Chez Katherine

Thursday 24 August 2006
On Tuesday - the day the guests were due to arrive - Monsieur P the carpenter came and collected shutters from three of the ground floor windows, to take away the metal joints at the bottom. It hasn’t made much difference in the study, where there are thick curtains, and rosebushes between the house and the road, but in the grande pièce, where the windows are directly onto the road and where we kept the shutters permanently shut, the difference is amazing! It’s very strange to see light coming in from that end of the house, and of course for the first time in nine months there will be someone sleeping in there at the weekend.
Also on Tuesday we had a last very large shopping expedition to Bernay; mostly at the supermarket Intermarché, but also a return trip to the Italian delicatessen, and to the excellent florist and even to Monsieur Bricolage for lamps. (N had ordered small standard lamps so that the musicians could see clearly, but they had not arrived at Bricomarché, so a couple were bought from Monsieur Bricolage to tide everybody over.) I also took a typed-out daily order for baguettes, croissants and pâtisseries to the lady at the boulangerie in La Neuve-Lyre, for Wednesday to Sunday. She was very pleased, said no-one had ever given her one like that before, and that it would be no problem. (I had seen people telling her their orders which she wrote in her book.)
By about five o’clock I had hoovered and dusted the whole house, the washing had been taken in from the garden, and all the rooms were ready, the last beds having been made the day before. Even the bedding and towels for next weekend’s guests were ready in the attic trunk and in the linen cupboard. I had made a large pot of Bean Stew; always a good dish when you’re not sure when people are going to arrive, and set the big table well in advance, which was much admired by Monsieur P. The first party (Kathryn, John and Iona) were due any time after 4.30, and N kept going and looking out in the road behind, having opened the garage doors so that they could recognise the car - and possibly even the house - when they arrived. We were having a drink in the verandah at about 6.45 when they turned up, and after unloading their luggage, and viewing the house they joined us. Knowing the others (Claire, Dan, Charlotte and friend Catherine) would arrive late, we had dinner at about 8.15. Much later in the evening we received a few phone calls saying they were lost, and eventually N and Kathryn set out to find fetch them from Broglie, all getting back at about 11.30. I think they were all a little fazed at having arrived at an unknown place in the dark so late - especially two year-old Charlotte, and Catherine who had never met us before! - but all found their bed- and bathrooms and eventually we all got to bed. Catherine, as an unmarried friend of the family, made me think of a house guest in a Jane Austen novel.
Wednesday started late with breakfast in the verandah and the dining room. The first music took place in the studio, after the great table had been put on its feet at last; I took some photos and John and I - the only two non-players - kept an eye on Charlotte in the garden. They didn’t really like playing in the studio though, it was cold and the acoustics were not good, and there was not much room. We all had lunch around the long table in the garden as planned, not in beautiful sunshine as hoped, but it was reasonable. In the afternoon we visited the Château de Beaumesnil, in better weather than with my family in May, and walked around the grounds before coming back for tea in the garden, and dinner - all eight of us this time - around the big Italian table in the grande pièce. (Lettuce soup, poached salmon + hollandaise, garden potatoes and rhubarb cake and cream.) N rearranged the salon for music playing, pushing back the sofa against the French windows and the armchairs in the corners, and setting out the chairs and lamps under the chandelier, and until the last night this was where all the music was played, with various numbers of players. I was very pleased, as I could hear it all from the kitchen, and see it too through the glass doors in the back hall, or from the open door in the front hall. It looked and sounded just right, and I’m not sure why we hadn’t thought of it before. On Friday we heard from Bricomarché that the ordered lamps had arrived, making six in all, two black and four silver; they were ideal for musicians, very slim and unobtrusive, and bent nicely over the music stands.
Thursday 31 August 2006
Our original plan had included a day out at the seaside on Friday, but once we knew that the buffet would need collecting from Bernay at four that day it was changed to Thursday. After discussion at breakfast on Thursday it was abandoned altogether; the weather was just not warm enough to make it worth while. Instead our guests all took themselves off to Monet’s garden at Giverny for the day; and we had lunch on our own. They arrived back for tea in the garden, dinner (lemon & honey chicken, chips, garden salad and home-made vanilla ice cream & chocolate sauce) and music in the salon as before. N, Claire, Catherine and Dan played various pieces arranged for string quartets including « Anything Goes » which was wonderful. John and Kathryn helped me with all the washing up which wouldn’t fit into the dishwasher; wine glasses and large pans, and afterwards we went into the salon and listened to the music.
