Following the électricité storms two weeks ago we are still waiting the arrival of our replacement NEufbox so please excuse the lack of posts as we are working from iPads and téléphones.

Volunteering in the Charente

In the (paraphrased) words of the great soul singer Marvin Gaye: « What’s going on at LG?».

It’s funny you should ask, Marvin. Ange, our current housekeeper from Australia, has been getting stuck into her new role with enthusiasm and panache! Serving the gang with breakfast, elevenses (my personal favourite) and lunch – today’s spread was simply marvellous – we’re certainly not going hungry!

Peter, fresh from the triumph of last night’s delicious chicken chasseur, has taken on the task of repairing our fleet of battered and buckled bicycles. Meanwhile Ian, who plans to wow us tonight with pork normandy, has been busy beautifying our picnic benches with a fresh coat of green paint!

Men discussing manly things in a manly manner

Over in the Old House, these are exciting times! The second half of the ceiling went up yesterday, and it really does look like a room now – even just in the two weeks that I’ve been here, there has been so much tangible progress, which is incredibly satisfying. All being well, by Christmas it could well be a fully functioning room. Amongst the hammering, gluing, plastering and sanding, the dependably cheesy tunes of Cheri FM continue to set the tone for Paul, Luke, Bridget and Vitor!

Sid is, of course, overseeing the wider operation, providing oversight and moral support.

Sadly, Rob is leaving us today, having performed all sorts of computer wizardry with operating systems, hardware and RAM over the last few weeks, as well as a spot of plumbing and knife sharpening, as he heads back to the bustling metropolis of Stockport, famous for its Pyramid. Apparently.

In any case, it’s onwards and upwards here at LG as we head towards the fast-approaching Bastille Day celebrations!

The current LG Team

A volunteers weekend at La Giraudiere

Chateau de La Rochefoucauld

The winds of change swept across Brossac this week, as five cherished and much-missed La Giraudiere volunteers departed for (generally) less sunny climes. Marcus also left. Ah, humour. In their place were summoned three volunteers of utmost speed, strength and, most importantly, culinary prowess: Ange, Ian and Vitor. Together with Pete, Bridget, Rob, Luke and Dom – and under the ingenious, innovative and deeply inspirational leadership of Sidney, along with his glamorous assistant Paul, we make a pretty good team!

The weekend was a real mixture, with all sorts going on! Pete and Bridget explored the wider region, first visiting the Martyrs’ village of Oradour-sur-Glane, where 642 villagers were murdered on the 10th June 1944, four days after ‘D-Day’. The fact that the occupation of France was nearing its end only adds to the tragedy of the story of this emotive place, which has been preserved intact as a memorial. After leaving Oradour, they also visited the supremely elegant Château de La Rochefoucauld and cultural Limoges, famous for its porcelain – all being within a couple of hours of La Giraudiere! Meanwhile, Luke, an American volunteer aged 20, headed to the coast! Along with a bunch of ever-welcoming Brossacians, he camped overnight on the beach and had a great time whilst improving his proficiency at French.

Back at LG we had a pretty laid-back couple of days, with a BBQ on Saturday night and Sunday’s customary trip to St Bernard’s! Blessed with gobsmackingly beautiful weather, we had a trip into nearby Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, visiting its bizzare yet beautiful monolithic church and – much more importantly – a fantastic ice-cream parlour! My selection was a classic cookies and cream with candyfloss combo, which scored 26/30 on my complex personalised rating system – the best score since last summer! That’s something to put in the diary. Or maybe I need to get out more.

In any case, we had a lovely time, and capped off our long weekend in style with the first floodlit petanque session of the summer on Monday evening – playing until after 11pm! Whilst late-night petanque may sound incongruous to the uninitiated, it’s deadly serious stuff. As Americans, Australians, Brits and Brazilians, we each drew on our nations’ (presumably) long and proud(ish) histories of competitive petanque-ing and, on the whole, came away with reputations intact! Of course, we had to let the locals win a few to do our bit for the ‘Entente Cordiale’!

So, as the working week is underway, we can look back upon a cracking few days of R&R! Next weekend are the Bastille celebrations – so watch this space!

