An English Rose in France

Welcome to An English Rose In France

2014-04-22T18:00:00.005+02:00

Welcome to An English Rose in France, the diary of my life in France since 2005.

15/07/2012 edit, over 720 posts on this blog now, hope you enjoy them, and please feel free to comment.

Fete de Travail, Bains Sur Oust, Festival de Motos Anciennes

2013-06-03T12:07:00.001+02:00

Video of a very wet day at Bains sur Oust

And my photo's

My boys and I

2013-05-29T12:49:00.000+02:00

Dan, Paul and Mike

While posting this I remembered a photo from 2005 when we first moved here.

Normandy

2013-05-29T11:57:00.000+02:00

We spent the weekend in Normandy at Celines parents home.

Theres two albums of photographs.

Some of the pictures were taken on the beaches, scenes of the D-Day landings.

Some of the photographs are HERE

And a lot of photographs taken at the museums and the grave yards.

The photo's are HERE

A short very poor quality video I made, I heard the bugler and rushed to get the camera filming.

That was a fast summer!!!!

2013-05-28T18:15:00.004+02:00

Winter returned for a short burst while I was putting on the next post after this.

Dupuytren's contracture

2013-05-28T13:21:00.002+02:00

This is what Paul has, Dupuytrens disease, he's had an operation on his hand to correct what Wiki describes as " a fixed flexion contracture of the hand where the fingers bend towards the palm and cannot be fully extended (straightened). It is an inherited proliferative connective tissue disorder which involves the palmar fascia of the hand^. It is named after Baron Guillaume Dupuytren, the surgeon who described an operation to correct the affliction in the Lancet in 1831."

Paul made 3 posts on his Facebook, this one showing his hand after the operation

Hospital food

And his hand.

In the garden

2013-05-27T13:55:00.000+02:00

I've been for a stroll round Pauls veg garden, he's had an operation on his hand, he had to work hard to get his veg garden ready this year as he can't do any work in the garden, he planted a lot of things, mainly pumpkins early, he said they might not survive but he has more in the greenhouse. I've put some carrots in got him and will put some more in this weekend.

I'm not the best at looking after my baskets, but as this one is near Pauls greenhouse it gets watered.

My Lemon tree is now outside,

Pumpkins and courgettes.

Chilli's and tomato plants, theres 7 tom plants in the garden, another 6 or 7 to be planted in the greenhouse, along with the chili and pepper plants as soon as Paul lifts the veg growing in the ground inside the greenhouse.

Lettuce, leeks and tomato plants

Escarole lettuce

Tomato plants

New Vine

The larger onions were planted last year, the ones either side were planted this year.

Red lettuce and cauliflower.

Mange-tout

Potato plants

Beetroot

Before Paul went into hospital he prepared this bed, I've put in parsnip seeds and covered in compost, Paul says it will help him find the plants when he can start in the garden.

I've put a few broccoli seedlings in.

Pumpkin plants

Red cabbage.

Some aubergines are going to stay in the greenhouse, some have been planted in a small tunnel.

Strawberries.

Red lettuce

Cauliflower

Last years onions

Paul cleared a new bed a few months ago and stacked the turf in one corner, what we tried here is to make a dent in the turf heap, added compost and put pumpkin plants in the compost, We will see how this goes.

My old vine

Banana plants growing a screen behind my bench.

Cherries.

Geese on a nest

Quince

Olives

Leeks growing in the greenhouse

Pepper

Chili

Cabbage seedlings

A cabbage grown from a cabbage core

Pepper

Broccoli seedlings

Christmas, easter and a spare.

Olive and sun dried tomato Ciabatta

2013-03-16T20:33:00.003+01:00

Ciabatta literally means Slipper bread, I will admit to using a bread mix for this recipe, but will make it all from scratch soon.

500gm of Ciabatta bread mix into the bread maker with 300ml of water and a table spoon of olive oil.