Friday was beautifully warm and sunny day, right from the word go. We hadn’t seen any weather forecast, so didn’t know if this was expected or not. Various people helped prepare garden vegetables for the evening, marrow, potatoes and green beans; John and Kathryn fetched the daily bread order from the boulangerie - including mini pizzas - and after visiting the fruit and vegetable stall I prepared a picnic, while N collected the lamps from Bricomarché and others played and sat in the garden, exactly as we had hoped they would! Claire and Dan bought cakes from boulangerie, and helped count paper cups, plates and napkins. Kathryn packed games, rugs and extra picnic cutlery and we set off in two cars.
The destination was Beaumont-le-Roger, in front of the ruined priory N and I had visited some months ago. John had an electronic navigation gadget in his car, which amused us as we followed it, even though it was well sign-posted and N was telling him the way. We parked in the centre of Beaumont-le-Roger and carried all our things along the main street and up the hill; it seemed strange to be slinking along in the shade again, just as if the heat wave had never ended.
All agreed it was a wonderful picnic. We put rugs out on the grass in the sun around my big yellow checked tablecloth, and set out the mini pizzas, ham, salami, three kinds of pâté, cheeses, bread, juice, water, plums, strawberries and the cakes. Afterwards some took photos, some had a snooze, others went for a walk and played hide and seek, some played giant snakes and ladders and the rest of us played « Articulate » also brought by Kathryn, which felt strange as I had only ever played it at Christmas before, indoors after dark. Eventually we packed everything up again, commenting that the bags were lighter on the way down, and spent a few minutes in a playground for the benefit of Charlotte and Iona, and then set off for the supermarket at Bernay to fetch our buffet for the next day.
The guests bought wine and cider to take home, I got a few forgotten extra items, and we collected the party food, consisting of two trays of cheese, sliced beef, pieces of chicken, salami and other cold meats, and a large bowl each of tabbouleh salad and piedmontaise salad. After a rather precarious journey - car already loaded with picnic items, and sun shining in very hard - we arrived home and put it all in the wine cellar to keep cool until the next day. Dinner was Marrow Pie, which some said should be renamed Gardener’s Pie - as it was rather like Shepherd’s Pie with marrow, onion, tomato, garlic and herbs instead of meat - and a compote of red plums with cream. John said a few days later that the Marrow Pie was what he had liked most, as it was quite unlike anything he had eaten before. Over dinner we reminded Catherine and Iona that they would need to have packed up their beds in the attic ready for Simone and Brigitte’s arrival at about 11 the next morning; N and I had spent much time trying to work out where Catherine would sleep on Saturday and Sunday nights, but the problem was solved by John and Kathryn saying Iona could sleep on their floor, leaving the small mattress in the ironing/sewing room for Catherine.
Saturday was the day we had been planning for so long in such minute detail; guests, music, different meals and snacks in different places; perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised when it didn’t go exactly to plan! First thing in the morning Kathryn helped me make up the attic beds for Simone and Brigitte. N was due to go to the station at Conches to collect Jean (one of his regular string quartet partners from Paris) with his cello, and also Matt and Elke, an English violinist friend of Claire and Dan and his German girlfriend, also coming from Paris where they live. Dan had suggested he go too in his car, as it wasn’t clear whether there would be enough room for all three plus instruments and luggage. This was fortunate, as Dan arrived back with Matt and Elke saying that Jean had managed to leave his bags on the train while unloading the cello, and that he and N were trying to phone the station or catch up with the train to get them. I had meanwhile been making a very large fruit salad, helped by John, which was quite successful, but was worried about the weather - not at all like the day before and very unsuitable for a garden buffet. I was also keeping an eye open for Simone and Brigitte coming up the garden from the garage; in the event they came by the front door, I showed them their attic room and asked if they would like coffee. Fortunately they then saw Claire, whom Simone had met before and she took over the coffee and the conversation; (and introducing Charlotte) fortunate as I wanted to progress with lunch and have a look at the buffet, but could not find the key to the wine cellar anywhere.
I realised that it must be in N’s pocket from the afternoon before, still driving round looking for Jean’s bags. John managed to remove the lock on the cellar door and we brought the buffet into the house - helped by Elke, the other non-musician, having decided we couldn’t possibly eat in the garden. One or two of the dishes were very oddly arranged, (cornets of salami with olives inside, garnish consisting of tiny triangles of butter, cherry tomatoes stuck on the ends of chicken legs) so I rearranged some of them on my own plates.
