| This section will depict the changing seasons around the village where my family and I live. Soubes, has been our home now for almost 5 years, and it may be of interest for you to here about our experiences in this tranquil idyllic village we call "Arcadie" Heavenly Place. |
| I will start by wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year, the prosperous is not meant financially, but as in "Finding the meaning of life" and just to say 'I get it'. So here we are in Arcadie (oh by the way Arcadie is the name of our house) and start the year (January) with bright sunny days and exceptionally cold nights. Many of the photos will be taken from our balcony at the rear of our house over looking Soubes. |
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Even here in the sunny south of France the temperature drops to -10 degrees centigrade, The end of December and start of January we had three weeks of very cold weather. The Languedoc Roussillon boasts to have 300 days of sunshine every year, that does not mean that it's going to be hot! |
Crispy frost covered mornings in early January
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Thick frost in the valley |
 Low cloud and dank weather come in very quickly one morning, the cloud's drift through the valley almost as if they are too lazy to go any higher |
A warm sunny day and temperatures reaching 24 degrees centigrade 28-01-02 |
| It's the 2nd of March 2002 and time for the spring time carnival for the children from the schools in Soubes, we have a Maternelle (age 2½ - 6 years) which is located in the Maire and a Primaire (age 6 - 12) located in the Place de l'Aire. Our youngest Mark of 4 years goes to Maternelle, Adam 11 goes to the Primaire in the village and Christopher now 14 goes to a technical College (secondary school) in Clermont L'Herault |
After the children have wondered through the village they make their way to the Maison de Retraite (Old peoples home) where they liven things up a bit, after having something to eat and drink they make their way back through the village looking for a guy called Monsieur Carnival (a scarecrow) whom represents winter, once found the older children hoist him up a pole and set him on fire welcoming spring. |
  
Top left in this frame are the children accompanied by parents and the clown on his bicycle making their way to the Maison de Retraite, unfortunately its' damp and cold but spirits are high and the children are enjoying themselves.
It's also the highlight of the day for the retirement home enabling grand parents and great grand parents to see the little ones enjoying themselves.
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 The old Chateau looks bewildered on the hill, blossom sprouting and leaves breaking forth, the Chateau will be transformed in the forthcoming weeks as foliage creeping up its walls burst into life. On the right in the centre of the picture is our house, the grey unfinished one, our dream unveiling, it's taken us 4 years of building, Sally and I have done it all, cast every arch, laid every block, tile, window and door without any help, We have actually built our own house. |
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Soubes viewed from the south one early March morning |
  In the evening sun the village emits a golden glow as the sun brings out the natural colour of the stone buildings.
Soubes is a vibrant growing village were the growth and evolution of the village is important to all the people that live here, this can be seen by the way in which all of the people from the village regard the children as children belonging to the village as a whole, and they are given untold freedom, as long as the children respect others. |
The school where Adam attends |
  The main/high street, so typical of many small villages the main street leads to the church and square where the centre of village life takes place.
Immediately on the left is the Marie and on the ground floor is the maternelle class where Mark goes to school. |
  Early morning in April temperatures at 8.00am are already 19 degrees C and by lunch time in the sun its 37 degrees C, You can now see nearly all of the foliage is out, turning the village into a sea of green, Each year I am amazed at the number of different shades of green there are. |
First leaves start to form on the Vines |
Back road in to the village |
 The old Chateau comes in to its own, taking prominent place overlooking the village, framed by the burst of new life she stands ever watchful over the vineyards, What stories she could tell, what a pity they didn't have web cam's a few centuries ago. In just a couple of months the village and landscape has been transformed by the rapid rise in temperature. |
  A view from the east side of the village from up in the hills you can appreciate the valley floor and you can understand that the fertile soils of the old river basin gave life to the village and has supported vineyards and fruit orchards here ever since.
The irises are in full bloom and so are the many varieties of wild orchids in this region. Soubes has some wonderful walks up through the village and into the surrounding countryside, following on the trail to the Sentir Botanic, you can take a picnic and stroll through the hills
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   The Kermesse (school fate) put on by parents and teachers from the Soubes schools, helps to raise monies for extra curricular activities such as trips to the sea, skiing, circus and general outings |
  It's now June and one of the major events in the calender is the fete de music, every year on the 21st of June all of France bursts into song and dance, there were six different local bands/groups of musicians playing well in to the early hours all over the village.
There was all kinds of music, something for everyone, the local community support such events as they realise the importance of keeping the village alive by allowing and providing these kind of activities. |
   Fete de L'Ecole, end of the year for the school children, this tradition enables the school children to demonstrate their abilities in acting, they put on a series of plays,
This year the theme was revolved around a trip they had to the circus |
Its the 21st July and the start of 14 stage is in Lodeve with the route passing Soubes |
  I have heard about the tiger in your tank but not the lion in your boot, the cavalcade the precedes the Tour passes Soubes with the villagers and tourists and all keen to get a glimpse of this international bicycle race which started in 1903 |
   After the cavalcade comes the race, this stage takes them from Lodeve to Mount Ventoux some 225Km in the glorious sunshine and heat of the day. |
The annual August Bravado commences |
Sometimes the bull gets the better of the pursuers and tosses one to the ground, luckily unhurt |
The bull gets a head start and makes a run for it |
The young men of the village chase the bull through the streets, catch it and hold it still to the applause of the crowds |
No harm comes to the bull or the men from the village, it's a hit with the tourists which in turn keeps the village alive with tradition
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The people looking on |
The vendange gets underway in mid September |
They still pick many of the vineyards by hand as they are inaccessible to automatic pickers
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Too many children in our village means that we need a new new junior school |
Ground floor walls to the school start to rise above the ground |
Its now November and Autumn's here again, the vineyards start to change colour
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Some vineyards go bright red |
Some of the trees start to turn, usually the cherry's go first, seen here in the lower right of the picture |
The avenue of plain trees at the entrance to our village turn yellow
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Mid to end November people start picking black olives, here the variety are called Lucques they are crescent shaped and in great demand |
 Decembers upon us and the trees are well in to autumn |
 
It's Telethon weekend and the fire brigade come in to help collect money for charity by charging to decorate the Soubes Christmas tree |
Local boys band seize the opportunity to play in public |
Home fires keep people warm |
Village centre |
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