The boys roar through the village

 Before the storm: inhabitants of Epeigné enjoying their day of free fishing

Here comes the rain...

A few minutes later it's a torrent

A couple of doves feeding after the storm

A very dry start to the year
Up to Friday 22nd April only 54mm of rain had fallen in Epeigné in 2011. Then on Saturday afternoon there was a sharp rain storm with 11mm falling in a matter of minutes. Similarly yesterday as the photos above show with perhaps more than 11mm falling. 

Vegetable stall in the centre of the market

The Wednesday morning market in Loches is always worth a visit if you are in the area. We would have gone to the Saturday edition last week but as it was pouring with rain it didn't appeal.

L'Ecremières: the excellent cheese stall

Street in the heart of the market

In the pink – the happy pig!

Reflections of the market in the Café du Balto windows

Café du Balto: time for a calm coffee while watching the bustling market

Wine shop: Les flaveurs de la Terre

L'Hotel de Ville, Tours

Report in today's La Nouvelle République about the increasing number of truffles now being grown in Indre-et-Loire with news of the first truffle market in Tours on Wednesday 30th December at L'Hotel de Ville, Place Jean Jaurès. Marigny-Marmande (between Sainte-Maure-en-Touraine and Châtellerault) held the 16th edition of its annual truffle fair yesterday.

The Loire, in particular Indre-et-Loire, used to be famous for its truffles. Following the arrival of phylloxera in the region in the later half of the 19th century, a number of vignerons diversified and planted truffle oaks. The trade in truffles continued until the start of the First World War. Over the past decade or so there has been a renaissance.

'Hier à Marigny-Marmande, dans huit jours, à Tours. Les rendez-vous populaires autour de la truffe se multiplient. La truffe de Touraine fait parler d'elle.

La Touraine, ce n'est pas que l'andouillette et les rillons : c'est aussi la truffe. Eh oui ! La véritable truffe (Tuber melanosporum, dite truffe du Périgord) n'est pas la propriété du Sud de la France ou de l'Italie. L'Indre-et-Loire compte des truffières réputées et ici aussi, comme en Berry ou en Saumurois, on produit le champignon le plus cher du monde.'

Lire:

L'eglise d'Epeigné-les-Bois

News flash from Epeigné-les-Bois site:
Concert de la chorale

Dimanche 15 novembre 2009 à 15h00 à l’église d’Epeigné les Bois, la chorale « Chantons avec la source » propose un après-midi musical. Au programme : chants variés et chants de Noël

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La Nouvelle République is behind the times: eight days after Jim's Loire posted about the launch of Epeigné's muncipal site was live, NR has today a small news item about the site:

Epeigné-les-Bois vient de mettre en ligne son site Internet : www.epeigne-les-bois.fr. Un site clair, avec onglets qui permettent l'accès à toutes les informations de la commune : vie pratique, éducation-jeunesse, associations, mairie et démarches administratives, l'actualité mais aussi le patrimoine, les sentiers, plan d'eau et une jolie photothèque.'

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I'm certainly very impressed by the design and functionality of the Epeigné site. It could well act as a model for a number of producers in the Loire and elsewhere whose sites are over-elaborate and difficult to navigate.

Epeigné's church@night

Epeigné's website has now been launched – click here. "Still some work to do but it's getting there!" says councillor, Mark Robertson. The site is impressively clear. It was designed and realised by Dominique Hisbergue of hisbergue design graphic (tel: 02.47.23.83.89), who are also responsible for the design of the Interloire site.

The Mairie built in 1886

Michel Mergot: Mayor of Epeigné-les-Bois

'Introduction to the village
Epeigné les Bois is a rural village which is part of the administrative district of Bléré. It is situated to the east of the Indre and Loire department, bordering the Loir and Cher department, 12 kilometers from Bléré and 39 kilometers from Tours.

Set back from the valley of the river Cher, the village is cut in two (from South to North) by the Chézelle stream, a tributary of the left side of the river Cher. The centre of the village is grouped around the church on the left bank of the stream, on a gentle slope.

Wrapped around an undulating countryside, the village is a green and leafy stop on the route to the chateaux of Montpoupon (4 km) and Chenonceau (9km). Read on in English or French

Church by day

Postcard showing Rue de la Fontaine around 1908. The building on the left is now the post-office and the library

Le Lézard Vert: the village shop, bar and soon to be restaurant

The Mayor in patriotic mood

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Flash info:
Dimanche 8 novembre 2009
Randonnée pédestre gratuite
Départ devant la mairie à 9h00
Circuit de Chossay de 11 km

(8th August 2008)

Dinner at the Auberge du Château du Montpoupon (02.47.94.25.53). Montpoupon is a hunting property on the road from Monbtrichard to Loches. Parts of the present château date from the Middle Ages but the spot has been inhabited since the time of Charlemagne. The Auberge has been through a number of hands. The last proprietor was Belgian with a Russian wife. It changed hands earlier on this year and reopened at the beginning of July. The present owners used to run a restaurant in Arcachon and the wife comes from nearby Epeigné-les-Bois and Luzillé.

There are menus at €19 and €26 with a lunchtime one (three courses for €15). The restaurant is closed on Monday. We had an enjoyable meal (the gambas in garlic sauce being the stand-out dish), although the €26 menu is quite pricey for what you get and it is not difficult to get better value elsewhere. We tried several wines from the 25 ha Le Clos Roussely in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher. We started with the easy drinking Temps Danse 2007, a Pineau d’Aunis Rosé, before moving onto Canaille 2007, a well-made 100% Gamay and not dilute as Touraine Gamay can be, and finished with the 2006 Anthologie du Clos. This is a fairly full-bodied, ripe blend of Cabernet Franc and Côt, which can be drunk now but will improve over the next three to five years. Le Clos is now run by Vincent Roussely, who took over in 2000 after working in a number of places including Australia, California and South Africa.

Postscript: A return visit on 30th August 2008 was less successful. The main course of confit de canard had an unnecessary sauce, a mound of roasted vegetables shoveled onto the plate and a curious potato mould. It did, however, confirm the pleasing quality of the 2006 Anthologie du Clos. Although the young staff were attentive, the owner couldn’t be bothered to come over to say hello – easily and quickly done as there were only ten people in the restaurant on this Saturday night. Doubt if we will be rushing back.