We were just wondering where on earth N and Jean could have got to, as it was several hours since the train had arrived, when Claire came into the kitchen to get a glass of water for Dan who had been sick. Then N and Jean arrived, I showed Jean his « room » which was really my study, already full of Matt & Elke’s luggage and bedding, as they were due to sleep on the sofa in the grande pièce (minus its shutters) where lunch was currently being set out. N and John helped me take the small table from the dining room in too, as it would be needed there in the evening. The food was all very good and much appreciated, but the seating arrangements would have been better in the garden. There was discussion as to what Dan might have eaten, the consensus was just the same as the rest of us; the cheeses at the picnic came in for some blame, but we had all eaten them and in any case I maintained he would have been ill in the night, not the next day.
I sat next to Brigitte, who, N said, had an interest in common with me - Proust. We talked for some time at cross purposes until I realised she was talking about Faust (N’s hearing) so hurriedly changed the subject. When I told N about this many hours later he laughed and said could I imagine a work entitled « The Damnation of Proust. »
After lunch all the musicians went off to start their programme and Elke helped me clear the tables while John looked after Charlotte. Dan appeared looking a little better and I asked if he would like some fruit salad; he said that would be really nice and after that and some fresh air, he joined the others making music in the salon. I tried to establish when they would be breaking for tea and biscuits, still hoping that might be in the garden, but didn’t get very far. At various times they played Britten’s « Simple Symphony » and Dvorak’s « American Quartet », plus something that kept switching from a concerto by Mozart to « Scotland the Brave ». When I said I liked the Mozart goes to Scotland, they said it was something called McMozart!
About half an hour later Dan was in the garden again, looking very white indeed and Claire came into the kitchen and said that he had severe stomach pains, had never felt this ill in his life before and had said he needed to see a doctor. The musicians had just stopped briefly and N came and heard this; we were a little surprised but I fetched the phone number of the doctor in La Neuve-Lyre (whom I still hadn’t visited, but at least had the number!) Not surprisingly there was a recorded message, so I noted the number given and called it. I spoke to a nice lady (said I had a charming accent) who took details of Dan’s name, age and symptoms, and gave us the name and address of the duty doctor in Rugles. For a moment I wondered how we were going to find this address, until I remembered John’s wonderful navigation gadget! He was already halfway to the garage finding out that Rugles was 11 kilometres away and that it would take about 12 minutes to get there.
John, Dan and Claire set off for Rugles and the rest of the company was put in the picture. I got tea ready - in the grande pièce again - and was just putting out biscuits when the phone rang and I had to shut the salon door hurriedly so that I could hear over the music. (This happened several times during the afternoon.) It was John saying that the doctor at Rugles suspected appendicitis, and had told them to go straight to the hospital at L’Aigle; not to bother parking but to go straight to the emergency department. This made sense considering Dan’s symptoms, and once again all the company were told the latest news - in both English and in French - and tea was taken. (Elke had finished arranging the biscuits; Matt came through the kitchen and « Oh no, you haven’t left Elke alone with the biscuits…..«) Kathryn and Iona had stopped playing music by this time and were looking after Charlotte. N was mainly put out by the fact that his only other viola player (apart from himself) had gone missing and that all the carefully planned music had to be rearranged. He photocopied a lot of parts of other pieces on the computer, and made me think of a teacher whose lesson plan has had to be changed at the last moment.
Meanwhile my thoughts were mainly concentrated on dinner - our grand gala dinner! - and I was very grateful when Elke agreed to peel all the potatoes, especially as my main helper, John, was of course missing. (I had got into the habit of having a mental list of jobs that needed doing so that whenever anyone appeared in the kitchen saying « Is there anything I can do? » I had an answer ready. I sent Catherine to the shop to buy more cream; she spoke virtually no French but was happy to go, and took an empty pot with her to help.) I had taken the Boeuf Bourguignonne out of the freezer that morning and it was thawing nicely, as were two cartons of home-grown spinach frozen in July. The cheeses from lunchtime had been rearranged, and dessert - a Tarte Normande and a Tarte aux Pommes from the boulangerie - was ready on the sideboard. In between musical items N arranged his best wine on the sideboard too, having got it nicely to room temperature in the boiler room overnight.
I was arranging crisps and biscuits to go with the apéritifs (Kir) on the trolley as I still wasn’t sure where it would be consumed, when the phone rang again. This time John said Dan had had various tests, appendicitis had been confirmed, that he would be operated on within the hour and that a bed was being made up in his room for Claire to stay the night. Once again Elke finished putting out the biscuits while I passed on the news; John had said that he would come back to pick up bag of things for them both and Kathryn decided she would go back with him. When he arrived he tried to explain the situation to Charlotte who kept repeating « Mummy has gone to the hospital to look after Daddy » without much conviction, and then became very subdued. Catherine decided to give her a bath in the hopes of keeping some kind of a routine going; in the event she was bathed by three « attendants », Catherine, Iona and Elke.
