I have been planning my Christmas menus (with the help of the annual catalogues that the local supermarkets distribute). So here goes….

Christmas Eve: Breakfast will be Boudin Noir with mushrooms, Poitrine Fume and warm French Bread. I shall just have cheese and wine for lunch because, for tea, I am having Fruits be Mer. I have decided on a bottle of Gros-Plant de Nantais Sur Lie. This is relatively inexpensive but perfectly complements what I shall be eating.

Christmas Day: I shall eat at about 2pm. I shall start (as is only proper) with a dozen oysters. Then, for the last time in my life (on cruelty grounds), I shall have Fois Gras. I love Fois Gras but the enjoyment is tempered with the realisation of how it is made.

I shall then move onto a cassoulet of Escargots; cooked in a small terrine with shallots, mushrooms, garlic butter and parsley. This will be topped off with breadcrumbs onto which I shall spead some finely chopped olives. For the main course, I am having Duck’s Breast – served with roast potatoes, courgettes and chestnuts.

I’m not sure if I’ll have any space left after that but, in case I do, I am planning a fruit cake (ready made) with some warm spiced cream. After that, I plan on a glass of Framboise (on medical grounds), a nap in the easy chair and, of course, indigestion!

Every week, any loose change that I have in my pocket on a Sunday, gets put into a tin (my Christmas tin). I shall have to change this money up at the Post Office before I go shopping. I think that there is about 130 euros – I’ll need every penny of it – Christmas is expensive in France.

All the best

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