Time spent volunteering at La Giraudiere is time well spent. A thank you.

Fresh from completing my first year as a university language student, with a significantly less than bronzed complexion and no real idea as to what my time spent volunteering at La Giraudiere would have in store for me, I arrived in Brossac just under three weeks ago. As today marks my final full day here at La Giraudiere – incidently, it’s raining outside for the first time in over a week.. pathetic fallacy some might say – I can say with wholehearted honesty that if I could rearrange my flights and summer plans and stay for a further three weeks, I would do so in an instant.

My time spent here has been rewarding in ways that I had simply not anticipated. For starts, I’ve discovered the world of blogging – completely unchartered territory for me previous to my stay, but something that I would love to be able to keep doing once I arrive back home; difficult though it may be to find many sparks of inspiration from my rural village on the outskirts of Bristol, having now experienced the Brossacian way of life! I’ve spent time working as Paul’s ‘PA’: responding to enquiries about the project, sorting through volunteer applications and booking tables at restaurants for the group, to name but just a few of the day to day tasks. I can proudly say that I now have the French for ‘a table for 13 please. Yes, 13.’ mastered almost to perfection.

On that note, although I had hoped that I’d get a chance to speak snippets of French in the market, ‘Intermarché’ or restaurants, I really never thought that I’d have the opportunity to indulge in such lengthy conversations with the locals, discussing all manner of topics until the early hours of the morning, as I have been able to do over the past few weeks. And for this I really can’t thank Paul enough for introducing us to all his friends here, and to those friends for being so welcoming and patient! There seems to be a real community ethos fueling the way of life here in Brossac, whereby no one is ever made to feel like an outsider; indeed, the locals are as keen to embrace all our different cultures and languages as we are theirs! Perhaps a book that us English-speakers could take a leaf or two out of… Food for thought, anyway.

So it is with a heavy heart, a slightly more golden skin tone, a few new colloquialisms to add to my French repertoire and a wonderful selection of memories of my time here at La Giraudiere to take home with me, that I write this final blog and hand the reigns over to the next volunteer. Thank you thank you thank you to Paul, all the team at La Giraudiere and to the Brossac community for making my stay here so enjoyable and worthwhile. Time spent volunteering at La Giraudiere really is time well spent.

Trail du Brossacais

Hello! My name is Dom and I’m volunteering here at La Giraudiere for a few weeks en-route home from my “Gap-year” travels around Morocco and Spain – but originally hailing from the slightly less exotic location of Gloucestershire in SW England. A couple of days ago I took part in the “trail du Brossacais”, which was quite an experience…

Sunday – the big day was finally here! After weeks of anticipation, speculation, marquee elevation and (for some!) dedicated preparation, the 8th incarnation of Brossac’s very own cross-country event « le Trail du Brossacais » was upon us! A well-respected meet, over four hundred athletes entered and more than one hundred volunteers were involved in this year’s edition, which was split into races of 13 or 25 kilometres and a randonee (hike) of 13 kilometres.

As what might optimistically be called a novice to the world of competitive athletics, I opted for the randonee, and this certainly felt a wise decision as I mingled with the lycra-clad runners, all limbering up and (presumably) discussing their favourite marathons and work-out routines. Probably their record bleep test scores as well. In any case, at 9:15, with my number (121) attached with drawing pins and my shoelaces securely fastened, I was off!

I just cannot emphasise how beautiful the course was: amongst the rolling hills of the Charente, through pine-scented woodlands, boundless golden meadows and besides tranquil, rippling lakes, we made our way in the glorious morning sunshine. Once again, French hospitality left me simply astounded, as we were greeted along the route with replenishment in the form of water, apples, oranges, bananas, dried apricots, prunes, sponge cake and dark chocolate as well as cheerful encouragement and friendly greetings. You didn’t get this on Sports Day.

I reached the finish beside l’Etang Vallier around half past eleven (a leisurely stroll), where a number of the runners were cooling off beside the lake and enjoying the weather. After the prize-giving ceremony, conducted by the Conseil-General of Charente, we were treated to a sumptuous lunch. We were very kindly invited to the meal as a thank-you for helping to set up the marquee on Thursday, which made it feel even more worthwhile! We love Brossac!