The church bells

We had hoped that they would be ringing for Noel, but  it looks as though we are going to have yet another silent night. Normally the bells sound the hour and half hour twice during the day. Giving an extra jolly peal at 7 am and 7 pm just to make sure that everyone is awake or à table,  as though anyone apart from les anglaises would miss either!

In the summer the villagers collected over

 € 1000, no mean feat for such a small village. Some of the old ladies gladly giving an equivalent of a weeks house-keeping in order to hear their beloved bells sound out again.

But the matter and the € 1000 is now in the hands of the church owners, The Church. and still the bells remain silent. Hopefully 2008 is not too old before the villagers of Lieurac experience once more what some have named the soul of the village.

Transhumance

The local Transhumance fête took place last week-end on Sunday 23rd. September. It has grown a bit in the last few years, there are more sheep, more people walking and more people stopping at Le Sautel at lunch time to enjoy the communal repas. There were also a lot of people at the vide grenier, antique stalls very early in the morning. I managed to find some lovely old linen tea towels for use in the gite, then I had a quick breakfast of croissants and coffee ( it was after all Sunday) and then walked to meet the sheep , shepherds and really intense sheepdogs to escort them back to Lieurac,  where we left them to walk the last kilometre to Le Sautel without the help of me and Fleur. ( She might , and the emphasis is on might, be a Border Colley, but she isn't focussed enough to become a sheepdog.) It will be interesting to see how this event continues into the future, as it has become very popular, although there are many more people enjoying the attractions put on by this amazingly sociable yet tiny village than there are herding the sheep.