stone.

Simon and Susan

Another View of Lovely la Guerche

This time the church from a rather 'sneaky' angle. La Guerche is one of the most picturesque villages in the area, and we always take visitors to see it. You can see more pictures from our Blog here, here and here. Last time we were there, the streets around the church were full of happy people heading to a wedding blessing. Normally the streets are completely empty in that ever so slightly unnerving way that seemingly perpetually shuttered French villages have.

Susan

The Roman Bridge

Last weekend we called in on M. Lezeau at the retrait.

While we were there I asked him about the Roman bridge which we knew crossed the River Claise at Preuilly on the road between Poitiers and Orleans. He told us something we already suspected (mainly from having seen mud maps in various publications) - that the bridge was down at our favorite spot on the river. He also said that "vestiges" could be seen.

Then it clicked..... That little island in the middle of the river. You see, it's in the wrong place for a natural island; just upstream of a weir where the river is at its deepest, a clump of trees growing in the middle of the river with no banks or beaches. What's more, it is directly in line with a road. M.Lezeau then produce a photo he had taken in the early 80's showing the island without trees

This excited me, because I like Roman stuff, so at the first opportunity (more or less) I went down and took some photos.

The mysterious island

The road leading from the bridge

It is assumed that the bridge looked something like the bridge at Patras, in which case this is the base of the central pier. I am wondering though; the weir downstream is obviously post-Roman, so the river is probably wider than it was in Roman times, and in its natural state (which is difficult to find) the river is only about 7 metres across. This means that the remains could be the abutment of a single arch bridge, more like this.

It can't compete with a lot of other Roman Bridges. It is even somewhat underwhelming when compared with the Roman bridge at l'Ile Auger just north of Loches. But it is OUR Roman bridge.

Simon

I have added a placemark to our map of Preuilly

The Trumpets of the Hunt

We blogged about the trompette concert at Boussay, but due to technical difficulties could not post any moving sound pictures.Here we go then!

Simon

It's Wine Fair Time!

Every year about this time, the Supermarkets hold "Foire Aux Vins", or wine fairs.

I am not sure how much value they are, but the catalogues that pop through the letterbox (assuming you don't have a "pas de pub" or "stop pub" sticker on there) or pick up at the supermarche are quite useful for telling you the kind of stuff I don't know - how long to cellar the wine for and serving temperature, region and grape variety. Each wine is shown with all this information, along with details of any awards won

The best catalogue I have is last year's leClerc one. I didn't get their catalogue this year, but I did get one from both Intermarche and SuperU, our nearest supermarkets. After buying a couple of bottles of wine I went home and read about them. I buy on price, mainly, but as I learn more other factors may come into play. This year most of the wine I have bought is "drink within 12 months", but there are one or two "put down for 2 years". They are mainly Burgundys (red and white) Gamays (red, but served chilled), and a couple of Muscadets (white).

I am looking forwards to learning more about wine. I think I will take the "teach yourself" approach, because there are one or two aspects of that which appeal.....

Simon

Another door story

Our house (as opposed to the Granary) has two doors, both on the driveway at the side.

When we first bought the house, both of the doors were sealed up with a combination of nails, screws and expanding foam. The door into the front room is still sealed up this way, but will one day be a "french window" (I wonder - what do the French call them?)

The door into the kitchen was unsealed fairly quickly, but has always had weaknesses as a door. It has dropped considerably over the years, to the extent that unless you are built like an anorexic greyhound the only way get to the door open far enough to use it you had to lift it and carry it open. It also had considerable gaps all around, and the bottom was rotting away. As a door, it was a dead failure.

Well - no more.

As I had extra people on hand, (doors are REALLY heavy) I took the door off its hinges and cut the bottom two centimetres off using the benchsaw. Carolyn held up the far end of the door while I drove.

Me, in a blur of action

I then screwed and glued a fresh piece of timber - ever so slightly under 2cm thick - onto the bottom. The door was rehung, and surprise surprise, didn't work. This was expected because that's just the way life is. I shaved a fraction off the bottom of the new piece of wood, packed the hinges with a couple of washers, and lo and behold, a door that opened all the way. Even if it did have a huge gap at the bottom when closed.


