Thursday 27 January 2022

Week 4 2022

 Hello!

It's such a quite time of year, with the added Covid restrictions, it's difficult to find things to do in the region.  So, I had a look back over the years, and lo... it's nearly the Chandeleur! Hooray for pancakes!

Did you know that the Catholic holiday of Candlemas, on 2 February, is a feast to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of baby Jesus. In France, this holiday is called la Chandeleur, Fête de la Lumière, or jour des crêpes.

Not only do the French eat a lot of crêpes on Chandeleur, but they also do a bit of fortune telling while making them. It is traditional to hold a coin in your writing hand and a crêpe pan in the other, and flip the crêpe into the air. If you manage to catch the crêpe in the pan, your family will be prosperous for the rest of the year.  There is also a train of thought that suggests you should keep this well flipped pancake on the top of the wardrobe for the year to doubly ensure good fortune…

Enjoy your pancakes and whatever you do this week in the Gironde and Dordogne regions – keep warm and safe and have a great week.
Best wishes,
Helen


Week 4



 
Seule L'APRÈS-MIDI EST MAINTENUE, 

la matinée est annulée (désolée pour les 3 endurants).

IL RESTE 1 PLACE POUR L'APRÈS-MIDI ...laissant la possibilité à 1 personne de se joindre à nous au dernier moment.

Pour les petits nouveaux merci de bien vouloir me préciser votre installation préférée : à plat sur une table ou un chevalet + desserte ou tréteau +  planche + desserte.
La pièce sera chauffée pour le confort du modèle n'oubliez pas de vous habillez de façon à pouvoir vous découvrir.

je me réjouis à l'avance de vous retrouver samedi prochain.
Amicalement
Claire SCOFIELD
 
A lovely place to be on a Sunday afternoon...

Coming up...



And finally...

The February programme is up for my pottery workshop in Sauveterre.  Make a plate and decorate it using a sgrafitto technique which involves scratching through the top layer of colour to reveal the white clay below.  

And during the school holidays - that's the last 2 weeks of February - there are workshops to make a birdfeeder to hang in the garden. It can hold a grease ball, or a piece of fruit.

The birdfeeder workshops are for 2 people minimum (4 maximum) and you just need to call ahead to make an appointment and book a session.

It would be lovely to see you.



Wednesday 19 January 2022

Week 3 2022

Hello!

It's pretty dreary out there... if you want to spread a little love, come and make a swirly heart from clay coils at the pottery workshop on Saturday. 

Or, if you have a group of friends that would like to come along together, then let me know and you can come another day.  This is a really lovely therapeutic project. 💞

Whatever you do this week, keep warm and safe and have a good week.
Best wishes,
Helen
 

Week 3

 
 


 

Coming up...





And finally...

Beautiful frozen cobwebs...

Wednesday 12 January 2022

Week 2 2022

 Hello!

The winter sales start in France this week. Now's the time to look for that bargain!


Whatever you do this week in the Gironde and Dordogne regions, keep warm and safe and have a good week.
Best wishes,
Helen

Week 2



 


Coming up...





And finally...


I'm wondering if you could help me? I'm looking for a stool to use in my pottery studio with my new wheel.  I picked up my current one from a brocante or vide grenier, years ago and it's just perfect.
 
Excuse the quality of the photos... I cropped them from the back of workshop snaps.  If you know where I could find one similar, I'd be delighted to hear from you, or if you see one on your day-to-day in the region, please let me know.  There is a post in the middle that screws up and down to adjust the height of the seat and I have a feeling that it might have originated from Ikea (but not in that colour)

Many thanks in advance. Helen 😊



Thursday 6 January 2022

Week 1 2022

 Hello!

Thursday 6 January is the last day of the Christmas season and traditionally the day Christmas decorations get taken down and packed away for next year.  The 12th night is the day that the 3 wise men arrived in Bethlehem, taking gifts to the baby Jesus.
The French celebrate this day with a special cake called the ‘Galette des Rois’ (the King’s cake).   


This frangipane filled cake is served up according to tradition on 6th January.  A lucky charm – known as a fève (originally a bean, but now more often a little porcelain figure) is baked into the cake.  As story goes, the cake is divided into enough slices as people present, and one extra, for the first poor person that passes by.  The youngest person in the group decides who has which slice, and the person who finds the fève is crowned king or queen for the day.  When you buy a Galette des Rois it usually comes complete with a paper crown.  Want to make one yourself, here's a recipe, but it doesn't include the fève, so don't forget to add that in!

So if you were wondering what to eat with your afternoon cup of tea, on 6th January, it has to be a Galette des Rois!  Bon appétit!
 
Whatever you do this week, keep warm and well.  There's really not much going on, apart from eating cake... however, if you know of anthing, please do get in touch.
Best wishes,
Helen
 

Week 1

 
Really not much going on...
 
La Breche cinema in Ste Foy




 
 Coming up...


And finally...

If you are ready to get your hands into clay, a great activity for all ages, I have a pottery workshop on Saturday in Sauveterre.  This week we're making lighthouse candle-lights.  They sound so much more poetic in French - phare photophore
 
A 1 hour session costs €10/person, all materials and firing included. Only 4 people per session, so call ahead to book a place please - 06 30 89 85 36