For about an hour and a half both Charlotte and Iona were temporarily « orphaned » but did very well at looking after each other. In a spare 20 minutes (I can’t think how) I went to the computer and printed place names for the table, N having made a plan carefully mixing up French and English guests, which all went rather awry in the circumstances. When we eventually sat down to this great meal several guests were missing; but Kathryn and John turned up after a while.
N’s beef was much appreciated, as were the potatoes and spinach from the garden. Jean knocked over and broke his glass while passing me a large plate of cheese; but was so determined not to waste any of the excellent wine that he drank it carefully out of the broken glass, which amused John very much. Simone and Brigitte were interested in the tartes from our excellent local boulangerie; each tarte had a little plaque in chocolate with the name and phone number of the shop. Everybody enjoyed the local farm cream. N said later he thought the French guests were particularly impressed by the local produce.
After the evening’s music Kathryn decided to sleep up in Claire and Dan’s attic room so that Charlotte was not on her own, but not before helping me make up the bed-settee in the grande pièce for Matt and Elke, and John had helped get the small table out into the dining room again ready for breakfast. Matt and Elke used our newly refurbished screen to put in front of the glass panelled door to the hall.
On Sunday Claire was fetched by John at about 9.30 so that she could come back to see Charlotte and take her back to visit in the afternoon. Everybody was keen to ask how Dan was, what the hospital was like, how she had been treated, whether or not they had to pay anything and how long he would be there. He was apparently recovering well, and almost all of the cost would be covered by their holiday insurance, the subject of many phone calls over the next few days between the insurance company, the hospital and Claire, sometimes helped by N and me. It was only when Charlotte began to be quite noisy that we realised how subdued she had been before. The weather had improved by Sunday morning, and Claire and Charlotte sat outside together and played. I decide to risk lunch in the garden, and put the small square garden table at the end of the long table and set lunch for 12, rather than a buffet, helped by Elke and John. Lunch consisted - as I had thought, though N had not been sure - of all the things left over from the day before, as there was so much meat and cheese; plus two large green salads from the garden, the rest of the fruit salad and the compôte de prunes, and several slices of the tartes. We had cider to drink, as we had at Saturday lunch, and lots of photos were taken. Over lunch it transpired that Matt and Elke would have to leave that afternoon - we had thought they were getting the same train as Jean on Monday morning - and that they would leave from L’Aigle station, and be taken there by Claire, Charlotte and Catherine, visiting Dan.
This meant that numbers for the Special English Tea were now very small - goodness only knows what it had done to the music groupings - so I got just a few of the Fairy Cakes out of the freezer; I made and put on the pink and yellow icing and Iona helped decorate them. I buttered the fruit loaf and got out the Gingerbread Men and Women, and set tea just outside the verandah, where it was by then pleasantly sunny. There must have been only eight of us, as the blue tea-set was just enough. Simone and Brigitte were very interested in the cakes, after having confirmed that they had not been made by the boulangerie too.
By this time there were only N, Simone, Brigitte and Jean still playing, they formed an excellent quartet, but were beginning to get a little tired. I prepared dinner (cauliflower and broccoli from the freezer, au gratin; I had never made cheese sauce for 10 people before) plus lemon ice cream, and also from the freezer beetroot soup made earlier by N, with swirls of thin cream, about which he was most particular. Apéritifs were taken out on the terrace in the sunshine too; Claire, John and Kathryn had come back by this time, and N opened two bottles of champagne (brought by Jean and Simone) and was given early birthday presents by Kathryn and Claire. He had maintained all along that this party wasn’t for his birthday but for the fiftieth birthday of his viola, which he had had at the age of 20; I don’t think his family agreed!
The beetroot soup was very much appreciated, especially by the French guests and several commented on how good it looked in the blue and white Italian soup plates. Surprisingly, no-one managed to spill any, either on the tablecloths or on their clothes. After 12 for lunch, dinner for 10 didn’t seem very many at all, but there was an amazing amount of washing up, and after it was all finally sorted (much help from John and Kathryn again) I gave up and went to bed. N must have described my tiredness as much worse than it really was, as the next day people kept asking solicitously how I was. At least on Sunday I had a little sit-down in garden in the afternoon; on Saturday I couldn’t sleep for some while as my feet hurt so much, and when I closed my eyes I kept seeing a procession of wine glasses, cutlery and plates.
