The 2008 Quiksilver Pro
kicks off in the Landes
on September 19 and will
see 48 of the best surfers in
the world gathering for the
only French leg of the ASP
world tour. These include
defending champion Mick
Fanning (Aus) as well as
past winners Andy Irons
(USA) and Joel Parkinson
(Aus). For the first time ever,
there are four Europeans in
the contest, including
Frenchmen Jérémy Florès
and Miky Picon. This is
unprecedented in the tour
historically dominated by the
Australian contingent.
You’d be hard put to find a French state
collection without work by an American
artist. The largest collection is in the Musée
d’Orsay. But until the creation in 2006 of
the La Fayette online database, it was
a business to track them down. Now,
technology plus sponsorship by the
Terra Foundation for American Art in
Chicago – which has also loaned
important canvases – and the Henry
Luce Foundation has produced ‘The
Portrait of a Lady’, an exhibition to
open in Bordeaux at the end of the
month. Paintings from state
collections in Paris, Aix-les-Bains,
Rouen and La Piscine in Roubaix and
elsewhere have provided others.
Artists on show include John Singer
Sargent, Mary Cassatt.
Within cannon shot of Bordeaux,
Bouliac’s medieval festival
promises an exceptional
programme for its 10th anniversary,
with heraldry, chivalry and pageantry,
parades, mounted games and falconry,
troubadours, jugglers and stilt-walkers.
Workshops will reveal the secrets of
medieval dance and calligraphy.
Children can try their hand at the arts of
combat or calligraphy; adults may
prefer shopping in the village where a
score of traditional crafts and
tradespeople will be hawking their
wares; quenching their thirst on
hippocras, a version of mead; or
partaking of hearty savouries and
dainty sweetmeats at one of the Middle
Age-style taverns. Highlights include
the all-day market on the Saturday,
September 13 with an open-air dance
outside the church and a firework
spectacular in the evening.
Château La Rose Bellevue is a
four-generation family
vineyard, just six kilometers
from Mirambeau in the village
of Saint-Palais. Among its
regular clients are many
English who live around
Royan, Jonzac and
Mirambeau. To celebrate the
end of the summer holidays,
the château is inviting all
epicureans to a special
‘Apéritif Vigneron’ and four
hours of live music with the
band Caramel, Gus & 2 de
Tension. The event is being
organised with the help of the
French and Irish owners at
The Cottage in Arces, on the evening of September 5 – a
chance to taste the cooking of Irish chef Doug and the
château’s medal-winning Premières Côtes de Blaye Cuvées.
For more details, phone Valérie and Jérôme Eymas, 05 57 32 66
54 or
email
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,
www.chateau-larosebellevue.com
After week-long cricket fests at
Eymet and Saint-Aulaye, time for
another concentrated session, this time
at Damazan over the week-end of
August 16 and 17 where both semifinals
of the regional Siddalls Cup took
place plus, in between, an all-too-rare
occasion for younger players (under-
13) to test themselves.
The folks at Météo France got
it all wrong again: everybody turned
up expecting interruptions and worse...
in the event, perfect weather for
cricket, an immaculate ground, and
impeccable hosting by Damazan CC. In
a format designed to give every player
a chance with both bat and ball, the
Aquitaine juniors batted first and
scored 192 for 4 in their 20 overs.
Oliver Maudsley and Daniel Nott both
retired, having reached the 25-run
mark; and Max Warner of Damazan
became the fourth member of the
family to take a wicket on his new
home ground.
While 17 départements are
under partial or total water
restrictions, the Lot-et-Garonne is
lucky to escape so far. All the
weather experts say there was
enough rainfall this spring to
ensure no risk of water shortage
at present. The préfecture
announces that the current
situation is similar to 2007, and
much better than the two
previous years.
The private French bank has seized the opportunity to acquire the Belgian, Luxembourg and international banking and insurance elements of Fortis, the collapsed Benelux bank.
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