Full house

Sorry this photo is a bit rubbish! Yesterday's is much better, I was pleased with it :)

It was the traditional presentation of the season at the Centre Culturel this evening. We never miss it if we're here. In the early days, it was free if you'd bought a season ticket for the previous season; now that the theatre is well established you have to pay, but as you can see this hasn't put people off coming. Arriving 15 minutes early, we ended up in the back row. After the obligatory politicians' speeches and a short video presenting the shows, there is a show of no more than an hour, followed by a buffet.

The show this year was billed as a one-woman show combining clowning and flamenco. I was not wild about it -- initially it seemed a bit childish, but it did improve as it went along, and it gradually became clear that despite her apparent clumsiness, Elodie Hatton was properly trained in flamenco. S liked it much more than I did. There's a teaser here.

Then there was the traditional massive bunfight as 300 people descend on the marquee outside. The small finger food is always refined and absolutely delicious, waiters bustle around resupplying the tables, and the wine flows freely. We were disappointed to see the usual massive grills manned by chefs grilling kebabs and shellfish were absent, but suddenly a waiter emerged from the kitchen with trays of delicious peeled and grilled prawns and was practically knocked over in the rush.

We chatted to various people we knew and made sure we stayed until the desserts of lovely miniature patisseries came out -- we have to get value for our 14 euros! Then home to peruse the programme.