I had to smile......

I think that I have mentioned Bernard before, he is the lovely man that I bought my first mannequin from and has a lovely Brocante across the road from Maison No. 20. This is rather dangerous to say the least and you can imagine the two of us bargaining......

Both him and his lovely partner; Nicole are tres gentil with Nicole being an expert in the restoration of antique French furniture.

Last night I texted Mr FF and said how about a picnic or as the French say pique nique after work.

He agreed that it was a good idea so we dropped in at the local supermarket and bought some cheese, pate, fruit and two huge pieces of flan and off we set for a nearby lake when we spend many a night during the warmer months of the year.

The lake is heavenly with not a person to be seen which considering that the season is in swing and there are tourists in places where you would not expect them, it was a luxury.

Where is this story going you may ask? Well after a fabulous pique nique we arrived back at the house just as Bernard and Nicole were locking up. Mr FF offered them a bottle of wine which we had only drank half off - meaning have it with dinner. Bernard said no grab some glasses and we would all have a glass in a showroom.

So there we are, the four of us, drinking a fabulous bottle of St Emilion red on gorgeous antique chairs surrounded by beautiful French objects.
I think that this is the time when I should let you know into a secret - Bernard has a thing about English objects even though he is a French antiques dealer.

He mentioned that he had something fabulous to show me, immediately beautiful chandeliers and candelabras came to mind along with visions of an armoired full of antique linen - all with monogrammes!

To my surprise, he brings out to ENGLISH coronation mugs and asks me what I think of them. I had to smile as I saw one in some photos of Rachel Ashwells home a few months ago and thought that I may like one and Mr FF mentioned to me that his mum had one so to ask her about it the next time we spoke. I never though any more about the mug......

So if anyone is looking for an ENGLISH coronation mug, I know a very nice FRENCH man that is selling one....

A demain,

A bemused L