Goodbye Summer , Goodbye France .

This is being written enroute back to Berlin . Summer came , was, and went .
Now here we are in Autumn with all the lovely things this season has to offer .
Meanwhile here are some of the ‘ last’ images from France .Final bacon sarnie , last shot of a bat departing a musical rendition given by myself and a guitarist (is this a bad review or a case of overwhelmed ) Bat watching proved an intriguing pastime . The inside of the local church . Never open now ,save for funerals . A pity but France has too few priests . There is also a tribute entitled ‘bye bye birdie’. The birds of prey in this region are spectacular and abundant .Thanks to zero use of pesticides and lethal chemicals . Off to mass and then horror of horrors , the last dregs from a foxy bottle . Too special to throw away ,this bottle will be converted into a lampshade . Kitch , maybe, but on dark nights its light may serve to remind me of long, sunny, summer days full of madness . Life is too short to miss such

A Ripping Good Time In Lourdes

Last weekend I travelled back to Lourdes . It was just as before :-

busy yet peaceful , spiritual yet fun, multicultural yet united, a veritable tower of Babel in fact .

Someone I know summed it up when they said ," if you didn't know Lourdes was a shrine and place of pilgrimage you would think you were in a first rate place for fun. " Indeed one is, as the humanity plus common purpose unite crowds in a mystical way. Adventure too was my lot . Late on the Friday night I and others found ourselves locked in the Grotto Sanctuary .Pretty hilarious stuff .It ended up with us scaling some high railings .Fortunately a very strong Sir Galahad was in our midst and he helped heave us safely to the other side .Not though before my pants got caught and ripped . In the collage you'll see shots of the spot .( taken the next day ) No I didn't do a full action replay . On the Sunday we travelled way up the Pyrenees via the funicular.For the views , the caves , the restaurant this is well worth it . Then for a second visit to City St Pierre .

The weather was warm and all in all it was a wonderful weekend break . So ok, my pants got torn .

Well the English do speak of having a ripping good time ! Only this time it wasn't lashings and lashings of ginger beer ... Guess what instead ..

ps) I've no idea why clothes hang on the fence .Maybe others followed us .

Suspense Big Time ..

Yesterday I was taken to see this amazing suspension bridge .near to Chambon. Known as the St Marien it was built in 1921 and is situated where the Tardes and Cher rivers meet . After quite a climb one reaches the tiny chapel of St Radegonde. There are well placed seats where one can rest and take in the spectacular views . Nearby there is a famous viaduct built by Eiffel and , would you believe,gold mines . Something at every turn .One could say ,"a place for all seasons ."

Pick a Quiz

Hope you enjoy the latest feed to, 'Blogthings. These quizzes are fun and remarkably near the mark.Here's one I did earlier. Astonishing stuff . Enjoy ......

You Are 52% Goth

You definitely have some gothicness going on, but you're far from being a stereotypical goth. You enjoy certain elements of goth culture, but you're not going to be into something simply because it's goth. It's likely that you're the type of person who totally defies labels. Good for you! If you are into something, it's because you sincerely love it. Not because it projects a certain image.

Are You Goth?

What A Weekend .

Last weekend was pretty full and Sunday began with a visit to a superb , bread , wine and cheese festival in a small local town . Whoever thinks the country side is dull should try here ! There was a strong harvest theme with old working threshers and tractors. Fascinating to watch .The stalls were many and extremely varied . Breads of all kinds ,cakes , sweets such as nougat ,plus wine enough to sail a fleet .I found a sensational red and, as you'll see the bottle was just right for a foxy lady. Smoked sheep's cheese and snail plus mushroom pastries saw a rather 'full Miss V' staggering back . Not before she had been snapped , most appropriately infront of the bouncy pig.

ps) Look who I spotted today over in Chambon . With what one could call a nose for the grape.

More to Miss Vixen Than Fur !

Two things have kept me both busy and fascinated this summer. The first is discovering that making ice cream is an extremely creative and satisfying activity. [If it were possible to offer readers a taste of of my achievements , I can safely say you would not be disappointed ]

The second is painting . I refer to the use of water colours . Skylines, sunsets and scenery have provided a wealth of colours , forms and atmosphere. Both Windows and Apple enable me to share my efforts in this area with you . Room for improvement , of course , but I for one am happy . The last time I did such was at grammar school . France is a much nicer studio and classroom.

ps) firefox and safari users may well think I am a trifle lax in the layout of this posting .. Not so .. Tis the none geekish way of Blogspot to pander to Internet Explorer and for some reason therefore what appears as a correct positioning to me isn't to some .Have tried all sorts to remedy this but to no avail .. Sorry .

