Apr 28

Apr 28 In which Nettie becomes a gallery, and things heat up on Quai Henri Chardon ;)

At last, and at least for 48 hours, summer arrived in the Cotentin last weekend.

Along with the warmer weather, swallows arrived en masse, swooping low across the bay and dipping in and out of old houses and barns, their summer homes. Racing along the quayside and through the narrow streets at high speed, it amazes me how they manage to avoid crashing into buildings and people.

And there were plenty of people around this past weekend; like butterflies emerging from cocoons, tourists flocked to Barfleur for the bi-annual event, Le Village fait Gallerie (the village becomes a gallery).

The event, organised by a local art enthusiast, grows from strength to strength, and this year promised to be the best ever. 55 artists from Normandie brought their work to Barfleur to be exhibited in shops, restaurants and homes throughout the town, and visitors had the chance to admire not just the work, but some of the lovely residences.

Because of the number of artists submitting their work for consideration, a "jury" of art experts had been convened, including a prominent local artist and a London gallery owner to narrow down the exhibitors. A team of volunteers put together the itinerary and promotional materials, with 55 artists finally selected to exhibit.

The quality of the work on show was extremely high, as these photos show, and visitors and artists alike had a great weekend.

Nettie enjoyed being part of the action, although a sudden storm on Saturday night nearly put paid to proceedings as rain poured in through an open window on the first floor and nearly flooded the space. Luckily we were able to intervene to move our artist, Nico's, work to safety from the rain.

In other news, Guillaume finished the roof last week, topping out proceedings with "tuiles de faitage" – roof ridge tiles in the local style. Stripped the waist, and nimbly navigating Nettie's steep roof, he managed to set all the tiles, just in time for the gales and cooler weather that has now returned.