Back again in France after an eventful last few weeks on The Island. We’re spoilt brats, getting the best of both worlds again. Having enjoyed a fabulous summer of sun and blue skies on The Isle of Man, we are now enjoying a late summer here in France (while UK is suffering heavy rain and high winds!).

But, before we left, it was the forthcoming winter we were afraid of because we had a leak somewhere on the roof or in the gutters that had percolated into the bedrooms and left a trail of water and mould (don’t you just love old houses!). Our neighbours, Terry and Julie had the same problem so we shared the costs and had a scaffold erected across both houses and called in the roofing guys. And, since the scaffold was already up, we decided it was an ideal time to paint the fronts of the houses too! Now, with rain and high winds on The Island, we shall see if our leaks have been cured (or not!).

Before leaving the island, Terry and Julie invited us to theirs for a splendid roast dinner. Never has so much good grub been served to so few without collapsing the table! It was delicious and, for me, brought back great memories of pork crackling and roast spuds and parsnips and oh so much more. I suspect we also did some considerable damage to Terry’s stock of wine. There seemed to be a lot of empty bottles rattling round at the end! (Reminder to myself: I need to get Julie’s recipe for the starter… a lovely little salad with a vinaigrette that was as light as fairy wings and as tasty as … well, anything you can possibly imagine!)

Postscript: Got it!!!!…. Julie’s Salmon & Prawn with Lime

Also, before leaving the island, Bruno and Jill invited us to theirs for a dinner. Bruno had prepared a great tajine for us. A tagine is a dish from North Africa that is named after the special earthenware pot in which it is cooked. The traditional pot is formed entirely of a heavy clay and consists of two parts: a base unit that is flat and circular with low sides and a large cone-shaped cover that sits on the base during cooking. The cover is designed to return all condensation to the bottom. With the cover removed, the base can be taken to the table for serving.

Typically, a tagine is a rich stew of meat, which can include beef, chicken, fish, or lamb, and most often also includes vegetables or fruit. Bruno’s was a chicken tajine and darn tasty it was too!

The only disagreeable part of the evening was that I had taken round a summer pudding and, since it was the first I had made from our home on The Isle of Man, had used a plain stainless steel dish that I wasn’t used to (as opposed to the fluted Tupperware dish we have used for summer puddings when in France). So the summer pudding looked like a splodge of red mud instead of a nicely-shaped invitation to taste its inner delights! I’m not in competition with Bruno to beat the unbelievable apple flan he brought when they came to ours, but it would have been nice to have come up with something halfway presentable! Ah well – better luck next time, Graham!

Also before leaving, we had a pleasant evening with my brother Steve and my sister-in-law, Jeanette. They’re great at keeping an eye on the house while we are away, not to mention forwarding the mail, looking after my car and much more. For some reason, however, the whole summer had passed by without the four of us having a quiet evening together. So, since Steve and Jeanette had been to Scotland earlier in the year and had brought us back a haggis, I decided to do my famous Haggis, Neeps and Tatties as a starter, followed by Rich Gravy Lamb and finished with a nice Fresh Fruit Salad. All very simple but wallowing in taste!

Our trip back to France was not without its unwanted “highlights”! At Charles de Gaulle airport our suitcases didn’t appear on the baggage carousel and we were obliged to seek the help of the lost luggage office. It eventually transpired that someone down below (turning the cogs of the baggage handling machinery) had switched off whatever brain cells he might have had and had decided that our cases (and a few others) should be sent back to Manchester (our transit airport). Fortunately he was stopped in time and ‘requested’ (rather firmly) to engage brain and send the cases up!

One hour later, the lady in the lost luggage office got a big hug and we got our cases back… only to find that the railway line between the airport and Paris was being repaired so we had to get a bus into central Paris and then a train out to Acheres where we live. We eventually walked through the door just a few minutes short of midnight. However, fortune smiled on us just a little bit because I had envisaged a possible delay and had made a couple of baguette sandwiches before leaving The Island, just in case we were too late to get to the restaurant … Any port in a storm!

Since being back, we have, of course, been to our “local” – Happy Sushi – where we were greeted with kisses and big smiles (makes a pleasant change from the surly faces in the airport restaurant at Manchester!). Their maki sushi (for me) and sashimi (for M-D) with sushi rice is a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach! Though we are always happy to be on The Isle of Man, we’re always glad to be back in France so we can make the occasional foray into Japanese cuisine in relaxed surroundings. (In fact, we went again a few days ago with M-D’s sister, Christine).

Mind you, it also works in reverse; while we are in France we dream of getting an “Indian fix” at The Royal India, our favourite Indian restaurant on The Isle of Man where the owner, Jose Verananickal, is both friendly and professional and the food is perfectly balanced.

Like I said at the beginning, we’re spoilt brats, getting the best of both worlds!