Week 2 2026

Hello!

In case you missed it, Tuesday 6 January was the last day of the Christmas season and traditionally the day Christmas decorations get taken down and packed away for next year in my house.  The 12^th 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).   

Note the plate with numbers to ensure it's divided equally!

This frangipane filled cake is served up according to tradition on 6^th 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.

 

You can still find them in the shops and the bakeries, and each year more exotic flavours are added to the recipe, a hit this year was the chocolate chip brioche style galette!

 

Whatever you do this week in the Gironde and Dordogne regions, have a lovely time.

Best wishes,

Helen

notjustfotheholidays@orange.fr

 

Week 2

 

https://www.cinema-eden.com/

https://www.cinema-pays-foyen.com/

 If you don't know what to do with your Christmas trees...

 

 10 January

 

Coming up...

 

 And finally...

 

My new Saturday pottery programme is out for the upcoming months.  Starting with a windmill. to go along with the castle and the house candle-lights.

 

 

Feel free to contact me if you'd like to take part, or if you're interested in trying your hand at pottery - it's a wonderfully therapeutic process.