Angels in the fields

If you'd asked me, back when I lived in a big city, what I thought life would be like in a village of 500 people in the countryside, I would have said dead.

So certain was I that culture and distraction and all things interesting could only ever be found in a big city, it never entered my little head that people living elsewhere might organize their own entertainment. And that it might even actually be entertaining.

I've seen a bit more of the world since then, but even so, I'm impressed at how many regular events are organized in and around our small village. There's an open house day for the artists - good artists, too. There's a ballade gourmande, where you walk through the vines, stopping along the way for the four courses of your lunch. And there's a half-marathon.

Last weekend was the first year we participated - Téo and I walking as angels, Cédric running as himself, all of us eating at the mini-festival afterwards, the kids dancing along to the band as dusk deepened on a lovely Indian summer eve.

There are things I miss about living in a big city, cultural and entertainment options that will never be on offer in the village. But while it's quieter, life here is most definitely not dead.