Next day, I attached a sill to the step outside the door, a couple of pieces of trim to the door frame, and a rubber draught excluder strip to the door itself, all with plenty of screws and silicone gel.

A couple of days later ( you can't rush these things) I cut a thin wedge of wood (a shim, I believe) and glued and nailed it to the top of the door to compensate for where it had dropped. I now have a fully functioning door that opens without being lifted, and closes to a near draught proof state.

Yes, it's ugly, yes, it is only temporary (even more so than the previous door fixing) but it is now a door - as doors should be.

Open AND shut

Simon

The Eyes Have It

Many people who spend time outdoors find horseflies quite threatening and difficult to cope with. It is true that as a large mammal we are likely to be targeted, but take comfort in the fact that they are actually more attracted to cattle and horses than to us. Also, only the females bite -- they require a blood meal to provide the nutrients to breed successfully, just like mosquitoes.

Be thankful you don't live in Canada, where a good dipterist (entomologist specialising in flies) with a well placed trap baited with dry ice, on a good day can collect 5000+ horseflies, and where they can sometimes be the vector of sickness and drive horses to utter distraction. Here in France, there are quite a few species, but none in plague proportions, and none that will make you sick (although if you one of those unlucky people who have a slight allergy to their bites and come up in a huge hard itchy lump, you could be a bit uncomfortable for a week or so).

So, how do you avoid being bitten? Well, wear light coloured clothing -- horseflies are attracted to warm dark objects. Don't run around getting all hot and sweaty -- that probably makes you more attractive too. If you see one, and it hasn't seen you, don't breath in its direction -- insects that require a blood meal are attracted to carbon dioxide (which mammals breath out). Don't bother to try and swat it -- they are evolved to be tough enough to survive being flicked, slapped and swiped -- it's just one of the hazards of the job as far as they are concerned. Don't leave the windows of your car down when it is parked. Your car is a large dark warm object -- the horsefly is programmed to sit on it or in it. Once you are in it too, exuding CO2, well, you know what the result is going to be...

Once you've come to terms with sharing your world with more equanimaty (or should that be 'equinamity', or since we are in France, 'sangfroid'?) take a second look at a horsefly. They are really beautiful.
Female Hybomitra sp, photographed in May on the windowsill of the warden's office at the Réserve Naturelle de la Chérine. Hybomitra of several species are common on the reserve, but not seen so much away from the wetlands. Another group of biting horseflies, the clegs, also have colourful patterned eyes, and our picture of a specimen that came from a wooded area on the reserve can be seen here.

Female (left) and male (right) Large Marsh Horsefly Tabanus autumnalis, photographed in May on a railway bridge near Bossay-sur-Claise and the boardwalk at the Réserve Naturelle de la Chérine respectively. Note the pale streak and the roughly semi-circular faint dark line on the male's eyes -- this is the boundary between two different sized eye facets. Different sized facets give different visual capabilities e.g. some are used to detect movement, some to detect colour, some to detect simple light from dark and shapes. Note also that the male does not have the stabbing mouthparts that the female possesses. This is a moderately large and very common species.

The rather glamorous mahogany and tangerine Tabanus eggeri, a female, photographed on the banks of the Claise in Preuilly in August. This is a large species. Here is another picture of her, showing off her orange flanks.

Horseflies in French are Taons.

Susan

The Chateau at Azay-le Ferron

This is the chateau at Azay-le-Ferron. Or, if you like, a hibiscus in the garden at Azay-le-Ferron.


Sometimes a photo works, straight out of the camera.

Azay le Ferron is a small town only 11 km from Preuilly sur Claise. At one time the chateau was the home of the Barons of Preuilly (after they left the chateau in Preuilly in the 15th century), but is now owned by the commune of Tours. It is open from April to November, and as well as the chateau there is a large aboretum and formal gardens.

Their website (in English) is here.

Simon

Frontline Preuilly

For some reason, I found this photo, displayed in our local museum (the Poterne, more of which later) quite disturbing.