Spotted in France.

Froggy may have gone a courtin- uh-huh , but these two Foxy Ladies went a shoppin - uh huh..

True Dignity Deserves Recognition

As many of you will know both from previous posts and the Orange Campaign , I'm in contact with a remarkable Tibetan lady who,like many others lives in exile in northern India . Last week I received an email from her. The following is part of it. Her quiet dignity touched me . I couldn't help but compare this with the all too often hysterical hysteria we in the west react with. Are we really going to allow the UN , EU etc , to lapse back into total indifference to the occupation of Tibet by China . Imagine if each person took time out once a week to mail their President , Prime Minister demanding action,and ,we all keep doing such until the day it happened .Not a big deal and even with a global recession I'm sure all could afford a weekly card and stamp.Try it .Let's start a card campaign and deluge the desks of power. :-

"Well... Yes, the big thing is over!! For few days.... China this and China that...this record and that record broken.... for the time being everybody seems to have forgotten about the host country's record breaking performance in their human rights and the record rate of execution!!! It is all a bit scary... Isn't it?? I am not at all being disrespectful to the athletes... I mean they are as you say professionals... they got to do what they got to do, right?? As much as I knew it was impossible, I watched the Olympics... in case I miss something somebody does on TV... ie. to show some kind of resistence.... Wishful thinking.. huh?? I mean.. the only sort of response from China is "internal matter" I mean does it justify everything they do....But I did read somewhere about Rafael Nadal's orange headband!!! "

ps ) I asked my contact's permission to use this .. She agreed .. Can we agreee to unite in support ? Make Monday your mailing day's

Miss Vixen sees Saumur .

Last weekend was spent in Saumur , a lovely spot in the Loire region. Famous for it's vineyards , sunflowers , and, for the chateau seen above . Built in the XIV century it stands majestically on a hill overlooking the town and the river . Another feature of Saumur is the troglodyte houses which it seems are now much sought after desirable dwelling places . All mentioned can be seen in the collage, plus two of myself . In one I'm comparing my Chilango with a much bigger chain , in the other , what else -- yes another snowstorm . Yet another present ! Who's a lucky Miss V ?

Darling , I don't love you at all !

Not much of a man are you Mr D ? Your ridiculous statement could well prove to be ,the executioner of the pound .

Foreign investors are shunning it as world confidence vanishes .Then as like as not many residents of UK will be pulling their savings out of building societies thereby creating a run , thus more mortage chaos.

WELL DONE DARLING !.

Two sayings spring to mind :-

"discretion is the better part of valour " .... you have none ,so let's move on .

" actions speak louder than words " ... you could have insisted on restricting mortgages , Put an end to the inflated prices of homes .

Given the rather greedy British public a breakdown of just what it is costing them per day to keep troops in Iraq and Afghanistan .Then asked do they still wish to say yes , we want them there . I would doubt it .

The bottom line is the whole world is in a mess due to Blair being so eager to invade Iraq years back . Few made any attempt to stop him .

We are suffering now as Iraq , the worlds 2nd largest producer of oil is .

As if the the hammering and misery inflicted upon it by US and UK were not enough they remain occupied , infiltrated and in ruins .

To cap it all the US is now very keen to begin action against Iran ! Another country with oil .. In the words of that song ....

When will they ever learn ?"

My final words to you Darling are as follows :-

"You are little better than a traitor ."

Orange Orange,Still.Alive.

Please do try and look at the following from The Orange Campaign .
http://www.TheColorOrange.net/uk/page220
It's a very objective account of the action taken to draw attention to the abuse of human rights in relation to the most inappropriately hosted Olympic Games ever . Plus ,those fickle fellows of the media get some mention. Important point to all ,Orange will be kept as a symbol and all are encouraged not to forget Tibet . I for one would like to invite you to view us a team .A team going for Gold . Our gold being the rights of all Tibetans and that the Dalai Llama be recognized .One never wins by giving up !

All Creatures Great and Small.

