Our dance card is full...

Newsletter Issued 15 August 2025

So everything has hit the calendar at once, and we are juggling the fabulous regional events with getting our stock delivered (and back online), browsing markets for new stock, hosting friends, and building our online business.

Mostly though, we are having a lot of fun.

We started playing boules and we love it! Not long after we arrived we found an antique set of boules at a local second hand store (more a shed of donated goods for charity), and wondered if we would ever use them. Fast forward to early July when we were invited to join a ladies boules morning in a beautiful nearby town, Saint Quentin la Poterie. Known for it’s ceramics, this town also boasts a wonderful weekly produce (and everything) market, and a boulodrome. We meet under the plane trees every Thursday morning, playing in twos and threes for a game or two (first to 13), and then retire to the local cafe for a coffee or cooling drink. We both had beginners luck, and are still holding our own against some seasoned players, so hopefully we develop skills before our luck runs out.  

The vineyards are bursting with grapes, and the domains (cellar doors) are all hosting jazz soirées - we’ve been to one, and plan another this weekend when friends visit from near Paris. There are several stages set up around the grounds, with wine by the bottle and food trucks, long tables under the stars, and local musicians and DJs keeping everyone entertained. 

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Last weekend we spent a few hours at a wine festival in Uzès, for four euros you purchase a glass and then can wine taste to your hearts content, from stalls showcasing regional vineyards, about 30 in total! This followed a more natural wine festival in our village a couple of weeks ago, where we chatted with the mostly young winemakers of the region. And yes, we need a wine rack!

We celebrated Bastille Day (known in France as la fête nationale or le quatorze juillet) picnicking beside the Pont du Gard experiencing the sound and light display on the ancient stones - this year is the 40th anniversary of the Pont du Gard achieving World Heritage status, and the theme celebrated other World Heritage sites, such as Alhambra in Spain (pictured), the Pyramids in Egypt, the Eiffel Tower (of course) and, wonderfully, Australia’s natural heritage, which was beautiful (Australia has 21 World Heritage sites, cultural and natural!). 

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In late June we were fortunate to have a day on the water, cruising from Marseille to Cassis to view the magnificent calanques. The massif des calanques are stunning rock gorges along the coast, which transition from limestone near Marseille, to sandstone near Cassis. We had a perfect day with good friends, and so beautiful to see from the water. We plan on a longer visit to Marseille soon.

The Tour de France passed through our area recently, and we set off for a nearby village in the hope of getting close and catching a glimpse. We were thrilled to be roadside, and enjoyed the caravane where trucks and floats of the sponsors celebrate by throwing out merchandise and samples, dancing and performing to the roadside crowds. It was so full of energy and such a great atmosphere, then the riders flashed through in a spectacular 30 seconds, and we could really have reached out and touched them! 

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You may have seen the recent reel with pictures of our vintage garments modelled by Louise, a lovely friend who is a sommelier, showcasing how these beautiful pieces can be styled. We will be having another photo shoot soon in and around our village, so keep an eye out for updated photos in our online shop. We had so much fun, and have a few exciting plans in the works which we will share soon.

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Our Sydney stock arrives in the next week or two and the website will be updated and brimming with vintage and antique French textiles, we can’t wait to see what we packed up six months ago and consolidating it with what we have sourced here so far. Exciting!

There is a heatwave (it’s 38 degrees today, it’s called a canicule) and we are thrilled to be housesitting for a couple of weeks (keeping an eye on a friend’s gîte) where there is a POOL! So if you need us, from tomorrow we are poolside…