A rainbow…. and some bad municipal planning

On our way to buy wine this morning the end of this rainbow was almost over the village of Roquessels where we were heading.

No longer in use…

At Chateau des Adouzes, where we buy wine, these barrels have been used for oak-ageing wine and now, having been used, are for sale.  I was tempted, but they’re quite big and I don’t know what we’d do with one.  The mazet on the left, near Roquessels, was a shelter for vineyard workers, one of many in this area, but is no longer used because people store their tools at home now and drive out to the vineyards in their vans, so they can go home for lunch and a siesta.  This one looks very well cared for.

‘Improvements’ in the village

The resurfacing of the roads in the Pioch, the oldest part of the village, has been an improvement over the old patchwork of tarmac and broken stones.   But some of the changes outside the church are a big mistake, I think.  The new cobbles are beautiful and there is a shelter for mourners to wait when there is a funeral in the church, but the road is now closed off here.  This will mean that all the traffic coming out of the old part of the village will have to go down one very narrow road – I’m glad I don’t live in that road, and I’m surprised the residents haven’t complained.  I hope, too, that the emergency services will be able to get through quickly enough if necessary.

The old road out of the Pioch, past the church, now cobbled very attractively, but blocked off with stone blocks and a metal bollard.

Now it seems that all the traffic, delivery vans included, will have to go down this very narrow, bending street and through the old place at the end.