Salle de Fete

I have mentioned in the past the small size of the village but that it is very much alive. Last week was a fine example with 3 events in the Salle de Fete ( Village Hall)
On Wednesday there was the annual meal for the Over 65's. This is a meal laid on by the village for everyone who lives in the commune and is 65 or over. They have upwards of 50 people at this event and whilst the feedback was that a good time was had by all and that they played cards and games for a good few hours after the meal, neither J or I were invited so we cant say first hand!

Thursday evening, the Salle de Fete was in use again, a man from a local family Bernard Lucquiaud, was giving a talk on Columbia. This was to promote his book, written about his life in Columbia when he working for the Alliance Francais in Columbia. This was attended by about 80 people, 79 of whom enjoyed the anecdotes, the history and general discussion about the South American country normally only related to drugs and coffee.

The eightieth person was yours truly who sat for the hour and a half wishing he was speaking English and understanding only a little.


I was back again Saturday night for the third event of the week, a Music Event organised by Daniel, local poet, sculpture, radio presenter and owner of the Grange de Chanson in the village.





When we arrived at just past 10pm, (we don't close until 10), the evening was in full swing with all 100 or so seats taken. The meal had been served but we had advised them we would be late so were ushered to our seats where our Kir awaited. The meal we had come for was the autumn special, black puddings, cooked apples and chestnuts.
I will not go into detail about how a "boudin" is made, or what parts of the pig are used, suffice to say they are delicious and served with local cooked apples were exceptional. If you haven't tried boudin they differ from UK black pudding in that they are much finer ground and when eaten tend to be more like a mince than a sausage. picture below



The music played until midnight or so, then the remains of the wine were drunk up and it was time to go home whilst the salle de fete was readied for the next weeks usage in the sleepy village of Champniers