You will need to check for the setting on your machine, but you want the machine to make the dough and prove it. Remove it from the machine and knock the dough back, stretch the dough out and place either on a tray or in a dish, like this;

Then push olives and sun dried tomato into the dough.

Then bake at 200c about 30 mins, your looking for a brown crust, like this;

Don't cut this bread tear it and dip in extra virgin olive oil.

Delicious.

Rosies Nutella and Orange cake

2013-03-16T19:51:00.004+01:00

6 large eggs
1 pinch of salt
125 g soft unsalted butter
400 g Nutella
1 tablespoon rum
100 g ground hazelnut
100 g dark chocolate (melted)
2 Large Oranges (the zest)
Oven 180ºC/gas mark 4

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry.

In a separate bowl, beat the butter and Nutella together, and then add the rum, egg yolks, orange zest and ground hazelnuts.

Mix in the cooled, melted chocolate, before gently folding in the beaten egg a third at a time.

Pour into a cake tin

and cook for 40 minutes or until the cake begins to come away at the sides, then let cool on a rack.

Food photo's

2013-03-12T16:46:00.001+01:00

Because its been a while since I posted I have lots of food photographsto show, so here they are.

From the front, clockwise, egg with Mayo, smoked salmon with kiwi and caviar, in the glass, ham avocado cream cheese and cucumber, and finally, fig with brie and smoked ham, the sauce is balsamic vinegar

Coquilles Saint-Jacques and fresh salmon

Salmon baked with lemon and bay leaf

Maltezer cake, I will put the recipe for this on my food blog.

Turkey

2013-03-12T16:36:00.000+01:00

I eat meat and I understand that in order for me to eat meat an animal has to die, but it still upsets me, but I would rather have an animal live here, free range, well fed then die here than buy meat from a shop where I know the animal gets the minimum quality of life and its death has more to do with profit than food quality.

I8n an ideal world I would love to be able to produce all my food needs here at Half Acre, we are trying to do a little more each year and I'm educating myself about home steading and self sufficiency, while I know we will never reach the goal completely we try to get a little closer each year.

Christmas Day

2013-03-12T15:49:00.002+01:00

I must write this every year, each year the family take it in turns to host the Christmas lunch, this year was Dans turn, as usual we provided the turkey, our job for the day was the starters, Dan host and main course, Mike pudding.

Fresh oysters,

Our starter, salmon, prawns, crab, caviar, 4 small starters on one plate.

A visit from Santa for Kenzo.

This is our contribution to the lunch, the starters, Fois Gras, small apero's and Christmas crackers.

Christmas Eve

2013-03-12T10:21:00.003+01:00

Random Kenzo Photo.

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Christmas Party at Jillys

2013-03-11T16:08:00.000+01:00

Just looking at the picture makes me laugh, trying to work out the total years between us all

Jilly and Keith invited us, Ray and Lorraine for a Christmas dinner, about a week before Christmas.

My dispute with my neighbour

2013-03-11T12:45:00.002+01:00

I started to write about the problems I have with our neighbour Olaf, but it was just a long story that really wasn't really worth going over again, but involved Olaf breaking the fence between our lands and Paul putting up a new one.
Last April I caught Olaf cutting the new fence, I put my hand on the fence and he hit me across the hand with a pair of wire cutters. I thought he had broken it and had to go to hospital I was in so much pain.
I reported him to the police and then he started a period of intimidation in an effort to stop me taking him to court, He made threats, usually throat cutting actions or just staring at me, hes a pervert, likes to film and photograph me. I have an I pad and have an app for taking 380 degree photographs, Paul was in the garden taking a pic of the garden,standing by the oak tree in the middle, Olaf didnt realise Paul was there and started to film me. As Paul says his face when he realised Paul was there "priceless".

