TangoRojo Festival

TangoRojo Festival, London

If you 're lucky enough to live in London (or have easy access to it) over the next couple of weeks, I urge you check out the Tango Rojo Festival which runs from the 12th-15th May at various venues across town. Bianca and Sasha, who are leading our Argentine Tango here at the end of May, organise this event annually and by all accounts it's a MUST for anyone remotely interested in dance.

first coat of paint / l'Espace

Time rolls on however and we are getting very excited about the finishing touches going on in l'Espace (refurbishment of our barn) and the prospect of Roger McGough's first workshop here with us next month. With a spell of mid-summer weather a week or so ago and an almost full-house for his visit here, we thought the gods were finally beginning to smile on this part of France. Silly things! Just as we were about to start work on the terracing around the new barn, the heavens opened and the gods began to laugh at us. But hey! We're confident that most of the building work will be complete in time, though if it stays this cold we may have to relocate the "studio". On vera, as we say in France.

3-year old yellow banksia rose

The banksia rose at the front of the maison de maitre is currently in full flush despite the downpours, having almost trebled in size since last year - things just grow here - and its abundance of Spring-yellow blooms manage to cheer us. Meanwhile, our local village seems to be rousing from it's winter slumbers at last, with the mysterious appearance of a set of two old Renault vans and one Citroen van in various states of disrepair. Nobody seems to know who they belong to, but they certainly are pretty to look upon and seem to typify the sometimes inexplicable slow pace of life in this part of the Dordogne.

Old Renault and Citroen vans parked in village