When each day brings so much to see it's best viewed as Nature's Lottery and yes, I just keep winning .Actually anyone can ,if, that is ,they keep their eyes open.
A bat has been successfully 'captured' on cam and today a young eagle was spotted sunning himself on a bridge. He allowed this photo to be taken minus zoom. Yes, right beside him. Later, sitting by a lake what should swoop down but the heron you see. Across the water scudded water boatmen,and above darted dragonflies. Don't know what you think but in all of these creatures lies the beauty of our planet . That shiny black beetle looked like jet . Simply beautiful !

Mrs Tiggy-Winkle in France .......?

A brief encounter between Ms V and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle .... maybe ?

The Return Of The Cabbage Patch Doll.

Whoever could have visualized such a chic creation ? Or is it a question of going green ?

To tell the truth it's neither,but believe me when I say this really is a case of 'truth being stranger than fiction .'

Let Him Who Is Without Sin .....

This has to be the joke of the week , if not the year !
His ' Holiness and Righteousness ,G W Bush is planning to go on air and take Russia to task for invading it's neighbour. Seems our George deems such an act to be "completely unacceptable to the free nations of the world".
Sorry George , your invasion of Iraq , based as it was on lies , fabrications and greed, renders you the very last person to condemn this atrocity . Come on Bible Boy , remember those words, " Let him who is without sin cast the first stone "
So G W B roughly translated by a somewhat down to earth Mancunian female ,that means , " shut it ."

ps) Hey George, note you enjoyed your freebie time in China minus one word to those Tibet occupying Chinese ! A selective coward as well eh ?

No Regrets---- Not For Miss Vixen .

Today Evaux Les Bains had a fantastic festival ...Antiques, bric a brac , flea market , call it what you like . The entire town was buzzing and alive . Music , food , wine , all kinds of bread and cakes , each street provided more . Paradise for yours truly . Here's a funny little collage in which I was tempted by yet another bike ! Hmm rustic or rusty ? In my hand is a delightful little spice jar ,a present from the lady you see me pictured with . It's not often one gets to speak German here but she was fluent in ´'Deutsch and English '. Staying way out in the country a real chamber pot was a crazy must get .So I got ! As for the little video .This guy was Mr Happy Plus . So much so he even granted my wish by playing 'No Regrets ' . I have none for joining in with singing. My voice is hardly akin to that of 'The Little Sparrow ' . So it's , Little Vix signing off with 'Non je ne regrette rien.....'

ps ) I was given yet another present ... A book all about Saint Bernadette.

You see , each day is full of miracles , if we but look .

Forget the Horse Whisperer -Think Cows !

So here you see a star whisperer in action

The Sound Of Moo-sic.

After the wonders of Lourdes I'm back on a bike and training . Way off my former standard but getting there. The circuit is through wonderful countryside where many fields have herds of creamy white cows , special to this region . Yesterday I stopped to imitate them and make a sort of 'moosical aria ' . The result was spectacular . Some herds actually galloped to get to me . At each field they came and jostled for front row places . Maybe the EU will find a place for 'a cow whisperer' .
Meanwhile this is Vache donna Vixen signing off---- my fan club is waiting .

The Sunshine Of My Life.

We all need sunshine in our lives and here you see mine. Sunflowers , huge yet graceful and a colour that can lift my spirits no matter what . Yesterday coming back from Charroux field after field of these amazing flowers was seen and my joy was complete .

The Wonder Which Is Lourdes.

If you've read earlier posts you’ll be aware that I recently suffered a very bad accident . This left me extremely immobile and with some nasty bone damage to my left knee. Thus it was , last Saturday ,with a degree of fear and trepidation I left Limoges on a special train bound for Lourdes .
This was organized by the diocese of Limoges . Five hundred participants all French and no English speakers .Guess who is hopeless in French ! At first it wasn't easy but one adapts and the beautiful part of the Catholic faith is that it is Universal . I’ll be honest I was seeking a miracle and am happy tell you I was blessed with such . In Lourdes , each day brought more improvement. Look at the collage and you'll spot the differences . It’s all to easy to knock Christianity since it’s such a passive believe. In Lourdes there is a wealth of love, joy , humanity and faith . This, as we are aware moves mountains .

ps ) Lourdes is open to all irrespective of their beliefs . Tolerance at it's best .