Summer at les Sarziers

The summer whirl is in full swing and fortunately the temperatures have dropped a little, at least for the moment. After a vicious late frost, a heatwave in June, prolonged drought, and a freak hailstorm a couple of weeks ago the fruit farmers have suffered catastrophic damage to their crops as have Brice and Lisa in the vineyards. All forms of agriculture are such a risky business and the climate extremes of recent years are pushing nature to its limits. The Doux is practically dry and we are officially “en crise” with all water use, except “for drinking, or to water your animals” strictly forbidden by prefectoral decree.

At present, thank goodness, we are enjoying a slightly cooler spell, with daytime temperatures back down to the low thirties and pleasantly cool nights – just perfect for Les Ephémères d’Arlebosc, which begin this evening.

We have some great bands lined up. Tonight there will be two accordionists, two violins, guitar, banjo and trombone and the music is going to be fabulous. Next up is another septet, which Markus has put together for a new Swing repertoire. There is Linda on keyboard, Markus and his friend Frans on trumpet and trombone, plus guitar, drum, bass and vocals from me. We’re looking forward to playing with this great group of musicians.

We have also been busy with our concert “A Entendre les Arbres . . .” which we created with Pascal and Linda in January. We’ve had some memorable performances, one where the temperature in the theatre was 34C followed by a much cooler one in the lovely chapel at Veyrines, about an hour north of here.

Photo: Les Amis de Veyrines

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On Sunday we are holding our annual concert at les Sarziers – which has not happened for the past two years for the obvious dreary reasons -and we are super happy to be able to host it again! We will be performing “A Entendre les Arbres …” with our friend the actress Perrette Gonnet as special guest. After supper under the chestnut tree, as dusk falls, Perrette will lead the audience on a short walk through our little wood, performing readings, short texts and poems. It will be a magical start to the evening – if you are around, do drop by!