Monday 21 November 2011

Chestnuts at dawn

I attended another annual event this weekend. A chestnut festival. Last year as well as munching on chestnuts there was a group of storytellers to provide the entertainment, this year it was a group of 9 French female "Country" dancers. Line dancers to you and me.
When I arrived the dancers were already ensconced at a table, kitted out in their cowboy hats, boots, scarves etc. They were keen.
Last year the venue was full, with kids running about all over the place. This year the crowd was at least halved, but the 3 children who did attend, ran about non-stop for the duration of their stay.
We started with the roasted chestnuts, which were nowhere near as nice as the ones that we ate last year. This year they were dry, some were bad, and some had dead bugs inside them. In addition to the roasted nuts, there were boiled chestnuts. These were difficult to open and even more difficult to eat. The flesh of the nut was reduced to a white paste. Yuck! not to my taste.
There were pancakes and various drinks that you could buy, and there was also a plastic cup of mulled wine for the adults.
The dancers were very keen and after dancing to several of their pre-recorded songs they invited people to join in. I managed to stay in my seat. Having been a "Square dancer" for a year in the mid 90's I know to look down on this inferior form of dancing.
I left at about 10 past midnight, but the dancers were still going strong to their selection of about 10 songs and some local ados had arrived to bulk up the dwindling numbers.
Here is a short video of the dancing, The teeny-tiny lady in the white trousers is the school and town hall cleaner and although she was struggling to keep up, she was having a whale of a time. Good on you Z!