Now that we are on sabbatical, Ali thought you might like to keep up to date with the goings on here at Le Couvent. So she set up a photojournal. She's intending taking a photo a day and writing about it.

The results appear in the left hand column here on our diary page. It will show the photo of the day and the latest nine photos.

 We do hope you'll come back to check every so often.

For those of you that will be here over the next couple of weeks, we have finally bottled some of our 2010 vintage ready for you to try. It'll be better around Christmas, when it will have got over the shock of being bottled, but I had some last night and I'm pleased with it. Hope you will be too.

D'you like the chair Ali gave me for my birthday? It's so comfortable I fell asleep in it within ten minutes of sitting in it. I see many happy years together. Thanks Ali and Mr Eames.

Le Couvent will close its doors on 1st October for the winter whilst awaiting a new owner . For the moment we have no idea whether it will continue as a B&B or become something else entirely so, in the meantime, we are not taking bookings for 2012 whilst we take a sabbatical.

There is still a chance to come to stay during 2011 and our availability is shown in the left column.

This week we've had two starkly contrasting suppers in nearby restaurants. On Saturday we went to O Bontemps in Magalas with two guests/friends. We were treated to ten courses of delectable treats. We'd ordered four courses, but there were so many amuse bouches that the meal went from a gentle stroll to a glorious hike. Here's my blurry, phone-captured, photo of the starter. Everything was as beautifully presented and utterly delicious.

On the other hand, we thought we'd celebrate the opening of a new restaurant in our village, Le Petit Péché, which has nothing to do with fishing or peaches, but means small sins. Actually they were guilty of several rather larger sins, the worst of which was producing the utterly predictable menu of the same dishes one sees everywhere else. To be fair they've only been open a fortnight, but the menus have been printed to last, so I don't think they'll be changing anything soon. The price difference between O Bontemps and  Le Petit Péché is just 12 euros a head, but the difference in value could not be more stark.

Come on France. You produce some of the best raw ingredients in the world, but you keep on dishing up the same magret de canard, bifsteck and poulet, chased up by ile flottante, chocolat moelleux, tarte tatin, crème brulée and ice cream. And where are the vegetables for heaven's sake? Give us a break. You're better than that. Shape up.

NOTE:

Since publishing this post we have received the comment below. Normally we do not publish anonymous comments, but this one has some valid points, so rather than deleting it we're giving it prominence.

We've been to Le Petit Peche twice with no complaints whatsoever - good presentation, simple and consistently good food, local produce and good value for money. The restaurant additionally offers the opportunity to eat either inside or outside in its pleasant courtyard. This review is overly harsh and critical, especially from business people who should know better. Not only is it unfair to compare a restaurant which has been on the go for years to one which has just opened, it is also ridiculous to compare their menus considering the huge price difference. I doubt that Le Couvent would have appreciated similarly severe criticism in its first month of opening. Support, rather than criticism, would be more likely to encourage these young people and help the restaurant survive in Roujan! - DB

Thank you 'DB' -  don't hide, give us your name next time.