You may recognise the building as being our Mairie (as seen at the bottom of this post) and was taken in 1942.

Simon

Le Blanc re-revisited

Woohoo! I finally (after many attempts) found the way to the chateau at Le Blanc. From there you get a good uninterrupted view of the railway viaduct.

Le Blanc has taken over from Richelieu as the place where it always rains when I visit. This visit was with my Uncle Geoff and Aunt Pat, who stayed for a week in mid August at l'Image. We made it to the centre of the viaduct along the walking path, but going any further would have been to tempt fate. We just missed an exhibition of sculpture while we were at the chateau. This piece was outside awaiting removal. If I was rich I would have paid good hard cash for it.



Isn't that just brilliant!!


Simon

More on le Blanc here

The Convent

This idyllic place is the convent at St Michel en Brenne. The intrepid nun featured a few weeks ago is often to be seen working in the potager (vegetable garden).

Susan

Norbert Negotiates a Tricky Corner

The main street of Preuilly can be tricky enough in a car (we know at least one person who simply refuses to drive down it) but in a semi-trailer it takes even more skill and patience.


La Grande Rue is two cars wide (just), but the problem arises because parking is allowed on one side of the street. Consequently, those going down the hill frequently have to stop at the top to allow those already on their way up to pass. Coming up the hill, the problem is compounded for a large vehicle because they are generally wanting to turn hard right on to the road to Loches, which means that they have to swing out on to the left hand side of the road to get round. Everyone has to be polite, patient and prepared to back up.

Many French towns have bypasses in order to solve similar issues, but Preuilly has not – probably because it would involve building a new bridge over the Claise. Neither are there traffic lights in Preuilly. Surprisingly, the arrangement very rarely leads to total mayhem or gridlock, but I am regularly astonished by the drivers who come whizzing round the corner at the bottom without a thought that someone may be coming down on the wrong side of the road – out of necessity because of parked cars on their own side, and unable to see around the corner at the bottom until they are already committed. Polite drivers with the imagination to see that it could just as easily be them wanting to come down one day, stop at the bottom and allow the downhillers through with good grace. The occasional driver is apparently completely unable to see why his/her progress is being impeded in this utterly inconsiderate way – after all, they are clearly in much more of a hurry and on much more important business than this fool on the wrong side of the road – can't they reverse any faster?!

Susan

(For the rules of the car game Norbert Cricket please see here.)

The last crop of Summer

This year's photos of farmland around Preuilly started with a picture of a canola crop.This is quite possibly the last photo of a local crop for this year- and once again, it is yellow. This time, a field of sunflowers drying off. Simon

Frogs in France

No, really, this is about amphibians...

There are 13 species of frogs and toads that may be seen around Preuilly, but really you are only likely to see one species of toad, one species of tree frog and the green frog group which is made up of two species and their hybrid the Edible Frog.

This little guy is a male Common Toad (Crapaud commun) Bufo bufo. He was photographed in September on the banks of the Creuse, below the walls of the Château de la Guerche. Note his dry warty skin.

This equally cute little chap is a Common Tree Frog (Rainette verte) Hyla arborea, photographed in the Réserve Naturelle de la Chérine in the Brenne in July. Note the smooth waxy looking skin, the sticky finger pads and the dark stripe extending all the way down the flank.

The following three photographs are of frogs in the Green Frog group. They are virtually impossible to separate to species level with certainty in the field, so most naturalists take the easy way out and simply refer to the group name. These are the frogs you will see and hear in every body of water from ditches to ponds to slow moving rivers.

This one is of the type regarded as the Pool Frog (Grenouille de Lessona) Pelophylax lessonae. It was photographed in the pool at the entrance to the visitor centre at the Réserve Naturelle de la Chérine. Note its bright green colour and clearly defined markings.

This one is of the type regarded as the Marsh Frog (Grenouille rieuse) Pelophylax ridibundus, photographed in the Charente in May. Note its duller brown colour and relatively large size.

