And we’re only half way through the month.

Traditonally Les Vacances the long Summer holiday in France, we’ve been experiencing long hot, dry days with drought and water restrictions virtually country wide. Here in the Charente weeks of plus 30 degrees and no rain, bushfires in many areas bring back memories of Australia.

However the country comes alive with music festivals, markets, exhibitions and just too many attractions to choose from! So here is just a taste of what we have been up too and needless to say horses feature yet again 😂

We started off with a small Reno on the coffee/cocktail cabin. Having pulled up the rotten wooden decking there was much discussion about concrete, tile or gravel? The quickest and cheapest option won through and so it was on one warm sunny day a ton and a half of “gravel “ was delivered – like this.

Which then had to be spread – like this!

Have to admit that Chris did most of it and the result is just what we wanted. So worth the effort. Overseeing the project was regular visitor Sybille who lives across the lane but seems to prefer being on our side.

After that it was time to have some fun so off to a local village for a combination of Abba and harness racing?! The evening started with Abba Forever (an actual Swedish band) who gave us all the good old hits for well over an hour, in true outdoor French style it was byo seating or just stand and dance along. Hope the video uploads as they were really very good.

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Then it was just a stroll across to the track with bottle of rose in hand to enjoy the evening race card. It seems that their are ridden trotting races here too but that we didn’t see.

Such a strange sight to our eyes, but why not??

The atmosphere was wonderful as families enjoyed sitting out on a warm summer evening, the kids had clowns, balloons and various sideshows whilst the adults could enjoy a glass of wine and barquette of frites or sit down to a 4 course meal. We called it a night about 11pm and as we wandered back to the car down the floodlit tree lined path, past tables of families enjoying their evening, our group discussed the likelihood of drunks and endless litter at similar events in UK or Oz?

An exhibition of works by artist Amanda Rackowe saw us make a trip across to Boyardville on the Île d’Oleron. A great little gallery and an opportunity to enjoy lunch with Amanda and Christian as well as experiencing yet another part of France. Famous for it’s oysters the area has picturesque little fishing huts and beachside eating spots.

 

Oysters it had to be, so a short drive from the gallery found us tucking in outside a great little rustic shack restaurant overlooking the oyster beds. Although we did draw the line at an oyster dessert!

They don’t come fresher than this

And only into the second week of August it was time to load up “Tonto” and head North. Firstly to St Malo to drop off big bro’ to catch his ferry to Jersey and then scoot a little further west for a camping spot on Cap Frehel. Very similar to coastal areas of Jersey which is hardly surprising considering the Channel Islands are within spitting distance.

The next day saw us travelling NE to call in on John and Steev. So good to see the guys again and to see the amazing progress they’ve made on their little piece of paradise. Still a way to go but having seen their project at the start it’s brilliant to see what can be achieved- you should be on a certain tv series!!
The next morning after watching John work his youngster on the arena we continued on with our “horse fix” travelling SE to Haras du Pin for the 3DE. The attraction this year was not just the competition ( which was  jam packed with elite names for the Nations Cup team competition) but also the opportunity to include an art experience.

A call was put out to artists and sculptors by Le Grand Complet organising committee to display and produce some of their work over the weekend. An opportunity not to be missed, who wouldn’t want to paint in the surroundings of a French chateau during a horse event- the best of both worlds😂

So the easel was set up in the shade on a 35 degree day alongside one of the 3 water complexes,  as yours truly savoured the plein air moment and applied (very quick drying paint) to canvas!

Needless to say painting fast moving eventers requires working from reference shots, so I had already put a ground on the canvases and added a dressage test and cross-country map beneath the drawn up subjects. I choose to work in a quick, loose style in the hope of creating energy and movement but this was quicker than usual as the paint dried between palette and canvas 😂 Results below

The various works were then put up for sale with proceeds going to a French charity Le Resto. If I fully understand the text received this morning I think mine sold !?? Whatever, it was a wonderful experience and hopefully to be repeated next year.

Now onto what the weekend was really all about.

4* winner Michael Jung on Fischerchipmunk

Hazel Clifford and Willinga Park Clifford

And so yesterday after a hot but fabulous weekend we headed home, but not before a couple of final shots of Le Haras du Pin, the venue for next year’s European Championships. Book your ticket 😉