Car boot

Bagnoles de l'Orne is a 19 century spa town, just over the border into Normandy.   We had three reasons to go there:  we needed a break from the gîte and garden - there's always something that needs doing; there is a huge car boot sale (vide greniers) there; and there was a guy, not far away, who was giving away some tatty but useful roofing tin that we could use.   So we went.

We stayed in a nice hotel with a fine kitchen, that was right by the entrance to the boot sale.   The sale itself lasts two days, and stretches 6km between Bagnoles de l'Orne and the neighbouring village of Saint Michel des Andaines, down the D386 that was closed for the weekend.  We bought a strange collection of stuff.

The road itself borders an attractive wood that surrounds an old railway track turned into a bike path.  Worth an exploration at a later date, perhaps.   Here's a photo of the loot.  The top was especially good value at 1 euro; nice soft fabric too.

It was clear that the people selling sausage inna bun were selling them as fast as they could take and deliver the orders.    (A bit like the gold rush where the people making money were selling the tools and the jeans)    Used CDs have dropped in price to somewhere between 50 cents and a euro on average.   I don't know if it's because I am learning to play one, but I noticed several accordeons for sale, but they were mostly beyond repair.

Squash

Always a pleasure to see the sprouting seedlings emerging.   These are Butternut and Uchiki Kuri squash; I am trying Honeynut for the first time this year, but they haven't come through yet.

These ones are in protective custody indoors.   I planted quite a lot outside, with very poor results.  I got about 4 plants out of maybe 15 seed stations planted.   I think that mice might have eaten them.  My cat's not doing his job.

Peony plantation

 I only heard about the Chateau de Sourches last week, from a friend in the village.   They cultivate a "conservatoire de pivoines", that is a collection/library of peonys.   They are only about half an hour from us, and the plants are in flower now.   We went to take a look.

The chateau is quite a fine stately home, and the peonys are displayed in what I imagine would have been the moat.   This means that they get a lot of light, but are sheltered from the weather's worst effects.   On visiting, you walk around the moat floor, ending up in the basement of the château itself where there is a souvenir shop, tea room, and you can buy plants.

I liked their entrance fee structure.   The first time you visit, you pay full whack.   But if you keep your tickets, you can come a second time and pay less.   The third and subsequent visits are free.   Peonys don't all flower at the same time and the flowering period lasts a month or so.  So you can see all the plants as the season progresses, without having to cough up every time you go.  Cool.

Impossible to show here all the plants and flowers but here's a few pics to give you a taste.

At the end of the visit, we bought some books in the shop, petted the affectionate cat, and had tea and cake in the tea room.  It all just seemed very... appropriate.   I'm glad we went.

I'm from the government, and I'm here to help

There was an aspect to the Macron/Le Pen televised pre-election debate that I found interesting.  Purchasing power (pouvoir d'achat) is a hot topic.  Le Pen was advocating a reduction in VAT on petrol and other things that are rapidly getting more expensive, while Macron was touting for one-off payments to individuals in need.   Macron's argument was that well-off people (like him and Le Pen, he said) don't need a VAT reduction, but poorer people do need help, so a single payment applies the help where it's most needed.   (Unstated was the fact that people know who to be grateful to, when they get a free bung)

I'm with Le Pen on this one.   Firstly, I don't like the government deciding who is "poor enough" and who is not.   Secondly, I'm sure that people who earn just a bit more than the upper qualifying limit would really appreciate a cheque too, even if they don't need it quite so much.   Thirdly, what happened to the égalité bit of the French slogan?   

What I like least, however, is that the government can, in principle, decide what you are allowed to do with the money.   There is already a "cheque energie" that goes towards winter fuel bills, and only winter fuel bills.   Now a food voucher is also being considered, and on the news tonight, we are told that the government is considering using it to "encourage" people to eat more fruit and veg.

And so it starts.

Short walk

 Wall flower.   Oak tunnel.

Too early potatoes

I buy my seed potatoes too early every year, (I'm too impatient, and enthusiastic to get going,) and despite my best efforts at keeping them cool and dry, they always sprout.   This year I had some that had pale, pencil-thick shoots about 6 inches long.   It's been a while since I read any instructions on growing potatoes, but I recall that the standard advice is to remove all of the shoots and let the potato tuber do its thing once it is in the ground.   Well, these shoots looked good and healthy, so I didn't.

On this batch of seed potatoes, I planted the tuber as normal, at the right depth, and let the shoot stick up out of the soil and into the air, just to see what happened.   What happened is that the shoots leafed out, and have turned into the most advanced potato plants that I have.    I have even had to start earthing them up.

Now you can argue that such early growth is vulnerable to late frosts, and you'd be right.   But the frost will only kill the part that's sticking up out of the ground, whereas the usual advice kills the entire sprout.  I think my new approach is better.

Buying tools

Some time ago I bought a chop saw.   That is, a circular saw designed for cutting planks of wood, that works by lowering the spinning blade on to the wood.   I have forgotten the project I bought it for, but I know it was something I was doing with material I had to hand, and therefore "on the cheap".   I needed the saw for it, and bought the cheapest chop saw I could find.

I did a second project using the old saw, where I had to cut through planks that were wider than it could cope with.   It's possible, you just turn the plank over and cut the rest of the way.   But it's impossible to do it perfectly since there's always a little difference in the placing of the cut on the two sides, so there's a little 'jog' in the sawn end as a result.

Yesterday I bought a second-hand, sliding chop saw to replace it.   On this new one, the blade, as well as being lowered, can also be made to slide across the width of the plank, and so it is more useful since it can cut wider planks.   I will sell the old one, since it's still in fine working condition.

I have found that, when doing a project, it is tempting to "make do" with the existing tool set even if it's not ideal.   I already had a chop saw, and I could get a reasonable but not perfect job by turning the wood over.   So it's difficult to justify buying a new, better one.   The conclusion I come to is that it's always worth buying the best possible tool consistent with the law of diminishing returns, and not a cheap one that just does the current job (unless perhaps, you sell it straight after).

Here's a pic of the new saw.