If were eating or drinking in the garden he will do this, but since he was caught we havent seen him do it again.
In August his brother in law walked up to our fence, towards the dogs and put his hand through the fence, then said a dog bit him, a lie, he said to the police in October, three months after the incident that he put his hand over the fence to shake Pauls hand, this is a 1.2m fence, how high can a Jack Russel jump? He then went and sat down and had dinner and drinks, if he had been bitten he should have done something then, but didnt do nothing till October. He and Olaf said they wouldnt press charges as long as I dropped the assault charge against Olaf, I said no. The case finally went to a pre tribunal, where they try the case without the cost and time of a proper court, it can only work if an agreement can be reached which it was, he admitted he had hit me said he was sorry and agreed to pay compensation, as far as I was concerned that was the end of it, however because of his brother in laws actions who knows.

Packing up smoking

2013-03-11T12:12:00.001+01:00

Paul's packed up, we was out shopping just before Christmas and saw an electronic cigarette, it cost just under a tenner and a pack of refills about €8, he tried it and found he preferred them to real cigarettes, just after Christmas he bought himself a proper kit, and buys liquids on line, by shopping around he has found some great deals, he says if you smoke you really should try it.

So here's Paul's tips with links.

The E cigarette

Buy from E Cig Factory

Everything you need to get started (without liquid) €29.99
Worth buying from the same site are these tanks.

Theres different ways of using the liquids, either in a cartomiser (which come with the kit) basically the liquid is soaked up in a slim tube with a gauze inside or a tank such as these above.

E Liquids

Hes buying his liquids at E Cigarette web

Usually sold in 10ml bottles, though you can buy different sizes, a bottle is equivalent to about 10 packs of cigarettes, cost €2.95, liquids come in various strengths of nicotine, including 0 mg, and loads of different flavours, Paul likes Caramel

Hes going to try this site soon, buying in America, prices start from 75cents for 10ml, but then you add more for flavour, strength, etc, Pauls caramel would cost €1.40 from here and even with postage seems a good deal.
E Cig.com

Shopping in Paris

2012-10-11T16:37:00.001+02:00

Photos from Paris

2012-10-11T15:39:00.005+02:00

On board, Casey Jr. Le Petit Train du Cirque

2012-09-27T17:41:00.001+02:00

Disney Land 20th year Parade

2012-09-24T17:40:00.003+02:00

I'm going to make my photos from both Paris and Disney into video's, well thats the plan so I need a little while to do it, but for now enjoy the videos I've finished editing, please if you like them go to YOUTUBE and "like" them, comments are always helpful as well.

Weekend, Paris and Disney land

2012-09-23T19:54:00.002+02:00

I'm going to need a little time to put this blog post together, we've just got back from a weekend in Paris, I've got hundreds of pictures and Videos, not sure how I'm going to make a blog post, needs some planning, but heres a couple of photographs to start it all off.

Me and my handbag

2012-09-20T08:38:00.002+02:00

So why is Paul carrying it?

Well its because I is so brave

We was at the safari park near Nantes, the monkey section is viewed by crossing a series of rope bridges, the longest one is a narrow plank, many people turn back at this point, but not me, after handing my handbag to Paul, taking deep breathes, "don't look down" I said to my self. At what point did I become such a wuss, as a child I was a tomboy, always climbing walls, trees, if it needed climbing I climbed it, if it could be jumped off, I jumped, but then I got a handbag!!

I've been away for a couple of days

2012-09-19T21:54:00.002+02:00

I fancied a Fruit de Mer, so Paul, Dan, Vero and I drove down to La Rochelle.

We took, well, hundreds of photo's

This first album has over 300 photographs and is from the first day, and has photo's from;

La Rochelle

Fort Boyard

Aquarium, La Rochelle

Click here for Album one

Album two, is the Fruit de Mer at Le Winch and Guiness in the Irish bar

Album two is HERE

Then we drove back, stopping at the Planete Sauvage near Nantes

Where I met the dolphins

Album three

Heres some video's, I hope you like them.

Digging up the potatoes

2012-09-15T10:02:00.001+02:00