Pre-wedding week

Mon beau jardin!

At last I'm back to a computer and have managed to upload the many photographs I have taken over the last couple of weeks. Poor Ranau and Mount Kinabalu have been very much in the news since last Friday's earthquake but I think it best to keep my blog chronologically so I can keep a track of it all - so here we go back in time a couple of weeks!
  My flight and journey to France on 22nd May was fine and I drove back to La Ferme des Vallots with Lisa and Remi and it was with nervous anticipation that we drove up the lane to our farm - not knowing what the garden was going to be like but as  you will see from the photos, it was looking wonderful and the roses were at their best. It was nearly a miracle considering that Andrew nor I had been at home since January but we did have the help of amazing Lucy who has been coming to control and tame the garden, two wonderful house-sitters, Julie and Paul who kept things going in and around the house and of course perfect Pascal who had redone the little bridge. The calm bride and groom, Tanya and Anthony, arrived later on that day and soon the house began to feel like home.


 Compared to Lisa and Remi's wedding last year the preparations seemed less major and there seemed to be more time to get everything ready, socialise and enjoy the garden. The rest of the family arrived from Glasgow and Exeter on Wednesday and I served them all a memorable meal of chicken curry and rice flavoured by maggots (not realising that the rice was older than I thought!!!)

There was much coming and going as there were two small tents to put up and then the large marquee, the port-a-loo, the wine delivery, the sound equipment etc. etc.. I was in charge of the flowers which I really loved except that very little can be done before the actual wedding day hence my scratched and bleeding hands! Patrick had fortunately planted lots of wildflower seeds last year and was rewarded with an abundance of cornflowers in every shade of blues and pinks and there were roses of every colour to pick. Armed with a roll of chicken wire, a few oasis and a pair of secateurs it was a real pleasure with all the lovely flowers out in the garden.

A few of my bouquets

  By Friday evening we were more or less ready and the marquee had been decorated with the beautiful origami cranes that Tanya had been making for months, the tablecloths spread and blackboard menus completed.


I had made a meal for about twenty (minus maggots!) but as the evening wore on more and more people arrived and stayed and we just about fed and watered over thirty people who had mostly arrived from England. It was a lovely evening despite pouring with rain and it was nice to meet some of Tanya and Anthony's friends before the wedding. Just as we said farewell to the wedding crowd, Lisa and Remi arrived from Lille and we were able to celebrate Lisa's birthday with a lovely cake made by Matthew and Gen and a bottle of champagne. We never seem to be short of things to celebrate in our family!!

 Lisa's birthday cake