In 1995 my husband and I first visited the former priory church of St Cybard at Cercles, in the Perigord. We were struck by the beauty of the church, its size and the wealth of carvings from the porch to the capitals...click below to see the pictures

http://picasaweb.google.com/JuliannaLees/CerclesChurchOfStCybard

http://picasaweb.google.com/JuliannaLees/CerclesChurchAndVillage

In early childhood I was obsessed by Greek mythology, and subsequently I progressed to studying the mythologies of other countries. Church visiting became a keen interest before I was in double figures...

Link: click on the link to read this article (pdf)...

I spent some pleasant weeks researching a recipe for "Perigord Pie" which was so popular among the leisured classes of the 19th century.  Along the way I collected numerous literary references from such authors as Disraeli, Sir Richard Burton,

Surtees, Washington Irving and Edith Wharton.  Not much the wiser, I eventually created my own recipe, photographing the key stages as I went.  Here is the finished result : It should have had the birds' heads & beaks poking out, but I didn't think my guests could stomach that!  As it was, the pie went down a treat, and was declared to be a "tour de force".  The following morning, I discovered a genuine recipe.  It called for a pound of truffles, so it's just as well I only came upon it after inventing a slightly more economical version. 

Link: click on the link to read this article

MY APOLOGIES TO VISITORS TO THIS SITE WHO DON'T HAVE BROADBAND : as there is a huge amount of material here, it will take them a long time to get around it or see the pictures, even though they are compressed.