Cahors Diary

Signing off

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:34:00 +0000

To those who have read this diary over the past three years, thank you for your interest. I am, however, finding it difficult to say anything new about living here, so this is my last post. Cahors is no longer an exotic experience for me, although I am content to be here.

The socialist administration at la mairie wastes less money than the previous rightist one - and is derided by the good old boys for being boring. Personally, I don't miss the expensive glossy mags in my mailbox that told me how splendidly the old guard was doing.

La crise americaine hasn't hit us very hard. The Lot has long been one of the poorest departments and unemployment is well entrenched. On a positive note, the tourist industry here did well last summer, as fewer northerners went abroad for the obligatory long vacation.

It still feels close to the land here. We want to believe the signs that state that our veal is raised sous mère, unlike that that comes from crates in Holland. We can still get local pork from pigs that saw the light of day, unlike most in Spain and England. There are, however, rumours that the goats that produce the milk for our signature cheeses live their lives indoors.

The variety of foods available can be expected to be smaller in an underpopulated rural area, but as the supermarkets now focus only on low prices nationwide, our choices have become even more limited. Many of the better quality items that made Carrefour my preferred grocery store have disappeared from the shelves. Sure, we'll always have duck and red wine to console ourselves with.

Swing Machine

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:36:00 +0000

Cahors no longer has a university, but it has a good music school and music flourishes locally, ranging from pipe organ to choral to jazz of all kinds. I have yet to appreciate the mish-mash that calls itself the Blues Festival, but I fondly remember a trad jazz performance in the music school and an organ/choir concert in the church of St. Barthelemy (better acoustics than the cathedral).

This past weekend saw the 40th birthday of a local big band called Swing Machine. The anniversary concert was packed out with an audience of grey beards to toddlers: jazz is for families here. Count Basie would have approved of the excellent pianist. Many of the saxophone, tuba and trumpet solos were also well up to snuff. The second half of the concert featured Chloé Cailleton, a nationally known jazz and scat singer: shades of Ella Fitzgerald.

Kippers

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:57:00 +0000

There is no entry for le kipper in the French dictionary. "Kippers" are, however, proudly displayed in the market on the travelling fish stall that provides Cahors with the best fresh fish available in this landlocked department. In between the oysters and the langoustines are these smoked herrings that barely resemble the dry red dyed offerings that now pass for kippers in Britain. They have the succulence of Arbroath smokies (although those are smoked young haddock and not herrings). Brits seek them out as yet another childhood memory.

Autumn

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:46:00 +0000

Autumn arrived bang on schedule. Children are back at school and the French tourists have gone. Quite a few Brits are still to be heard, enjoying the consistently sunny afternoons. For our part, we are glad to have our town back. The markets are half the size of a month ago and there is room to bump into friends and time to chat to stallholders without a crowd waiting behind. The wild mushroom season is in abeyance, as there has been little rain this summer, but there are plenty of vegetables, fruits and nuts.

The local tourist industry says that this was a good season. Perhaps fewer Parisians went to the islands and more came to the provinces; certainly there were flocks of campervans on the roads this summer. As for non-seasonal employees, just a few more were laid off than taken on. Despite la crise americaine, life goes on as usual.

Goodbye, Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:11:00 +0000

Cahors beach closes today. No doubt la mairie will declare the experiment a success, but the beach was little used, despite being well laid out and maintained. It's doubtful that many tourists came here to swim or sunbathe, boating and walking being more likely attractions, and most of the 20,000 souls that live here went away for much of July and August.

The roof

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:36:00 +0000

Roof maintenance is a curse of old houses. I needed to have the moss and plants cleaned off one stretch of tiles and had a local man come round to estimate. "Mille" he announced. "Mille euros?" "Non, mille francs!" So we settled for 150 euros.

Vines in the City

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:36:00 +0000

Cahors beach is almost finished, but there is as yet no sign of the floating swimming pool. In the continuing quest for new tourist attractions, rue Feydel, a side street off boulevard Leon Gambetta, has been dug up so that vines can be planted there. The street's previous claim to fame was that it led only to the prison. As a large roundabout on the bypass to the West of the city has already been attractively planted with vines, this afterthought is unlikely to be much more than a curiosity.

Postscript (2010): It appears that this rather dotty idea was shelved. The road has been repaved and the windowboxes have been replanted.

