Le Château's oyster festival (summer holiday 4)

No, not a château, but the name of one of the towns on île d'Oléron (at least not another saint), although it does have its château. Like the other towns and villages, Le Château had its festival too, the theme being an oyster festival, with music and to be followed by a fireworks display.  You can move around between these towns and villages and attend a show every night of the week and watch fireworks at each.  It all contributes to the feeling of summer and holiday.  As JL likes oysters, we've decided to go to the oyster festival.  Remembering the parking problem we had at the fête of St Trojan, we've arrived early, at about 6 pm (the ads were saying it starts at about 5pm).  Easy to find parking, but not much happening yet.  After strolling through the port and down the street leading to the festival, lined with stands manned by artists or crêperies, we sat down for an orangina at a restaurant bordering the entrance to the oyster festival.  Not long after our arrival the lady in the photo below arrived, to set up her table. Curious to see what she sells we've eventually figured out she paints on people's bodies, like a temporary tattoo. We've started analysing her stand, her approach to the people and eventually, laughing, said that we should go and give her some advice, with an invoice from our recently established consulting company (not that we did that, but I think we must have unnerved her a bit looking at her stand, because, when we went back later for a pancake, she left the table for a smoke break, only to return when a German family with 5 daughters arrived for business).

You could buy tickets for oysters, mussels, chips, wine, pineau de Charente. These tickets you then hand in at the relevant table where you receive your tray with the food and could stand at one of the many tables that were prepared (no chairs to sit down).  The mussels were prepared in two ways - moules mariné (marinated in white wine) or églade (a way I didn't know at all, prepared by burning it in a fire with pine needles). As I had no idea what the églade will taste like, I thought to play it safe and ordered the moules mariné.  We were quite disappointed. JL's oysters were not cold, my mussels were small, the wine was bad.

To explain to you the églade: the mussels are all packed into a tray.

Then packed on the ground and covered with pine needles.

 Above: can you spot the mussels?

Below: then the pine needles are set alight

Once the needles have died, the ashes are blown off and the mussels are put on a tray to serve

Once again, we had a good laugh, as the management was not so good. At the beginning there were not so many people as it was still early, so they could cope with the demand, but later the queue got longer and they took quite a while before realising to burn all three groups at the same time (after we were considering to give our advice and before doing that, a guy with grey hair, proof of the experience, ordered the younger guys to get going and prepare all simutaneously)

After our early meal, we took a stroll through the cabins of the oyster farmers.  Many of these are nowadays converted into artists' shops.  Some are in a sorry state, still waiting for an owner to give them some TLC.  Below: a typical oyster boat.

The colourful cabins make a pretty picture, I think some are more functional for photographers than anything else, like the boat below!

Some of the artist shops. The one below is called Polka.

Back at the oyster festival, as I wanted to see the fireworks display later that evening, we stroll along the stands, had a pancake and coffee and eventually walked to the other side, where the château is.

We have figured out by then that the fireworks will be launched from the château. The fête at St Trojan was so well organised, you knew exactly when the time is for the concert and when the fireworks will start. Not at Le Château. So we guessed it would be the same time than at St Trojan. Alas, 10pm came and went, the wind got cold, the mosquitoes attacked us, 10.30 pm came and went and then we decided we had enough of waiting. Halfway to the car, along with many other people who decided enough is enough (so much so that people arriving were asking whether the fireworks display had finished), we've heard the first bang. Turning around in the street we could see red smoke spilling over the castle walls, like we've seen on television at Carcassonne, famous for their 14 July firework display. Alas, the rest of the show was pretty much a repeat of the one at St Trojan.
For the first time I've been a bit deceived by a French fête; much to JL's relieve as he was starting to get tired of his SA wife who wants to attend every possible French fête and fireworks display!!