Haven't heard from the Maire about our roof, but am hopeful that we might get some assistance from the commune. Of course others in the past had said that the commune does give grants for this kind of work as although our roof was new in 2006 due to the torrents of rain it has deteriorated. Until however our Maire, Regine came round and said that the commune might be able to help I just had not thought of this. I think that it might only be 50% that they pay, but imagine how that would help us!
The song Whiskey Bar by the Doors just came on the radio (from the local radio station broadcast from Saumur, Loire Valley) with its lines of needing to go to a great Whiskey Bar or he will die, and then he goes on to say he needs to find a Little Girl or else he will die. Hello? I wondered if those lines would be permitted or considered appropriate at all in the UK now that all of this scandal has come out about the 70s and 80s and the inappropriate behaviour of certain celebs such as Rolf Harris towards young people.and how our very perceptions of those times - our times have changed....I went onto YTube and discovered that although the song is performed and presented on line, that particular verse about needing to find a little girl is now omitted. It is also known as The Alabama Song. Then I discovered that the song was actually based on a poem by Bertolt Brecht, written in 1925 and in 1928 was set to music by Kurt Weill. Interesting contexts for the presentation of the song anyway from post first world war Germany to the pop cultural times of the 60s and the wonderful Doors and also David Bowie who also performed the song...What I do find interesting is how context is all and how once we might have accepted something as it is stated in its pure state, but when it is coloured by certain events we no longer find it per se..or do we? Actually I often find that some of the American and British tunes that come on to the radio here in France I think whey hey could I hear this in the UK without some kind of censorship? The songs of Lilly Allen are a case in point. Often the songs are full of expletives and controversial lyrics that probably would not be broadcast in the UK at the present time. I suppose this is France and not everyone who plays the lists or listens to the radio necessarily understand those lyrics or the context... I have heard some people say well hang on a minute things were different in the 70s and 80 or even the 20s and 30s..but were they really?
When I was a young girl growing up in the 60/70s it was all quite strict really and not that I condone that but I sometimes wonder who really benefited from the so called 'swinging sixties'? Perhaps I was too young at the time for most of it I was at Primary school, but even in 70s when I was at college in Maidstone in Kent with an arts college connected to my own alma mata of technology when things seemed quite liberated.. I am not so sure that I felt that free...I was always conscious of friends who 'got pregnant' or those who actually were clearly being abused and taken advantage of under the guise of drink and drugs. I think that maybe I felt more sexually inhibited by the 70s then I would have done at any other time in history and I speak from a point of view of someone who has always enjoyed sex. Of course there was 'the pill', but in a way it was a double edged sword and I think that it made 'our boy friends' think that we could be freer then perhaps we ever wanted to be. Of course in 1970 I had read the Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer, but I am not sure that I then understood it fully I just knew that I was myself and I did not want to be 'taken for a ride'. I had always had this image of the girl on the bike in the village and how it was said that either behind the bike shed or on her travels she was taken advantage of in a way I never wanted to be. My sympathies in fact were always with her, and not the boys who did whatever they did to her.... I recall being on the swings at one point in the beautiful park outside my house in Dunton Green with a girl called Jasmine who told me that unlike myself she had had 'more boyfriends then hot dinners' but when she went on to get pregnant at 15 and had a baby I was grateful in fact that I was not the one with the myriad of boyfriends. In fact it was not that I did not have lots of offers, but in retrospect I am happy that I was as I was and not how Jasmine was not in any smug way as I rather admired her...but I was concerned about her as I partly admired her sense of liberty but even from my 14 year old vantage point wondered how long her freedom might last.. Maybe today she is happier then I have ever been, but I just did not want to go down that particular road. In fact I married quite young (22) and although it seemed right at the time and I cannot regret the fact that I had my son Jay, maybe it would have been better to have taken more time before I committed to a long term relationship. On the other hand we were happy for many years and a lot that is good has come out of my marriage so sometimes I guess things must be as they must be..
Must dash now as I need to order a Fridge Freezer whilst the sales are still on as we urgently need one. We've gone without one for a year now without a freezer and although it has been tricky it's amazing what you can do without however when you have to. Of course we do have two fridges so that has helped, but we have not been able to serve ice cream and have had to serve everything ultra fresh. Maybe however this is not such a bad thing and I am sure that our customers have really enjoyed fresh home made chips and lots of fresh vegetables and fruit dishes as opposed to frozen ones which if we had had the obigatory freezer things might have been different..
Recipe of the day is:-
Teresa's lemony tart/Tarte au citron :-
Line a large round tin with fresh butter puff pastry and bake in a pre-heated over at 180c for 10 - 15 minutes until crisp and golden brown.
Fill with a lemon curd as follows:
Take 4 lemons and squeeze them into a bowl, add some grated zest then
add 4 tbs of sugar and
3 heaped spoons of butter plus
3 large whisked free range eggs
Ensure that the curd is all thoroughly mixed and place in the microwave for 2 minutes, remove and whisk again, then add for an additional 2 minutes and mix again. If your curd curdles do not worry just get our your electric whisk and whisk through the curdles...
When the curd is thickened place in the cooked tart and bake for an additional 12 minutes or until set. A little browning on top is okay, but not too much. When a little cooler swirl some melted dark 70% chocolate into a button shape at the centre of the tart or make make a diagonal ziz zag pattern across the tart.
Serve with creme fraîche or cream (creme fraîche is good as it cuts through the richness of the lemon tart). Place a couple of fresh raspberries on the top of the tart and serve with a little splash of raspberry coulis. Dust the whole affair with icing sugar. Delicious!
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