Pastures old, pastures new

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sat, 02 May 2009 09:33:00 +0000

This week, hundreds of sheep were driven over back roads from Rocamadour (North East of Cahors) to Luzech (to the West). The officially sponsored drive is known as transhumance, or move to summer pastures. Following a large wild fire in 1998, it was decided to use sheep to clean up overgrown land: the target is to reclaim 10,000 acres. Over a hundred landowners have signed up to have areas of brush converted to better use.

The flock was a colourful and surprisingly noisy bunch, the thunder of tiny hooves being accented by the bells hung from the sheep's necks. Once rain had given way to sun, the procession was joined by horses and carriages, as well as dozens of the hikers that walk the roads in this area.

Spring wildflowers

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:51:00 +0000

Back on top

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:01:00 +0000

The statue of Leon Gambetta, this city's favourite son, is back on its pedastal in front of the new underground car park, after two years perched on some scaffolding. The parking garage, to no one's surprise, took almost three years to build. Amphitheatre Parking (named after part of a supposed Roman amphitheatre unearthed during construction) opens next week.

Coincidentally, Leon Gambetta's 19th Century collection of pornographic pictures was a prominent feature of the recent exhibition "L'Enfer de la Bibliothèque, Eros au Secret" at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

Sous les ponts de Cahors

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:45:00 +0000

No, it's not All Fools' Day: I checked the date. Cahors is going to get a beach, like Paris and Toulouse. 800 tonnes of sand are on their way. A floating swimming pool is also promised. For those who have given up on the geriatric rock concert that masquerades as the Cahors Blues Festival, there should be something new to watch during the summer.

Paranoia

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:34:00 +0000

We are under attack, it seems, both at home and from abroad. The government is on an anti-alcohol crusade and is reputedly trying to outlaw evils like free tasting at a winery. It's unlikely that this would have any effect on le binge-drinking, but the French government is known for floating slightly dotty ideas and then withdrawing them after widespread protest.

Perhaps more likely to have an economic effect on this part of France is the imminent American 300% tax on Roquefort cheese. Nothing against the cheese itself, simply tit-for-tat for the European refusal to accept America's hormone-laden beef and bleach-treated chicken. Sigh.

Tempête Klaus

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 18:21:00 +0000

Cahors escaped most of the devastation caused by the great gale. In areas South and Southwest of here, hundreds of thousands of houses lost their electricity and telephone lines, if not parts of their roofs. Forests were flattened, orchards were decimated and agricultural buildings were blown away.

The river Lot overflowed its banks here and there were worries that the water supply had been contaminated. We were instructed to boil water before drinking it, although the manager of the pumping station said that he wasn't going to bother. We now have the all-clear and can get back to general strikes and other winter entertainments.

French News

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:04:00 +0000

The exodus of the Brits seems to have been the last straw for the 21-year-old English language monthly newspaper "French News". The publisher went into liquidation earlier this month. Nicknamed "the Whingeing Pom", the paper was known for the letters from ex-pats complaining about French locals who misbehaved by lighting bonfires in their gardens and allowing their dogs to bark at night.

Perhaps the funds will be raised to buy the company and pay off its debts. If not, British ex-pats will have to make do with the newer and more accepting "the Connexion".

Black truffles

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:05:00 +0000

Quercy (the area around Cahors) is home to the Périgord black truffle. Today is officially the first day of the truffle season. Never mind that a six-figure sum was paid last week for a white truffle in Italy. Never mind that truffles are now grown in Australia and the Pacific North West of America (maybe even in China). There are many varieties of truffle, black and white, hard and soft, but the elusive local ones are especially prized and are expected to continue to fetch ridiculous prices. The higher the awareness of truffles, the higher the price for the real thing, it seems. May the bubble never burst.

Brits go home

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:11:00 +0000

A full-page article in La Dépêche today proclaims that Brits are leaving South-West France in droves. The falling pound has reduced their retirement incomes and (if they can sell their overpriced houses here) they can buy houses more cheaply in the UK.

Among reasons for leaving are that the winters are cold and there is little to do in winter in the Lot. Not sure why this is news, but the dream seems to have faded. Perhaps when times get harder, there's no place like home. Indeed, many of the Brits down here never learned French: they didn't even bother to pronounce the place names correctly, so they can't claim to have tried to fit in.
Regard them as ex-pats who were only slumming it, rather than immigrants looking for a new home.

It remains to be seen what happens to house prices here. There has long been a two-tier price system, with Brits happy to pay 50% more than the French: after all, the pound was worth 50% more than the euro and house prices in Britain were astronomical. Now the French who complained that the Brits were pushing house prices out of reach will no doubt complain that the Brits have pulled the rug out from under the market.

