Common at this time of year are the many small local events; picnic’s, music evenings, night markets, concerts, quizzes, brocantes, exhibitions, fairs…in fact almost any excuse you can think of to have a ‘get-together’ and for communities to just get out and to enjoy the glorious summer weather, usually in the evenings. The days are long and the weather balmy, so why not?

A new venture in one of the local villages has been a week-long art exhibition, giving local artists and artisans the chance to show off their paintings, pottery, jewellery, printing, sculpting and so on.  This was a free event culminating in a ‘pique-nique’ and some local musicians providing the entertainment. It was a simple affair, the kind I enjoy best. All that was required was to show support, bring your own chairs food and drink, and to relax, enjoy the evening with friends and family, and to be part of the community.

As the night unfolded, the sun dipped low in the sky and it progressed from blues to pinks to purples. The greedy swallows gave up their frenzied feeding and swooping and were replaced by tiny bats taking on an aerial display that felt as if we were under attack! Most of the crowd were now happily relaxed on wine and beer, the music ramped-up, some started dancing under the stars, and before long we were all clapping and singing along to pop classics by Queen, Prince, UB40, The Beatles and Elvis. Tina Turner and Abba got a look in too (but not in person)!

A great night was certainly had by all and with a deepening night sky we all turned to look at the partial eclipse of the moon, and perhaps those of us who could remember turned our thoughts to that momentous occasion 50yrs ago when Apollo 11 was launched, propelling the first people to walk on the lunar surface. Even now I marvel at that remarkable achievement which, to a then 11 year old, was pure science-fiction.

Happy ‘pique-niques’ and summer entertaining.

A Bientot!