Strangely enough, the French don’t seem to go in much for Rabbie Burns, so at Les Crouquets we’re having oor ain wee Burns Nicht celebration wi a bag o’ haggis crisps an’ a wee dram!

A wee dram an' a bag o' haggis crisps!

In spite of having many of their own colourful & interesting things to eat, the mention of the humble haggis never fails to bring a weird grimace to the faces of our French friends…..lots of preconceived ideas here, methinks, as most of them end up asking us what it actually is!

True it isn’t a particulary attractive looking dish but what it lacks in aesthetics it more than makes up for in rich spicy flavour. The lack of opportunity to buy a haggis in our little corner of the Dordogne means I don’t have my own photo to show the uninitiated what this delicious mix of oatmeal & offal  looks like  but trust me, it’s good!

macsweens haggis

I suppose I could have been a bit more organised and got a couple from Macsweens – based in Edinburgh & haggis maker extraordinaire , they are renowned for having the best haggis ( haggises/ haggi or whatever the correct plural of haggis is!) around!

Then we could have invited some French friends over for haggis, neeps & tatties & gone the whole hog with kilt, dagger and a heartfelt recital of To A Haggis. Personally I prefer Tam O’Shanter … one of his greatest works if you ask me…

Rabbie Burns poems & ballads

…if you haven’t read it, you should. It’s extremely witty with very clever, thought provoking and descriptive use of language, if a bit of a challenge to the non Scots tongue!

Tam O'Shanter

But, I digress… maybe just as well we didn’t invite our friends.

Better to have the French think we Scots are a mad lot than to let them see us speaking to a dish of steamin’ entrails & remove all doubt!!

Dull & drizzly weather always gets me down. Today has been one of those days so I decided to find a way to lift my spirits. I didn’t have to go far. Right outside L’Atelier is a flowering shrub. In Spring it’s always full of deep pink flowers which usually last into September. This year they have lasted until now and  they’re still going strong.

Quince bush - still flowering in January

I stopped to look at them thinking about how all the seasons have been turned upside down when I noticed the quince.The only quince I’ve seen on this bush since we came here 6 years ago. To be honest I didn’t even know it was a quince tree, I thought it was just an attractive shrub. Maybe now we’ll start to get more of these heavily scented fruits. That cheered me up!

The only quince I've seen on this bush in 6 years!

When I went back inside I found Amar preparing to tile the farmhouse bathroom. He had just taken the old shower head off the wall and I saw this underneath.

hand painted walls hidden under years of paint

At first I thought it was paper but on closer inspection I’m sure the flowers are painted on to plaster. I must remember to ask Madame Faure if she remembers this. Nearly 4 score and 10 she was born at Les Crouquets and is a wealth of information. I love finding little pieces of “history” which you just don’t get in new builds.

Coloquintes or gourds

Then I went into the kitchen and saw the bowl of decorative gourds, some hollow & biscuity coloured, dried from last year’s crop and some still heavy and glowing with vibrant colours which we picked at the end of the season. We always plant these to hide an uninteresting corner behind Le Cerisier and they never fail to cheer me up.

All in all, not a bad day!