Finally, this one is a rather dull green in colour, with less contrasting markings. It conforms to the type regarded as Edible Frogs (Grenouille verte) Pelophylax kl. esculentus , the hybrid produced by the interbreeding of Pool and Marsh Frogs, and displaying a blend of the two species characteristics. The hybrids can also interbreed and breed with either of the species, so you get a vast number of variations in size, colour, pattern and call. This one was photographed in May in the pool in the arboretum garden in Loches.

There is a good website for French species called Reptiles & Amphibiens de France (in French or English, with distribution maps, full descriptions and photos, includes snakes and lizards, frogs and toads, newts and salamanders and tortoises).

Susan

The contest that never was

I was going to post this photo, taken last Sunday, as a "guess which village near Preuilly this is" contest, with the usual prize of nothing.

Instead, it is a "guess what the fatal flaw in the original contest is" contest.


The prize is, as usual, nothing. Nice photo, though.........

Simon

The end of the Tourist Season

Adrian arrived (with Caroline and Corey) in Preuilly on Wednesday after two months towing his caravan around Europe behind the Ademobil.

The plan is that he will leave the van in our garage so that we can use it while he is in the USA. This means for the moment we have another room to use - and probably more importantly, a washing machine so I don't have to wait for the rain to rinse my washing.


It has been great having all the visitors from Australia this year -
Susan's parents in May and then her sister and brother-in law in August, and Adrian and family in July. Last year my parents were here in June, Liselle in May, and Rick and Helen in July. While we are impecunious awaiting the sale of my house in Australia they have distracted us from the worry of not getting the major works done. We have had fun showing them our new home and the attractions surrounding it, and ocasionally have had a bit of a giggle working on the house - here for instance, and here.

Now Summer is over, however, and the all the visitors from warmer climes have departed for somewhere less chilly. Preuilly in winter has its charms, but for the moment they are left the exclusive domain of those of us who live here (or intend to do so).

So thanks to all the visitors. When you return we hope we can show you the house renovated.

Simon

A useful thing wot I found out.

I am Asthmatic. Not badly so, but like most medical things, it needs management.

This trip to France has been a couple of weeks longer than I had planned. Firstly because I was waiting for it not to look like it was going to rain (so I could paint), and then because I was waiting for Adrian to arrive with the caravan (more on that later), and then because we decided Susan would come down after her annual conference. All this means that medical supplies were getting low.

The one medicine I need to have available is ventolin (salbutamol) inhalers. These are available on prescription in the UK at £7 for two inhalers, or £16 over the counter for one inhaler. I sent a text message to Susan asking her to get a prescription made out and filled*, and also to find out if Ventolin is available across the counter in France. As she is gearing up to Annual Conference, this is a bit of a bind.

The internet is of NO use at all in finding out the availability of drugs across the counter in France. Believe me, I tried. The only thing I found was the tale of someone quoted 300€ for an inhaler. In the end I decided to stop being a chicken, and ask at the chemist. (Asking stuff at Chemists fills me with dread. I don't have the vocabulary)

The Pharmacies in Preuilly. I used neither of these, but the pharmacy
next to Intermarche in Yzeures, simply because that's where I was.

I am happy to report that a Ventolin inhaler costs €5.08 across the counter in France, with no prescription and no questions asked. Maybe it is because I had an inhaler with me, but it was easy and cheap

So now we know.

Simon

*The arcane NHS system means that even if you have a repeat prescription it isn't really a repeat prescription, merely a piece of paper telling the Dr he can write a prescription without seeing you. This means your "repeat" has to be taken to the Doctor, then once it is written (usually 2 days) it can be picked up from the Pharmacy. Anyone in Australia who wants to complain about their system needs to have a serious think..........

The Stones of Preuilly-sur-Claise

At first, this stone which I dug out of the garden may not look like much.


Get it in the right light, however, and a much more interesting picture emerges.


Likewise with this piece of stone which forms part of our "garden" border.


It is impossible to get a photo to show any detail, but once again, in the right light;


We do not know where the stones came from, but they are stylistically from different eras - a classical column base (or capital?) and a 15th century mullioned window frame. Of course, one would like to think that the column comes from one of the Gallo-Roman buildings of the original Preuilly, but that may be just a little over ambitious...............

Simon