Settling in

So how fares life in Normandy? Well, quite nicely really, thank you. We have been here for about a month – I think.
The climate is quite different – all our friends in the Vienne told us that. They said that it would be much colder and wetter. It has certainly been wetter, but as the area had been without serious rain since April, it was grateful for it. It freshened up the grazing on the Marshe, which is an essential part of raising the livestock that is an essential part of agricultural income around here. Normandy is famous for its’ beef and lamb. The sheep meat is certainly excellent, with very good flavours from the salty grassland. I wish I could say the same about the beef - I felt duty bound to try some the other day. After 5 years of grave disappointment with the beef in the Vienne, we hoped that Normandy beef would be good. The cattle looked good, but the problem seemed to be the same as it is throughout France – the French have no clue about butchering. The beef is badly cut and is not hung – it is therefore inedible. Very sad and a waste, but the French do not seem to mind how tough and grisly their beef is. So, you may think that after the failure of Normandy beef, I am going hungry? Not so, I am glad to say. I refer you to an excellent little book – ‘The Pocket Guide to French Food and Wine’ published yonks ago, which has been in my pocket ever since. It says that: “Nouvelle cuisine seems to have given the area a wide berth and the classic regional fare is still very much alive” and Amen to that say I. The “classic regional fare” contains a lot of fish. As Normandy lies where the English Channel meets the Atlantic this is not surprising, but it is very pleasant even if you cannot always get a translation as to what a particular fish might be – I mean, do you know what a ‘Monk Fish’ is in French?.....well no more don’t I, but it is very tasty.

Our little house takes up one side of a village street. The village is quite well-known, as it was the first place ‘liberated’ after D-Day. It was an “omelette” which caused many eggs to be broken – for instance on our street side wall there is a little bronze plaque, which tells you that “on this spot (on 6th May 1944) a section of airborne engineers under Sgt Smith were shot down”. If you look at the high wall on either side of the road, you can see that it was a perfect shooting alley for the Waffen SS. This quiet spot was indeed a piece of “Dark and Bloody ground” in May 1944 when the section of Airborne Engineers marched into the Trap. Normandy was not ignorant of stirring times. The other day, Madame and I motored North to look at boarding kennels for the little dog. One of the compelling reasons for moving to Normandy was a regular ferry service to the family without the Eurostar flaking out in the Tunnel. As we drove North, through lush and rich-looking countryside, I was interested to see a lot of fortified farm steadings – against whom were they fortified? It should be remembered that this area is only c. 10 miles from the Channel coast and for centuries there was a strong tradition of piracy between Normandy and its’ cross-channel neighbours.

One of the comforting things to me about Normandy is that it is Cider Country. I was brought up at my grandmother’s house in Cornwall – it had its’ own cider press and every year it produced its’ own pressing – it was so sharp and sour that it was known as “Torfrey (the name of the house) Razor Blades”. Normandy produces an excellent commercial product. Some years ago we were staying in a house in the Bourbonnais and I was asked if - in England – we had “Ceeder?” “Bien sur” I replied, “most in the West Country, but you in France have Ceeder, the most excellent especially in Normandy.........” at this moment I was halted by a hefty kick on the shin – “No you fool – they are talking about AIDS”. Well it’s not my fault if the French can’t spell – I am still fond of Cider.

Our street is one of the principle roads out of town. Just beyond us there is a dual carriageway by-pass, a main route to Cherbourg. There is a daily passage of heavy lorries so it is fortunate that this road is sunk in a deep cutting. In the house, the thunder of heavy traffic is almost completely muffled – and a good job too.
So by and large and taking it all in all, we like Normandy and find it passing pleasant.