Spring in the air, snow in the distance

It felt warm in the sun this morning out in the vineyards between Roujan and Margon. This ruined grange reminded me of tumbledown Welsh cottages because it seemed to have the more northern style of two-up two-down windows. The ploughed field in the foreground was probably a vineyard until recently and may be re-planted in a year or so. Further away, around and beyond the grange, are the sepia rows of winter vines, then the plane trees just losing their leaves, a volcanic hill with its flat top and garrigue-covered slopes and in the far distance the mountains of the Haut Languedoc with some snow visible on the rocky summits to remind us of the real season. So, in spite of the Welsh reminders in the architecture, this image is very grounded in the contrasts of the Languedoc. It was a beautiful morning!

Yesterday evening was one of contrasts too for us, beginning with the Cercle Occitan concert de Nadal in the village church. The Cor d'Erau gave a wonderful performance of songs and a bohemian mass all in Occitan, ending with rousing encores of the two Occitan anthems, 'Coupa Santa' (written by Frédéric Mistral to celebrate friendship between the Occitan and Catalan nations) and 'Se Canto'. Then LoJ and I missed the apéros that followed the concert because we had booked a table at the bar in Neffiès for an evening of flamenco guitar, dancing, tapas, paella and zarzuela. And what a wonderful event that was - the small bar was packed and the music, dancing and food all excellent. I've never before seen a flamenco dancer so close - he was just a couple of metres away - an unforgettable experience.