That was a ten day week that was......

I have been either zooming or idle and either condition militates against my keeping up to date with the blog.  After twelve years of doing it with hardly a day missed I have recently, indeed for some months, been neglectful.  Anyway here goes with a catch up:

Les Junies

Tuesday November 7 - I trained it from the charming Gare Austerlitz to Gourdon where Christopher Hunt picked me up in his very snazzy quite new Golf.  SNCF runs some pretty good trains but this was a bit of a horror - ancient rolling stock with hideously uncomfortable couchettes.  And this was supposed to be first class.  I only paid for standard class but even that level was not reached.  And five and a half hours of discomfort is not good.  But the price? A paltry 26 pounds which barely takes you 75 miles in the UK!  I felt I was back in the 1950s!

From Christopher's terrace in La Masse

It was a delight to be back in the Lot where Christopher has been living for some five years now after retiring from Indiana University where he taught for some seven years.  He has a truly lovely place in the hamlet of La Masse, part of the commune of Les Junies.  On this Tuesday evening there was not a single restaurant open in the vicinity - that is to say within a radius of 10 miles.......so we nevertheless had a fine meal from his store cupboard assisted by Cahors from the cellar!

Luzech market Wednesday November 8 2017

Wednesday November 8 - a busy day, first to the market in Luzech where cheese and saucisson sec made it into my basket to take home.  Then we made our way to the Château du Cèdre where we picked up a generous quantity of their really excellent Héritage which is available in London at Lea and Sandeman for double the price we paid at the château.  No surprise I suppose - just a shame I could not manage to carry more than half a dozen back to London.....

Grézels November 8 2017

The highlight of the day was an amazing lunch at La Terrasse - Al Chabrot in Grézels.  This was an unbelievable bargain at €18 each for five delicious courses including a huge carafe of excellent Cahors..........described in the link!

And so eventually back to La Masse and finally dinner at a local restaurant just a mile down the road.

Thursday November 9 - after a slow morning I went off to Gourdon again to get the dreaded train back to Paris. This time I knew what I was in for and adjusted in advance! It is a five and a half hour journey but I ended up very happily in a delightful restaurant, L'ardoise in Le Perreaux-sur-Marne, for a perfect Parisian/Basque dinner!

Friday November 10 - the wonderful Eurostar back to London.  It is really a huge success and I have always found it to be completely reliable (apart from the wi-fi which is useless!). St Pancras International is as good as it gets as a place to arrive by train - and I can get across London to home in less than 30 minutes. We have fantastic public transport in London, really!!

Saturday/Sunday November 11-12 - Family weekend!

Monday November 13 - I am on the Garsington Opera artistic advisory committee and attend many of the auditions for future seasons.  This day we had some time in that excellent space at the Royal Opera House - the Chorus Rehearsal Room where we also hold the Neue Stimmen London auditions.  And it was a particular pleasure to be with Tobias Ringborg, who conducted Garsington's splendid Idomeneo in 2016, and with other Garsington colleagues Laura Canning, Susie Stranders and Sarah Playfair, looking at casting for a future project. 

Tuesday November 14 - a quiet day but a late afternoon visit for auditions at the Coliseum, just catching up with some old friends/colleagues who are in town.  That is London!

Wednesday November 15 - a lovely dinner party chez Polly Lansdowne.  She is an old friend from years ago when she worked at the Royal Opera in John Tooley's time.  Those were great days! Nostalgia.....

Thursday November 16 - Dentist and haircut!! But more to the point - the Dress rehearsal at the Coliseum of Nico Muhly's new opera Marnie which has its world premiere this evening (Saturday).  I will write more about that tomorrow. 

So that is a quick catch up - phew!!