Seen at the Chateau Lalinde recently

There has been an inundation of visitors over the past two months, and what a joy it is to have the sounds of friends enjoying themselves fill the rooms of the chateau! Some came for the first time -- and I hope not the last time!; Kevin, Maryon and Loraine jetted in on their private plane and then criss-crossed the countryside, not missing a single sight to be seen; Joan celebrated her birthday with us and Moon discovered pastries even I did know the boulangerie had!; Michael and Lulu came back - by popular demand -- to give yet another talk on Michael's delightful books and philosophies and it was wonderful to welcome them back to the chateau. They came laden with luxurious gifts from Paris -- and what a pleasure it was, in return, to be able to provide them with their hearts' desire -- freshly collected cepes from the oak forests of the region! Pierre persevered and finally caught three huge fish in the river below the terrace - only to release them again! Albert and Suzanna compared notes on French and Maroccan farm produce and Douglas entertained with opera areas, sharp wit, unihibited flamenco and riveting tales of adventures past, and Anne and Ellen provided a whole new chapter for my book with their detailed and humorous observations of all those they come across!

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Barthez, c'est bel et bien fini : Another legend hangs up his boots

Fabien Barthez -- the world champion goal keeper of Les Bleus, the French Football team, has decided to retire at the age of 35 years.
Now that his announcement is official, Barthez says that he intends to enjoy himself in football like he did when he was fifteen years old.... -- This makes one wonder about the lives of footballers -- is it all that glamorous and wonderful to be rich and famous and always in the limelight? Many people deplore the kind of money that professional sportsmen receive, but at the end of the day the stress and superficiality of the lives that they lead must be murderous.
Many believe that France won the 1998 World Cup because Laurent Blanc planted a kiss on Fabien Barthez's bald head before each game -- but then of course, the bald head and great goalkeeping aside, he also more than justified the old saying that all goalkeepers are slightly off the wall!
Barthez will be remembered for the impassioned game that he always played. -- even the popular French hand puppet show, Les Guignols, now have a latex copy of this great footballer and he is thus assured a permanent place in the hearts and minds of all French children! - and for many connoisseurs of the game he will always remain the greatest goal keeper of all time.



Also see
related articles on Zidane leaving Les Bleus.



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Autumn is starting to show its colours.......

And the sun is showing its beautiful face a little later in the morning............



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Photo Credit Autumn Leaves: edbook.livejournal.com/tag/autumn. -- and well worth a look at this

amazing photographer's work

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A massive wind storm over the Aquitaine -- and the Dordogne

Yesterday, between 06h45 and 08h45 a sudden gale force wind of 185 km per hour swept over the Aquitaine, leaving damage and destruction in its wake.
I was driving along a little country road when suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, the wind came up -- like a hurricane, blowing massive trees over the road, tearing branches off others, making sheets of corrugated iron fly through the air as if they were paper. When I crossed the Dordogne river I could not believe my eyes -- big waves of at least one meter were being blown upstream -- it looked like a section of the sea on the Wild Coast of Southern Africa! A frightening sight to behold!
The firemen in the region were working overtime attending to calls of people hurt, motorbikes swept off the road, trees having fallen on homes -- in a matter of two hours more than 1300 urgent calls were attended to, and many more less urgent ones.
The electricity in most of the province was cut for the rest of the day due to tree branches fallen on wires. So far, we know of only one person that was killed -- an aged woman who had gone back to sleep after lighting a candle and when her candle was blown over it set the room alight. She died of smoke inhalation.
In Bordeaux the trams were unable to move as trees were blown across the tracks, and in the harbours along the coast, hundreds of boats were blown right out of the water and left, completely wrecked, on dry land.
Apparently the wind storm was caused by an unexpected low pressure front that hit the coast further south at about 06h00. Within minutes the alarm was called and thanks to the quick reaction and readiness of the emergency services, much more damage and loss of life was avoided. Bravo to the Pompiers and Emergency Services!

I came back home as fast as the wind allowed me to, only to find that my beautiful gazebo by the pool was crumpled into a magled mess of steel and canvas - and the discovery even more saddening was that, as it had not been bolted into the tiles, it was not covered by insurance! Isn't that just the way of things!.......

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The Chateau - and Chatelaine - hit the headlines!

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