We had to get up early on Monday as Simone and Brigitte needed to leave at 8.30, and we were surprised to find how dark it was at 7.30. Later in the morning N took Jean back to the station, trying to get him to count his bags, un, deux, trois all the while, so as not to leave any behind. (Apparently Jean knew the address of the Paris transport lost property office by heart.) John, Kathryn and Iona left on Monday morning too, going south for a week’s holiday on the Loire. I was glad they were having a rest in a fine hotel, and not just going back to work after all that they had done here!
Monday was also Catherine’s birthday; Claire had originally planned to take her to Rouen for the day while Dan looked after Charlotte, but due to the change in circumstances they took Charlotte with them and went to Evreux for lunch, calling in at the hospital at L’Aigle on the way back. This left just N and me for lunch, which felt very strange, although there was a lot to eat up. We weren’t on our own for long however, as at 2.30 Monsieur P arrived with his team and all our new downstairs shutters. He had originally wanted to come first thing in the morning, but as I had thought there would be 14 of us getting up then had suggested the afternoon. The shutters had all been made to size, but needed hanging and finishing off so that they fitted exactly; I thought it was rather like fitting a tailor-made garment on a person and said so; Monsieur P said his mother had been a dressmaker and it was a good comparison. The weather was very wet however and they kept stopping every time there was a shower, and the dust and the rain together made a mess of the windows and the paths. Even in their unpainted state the shutters looked very good, especially those either side of the front door; they gave a finished effect and made the house look like real French house. (They are now in The Box Office being painted by N; a long job, an undercoat and two top coats on each. When ready they will be definitively hung in position by Monsieur P.)
There were five of us at dinner, N and I plus Claire, Charlotte and Catherine. They had said I shouldn’t bother to cook them anything, but I said we would have the Bean Stew that they had missed their first night, and which was waiting in the freezer. (Hurrah for freezers!) Charlotte was very keen on the bread croutes that went with it and kept asking for « more crispy bread. » In spite of everything Claire had managed to buy a cake for Catherine as intended at the boulangerie - layers of sponge with lots of fruit on top, and we all sang « Happy Birthday » including Charlotte, who sang very loudly. After dinner Claire, Catherine and N played Beethoven trios in the grande pièce, a new and very suitable venue, especially with the new lamps, and a relaxing end to their stay.
We had thought Claire and Charlotte might have to go back on Tuesday as arranged without Dan, and were ready to look after him as long as was necessary, but he was allowed out of hospital on Tuesday afternoon, and to be driven home. They rearranged their booking over the internet and found an overnight crossing with a cabin from Caen, giving less driving in France and more rest for all three. Catherine left at 7 am on Tuesday morning as planned (another early morning; it reminded me of saying goodbye to foreign visitors in Cambridge) Monsieur P arrived again, and after lunch Claire and Charlotte packed up and left for the hospital, with N driving behind, to say goodbye to Dan and to be on hand in case of any financial or linguistic problems. I very much wanted to go too - apart from anything else I wanted to see the hospital in case we ever had to go there again - but had to stay behind as not only was Monsieur P coming back but we were also expecting Emanuel and Guillaume!
At some time over the weekend we had discovered a leak all down the wall of the boiler room from the shower above, the water from that shower was still too hot, even though I thought I kept fixing it, and we also wanted Guillaume to look at the leak in the downstairs loo, as our Artisan had not been back again as asked. And on Tuesday morning the lights in our bathroom suddenly weren’t working.
The latter was fixed quickly, Emanuel said a wire had suddenly broken on its own, they did that sometimes, electricity was alive. He said at least he hadn’t had to knock down any walls. Guillaume came with a young apprentice; they took the whole cistern off the downstairs loo and replaced it more tightly, and that seems to be OK now, fingers crossed. The leak in the shower had been caused by old loose tiles, which they restuck, but the mixer tap needs replacing as it was no longer mixing properly. We chose one from a catalogue he showed us, and he will let us know when it’s ready to be fixed.
While all this was going on I made an attempt at getting some of the huge backlog of washing done, rather unsuccessfully as the rain kept stopping and starting. Once they had all gone we were finally on our own, a little difficult to believe, N saying were we really sure that there wasn’t someone left in a back room??
It has taken several days to finish the washing (sheets, towels, tablecloths, napkins, tea towels) and get all the items of bedding, crockery, cutlery and furniture back into their proper places. Claire has phoned to report a safe journey home and Kathryn phoned from Chenonceaux and both Simone and Jean called to ask for news of Dan. All have said how much they enjoyed and appreciated the good food and good music.