If we were having coffee…

If we were having coffee, I’d hope for a sunny day. Then we’d be able to sit out on the terrace at our house in Castelnaudary. I’d like to tell you about my recent trip to the UK and what I’ve been up to in my small corner of southwest France. I’d introduce you to Zeph – unless you know him already – who’d be trying to inveigle us into playing!

I would explain why autumn is my favourite season, not too hot, often sunny and characterised by stunning colours. The photos below were taken near our Castelnaudary home during Zeph walks! I think the one in the bottom right-hand corner is my favourite. Which one do you like best?

On my return to the UK, I noticed how the leaves had changed colour during my absence, looking truly autumnal.

The sad reason for my return was to attend my aunt’s funeral. However, she was 97 and had lived a full and active life. My brother and sister also participated in the celebration of our aunt’s life, and we were able to catch up with our cousins.

The last evening was spent with my two sons when we went out for dinner. This was an ad hoc arrangement, so we hadn’t booked a restaurant – not such a clever idea on a Friday evening in Guildford! We tried to find a table at a Mexican restaurant, a Vietnamese restaurant, and a few others besides! We eventually had a delicious, but pricey, meal in a French restaurant.

Another highlight of my visit was seeing one of my longest and closest friends. We usually meet up at a venue halfway between our two homes, Weyhill Fairground Craft Centre. It was a beautiful day, and we were able to enjoy our coffee and the clear blue sky outside.

When I returned to France, I spotted a poster along our road. The first image below, on the left, is my rather blurry photo, and the one on the right is a much clearer version!

I was intrigued by this and decided to do some research. It turns out that there is an exhibition of 250 Banksy works in a nearby town, the Banksy Modeste Collection. The venue is a former supermarket, which I will be visiting next week.

Finally, I would proudly tell you that I had learnt the name of a new tree – to me anyway! As shown above, this is a ‘Holm Oak’, a species of evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean. Who knew?!

Thank you for joining me for coffee, and I would love to know how your week went.

I am very excited to be joining a link run by natalietheexplorer called #Weekend Coffee Share