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Let’s begin : )

Alethea x

Without wishing to become a weather bore, it has been, and still is, very hot here. France is experiencing record-breaking canicule temperatures across much of the country and when it’s this hot, 41 degrees, and for this long, everything revolves around the heat.

One unexpected benefit has been biche-watch on Romy’s earlier-than-usual-heat-combating, 6am, walks.

Actually, the deer we’re seeing are the slightly smaller, chevreuil (roe deer), and not the larger red variety, but Romy knows the word biche (!) so that’s become our catch-all word for the daily game of ‘I spy’.

Over the past week, I am leaps ahead on the spotting scoreboard recording a personal best of four-to-one this morning : ) Thankfully, while Romy’s chasing instinct is alive and well, she’s also not quite sure about these creatures, especially when they bark. Therefore, any pursuit tends to involve a rather perfunctory ten metre chase before she returns to my side. Phew.

Obviously, the perfect canicule Sunday afternoon activity is to make jam – not! Something I’d not fully considered earlier in the morning when gathering heaps of cherry plums. I hardly ever eat jam, so it’s a tad ridiculous that I make so much of it every year, but it does make good little ad hoc gifts and so with such bountiful crops of cherry plums, damsons, mirabelles and figs, it’s become my go-to preserving activity. Four kilos later, we’re now 20 jars up on the annual jam store cupboard.

Our village Fête de la Musique also went ahead despite the heat, a lovely French tradition to celebrate the summer solstice. Fortunately, lessons had been learned from the previous year when walking into the designated outdoor fete space felt like stepping onto a braai grill.

Why? For some reason, this area outside the salle des fêtes had been tarmacked last year and the black surface radiated heat to inferno levels. It was unbearable for more than five minutes. This year, the braai-effect was considerably reduced thanks to regular drenching of the ground, mist-dispersing fans and much improved airflow.

-              Video of the accordion player, here – modern tunes, old-style instrument.

It’s always a huge amount of work to organise these events, and it’s a real community effort with a huge team of volunteers. Earlier in the day, I’d asked an innocent (I thought) question on the comite des fêtes benevole (volunteer) WhatsApp: “Given the canicule, are the fireworks still going ahead?”

Expecting a simple yes or no answer, I wasn’t prepared for the following WhatsApp firestorm. Unwittingly, I’d stirred up a political and philosophical hornet’s nest. Oops. Responses swung wildly.

“Of course not, far too dangerous.” To…

“Well, the prefecture hasn’t imposed a ban so they’re still on.” To…

“We shall not be dictated to by distant fonctionnaires.” To…

 “It’s about considering the risks we’re taking for five minutes of colourful sparks in the sky.” To…

“Why do we live in a nanny state? This exemplifies the dire state of our nation.” And finally, my personal favourite…

“Well, be prepared, the team setting them up are so old they may blow us all up anyway.”

Altogether, not so confidence inspiring and at which point, I stepped away from the app!

The fireworks went ahead, nothing was blown up, no wildfires were accidentally started, it was a very pretty display and all oohed and aahed appropriately - and my dog, and I expect most others, barked like a lunatic the whole way through.

Since our village sits in a valley, despite not staying at the event long, sound travels, so I fell asleep to the not so gentle second rendition of the Village People’s YMCA : )

Other random things:

Need a peaceful rural retreat? There’s still two weeks availability for La Petite Maison in September – when it’s lovely and warm, but not blazing hot, and the colours are fabulous!

Small museums are my favourite kind, sculpture my favourite medium and the early modernists are among my favourite movements. The Zadkine Museum ticks all those boxes. 

Situated behind the Romanesque church in the pretty village of Les Arques, it’s small enough to absorb in one visit yet engaging enough to return to time and again.

During my history of art degree, I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time in some of London’s most amazing museums – the UCL lecture equivalent of having your lesson outside on a sunny day. We toured vaults, watched exhibitions being installed and soaked up our professor’s wisdom right in front of the object under discussion.

One of the biggest takeaways from these on-site-lectures was this piece of advice: stop after 45-minutes. In our professor’s opinion, that was the optimum museum absorption time. After that, it becomes a little noisy and your brain simply can’t take it all in. Perhaps that’s why I love small museums so much.

I also developed an early obsession with sculpture. At eighteen, while volunteering at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, I spent an inordinate amount of time standing in front of (and researching for the catalogue) works by Giacometti and Brancusi. Still slightly obsessed!

Originally from Belarus and later naturalised French, Ossip Zadkine and his equally successful painter wife, Valentine Prax, discovered and fell in love with Les Arques in 1934. They returned often, hopping between Paris and here, and Zadkine created some of his most important works in this little corner of the world.

His best known work, and largest, internationally is probably The Destroyed City in Rotterdam, a bronze memorial sculpture commemorating the wartime destruction of the city. Back in Les Arques, the museum houses sculptures in bronze, stone and wood, while further works, including a large pietà in the church, are dotted about the village. Some of my favourite pieces ⬇

I’ve been many times now and still love it. Combine this small museum visit with one of the many trail walks around Les Arques and it makes for a perfect few hours.

Perfect for: that optimal 45-minute culture hit.

Part of a new collection of A&A Local favourites – places or activities that either sit slightly under the radar or are so consistently good that they stand out from the tourist trail.

It’s amazing how often this story pops up whenever spending any time by the pool. It’s one of my favourite stories, from the archive ⬇

My mother’s side of the family road-tested the house in Summer 2022. Thirteen people, one puppy, a hodge-podge of furniture, (and before renovations) no aircon on the top floor to alleviate the July heat, and, of course, what family event would be complete without a parrot?

That would be surprise guest, Antoine, my aunt and uncle’s parrot. A rescue from their time in Oman, he travels everywhere with them and is quite the character. Within no time he was strutting about the house and terrace, puffed up and very sure of his status. Romy’s initial alarm quickly gave way to dismissive toleration, and thankfully there were no canine-avian altercations.

During the week, Antoine had become rather protective of Charlotte, my cousin’s daughter, then aged five. Possibly harking back to his day’s as big protective parrot-brother to my uncle and aunt’s daughter in Oman, he quickly decided Charlotte was his new mini-human charge. He took to following her everywhere and seeing off anyone he deemed as getting too close.

One afternoon, while she paused from swimming for a quick dash to the pool house loo, Antoine judged the pool terrace as now too crowded with far too many people (!) near HIS child. Antoine’s solution was to chase Charlotte back into the loo, squawking loudly, and then stand guard, effectively barricading her in with the spiders.

Charlotte’s postcard to her friend is unbeatable:

“Bonjour, I am on holiday in France. It is very hot. A parrot chased me into the loo. Love from Charlotte”

Possibly the best postcard ever!

More Snapshots of the Domaine Les Plonges ‘journey’ next edition.

Possibly you found your way here via Instagram? @domainelesplonges? If so, an extra Bienvenue! You’ll already know I love a good visual…

If you’re interested in the tech I’m using for this, it’s Beehiiv. I did a LOT of research on platforms and I’m happy to explain why etc in more detail, just ask. They’ve also given me a partner link, and this gives anyone using the link a 30-day free trial and 20% off your first three months on any paid plan. Note, it’s an affiliate link and I may receive commission on any purchases made through it.

PS: A Beehiiv / Instagram glitch means I’m currently unable to share insta images - they will return!

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