Foire aux vins

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:27:00 +0000

The beginning of September is la rentrée, back-to-school and back-to-work. The end of the month is grape harvest time and, by association, the time when the big box supermarkets offer their wine sales. The aisles that were stacked with stationery and filing supplies are now full of wines from all over France. The regional newspaper La Depèche lists its wine bargains of the year, store by store.

The emphasis is naturally on wines of the region. The only French red wine that comes close to Cahors in resveratrol content and in mouth-puckering qualities is Madiran, so that is well represented here. You can, of course, buy a case of St. Estephe to lay down if your tastes are more refined.

Trial Urbain International

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:51:00 +0000

The quay and two of the parking lots of Cahors were taken over yesterday for an international motorcycle obstacle course competition. Young men on dirt bikes climbed up rocks and tree trunks and jumped from platform to platform in the river.

A good time was had by all. There were few spectators, as no out of town visitors could find a parking spot. Have to admire the efficiency of the cleanup. By noon on Monday, all the obstacles had been cleared away.

Bag in box

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:24:00 +0000

As previously observed, Cahors winemakers are trying out new ways to market their wares. A number of wineries now sell their own wine in cubi (bag in box) packaging. I'm unable to recommend the Instant Malbec cubi that an otherwise reliable winery sells, but Chateau Eugenie's Cahors AOC cubi is superb value at less than 16 euros for 5 litres. They even have a frequent buyer deal.

Wine marketing is hot news in France. Check out the satirical site www.usbwine.com.

Mystery in the Tarn et Garonne

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:39:00 +0000

Hay

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:31:00 +0000

Caseille

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:22:00 +0000

This has been a poor year for fruit. The strawberry crop is way down and there are few varieties in the market. A series of frosts after a balmy February put paid to the local cherry and plum harvests. I had three pears on three trees - until the birds took them. There are plenty of imported peaches and nectarines (brugnons) for sale, but little local fruit except melons. A highlight of today's market was a stall with a selection of bush fruit, mainly raspberries, blackcurrants and blackberries. New to me were punnets of caseilles. Known elsewhere as jostaberries, they are from a bush that is a hybrid of gooseberry and blackcurrant. The fruit are sharp, like blackcurrants, but larger. Memo to plant some bushes in the autumn.

The right to gripe

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:53:00 +0000

Yesterday morning, Cahors was blockaded. Tow trucks, cherry pickers and the ubiquitous white vans were parked in traffic lanes leaving roundabouts outside the city. An ad-hoc coalition of artisans, from pastrycooks to plasterers, had chosen Tuesday to air a slate of grievances, from the price of diesel fuel to the loosening of rules controlling big-box stores. Never mind that the burghers of Cahors (or even the multitude of local government employees that work here) can do little about any of these issues: it's important for the French to exercise their right to complain. Manifestations, like national rail strikes, normally take place on Tuesdays or Thursdays, so as not to interfere with weekend activities.

Life was back to normal today. It's the first day of the sales and there's shopping to do.

New wine

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sat, 31 May 2008 21:22:00 +0000

The government has just changed the wine laws to enable French wine makers to compete with other countries that decline to play by the old rules. If customers want wines flavoured by stirring oak chippings into the vats, so be it, but sell them under brand names and not as appellation controlée.

It's no secret that many Cahors vignerons are on the verge of bankruptcy. Several of them want to produce less tannic wines from the local auxerrois grapes (like the equivalent South American malbecs) to meet North American tastes and will use micro-oxygenation and other tricks to achieve this.

Others, notably Alain Dominique Perrin of Chateau Lagrezette (and Cartier), want to introduce a classification system, as in Bordeaux and other areas, to establish the true Cahors wines and enhance their reputation. This notion has failed to gain majority support, however.

Now there's a move to add black wine as a legal category to the existing red, white and rosé. Cahors is the only traditional source of black wine, which is red wine that is blackened by adding a boiled infusion of the skins. Watch out for Black Beauty brand.

Wild asparagus

noreply@blogger.com (Colin) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:09:00 +0000

At last, a warm Saturday without rain. The market was celebrating with local strawberries (three varieties only at this stage) and four kinds of asparagus. I bought some wild asparagus to eat with dinner. Unfortunately, the taste was very bitter and I had prolonged indigestion, so perhaps the gourmet treat is young wild asparagus.