Scrums..............

The first scrums I saw this week were while watching the rugby - in French. We were invited by some French friends to their flat (in Embrun) for Sunday Lunch (more about that in a moment) and to watch the Scotland v. France match afterwards. So these were all quite legitimate scrums - during the game of rugby - which, sadly, despite playing well, the Scots lost.....

Lunch, by the way, was a fairly long affair lasting from 12.30 till 3.30 pm when we started to think about the rugby match. We were served Champagne with our nibbles; filo parcels, bread sticks, peanuts and avocado dip. Then we waddled over to the table and enjoyed a 'raclette de legumes'. That's melted cheese of various kinds with an assortment of veggies (delicious) and for the carnivores a selection of cold meats (I believe it was duck, raw ham and cooked ham). There were also quails eggs to cook in the little pans. To go with all this a lovely smooth red wine. Also baby gerkins, pickled onions and some big cherries pickled in vinegar (sounds weird but very tasty!). 

{Photo of raclette machine}

All this was followed, naturally, by a green salad and then dessert. This was a simple tart of small yellow plums (mirabelle) which had mirabelle liqueur (a kind of plum brandy) poured over it and then set alight! It all got rather singed (well, burnt round the edges) but tasted wonderful.

{Photo of lunchtime view over Embrun}

The next scrums were in the supermarket this morning - first Monday of the French school holidays. I think half of Marseille was in there doing some kind of supermarket sweep - real chaos!

Then more scrums at the ski slopes. Our quiet village resorts are over-run by skiers in large (by our standards) numbers. Children having lessons, parents struggling to find their own ski legs and plenty of grandparents standing around 'spectating' at the bottom of the slopes.

{Photo of the after lunch rush (scrum) at Molines}

We eventually abandoned all this mayhem and came home for a cup of tea!