The day started a bit better than forecast with some bright weather replacing the early rain. P took the opportunity to get some washing done while Simon and Mop went to the boulangerie, Mop on his bike. The roofers put up scaffolding at the front and replaced the front gutter. So far so good, but as the day went on it got wetter and windier. In the afternoon, the roofers were reduced to wearing coats! Still the back was largely finished before they finished for the long bank holiday weekend.
Various plans for a trip out were discussed but nobody could really work up the enthusiasm. Still it was to be duck legs for tea, so Simon opened a bottle of Beaumes de Venise but as he pulled the cork he detected a faint unpleasant odour, and sure enough it was corked. Fortunately he had another bottle which proved to be drinkable. With the sarter, Simon and P, and J were going to drink some Apremont, one of Simon’s favourites (P prefers Abymes – Abymes is from the valley and Apremont is from the hillside) but that too was corked! Although Simon had another bottle, it was not chilled so they had a bottle of Bourgogne Aligoté instead (not a bad substitute!). Still 2 corked bottles in one night and both had traditional corks. There is a lot to be said for the modern wine bottle closures. It is very rare that a bottle with an artificial cork or a screw top goes off.
The weather closed in with lots of rain and wind, so much so that Simon put the heating on. A bit disappointing really.
simonandp 