I love bread made by local artisan bakers… absolutely wonderful… but a bit far off the beaten track for me.
I have tasted some shop-bread which is ok, but nothing special… some which I have regretted (not often)… and I have tasted some shop-bread which is delicious… really rather strange now I think about it.
However, given choice and availability I would opt for the local artisan every time… 
I’ve found it is best to ring to book, order or whatever rather than to rely on a web site that may not be maintained by the owner and is potentially out of date or not working.
talking of bakers…
apart from the fact they are known as “tongs” 
My neighbour, who is a boulanger came for lunch today. I bake the take and bake bread for baguettes a la campagne, but when we have thirty or so people in the summer he brings the bread he has baked.
We always ask for a confirmation of our booking.
Nothing nicer than something someone has baked/cooked especially … your neighbours adore your cooking too, I reckon…
Graham, when I lived in Beaulieu sur Sonette the neighbouring village Cellefrouin had an excellent bakers and and an excellent butchers.
That all ended however when the wife of the baker had a torrid affair with the butcher,the result being the two of them running off together and the baker shooting himself !!
What happened to the butcher’s wife?
We had home made tomato soup with the tomatoes from the garden, Venetian calves liver with creamed potatoes and spinach, cheddar cheese and Lemon Dream.
We had to print off the recipe for the Lemon Dream, which is the mixture which separates into a very light sponge and a lemon sauce.
We had our own sloe gin to finish and coffee with home made chocolates the baker brought.
We eat well here.
Snap!!
OH is clearing the cellar prior to insulating it… and has found several bottles of our UK homemade liqueurs… 1996 Sloe Gin, 1996 Sloe Brandy… I forgot we had brought them with us…
On Sunday, I shall be offering the neighbours some dark chocolate specials (Mary Berry/Delia Smith) and the “Sloe Specials” will be delicious as an accompaniment, I reckon.
Enjoy.
She had to sell up and split fifty fifty then moved away.
Neither commerce reopened and the following year the mini market closed…
Such a pity.
Ran off with the candlestick maker
I used to love lemon dream I’ve not made it for years
Spit roast 
@anon22869222 and @Jane_Williamson
I think this is the same dessert as “lemon surprise pudding” in my Good Housekeeping cookery book from the year dot…
Absolutely delicious and one of the first “offerings” my neighbours tasted when we were newly arrived in France. They enjoyed it so much, they decided to let us stay… (only joking).
I remember having this at school 
Ah, the lemon pudding we had at school was a long tin lined and topped with suet pastry and with several whole lemons inside. Oh my, that tasted good… cooked so long that the lemons were gooey and the juice soaked into the suet… miam, miam.
The lemon surprise - surprises by separating into a delicious lemon sauce at the bottom … with a light, fluffy sponge top. Yummmmmmy.
That school lemon pudding sounds like a Sussex pond pudding, Stella, delicious 
Yes it does.
Anyway, they loved it and have gone off with the recipe.