Christmas Fair at the Chateau

Each year there is a Christmas Fair at the Château Abbaye de Cassan, just half a mile from home. There are dozens of stalls all run by locals who show their goods for sale. There are hundreds of different hand-made delights, from felt gloves to mince pies.

Our lovely friends Bassie and Debbi who run a traiteur business here had spent the last couple of weeks making and packaging fudge, marmalades, jams, Christmas puddings, quince jellies, chocolate mice, mince pies, provencale tarts and a hundred other irresistible goodies. They are shown here in this terrible photo taken inside the chapel of the chateau on an iPhone. Apologies for the poor quality.

I bought some wonderful buttoned collar/scarf/cowl thingies that transform my new black coat into something rather elegant; lots of edible treats from B&D's stall, a hand-made trug which had been deftly constructed by the lovely Hugh and some saffron which is grown in Neffies - the village next to ours. Mum got a chistmas present that I'm not allowed to reveal since a fellow blipper will be the lucky recipient - and a bottle of Vin Hippocras. When she was offered it to taste I was sure she'd decline, but she shocked the socks off me when she reached for her purse and asked if it would keep once opened. I rather hope she'll have a tipple during the fading light of the afternoon. After a lifetime as a teetotaller it's good to see her break out a bit.

If you're local and wondering what to do tomorrow, I can thoroughly recommend the fair. It's been running for a few years now, but this one is the largest and most varied ever. Do go along.