UNDER PRESSURE

Quote of the day: ‘Life is too short to drink bad wine.‘ - Unknown

Simon seems to have given up cracking jokes at present. Under too much pressure methinks. 🥴 Come on Simon, sort it out. 😘

Oldest son, his wife and daughter are on French soil and due to to arrive here at approximately the same time as the sun goes over the yard arm. Gin and tonic has been mentioned. Wine too.

It’s a long drive down and I’m sure they will be in need of it by the time they arrive. The car will doubtless be loaded to the gunnels. I hope. Requests were made for hot cross buns.

Pressure is mounting…

Simon is back in the gite finishing off the Spring clean in readiness. Lady muck here is still lounging around doing far too little to be considered decent. A bit of gentle laundry, perhaps some dusting in a while, the washing up. Nothing very taxing but by jingo, I’m out of practice with this socialising caper.

For the first time in seven weeks, yesterday evening, we went ‘out, out’. It was a breath of fresh air and a wonderfully jolly evening with of course, lovely friends. Wine was consumed, much merriment was had, and along with sitting all evening, today I’m even more loungier-about-ish than usual.

This is not like me. Simon craves and fairly regularly takes afternoon naps.

I despise them as harbingers of a forthcoming bad nights sleep. Nevertheless, today my back is screaming at me to take the pressure off it and lie down.

Our favourite white wine is from a vineyard down in the Gers. If you get the chance to try it, you may like it.

The Horgelus vineyard is an hour and a half’s drive south towards the Pyrénées. Going back a few years, we used to make the journey down to collect it but now, so many of our friends are converts to it’s crisp, grapefruity delights, the vineyard deliver to us up here, using our house as a hub.

My car is very happy about that too. Squeezing 35 cases of wine into my 20 year old Mini was quite a jigsaw puzzle, to say nothing of the effect it had on the suspension.

So now, four times a year, a group of us get our orders together and stock our wine racks. That very time is now, so each of us is making the tortuous decision of whether to go for the Gros Manseng or the Colombard. Should we get the very drinkable inexpensive red or the deeply delicious and voluptuous but more expensive Phi-Ling? There are the slightly sweet wines too that also make an excellent accompaniment to foie gras or of course can be drunk with desserts, along with their very own Armagnac. Or even the rosé as summer is a-knockin’?

Choices, choices.

Suffice to say we have tried them all - it’s kind of compulsory when you visit the vineyard. Unsurprisingly, there are none we would pass on if offered.

Our only temporary pressure is where to put this mass of liquid deliciousness when it is delivered. Being pretty small and in a somewhat chaotic state, the house really isn’t cut out as a storage depot, so it gets heaped up into the abri (literally ‘shelter’ in English - it’s the porch thing by our door). Usually everyone is so desperate for a glass, they are very speedy about collecting their orders.

Doubtless there will be a few cases returning back to the UK when my son heads home in a couple of weeks.

Pressure then will be to hold back for fear of falling foul of the infernal post Brexit restrictions.