Sunday 14th July Fete NationaleThere will be a wreath laying ceremony at the war memorial. Gather at the Mairie at 10:45.  After the ceremony there will be a vin d'honneur at the foyer. Unfortunately we will not be here to photograph it.  If anyone takes pictures can they send us some and we will put them up on the site.

Vivienne Carter has added a new piece about life in Mas Cabardès. It is available in the  new From Readers section  here

The Relais at Mas has been flourishing now for over a year on Saturday 22nd June they put on a concert featuring Andy from Leucate and Mas’ own Ralph.  The concert was an enjoyable mix of rock, folk and some country and western in English and French.  Ralph provided the interval music with Dirty Old Town and Cockles and Mussels, persuading the French audience to join in the choruses.  A pleasant evening for all and many thanks to Andy, Ralph and the Relais organisers.  Photographs can be found here.
 
Cleaning of the castle .  The annual cleaning of the chateau area took place on the 29th June between 0700 and 0900.  We started early this time as we are currently in the middle of a heat wave.  The temperature when we started was  22°C  at 0900 it was already in the 30s.  Despite this there was a good turn out of helpers and the air was buzzing with the sound of high powered strimmers for the whole two hours.  A free breakfast was then provided by the village in the bouledrome.  There are photos of the event available here  

Festifoire.  The Festifoire was held on Sunday 9th June.  The streets of the village were cleared of cars and stalls of every kind were set up.  The event was a combination of a car boot sale and a food festival.  There was a bouncy castle for the children.  A particularly popular stand was set up in the bus shelter.  A pyramid of cans was set up and the children (and quite a lot of adults) threw a soft ball at them to try and knock them all down. They made a pleasing clatter as they fell.  A splendid lunch was available cooked and and served from the Relais. There was a band of drummers who played continuously during the day.  The rythms were splendid but by the end of the day you could understand those dreadful films of the 50s where people were driven mad by jungle drums.  A great fun day. Photos of the event   here

The road past La Tourette has now been open for a month having been closed for well over a year after a severe road subsidence where the foresters had cleared too enthusiastically too close to the road. As a result the number of visitors stopping or driving and cycling through including motorbikes has been increasing again. Alongside these there have also been some rather different visitors during May.

Firstly the retired hikers club from Airbus, Toulouse brought a coach party of fifty to the village for a day’s walking, their routes very clearly mapped and some of the 3 or 4 boot variety of challenge. We hope they had a good day! You might also like to know that the increased information, which has appeared recently, maps and fresh waymarking around local parking grounds in Mas, Roquefere, Lastours, Pradelles, etc. gives walkers a good start to their day or weekend activities.

Secondly a small group of amateur radio enthusiasts met in Mas for a weekend of ‘Mills on the Air’, Mills in this case refers to the old Olive Mill in Mas and mills all across Europe, especially the Netherlands. The aim is to make as many contacts as possible with other amateur radio enthusiasts and clubs over a single weekend on HF frequencies. The group belong to the Amateur Radio society of Banbury in England and transmitted and received from above the Roquefere path to improve the signal. A dozen contacts were made whereas as the home team in England made far fewer at their water mill near Banbury. This may happen again next year!

Forthcoming Events
Festifoire – Sunday 9 June in Mas.
Vide Grenier – jumble sale. Artisan and craft stalls. Lunch and refreshments available. Bouncy castle and other entertainment

7e Festirando Montagne Noire Occitanie 8 – 10 June Free organised walks and bike rides (VTT) with guides, ranging from 7kms to 25 kms for walkers and 22 and 35 kms for riders.
Celia went three years ago and enjoyed a route that could not have been found with just a map from St Denis to the Prise d'Alzeau
Website:: www.tourisme-montagnenoire.com

We always need much more detail to put on this site.  If you have any information about the village you would like to go on the site  the please send details to:
webmaster@mascabardes.com

Mas Cabardès is a village in the Montagne Noire with a year round population of approximately 200 people. In summer there is a significant increase of population due to the summer visitors. There are also a number of expatriates who own houses in Mas Cabardes. This site is maintained by one. The expatriate community comes for a wide range of places, England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, USA, South Africa, Australia, Sweden, The Netherlands and Belgium. The one common factor about them is their love for the village and respect for its native inhabitants

Some Brief Details

Mayor: Nadia Doria
Postcode: 11380
Dialing Code: +33 (0)4 68
Population: 202 (2010)
Region: Languedoc Roussillon
Department: Aude
Elevation: 293 -918 metres
Average Elevation 305 metres