Confetti bomb

Ceremony over, the bride and groom prepare to run the gauntlet of sixty-six guests armed with confetti. The day after the wedding Sophia was gamely trying to hoover up confetti with a petrol sucker/blower.

By the Bridge

Traditional shot as bride and maids say fromage at the bridge

Alan and Angela greet the Maire and his wife

The Maire arrives to witness Richard and Sophia’s vows and give a great speech about pre-revolutionary France and the colours of the sash – blue for the revolution, white for the King and red for the city of Paris…… the precursor provinces of Aunis and Saintonge …… during the reception he also confirmed the oft repeated tale that the Germans ran the area from Le Petit Marais until driven out by the Macquis on 2nd September 1944.The Macquis then ran things from LPM until civil government was restored.

Steps

Steps, originally uploaded by Le Patron.

This is an excellent steps photo of the Hunter clan at the croft. The Canadian Hunters won’t know what they missed unless they log on to www.petitmarais.co.uk. The front door is quite blue.
Le Patron

Gormless Guest

Gormless Guest, originally uploaded by Le Patron.

There are always loads of candidates for this accolade and I’m up there with the front runners having just mislaid key 84 which has served us faithfully since 1991.
Pride of place must go to Hazel Deeley of Troon and Manchester who decided to commemorate her visit to LPM by scratching her name in the Roman stone at the top of the steps. Words fail me.

Andy’s House

Andy’s House, originally uploaded by Le Patron.

Andy partners a Morris Minor Traveller and Glyn Cowie – Pauls mum.
He has bought a house just down the road ( 17 minutes if you leg it ) from Le Petit Marais, in St Savinien. Just up from the river on the western edge of town it is easy to find. It’s the only house with a moggie parked outside.

Paul’s House

From our earliest visits in the 90’s Paul Cowie has made it quite clear that the derelict level crossing keeper’s cottage on the back road to St. Jean was his. Without so much as a by your leave  cowboys  have cleared the jungle , cleared the inside, reroofed it and fenced it off. Outrageous.

Le Petit Marais et ses batiments

Le Petit Marais et ses batiments, originally uploaded by Le Patron.

This is a fisheye picture of LPM taken with my old Olympus 8mm Fisheye attached to the Epson RD1-s with an m mount from Stephen Gandy. It is here as a test post from Flickr ’cause I think I have used up my free space on Word Press.

Wild Life

Snake sunbathing on the parc side of the secret garden. I have never seen all these snakes and secretly hoped they weren’t there. Thanks to David Morris who enjoyed lousy weather because he was with his wife Sarah who is more of a rain and cold god(dess) than I am.

Deer disturbed from eating Alan and Angela’s wheat. Alan arranges to have them delivered so that he can make his case for a gun and lots of green clothing and become truly, madly, deeply French.

Small nuclear power station

The beast has been installed along with its sophisticated program. 2000 euros of oil registers as 20cm in the bottom of the tank – 15cm of which is probably sludge.